Dear Dean Magazine: Issue 13

AN INTRODUCTION TO 

Policing Black Athletes 

by Dr. Vernon Andrews 

"Hopeful Democrats, Hateful GOP" 

by Myron J. Clifton

THE GOODS 

3 

Welcome From Myron 

8 

14 

20 

22 

31 

32 

34 

Featured Spotlight: 

Policing Black Athletes 

by Dr. Vernon Andrews 

A memory of my mom on the 

anniversary of her passing 

by Myron J. Clifton 

Myron's HIT or MISS 

Dear Dean Blog: Hopeful 

Democrats Hateful GOP 


TOTM #repubsolazy 


Hot Take! Classified 

My Favorite Things 

Streaming Right Now 

D E A R D E A N M A G A Z I N E , W E B S I T E , 

B L O G S A N D B O O K S A R E D E S I G N E D B Y 

K A T Y A J U L I E T L E R N E R

HAPPY 

NEW 

YEAR! 

We are in the first month of the year and it is a good 

time to pause and appreciate… YOU. 

You did it. You made another new year, you worked, 

went to school, raised kids, managed your health, took 

care of your parent, adopted and rescued pets, 

volunteered, voted, read oh so many books, and 

started businesses, new careers, and new hobbies. 

You deserve a pat on the back, a celebration of you, 

and recognition of your achievement. 

It is okay to recognize the small, mundane, 

inconsequential because they all matter as much as the 

big accomplishments because they are the foundation 

and building blocks we use to get from point A to point 

B and beyond. 

So, take a moment and to enjoy points A, B, R, S, Z – 

and all points in-between because you made it there 

and earned your joy. 

Let’s begin 2023 ready to be our best selves in 

whatever way we each need to be. Let’s satisfy 

ourselves first and care for our physical, mental, 

spiritual, and magical selves so that we help each other 

heal, grow, laugh, and feel and think better about our 

uniqueness and our sameness with our fellow humans. 

Is all that too woke? Too mystical? Too rainbows and 

butterflies? 

rainbows and more butterflies to replace the hate, 

racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, 

misogynoir, ageism, fatphobia, and worse. 

So often we are shamed from talking about, 

celebrating, and encouraging hope, joy, kindness, and 

happiness. 

That society has twisted itself to hate that which is 

loving and joyful while pushing hate, anger, anguish, 

and ugliness tells us all we need to know about why 

there is so much despair and mental health issues 

with so many people in all walks of life. 

So, dear reader, take your well-earned moment of joy 

and don’t be afraid to pause in the moment and relish 

your personal cone of joy, happiness, calmness, and 

just quiet solitude. 

You have earned it. Happy New Year! 

Good! We need more woke, more mystical, more 

Myron 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | p.3


Website | Bookshop | Twitter 

Myron J. Clifton is an author of novels Jamaal’s Incredible 

Adventures in the Black Church; Monuments: A Deadly 

Day at Jefferson Park; BLM-PD: Revenge was Inevitable; 

Her Legend Lives in You: The Untold Story Honoring the 

Goddess & Our Daughters; and short story collection, We 

Couldn’t Be Heroes, and Other Stories. Also check out his 

weekly podcast, Voice Memos, his FREE digital magazine, 

Dear Dean Magazine, and his weekly blog at both Medium 

and DearDean.com. Myron lives in Sacramento, California, 

and is an avid Bay Area sports fan. He likes comic books, 

telling stories about his late mom to his beloved daughter 

Leah, and talking to his friends. BOOKS ON AMAZON 

New! 

New! 

Loving Myron J. Clifton's Content? 

S H O W Y O U R S U P P O R T W I T H 

A C O N T R I B U T I O N T O D E A R D E A N ! 

Advertising / Contributions 

words@deardeanpublishing.com 


You’ll discover: 

How to have difficult conversations 

about white supremacy, racism, and 

white privilege 

How to listen to criticism without 

defensiveness 

Why it’s harmful to ignore race or 

claim to be colorblind 

How to expand your racial justice 

circle by joining groups led by Black 

women and cultivating a group of 

like-minded allies 

Racism can only be defeated if white 

people educate themselves and actively 

engage in antiracism work, especially in 

their inner circles. 

With this book, you’ll learn how to 

change from someone who defends and 

protects racism to someone who fights 

against it. And you’ll become an example 

to others that true allies are made, not 

born. 

LECIA MICHELLE 

Lecia Michelle has been a librarian for over 15 years, working in both universities and 

public libraries. She is also the founder and leader of “Real Talk: WOC and Allies for 

Racial Justice and Anti-Oppression.” Lecia is a writer w, an avid reader, and pursuer of all 

things related to anti-racist work and activism. 


D R . V E R N O N A N D R E W S 

Vernon L. Andrews, Ph.D., received his doctorate in 

sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

He also obtained his bachelor’s degree in English from 

California State University, Chico (CSUC) in 1981, and 

later in 1989, he earned a master’s degree in Public 

Communication from Chico. 

Before leaving for his Ph.D., Dr. Andrews worked for 

six years as a public relations manager and company 

historian for Hewlett-Packard Company in Palo Alto, 

California. 

From 1996 to 2009, Dr. Andrews served as a faculty 

member and later, chair, of the American Studies 

Department at the University of Canterbury in 

Christchurch, New Zealand. 

