Alabama Took The Right Path On Tuesday

It was a time of rejoice for the great people of Alabama, as well as for a blue wave that seems to be sweeping over the country.

On Tuesday night in Alabama, the state put their country over their political party in voting for Doug Jones to gain the special seat in the US Senate for Alabama. It was a night where values won, where decency wins, and the people got up and voted. Overall, it was a great first night, but I would advise people to remain vigilant, that there are tougher times ahead, and that Doug Jones understands the next steps in helping the people of Alabama.

Doug Jones won in two ways: The African-American women voters and the millennials, who went out and vote. The primary places were Jones won were the Black Belt in Alabama, just below Birmingham, and the cities like Birmingham and Huntsville and Mobile. In a state that is mostly deep red for Republicans, it will be a Democrat that will be sitting in that seat for the first time in 25 years.

A simple message was sent by this win: The radical agenda of Donald Trump and the Republican party is not working. The voters have decided that by voting for Doug Jones, and in this year alone, the blue wave is coming back, with the radical agenda of the Trump administration flipping 33 state seats from red to blue. For example, in Oklahoma, which is a deep-red state that Trump carried a year, three seats seats were turned into blue seats. It also included big races that happened in New Hampshire, Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia.

In this particular election, however, it wasn't about the political party at all. It was about the right versus the wrong. Instead of voting for a guy who had allegations of sexual misconduct against him, they voted for a guy who was a good man, who was a civil rights champions who successfully prosecuted two KKK members in the 1963 church bombing, and a guy who is a champion for women and for working families. They choose Doug Jones to be their next US senators, and I'll say it's a good day for all.

The American people understand what the values of this country are: It's about coming together, it's about taking the right road to success, it's about turning away those who have done wrong, and it's about those who don't want to be brought down by one people, in this case, Trump. The Democratic party encompasses the American peoples' values. It's the right decision. It's the decision that is causing this blue wave to take over the American map again. And there's still a long way to go.

Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, has his work out in front of him. He knows what he has to do to keep up with this and to make sure the Democratic Party continues this wave of success. The Democratic Party is the party of the people, and in Alabama, it was about the Alabama people and those people succeeded in helping deliver a man to the Senate who understands the American values, the Democratic values, and the values that help shape the country to be accepting and understanding of all.

A good night for Alabama, a good win for the Democratic party, and a good win in a state where many didn't expect a Democrat to come out with a win. Everyone in Alabama who were behind Doug Jones, including Charles Barkley, are the MVPs of this special race. They deserved all the credit in the world.

Thoughts on Brian Ross Suspension

NBC can take a back seat to the newest fallout coming out of ABC. But let me set up what happened there before I start berating ABC.

So, as you are well aware by now, ABC investigative journalist Brian Ross was suspended by the company for a incorrect report that Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor for President Trump, was going to testify that Trump instructed him to contact Russian officials during the campaign. This was on the heels of Flynn pleading guilty for lying to the FBI, and is now a part of Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between Trump officials and Russian officials who may or may not have meddled in our recent Presidential election. However, later reporting suggests it was Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and not Trump himself, who told Flynn to contact Russians.

But that incorrect reporting led Ross to be suspended. Want to know for how long? FOUR WEEKS! Yeah, that's right, I said it loudly and with some anger four weeks, which I believe is complete overreaction. However, it did get the attention, who tweeted about it and congratulated ABC News for the suspensions, which was deserved but not the length.

Now, here's the thing: Brian Ross is one of the better investigative reporters in the business and in this particular case, he could've gotten bad information or reported something that was changed right then and there. The real blame here is not Ross himself, but the network and the people who forgot to vet this before it went on air and in publication.

So in reality, ABC can now take NBC's place for looking badly among viewers and among the people of the US. But the reality is, networks seem to serve out longer suspensions for people who do bad reporting and bad vetting than people who use abusive language.

Let me set up what I mean: Former ESPN Britt McHenry was seen on video, verbally abusing and berating a towing company, and it was caught on camera. She was suspended only one week by the network for that. Let me repeat that: One week! For bad reporting, like Brian Ross, he has get four weeks?! What the hell is up with that?!

This suspension is deserved, but he doesn't deserve a long suspension like this. And, by the way, he won't get paid for this, which is completely ridiculous.

