Oprah Winfrey has caused a firestorm by telling a story about the late, great Whitney Houston, on someone’s show. Oprah claimed she “begged” her audience not to TELL about seeing Whitney fall off the stage. Right before TELLING the story herself. Oprah also unwisely claimed that Whitney was under the influence of drugs, which caused the fall. Pat Houston has spoken up and claims the stage was dark and Whitney was not familiar with it, causing the fall.

It is unfortunate that older people sometimes run off at the mouth, telling inappropriate stories. I am only one year younger than Oprah, and I try to watch myself.

It is even more unfortunate for Oprah that she does not have intelligent, strong-minded daughters to talk to her about this problem, as Quincy Jones’ daughters did for him.

Fate has delivered a remedy for Oprah, because she has Mo’nique in her corner. Fighting, perhaps, but there. As difficult as it might be to listen, Oprah should. When you are surrounded by a supportive entourage, life can get a bit dim. You might start believing your own press, never a good thing.

Mo’nique can enjoy her weekend, knowing she is contributing to the public good.

“Black Reconstruction in America” (1935) by WEB DuBois, is a detailed, thoughtful examination of a dangerous time in US history.

“The South was ashamed because it fought to perpetuate human slavery. The North was ashamed because it had to call in the black men to save the Union…” Chapter 17, The Propaganda of History.

Chapter 16, Back Toward Slavery, describes the devastating conspiracy of the Southern planter class and Northern capitalists, to exacerbate the racism resulting from 400 years of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, and thereby create a cheap, long-term labor supply. The white people were deliberately manipulated to prevent any type of labor solidarity which would require higher wages to be paid:

“They were given public deference and titles of courtesy because they were white. They were admitted freely with all classes of white people to public functions, public parks, and the best schools. The police were drawn from their ranks, and the courts, dependent upon their votes, treated them with such leniency as to encourage lawlessness. Their vote selected public officials, and while this had small effect upon the economic situation, it had great effect upon their personal treatment and the deference shown them.” [pages 573-74]

The opposition to a fair vote continues today. The White House and Congress tremble at the thought of what might happen this year, after the greed, betrayal, lies, mismanagement, and fiscal irresponsibility shown by them in the past fifteen months.

Education, protest, and voting are pathways to a better future for the nation. This is exactly why they are under attack.

I recently went down the rabbit-hole of commercial liquid shampoos, trying to find one which would not give me a scalp rash. I’ve never had problems with plain coconut oil, but using a body cream with coco-nuciferos gave me a rash. Labs are extruding coconut oil into new substances, which may create new problems for those with sensitive skin.

Close examination of numerous bottles of shampoo at my corner drug store revealed that all of them contained basically the same ingredients, and many of them (why does shampoo need 20+ ingredients?). Allergic reactions can be caused by: coco-betaine; sodium lauryl sulfate; disodium laureth sulfosuccinate; lanolin; or linalool.

I finally found a dry shampoo with only one suspect ingredient, linalool, and it was last on the list. I’ve also purchased some multi-purpose dry soap flakes, which contain betaine, a natural plant substance, but not coco-betaine, which is a laboratory product. Online ordering is complicated by a lack of complete ingredient lists.

It is difficult to navigate our commercial world with chemical sensitivities. This problem is worse when every product uses the same ingredients, or variants thereof. Don’t believe the hype; most shampoos are basically the same, and not worth any extra money.

Governor Cox has announced plans to create a nuclear campus in Tooele County, 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. Utah has agreed to accept up to 1.3 million cubic yards of Low Level Radioactive Waste from Ontario, Canada, at the Energy Solutions Clive Disposal Site there, over the next ten years. The waste will be transported by rail, and Energy Solutions will be responsible for any spills or accidents during transit. A mobile nuclear reactor has been installed at Hill Air Force Base, 30 miles north of the city.

The current Federal administration favors nuclear energy over solar, wind or geothermal options. Promoters claim that nuclear energy is safe, despite previous contamination issues in Utah, which have resulted in excessive cancer rates among “downwinders.” Proponents also conveniently ignore horrible catastrophes in Chernobyl and Fukushima, which have forced thousands of people to evacuate, due to dangerous, long-term effects.

Nuclear energy is clean, until a disaster happens. But disaster is always a possibility. Nuclear waste can only be indefinitely contained; it never goes away.

Sylvia Dubois was born to enslaved parents in 1768. At full growth she was 5’10”, and over 200 pounds in weight. Her mother, Dorcus, attempted to buy her own freedom at least twice, but failed to make the payments, and died without attaining her goal.

Sylvia became free by an unusual route: whipping her mistress in front of a large number of people in a barroom. Sylvia was feeling “grum” and didn’t do a satisfactory job of cleaning the barroom. Her mistress (never named) was in the habit of hitting Sylvia with “club, stik ov wod, tongs, fir-shuvel, nif, ax, hatchet … and then she was so damd qwik about it, to.” Page 59, “Sylvia Dubois, A Biografy of the Slav who Whipt her Mistress and Gand her Freedom,” accessed at babel.hathitrust.org

On that fateful day, the mistress hit Sylvia one too many times. Sylvia was grown by then, and fought back. “I nokt her doun, and blamd ner kild her.” Sylvia’s master, Minical Dubois, gave her a freedom pass on the condition she would take her child and move to New Jersey. Sylvia found her mother in Neu Brunswik, went to work, had five more children, and lived to be 116 years old.

Sylvia knew her age by a twist of fate. Her mother’s master, Richard Cumpton, had a son, also named Richard, born on March 3, 1768, as listed in the family Bible. Sylvia was born two days later. They were both nursed by Sylvia’s mother, and grew up together. Richard always maintained they were the same age.