After returning to the states for good in 2010, Dr. 

Andrews conducted research and taught 

entrepreneurship, diversity and marketing courses in 

the management and marketing departments at 

CSUC. 

He currently teaches in the Multicultural and Gender 

Studies Department at California State University, 

Chico. Dr. Andrews writes for newspapers, magazines, 

and has extensive radio and television interview 

experience in addition to his academic publishing and 

speaking. 

Website 

"Act Like You've 

Been There Before!" 

 

The Age-Old White Taunt of Privilege 

“Why isn’t sport played the way it used to be 

played, when football was for men who loved 

America, who saluted the flag, and who 

respected our men in blue and our troops by 

standing—and not kneeling—for our National 

Anthem!” This sentiment permeates American 

football today and represents the feelings of 

many fans who can appreciate their Black 

heroes, but find the issue of “Blackness” via 

the two extremes of celebratory expression 

and protest, regressive. “This should be about 

sport, not politics,” many feel. The author 

concurs. As much as we may wish the sporting 

arena didn’t have to be one of the last 

battlefields for Civil Rights, here we are. This 

book explores how conflicts over diversity, 

culture, inclusion, exclusion, protest and 

control have been played out over the years in 

various sports and institutions. Are there 

lessons to be learned from our overlapping— 

though at times, separate—cultural histories 

of Black and White? This book is about how 

we learn to act when in public and when 

playing sports. Infused in this conversation is 

the ever-present policing of Black bodies in 

sport and society, and the disconnect we have 

as citizens living in the same country 

perpetually divided by race. Interwoven 

throughout are solutions for moving forward.”


Picture this: Two people sitting on a park bench. A 

man dressed in red has a large cartoonish 

exclamation mark over his head. He is on the left. 

The other person, a woman dressed in green on the 

right, has a large cartoonish question mark hovering 

above her head. They talk. Well, the guy on the left 

talks as the woman on the right listens. 

More and more, louder and louder, the guy in red 

on the left talks. 

and in clear eyeshot of exclamation-mark man in red, 

she did an end-zone dance. 

His exclamation mark gets bolder and larger. The 

woman in green on the right shrugs in despair and She was happy. 

her question mark remains. 

She had remained quiet in mind and body far too 

In fact, it gets smaller. 

long. She now inhaled the "freedom to express" that 

the exclamation-mark man in red had enjoyed all 

This goes on for minutes, hours, days, years, these many years on the park bench. She took small 

decades, and centuries until something crazy comfort in seeing the man in red's new question 

happens. The woman in green on the right -- mark above his head grow larger with each liberating 

question mark-woman- gets up, yells many things, step away from him she took in her newfound 

points at the guy in red, says a few more heated freedom. 

words, and then stomps off. As she walks off 

dressed in green, an exclamation mark suddenly Oh, there was one instant- maybe a second or so 

appears above her head where the question mark that the man in red got his exclamation mark back. In 

once resided. She turns around and notices thar the that instant the woman in green halted, turned to 

man in red now has a large question mark above his look over her shoulder, and noticed it also. She also 

head. They go their separate ways. 

noticed the question mark above her own head was 

back. But after that instant, they both returned to 

This is pretty much a history of White and Black the previous state--the man in red with a growing 

interaction in America. 

question mark and the woman in green--leaving the 

park, with her ever-growing new exclamation mark. 

That woman on the right in green- question-mark What did the man on the left in red scream in that 

woman- she's Black. 

millisecond? "Act like you've been there before! Act 

like you've had an exclamation mark before!" 

For decades she listened to the hypocritical rhetoric 

of equality until she had enough. She morphed into In point of fact, the woman leaving the park in green 

an emboldened Rosa Parks, got up, told the man in had not. She had always been the quiet, acquiescing, 

red where to go, and then rode her imaginary bus humble, question mark. She would, after a time, 

toward freedom. On her way out of the park 

enjoy being an exclamation mark, and even come to 



revel in it. Being an exclamation mark felt great to the 

woman in green because she had always been a 

question mark. The man in red on the left felt little 

comfort in being a question mark and indeed showed 

his discomfort every chance he got. Where once he 

was arrogant and unforgiving, he now stewed in 

humility. He was used to expressing and now this 

continual questioning truly rocked his world. Had he 

thought about it, and not been so arrogant, he could 

have asked the woman in green, "How do you live 

the life of a humble question mark? Teach me! 

Acting verses Being 

A common saying is uttered hundreds of times on 

sofas every weekend across America whenever a 

Black athlete gets exuberant after scoring a 

touchdown. The phrase is primarily directed at 

African American football players in collegiate or 

professional sport. Announcers will say it, ex-athletes 

will say it, coaches will say it, and fans will say it. 

Even righteous African Americans will say it on 

occasion. 

The phrase, almost always uttered by White viewers 

of sport is, "Act like you've been there before." In 

short: 

Don’t get so excited if you score a touchdown or sack 

the quarterback or make a good tackle. Act like this is 

not the first time you have achieved in life. Be 

professional and maintain some dignity, and act like 

this is par for the course for you and your family. Be a 

bit more humble and less arrogant about your 

success. 

honorable thing for an athlete to do, if we obey the 

"been there before" narrative, is to hand the ball to 

the referee after a touchdown and non-emotively 

shuffle off to the sidelines. 

