Paris Dennard is a partisan lickspittle frackhole. He’s a disgrace to everyone, particularly black people.
Let’s just understand that point up front. But even with that established as our baseline, this particular deluded rant he generated while attempting to defend Trump’s tweet attack on Jay-Z is still several cuts below the belt.
Here is exactly what Jones said to Jay-Z during his show on Saturday:
"You treat people like human beings. That's the main point," he said. "It goes back to the whole thing -- 'Treat me really bad and pay me well.' It's not going to lead to happiness, it's going to lead to, again, the same thing. Everyone's going to be sick."
To which Trump responded —
Which is almost literally word for word what Jones had just told him, and to which he was responding. It’s almost literally like a game of…
“What’s the name of the First Baseman?
Who’s on First.
Who?
Yeah, Who.
What’s his name?
‘What’ is on Second Base, ‘Who’ is on First.
I don’t know!
He’s on Third.”
So did you know Black unemployment is the lowest ever? Yeah, but money can’t buy you happiness, So, did you know that Black unemployment is the lowest yet?
Anway, here’s the relevant video.
So the point that Jay-Z already understood that unemployment is low is well established, and that Trump’s response to him from flatly ridiculous. Not to mention the simple truth that Trump’s policies have nothing to do with the unemployment rate.
The downward rate in unemployment did not start with Trump, in fact it actually hasn't changed in rate at all since Obama initially turned around the economy back in 2009. Also it should be noted that during Obama’s year the unemployment rate for black people was falling at an average rate of 1.9%, but during Trump it’s only half that at 1%. But the real problems that he’s also done nothing to reduce the gap that continues to exists between unemployment rates for black (6.8%) and whites (3.7%), which admittedly has always been there — and we all know why — but it’s not like Trump’s gonna fix that problem now is he?
And then there’s the Black/White wage gap.
Panels C and D show the wages earned by black and white men and women. The lines plot real average hourly earnings, which are usual weekly earnings divided by usual weekly hours worked adjusted for inflation using the personal consumption expenditures price index. Starting with men, panel C shows a sizable gap between the earnings of blacks and whites that has risen over time. In 1979, the average black man in America earned about 80% of the average white man ($15 versus $19 per hour). By 2016, this gap had grown such that the average black male worker earned just 70% of the hourly wage of the average white male worker. The data for women (panel D) show a similar pattern. In 1979, the average black woman earned about 95% of the average white woman. But nearly continuous divergence in earnings since that time has opened a more sizable gap; in 2016, the average black woman earned about 82% of what the average white woman earned. Wilson and Rodgers (2016) find similar trends in widening black-white earnings gaps.
Nor is he going to work on the Black/White wealth gap.
In absolute terms, the median white household had $111,146 in wealth holdings in 2011, compared to $7,113 for the median black household and $8,348 for the median Latino household. (All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation.)
So even if there was no Black/White unemployment gap, the wage and wealth gap would still persist, both of which show that black people still falling further and further behind economically, let alone the issue Jay Z was addressing which is feeling insulted and demeaned by your own country.
The same general trend we see since the beginning of Obama’s first term on unemployment is true for the rise in the stock market.
Again the stock market began it’s current upward rise in 2009 — not in 2017.
Also as much as Trump like to tout that the GDP has been the “greatest evah!” it’s really not, and actually in this current month it’s dropped below 3% back down to 2.6% growth rate which is less than at least 3 previous periods under Obama over last 3 years.
Also after the Deficit declined by 900 Billion under Obama between 2009-2015 it Is growing again — going from just over $400 Billion up to almost $700 Billion this year.
And this doesn’t yet show the impact of Trump Tax cuts which are certain to only make the deficit and debt far worse.
Trump likes to trumpet that his tax cuts have increased wages, but in fact only 2% of working adults report that they have received a raise since the tax cut bill passed.
Two percent of U.S. adults said they had gotten a raise, bonus or other additional benefits due to the Republican tax law enacted a month ago by President Donald Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.
...
But the Reuters/Ipsos online poll of 5,254 adults done Jan. 12 to 23 offers insights into public perceptions of the law, which is expected to shape the 2018 midterm elections when all 435 House of Representatives seats and a third of 100 Senate seats will be up for grabs.
