UPDATE: Donald Trump Takes Office as the 47th US President
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I don't seen nothin'.
Doesn't have anything to do with this thread, but with the rise of Incel Male culture, I think more of our leaders (esp. black) need to start doing more work in this area considering how this last election turned out
Wes Moore Is Worried About Maryland’s Men
The governor has made an unprecedented commitment to help struggling men and boys.
Written by Sylvie McNamara
| Published on March 14, 2025
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Wes Moore in September 2024. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation)
In his February State of the State address, Maryland governor Wes Moore made a surprising announcement: that this year, his administration would “begin implementing targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.” It’s clear from the data that men are struggling. Male suicides are sharply up, men have retreated from the labor force, boys trail girls in education, and Maryland sends kids—the vast majority of them boys—into the juvenile-justice system at about twice the national rate. “On every single indicator we care about,” Moore recently told Washingtonian, “young men and boys are falling off.”
It’s unusual for an elected Democrat to publicly speak about the struggles of men, let alone take steps to address them. To understand the significance of Maryland’s new initiative, we called Governor Moore and masculinity scholar Richard Reeves. Here’s what you need to know.
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What, specifically, is Maryland going to do?
The boys and men initiative is in its early stages, so there’s not a lot of concrete policy detail right now. But Moore has directed all his cabinet secretaries and agency heads to bring him specific ideas for how the state can help men and boys. They’ll meet for the first time in April.
Are other states doing anything like this?
Nothing this sweeping. A smattering of other governors have made much narrower commitments to boys and men—Spencer Cox of Utah has created a task force on male wellbeing, for example, and Connecticut’s Ned Lamont is trying to recruit male K-12 teachers, which studies show can help boys feel more engaged in the classroom. In February, right after Moore’s State of the State, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer called out the struggles of boys and men in her own annual address, then announced an executive directive to try to get more men into Michigan’s colleges and skills training programs.
But Moore was “first out of the gate with a serious, substantive commitment to do more for boys and men,” says Richard Reeves, a masculinity researcher who founded the American Institute for Boys and Men. He added, “I do think that the penny has dropped very loudly now that there are some real issues facing young men, and whichever side of the aisle you’re on, it’s bad politics to ignore them.”
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What convinced Moore that this was a priority?
“I always say that I’m data-driven and heart-led,” Moore told us. “And the data that we continue to see is just so clear and deeply disturbing.” It shows boys and men struggling with mental illness, falling behind in school, failing to navigate the labor market, and succumbing to addiction and crime. Moore was also hearing widespread concern about boys and men while meeting with various Marylanders: educators, community leaders, people running apprenticeship programs. He was particularly struck by his conversations with moms, who repeatedly told him things like “my son is great but frankly lacks motivation and will just sit there and play video games all day long.”
The issue is personal for Moore, too. “So many of these things that we’re talking about”—healthcare disparities, criminalization of Black boys, the lack of male role models—“I’ve lived it,” he said. “That was my life.” Moore had a rough childhood, and by early adolescence he was adrift in school and in trouble with the law. His life turned around when his mother sent him to military school, and he hopes that Maryland can give its boys what that experience gave him: a sense that “the world was bigger than what was directly in front of me.” Helping boys and men, Moore said, has become “frankly, a bit of a personal mission for me.”
What about women and girls?
“I don’t see this as a zero-sum issue,” Moore told us. “I don’t see saying, ‘Okay, we need to put a greater focus on what’s happening in men and boys’ as meaning we should stop caring about women and girls.” In his address, he was careful to thread that needle. “I want to be clear: This administration remains steadfast in our support for all Marylanders, regardless of their gender or background,” he said, adding that, “I strongly believe our mission to uplift men and boys isn’t in conflict with our values to leave no one behind—it’s in concert with them.”