But while "acting like you have been there before" 

might be a valid way of behaving after success in 

sport, it is but one way of behaving. Other 

interpretations of appropriate behavior in sporting 

contexts are equally as valid. Black athletes and 

everyday citizens have historically not had access or 

experience of the high level of success in social 

institutions that Whites have experienced, and as 

such social and sporting success might mean more in 

the greater context of our lives. Given our 

interconnected history in America, you'd think White 

citizens would expect that success means more to 

Black people than it means, historically speaking, to 

White people. There is a severe disconnect from 

American history when you tell us to behave like you 

behave, because "success is normal in everyday life. 

What is interpreted as arrogance by Black athletes (by 

not acting like they've been there) is often the reverse 

a flourish of happiness in the face of humble origins. 

Likewise, what is interpreted as humility by White 

athletes speaks to the reverse scenario a show of 

ordinariness in the face of a past complete with 

success and power and, some would say, social 

arrogance. 

After the Civil War ended and four million freed Black 

people celebrated, their former masters were likely 

upset, yelling that the slaves were "showing them up." 

And there was at least one owner who said, "Act like 

you've had freedom before!" 

The Phrase (as "Act like you've been there before" 

will be referred to) is interpreted on a 

humble/arrogance scale and has become part of the 

anti-celebratory-expression lingo by sports 

announcers, fans, players, and coaches. The most 

In 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court overthrew the 

1896 Plessey vs. Ferguson "separate but equal" lie, 

Black people celebrated again, likely to Whites in the 

Jim Crow south who taunted them with, "Act like 

you've had equal rights before!" Of course they 



would say that. 

Yet again, in 1964, once the United States 

decided to actually enforce. 

1954 verdict with signed law and military 

enforcement of desegregation, Blade once again 

danced in the streets, praising America for finally 

ending is hypocrisy and thereby becoming "the 

land of the free." No doubt there were thousands 

a Whites wondering why on earth Black people 

danced and cried and celebrated being able to use 

the best bathrooms, water faucets, swank hotels, 

and eat at ordinary restaurants alongside Whites. I 

can hear it as if it was yesterday, "Act like you've 

eaten a cheeseburger on a counter at Woolworths 

before!" 

"Yes, I guess I could pretend. It is, after all, just a 

cheeseburger at Woolworths," would have been 

my answer. Followed by, "It tastes so good 

because its awesome to feel this kind of 

freedom." 

policing narratives of announcers, coaches, athletes, 

and fans. 

But my specific reading of The Phrase from an African 

American male perspective is a reading from below of 

a White middle-class way of life (of having been there) 

only imagined. 

Let's re-read The Phrase and its possible meanings as 

we look at "White ways" as a set of behaviors in sport 

and society. Blacks in sports, in contrast, are read in 

the text as not having been there (the greater end 

zone of social success before and not enjoying the 

same historical privileges of bodily movement. 

And so it has been with this taunt of The Phrase 

down through history, and even today in sport. 

White people and even Black people who have 

jumped on the bandwagon-utter this phrase every 

weekend while watching sports in America. 

The Phrase is attributed to the former National 

Football League (NFL) coach Paul Brown. This 

chapter is not intended to question Paul Brown's 

original intent or his views on celebration. That 

intent may never be known, though we can 

reason to guess that Paul Brown preferred his 

athletes to move as quickly and quietly as they 

could to the sidelines after scoring. Paul Brown's 

utterance has taken on a life of its own in the 

The Phrase represents a White taunt. We typically 

think of taunting as a specific Black activity in sport. In 

a Black context, the intent of taunting is to frustrate, 

embarrass, shame, or make fun of an athlete so as to 

negatively shift his/ her behavior. Taunting can be 

considered psychological warfare in sport. 

"Act like you've been there before" is a taunt of 

privilege, and its intent is also to embarrass, shame, or 

make fun of an athlete. The Phrase is psychological 

warfare against the "wrong element" (read, urban 

expressive Black male) creeping into sport. In this 

sense, The Phrase is intended to "instruct." The Phrase 

would point to Black taunting as negative beauty of 

the power to define: Black 



people "loot" after Hurricane Katrina and White 

people “find food.” Social Power can marginalize 

one norm and privilege another. 

To "reclaim" a phrase, a traditionally marginalized 

social group redefines a negative characterization 

into a positive one. “Bitch,” “fag,” and “coconut” are 

terms that come to mind that have been reclaimed 

by women, gays, and Pacific Islanders, respectively. 

But I don’t want to reframe the negative association 

with Black taunting as a “positive.” I’d like to 

suggest a different reading of The Phrase from a 

White definition of "social instruction" to a "taunt." 

Let's call a spade. 

We need to rebrand "Act Like You've Been There 

Before" to be exactly what it is- a nasty taunt 

intended to verbally punish Blacks by those who 

feel all people should act the same way they do ... 

as their parents did ... and their parents before them 

did. 

This is often the American reaction when 

confronted with cultural and racial difference and 

most recently, religious (Muslim) difference. You 

also saw it with the responses to Kaepernick's 

kneeling for the anthem. 

