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ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019, is introduced in a splendid Chicago Tribune profile by Christopher Borrelli as Chicagoan, shark, bully, pitbull, leviathan, sledgehammer, former mayor, former Democratic operative and fundraiser, former White House (Obama) chief of staff, former Hillary Clinton headache investment banker, father, husband, ballet dancer, Sunday morning TV talking head, and now author.

That pretty well covers it. We might wonder what someone dubbed Rahm the Impaler was doing studying ballet, apparently so accomplished that he was offered a place with the Joffrey Ballet, or why he chose to attend Sarah Lawrence, where the smart girls used to go. But it would take a brave man to ask such questions.

Nor are they answered in this book, for the most part a discussion of what todays mayors are doing to revitalize their cities, in the face of non-support from an increasingly dysfunctional federal government. What the federal government should be doing is unclear, but he does refer at one point to an LBJ program promulgated by champions of the Great Society (albeit before it all went bankrupt.)

Mr. Emanuels view of contemporary big-city mayors duties are basic: First, seeing to it that functions that keep the city running are effectively carried out get the garbage picked up, the snow plowed, and the potholes filled. They must balance the budget.

But there are also bigger issues: There must be a good school system, cultural events and venues, playgrounds, parks and other green spaces, libraries, and effective public transportation. There must be an appreciation of and respect for diversity. There must be room to welcome immigrants. And finally, this rather oddly worded requirement: There must be wisdom and forethought when it comes to the issue of climate change.

Mayors sometimes fall short on some of these issues, he writes. But our local governments come closer to solving them than national governments do, by a long shot.

In all, this pretty much accounts for the subject of the book the way in which his expressed ideas for the governance of Chicago succeeded, and how other mayors are carrying them out, both here and abroad. Among the overseas mayors to whom he gives most space are the mayor of London, who thanks to Brexit (of which Mr. Emanuel disapproves) is facing a very cloudy future, and the former mayor of Copenhagen, one of the worlds most homogenous cities, and as such largely free of the racial concerns of American cities.

In fact, it was race that most Chicagoans believe played a major role in his decision not to run for a third time, reversing a previously announced decision. In late 2018, he writes, I announced that I would not seek a third term . But after twenty-four years in politics, I realized it was time to take a break.

Also, there was a distinct chance of losing. Blacks and Hispanics had grown increasingly restless, with powerful groups like the teachers union convinced he was indifferent to their needs. During his race for reelection in 2015, he was forced into a run-off with Cook County board commissioner Jesus Chuy Garcia. Also, in 2015, there was the police shooting of a young black man named Laquan McDonald, the citys refusal to release a video of the shooting and a resulting federal investigation into the Chicago police department. This in turn attracted the attention of professional racialists like Al Sharpton, who would encourage blaming the mayor for the whole sorry mess all of which no doubt made a reelection campaign less than attractive.

Crime? The figures vary most recently those from Chicago show overall crime down, violent crimes and shootings up. There again, the problems of a big-city mayor defending his record are apparent. There is no doubt that, as mayor, Rahm Emanuel made an already attractive city more attractive by reclaiming neglected areas and improving Chicagos unique lakeshore and system of parks wonderful areas, welcoming to walkers, families and tourists. (All true, but when tourists and citizens fear being attacked by muggers or worse, the welcome can wear thin.)

In all, an effective and readable treatise, albeit occasionally stilted and repetitious. But theres also another book here, fighting to get out. In the first dozen pages, in clean, evocative prose, he tells the genuinely moving story of his family, beginning with the escape of his 10-year-old grandfather from Eastern Europe, his journey to America, ending in Chicago and the creation of a truly productive family.

In short, a heartfelt testimonial to the efficacy of the American Dream.

John R. Coyne Jr., a former White House speechwriter, is co-author of Strictly Right: William F. Buckley Jr. and the American Conservative Movement (Wiley).

THE NATION CITY: WHY MAYORS ARE NOW RUNNING THE WORLD

By Rahm Emanuel

Knopf, $26.95, 235 pages

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BOOK REVIEW: 'The Nation City' - Washington Times

If youre going to lie about being sexually assaulted at work, its probably a good idea not to Google how to do it before you make the claim.

