I remember watching some old boxing classics on YouTube a couple of years ago, including the Larry Holmes- Gerry Cooney 1982 HW title match. I decided to watch one of the undercard matches which featured Puerto Rican boxing great Wilfredo Gomez as well, and in between rounds they were asking celebrities in attendance for prediction for the Main Event.

As you might know, Holmes-Cooney was one most racialized and polarizing sport events of the late 20th Century. In order to sell the event, Don King started promoting the fight as a black vs. white affair, with Cooney becoming the camera friendly white man who was going to become the Great White Hope by beating up the unrefined and somewhat unlikable black champion in Holmes. The racial tension on fight night was so high that there were snipers on the rooftops around the Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. To add insult to injury, Cooney, the challenger, not only got paid more than Holmes, but also was introduced last as if he was the true champion.

So, in between rounds of the Gomez fight, we get to see Bill Cosby, with a huge cigar in his mouth and a particularly arrogant smug in his face, which was partially covered by huge sunglasses. The reporter asks Mr. Cosby about his pick for the fight. One would think that given the divisive nature of the fight and the humiliations the black champion was being subjected to, he would say something eloquent, unifying, inspiring... Or that he was going to show his fellow black brother some much needed support...

Well, none of that. Cosby, in the most arrogant way possible, takes his huge cigar out of his mouth and says "Cooney... He's knocking Holmes out in 4!" If you look at the clip, he almost sounds like he was trying to sound like a redneck rooting against the black man. He was being dismissive of the black champion, but in a sellout kind of way, just like Jesse Lee Peterson hating on all things black: both a real hatred and an act to gain the support of white people at the same time.

In the end, though, the truth won. Holmes exposed Cooney as a creation of a racist American media who wanted any white man to become HW after dealing with Muhammad Ali for a decade, and eventually we learned everything we saw about Bill Cosby on TV was a mask hiding a very ugly and dangerous human being.

All of this crap about Joy Reid having some, well, misguided or inappropriate posts in the past makes me wonder if we are abandoning the concept of redemption in our society.

Assuming Joy's posts are hers, I feel she deserves credit for having become a better human being throughout the years and standing for what is right. Maybe an apology should be given, but this idea of one having to carry with your past forever assumes there is no room for error and for learning in life.

Barack Obama started his presidency being against same-sex marriage, and ended his presidency being the greatest advocate the LGBTQ community has had in the WH. People can and do change, and nobody is perfect.

Don't let old posts or pictures ruin a great present and a promising future. Redemption is possible and necessary for the progress of humanity.

How do you think the following 4 individuals would have fared politically if they ran for the Democratic nomination in 2016, or on the general election against Trump:

A) Mike Gravel
B) Howard Dean
C) Dennis Kucinich
D) John Edwards

I just sense their political fates would have been quite different in this day and age.

I have always read about the Harding administration being one of the most corrupt in modern American history. Well... is Trump worse? Was Harding worse?

History buffs, please enlighten me! Thanks!

In case you think racism is dead, or that our justice system is fair.

[link:https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/Broward-Judge-Accused-Of-Bullying-Defendant-In-Wheelchair-480455951.html|

If you have followed the white supremacist movement for some time, you will notice that they have, for decades being fixated with the idea of Eastern Europe and Russia being promised lands for white people. Several American white supremacists have been traveling to these areas for decades, some of them even marrying women from these countries. Russia, since the fall of the Soviet Union, has been taken over by far-right Christian, xenophobic ideologues, and it has been more and more hostile to its minorities as time goes by. Add to that the hostility they have shown towards Muslim minorities in their territory, and you have the perfect match for our far-right ideologues.

Add to that the desire of Russia to cripple the US economically and to finally become the world's main superpower. They have realized that the other moral weakness of those in the far-right is apart of their xenophobia is their greed. Our far-right is in love with money, and they want it no matter what. Russia has presented itself as the ideological and financial backbones of the American far-right, and the Republican Party has allowed this train of thought to take hold of them. Mainstream American conservatism has decided to follow the lead and example of present day Russian "soft" fascism, and they are, without realizing it, willing to sell our Nation down the drain just to satisfy their desire to establish a white American, Christian ethnostate, run by a select group of corrupt oligarchs.

From Donald Trump to Paul Ryan, from Steve Bannon to Sean Hannity, from Ann Coulter to Laura Ingraham, what you are witnessing is the ascension of white supremacism in the American political landscape... and Russia is their financial backer, their moral compass and their overseer.

I sense it is unraveling quickly and might be over before the year ends. What do you think?

Why or why not? Watching him with Van Jones, sounds like the great president we currently don't have...

Who are you suppoting for Dem gubernatorial candidate and why? Don't know much about any of them, so I'm hoping to learn a bit about them through this thread.