For privileged Whites (most Whites are not 

wealthy, but I am speaking of social privilege) and 

others (including Blacks) to instruct Black athletes 

via The Phrase with malice from a position of social 

power and privilege as if everyone enjoyed those 

same powers and privileges is to not only taunt, but 

to also position Whiteness as a "truth" and 

"authentic" and to once again marginalize the Black 

experience of life, liberty, and the freedom to 

socially express in all our varied (often policed) 

forms as un-American. The implied all-American and 

middle/ upper-class consciousness in The Phrase 

pretends Black and White histories are the same. If 

not in society, then at least in sport. 

There is no intent to suggest we should all like endzone 

dancing, crazy slam-dunks, or slow home-run 

trots. It is fine to dislike celebration, showboating, 

and such. Like you, I don't like many of the 

expressive acts in I see in sports. I even think it is 

fine to shout at the TV or the athlete about 

whatever might cross your mind. But just know that 

when you shout, "Act like you've been there 

before," you're just ripping a mad fart because not 

everybody was raised by your parents and your 

grandparents. And that smell left behind? That's the 

smell of un-American ethnocentrism." 

That's the same smell most first-wave (Northern, 

Western European) and second wave (Southern and 

Eastern) immigrants had to get used to as they were 

stripped of their culture upon arrival in America. 

O R D E R 

T O D A Y ! 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | p.13

A memory of my mom on the anniversary of her passing 

She was 39 when she passed, having endured an excruciating eighteen months of cancer, 

chemotherapy, and other pain drugs. Mom had a big laugh, sharp wit, and loving warm demeanor. In 

her passing she often talked late into the night about her life, her loves, and the things should would 

miss once she passed. 

“I will miss seeing my daughter grow-up, hot coffee, and good sex.” Mom whispered deep into the 

night and after I’d given her morphine. She often talked like this after the morphine began working. 

I’d long stopped be uncomfortable at her, perhaps unwittingly, sharing her deepest thoughts to me 

her youngest son. I sat quietly in the still room with only a hallway light providing a line of light that 

crossed my lap and across her torso. Just enough of the fleeting light illuminated her face in the 

darkness. The light sped away from her but even it could not leave the room fast enough to keep 

her sick beautiful face in the dark. 

I smiled. 

Mom would soon fade away to sleep for a couple of hours before I needed to give her more medicine, and try 

to give her something light to eat, usually only a few teaspoons of broth at this stage of her sickness. 

“Won’t you miss me, mom?” 

I played our game. 

I waited for her to play. 

The waits were getting longer. 

Her leg moved. She would soon say, 

“I won’t miss you because you’re always here.” 

And I would end our game. 

“I will always miss you.” 


We Couldn't Be Heroes 

Short Story Collection: We Couldn't Be Heroes And Other Stories What if a Black 

man could control the weather, God called 911, or aliens took our souls? Would 

we notice? Would we care?... Enjoy the entire collection, seven stories in all, on 

earth and in space and in any order.

NEW! 

ON SALE 

NOW 

A cup of coffee or tea paired with interesting company is an unbeatable combination. We learn 

and share so much through this simple social ritual. Nuanced origin stories. Brow-raising 

secrets. Good news. Bad news. Hopes and dreams, insecurities and fears. Sip by sip, we do 

business, catch up, plan our lives, and discover common ground. 

To gain a better understanding of his friends, Myron went on a mission to try their favorite 

drinks. He was struck by the complex flavors and simple pleasures that characterized their 

personalities. Sweet. Spicy. Bold. Bewitching. Optimistic. Ostentatious. Practical. Perfectionist. 

In Coffee, Grounded, Myron reviews these drinks and brews up a perfect blend of culture and 

caffeine. He examines the history of various ingredients and coffee-growing regions, painting a 

vivid picture of faraway lands and hometown haunts. 

Pour yourself a cup and curl up with this tasty collection of stories steeped in friendship and fun. 

Order & Indulge! 


Bunny Pancakes for Ari and Nino 

It's time for Bunny Pancakes! A new day for Nino and Ari is about to begin...but 

before the sun comes up, and as the rest of the family sleeps, Mama is busy in the 

kitchen preparing a yummy breakfast for the ‘early bird’ twins! 

In her first children's book, Isha Lerner, best-selling author of Inner Child Cards, 

ventures into the exciting realm of children’s books. A researcher and teacher of 

myth, fairy tales, and folklore, Isha has a deep relationship with nature, the magical 

world of flowers, and all things enchanting. 


CLICK TO MEET 

THE HOSTS! 

MYRON 

JENN 

Two longtime friends have informative, yet 

brief discussions about multitudinous topics. 

NEW EPISODES ON FRIDAYS! 


MYRON J. CLIFTON & JENNIFER VANLAANEN'S PODCAST 

VOICE MEMOS REVIEWS 

Listen Now! 

Stay 

Shallow! 

Like listening to your BFFs 

June 2, 2022 

kjlerner

MYRON'S 

HIT OR MISS 

list 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | p.20 

HIT 

Angela Bassett winning Best Supporting Actress 

in a Motion Picture award and becoming the 

first actor in a Marvel movie to win an acting 

award.

