Kareem's Big Fat Announcement & Trump Just Made Christianity America's Official Religion
What I’m Discussing Today:
My Big Fat Announcement: I’m especially excited today because, after two years of research and writing, I have two new books coming out this year. I really hope you’ll like them—and preorder them.
Trump signs executive order to establish a White House Faith Office: Anyone who does not see an office to protect a majority religion as the first step in a national religion is not paying attention. The very reason people came to America in the first place is being undermined.
Trump says Palestinians wouldn't be allowed back into Gaza under his plan: Trump says he wants to own the Gaza Strip himself, build it into a Riviera, and kick out all the Palestinians who live there. Kinda like what we did with Native Americans.
With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails: All the government agencies that protect us are being dismantled under the guise of cost-cutting. The effects will lead to tremendous costs to individuals, including health care and consumer goods. The government saves money, the billionaires make money—and we lose money.
Kareem’s Video Break: Ravens are so clever that it’s a little scary. Do not give them your PIN number.
Kareem’s Sports Moments: This trampoline performance made me envious of her fearlessness.
Billie Holiday Sings “Stormy Weather”: Billie Holiday bends and twists a song, wringing every possible emotion from it.
My Big Fat Announcement
For the past two years, I’ve been writing—along with my trusty co-author and friend Raymond Obstfeld—two books that I am extremely proud of. They are both very personal to me, so I’m delighted to have this opportunity to tell you about them. Today, I’ll introduce the first book, which is being released on May 13, 2025. In the next newsletter, I’ll introduce the second book.
We All Want to Change the World: My Journey Through Social Justice Movements from the 1960s to Today
What this book is about
This country was born out of protest. When colonial Americans wanted to protest, they dumped tea into the ocean, they planted Liberty Trees where people gathered to demonstrate against the British, they formed secret societies, they rioted, they threw rocks at soldiers, and they burned buildings. That led to the Declaration of Independence and the establishment of the United States. Protest is in American DNA.
This book is a history of five major protest movements that have shaped the country since the 1960s: civil rights, anti-war, free speech, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. I give the historical context that made each movement inevitable while detailing the political and public resistance that always led to violence, death, and finally, change.
There is a slight twist, which the subtitle explains: “My Journey Through Social Justice Movements from the 1960s to Today.” In addition to a history of the greatest hits of each movement, I explain my own beliefs about and participation in each movement from the sixties until today. These movements changed me as much as they did the country.
What this book means to me
Many of you already know that I have often said that if I hadn’t become a basketball player, I probably would have become a history teacher. It’s not just the facts of history that interest me but I’m also fascinated by how history is used to manipulate people. By omitting people from history, a society diminishes them as unworthy of being equals in that society. People in power have been doing that for thousands of years.
In America, we’ve done that with Irish, Catholics, Blacks, women, Jews, Latinos, LGBTQ+, and others. Not just in the past. Last week, in compliance with Trump’s flurry of executive orders, federal agencies ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and other “special observances.” Our schools are being directed to not teach about the horrors of slavery or the massacre of Native Americans because it might make White students uncomfortable. History is supposed to make us uncomfortable to keep us from repeating our mistakes. Yet, books about these histories are being banned in schools across the nation. The message is clear: These people aren’t worth recognizing, despite the abuse we visited upon them in the past. So, let’s heap on even more abuse.
I’ve written numerous history books and articles that highlight the overlooked accomplishments of people of color, women, and other marginalized people to not let their lives be denigrated through omission. This book is a continuation of that mission because those who kick off mass protest movements are usually marginalized.
What this book means today
If headlines from the past week are any indication, the next four years will probably see more protest gatherings than in the sixties: “Protesters in cities across the US rally against Trump’s policies, Project 2025 and Elon Musk,” “Thousands across the U.S. protest Trump policies.” “Protesters denounce Trump immigration policies outside his Florida golf club.”
If history is any guide, the demonstrations will begin at the grassroots level, among students and the disenfranchised. Mainstream America will be resistant at first, dismissing protestors as malcontents. But as our rights continue to diminish, and as the economic, social, and political impact of Trump’s implementing the Christian nationalist agenda of Project 2025 hits mainstream Americans, they will join the protests in vast numbers.
