Head 2 Head

Fit or Unfit For Office: The Herschel Walker Debate

No, New York Times writer Ian Prasad Philbrick did not call Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, as I was called by a Los Angeles Times writer, "the black face of white supremacy" – but Philbrick came close.

Philbrick wrote: "For a lot of African Americans, Walker puts on display a lot of the worst stereotypes that white conservatives in the South harbor toward them: that his talents are only in athletics, and that he is, in his own telling, 'not that smart.' If a candidate as controversial as Walker wins, the takeaway will be that if you have enough star power, speak the language of the party's base and have Trump's backing, you too can be in the Senate. "I was with Walker about three weeks ago in a heavily conservative, heavily white northern Georgia county. When I follow Walker to those kinds of events, we're really the only two African Americans there. A white man walked up to me and was like, 'Where are all the black people?' He seemed to understand that Walker was a black candidate who was not garnering much black support in a state where you actually need at least a little bit to win. I've even talked to black conservatives who are shaking their heads in disappointment. Though not on the record, of course."

Let's start with "we're really the only two African Americans there." I know nothing about Mr. Philbrick's racial background, but from his photo he looks about as "African American" as Mitt Romney. Philbrick attended Greeley High School in Cumberland, Maine, not exactly the 'hood. The student body is 92% white, 2% black. But Philbrick's keeping it real at The New York Times.

Walker, you see, brings nothing to the table, other than "star power" and supporting former President Donald Trump. Things like likeability and relatability

are completely irrelevant. Any New York old celebrity will do, right? Times' Racist Why isn't Philbrick depressed Attack that blacks are denying themAgainst Her- selves the opportunity to hear schel Walkerl Walker's central message: that children need fathers in the home? Maybe the white man who walked up to Philbrick "seemed to understand" that 70% of black kids are born to unmarried women and considers it tragic blacks weren't there to hear Walker's message. How many blacks are supposed to be at a Walker rally? Should Walker kid- Larry Elder nap them and force them to hear him speak? Is there some barrier preventing blacks from attending his rallies – a secret password, a fraternity handshake or an initiation fee? Apparently, blacks, who remain overwhelmingly Democrat, are not buying what Walker's selling. Should he renounce the Republican Party and become a Democrat to attract more black faces? Philbrick sniffs that Walker advances the "worst stereotypes that white conservatives in the South harbor." All "white conservatives"? Not some bigoted white conservatives? How is this any different than Kanye West, rightly accused of antisemitism, when he recently tweeted about his plan to "go DEFCON 3 on Jewish people"? Not just those with whom West may have had disagreements. No, all Jews. Philbrick should listen to the secretly recorded tape of four non-Southern Latinos, all liberal Democrats, three of whom are members of the Los Angeles City Council. They compared a black child to a monkey, made racist comments about whites, disparaged Jews, Elder continued to page 20 Headlines From Africa

IDespite Democrats locking up control of the U.S. Senate ahead the Dec. 6 contest against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, it still matters whether the party has the slimmest possible margin or the cushion of an extra vote that a Warnock win would provide. And it’s not that Walker’s provable lies and bizarre behavior are less consequential than they’ve ever been as much as there’s just Walker fatigue. There just ain’t many more ways to say, “this guy’s ridiculously unqualified for public office,” than we’ve already written. But every once in awhile, ol’ Herschel finds a way to make us care again. Today it’s over the issues of abortion and taxes. But, say, a substantive policy debate over tax policy or him explaining his opposition–as a man whose body it will never effect–to abortion with no exceptions. Instead, today we’re back to discussing one of the two women who have accused Walker of pressuring them into actually aborting pregnancies they conceived together. The second woman appeared at a press conference with lawyer Gloria Allred with receipts that she says refutes Walker’s denial that he even knows her. Of course, we’ve been down this path before, when the first woman who Walker allegedly conceived a pregnancy that he then allegedly gave her money to abort actually produced the check that he wrote in his own handwriting for the whole thing. He doesn’t deny that the check, written to a woman with whom he has another child, was his but he still denies that it was written to pay for an abortion. In this latest instance, the receipts are a little bit more saucy, according to the Daily Beast’s account of yesterday’s