MISS 

Rep. Marge Taylor Green stupidly used a Dr. Dre 

tune to announce her next term in Congress, only to 

be threatened with a lawsuit by Dr. Dre and his 

attorneys. And they didn’t just threaten her, they 

reminded her that as an elected official she should 

know better than to break copyright infringement 

laws. They further said they’d never allow someone 

as hateful as her to use his music. Her lame retort? 

That dummy said she’d never use his music even 

though she had literally just used his music. 

MISS 

Predictions by all those religious nuts who said many 

versions of “god told them Trump, Hershel Walker 

and would win” 

and all of them were proven wrong. None of them 

are asked later on if it were they who were lying or 

god. 

MISS 

The British media who gleefully predicted Price 

Harry’s book, Spare, would fail, and Meghan and 

Harry’s Netflix series would fail. The Netflix Series 

topped worldwide charts for weeks and Harry’s book 

sold 1.4 million copies in the first few days of release 

to become one of the most successful releases ever 

for the publisher and it is breaking records around 

the world and also in England. 

MISS 

President Biden having classified documents found 

at his home and former VP office. Though decidedly 

not the same as with former president Trump who 

stole thousands, said he didn’t, then refused to turn 

them over when he was caught lying, President 

Biden’s lawyer proactively told the DOJ and is 

cooperating with the special counsel investigation. 

HIT 

Argentina winning the World Cup and 5 millions 

people partying in Buenos Aires, Messi winning his 

first, and then Messi being offered $350M per YEAR 

to play in Saudi Arabia. 

MISS 

Avatar: The Way of the Water. Look, it has made billions and will make more in the coming months and years. It is 

an awful movie, with a terrible message, and full of appropriation and disregard for indigenous cultures and 

peoples. And the director’s offensive words that include “Native Americans didn’t fight hard enough against 

colonization and genocide” are among the most hurtful, detestable, and racist statements he has made. 


y Myron J. Clifton 

The globe was destabilized for the last few hundred I am so sick of them. 

years by selfish and evil men who wanted to own and 

control trade, resources, and people, and we see it 

happening again in the USA, Bazile, and Ukraine. 

Sick of the magas and insurrectionists in government, 

in military, in media, and on social media. They are the 

scourge and cancer of modern living, and they are 

We are seeing the same events because a few ultrawealthy 

men want the same access to resources, the 

same unaccountability, the same place atop their evilinspired 

preventing progress because they see progress as 

“taking” from them because they believe they own 

everything and every person. 

hierarchy they believe they are entitled to. 

The only thing positive to take away from the coup 

The attempted overthrow of the Brazilian Congress by 

supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, who is conducting his coup 

from Mar-a-Lago’s dictator suite, were pushed, and 

attempt in Brazil was the quick response by law 

enforcement to arrest thousands of coup participants 

within twenty-four hours. 

advertised by the same factions who caused the January 

6th Insurrection and takeover of the Capitol two years 

ago. Trump, “General Flynn, Steve Bannon, Steve Miller, 

If only this nation had done the same, and then handed 

out years long sentences of the ground troops and the 

Elon Musk, Ginni Thomas, Fox News, Ali Alexander, and leaders instead of allowing the leaders, those 

the rest of the anti-American goons. 

mentioned 


M Y R O N J . C L I F T O N 

above and others, to remain free and work on 

Insurrection 2: Coup Boogaloo. 

And now with the GOP in charge of the House of 

Representatives thanks to non-voters and voters who 

were fooled by dumb corrupt liars like George Santos in 

New York who is a fugitive from Brazil of all places. 

Santos says he is Jewish, Black, Married, not gay, 

employed, and a host of other verifiable lies which didn’t 

stop voters for putting him in office. 

the American people” they’re always talking about. 

We have a GOP majority in the House, and they have In fact, their first couple of acts were to defund the IRS 

stated they will attack, investigate, and do as much so that fewer wealthy people are audited. The funding 

damage to President Biden and Democrats as they can was just approved late last year with the funding 

over the next two years. 

designated for additional staffing to replace retiring 

agents over the next ten years and targeting wealthy 

They are suddenly no longer worried about inflation, gas tax cheats. 

and grocery prices, BLM, CRT, Jewish space lasers, or 

Wokeness . 

The other initial action was to eliminate the Ethics 

Committee, and to open investigations into… various 

The same week House Democrats remembered the investigation committees that investigate criminal acts 

officers killed by Trump supporters during two-year by elected people. So, they are going after the people 

anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection, republicans, in charge of investigating themselves. 

the party of “blue lives matter” couldn’t even be bothered 

to show up to the gathering on the steps of the Capitol for How perfectly corrupt. 

the ceremony. 

Regular folk can’t be happy for a fucking hour because 

Republicans supported the insurrectionists who killed republican shenanigans are never ending and cause us 

those cops — never forget. What is worse, a bunch of to have to stay in fight mode all the fucking time. It and 

election deniers and a more than a few who actively they are exhausting joy thieves and parasites who 

participated in the insurrection and attempts to prevent destroy with impunity far too often. 

the certification of votes were elected/re-elected even 

though a host of them asked the former president for a The next time folk in the Democratic party complain 

pardon — a pardon for what, we may never know, but we that elected democrats should “Just make republicans 

can safely assume it had to do with their loud and do what we want them to” ..I will gladly point them to 

strategic support for the insurrection. 

the speaker voting fiasco where republicans couldn’t 

even make republicans do anything, taking 15 rounds 

What legislation will the gop pass now that they have to elect Kevin McCarthy to Speaker — and only after 

control? They’ve talked about impeachment, subpoenas, he begged trump for help, debased himself to Matt 

attacking January 6th committee findings, but I haven’t Gaetz and Lauren Boebert, and then made secret deals 

seen anything about what they’ll “Do for 

with the maga wing of the party. 

