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OPINION: With Texas Redistricting, Trump Is Rigging Our Democracy

Published

7 months ago

August 9, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

Donald Trump isn’t king.

But to rule with more monarchical authority and royal flair — he’d prefer a few extra red seats in Congress to keep up the appearance of a Democracy.

And the Republican-controlled Texas legislature is obliging.

So, Texas Democrats have fled the state to prevent a quorum to hold a vote.

Politicians have long rigged elections through good old-fashioned gerrymandering. Redrawing voting maps happens every ten years. But now Trump wants to do it before the next census.

Fortunately, the courts, that third branch of government, will get involved.

Unfortunately, though, Trump already has his ducks in a row — up to the Supreme Court.

If the plan works in Texas, expect the same scenario in other states.

Overkill? Not for Democracy’s budding king. Congress aligns with Trump on most policy issues. But there are some rogue Republicans who aren’t so loyal on matters like the Epstein files.

Trump needs his loyalists to keep buying into the idea of a one-man government rubber-stamped by Congress and the courts.

What can we do? Root for the spirit of Texas State Representative Jolanda Jones of Houston, who explained why she and her Democratic colleagues have stayed defiant to prevent Republicans from voting in new maps.

“We aren’t fleeing,” said Jones to reporters. “We’re fighting.”

When You Don’t Need Truth, Fire the Stats Person

Besides his call to rig Congress, Trump would like to rig job statistics, too.

When the jobs data came out last week and showed a slowdown in hiring, President Trump’s reaction was to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dr. Erika McEntarfer.

McEntarfer is a numbers nerd and so apolitical that the Senate confirmed her 86-8 in 2024.

But Trump doesn’t want the truth.

“In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,” Trump posted on his social media account.

But it’s impossible for the head of the BLS to manipulate the numbers. She only sees them on the Wednesday prior to the Friday release.

Firing the head of statistics is just Trump looking for an excuse for a bad economy, for which he is responsible.

Remember, it’s the reason why so many people voted for him.

Now, he’d just really like things rigged for him in the future: data, votes, elections, everything.

He also continues to distract.

Nuclear submarines to the edge of Russia, he says. Or former President Obama committed “treason” by interfering with the 2016 presidential election and or supporting sending subpoenas to all his political foes in the Epstein matter, including the Clintons.

All this is really intended to turn off the American public, so they get disgusted with their leaders and institutions/

However, that only enables Trump to do what he wants.

So, don’t get disgusted without a fight.

Instead of getting disgusted, laugh harder.

It’s one reason I continue to do my one-man show “Emil Amok, 69; Everything’s Flipped,” now touring at the Edmonton Fringe Festival.

And I’m coming home to the Bay Area in the fall.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist, commentator, and comic monologist. See him on YouTube.com/@emilamok. He’s a board member of PEN Oakland.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.