Sylvia lived to be 116 years old, despite many difficulties in her life. She saw many slaves whipped until their bare backs were in strips, and then salt applied to the gashes. She had a lifelong dent in her head from being hit with a fire shovel by her mistress. Her children were named Moses, Judith, Charlot, Dorcus, Elizabeth, and Rachel. In her old age she lived in her father’s house, which she inherited, with her youngest daughter.

Let us not underestimate the will to live, and be free.

In times of denial, it is good to have the facts. Ned Blackhawk has done a thorough job of analyzing US history from the sixteenth century until the end of the twentieth, from a First Nations point of view, in “The Rediscovery of America” (2023; Yale University Press).

Indigenous history on this continent goes back 25,000 years, but sustained European contact started in the early 1500s. Blackhawk strongly criticizes the “disappearing Indian” myth. He describes the explosion of racism in 1790, which justified genocide and slavery. After the Civil War, violence against indigenous tribes expanded, along with settler invasions which all but destroyed the former patterns of use and management of the land. The battle for self-determination, return of land, and improvement of living conditions, does not cease.

Capitalist tactics are still being used under national authority; most recently, the murderous invasion of Venezuela to obtain access to oil. We can expect more violence in the future.

The most successful slave rebellion in the continental USA occurred in 1526, in the Ayllon Colony, at the mouth of the Big Pee Dee river in what is now South Carolina. “Slave Insurrections in the United States 1800-1865” (1938, reprint 2004) by Joseph Cephas Carroll, page 13.

Spanish colonizers had brought their skilled African slaves with them, to establish a new settlement. Local indigenous tribes were powerful, and encouraged the Africans to revolt and get away from their captors.

The words “slave rebellion” are extremely frightening, even after the passage of 500 years. If White people had revolted, and obtained their freedom, then this episode would be taught in every history class in the country.

Since “slave rebellion” is too scary, let’s call it “African Residency.” When anyone mentions that the US is 250 years old this year, gently remind them that Black people have lived here, twice as long as that.

Let’s celebrate!

I had made the logical choice: a hotel on Century Boulevard, close to LAX, with a free shuttle service. Then someone made a scheduling mistake, and I had two nights to cover before my departure. I went to ground in Inglewood.

I gave my monthly free legal clinic on La Cienega near Centinela for seven years. I knew the neighborhood, and it had everything I needed. Even after a five-year absence, I felt at home. I had passed by The Green Horse Bar, with a statue on top, many times. It is heavily gated in the front, and I have never been inside. St. Jerome’s Church is also protected by a high iron gate, no doubt a protective measure. Young men congregated outside a dispensary owned by a national celebrity. I counted at least four chicken restaurants: as they say “A chicken has a short life in Los Angeles.” RVs were lined up alongside Centinela, cramped spaces for living. The Ralph’s and the Ross Dress for Less are still there. A new Starbucks offers its products on the east side of La Cienega these days. It was 99 degrees in LA, but only 88 in Inglewood.

The three-mile taxi ride to the airport took thirty minutes. When my driver, Jose, found out I was a divorce attorney, he joked “El matrimonio es como el demonio.” We agreed that cash is still “el rey.”

Now I am back in my autumn-chilled high desert valley, but I will always love LA.

I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer on September 5, 2024. After surgery in October, I was cancer-free, but chemotherapy and radiation were recommended to avoid recurrence, and possibly other cancers. My family and friends told me “do what the doctor says.” What nerve!

Three chemotherapy infusions gave me multiple side effects, including five separate rashes, days of leg pain, terrible brain fog, heavy nausea, and a screaming nightmare, which forced a change in medication for the third infusion. I lost all of my hair, and may never grow long hair again. Each infusion required ten to fifteen days of recovery.

The five radiation treatments were not as bad, with few side effects. I finished treatment on April 16, 2025.

I could never criticize anyone for refusing treatment. I had to remind myself many times that cancer could kill me, but treatment most likely would not (there are cases where cancer treatment causes a cancer to develop, later).

Now I am healthy, as far as anyone knows. The future is uncertain, but for now, I am here.

International law does not classify “ethnic cleansing” as a crime. Genocide is a crime, defined by the United Nations in 1948 as “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”

The current war by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is hotly controverted. Some say it is genocide; but if the aim is only removal and occupation, that is not genocide. If Netanyahu’s aim is to retain power, and thousands of people die, is that genocide, or merely ordinary political strategy?

Klaus Mann (The Turning Point) described his attempts to warn people about Hitler and the Third Reich, after leaving Germany in 1933 to save his life. There was too much complacency. There was a widespread attitude that Hitler was an absurd little man, not capable of wreaking havoc on European civilization. Many secretly (or openly) approved of “getting rid of” the Jews. Removal plans advanced to mass extermination, while appeasement policies utterly failed.

For those in the camps (Primo Levi, Jorge Semprun), the reality was devastating. While countries were being invaded, many thousands were shipped to camps, where they were summarily executed, or held as prison labor.

Starvation is a form of torture, and a slow death. Palestinians receive little sympathy. Their suffering does not seem to be getting the reaction they deserve. Claims of anti-Semitism are used to deflect any and all criticism. The results of Israel’s policies will be harshly judged by history, in ten or twenty years. History is slow to catch up.

What can be done about ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip? We watch and wait, and sometimes, speak out. But let’s not be ignorant, or complacent. Mass extermination can happen again. All it takes is the devaluation of human life, to subhuman status. This is the lesson we must apparently learn, again and again.