DEAR DEAN MAGAZINE | p.23p.19


And only after his peers submitted one loser after another 

to siphon votes away from the weasley representative 

from Bakersfield. They even went so far as to find that one 

Black republican, Byron Donalds, to counter the 

magnificent Rep. Hakeem Jeffries who replaced Nancy 

Pelosi and who garnered more cumulative votes than any 

person in history. 

Once Byron Donald failed miserably and once republicans 

were finished using him, they patted him on the head and 

sent him out of the big house and back to the fields. 

It is only January, and we know what republicans are 

doing and plan to do. But what about Democrats? What 

does the new year hold for the party who just finished one 

of the most progressive, productive, and consequential 

two years in centuries? 

The President has said he will implement much of his 

historic Build Back Better legislation and travel the 

country touting its implementation in key voting areas — 

he is on the road now doing this in both blue and red cities 

and districts. He and the democrats have promised to 

protect Social Security and Medicare — programs the 

republicans have vowed to harm. 

Funding and programs for Education, Energy, Housing, 

Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, Justice, and 

Transportation are other areas of priority that have 

funding initiatives rolling out this year. 

VP Kamala Harris will also be a critical liaison to 

constituents from all over the big tent party, as we 

saw with her successful campaign swings in critical 

districts and states during the midterms. VP Harris 

won over right- and left-wing democrats, including 

those who are critical of the president’s approach to 

managing recalcitrant republicans. She is a bridge 

inside the big tent and remains one of the most 

consequential vice presidents in history. 

VP Harris has the unique ability to break down 

complex issues and find commonality and shared 

interests with and from her former Senate peers, 

members of Congress, and even with hardcore 

republicans in that certain way that both President 

Biden and former President Obama could also do. 

The rest of the bench are also strong and we’ve seen 

See more here. 

them in action over the past year — groundbreaking 

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland who is 

The Vice President will continue being the face and voice 

remaking national parks and updating national 

of the administration’s programs, leading international 

monuments, Secretary of Transportation Pete 

diplomacy and domestic communication, and helping 

shore up support on the ground for the programs and in 

Buttigieg who is front and center holding airlines and 

rail providers to account for poor performance, 

key voting districts. The vice president will be the front 

national disaster recovery, quietly effective 

person for climate, protecting women’s rights, including 

access to healthcare and abortion, and protecting children 

of citizens and vulnerable migrants. 

Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Indefatigable 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who is efficiently 

reestablishing honor and 



decency to the role and the troops, and under 

appreciated Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. 

This A-Team cabinet are succeeding across each of their 

disciplines and within the president’s agenda. Typically 

there will be cabinet changes before the end of the 

president’s term and when/if that happens, the 

president and vice president have shown they are great 

at finding the right person for the right job. 

With a fresh and energetic crop of new democratic 

representatives, new governors, and new legislators in 

state legislators across the nation, democrats have 

earned the expressed hope for a strong next two years 

heading to the 2024 elections 

With the wind at their backs and the president and vice 

president leading the way, the party is well positioned 

to continue the remarkable achievements seen over the 

past two years. 

laugh, the border, Ukraine, Covid, Merrick Garland, 

Anthony Fauci, and whichever democrat is doing 

anything positive. But none of the typical republican 

nonsense should distract the party — or voters — from 

what will certainly be another productive two years of 

democratic leadership. 

The key will be to start fast, sustain momentum, and 

then hit a winning stride heading into the 2024 

campaign season. 

With President Biden leading the way and VP Kamala 

Harris and the cabinet continuing to perform to the 

best of their abilities and ignoring the usual republican 

lies, obfuscation, and distractions, there should be no 

doubt the nation is in good hands. 

Democratic voters can and should expect additional 

positive and progressive policies, laws, and outcomes 

that we worked so hard for during the 2020 and 2022 

campaigns. 

Representative Jeffries will be the voice of reason, the 

wall for negotiations, and the chief communicator from 

the House as democrats face an absolutely batshit 

group of republican peers interested in making messes 

rather than making progress. 

Rep Jeffries will count on the democratic majority in the 

Senate backing him up for the inevitable awful 

legislation his House peer’s pass. The Senate will hold 

the line and only allow bills to get to the president’s 

desk that the president will sign — that majority is 

looking better by the minute, isn’t it, Senator Warnock 

and Georgia poll workers and voters? 

Visit www.deardean.com for 

more blogs by Myron J. Clifton 

There are roadblocks, as there always are, and there 

will need to be keen focus on priorities important to 

voters from all areas of the tent. The republicans will 

create messes, launch senseless investigations about 

Hunter Biden, the January 6th committee, VP Harris’ 


LIFE, LIBERTY, 

& SOMETHING 

LIKE HAPPINESS 

Rory Dexter looks for love in all 

the wrong places, will working on 

a Presidential campaign change 

his luck or is all fair in love and 

politics? 

