Stevie Wonder & Andra Day Sing.. Mike Johnson Says: God Told Him He's the New Moses
Rudy Giuliani has to pay $148 Million for Lying. Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work But It's Still Rampant in the US, Liam Neeson Plays Santa and more...
On a Personal Note:
I haven’t had such an outpouring of love and well-wishing since I retired from the NBA. Thanks to all of you who sent me your best wishes. I also like that you showed your appreciation for me continuing to put out my Substack newsletter while getting used to my new hip. Honestly, it was as much for me as for you. I used to always have a basketball in my hands, now it’s a computer. As I mentioned last time, I’ll be going silent for a week for the holidays. Got children and grandchildren to see. Thanks for being such a supportive audience. I’ve loved every minute of our time together, whether I’m curating a song for you, or reading your comments to me. I’m looking forward to more of the same in the new year.
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Two quotes today about justice, one from MLK. This is a good time of year to ponder the issue.
Rudy Giuliani Ordered to Pay $148M to Georgia Poll Workers: Here’s hoping this is only the beginning of punishing those who would destroy democracy by committing election fraud.
Mike Johnson Sprains Integrity Trying to Backtrack: He was furiously against single-party impeachment—now he’s for it. If only it were shocking.
Mike Johnson Talks to God—and God Answers Back: In a closed-door meeting when Johnson thought there were no cameras, he confessed that God told him he was the new Moses. Only this time he’s leading Christians to take over the country.
Conversion Therapy Is Still Happening in Almost Every U.S. State: No evidence it works. Plenty of evidence that it does harm. Yet, there are over 1,300 conversion therapy providers, even in states where it’s illegal.
Kareem’s Video Break: Liam Neeson gives us the Santa who takes no tinsel from anybody. Hilarious.
Kareem’s Movie Masterpiece Vault: The Long Goodbye is Robert Altman’s moody but poetic interpretation of Raymond Chandler’s classic detective novel. It’s gritty, funny, and unpredictable.
Stevie Wonder & Andra Day Sing: They sing an updated version of Stevie’s 1967 “Someday at Christmas.” Their duet is the best Christmas present we could hope for.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King
The sword of justice has no scabbard.
Antione de Riveral
You get two quotes today because they are intimately interrelated. Like peanut butter and jelly. First, Dr. King’s quote is a variation of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer’s famous quote: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” This concept from both King and Hamer of freedom and justice being interdependent is so basic to any social justice movement that it’s shocking to me how overlooked it is in practical application.
The idea is simple: If you allow injustice in one neighborhood to exist, then you have no moral standing in insisting injustice in a different neighborhood be eradicated. The kind of thinking in which we are selective about injustice based on how much it affects us personally actually promotes injustice. For example, if one fights discrimination against Blacks but also encourages antisemitism, they are saying irrational discrimination is okay, therefore anti-Black sentiments are justified. That’s how they sabotage their own cause.
Of course, everyone who discriminates can find justification in holy books, conspiracy theories, history quacks, pseudo-science, and whatever else will confirm the bias they already held. The most powerful ally of injustice is ignorance. Unfortunately, those who are ignorance’s most devout practitioners are so clueless that they perpetuate their own downfall.
In general, people think they are smarter than they really are. This is called “illusory superiority.” Polls show that 65% of Americans believe they are smarter than the average person. The controversial Dunning-Kruger effect explains that people believe they are more competent than they really are. Many people believe they are good multi-taskers, but studies have shown this belief is an illusion. Our brains aren’t built to multi-task but that doesn’t stop us from convincing ourselves otherwise.
This delusional thinking is fertile ground for lazy thinking which is itself the main ingredient for bias which leads to injustice. This kind of self-congratulatory thought process often results when people who are successful or highly skilled in one area believe that their achievement makes them equally smart in another area. Having won basketball championships does not make me knowledgeable in politics, but having studied history and politics for 50 years does add weight to my opinion. Even so, I always question, research, and reexamine any conclusions I reach in case I am wrong.
