Weekend News

Bill Clinton administered the oath to New York's new mayor Bill Bill de Blasio. The swearing in took place on the steps of the City Hall. A crowd of 5,000 human beings came. There were numerous celebrities that came also. Some touted the event as a new progressive era in New York City and all over the United States. De Blasio spoke in his inaugural remarks in an unique fashion. The speech was advertised as a refusal on the part of him to back away from the populist rhetoric of his campaign.  “When I said we would take dead aim at the Tale of Two Cities, I mean it,” said de Blasio. Borrowing the phrase associated with the Occupy Wall Street protests of two years ago, he added, “New Yorkers see our city not as the exclusive domain of the One Percent, but a place where everyday people can afford to live, work and raise a family.” He made an interesting comment about trying to save and defend the profit system without fighting against it. “We are called to put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love,” he said. “We do not ask more of the wealthy to punish success. We do it to create more success stories.” There should be an end to inequalities completely. Folks are dying and folks are homeless in NYC and throughout the world. New York has the world's largest concentration of billionaires and millions of the working poor. There should be no lip service to social justice, but action. De Blasio wants to have higher taxes placed on the wealthy to fund pre-Kindergarten universal education. This plan is to face opposition in the state capital. I have no issue with this plan. Yet, it would amount to less than $1,000 for those with incomes of up to $1 million. De Blasio worked in the Dinkins administration. He worked for Bill Clinton during his 2 terms in office during the 1990's. Clinton wanted welfare ended as we know it. Clinton executed policies that assaulted the working class. This was the decade in which the inequality that de Blasio is supposedly so angry about grew at its fastest rate in a century. This was when the repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, with Clinton’s vigorous support, laid the basis for the criminal banking activities of the first decade of the 21th century. Clinton used triangulation or adopted the policies of the Republicans and use slick packaging as a  means to convince the public that he could "feel your pain." The new mayor of New York never publicly opposed any of these measures. De Blasio managed Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. He worked in the City Council and as New York City's Public Advocate before his run for the mayoralty last year. His appointments of William Bratton, Anthony Shorris, and others have been troubling. Time will tell what his legacy will be. He has time to be either the Mayor of the people or the Mayor of Wall Street. The choice is up to him.

The following issue is unique. Gun violence against innocent human life is evil and wrong. We have decreased crime rates in America and in numerous large cities of America. Yet, we still have a long way to go in really ending the gun violence epidemic plaguing society in general. It is a complicated issue and solutions will have to be diverse. A one sized fit all approach will never work. There should be programs to address poverty, there should be education on conflict resolution and unique means to fight crime, folks should be educated on gun safety, our families should grow, and we should handle socioeconomic issues as well (we should condemn the bad policies of the central banks, the Federal Reserve, and Wall Street). The people should have the power and power should not be totally controlled by select, privatized central banks at all. Also, we should fight poverty in independent ways via community based programs including other solutions. Criminals should never own guns, but law abiding citizens have the right to own a firearm if he or she wants to. It is true that many human beings ignore the gun violence in urban communities. We should have just as much concern for gun violence in the urban areas as we do in non-urban locations. This process to fight gun violence will not be easy, but we fight not because things are easy. We fight because things are hard. Also, we should not only condemn and fight gun violence in our community. We should condemn and oppose the violence of imperialism, the violence of police brutality, the violence of assaults against any innocent human being, and other forms of violence done by the Powers that be too. The violence done by imperialists is truly evil. Yes, the Opium Wars situation was very real. At first the Chinese used all means to resist the offers from the British Empire. Later, the British Empire motivated by greed and a lust for power moved to cause the Chinese people to be addicted to Opium. It was a horrendous situation and multiple wars occurred. Also, America was involved in the Boxer Rebellion as well in 1900. Also, the black community has suffered as a product of the War on Drugs, discrimination, redlining, and other injustices. The Mafia, gangs, and other entities (including government entities) have worked together to harm much of the black community. The PTB used spying programs and other means to try to harm the progress of the Black Panthers and the rest of the black liberation struggle. One example is how the Chicago Police killed Brother Fred Hampton in cold blood during 1969 while he was sleeping. Drug addiction harms true revolutionary movements, so we have to be on our Ps and Qs when dealing with the agenda of the oppressor. We have the right to improve our lives, to help our community, and to be educated on the NATURE OF THE THREAT AS THEY SAY.

Melissa Harris Perry was very sincere in her apology. Other reactionary hosts like Beck and O'Reilly will never apologize in that fashion. Perry outlined details, information, contrite words, and tears. So, Melissa Harris Perry is a person who expressed real remorse. Mitt Romney's nefarious agenda is known for the world to see from Bain Capital to his other radical policy positions. Folks like Rush Limbaugh have said racist, misogynist, and other bigoted statements for years and they have issued no apologies. Kudos to Melissa Harris Perry for at least apologizing in a contrite manner and admitting her error. She has the right to move forward with her life and her career.

