*President Trump has proven on many occasions to be a gifted promoter. The Trump name will generate buzz in just about any industry and I think that was one of the things that helped him become president. But a name cannot run a company or govern a country. This is why several of his business ventures have not been successful and why he hasn’t been able to accomplish lots of his agenda. It is difficult to believe you need help when your persona is omnipotent. But for President Trump to turn around his governing track record he will need to accept help.
As much of a tenuous relationship that African-American musicians have with the music industry and American political leaders in general (from Chuck Berry to 2 Live Crew), African-American music has been a cultural export of the United States for at least a century. The Blues begat jazz which begat rock and roll and hip-hop. In fact if you count pop rock music as the dominant genre, African-American musicians have been the most influential in world history. This paragraph stems from a conversation with Jacob Livshultz ([email protected]).
The issue of partisanship in government could become worse in the next few weeks. If Democrats decide to filibuster Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court it would only further the hard line stance along party lines because he said nothing in the confirmation hearings to warrant such opposition. Of course this problem exists because Republicans would not do their jobs in the last year of President Obama term. Democrats have the unenviable choice of taking the high road and doing their job but reinforcing truculence, or stiffening the gears of government further. Which path would you choose?
Phil Jackson earns lots of money to lead the New York Knicks franchise. I am not offended by the size of his salary (it’s not my money) but I am upset that he doesn’t seem to have an idea about how to build a team from square one. Jackson has taken teams with really good players and coached them to championships. But he has never taken a team with very few good players and built it up to contender status as an executive. That’s what his task is and he is failing miserably. The salary is important because it serves as a reason to retain him rather than pursue someone new.
First the United States lost a chunk of manufacturing jobs because other countries could offer less expensive labor. Similarly the country is seeing the demise of large retail stores. The cost of employing a salesforce and building maintenance is not worth it for retailers when customers can get the same merchandise online. The silver lining might be that as cornerstone retailers are phased out, central retail locations (i.e.: malls) may also become obsolete so perhaps local stores will again stand a chance because they are more service oriented.
Trevor Brookins is a free lance writer in Rockland County, New York. He is currently working on a book about American culture during the Cold War. His writing has appeared in The Journal News. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @historictrev.
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