Commentary
COMMENTARY: On the Queen’s Passing, and the Obama’s Portraits of Democracy
Granted, the Queen had no real “political” power; but as “head of state,” she still had enormous influence in Great Britain and the dozen or so countries in the Commonwealth. It made her a bit of a contradiction. A hood ornament but not the engine of the old British Empire. She was a living museum piece, a reminder of a repulsive imperial past. A colonizer’s deodorizer.
![](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/queen-elizabeth-ii-featured-web.jpg)
By Emil Guillermo
The same week Queen Elizabeth died at age 96, back in the news for the unveiling of their White House portraits were Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
BOMO are reminders: Don’t go overboard on the Queen.
In other words, if I say Queen and you say Latifah, or even Beyonce, you’re keeping it real.
Have compassion for Queen Elizabeth II as a human being, sure. But remain repulsed by all that the monarchy stands for.
Tradition? You mean like the hundreds of thousands of Kenyan Kikuyu people imprisoned in the 1950s in what Harvard professor Caroline called the “British Gulag.”
It was so bad that finally in 2013, survivors of the Gulag sued and forced the British to quietly settle with 5,228 survivors. Reparations payments of 3,800 pounds each were for “torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration,” according to a Parliament spokesman.
It all happened during the Queen’s watch.
Kenya was just a fraction of the British Empire’s violent past. All of it together, from the Middle East, to Asia, to Africa, subjugated at one time more than 700 million people. It makes the Queen the nostalgic mascot of white supremacy, in a tradition where “I’m royal and you’re not,” means much.
Granted, the Queen had no real “political” power; but as “head of state,” she still had enormous influence in Great Britain and the dozen or so countries in the Commonwealth. It made her a bit of a contradiction. A hood ornament but not the engine of the old British Empire. She was a living museum piece, a reminder of a repulsive imperial past. A colonizer’s deodorizer.
In 1983, I recall covering the Queen when she visited San Francisco. I was not her loyal subject, neither were the 700 Irish protestors outside the St. Francis Hotel. Then as now, I am gratefully reminded how America has no monarchy.
But it can have a president and first lady like Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.
The day the Obamas were back in the White House a Washington Post investigation exposed how a former disgraced president, the one after Obama, had documents containing the top-secret nuclear capabilities of a foreign government, at his Mar-a-Lago civilian home.
On a day like that, we all realized how much we missed “No Drama Obama.”
Barack Obama kept things light so we could remember happier times.
“Thanks for letting us invite a few friends to the White House,” Barack Obama said to Biden at the start. “We will try not to tear up the place.” A burst of laughter put people at ease. But maybe because we all know he couldn’t tear up the place any worse than President 45.
We all know what Obama meant through just a few of his associated acronyms. Health care through ACA (The Affordable Care Act). A life in America for the young, innocent, and undocumented through DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals). A home no longer “underwater” due to the bad loans banks made during the recession thanks to HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program).
But this was a time for art, not policy. Barack Obama’s portrait, a masterful bit of photorealism by Robert McCurdy, captured the first biracial African American from Hawaii ever to be president, as a standout amid a background of white space.
And there was Michelle Obama, in a Sharon Sprung portrait, full of life and color, a first lady like never before.
Both Obamas individually portrayed, artfully, and more truthfully than any literal photo, leaving viewers with plenty of room for imagination, appreciation, and inspiration.
A braided Michelle Obama was humbled to see her canvas. “This big, beautiful painting staring back at me,” she said. “I never could have imagined that any of this would-be part of my story.”
But this is the story of America.
“Too often in this country, people feel like they have to look a certain way or act a certain way to fit in,” Michelle Obama said. “That they have to make a lot of money or come from a certain group, or class or faith in order to matter. But what we’re looking at today, a portrait of a biracial kid with an unusual name, and the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay-at-home mom, what we are seeing is a reminder that there’s a place for everyone in this country.”
That’s the takeaway.
The British can have their impotent figureheads, their kings and queens bloodied by history.
In America, we have the power of democracy.
Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See him on www.amok.com
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 12 – 18, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 12 – 18, 2025
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Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
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Activism
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
![Albert L. Brooks MD. Courtesy photo.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/albert-brooks-featured-web.jpg)
By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post
Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.
Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.
As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.
It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.
Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.
Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.
We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.
Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.
Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.
California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.
Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.
Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.
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