Some folks are right on the agenda of indoctrination of human beings (especially when it deals with black human beings). There are tons of propaganda shown by the media, TV, mainstream religious entities, and other entities (like the CIA using propaganda globally as documented by researchers) that try to advance militarism, compromise, and other forms of deception. Edward Bernays wrote about this issue. Certainly, it is our job to learn about bigotry and oppression, so we can FIGHT IT and be a living witness of the truth. The struggle continues and we have long work to do in our own lives as a means for families to be better and for our overall community to be BETTER. Also, the system of white supremacy has been fully documented by the great scholars & leaders of John Henrik Clarke, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Great Sister Trojan Pam, Paul H, and others. Also, we have that responsibility to improve our lives too. We should condemn the violence in our communities, we should look ourselves in the MIRROR and improve our daily lives, and we should not be naïve about our condition (in other words, we should be honest to accept the accurate good news and the accurate bad news as a means to improve our own conditions). Therefore, we should go out and be active to make a change in the lives of OTHERS (It can be working with the youth, working in educating human beings, assisting the elderly, working in independent, conscious organizations, helping the poor, being a mediator, etc.). We should never DEGRADE OUR PEOPLE too. We can have agreements and disagreements cogently without DEGRADING BLACK PEOPLE. Self reflection in our lives, accountability in our lives, and us fighting for JUSTICE for our people are great actions to adhere to. LOVE FOR OUR PEOPLE IS GREAT AS WELL. BLACK LOVE IS SUPERIOR TO BIGOTRY. OUR BLACKNESS AND OUR MELANIN ARE GREATLY RESPECTED BY ME. Certainly, we will continue in fighting for human justice in the world.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was right to oppose the Vietnam War. He was courageous, because many even of his friends abandoned him because he disagreed with war overseas that stripped necessary resources to rebuild areas in America. He wanted a peaceful settlement to the war and he wanted human beings to have the right to be a conscientious objector to the war. Dr. King realized that war deals with brutality, death, and violence. In the final analysis, we have to have peace and justice to live in a progressive fashion. Even today, we are still fighting for peace and justice. We are still fighting poverty in the world.  Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton were very wise to advocate the opposition of imperialism and police brutality for real. They were greatly inspired by Malcolm X (who believed in justice and self determination. Not to mention that Malcolm X had an excellent knowledge of history. His speech on African history was amazing. Even after his Hajj, Malcolm X was still strong and militant. He advocated human justice and the right for black Americans to unite with Africa as a means to make necessary changes in the Earth). Every human being subsequently have the right to exercise self defense. That is a common fixture of human rights. Also, Bobby Seale is right that there are still injustices committed against black people. Bobby Seale said many great words from his interview during 1974, but his words back then hves a great relevance in our time of 2014. We are inspired to continue onward with the work of bringing true human justice in the world.




Our ancestors suffered unspeakable tragedies and built up heavily this nation from the ground up literally. So, our people have the right to advance our interests. It is not about hating them (which many falsely accuse us of. I don't hate any human being). It is about going out to believe in improvement and justice. Without black people, America can never reach its true potential and utmost creative essence. Black people have great value in the universe and our value ought to be appreciated. Our people fought greatly against Jim Crow, slavery, and other injustices. Their sacrifices and strong efforts should never be whitewashed or diminished at all. We have every right to condemn economic exploitation, imperialism, environmental harm, and debased genetic manipulation done by the powers that be. There is nothing wrong with harboring resentment against injustice, against racism, against poverty, against imperialism (including the war crimes that come with it), against police brutality and against any oppression. There can be no real solutions without understanding the problem, understanding who originated the problem, and understanding how to get the problem solved. There should be the love of the truth and the love of positive human endeavor as a means to make legitimate changes necessary to develop the lives of black human beings.  The War on Drugs has been tragic to communities nationwide. The War on Drugs grew the militarization of the police, the growth of the violations of our human civil liberties. The CIA being caught backing the Contras (who smuggled cocaine to the States. We know of the evil policies of the CIA for decades including the FBI) for years exposes the nefarious, duplicitous nature of the War on Drugs. Many states are using alternatives to the reactionary, abhorrent policies of the War on Drugs (that treat non violent drug users as murderers and rapists). The law regulates the issuing of marijuana, so this law in Colorado is not equivalent to some random giving of marijuana to human beings at any circumstance. I do not believe in unlimited recreational usage of drugs by any human at any circumstance, but I don't believe that those who are non-violent and use drugs should receive punishments as high as murderers, pedophiles, rapists, etc. I have no issue with medical marijuana that is given to those that need it.


By Timothy