The Conservative Sage

I n the early morning hours of September 7th on Cleveland's west side, three masked gunmen stormed into a Taco Bell in an attempted robbery. To their surprise several employees were armed and opened fire on the robbers. 24 year old Decarlo Jackson was shot six times. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other two suspects are still at large as of this writing. Unfortunately incidents such as this play out frequently around the country. A black male(s) attempts an armed robbery of a business establishment or home. At best he is shot and wounded, at worst he's killed by the armed store clerk or homeowner. In many instances it has been armed customers who have fired the fatal shot at the would be robber. The Black Lives matter crowd, the social justice establishment as well as the national media are dead silent while scores of black men are killed every year. According to the Centers for Disease C ontrol ...

The horrific events in Charlottesville earlier this month have once again touched off national debates about race, free speech, bigotry and relevance of Confederate symbols. A march organized by white nationalist erupted in violent clashes with counter protestors. The clash turned deadly when a vehicle driven by James Alex Fields slammed into a crowd of protestors killing 1 and injuring 19 others. President Trump sparked his latest of what has become monthly controversies when he condemned violence, bigotry and hatred "on many sides". Democrat and Republican politicians rushed to put out statements condemning bigotry and hatred and how it has no place in our country. As soothing as those comments may be, they're wrong. Many Americans, not least of which our political leaders seemed to have forgotten that little document called the United States Constitution. In this document it guarantees the right of free speech and expression of all ideas, no matter how vil...

The old saying "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians" is by modern standards politically incorrect. However there is a new phenomena that is could take its place. There seems to be too many Kings and Queens and not enough subjects. Peruse Facebook and one will see untold references to "Black Kings" and "Black Queens" which is intended to foster self esteem in the black community. What is wrong with this one may ask? It is built on a ridiculous premise, historical ignorance and grotesque revisionism. For starters, every culture at one time or another has been ruled by monarchs. So by this logic every Anglo British citizen is a King or a Queen since they still have a symbolic monarchy today. Kings and Queens are mere titles-not character traits. Monarchs were selected by either bloodline or bloody conquest. Some of the most dastardly rulers in history were Kings. King John, Herod, Leopold, Caligula are just a few-African rulers were hardly an exception. I...

There are many false assumptions in life that go unchallenged. One of the more commonly held ones is the notion that the Rich Get Richer and the Poor get Poorer. In recent years there is the propagated myth of the "1%". which refers to some enduring wealthy class that maintains its elite status-then there is reality. That reality isn't lost on former business world superstar Elizabeth Holmes. Just one year ago, her blood testing company Theranos, was on top of the world. Theranos had allegedly developed a faster more efficient blood testing technology which would only require a finger prick. It had 500 employees and was valued at $9 billion. Making the Stanford drop out the worlds youngest female self made billionaire with a 50% stake worth $4.5 billion. Soon questions began to swirl after media reports cast doubt about the accuracy of her supposedly innovative testing machines. The charge was that only 15 of 240 test Theranos offer...

  2016 has certainly been a momentous year for the country and world. This year saw the passing of Icons like Muhammad Ali and pop stars Prince and David Bowie. Just this week Longtime Cuban strongman Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. Castro's death caps an eventful and tumultuous year in American politics which saw the upset election victory by Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Trump ran on a populist message of bad trade deals, curbing illegal immigration and rebuilding Americas' military. His campaign slogan Make American Great Again has become a catchphrase. If Trump truly wants to make America Great Again, I would recommend that he adopt Fidel Castro's communist playbook-why not? It was effective for 50 years. For starters he should take the constitution, shred it and declare himself President for life. No need to be concerned with another wild and controversial election for the foreseeable future. As commander-in-chief Trump co...

T his man you most likely never heard of was once one of Africa's most notorious slave traders. His name is Hamad bin Jum'ah bin Rajab Bin Mohammad bin Sa'id al-Murjabi. Thankfully he has a shorter name, Tippu Tip. He was a very powerful Swahili-Zanzibari slave trader who had a strangle hold on the clove and ivory plantations in Eastern Congo and Zanzibar during the latter half of the 19th century. Cloves are flower buds used to make spices. Tippu Tib also controlled the lucrative ivory trade and was said to have acquired as many as 10,000 slaves. How did Tippu Tib acquire and maintain this empire? The same way other empires are built, by force of course. He raided villages in search of slaves and other loot. Those who refused were dealt with by having villages burned and crops destroyed. He was also very friendly with European explorers and assisted them with their foray into the interior of the continent. Such as noted British explorer and abolitionist...

I along with the rest of the world tuned in recently to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, the opening ceremonies were certainly a site to behold. It featured elaborate visual displays special effects and cultural dancers. One in particular which told the story of Brazil's eclectic but sordid history of slavery. Which is by no means unique to Brazil, nor to any country in the world. Very few nations can claim no history of it. I can distinctly remember learning about the powerful West African empires of Ghana and Mali in high school. If only I were sophisticated enough at the time to ask an obvious question: How did they become empires? Steeped into the conscience of many Americans is the premise that the United States was "founded on slavery and stolen land from the native Americans". The dark beginnings of American history are only unique to those with only a cursory knowledge of history. If one throws a dart at a map of the world, It will most certainly land on a c...