Rants – Page 5 – Jay Thurber Show

May we forever stand, true to our God, true to our native land

Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph sings at Super Bowl LVII

“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” is a hymn written by two brothers, James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson, in the late 19th Century, and it has been known as “The Black National Anthem” for more than a century.

In fact, the first reference I can find to it being called the “Negro National Anthem” is in a 1918 issue of the Omaha, Neb., Monitor, a weekly Black newspaper:

Clipping from the Omaha, Neb., *Monitor*, May 18, 1918, p. 5

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People popularized the term “the Negro national anthem” one year later and appointed James Johnson the executive secretary of the NAACP in 1920.

The lyrics are anything but controversial. Inspired by the Book of Exodus, the hymn is patriotic and religious, and a cry for equality and freedom for all:

I believe I’ve passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage

Source: City of McKeesport Mayor’s Office on Facebook

I had a bunch of funny stuff — or at least stuff I thought was funny — cued up for the blog this week. But I’m not in the mood to be funny today.

The Tube City Online Radio studio is in the old McKeesport Daily News building, which looks out across a parking lot at the McKeesport Public Safety Building.

Most every Saturday, when I leave the studio after my show ends at 3 o’clock, I have to drive down the alley behind the police station, which means I pass through right around shift-change, which means I usually wave to the police officers as they’re either heading out to work or returning.

The healing power of minding your own business

In the Year of Our Lord 2023, some of yinz are out there apparently still critiquing Black people for the hair God gave them.

Royce Jones, a New Kensington native and Point Park grad who now works as a reporter and anchor for KDKA-TV (2), writes on Facebook:

I get a lot of comments about my hair.

Many people (most notably those who look like me) often thank me for the representation and for not being afraid to rock my super fab head of curls, on TV.
Continue reading “The healing power of minding your own business”

Meanwhile, in the City of Brotherly Love

You thought Thanksgiving dinner with your relatives was unpleasant?

A retired columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News has won a defamation lawsuit he filed against his former employer and co-workers after what was either the best — or worst — retirement party ever, depending on your point of view.

A jury in Philly last week awarded Stu Bykofsky $45,000 in compensation for “emotional distress” after a going-away party in 2019 at which one of his former co-workers accused Bykofsky of having “a taste for child prostitutes.”

I don’t know how I missed this story when it first happened, because it’s off the chain.

Not my first rodeo

Aren’t we all sick of talking about the bird app and its piss-baby spoiled brat owner? Last night, he posted this:

“I’ll take “The Least Self-Aware People in History” for $200, Ken.”

One of my listeners is trying to get me to go back to the bird app. My listener says “Musk may be stepping back.”

Yeah, sure, because the banks and his other investors — including the always patient and gentle Saudi Arabian royal family — are worried that Elmo is pouring $44 billion down the drain, along with a substantial part of Tesla.

If and when Elmo steps down as Twitter’s CEO, one of the leading candidates to replace him is Jason Calacanis. Calacanis is a close friend of Musk’s, as well as other Silicon Valley tech-bro billionaires.

His name is one of those in Jeffrey Epstein’s little black book and he’s admitted to being friends with Ghislaine Maxwell. He also helped fund the recall election that replaced San Francisco’s district attorney. I suspect Calacanis leans libertarian and he would do exactly the same things at Twitter that Musk has done — just with less drama.

I could be wrong, but it sounds like a case of different clown, same circus.

What to expect during the impeachment hearings

Impeachment is a congressional investigation into alleged misconduct by the President of the United States. At the end of the process, the House of Representatives refers any evidence that has been gathered to the U.S. Senate, which then holds a trial.

In the history of the United States, only two Presidents have faced impeachment — Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon resigned before formal impeachment proceedings began.

Here’s what to expect as Congress begins impeachment proceedings against President Trump:

Each day’s testimony introduced by the “Let’s get ready to rumble!” guy
Members of House of Representatives will be trying out catchphrases, like “That’s-a good-a testimony!” and “The indictments don’t stop ’til we reach the top!”
“Baby Trump” balloon bouncing around in the gallery like a beach ball at a Phish concert
Administration officials holding oversized fedoras in front of their faces to avoid photographers wielding Speed Graphics and giant flashguns
Witnesses trying to come as close as possible to describing a crime without going over, then risking it all on a “Daily Double”
NPR’s Mara Liasson and Susan Davis on the red carpet outside the Capitol, describing who’s hot and who’s not
A free small “Frosty” at participating Wendy’s locations if any of that day’s witnesses present evidence that Trump is a Russian operative (limit one per customer)
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams in a neutral corner, getting ready to throw in a towel if proceedings become too violent
Kellyanne Conway becoming so enraged that she stomps her right foot into the ground, then rips herself in two trying to pull it out
An overwhelming sense that the end of American democracy is getting closer and there’s sweet f-ck all that we can do about it