The Hump Day Hot Topics
Running off at the Android…
***Next week, the trial for Kyle Rittenhouse, the then 17-year-old Illinois boy who crossed state lines during a Social Justice uprising in Kenosha, Wisconsin and killed two protesters, will commence with jury selection.
This week, Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled that the late Anthony M. Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, the two men that Rittenhouse killed, cannot be called "victims" during the trial. What's worse is that the judge has also ruled that if the defense can produce evidence that the deceased were a part of the small corps of rioters who fomented the worse damage, that the defense may refer to them as "rioters" or "looters."
I have never watched or tried a single murder or attempted murder case where the deceased or injured were not referred to as "the victim" by the prosecution. In fact, I've never seen a victim not referred to as a victim in any of the tens of thousands of criminal cases that I participated in or observed.
While I cannot get deep into the mind of this judge and understand the real "why" behind his ruling, which he claims is typical, my instincts tell me that the advantage going into this trial is to the defense—and I would not be surprised if Rittenhouse doesn't get acquitted of murder.
Stay tuned...
***I am no fan of Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, as I'm sure most of my faithful readers have surmised by this point. But in as much as I have taken exception to his mishandling of the Coronavirus Pandemic and the sophistry that he purveys regarding Critical Race Theory, I actually give him credit for selecting two of my good friends and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Brothers, John Davis and Jamal Sowell, as Secretary of the Florida Lottery and Enterprise Florida, respectively.
But the credit that I've given Desantis for picking those two brilliant Nupes is sullied by his selection of Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, a man whose academic credentials are unquestionable—but whose judgment and analytical reasoning skills I definitely question.
As Dr. Ladapo made his rounds to speak to Florida Senators last week, he entered the office of Democratic State Sen. Tina Polsky without a mask and when Polsky, a breast cancer sufferer who is enduring rounds of chemotherapy that compromise her immune system, asked him to put on a mask, he refused and got downright indignant.
Yesterday, when speaking about the incident, Dr. Ladapo stated that he cannot “communicate clearly and effectively” with his face covered. Ladapo added, “Having a conversation with someone while wearing a mask is not something I find productive, especially when other options exist. It is important to me to communicate clearly and effectively with people. I can’t do that when half of my face is covered.”
Whatever dude…
After nearly two years of mask wearing, most of us are weary and would prefer not to mask up. But those of us with basic common sense and reasoning skills realize that by wearing a mask, we can protect not just ourselves, but others who could suffer irreparable harm if they ingest our germs.
One would think that a highly educated doctor would understand that, but book learning has never prevented a jackass from being a jackass and from Ladapo's tone deaf statement, he clearly qualifies as an arrogant, ornery, and stubborn jackass.
What's worse is that Dr. Ladapo flexed and acted a fool with a woman who is really ill; his arrogance and ignorance is our collective cross to bear because he is doing Gov. Desantis's bidding by seeking to diminish the serious threat that we all face from this deadly disease.
Once more, here's hoping that the next 12-months will move by quickly so that we can return Ronnie to the private sector and his old job as a Fox News contributor.
***I love football so much that on any given Sunday through Saturday, if a game is on television or being streamed, I don't care if it is Division III ball, I will watch it.
Now, my first college football love was the FAMU Rattlers, and I have enjoyed our first season in the Southwest Athletics Conference (SWAC) immensely. On social media, the trash talking between the Rattlers, Jackson State Tigers, Prairie View A&M Panthers, and Alcorn State Braves has been so pronounced that it makes the days between games fly by each week.
That said, as the success of FAMU Coach Willie Simmons and Jackson State Coach Deion Sanders in recruiting top ranked high school recruits and transfers grows, I realized after reading the latest results of the Athletics Directors Union's report of college football recruiting spending at the big Power Five schools like Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia, quite telling…the chart below is of the latest (2019) figures of the Top 20 football recruitment expenditures for FBS (D1) schools:
No, your eyes are not deceiving you as the dollars that these large PWI schools spend on football recruiting alone is nearly half (or more) of the ENTIRE budget for most of the top HBCU athletics departments, which typically hover between $5 million and $7 million dollars for ALL varsity sports! What's worse is that the chart comprises the "official" budgets, not the under the table recruiting money spent in years past—or the millions that college football players at these schools are now eligible to earn from private companies due to the "Name, Image, Likeness" legislation that the NCAA passed earlier this year.
In summary, the amount of money that the PWI powers are spending to recruit athletes, most of whom are Black boys coming from lower income backgrounds, reminds me that the successful landing of a few 4-star and 5-star recruits by Florida A&M, Jackson State, Prairie View, Alcorn, NC A&T, and Tennessee State, to name a few, that much more amazing!
But I also remind that HBCUs must remain true to their missions of bringing light to the masses of our people and while welcoming the top athletes who so desire to enroll, that they never lose sight by getting into an arms race with larger and better financed PWIs.
Thank you for reading the Hump Day Hot Topics—have a great evening!