Or they won’t do anything at all.
We’ll see.
Preorder We All Want to Save the World:
Click the button below to preorder both books. Preordering locks in the lowest possible price and it also gives the publisher an idea of how many books to print. The more preorders, the larger the print run. So, don’t wait!
This Week in Something to Protest About
Trump signs executive order to establish a White House Faith Office (PBS)
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to establish the White House Faith Office as part of the Domestic Policy Council.
The order renames the existing White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The order says the new office will consult with faith leaders on topics including “defending religious liberty” and the promotion of adoption and foster care programs.
It will advise on policy implementations throughout the federal government and help faith-based organizations procure government grants, among other responsibilities.
Trump said Thursday that he wants to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the U.S., announcing that he was forming a task force led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the “targeting” of Christians.
Speaking at a pair of events in Washington surrounding the the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump said the task force would be directed to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies.”
MY TAKE: Trump and the GOP’s anti-DEI rampage was about eliminating what they considered special treatment. Now, they are promoting special treatment for Christians, even though according to an average of all 2023 Gallup polling, 68% of Americans identify with a Christian religion, including 33% who are Protestant, 22% Catholic, and 13% who identify with another Christian religion or simply as a “Christian.” (Only 7% percent identify with a non-Christian religion, including 2% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim, and 1% Buddhist, among others. Another 22% said they have no religious preference, and 3% did not answer the question.)
Then Trump made the most frightening statement: He said that he believes people “can’t be happy without religion, without that belief. Let’s bring religion back. Let’s bring God back into our lives.” Of course, he doesn’t mean God, he means Christianity.
Whether you’re religious or not, whether you want people to embrace a religion or not, the idea of the federal government forcing religion (particularly one religion) on Americans is not only against the U.S. Constitution, it’s a form of Thought Police, intimidating people to profess beliefs out of fear rather than conviction.
The Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and head of the Interfaith Alliance, does not agree with the formation of a faith office. He accused Trump of hypocrisy: “From allowing immigration raids in churches, to targeting faith-based charities, to suppressing religious diversity, the Trump Administration’s aggressive government overreach is infringing on religious freedom in a way we haven’t seen for generations.”
One of the leaders of this new religious office is Paula White-Cain, an evangelical pastor who declares that going against Trump is going against God, speaks in tongues and declares Black Lives Matter as demonic. In the video above, she claims that our leaders (she says “kings”) are put in place by God, which means we are obligated to support them. Doesn’t that mean Biden and Obama were put there by God? And Putin, Hitler, and Mussolini?
Ponder the absurdity of creating an official office to protect the majority of people, a group that is not being discriminated against, but that has members who proudly discriminate against others. This is not about actual Christianity but about people who use Christianity as a shield to marginalize others: to ban books, to take away women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. To attack immigrants, Muslims, and Jews.
This office is merely Trump, maybe the most unChristian president ever, telling his followers that he will be fighting for Christian nationalism. Not out of conviction for their beliefs, but to consolidate his political power. Unfortunately, they don’t really care why he’s doing it as long as he does it.
FYI: Meanwhile, Musk has threatened to end funding for Lutheran organizations which he accuses of money laundering (“Musk threatens to pull federal funding from Lutheran Social Services”). So far, he has offered no proof, just the usual rants on X. One threatened group, Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio, provides health care for people who are homeless, runs a homeless shelter, and offers support to victims of domestic violence among other services.
Whether his accusations are true or false isn’t the point right now. He has made public accusations against the integrity of groups without presenting evidence. (Has Musk ever offered any evidence to support any opinion he has?) He has threatened their existence. Usually, before such damaging pronouncements are made public, there is a legitimate investigation over some time to ensure the accuracy of such claims. That is no longer the case in Musk/Trump’s (Mump’s?) America.
Trump says Palestinians wouldn't be allowed back into Gaza under his plan (NBC)
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump said Palestinians wouldn't be permitted to return to the Gaza Strip as part of his plan for the United States to take ownership of the war-torn territory.