If everyone were able to use logic and critical thinking, there would be no prejudice, no deliberate injustice. But we can’t, so ethnic groups who rant against the injustices done to them because of their ethnicity will continue to feel superior to other ethnicities. Even among some Black communities, there is a hierarchy based on lightness to darkness of skin.
That is why I included the second quote: “The sword of justice has no scabbard.” (Although, despite how much I like the quote, I couldn’t find any information on Antione de Riveral. Does anyone out there know him?) The quote is both a rallying cry and a sad commentary. It rallies us to never give up on fighting injustice. There will be setbacks and pushbacks, but the ultimate goal of universal human freedom and equality is worth the effort. It also warns us that this battle is long-term. Believe me, after 60 years of my own activism, I know that to be true.
I also know that you can’t expect to be treated with respect and dignity if you are unwilling to do so to others. Bigotry—however you rationalize it—begets more bigotry, hate, and violence. If you truly are smarter than average, you’d know this. But being smart isn’t just about knowing, it’s also about doing. Because smart people want to actually make the world better for everyone because that makes the world better for themselves.
Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay $148M to Georgia poll workers (The Washington Post)
SUMMARY: Rudy Giuliani must pay two Georgia poll workers who sued him for defamation $148 million after he falsely accused them of helping to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump.
The former New York mayor and ex-Trump lawyer has been on trial since Monday in federal court in Washington, where Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss filed a lawsuit against him asserting that his baseless claims in December 2020 destroyed their reputations and exposed them to a torrent of vicious threats and insults.
The eight-person jury was only required to weigh how much Giuliani should pay the women in damages after the federal judge in the case issued a default judgment against Giuliani in August based on his admissions and failure to turn over evidence in the case. Moss and Freeman had sought up to $47 million in damages.
MY TAKE: I hope this case is a crystal ball into the future of America, a future in which the greed and corruption of people in power are punished for taking an ax to the foundation of our country. Giuliani shares the same traits as others waiting in the bullpen to face justice. Trump, Steve Bannon, Mike Lindell, and the other conspirators are wealthy and therefore arrogantly believe that their money can bubblewrap them from the law. They think they can do or say whatever they want, even though they deliberately endanger average people.
This case is an attempt, not just to punish wrong-doing but to reclaim the legitimacy of American elections, faith in which is crucial for democracy to exist. That means that any attempt to knowingly undermine American elections is a direct threat to our country’s existence. That’s not hyperbole. Because of Trump’s gang of election deniers, 69% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents now believe President Biden was not legitimately elected. The worst part of that statistic is that no proof of significant election fraud has ever been offered. Not once. By anybody.
Mike Lindell tried to convince the public that China had manipulated voting machines to elect Biden. Evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence showed that China and Russia preferred Trump, and used bot farms to influence the election for him. Also, Lindell was so arrogant that he offered a $5 million prize to anyone who could disprove his “proof.” When some did just that, Lindell refused to pay them. However, three arbitrators ruled that Lindell had been proven wrong and he had to pay. Just as Fox had to pay $787.5 million over their false election claims.
Election-denying Republicans have convinced a substantial number of people that our election system doesn’t work just because they lost. They just can’t fathom that a majority of the country doesn’t agree with their politics or social stances. A party with a large majority that holds a belief dangerous to our country, without any proof, poses an existential threat to democracy. These are not people with the capacity to make decisions regarding our future. Worse are the grifters who persuaded them to further their own careers.
The $148 million is a good start. But fines aren’t enough punishment to announce to all political parties that election interference isn’t acceptable. The January insurrectionists did less damage to the country than these white-collar insurrectionists, yet they got prison time while these rich posers continued the abusive relationship they had with Republicans. My New Year’s wish? Prison for all of them.
FYI Update: Giuliani is being sued again by the same women because he continued to defame them after the judgement. The judge, fearing, Giuliani would try to hide his assets, declared he had to pay them right away. The next day, Giuliani declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, though that does not let him off the hook for what he owes in this case.