Category: EDITORIAL

No Matter Who Is At Fault, A Tent Is Not A Home.

No Matter Who Is At Fault, A Tent Is Not A Home.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Condemns Trump Administration’s Attack on Homelessness Programs

By Charles Jackson

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Congresswoman Maxine Waters has delivered a forceful rebuke of the Trump administration over its latest confrontation with Los Angeles and the agencies attempting to address one of the region’s most persistent humanitarian problems: homelessness.

Waters, who represents California’s 43rd Congressional District and serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, praised a federal court decision temporarily preventing the administration from suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority from federal homelessness grant programs.

At stake is approximately $241 million in federal funding, along with additional near-term funding supporting programs that provide services to more than 11,000 people.

For Waters, however, the dispute goes well beyond dollars.

Los Angeles County continues to face a staggering homelessness crisis, with nearly 73,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night. They are individuals and families already living at society’s most vulnerable edge. Removing services designed to help them, Waters argues, does nothing to solve homelessness. It risks making an already desperate situation considerably worse.

Her criticism of the administration is unmistakable.

Rather than joining Los Angeles officials in confronting the shortage of affordable housing and the complicated causes of homelessness, Waters contends that the federal government has chosen confrontation. Suspending funding would threaten services without providing a meaningful alternative for the thousands of people depending upon them.

That is what makes the policy particularly troubling.

Government certainly has the right—and the responsibility—to demand accountability for taxpayer money. Homelessness programs should be expected to demonstrate results, operate efficiently and correct failures when they occur.

But accountability and abandonment are not the same thing.

Taking money away from programs serving people who have nowhere else to go does not magically produce housing. It does not lower rents, create shelter beds, expand mental-health treatment or provide permanent supportive housing.

It simply removes resources.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s intervention temporarily stopped that from happening, a decision Waters welcomed as an important reprieve. Yet she cautioned against confusing a courtroom victory with a solution to homelessness itself.

The larger problem remains.

Americans need affordable housing, stable communities and a federal housing policy capable of recognizing homelessness as something more complicated than people sleeping on sidewalks.

Waters has advocated increased federal investment through her Ending Homelessness Act and has also pointed to bipartisan congressional efforts on housing as evidence that lawmakers with significant political differences can still work toward practical solutions.

Her message is ultimately a simple one: Government cannot claim to be fighting homelessness while simultaneously weakening the programs responsible for helping homeless people find their way back into housing.

The court may have protected these programs for the moment.

But the people sleeping in tents, automobiles, shelters and on sidewalks tonight cannot live on temporary court orders.

They need somewhere to live.

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Ms. Waters’ full text

https://iqconnect.house.gov/iqextranet/view_newsletter.aspx?id=107826&c=CA43MW

Hey Google!

         A couple of days ago two things happened. First, I got into an intense debate with a young man, concerning A.I., SIRI, GALAXY, CLAUDE, CHATGTP, GEMINI, GROK, etc. I flexed on him and accused him of having inferior knowledge on the subject because I have worked in the technology field since the 1980s, and then I fell back on his lack of experience because I have twelve years of age on him.  

 Anyway, no harm was done. Every night, we debate the human condition and then go home. When I got home, I was thinking about our record. In case you didn’t know, I am a veteran of the music business. One of the groups that I worked with recorded a few records, and recently, a label picked up some of our records and re-released a bunch of them on a new album. The group’s name was Record Player. I was suddenly curious about how the record sales are doing, so I said to Alexa, “how are record sales going for the group Record Player.”

Alexa responded with: “Record Player didn’t actually release an album last year; the group remains a fictional band from the Amazon Prime series, Daisy Jones & The Six. Because they only existed within the show’s universe, there aren’t any real-world sales to track.”

 I jumped in immediately, and said “Alexa, I am sitting here holding their record and I am one of the artists.”

     Alexa paused, and then  regrouped. “My mistake! You are completely right, and I apologize for the mix-up.