Stud Farms, Sex Puppies And Tax Breaks: Herschel Walker's Senate Campaign Can't Get Any Wilder presser: The woman also provided what she says is further evidence of her six-year extramarital affair with Walker, including a journal entry, letters, and two pieces of audio–a recorded phone call in which both said they loved each other, and an answering machine tape where a man Allred identified as Walker says, “Ah you, this is your stud farm calling, you big sex puppy, you.” The comedy of it almost obscures the severity: in addition to having the worst flirtation skills in America, and to being a hypocrite for advocating abortions in his personal life while claiming he wants them banned for everyone else, consider that Walker also has a documented hisKeith Reed tory of domestic violence accusations and mental health issues. That matters because among the other claims the woman made was that Walker threatened to harm himself if she didn’t go through with terminating the pregnancy. Visibly overcome and fighting back tears, she read aloud from one journal entry. “Herschel has about gone off the deep end over this whole thing. He thinks that having the baby will keep him in so deep with [his wife’s] family that he’ll never get out. He talks about how it would be fine for the baby, and I, if he would just ‘disappear.’ But I know what that means,” she said. (Walker, who claims to have played Russian roulette more than halfa-dozen times, was hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning in 1991, after reportedly falling asleep in his car while it was running in his garage.) If that’s not bad enough for you, try this: Early on in his campaign there was the issue of whether or not he’d actually be able to represent Georgia because, well, he lived in Texas. Federal election law allows him to run for a seat in another state as long as he moves to that state before taking the oath of office. Walker wouldn’t Johnson continued to page 20

A look at current news from the continent of Africa

Angola: Isabel dos Santos, daughter of late president Jose Eduardo dos Santos - and once considered the richest woman in Africa, is now the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged corruption. According to reports, she built her estimated $2 billion fortune on the back of insider deals. The U.S. sanctioned Dos Santos in 2021.

Congo: A cease-fire between Congo and Rwanda could mean the withdrawal of M23 rebel group fighters from the major towns they have seized, including Bunagana, Rutshuru and Kiwanja. While the rebel group has said it will accept the cease fire, it wasn’t confident that the Congolese government would actually end hostilities.

Ethiopia: According to eyewitness reports, allies of Ethiopia’s military are carrying out mass detentions in Tigray while also looting stores and property more than three weeks after a truce to end suffering and bring peace to the region was signed.

Eritrea: 98 Christians arrested during a raid on an underground church in September are still being held in custody by Eritrean authorities. That brings the number to over 300 Christians believed to be imprisoned for their faith. Many have been detained indefinitely, without charge and without trial. Some, who have refused to renounce their faith, have been kept behind bars for upwards of 15 years.

Ghana: Cocoa growers in Ghana and the Ivory Coast (who account for 60% of the world’s cocoa are escalating their fight to improve pay to farmers—and fight poverty—by demanding that buyers pay a premium. They are also threatening to punish corporations by barring them from visiting plantations to estimate harvests—a key factor in forecasting cocoa prices. Liberia: The U.S. government is warning individuals and financial institutions against doing business with current and former officials of the Government of Liberia who have been sanctioned by its Treasury Department ahead of Liberia’s 2023 general and presidential elections. Mali: Mali has announced a ban on aid groups funded by France in what is the latest attempt by the coup leader in charge to distance the West African country from its one-time colonizer and former ally in the fight against Islamic extremism. Niger: Officials credit community and religious leaders with the success of their COVID vaccinations, given their influence in combating misinformation about vaccines being circulated on social media. 28% of the adult population is fully vaccinated and a current vaccination campaign aims to vaccinate two-thirds of the over-18 population by year’s end.

Nigeria: Until regulators can agree on standards that protect investors, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission says it will not include cryptocurrencies in a plan to improve trading in digital assets.

Sierra Leone: Representatives from the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party and the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) recently came to blows—and were captured on video fighting and throwing chairs—sparked by the West African nation´s electoral commission suggestion of switching to a proportional representation system for coming year´s local and parliamentary elections excluding presidential polls.