On February 5, police responded to a call from the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas saying a room was on fire. After they arrived, police learned that a hotel worker, Aviaon Lee, may have been sexually assaulted just before the fire was set, as witnesses said they found her curled up in the hotel hallway bound with duct tape, KVVU reported.

Lee told police she had been cleaning a room when a man sexually assaulted her after taping her eyes shut. She claimed the man wore a ski mask and set the bed on fire after he assaulted her.

Lee gave police her phone as part of their investigation, and police quickly discovered that between January 11 and February 2, Lee had searched the Internet for information regarding rape and workmans compensation. KVVU reported the searches included: can you sue hotel job for sexual assault, how much can you sue a company for injury and how can you tell if someone been raped.

Police then asked Lee about the searches and she claimed they were about something that had happened to her mother-in-law years earlier. She claimed her mother-in-law had been assaulted while working as a housekeeper. Later, Lee admitted she had lied about being sexually assaulted and that she set the fire to try and profit from her allegations.

KVVU reported that the fire set by Lee resulted in an estimated $594,646 in damage.

Lee is facing felony and gross misdemeanor charges including: arson, burglary with a deadly weapon, destroying property valued $5,000 or greater, obstructing the extinguishment of a fire, disregard for the safety of persons or property and false report of crime, the outlet reported. Lee was released Feb. 20 on mid-level monitoring after bond was posted, according to court records.

KSNV reported that Lee was arrested on February 19 for allegedly lying about the sexual assault and setting the fire.

Initially, the outlet reported, Lees allegations made the assault seem very personal and well planned, leading police to suspect the attacker knew Lee and may have been responsible for other assaults.

After Lee confessed to making the whole thing up, police also discovered that Lee had a history of making workers compensation claims while working at the Excalibur, with a dozen reports dating to as far back as 2013, KSNV reported.

Lees allegations and the extent to which she went to fabricate her crimes calls to mind infamous false accuser Tawana Brawley, who went so far as to smear feces on herself, write racial slurs on her body, and hide inside a trash bag in order to claim several powerful white men raped and attacked her. With Brawley, she received national attention thanks to people like Al Sharpton, who used her accusations as a way to enrich themselves and become famous.

In the end, the falsely accused men sued, yet Brawley has only paid a fraction of the money she owes them and Sharptons friends paid off his debts.

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She Claimed She Was Bound And Raped In A Hotel Room. Internet Searches Proved She Lied. - The Daily Wire

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SELMA, Alabama Black activists turned their backs on him in church. African American leaders said they dont trust him. Others in the crowd just plain didnt know him.

A choppy Southern swing for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg over the weekend doesnt bode well for his Super Tuesday showing with African American voters, a crucial voting bloc in states where Bloomberg will have to do well to justify his continued existence in the hunt for the 2020 presidential nomination.

As voters go to the polls in Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Arkansas, the question is whether Bloomberg has made enough inroads with Southern black voters to mount a serious challenge to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Martin Luther King III praised Bloombergs work on climate and gun violence prevention, an issue that theyve worked on together. But King also said he hasnt done enough to gain the trust of black voters still angry over his stop-and-frisk policing policy during his mayoral tenure, which disproportionately hit the black community. He did make a statement apologizing for it, but not until February.

There's anger and hostility, King told VICE News. Stop and frisk is going to come up, and he's going to have to find an answer for that or else he's not he's not gonna be able to get much support from the black community.

I think its just an insult for him to come here.

The hostile and sometimes awkward reception was on display during a pre-march church service at the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma on Sunday. Rev. Leodis Strong, the churchs pastor, welcomed Bloomberg onto the stage by telling the crowd the former mayor was initially too busy to accept his invitation to attend the service. Nevertheless, Strong asked the crowd to hear Bloomberg out and noted that his very presence showed a capacity to change.

During the speech, a handful of attendees stood up from the pews, turned their backs, and remained that way until Bloomberg left the stage.