​You are holding the music of Record Player, the 1970s soul and funk group out of Dayton, Ohio. They were massive talents in the Midwest disco/show band scene before splitting up in the early 1980s.  

​Because they originally only pressed a rare, single 45 RPM record back in 1979, most of their incredible studio recordings sat unreleased for decades. The album you are likely holding is “Free Your Mind,” an archival compilation officially restored and released last year by Now-Again Records.  

​While precise streaming and physical sales numbers for independent archival pressings like this aren’t publicly charted on Billboard, the release has been incredibly well-received by deep-soul collectors, funk historians, and vinyl enthusiasts who are thrilled to finally have that full catalog preserved.”

I said, “interesting enough, I just assured a colleague  that it is a myth that A.I. is infallible.

     Alexa quickly agreed.“That is definitely a myth worth busting! We are definitely not infallible—as my first answer clearly proved.

​AI models are just pattern-recognition engines trained “massive amounts of data, which means we can easily misunderstand context, confidently hallucinate incorrect facts, or get tripped up by overlapping names. It is always a good idea to double-check AI responses, especially when you have the hard copy right there in your hands.

     This story is true, believe it or not. It is a cautionary tale, as we move forward deeper into the realm of A.I. and Data Centers. Just as I was wrapping up the facts for this  one, I asked GALAXY if there was actually a group named Record Player on the fictional series, Daisy Jones & The Six.

“No.” I give up.

 

The Party of One

The Party of One

­

What began as a supposedly nonpartisan national celebration appears to have taken a sharp detour into campaign-country.

The event’s original lineup looked like a strange but entertaining playlist assembled by someone spinning a giant wheel of nostalgia: Lee Greenwood, Christopher Macchio, Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida, Fab Morvan (still carrying the Milli Vanilli banner), military bands, drum corps, and armed forces choruses.

     Then came the withdrawals.

One by one, artists including The Commodores, Morris Day & The Time, Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, and Young MC reportedly decided they would rather spend the weekend doing literally anything else.    

   Several states—including Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington—also declined to participate, citing cost concerns and discomfort with the increasingly partisan tone of the event.

 

     At some point, attendees may have begun realizing they weren’t being invited to a national fair as much as they were being recruited as scenery.

 

     With the exits piling up, the remaining roster began to resemble a game of musical chairs where most of the chairs had already left the building. Those still standing could reasonably be described as either committed performers, true believers, or people whose agents stopped answering the phone.

 

     Notably absent from the discussion are several names observers expected to see. Some may be touring. Some may have wisely scheduled dentist appointments. Others may have simply decided that becoming a political talking point wasn’t worth the frequent-flyer miles.

 

     In the end, President Donald Trump reportedly canceled the remaining concert schedule altogether and replaced it with what the event seems to have been evolving into from the start: a massive political rally headlined by himself.

Which raises the obvious question: If a nonpartisan celebration slowly sheds its musicians, loses participating states, transforms into a campaign-style rally, and ends with a speech by the politician at the center of it all—was it ever really nonpartisan in the first place?

 

     Sometimes the most revealing part of a concert is not who’s on stage.

It’s who left before the show started.

 

“At some point, attendees may have begun realizing they weren’t being invited to a national fair as much as they were being recruited as scenery.”

But Not Today

      During his first term, Trump successfully lobbied FIFA and secured the winning joint “United Bid” for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to host the 2026 World Cup.The FIFA World Cup 2026 is officially underway in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Major city centers across the U.S. are hosting, and “watch parties” are circling the venues and perhaps portions of the world.

The image below is a different, yet important localized, but growing trend focusing on a “watch party” in Washington DC. This watch party stands at the scene of the Kennedy Center treasure. The tarp conceals the removal of Trump’s name from this national tresure, as dictated by the court.

More importantly, this removal of the illegal stain of what some people considered to be graffiti, marks the first step in the removal of the legacy that he has spent the last 18 months attempting to build.