GREG HOWARD JR 

Comedian, podcast presenter, author, actor, entrepreneur, and political commentator, 

Greg Howard Jr, is best known as the host and creator of the hit podcasts DON'T MAKE 

THIS WEIRD, THIS IS NOTANENDORSEMENT, 30 Questions With..., and Your Life the 

Mixtape. Greg's forays into the world of writing include the best-selling memoirs HI, I'M 

THE UGLY FRIEND and DON'T MAKE THIS WEIRD: A YEAR IN THE LIFE, and the 

recently released work of fiction: LIFE, LIBERTY, & SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS. 


FOOD + POLITICS 

BY CLAUDIA RENEE WALTERS 

This recipe journal is a short collection of dishes that helped Claudia cope with unbearable 

grief, American politics, and personal radical change during an unexpected pandemic. Each 

chapter features one recipe and personal story designed to warm the heart, provoke 

thought, and invite the reader to recall their special memories with food. 

Claudia Renee Walters is an independent consultant living in California. Before becoming selfemployed, 

she worked as an administrator within some of the nation's largest institutions. She 

holds a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre and a Master's Degree from NYU in Education & 

Theatre. 

Follow 

Renee 

Order Online

Jamaal's Incredible Adventures in the 

Black Church by Myron J. Clifton 

Before Jamaal's seventeenth birthday, he’s appointed as his preacher uncle’s 

designated driver and unwilling personal confidant. Behind the fine outfits and 

hats, behind the delicious cooking, Jamaal is exposed to crazy aunties, sexy church 

sisters, corrupt pastors, and predator deacons. A good kid who just wants time to 

finish his homework and kiss a girl his own age, Jamaal is dragged through the 

strange world of the Black church. You best pray for him. 


NEW! 

ON SALE 

NOW 

Sometimes, when you’re at a crossroads, a door will open and what enters will inspire you. Other 

times, what enters will make you gag. These stories by a ride-share short-timer might have the 

same effect on you. A man, recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might 

meet (and the money he might make) decides to drive ride-share while looking for a new 

professional management position. 

Don’t want to drive drunk? Well, then, by all means, plug in your location and get your friendly 

neighborhood ride-share driver to ferry you to your next bar. Need to move but can’t afford 

movers? There’s an App for that! Tired of waiting for tricks on the corner? Wait—I’ve got an idea. . 

. 

The behavior and stories of folks who call on ride-share turned into a unique anthropological 

study for one man who decided to drive ride-share while looking for a new professional 

management position. Recently laid off from his job and intrigued by the people he might meet 

(and the money he might make), the author unwittingly became the anonymous confidant for 

men, women, nonbinary people, and children. Unfortunately for him, he also became the innocent 

target of people who couldn’t hold their liquor, others who couldn’t hold their temper, and at 

least one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. 

Little did they know they were in the Prius of a writer, who would be able to look in the rear view 

and tell their stories. 

This collection of anecdotes is non-judgmental, full of irony and dry humor, and may help 

someone else decide: Is driving ride-share for you? 


Her Legend Lives In You: 

The Untold Creation Story Honoring The 

Goddess And Our Daughters. 


Available on

Dear Dean Magazine TOTM 

TWEET OF THE MONTH 

TOTM 

There are those of us old enough from the Bay Area who 

remember Diane Feinstein-DiFi from her San Francisco 

days, her support for gay rights, her social Justice work, 

her battles with those first wave of MAGAs - the Reagan 

voters, who will forever hold her dear. 

Folk can announce they’re running because it’s their 

right. Folk can support those who are running because 

that’s their right. 

What we saw in Pennsylvania with John Fetterman 

and Malcom Kenyatta will be just a small comparison 

to what we’re about to see when Katie Porter goes 

against Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff. 

White woman vs Black woman vs White man for the 

right to be California Senator has all the elements of 

internal party calamity. I think that even though it’s 

early if I could gently offer a small piece of advice 

specifically re Katie Porter vs Barbara Lee it would be 

this: there’s known issues with Katie re her treatment 

of Black people in general and Black women 

specifically. 

The ageism we are seeing in regard to Senator Feinstein 

Whether or not she can fix those issues by voting time 

is ugly and embarrassing for the “big tent” party that 

will be a thing to watch but her supporters pushing her 

hates older women but celebrates older men. 

on the Black people you follow is something I wouldn’t 

advise. 

California has enough money for multiple strong 

candidates to effectively run. And we can already see 

Adding Warren adds to her Black problem, in my 

the money divide splitting along racial and gender lines. 

opinion. Others will speak more personally about 

DiFi’s work in the lgbqti community, her AIDS 

Depending on where you sit you’re happy about Liz 

advocacy, and other defining legacy that is bolstered 

Warren and Katie Porter because that is huge elite 

by her holding Harvey Milk as he lay dying. I was in San 

wealth Liz is directing her way. 

Francisco during the AIDS start/crisis, and many in the 

community will tell you with earned forcefulness -do 

Or you’re pissed that the skip-ahead tactic of Katie 

not disrespect Diane Feinstein. 

