The iPINIONS Journal

Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.

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Hakeem Jeffries Meeting with Jared Kushner Is Like Bill Clinton Rebuking Sister Souljah. It’s Smart Politics

Friday, August 28, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Hakeem Jeffries is catching hell for meeting Jared Kushner. But iPINIONS urges Democrats confusing political contact with ideological betrayal to remember Bill Clinton’s Sister Souljah moment. Governing requires negotiating with people you despise, resisting purity tests, and keeping your eye on the gavel. Read my full take on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/hakeem-jeffries-meeting-with-jared Read more.

Nepal Floods Show Trump’s America Shrinking in Stature

Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 8:35 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

As catastrophic floods devastate Nepal, the contrast is stark. Obama America once mobilized more than 130 disaster responders and roughly $130 million after Nepal’s 2015 earthquake. Trump America, after dismantling USAID’s disaster-response capacity, is offering $500,000 and one adviser. America once played the world’s fireman. iPINIONS laments that it’s now standing by as Nepal drowns.… Read more.

Dolly Parton and the House That Whitney Built

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Somehow, in 21 years of writing online, iPINIONS never mentioned Dolly Parton’s name. But the story of how she used roughly $10 million from Whitney Houston’s magnificent “I Will Always Love You” to buy offices in a Black Nashville neighborhood, then called it “the house that Whitney built,” tells me more about Dolly than any… Read more.

Trump on Ballroom, Reflecting Pool, Tariffs, War, Etc: Stop Me If You Can

Monday, August 24, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Trump has turned breaking norms and laws into a governing method. Act first, create the irreversible fact, then dare Congress or the courts to put Humpty Dumpty back together. iPINIONS notes that, from his billion-dollar ballroom-cum-bunker and illegal visa ban to tariffs, war powers, and presidential immunity, Trump keeps discovering that even an eventual court… Read more.

The Biama Discovery: The Algorithm Is the New Compass

Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Not since breakdancing has a dance become a craze quite like biama. And thanks to social media, it hardly matters that it originated in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, instead of the Bronx, New York. TikTok is replete with biama dance-offs from Beijing to Buenos Aires, and all points between. But iPINIONS says don’t let the algorithm… Read more.

Trump Endorses and Nominates Dummies Like Darline Graham to Make Himself Look Smarter

Friday, August 21, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Darline Graham’s spectacular national-security flub drew boos and ridicule. But in fairness to Graham, she admitted what Donald Trump never will. She knows what she doesn’t know. But iPINIONS argues that her humiliation also exposes a larger Trump pathology. The dumber and more sycophantic the people around him, the smarter and stronger he feels. Read… Read more.

Netanyahu Campaigning for Reelection by Defaming Mamdani and Defying Trump

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Benjamin Netanyahu is using New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a bogeyman in Israel’s reelection campaign, while openly defying the American president who boasts that Bibi does whatever he says. But iPINIONS contends that, from Gaza and Lebanon to Saudi Arabia’s new security alignment with nuclear-armed Pakistan, Netanyahu’s manipulation of Trump is producing consequences that… Read more.

“Hormuz Strait” US Territory? Because American Fatalism Has Normalized Trump’s Pathological Lying

Monday, August 17, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Trump says he’ll declare the “Hormuz Strait” US territory. iPINIONS contends the absurdity is almost beside the point. The real danger is how MAGA loyalty and American fatalism have trained millions to accept his lies, cruelty, and autocratic whims as normal. Read my full take on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/hormuz-strait-us-territory-because Read more.

NFL Turns Training Camp Into Love Field to Woo Female Fans

Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

To woo female fans, the NFL is turning training camps into showcases for players and their WAGs. But iPINIONS warns that, as hockey learned with the glowing puck, repackaging a sport for new audiences can risk turning off the fans already watching. Read my full take on Substack: https://ipinionsdaily.substack.com/p/nfl-turns-training-camp-into-love Read more.

Birbalsingh’s Michaela Community School Defies the Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

Friday, August 14, 2026 at 8:37 AM
Written by Anthony L. Hall

Fifteen years ago, I told my dear friend Katharine Birbalsingh that Michaela would one day compete with England’s best schools. iPINIONS reports that its latest A-level results suggest I wasn’t just encouraging her. I was forecasting a mission built on discipline, high expectations, and a refusal to indulge the soft bigotry of low expectations. Read… Read more.