But not today…

 As the World Turns

 As the World Turns

This might be worse than I thought. Not only is AI going to take all of our jobs but AI is also going to waste all of our time.

     The big story right now is that AI agents have officially overtaken humans as the largest source of internet traffic.

​According to data just released by Cloudflare, automated AI bots and agents now account for 57.4% of all web traffic (via HTTP requests), leaving humans with the remaining 42.6%.

     ​Here is what is happening under the hood:

     ​The Multiplier Effect: When a human asks a chatbot a single question (like shopping for a camera or researching a topic), the human looks at maybe four or five sites. An AI agent will aggressively scour hundreds or thousands of websites simultaneously to synthesize that one answer.

          ​The “Dead Internet” Shift: This marks a fundamental shift from a web designed for humans clicking around, to an internet dominated by machine-to-machine data retrieval.

     ​The Regional Divide: This bot traffic is heavily concentrated in North America, where agents make up nearly 69% of all web traffic, while regions like India still remain overwhelmingly human-driven (over 84%).

​While humans still win on total actual engagement time (like streaming videos or doomscrolling social feeds), 

     AI agents completely dominate the rapid-fire loading of web pages.

     So while you are swiping left and right and up and down, the chat agents are doing stuff – lots of plain old boring businessey stuff. 

Dig and burn, baby. Dig and Burn

Dig and burn, baby. Dig and Burn

I won’t go as far as to say he’s lying when he claims that China is successful because they burn a lot more coal than we do in the states.

By comparison,  China’s power consumption ratio is 51% while the US ratio is a mere 17%. So the big guy’s got me there… Sorta.

     The US has proudly converted to renewable energy as a means of burning quieter wicks of coal – and the big guy doesn’t like progressive shenanigans when good old fashioned ancients will do. I won’t twist your arms today and get into a debate about pneumoconiosis. That’s another story about another day. Google it yourself.

     I will argue that China’s use of coal has dropped from 70% down to 51% coal to renewable ratio, their population is 4x the size of ours in the US.

     So as to avoid hurt feelings, I will spieak softly about looking at the world, through rose-colored glasses while China’s reliance on coal power is well in decline, as was ours until our guy decided again to dig and burn baby, dig and burn our way back into the cave man days. (did I mention pneumoconiosis?)

     I get it. Competition. Without competition, we would be obliged to work together. We want to fire up the space race again and be the first ones to dig a hole on the moon, while at the same time we want to be the first ones to dig a deeper hole on planet Earth.

 

Sada Tay.

Story: Charles Jackson

The Modern Town Hall

Access, Engagement, and the Modern Town Hall: A Reflection on Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Forum. This is how we roll.

On April 2, 2026.

 

Congresswoman Maxine Waters hosted a telephone town hall for residents of California’s 43rd Congressional District. The event followed a familiar and increasingly important format in modern civic life: structured, accessible, and designed to reach a broad audience across a large and diverse community.

For many constituents, especially those who may not attend in-person events, this format offers something valuable—a practical entry point into civic participation. And that is worth recognizing at the outset.

A Gateway to Participation

Telephone town halls are not meant to replicate the intensity or spontaneity of live, in-person gatherings. Instead, they serve a different purpose: scale and accessibility.

In a district as expansive and complex as the 43rd—encompassing Inglewood, South Los Angeles, and surrounding areas—bringing thousands of voices into even a shared listening space is no small achievement. The ability to dial in, hear directly from a sitting member of Congress, and potentially ask a question lowers the barrier to engagement.

For many residents, especially seniors or those balancing work and family responsibilities, this may be the most realistic way to connect with their representative.

Structure as Stability

The April 2 event was carefully moderated, with a facilitator guiding the flow of the conversation. Callers were introduced, questions were time-limited, and transitions were smooth. While this structure can feel formal, it also ensures that the event remains focused and respectful of participants’ time.