Porter, who doesn’t have the legislative results and who 

has a loud and pronounced racial issue is using her 

So Katie Porter has created many roadblocks through 

privilege. 

her actions that offended Black women -Maxine 

Walters disrespect being the worst, and now many gay 

This race will be ugly, in my opinion, and further expose 

people with disrespecting DiFi, that her supporters 

the very clear divide of elite white progressives and 

will have to deal with as the race gets started. 

Black moderates. 


HOT TAKE 

Biden and Classified Documents 

I think that what the Merrick Garland supporters and 

legal folk miss is that every day average folk who don’t 

know all the wonky political stuff about why Garland 

is slower and more hesitant in regard to investigating, 

charging, and indicting Donald Trump, because of the 

24-hour news cycle will wonder why he is so fast to 

investigate President Biden. 

And the news networks framing will shape opinions as 

we saw with Hillary’s emails, and it will impact voting. 

The wonks and legal folk are technically and probably 

legally right and that doesn’t matter. Perception 

matters and though it may be false equivalency and.. 

so what? The New York Times went after Hillary right 

before the 2016 election and that mattered more 

than her good words, all her speeches, and her 

excellent debate performances. 

Garland’s slowness, real or imagined, is problematic 

since we are two years after the insurrection and 

none of the leaders have suffered any consequences. 


BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD. BLM-PD 

BLM-PD 

In the not too distant future, the US has been taken over by white nationalists, and 

the institutionalized racism that has underscored the country’s entire history has 

once again been codified. California has seceded from the US, and a band of strong 

women plan to start the next civil war following the death of their friend at the hands 

of the police. This is BLM-PD.

MY FAVORITE THINGS 

streaming right 

now...

S T R E A M I N G N O W 

HBO – The Menu 

If you have ever been to a fancy restaurant, then 

you’ll appreciate this movie’s satirical bonkers take 

on the event dining genre. The movie takes us on a 

culinary journey along with the carefully selected 

guests of a world-famous chef, his devoted staff, 

and their unique, delicate, and mouth-watering 7 

course meal. The dishes have all the pretentions 

and weird ingredients you can’t even expect and 

served in the most obnoxious plating and 

explanations by the top-notch servers. But all is not 

what it seems so relax, enjoy the show, and be 

prepared to be impressed, thrilled, appalled, and 

fully entertained. 

Netflix - Harry and Megan 

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle’s series 

is fascinating, heartbreaking, and uplifting in that 

way it is when friends move away from toxic family 

and realize their lives and love are more important entrap, out, and disgrace one another, and effect on 

than maintaining appearances to satisfy family who family, friends, and colleagues. The series is quick, 

use shame, abuse, lies, and a willing media to keep with good acting and action, and reaches a 

them in line. Harry tells of falling in love with satisfying conclusion that is decidedly not how it 

Meghan and how his all-white family tried to would end on the typical American television show. 

destroy her first, and then when he wouldn’t go 

along with them, tried to destroy him. Then they HBO/Max – The Last of US. Season 1, Episode 1 

both tell how learning to love each other deeply, An early review of the hyped new series that is 

receiving help from filmmaker Tyler Perry, and based on the popular video game. The first episode 

investing in their privacy, children, and careers does not disappoint in setting up the world, the 

helped them move on and move past the disease, and the tense nature of survival, secrets, 

antiquated and racist “royal” nonsense. 

and violent urgency. If the series lives up to both 

the hype and the excellent first episode, this is a 

Netflix - Treason Limited Series – 6 Episodes 

definite appointment viewing. 

A fun spy vs. spy thriller series set in England with 

their chief spy agency, M5. The chief and his Apple TV – Mosquito Coast. Season 1 (Season 2 is 

number 2 spy engage in a tit-for-tat proxy fight also out) 

when the chief believes his number 2 has been A secretive family lives off the grid on a farm in 

compromised. We get to follow along and see the California. That is the set up and what follows is a 

origin of the alleged compromise, the efforts to 

slow and interesting series that takes you on the 


What are you 

watching? 

Let me know! 

run and gives you hints of why but never fully 

explain… anything. But the secret hovers around and 

informs all the smart, dumb, and dangerous decisions 

made by the parents and their two teen children. The 

series is both fast-moving and a slow burn – a nice 

trick done well. 

HBO/Max – Green Lantern – Beware My 

Power 

D.C. movies lean toward lackluster, except for 

Wonder Woman, but their animation remain the 

standard. You can see most of their animation on 

HBO, ranging from Superman and Batman animated 

series, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, 

plus many movie length stories with all the heroes 

and villains you know, love, hate, and enjoy reading 

about. It is a shame Warner Brothers didn’t just use 

the beloved material to create wonderful movies, 

but here we are. The latest movie length hero story 

is a John Stewart origin story – Beware my Lantern. 

We meet John and follow him, Green Arrow, and 

Hawkgirl on an intergalactic mission to uncover why 

two planets are at war. It is basically a buddy cop 

movie in space, and it is fun, full of action, good 

character arcs, imperfect heroes, and deadly villains. 


Robin Martin, Editorial 

The Joyful Warrior 

Podcast Network 

Music App 

Mark Lerner Astrology 

Katya Juliet's Jewel Box 

Great Start Initiative

Dear Dean Magazine: Issue 13

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