Governor Whitmer, who has a strong record on women and girls, was similarly careful. After acknowledging what a hard time young men are having, she addressed “the women out there who are succeeding after decades of having the deck stacked against them,” saying, “I see your resilience and I want you to know that I will never abandon my commitment to equal opportunity and dignity for everyone.”
Was there backlash to the announcement?
Reeves, the masculinity scholar, watched a video of Moore’s speech specifically because he wanted to know how it was received in Maryland’s Democrat-dominated chamber. “There’s a world where you make that announcement,” Reeves said, “and it lands to a somewhat deafening silence, with Democrats, saying, ‘really, Governor? This is what you’re going to do?’” But that was not the case; Moore’s announcement was met with enthusiasm. Reeves thinks that’s telling—for years, the struggles of boys and men were somewhat taboo, particularly for Democrats. But now, he says, “the political window” around these issues “has gotten quite a bit wider.”
Asked about backlash, Moore was defiant: “I mean, are there some people who will criticize or say this is not what a traditional Democrat is talking about, or whatever? Yeah, I guess. But I’ve never been consumed with doing what traditional Democrats do anyway, so I’m not going to start now.”
Men, particularly young ones, have become much more Republican. Do Democrats care about them now in order to win them back?
In 2020, Trump won about 41 percent of young male voters; in 2024, he won 56 percent. Moore told us that swing had nothing to do with his commitment to boys and men. But he did acknowledge that Democrats have problems with male voters—and he thinks their frustration is justified. “If our young men and boys don’t feel like they are a priority, if they do not feel like we’re actually addressing some of the adverse experiences that they’re having, then we cannot be mad when they basically say, ‘To hell with it all.’” But instead of asking for men’s votes, he wants to try to serve their needs. “My mother used to tell me, ‘people need to think that you care before they care what you think.’ And that’s exactly right.”
Reeves doesn’t see Moore’s initiative as pandering; he pointed out that neither Moore nor Whitmer got much press for their boys and men announcements, so they don’t seem like bids for attention. “These were not interventions into the culture war, these were interventions into the solution space,” he said. But nonetheless, he thinks it’s good politics to try to help young men. Whitmer and Moore are “very often mentioned with regard to 2028,” he pointed out. “That might just be a coincidence. I don’t think so.”
What are some policy interventions that might help boys and men?
There are a few areas where Moore would like to see results. One, he said, is bolstering families, to make sure boys are “coming up in strong, supportive homes.” Another is better preparing young men for the job market, which has shed the kinds of jobs—such as manufacturing—that once pulled men into the middle class. Then there’s juvenile justice. “The way that Maryland has oftentimes dealt with our young men and boys is to criminalize them,” Moore says. He’d like to expand what the state is already doing, providing wraparound support to some kids (largely boys) who are at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of gun violence.
Asked for a policy wish list, Reeves named three. First, he wants to see Maryland “committing very seriously” to increasing the share of male teachers in K-12. He’d also support a focus on male mental health—both increasing the share of male providers (with whom struggling men often feel more comfortable speaking), and also educating providers about male suicidality, which presents differently in men than in women. Finally, he wants to see all states making an effort to provide better paternity leave, and incentivizing new dads to actually take that leave. But Reeves is excited for any ideas that Maryland, Michigan, Utah, and other states might produce: “I hope that we’ll now have a friendly and good-faith competition among governors to be the ones who are leading the way on helping boys and men.”
Exactly!
Trump administration says South African ambassador has to leave the US by Friday
FILE - South Africa's ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool speaks at the South African Embassy in Washington, Dec. 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, who was declared “persona non grata” last week, has until Friday to leave the country.
After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the decision, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
She said Rasool’s diplomatic privileges and immunities expired Monday and that he would be required to leave the United States by Friday.
South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a television interview on Monday that Rasool was still in the U.S. but would be leaving as soon as possible.
Rubio announced his decision in a post on X as he was flying back to the United States from a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada. In it, he accused Rasool of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates President Donald Trump.