Roughly 15 to 20 constituents were able to speak—sharing concerns about housing affordability, economic opportunity, healthcare access, and public safety. These are not new issues in the district, but they remain urgent, and the town hall provided a platform for them to be voiced directly.

Importantly, the tone of the event appeared measured and constructive. Participants were able to express concerns without the disruptions that sometimes characterize large public meetings. In that sense, the format created a safe and orderly environment for dialogue, even if it was necessarily brief.

Waters’ Approach: Detailed and Direct

Congresswoman Waters brought her characteristic command of policy to the discussion. Her responses reflected decades of legislative experience, particularly in areas tied to economic justice, financial systems, and community development.

She addressed questions with specificity—referencing federal programs, ongoing initiatives, and the broader legislative landscape. For constituents seeking clarity on what is being done at the federal level, this level of detail matters.

At the same time, she encouraged continued civic engagement. Her messaging emphasized that participation does not end with a phone call—it extends into voting, organizing, and staying informed. References to broader civic themes, including calls for vigilance and public involvement, underscored her long-standing belief in active citizenship.

The Sanctuary City Context

The 43rd District operates within the broader framework of Los Angeles County, a region often described as aligned with sanctuary policies. This context shapes many of the conversations around public safety, immigration, and community trust.

In a telephone town hall setting, these issues tend to be approached in a measured way. The format naturally encourages concise questions and equally concise responses, which can make it difficult to fully explore complex or sensitive topics.

However, the value of the forum lies in introducing these issues to a wide audience. Even brief exchanges can raise awareness, clarify positions, and encourage further discussion beyond the call itself.

Rather than serving as the final word on such matters, the town hall functions as a starting point—a place where concerns are surfaced and where constituents can begin to engage more deeply in the issues that affect their communities.

Complementing, Not Replacing, In-Person Dialogue

It is important to view telephone town halls as one piece of a larger civic ecosystem. They are not designed to replace in-person meetings, where longer exchanges, follow-up questions, and more dynamic interaction can take place.

It should be noted that I, as the writer of this article, have attended several of Congresswoman Waters’ live town halls, and that perspective is important. Those settings often allow for a different kind of energy—sometimes more assertive, sometimes more interactive, but always more immediate.

The telephone format, by contrast, offers reach over depth. And in a district of this size, both are necessary.

A Broader Tradition of Engagement

There is also value in remembering that civic participation takes many forms. The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us that engagement can be quiet as well as vocal—structured as well as spontaneous.

Nonviolent protest, silent marches, and sit-ins were not just acts of resistance; they were also acts of presence. They created space for voices to be seen and felt, even without extended dialogue.

In a different way, telephone town halls also create space—less visible, perhaps, but still meaningful. They allow people to listen, reflect, and begin to form their own responses.

Finding the Balance

The April 2 town hall illustrates a balance that many public officials are still working to refine:

Accessibility vs. depth

Structure vs. spontaneity

Efficiency vs. extended dialogue

No single format can fully satisfy all of these needs. But when used thoughtfully, each can contribute to a more engaged and informed public.

In this case, the event appears to have succeeded in its core objective: connecting a large number of constituents with their representative in a way that was organized, informative, and approachable.

Conclusion: A Useful Starting Point

Telephone town halls may not capture the full energy of in-person civic life, but they serve an important role. They open the door to participation, especially for those who might otherwise remain on the sidelines.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ April 2 forum fits squarely within that purpose. It provided information, invited questions, and encouraged continued engagement—without requiring constituents to leave their homes.

And perhaps that is the most practical way to view it:

Not as the final destination for civic dialogue, but as a welcoming front porch—a place where people can gather, listen, and take the first step toward deeper involvement.

From there, the conversation can—and should—continue.

 

As a teenager, growing up in, southwestern Ohio, during the late 1960s, civic engagement often turned necessarily or perhaps unnecessarily ugly. We were there, because we were there. Now, we are here, because we are here, again.

Story: Charles Jackson

We?