In a taped interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, a clip of which was released Monday, Trump was asked about his proposal to "own" and rebuild Gaza, first announced last week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House.
"We'll build beautiful communities for the 1.9 million people. We'll build beautiful communities, safe communities — could be five, six, could be two, but we'll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is," Trump said in the interview, a portion of which aired before the Super Bowl on Sunday. More clips from the interview will air Monday night.
Trump continued, "In the meantime, I would own this — think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land."
Asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to the land, Trump said, "No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing, much better."
MY TAKE: Everything about this plan is frightening. We are destabilizing a delicate balance in the Middle East that involves a lot of countries. We are forcing our allies to do our bidding, which risks their allegiance to us. We are reverting to the colonialism of the past when Great Britain, Portugal, and Spain built vast empires by conquering countries around the world and installing their governments. Where are all those empires now? Trump and his cronies have never read a history book, which makes them like self-proclaimed surgeons about to perform heart surgery without ever having studied medicine. Unfortunately, America is the patient.
The most frightening—and revealing—part of Trump’s statement was “I would own this,” indicating that he sees himself as the king of America—not the captain of the ship but its owner.
As for the over two million Palestinians who have been living in the Gaza Strip? Trump said, “I envision the world people living there, the world’s people. You’ll make that into an international unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable,” and it could be “the Riviera of the Middle East.” Trump is trying to force Jordan and Egypt into accepting the Palestinians by threatening to cut off our aid money. However, both countries have declared they do not want to take in the refugees because they think it will expand the war into their countries. Jordan already has two million Palestinians, 20% of their population.
An official with the UN responded: “President Trump has basically declared his intention to commit the int’l crime of forced displacement and resort to unlawful use of force against the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, in violation of the UN Charter — amounting to aggression. The 191 members of the UN who still have an interest in protecting themselves from this madness, better recover from their paralysis and stand united against this imperialist lawlessness.”
The U.S. goes into someone else’s homeland, demands they get out, and proclaims its intention to “own” their land where it will build a resort these people will not be able to afford to even visit. How are we not the bad guys in this scenario? Didn’t we already do this with Native Americans? Are we incapable of seeing how this will all play out? Trump doesn’t care about the repercussions because he figures he’ll be dead when it all blows up.
The issue isn’t how bad the living conditions in Gaza are, but what the residents want to do. If they want to leave or stay and rebuild should be their choice. When hurricanes, tornadoes, or wildfires destroy a community in the U.S., we don’t move them to other states. They choose their own response.
In 1862 during the Civil War, Gen. Ulysses Grant (and future president) expelled all Jews from his military district in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi because he believed they were responsible for illicit trade in cotton. Although there were numerous non-Jewish traders, Grant singled out the Jewish traders because of his deep antisemitism. This is the kind of prejudice that forced the expulsion of Jews from various communities and made Israel so precious to them. Yet, this is the same discriminatory reasoning that Trump is using to expel Palestinians. One cannot champion Israel’s right to exist (which I do), without also championing Palestine’s right to exist (which I do). But Trump does not.
With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails (AP)
SUMMARY: In the first three weeks of his administration, President Donald Trump has moved with brazen haste to dismantle the federal government’s public integrity guardrails that he frequently tested during his first term but now seems intent on removing entirely.
In a span of hours on Monday, word came that he had forced out leaders of offices responsible for government ethics and whistleblower complaints. And in a boon to corporations, he ordered a pause to enforcement of a decades-old law that prohibits American companies from bribing foreign governments to win business. All of that came on top of the earlier late-night purge of more than a dozen inspectors general who are tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and abuse at government agencies.
It’s all being done with a stop-me-if-you-dare defiance by a president who the first time around felt hemmed in by watchdogs, lawyers and judges tasked with affirming good government and fair play. Now, he seems determined to break those constraints once and for all in a historically unprecedented flex of executive power.
“It’s the most corrupt start that we’ve ever seen in the history of the American presidency,” said Norm Eisen, a former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic who was a legal adviser to Democrats during Trump’s first impeachment.
