Signs Of and For

I was not a huge Tribe Called Quest fan back in the day. Of course, I loved Q-Tip, but only because he spun in the Beastie Boy’s orbit.

The timing of their latest album feels like the perfect antidote to the Trump shit-storm. Listening to it as I write this and wow! Such crazy sounds, beats and tight lyrics. It sounds so original and fresh. I am not a confident hip-hop connoisseur, but I love popping in and out of the genre and watching it evolve in such unique ways.

If you haven’t heard it yet, what are you waiting for. I’m looking at you Scott and Ari. It will help assuage the heartburn you maybe experiencing because of all this:

• Trump needs to find 4,000 appointees before January 20th. 1,270 need Senate approval. (I got three words: Good luck asshat.)
• KKK, American Nazi Party praise Trump's hiring of Bannon
• Seen tweet:

"Let's see how Trump does."

"He's hiring a white supremacist."

"Let's see how he does after that."

• He apparently doesn’t want to live full time in The White House. He wants to spend weekends in NYC.
• He’s entertaining Bolton or Guiliani for Secretary of State.
• Playing dumb on the blind trust issue
• Trump has asked for top secret clearance for eldest 3 children (sorry Tiffany) and son-in-law Jared Kushner
• Iva Trump is selling jewelry she wore on the 60 Minutes interview and marketing to the fact that she wore it on the show. (The Hunger Games cannot be far off.)
• One of the promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail was to dismantle or renegotiate the U.S. deal with Iran that limits its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. If he makes good on that promise, it won't be the first time a Republican administration has walked away from an arms deal negotiated by Democrats.

…

Signs for hope:

• Million Women March on Washington!
• "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." - Desmond Tutu
• “The power of a bold idea uttered publicly in defiance of dominant opinion cannot be easily measured. Those special people who speak out in such a way as to shake up not only the self-assurance of their enemies, but the complacency of their friends, are precious catalysts for change. You can't be neutral on a moving train.” Howard Zinn
• From President Barack Obama, on a call to people who've volunteered for his and Hillary's campaign (Read to the end):

- Your President feels your pain.

- Surprising losses are worse than the ones you see coming.

- Progress doesn't always follow a straight line.

- I'm giving you a whole week and a half to get over this. But come Thanksgiving, it's time to stop moping and get organizing - something I know a little about.

- I'm constrained in what I can do until I'm a private citizen.

- But come February (maybe a little later after a vacation), Michelle and I will be right there with you.

- In the meantime, stay involved locally.

...

This new Tribe Called Quest album is off the hook.