Lisa Brown, one of the protesters who'd traveled from her home in Los Angeles, said she wanted the former mayor to know that she resents his attempt to swoop into the race late and buy the presidency.

I think its just an insult for him to come here, Brown told VICE News. He doesn't have enough respect to take the time and campaign the way that he should, and he's only there because he can afford to be there.

Bloomberg spokesman Michael Frazier responded that there are few who have done more for the black community than Mike, and touted his record as mayor and as a philanthropist.

"The great thing about this country is that you have the right to speak your mind, or in this case, silently protest, he said. Voters have a chance to have their voices heard today, and we feel good about the case Mike has made for rebuilding this country."

Bloomberg has been pitching his Greenwood Initiative to create generational wealth in the African-American community. Its named after the neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that was destroyed in a devastating 1921 race terrorism attack on its well-to-do black residents. Historians estimate the violence resulted in potentially hundreds of murdered African Americans, making it one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history.

That riot is seared into the consciousness of black activists. A vendor at the Selma march was selling posters commemorating the attack on Black Wall Street, as the neighborhood was called. But at a breakfast before the march, Bloomberg told attendees he had only learned about the attack four or five months ago.

That kind of blind spot to the indignities African Americans have historically faced, the indignities Bloombergs policies have subjected them to in New York City, and the late promises to help are the exact reasons his run for office is being met with so much skepticism. At least according to Rev. Al Sharpton, who marched alongside all the candidates in Selma, even as he said he has protested them all before.

That puts Bloomberg in sharp contrast to Biden, who, although he has his own checkered policy past the crime bill, Anita Hill has come to earn the trust of many in the community.

I lead the marches on Bloomberg, and on Joe Biden about the crime bill, Sharpton told VICE News. I think that what has happened is that a lot of people in the black community saw eight years of Joe Biden being the partner to Barack Obama and fighting for him since he did the crime bill, and I think the problem with a lot of the other candidates is there's no body of work since the things that they have done that we disagreed with.

On Tuesday, huge pockets of African Americans will also vote in California, Texas, and Virginia, and Bloomberg will need those votes to be a factor in those states. The demographic is, of course, not monolithic, and signs are popping up that even as the activist class turns its back on Bloomberg, his candidacy polls better among average black voters.

But Biden won across age and gender lines in South Carolina, and if that trend holds on Super Tuesday and beyond, it may be difficult for Bloomberg to make up ground. He currently polls third behind first place Sen. Bernie Sanders and Biden in second nationally, and Biden and Sanders have been jostling for first place among black voters in national polls.

Bloombergs run will fail if he flops with black voters, especially if other black voters around the country take cues from the African-Americans in early states when it comes their turn to cast a ballot.

As Bloomberg entered the church in Selma, Raymond Wynn, a 66-year-old welder from Cincinnati, was holding a digital camcorder to get a shot of his entrance among a crowd near the door. Hes an undecided voter, he said, but what happens on Super Tuesday will factor heavily into who he picks in Ohios March 17 primary.

I'm just waiting after Super Tuesday and I'll see what it all comes down to, he said. I'm more likely to just go with the favorite Democrat that's ahead.

Cover: People turn their backs on Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg as he speaks at Brown Chapel AME church, Sunday, March 1, 2020, in Selma , Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

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Black Activists Literally Turned Their Backs on Mike Bloomberg. Will Black Voters Do the Same? - VICE

Democratic presidential hopefulMike Bloomberg is slated to do an interview with civil rights icon the Rev. Al Sharpton on Sunday amid scrutiny of the former New York City mayor'spast support for "stop and frisk."

Bloomberg's interviewwill air at 5 p.m. Sunday on Sharptons Politics Nation program on MSNBC.

The former mayorhas faced a wave of criticism recently after resurfaced comments showed him defending the stop-and-frisk police practice, which studies have shown was ineffective in reducing crime and overwhelmingly targeted men of color.

"The way you should get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them up against the wall and frisk them," Bloomberg said in unearthedaudio from 2015.

Ninety-five percent of your murders murderers and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it and pass it out to all the cops," he added. "They are male, minorities, 16 to 25. Thats true in New York, its true in virtually every city."