There's only one blame for this: ABC. ABC deserves most of the blame for this kind of suspension, because four weeks for bad reporting is absurd. Two weeks is fine, but four weeks? No. No. No. No.

This is just another incident of why big television networks look bad in their newscast. They made Brian Ross a fall guy without properly vetting this and making sure all information was correct. They looked like fools and they looked worse with a lengthy suspension which was unjustified.

Look, I agree on a suspension, but the length is not what I agree with, nor him getting paid. Yes, it's a black eye, but it's a black eye that can be quickly recovered in about two weeks, not four.

I can't trust the news media now for some reason, because just week after week after week, they seem to make calls that are either overreach or don't go far enough. Brian Ross does deserve a suspension, but not that amount of time. It's unbelievable that big news network are just so sensitive and even small, minor errors can result in lengthy situations. It's not how it should work.

A Shocking Verdict?

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Trump and the DOJ over the recent news that Kate Steinle's killer was acquitted by a San Francisco jury of first-degree murder in the Pier 14 shooting back on July 1, 2015, and this case was the first time that I have ever heard of the term "sanctuary city."

On Thursday, a San Francisco jury acquitted an illegal immigrant that was charged with killing 32-year-old Kate Steinle, a killing that President Trump has used as a way to signify that we need a tougher border wall, as well as blasting Democrats over being too soft on immigration.

Trump has obviously made his feelings known about the case, blasting the decision in the ruling and reinforcing his opinion that a border wall should be built on the southern border to curb illegal immigration. Republicans have agreed with this stance, while Democrats have said that a tougher border wall is against America being a nation of opportunity for others.

I have read the Constitution time and time again and I can understand how America is considered a 'melting pot' and that we should be accepting of everybody, illegal or not. But our stance as a country of all races may also be hurting our ability to be a nation that can help all.

But going back to this verdict in the Steinle case, Trump has called it "disgraceful" and further stated, "No wonder the people of our country are so angry with Illegal Immigration." Not everyone is angry, but there's a good number of people who are angry with it that it's sparked a national debate that goes back years. The Steinle case is just one of many things that many have believed is a reason for a tougher border wall.

Trump's blasting Democrats of being "weak on crime" doesn't signal a change in his tone. In fact, it's one of the few tones that I have agreed with him on. In fact, like I said before, before this case, I didn't know there was even a "sanctuary city" policy for cities like San Francisco, a city that I live in, by the way. And when I found out about it, I kept wondering why we even had a policy like this to begin with.

Now, look, I understand that Democrats felt that this was a policy they needed to help keep families together, especially those that are illegal immigrants. But nowadays, we may be starting to see the consequences of this sanctuary city policy, especially since it seems to allow illegal immigrants to stay in this country and do criminal things when given the opportunity. Granted, there's plenty of good illegal immigrants out there who have made contributions to our country and we should focus on that as well, but there's plenty of dangers in it that makes it worrisome and my feeling is that it shouldn't be there at all.

Of all the times I have sided with Democrats on issues, this is definitely not one of them. I am not on an agreement with a sanctuary city policy. You can protect illegal immigrants in different ways that do not require this, but I just think this policy signals that we have to protect these immigrants, whether they are criminal or not.

The Kate Steinle verdict was a big shock to me, and I do agree with President Trump on this particular issue, and it's one of the rare times where I have. I do believe Democrats have been weak on crime, they've been weak on deporting the criminals, despite their deportation numbers under Obama, and they've been weak on helping ICE with removing these criminals from the US. Unfortunately, the times have changed where I believe we can no longer become a 'melting pot' of cultures in America. I appreciate the thought behind becoming a melting pot, but times are changing and we have to have stricter measures regarding immigration and all that if we want to become a better country and a country that can become a leader and stand up.

I hope this is a wake-up call that the sanctuary city policy has to go. I understand it's positives and I understand wanting to keep the immigrants in this country that are good, but I think the negatives outweigh this whole notion, and I hope we can all come together to understand that.

Believe me, I love both sides and what they stand for, but I think this side of Democrats is the wrong one to be on. We have to be tough on illegal immigration, no matter what, and I hope Trump's point on this issue sends a strong message to countries like Mexico that it's time to reform your country and become one where your citizens want to live in. That way, we can curb illegal immigration and make this world a better place to live in in any country.