February is Black History Month with some wondering why we spend so little time on diversity. Others wonder why we are spending any time at all. Racism exists or doesn’t exist in the eye of the beholder.

Situations always come up that make us wonder and we had another one crop up in New Jersey. Obviously, news organizations cover these events in their own way and it can vary some depending on the source. As you might imagine, social media responses run the gamut. At the very least, it demonstrates the need for a continuance of the national conversation.

For those that don’t care to go down the rabbit hole, two teenage boys got into a fight at a shopping mall in New Jersey. Police appeared to respond very differently to the two boys. The white participant is allowed to sit on a sofa until the confrontation was over. The black participant didn’t get nearly the same treatment.

Obviously, such videos create just as many questions as they do answers. What happened before the video began? Is one boy more responsible than the other for the fight starting? Did witnesses provide the police with their own perceptions that might have impacted how both boys were dealt with? Were they harder on the black boy because he appeared to be winning the fight? The coup de grace is the question of what happened immediately after the video abruptly ended?

These are all pertinent questions and I’m sure they will come up in an investigation. In many ways that will be unfortunate. I seriously doubt we will hear the results of said investigation. That’s especially true if they find other mitigating factors that can explain why the two boys were treated so differently.

The social media reaction is very telling. Those outside the country don’t necessarily understand the baggage that comes with another event like this. For what it’s worth, the white participant told authorities he didn’t understand why they were treated differently. Maybe that was a moment of honesty. Maybe just maybe there is a little hope for the future.

As for the here and now, it is another very visible example that we aren’t where we need to be. Whether those two officers were wrong or right, the video is proof that we are not equal. If Critical Race Theory can be defined as “systems laced with racism embedded in laws, regulations, rules, and procedures that lead to differential outcomes by race” then we could credibly argue that this video is proof that these systems are real and need to be studied and debated.

Of course, many states (including Texas) don’t want that to happen. At least, they don’t want it to happen in school. We aren’t racist anymore. We can all gather around the camp fire and sing “Kumbaya” and hold hands. Whether something makes our kids feel bad is not the standard we should be using. We know it exists. The video above is proof enough for most people.

The funny thing is that those two particular officers can credibly claim that they are not racist. They may even be able to prove that they reacted appropriately in that situation. That’s not really the point. The point is outcomes. If the outcome in situations like that seem to consistently create unequal treatment then that would be evidence of the very thing that CRT opponents want to sweep under the rug. Welcome to Black History Month. May these conversations not cease once the calendar strikes March 1st.

Let’s face it – a majority of Texans who bother to vote are stupid.  After all, we get politicians like Fled Cruz (from Canada), Screwy Louie Gohmert, Sid Jesus Shot Miller, Dan I’m a Navy Seal! I’m a Navy Seal! Crenshaw, Rootin’ Tootin’ Rick Perry, Greg I Sue and You Can’t Abbott among many others.  There are perpetually zero days since some Texas politician makes us a national embarrassment to normal people.  Well, it’s gotten worse if that’s even possible; we have another carpetbagger.

Enter Dan Rodimer.  Ol’ Dan (who calls himself Big Dan) is from New Jersey, born and raised.  He attended Seton Hall prep school, played football for the University of South Florida, and graduated from Ava Maria Law School in 2013.  But that’s not all he’s done; between college and law school, Big Dan played semi-pro football and arena football, then changed his name to Dan Rodman and became a professional wrestler, associated with WWE (yeah, THAT WWE).  Oh, and was charged with assault and domestic assault (by his now wife) between 2010 and 2013.  He agreed to deferred adjudication in one case and attended anger management training to get those charges dropped.

And there’s more; a lot more.  In 2018, Rodimer moved to Nevada and ran for the Nevada State senate.  He lost.  THEN, Rodimer ran for the US House from the Third District of Nevada.  He lost to incumbent, Susan Lee, a Democrat.  He’s not done, though.  Earlier this year, he moved to Mansfield, Texas, bought a cowboy hat and boots, then gained a southern drawl, to position himself to run in a special election for the Sixth District, now vacant since Ron Wright died from COVID in February.  Oh, and there’s more.  He’s positioning himself as none other than a bull rider, wearing the now familiar flak vest riders now wear to provide some protection when they get stomped by some angry bovine.

Rodimer is as fake as Trump’s hair.  He’s a chameleon, desperately trying to be relevant by getting a high profile job somewhere – New Jersey prep boy, second rate Florida football player, professional fake wrestler, fake Nevadan, now fake Texan and fake bull rider.  His new video ad includes a bull ride where Big Dan a stand-in actually got on a bull. How bad is Rodiman’s charade? None other than Matt Gaetz, drooling Trumpist and career liar, condemned Rodimer as a fake Texan:

Fake Texan makes fake video of fake bull ride.

We already have enough phonies in congress.

Texans, please send this Nevada man back to his true home state (where he lost two prior elections).

Texas shouldn’t import its congressmen.

Big Dan is all hat, no cattle. https://t.co/CcGZsUG4kv

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 26, 2021

First time I’ve ever agreed (or ever will) with Gaetz.  Advice for “Big Dan”:  Go home, wherever that is.  Leave us alone.  We want you to leave because Texas voters are stupid and will probably fall for you.  The last thing Texas needs is another snake oil salesman representing us.  We’re full up on those.

The New York Daily News is reporting that a New Jersey attorney representing undocumented former employees at Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster turned over to Robert Mueller fake green cards and social security numbers given to them by managers at the club.  The fake credentials were used to make the employees appear to be legal to work in the US.

While Trump has the government shut down over his idiotic wall, his own criminality continues to come to light as the clock relentlessly ticks.