Unconvenient Truths and Politics

The Democratic National Convention is starting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Democrats, protesters, and even Republicans are there in the famous city of Charlotte. Mitt Romney is the Republican candidate for President. His religion is an integra part of his life. This is a historical time, because this is the first time a non-Protestant is being nominated for the Republican ticket of Presidency of the USA. His Mormon church is called the Church of Latter day Saints. It was invented by Joseph Smith in 1830. Smith was a controversial figure and he was murdered for his views. The Mormons spread from Salt Lake City to all over the nation. They control heavily the power in Utah, Las Vegas, and the rest of the Mountain West. The Mormons are some of the most powerful religious figures in the world not only in America. Once they wanted to form an empire called Deseret in the inter mountain west (even in parts of Mexico). Mormonism didn't allow black people into the priesthood until 1978. Anti-black racism is a common figure of Mormonism before 1978. Mormons once concerned black skin to be some curse, which is an utter lie (because black is beautiful as any other color). Mitt Romney was in a racist church for all of his youth. The Mormon church now is recruiting more people of color to join their religious organization. Politically, Mormons attract reactionaries from many denominations as well. Many Mormons are in the GOP, some are Democrats, etc. Mia Love is an African American Mormon, whose family came from Haiti. She supports the Romney/Ryam ticket. Many well meaning, very intelligent, and likable people like Mia Love have been manipulated by the oligarchy in order promote a spin on the heresies plus deception found in the Mormon Church. Mia Love ought to know that no human is an island. No one made completely on their own. Public and private resources assisted human beings throughout human history. Romney worked as a businessman and a bishop in the Mormon church. He traveled into France for 2 years as a missionary. Romney's family has been allied with the inner elite of the Mormons. Also, Mitt Romney's major weakness is his ideological consistency. He switches viewpoints when certain political seasons arises. He talked like a liberal when he campaigned against Ted Kennedy. Now, in his 2008 and 2012 GOP campaigns, he wanted to be the most hard line Republican. A Mormon sheriff gave the opening prayer at the GOP convention the night Romney was nominated. One Mormon named Mike Leavitt (or the former Utah Governor) is the transition team director of the Romney campaign. Leavitt was in Bush Jr.'s administration as the head of the EPA (and later the Department of Health and Human Services). He was then accused of conflicts of interests since he handled his consulting business in a certain way. Romney's religion has powerful influenced in the FBI (which is dominated by the Jesuits and the Mormons). We know about the history of the Jesuits, no don't we. The FBI have been found guilty of ethnic discrimination in a federal court a few years ago. Over 300 Hispanic FBI employees from Los Angeles successfully sued their bosses for allowing the FBI to discriminate against Hispanics in hiring. This is one out of many reasons why Romney has so little support among Hispanics and especially among the black community. The GOP worked with the Mormon elite for decades. Even Mormon Ezra Taft Benson was on the Secretary of Agriculture during both terms of the Eisenhower administration. He sabotaged land reform programs in Southeast Asia that could of prevented the Vietnam war if those programs went ahead. Mitt Romney acts super patriotic and ultra war mongering when both major candidates' foreign policies are very similar. The neo-cons in the Romney campaign presents  signal that we should be careful about this man. As a man, regardless of how I feel about Mormonism (my views are well documented), all people should be afforded dignity and respective irrespective of their religious creed. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama should be respected as equals, but we have the right to eloquently express dissent about certain issues.

Libertarianism is an old creed that has resonance still in the 21st century. Many people who follow this philosophy call themselves socially liberal and fiscal conservative. I am fiscally progressive instead. Now, libertarianism is a means where the oligarchy can control the economics of society. Some become libertarian as a political alternative to conservatism. Some turn to libertarianism as a means in their minds to resist the influence of a tyrannical state system. Even Millennials in 44 to 22 percent believe that the government should provide free health care to those who can't afford it. Libertarianism omits how the U.S. military is one of the largest government programs in the world. If they hate government so much, they would not be in Congress or receive public funding at all. Some libertarians want to hand over our Social Security accounts to be privatized. It is right that the state isn't perfect, but you need some regulations and boundaries in order for society to be stabilized. This isn't some massive infringement on economic growth. You need child labor laws, the Civil Rights Act, the minimum wage laws, Social Security, food safety, etc. in a complex society. These laws or policies have improved our economic system. “There is no such thing as a free-market,” economist Ha-Joon Chang has said repeatedly. “A market looks free only because we so unconditionally accept its underlying restrictions that we fail to see them.” Markets are social institutions and they are subject to democratic pressures. Big government has stirred capitalism one way or another. The government has used funds to develop railroads, Silicon Valley, the banks, etc. The nations with universal health care or free college tuition aren't experiencing some libertarian Utopia. People have the right to join unions, demand better wages, and refuse to work all of the time (even under private businesses. Private businesses aren't gods and they are bounded under constitutional principles). Libertarianism isn't a cutting edge political view that exists outside of the left/right paradigm. It's the same old reactionary economic doctrine promoted by wealthy people (who some of them like Clint Eastwood back Republican candidates no matter they talk about drugs, civil liberties, and ending wars). Libertarianism hates the welfare state, because it's a check against servility towards the rich. See, welfare gives power to the poor. Now, welfare shouldn't be given unto anyone (also, welfare ought to not to experience fraud or corrupting influences), but a strong social safety net is necessarily in order for our values to be protected. They believe that corporations should do whatever they want without restraint from the state. The rich hates power being shared and welfare shares power among all those in the lower socioeconomic classes.