His post linked to a story by the conservative Breitbart news site about a talk Rasool gave earlier Friday in Johannesburg as part of a South African think tank’s webinar. Rasool, speaking by videoconference, talked about actions taken by the Trump administration in the context of a United States where white people soon would no longer be in the majority.
It is highly unusual for the U.S. to expel a foreign ambassador, although lower-ranking diplomats are more frequently targeted with persona non grata status.
Rubio's decision was the latest Trump administration move targeting South Africa. Trump signed an executive order last month halting funding to the country. It criticized the Black-led South African government on multiple fronts, saying it is pursuing anti-white policies at home and supporting “bad actors” in the world like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters on Monday that Rasool would give him a report when he returned home.
Ramaphosa said his government has “noted the displeasure that has been expressed by the United States,” and particularly about Rasool's remarks, but stressed that he believed South Africa was in the process of rebuilding its relationship with the U.S.
“This is a hiccup, a hiccup we are working on straightening out," he said.
“We will engage with the United States of America in a formal way," Ramaphosa said. "We will do so with deep respect for them and for President Trump as well. Our relationship with the United States is going to be put on an even keel, so I would like the people of South Africa not to have sleepless nights.”
Bruce said the United States expects a certain level of respect.
“We’ve had a decent level of diplomacy with South Africa. There are some challenges, but you want people in each embassy who can actually facilitate a relationship,” she told reporters on Monday. “And these remarks were unacceptable to the United States, not just to the president, but to every American.”
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said South Africa intended to raise questions with the U.S. over Rubio seemingly announcing on social media that Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. before informing him of the decision.
Phiri said South Africa believed such matters should first be discussed through diplomatic channels. “But this is the reality that we also have to contend with with this administration. That it does seem as though Twitter (X) is the preferred mode of communication,” the spokesman said in an interview on the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation.
Bruce said the meeting with South African embassy staff was on Friday. Rubio's post went out at 4:42 p.m. on Friday.
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Gerald Imray in Cape Town, South Africa, contributed.
Trump administration says South African ambassador has to leave the US by Friday
The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, who was declared “persona non grata” last week, has until Friday to leave the country. After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his...
www.yahoo.com
Black Marines With ‘Razor Bumps’ Could Be Kicked Out The Military Due To New Policy - NewsBreak
Based on a new policy, people who are inflicted with a skin condition that can cause pain and scarring on their face (razor bumps) from shaving can be kic
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Trump is so unfit to be president
It might get really gully by July.
#bothsidesthesameBlack Marines With ‘Razor Bumps’ Could Be Kicked Out The Military Due To New Policy - NewsBreak
Based on a new policy, people who are inflicted with a skin condition that can cause pain and scarring on their face (razor bumps) from shaving can be kicshare.newsbreak.com
According to the Marine Corps Times , the U.S. Marine Corps has stated that any Marine who has been diagnosed with pseudofolliculitis barbae has to undergo medical reevaluation within 90 days to see if they will still require a shaving waiver due to the condition.Black Marines With ‘Razor Bumps’ Could Be Kicked Out The Military Due To New Policy - NewsBreak
Based on a new policy, people who are inflicted with a skin condition that can cause pain and scarring on their face (razor bumps) from shaving can be kicshare.newsbreak.com
So which Maga wants to tell me this was not specifically targeting black men?
@FLoss
Of course they wanna manage the money... FOR A FEE.
The whole point of it not being private is so that it won't be bastardized.
It's gonna be interesting to see how some of these people survive this regime.
From France comes a call for Trump’s America to return Lady Liberty. Here’s why it won’t happen
It was initially envisaged as a monumental gesture of French-American friendship to mark the 100th anniversary of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.
AP NEWS
March 17, 2025
It was initially envisaged as a monumental gesture of French-American friendship to mark the 100th anniversary of the July 4, 1776, Declaration of Independence.
AP NEWS
March 17, 2025
I bet he voted for Orange man. Ohhhhhh well buddy take your medicine cac!!!