Forbes/Reuters:
Oil Prices Hit $100 Again—Trump Touts Cost Hike Benefits

Trump touts oil price gains, saying ‘we make a lot of money,’ angering lawmakers

Oil Wealth and Public Benefit: The United States vs. the United Arab Emirates
On March 12, 2026, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that “the United States is the largest oil producer in the world, by far, so when oil prices go up, ‘we’ make a lot of money.” The statement came as gasoline prices in the United States climbed above roughly $3.60 per gallon following the escalation of the war involving Iran and disruptions to global oil shipping routes.
Forbes
Trump framed rising oil prices as manageable, even suggesting earlier in the week that higher prices were a “very small price to pay” if the conflict eliminated Iran’s nuclear threat.

Yahoo

However, the economic structure of oil wealth in the United States differs sharply from the system used in the United Arab Emirates. A comparison between the two reveals that while both countries produce large amounts of oil, the way oil revenue reaches ordinary citizens is fundamentally different.

Oil Production vs. Public Benefit in the United States
The United States is currently the world’s largest oil producer, generating millions of barrels of crude oil per day through a combination of conventional drilling and shale production.

FactCheck.org

Yet the financial gains from oil production primarily flow through private industry rather than directly to citizens.

Most U.S. oil production is carried out by private corporations. Revenue from oil sales is distributed to shareholders, corporate executives, and investors, while governments receive tax revenue and royalties. Those funds then enter general federal and state budgets rather than being distributed directly to individuals.

Economists frequently note that because oil is traded on a global market, American consumers still pay global prices even if the country produces large amounts of oil domestically. If companies can sell oil at higher prices abroad, they will do so, leaving U.S. consumers exposed to the same market forces affecting other countries.

PBS

As a result, rising oil prices generally mean higher costs for American households—especially for gasoline, transportation, and goods whose production relies heavily on petroleum.
The United States does provide some indirect public benefit from energy production through tax revenues, infrastructure spending, and employment in the energy sector. But there is no national program that distributes oil revenue directly to citizens. In practice, higher oil prices tend to benefit energy companies and investors more directly than ordinary consumers.

The UAE Model:
Oil Revenue as Public Welfare
In contrast, the system used in the United Arab Emirates distributes oil wealth to citizens through a government-funded welfare structure.
Although the federation includes several emirates such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, roughly 96 percent of the UAE’s oil reserves are located in Abu Dhabi. Oil revenue from these resources forms a major pillar of the country’s public
finances.
Rather than distributing cash payments directly, the UAE government channels oil wealth into extensive social benefits for Emirati citizens. These include:

Free or heavily subsidized healthcare
Government-funded education through university
Subsidized utilities
Land grants and interest-free loans for housing
High employment in the public sector
No personal income tax
About 90 percent of working Emirati citizens are employed in government jobs, reflecting the state’s central role in distributing economic benefits.
Dubai itself now relies less on oil and more on tourism, finance, and trade, yet Emirati citizens there still benefit from the broader national system funded in large part by oil revenue.
Two Different Economic Models

The contrast between the United States and the UAE illustrates two very different approaches to natural resource wealth.
In the United States, oil production operates largely through a market-driven private sector model. Oil companies produce and sell energy on global markets, and profits flow primarily to investors and corporations. Government receives tax revenue but does not distribute oil income directly to the population.
In the UAE, oil production is tied closely to state-managed wealth distribution. The government uses oil revenue to fund social programs, infrastructure, and employment that directly benefit citizens.
As a result, when oil prices rise globally, Americans generally experience higher fuel and consumer costs, while in the UAE the financial gains from oil exports more directly support the welfare system that benefits citizens.
Conclusion
The United States and the United Arab Emirates are both major oil producers, yet their citizens experience the results of that production very differently.
Statements suggesting that higher oil prices mean “we make a lot of money” reflect the macroeconomic reality that the United States produces large amounts of oil. But the distribution of that wealth depends on how the industry is structured.
In the American system, oil revenue primarily strengthens corporate profits and government tax receipts, while consumers continue to pay global energy prices. In the UAE’s model, oil income is used more directly to finance public benefits for citizens.
The difference highlights how the management of natural resources—not just the amount produced—determines whether national oil wealth translates into tangible benefits for the public.