MY TAKE: Ideally, we create a government that protects us from enemies within and without. Because wealthy business people have a history of exploiting people for their gain, we have government agencies to prevent that. Because workers have been exploited by being forced into dangerous conditions, we have agencies to protect them. Because faulty products have injured and killed people in the past, we have agencies to protect us. To Big Business, these agencies are a nuisance that cost them money. To the people who want to drink clean water and live where ground contamination doesn’t make their children sick, these agencies are life savers.
These protections are what Trump and Musk want to get rid of by weakening them to the point of ineffectiveness (“Trump Green-Lights Bribery and Corruption With New Executive Order”). How do you get rid of corruption? If you’re Trump and Musk, you destroy the institutions that monitor it. For example, the FAA fined Musk’s SpaceX $633,00 for alleged violations regarding two launches, then started an investigation after SpaceX’s Starship exploded in January. Now, Musk has virtual control of the FAA, which means no more fines or investigations.
Our only other hope for truth is the journalists from legitimate news platforms. However, Trump has sued some into submission, some billionaire owners were brought into his inner circle to shut them up, and others were intimidated by possible government action (“‘He’s become America’s assignment editor’: US media owners bend to Trump”). He has invited into the White House press corps numerous fringe bloggers and TikTokers with no journalistic background nor any history of unbiased reporting. This week, he kept an AP reporter from the Oval Office for not using “Gulf of America” (“The AP says Trump blocking its reporter from Oval Office over not using Gulf of America "violates the First Amendment").
When there’s no one to keep track of, corruption will appear to decline significantly. Look for the Trump administration bragging about the success of all of their programs because there will be no one to contradict them. They will declare themselves winners because there’s no one but them keeping score.
In 1838, 28-year-old Abraham Lincoln gave a speech before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois. The speech was his reaction to the burning death of a Black man by a mob in St. Louis a few weeks earlier. In his speech, he stated that “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” Donald Trump is proving to be this country’s finisher. He’s not the protector of the victim of the mob, he’s the leader of the mob lighting their torches.
Kareem’s Video Break
I was fascinated watching this raven using tools to get food that was stuck in a tube. Its cleverness, adaptability, and determination are amazing.
Kareem’s Sports Moments
I’m impressed just by her falling backward, let alone her acrobatics.
Kareem’s Jukebox Playlist
Billie Holiday: “Stormy Weather” (1933)
“Stormy Weather,” written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, made its debut at The Cotton Club in Harlem in 1933. Since then, the song has been performed by dozens of famous singers including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Etta James, and even Bob Dylan. The most famous version is probably from Lena Horne in the 1943 movie Stormy Weather, which featured numerous Black performers (see the clip from last week with Cab Calloway). I love Lena Horne’s version, maybe because I met her once and was enthralled by her grace and good nature.
Billie Holiday, nicknamed “Lady Day,” was an influential jazz and swing singer with a sound like no other vocalist. She’s probably as famous for the tragic events of her life that led to drug abuse and a short prison sentence. Prison did not dim her popularity and upon her release, she sang at a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert. She died of heart failure at the age of 44 in 1958. I was only eleven when she died, but her voice has been a constant companion my whole life. When she sings, I feel her profound loss of love, her anger and frustration at racism (“Strange Fruit”), but also her hopefulness about tomorrow (“What a Little Moonlight Can Do”). She should be on the soundtrack of everyone’s life.
The only people who can save America from fascism and committing crimes against humanity, without wrecking the world's economy, are congressional Republicans -- and they are onboard with fascism. It would take four Republicans caucusing with the Democrats to stop Trump. They don't exist.
Otherwise, foreign countries will have to block Trump with economic sanctions and some shock and awe of their own: accept Ukraine in the EU, eject the US from Nato, isolate the US economically, accept the pain of a severe recession.
People are frozen now, unable to accept that under Trump the US is the ally of Russia, China, North Korea and Hungary. And it is the enemy of the Constitution, democracy, and the world order.
Thank you for all you do, Kareem. Have pre-ordered one of the books and will add the other soon. Meanwhile, just want to share that preacher woman Paula has two divorces under her belt and is working on her third marriage. I, too, have had three husbands and many other lovers. But I don’t holler from the pulpit about how others should live, nor advise presidents on faith-based initiatives!