Voter ID laws are in violation of human rights. Some people want to subvert the American democratic process by promoting evil photo ID legislation. Some Republicans have admitted that such laws aren't really meant to decrease fraud, but to decrease certain political demographics in order for them to increase their political power. The action of reactionaries to decrease the number of legally registered Americans that will be able to vote in the 2012 election is apparent. The reality is that modern voter fraud is very small and to decrease even the amount of time people can register to vote is blatantly immoral. Decreasing the time on voter access will definitely restrict basic human rights freedoms. Now, these laws want people to submit to government issued photo ID in order for citizens to vote. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “More than 5 million Americans could be affected by the new rules already put in place this year — a number larger than the margin of victory in two of the last three presidential elections.” Voter fraud is wrong. Legally registered voters have a right to be heard. The problem with the voting ID laws is that this voter fraud is almost nonexistent. According to Mother Jones, “The analysis of 2,068 reported fraud cases by News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project, found 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation since 2000. With 146 million registered voters in the United States, those represent about one for every 15 million prospective voters…” In Pennsylvania, the latest state to approve ID laws, the state attorneys signed a stipulation agreement acknowledging that there “have been no investigations or prosecutions of in-person voter fraud in Pennsylvania; and the parties do not have direct personal knowledge of any such investigations or prosecutions in other states.” Another problem with such laws is that these law will prevent many seniors, people of color, the poor, those with disabilities, and students the right to vote. As many as 11 percent of voting age Americans citizens don't have a current and valid government issued photo Id. The percentage is higher is you include the low income, older citizens, and other according to Citizens without Proof. Many restrictive voting rights laws lower the time of early voting periods in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Most of these states have Republican controlled legislatures or with Republican governors. Most Republicans advance such voter ID policies. Ironically, the same obscene restrictions as found in many of these Voting ID laws were antithetical to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was formulated to protect the rights of minorities including all Americans. Also, the Electoral College ultimately decides the election irrespective of the popular vote. Both the Republicans and the Democrats have promoted nefarious aims then and now.