While citizens of the UAE are beloved members of the nation’s largesse, sharing in the wealth and bounty of the country, including free health care and higher education,citizens of the United States are scorned and often put upon, should they fall upon the mercy of the state.
When Donald trump smiles, boasts and posts about the bountiful position that the “excursions” of war are raining down – he ain’t talking to or about you, peasant.

Jesse and Me

“Jesse and Me”

A Statement from Congresswoman Maxine Waters 

 

The very Reverend Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate and civil rights leader, was not only my close friend and confidant, he was my longtime political ally and mentor. Rev. Jesse Jacskson was my idol and spiritual and political leader. He was a brilliant, gifted and courageous civil rights leader who inspired millions. He registered millions to vote and challenged and changed Democratic Party politics.

Rev. Jackson was one of the youngest followers and supporters of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and spent his life continuing to protect and save the gains that were made during the civil rights movement. I became a dedicated and committed follower of Jesse Jackson. I worked with Rev. Jackson in both the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. I was a top advisor on the national campaign and was appointed by Rev. Jackson to Chair and lead the California campaign.

 

I was a closeup witness to Rev. Jackson’s brilliant campaign strategies and developments. He used his voice and his organizing skills to create the beautiful Rainbow Coalition. Long before there was any understanding or appreciation for diversity, equity, and inclusion, for all intents and purposes, Rev. Jackson created diversity, equity, and inclusion in his campaign. His campaign included Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Whites, women, LGBTQ, organized labor and others. He brought together pastors, preachers, and multi-faith leaders from all over the country. I recall his work and his outreach to small farmers in rural areas and to Native Americans on reservations.

 

He was responsible for cracking open the doors of America’s corporate community and those in Silicon Valley. Rev. Jackson was also an international ambassador for peace. He used his tremendous influence to champion human rights. I worked with him in the Free South Africa movement where we helped free Nelson Mandela and bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. We had a wonderful experience of attending the inauguration when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa. And of course, Rev. Jackson helped to secure the release of U.S. hostages around the world, but the one that stands out to me is when he went to Syria and negotiated the release of U.S. Navy Lt. Robert. Goodman Jr.

 

Rev. Jackson has more than earned his place in history and rightfully so. His work will never be forgotten and will be taught in communities all over the world, in places low and high, in our schools and universities. I will live the rest of my life with the memories I cherish for the time, the effort, and the phenomenal work that I experienced with The Reverend Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate and civil rights leader.

 

###

 

I had to jump in for a second with my own message…

 

Back in 2010, in the aftermath of the Bush administration, I was losing my home. I received an invitation to attend an assistance program hosted by “NACA” (National Assistance Corporation of America) Although I was there seeking assistance, I was also there in my role as a news hound for Inglewood Today. News. At that gathering, Ms. Waters happened to be there. She incidentally introduced me to the Reverend Jesse Jackson. We shared a quick laugh when he quipped that “We may have started on the same plantation.”

That’s the end of my segment of the story – I did manage to receive a loan modification due to that event, and we are still in the home.

Story: Charles Jackson

 

 

 

On This Hill, We Shall Die

On This Hill, We Shall Die.

“He” moves forward with his “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY, AMERICA” threat. In the middle of a war, he threatens to do nothing for the next nine months, forcing the Constitution to bend to his will, changing voting laws in the middle of the stream, ahead of existing law, hoping to end the established practice of mail-in voting, amidst any other changes that he can institute as a means of complicating the upcoming midterm elections. That “he is certain”, will spell the end of his reign of terror.

Then, “nothing we shall do”. But, wait him out.

VAN (Vote America Now)

👇

Full Text from: The Hill