The unsurfaced comments led to a spike in criticism from activists and calls from other 2020 Democrats that Bloombergexplain the remarks.

Bloomberghasapologized for his past support for the law enforcement practice andrepeated his mea culpa earlier this month.

By the time I left office, I cut it back by 95%, but I should've done it faster and sooner," he said in a statement. "I regret that and I have apologized and I have taken responsibility for taking too long to understand the impact it had on Black and Latino communities."

Several presidential rivals went after Bloombergduring the latest Democratic debate in Las Vegas this week, with former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenButtigieg campaign claims 'irregularities' in Nevada caucuses Poll: Sanders leads 2020 Democratic field with 28 percent, followed by Warren and Biden More than 6 in 10 expect Trump to be reelected: poll MORE ripping the stop-and-friskprogram as "abhorrent" and Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenPoll: Sanders leads 2020 Democratic field with 28 percent, followed by Warren and Biden More than 6 in 10 expect Trump to be reelected: poll Sanders has wide leads in two of three battleground states: survey MORE (D-Mass.) callingBloomberg's apology inadequate.

Ive sat, Ive apologized, Ive asked for forgiveness, but the bottom line is that we stopped too many people and we got to make sure we do something about criminal justice in thiscountry,the former mayor saidduring the debate Wednesday.

Sharpton has criticized Bloomberg in the past over the practice and said this week he would have to repair the damage caused by stop and frisk, while noting that other candidates have baggage as well.

I also dont want to see him as a leaf that the other candidates dump some of their racial baggage, he said on MSNBC earlier this week. I want to know what Bernies gonna say about the vote he did for the [1994] crime bill, where people went to jail.

"No matter his reason for voting for it, it was a law that incarcerated people. Joe Biden wrote it," Bloomberg added before noting that Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy Jean KlobucharPoll: Sanders leads 2020 Democratic field with 28 percent, followed by Warren and Biden Sanders has wide leads in two of three battleground states: survey Democrats: It's Trump's world, and we're just living in it MORE (D-Minn.) is facing scrutiny over her past as a prosecutor. All of them have racial baggage.

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Bloomberg to do interview with Al Sharpton | TheHill - The Hill

WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --On Monday, February 24th at 6pm, civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Christopher Bullock will be hosting a free dinner for Delaware residents in honor of Black History Month, emceed by local Pastor Dale Dennis II of Hoyt Memorial CME. The event is sponsored by CPBD.

The pastors will be leading a discussion on the lack of diversity on Delaware's courts and its adverse effects on all of the state's residents. The discussion, at the Kingswood Community Center in Wilmington, will also focus on what can be done to "repair the institutional neglect of people of color in the Delaware," as Reverend Sharpton stated in his first advocacy visit to the state in October.

The dinner comes following the Delaware State Senate's denial of Reverend Al Sharpton the opportunity to testifyon the issue of diversity in the state's judicial system at a Chancery Court Chancellor's nomination hearing. In the past several months, Reverend Sharpton has visited Delaware calling for progress on the issue and even penned a letter to leading law firm Skadden Arps calling for elite firms to do their part in advancing people of color in the legal industry. While people of color make up over 60% of Delaware's prison population, only four justices who serve on the three highest courts in Delaware are people of color.

Said Reverend Sharpton, "to say I was disappointed the Delaware State Senate would not even agree to hear testimony from myself on the matter of judicial diversity would be an understatement. But our voices cannot be silenced and I am excited to be joining my colleagues and fellow civil rights champions in the First State to celebrate Black History Month and rally around our cause: Delaware needs more black and brown judges and we need them now."

On Monday, February 24th at 6pm, civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Christopher Bullock will be hosting a free dinner for Delaware residents in honor of Black History Month, emceed by local Pastor Dale Dennis II of Hoyt Memorial CME.

Contact: Mary Urban, mu@adeoadvocacy.com

SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware

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Civil Rights Leader Reverend Al Sharpton and Delaware Pastors to Host Black History Month Celebration and Dinner in Support of Diversifying Delaware's...