Lloyd Marcus is a notorious hypocrite and an acceptable man to his masters. He wrote that since most African Americans won't vote for Romney, then most of us black people must be ignorant of the truth or racist. For a black man like Lloyd Marcus to write something like that is truly sickening. This liar forgets that Mormonism is a heresy and he wants Christians to vote for a man that denies many concepts of the Christianity that Lloyd claims to love so much. He makes up the lie that racial loyalty is equivalent to idolatry or being against Jesus Christ. We blacks don't use our blackness as a means to have no other gods before me. This man Lloyd Marcus needs to realize that we use our blackness as a means to respect our black heritage and understand the great value of black culture and black power in general. White supremacy has used an elitist Nicean faux Christianity as a means to oppress our black people (as religion used in the wrong direction is the opiate of the masses. The establishment wants us to bow down to a fake god under a slave trading tradition. I will not. I worship the Supreme God not a picture of an European). Many black people have forsaken nothing about their Christianity. We just reject white supremacy using religion as an excuse to try to pacify our people. Also, for the record, there are other options other than Romney or Obama. There are third party candidates all over the place. Fundamentally, people have the right to vote who they want to vote for. Lloyd Marcus may wear the hats, sings the hymns of America, and claim to be an unhyphenated American, but to his masters, he is that phrase (African-American). To them, he is considered another word too (well, you know the name of that word. LOL. See, I am not PC when I am on a roll, Thank God for that. LOL). Lloyd Marcus talks about social issues. People of good will disagree or agree on social issues, but that doesn't mean that blacks should be a bunch of Republicans unconditionally. We have the right to believe in whatever political party we want to. I am an Independent politically. The confused "brother" LLoyd Marcus is right that we should not worship the President and the President isn't perfect. The President is wrong to have a foreign policy in some cases that is more militaristic than Bush 43. The President is in error in promoting the surveillance, police state. Yet, we ought to respect the President as an equal, as a super intelligent family man (with a beautiful family), and as a brother with great accomplishments (who needs correction too). Lloyd Marcus talks about infanticide, which I don't agree with at all. I reject abortion on demand (for any reason in every trimester of pregnancy). He can talk about the President, but he can't find a single piece evidence that says that most black people endorse infanticide. Also, black people respecting their identity has nothing to do with some idolatrous worship of skin color. I respect my ancestors, I worship God, but I love my black skin color with great love for black people. Lloyd Marcus is a hypocrite by judging the President as anti-Christian, but he endorses Romney (that believes in heretical doctrines. Romney and Ryan wants a voucher system for Medicare and they agree with war mongering, which is blatantly against the teachings of Jesus Christ). President Barack Obama is wrong on some of this policies just like Mitt Romney is wrong on some issues. You will notice that Lloyd Marcus will always cite the Bible. Well, the Good Book says to treat your neighbor as yourself, that the rich will have a low chance of going into Heaven,  that the poor should recieve justice, there is neither male nor female under Christ Jesus, and Jubilee was about the redistribution of wealth (this is anti-free market capitalism). The Bible also mentions eunuchs and respects people who choose not to be married if they don't want to tie the knot. Marriage is beautiful and it ought to be promoted, but there is a separation of church and state here. Regardless of our religious views (there should be religious freedom in America), we can't have a totalitarian theocracy. Also, discrimination and injustice is always immoral in any nation. Anyone of any background period without exception ought to have equal rights. I don't believe in sexual nihilism. I disagree with sexual perversion. On the other hand, a person, even if he or she choose to live a certain lifestyle,  should at least have an income, have a job, experience equality, and have basic human freedoms (as found in the Bill of Rights, etc.) regardless of anyones theology. Yet, people have the free speech right to disagree with immorality. The Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal. Lloyd Marcus made the lie that the black church collectively is the home base or campaign headquarters for Democratic Party politics. Many black churches are politically independent. Even Dr. Martin Luther King opposed the Democratic support for the war on Vietnam. Many churches opposed the Democratic welfare reform law of the 1990's, so the black church collectively is very independent. Both parties have corruption not just the Democrats. To assume that the Republicans are our saviors is an example of political idolatry that Lloyd Marcus seems to embrace. I don't believe in bowing down to Republicans or Democrats. I am my own man. Lloyd Marcus wrote that: "...Rest assured; black churches which dis Jesus for Obama will not be investigated by the IRS for violating their 501c3 non-profit status..." Black churches have loved Jesus for ages and for this man to say some ignorant trash like defines his character. Getting up by your own bootsraps without assistance is fantasy for those extremely struggling in the world. Lloyd Marcus defends extremists like Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck (who slandered the victims of Hurricane Katrina). Lloyd Marcus is in the Tea Party, which has been infiltrated by Freedom Works, the Koch brothers, and other corporate interests. Therefore, Lloyd Marcus can't fool me with his so-called preaching. The Tea Party is so obviously extremist with many racists in that camp. Just because a black person isn't voting for a Republican, doesn't mean that this black person hates Jesus Christ or is against certain religious values at all. Micah is clear that we believe in mercy and a peace economy not a war economy like the Tea Party so-called "Christians" believe. Lloyd Marcus and people like Glen Beck may talk about capitalism, but social plus economic justice is superior to austerity. Unregulated capitalism has lost its usefulness in our day. Diversity is better than monarchy. People can easily vote for a Third Party if some folks don't want to vote for Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama. Wealthy corporate special interests dominate both major parties. It's obvious that the imperialist system is dying off. Liberation can't be made by the vote alone, but we have the right to vote too. So, vote. We should use the vote and other tactics in fighting for our freedom during this struggle. Now, the real issue is that we need justice, peace, real housing, our civil liberties back, reparations, universal health care, an end to imperialism, and real progressive reforms in our land.

There are many stories about black people that won't be shown in certain parts of the mainstream media. Here are some. The Olympic swimmer is working day in and day out in trying to reduce drowning inside of the African American community. His name is Cullen Jones. He almost downed as a 5 year old child, but he now is trying to prevent downing in the black community. He talked with MSNBC reporter Tamron Hall about his story and his mission. Swimming is a great exercise and it's an easy means to build up our lungs plus our cardiovascular system. There is the story of the Maryland barber Robert Cradle giving free haircuts to the homeless. There are also people like Wesley Bellamny. He is the founder of HYPE or Helping Young People Evolve. This program deals with helping human beings to grow in leadership qualities and their education. A man should look in the mirror and make sure you respect who you are. If not, then there is no sin to improve yourself to the best of your abilities. He wants minority youth to have academic and physical excellence. He works in the Charlottesville area of Virginia. There is the Black Girls Run movement. This movement is about sisters organizing African Americans women to run and perform more fitness related activities in their lives. Who created this movement? It was created by Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks. This movement has groups, running events, and other great resources that can assist women in their own lives. Running and sprinting are one of the funniest, easiest ways for any human being to become healthier and physically fit. Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice is the dean and executive vice President of Morehouse School House of Medicine. She worked on women's health for years at the Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. She was also the dean of Meharry's medical school. She worked in gynecology, obstetrics, endocrinology, and infertility. She studied diseases that affect minority women and she is a renowned expert in infertility research. She loves her children and has a lot of female role models that she looked up to. We all have males and females that we look up too in our lives. Traci Lester is another sister doing it big in her life as well. She is the executive director of Reach Out and Read's Greater New York branch. She is promoting literacy and education for her people. She desire low income families to have numerous books to read for their children. Studies prove that reading aloud to a child increases his or her vocabulary and improves attention span. So, that is why early literacy development is necessarily to a child's readiness for school. Reach and Out and Read distributes more than 7 million books each year. She serves millions of people in raising awareness for early literacy programs among poorer communities. This is just a few short pieces of information on the many black brothers and black sisters contributing their time and talents to assist the human race in general.

By Timothy