About 58 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said that large U.S. corporations or wealthy Americans stand to benefit most from the tax legislation. Just 13 percent said the middle class will benefit the most, the poll showed.
At same time there are massive layoffs by Walmart, Comcast and AT&T that have happened, so a few people received a raise — but quite a few more people lost their jobs entirely.
At least two major companies that publicly announced large bonuses for their employees after the passage of a massive GOP-led tax overhaul — which represented a windfall for wealthy Americans and big corporations — quietly laid off hundreds of workers at the same time.
Comcast laid off more than 500 sales employees right before Christmas, according to documents reviewed by media outlets including the Philadelphia Enquirer, Philly.com, and the Daily News. The documents were confirmed by at least one former Comcast employee who was not identified in the press.
…
AT&T is also in the process of laying off thousands of employees, according to the Communication Workers of America (CWA) union, which represents AT&T workers. CWA filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that some of those layoffs are needless, and that the timing of the terminations — just two weeks before Christmas — represents “an extraordinary act of corporate cruelty.”
This is on top of Trump comments that Africa is a Shithole country, which is something that Jay-Z addressed directly.
"Everyone feels anger, but after the anger it's really hurtful because he's looking down on a whole population of people and he's so misinformed because these places have beautiful people," he told Van Jones on the debut of his CNN program,
"The Van Jones Show," which aired Saturday on CNN.
In response to all this Denard claimed that Jay Z should show more deference — TO TRUMP.
He argued that Trump is going through a “transition”, and just as Jay Z has matured and his material and expressions have grown more thoughtful, he should grant Trump the same patience in allowing him to also grow more thoughtful.
I mean his “Shithole Countries” comment was way, way back, all the way back in — two weeks ago — but sure, Trump’s “growing” and “maturing” or something. Pressed to give an example of that transition by Jones, Denard stated:
Well, he’s President of the United States.
Um. uh. yeah….
He was that, when he said that there were “very fine people” amongst the Neo-Nazi who beat a University of Virginia Librarian with Tiki Torches and caused him to have a stroke.
A man who protested against neo-Nazis in Charlottesville had a stroke after a white supremacist hit him with a tiki torch, according to a new report.
University of Virginia employee Tyler Magill, 46, was hit in the neck when he rushed to join students who were surrounded by torch-wielding white nationalists Friday — and suffered a stroke due to blunt force trauma on Tuesday, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
He was that when he said that the Anti-Facists who fought against the Racists were “just as responsible” even though they had protected people who were threatened there.
On Tuesday, after a weekend that included a white supremacist mowing down and killing a peaceful counter-protester in Charlottesville and Nazis marching on the University of Virginia with torches, the president of the United States stood in front of the American people and said, “What about the ‘alt-left’ that came charging at, as you say, the ‘alt-right’? Let me ask you this: What about the fact they came charging—that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”
…
According to Witness Brandy Daniels:
Based on what was happening all around, the looks on their faces, the sheer number of them, and the weapons they were wielding, my hypothesis or theory is that had the antifa not stepped in, those of us standing on the steps would definitely have been injured, very likely gravely so.
On Democracy Now, Cornel West, who was also in the line with us, said that he felt that the antifa saved his life. I didn’t roll my eyes at that statement or see it as an exaggeration—I saw it as a very reasonable hypothesis based on the facts we had.
He was that when he said that (largely African-American) football players were “Sons of bitches” who should be fired for taking a knee during the National Anthem in protests to police brutality and murder, because obviously we just don’t have enough of that.
He was that when he told a Gold Star Widow that dying was what her husband “signed up for” and then his Chief of Staff lied his ass off about the African-American Representative who was invited to be in the car, and dared to tell the truth about the phone call claiming she was “an empty barrel.”
He was that when he repeated retweeted False White Supracist Memes about Black Crime.
He was that as he repeatedly attacked and criticized African-Americans from living in cities where “they’re gonna get shot” — even though Murders and Shootings in Chicago and Baltimore have dropped significantly without any help from him — but he still hasn’t said anything about Rapper Eminem coming after him in a direct profane freestyle during the BET Awards.
So far, he’s got plenty to say about the Black Hop Hop star who criticized him - but about the White One? He’s said nothing.
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