Great Truths

The Senate voted to slash $8.7 billion in food assistance. These cuts involve the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program or SNAP. SNAP is known as food stamps. This plan is part of the package of agricultural legislation. The Senate vote follows the bill's passage of House of Representative last Wednesday. President Barack Obama is expected to sign it by the end of the week. 22 Republicans joined 46 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to vote for the bill. There were 23 Republicans and nine Democrats who voted against it. There is a statement that came following this event. The White House said that it will support the measure that will slash 1.7 million of the most vulnerable people in America, including large numbers of children and disabled humanity. Today, in a strong bipartisan vote, the U.S. Senate came together to pass a comprehensive Farm Bill—legislation that will build on the historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, create new jobs and opportunities, and protect the most vulnerable Americans.” The White House added that the bill “will continue reducing our deficits without gutting the vital assistance programs millions of hardworking Americans count on to help put food on the table for their families.” The only mildly critical note in the White House's statement was that the farm bill isn't perfect. The White House concludes that the legislation "...will make a positive difference not only for the rural economies that grow America’s food, but for our nation.” This bipartisan support for slashing one of the few programs aimed at alleviating widespread poverty and hunger in the United States comes amidst record social inequality. Billions of dollars are handed to the banks every month via support of the Obama administration via the money printing operations of the Federal Reserve.  The annual cuts in food stamps, which will have such devastating consequences for the most vulnerable sections of the population, amount to only 0.04 percent of the total wealth of the richest 400 individuals in the country. The bill's cuts to food stamps will come in the form of a sharp curtailment in the heat and eat program. This will automatically increase food benefits to families that receive home heating assistance.  Instead of increasing food stamp benefits after the first dollar of home heating assistance aid, the farm bill would require families to receive $20 in home heating assistance before they receive additional food aid. As a result, 850,000 households, or 1.7 million people in sixteen states, will receive food stamp cuts averaging $90 per month, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The average SNAP payment per household last year was $287, or $4.30 per person per day. The media didn't report all of the parts of the passage of the bill. Some newspapers openly praised the cuts. One editorial was shown in Sunday in USA Today. It was entitled “Food stamp’s heat-and-eat scam.” The newspaper sought to draw a parallel between destitute families receiving less than $5 a day in food stamps and wealthy tax evaders.

When I am criticizing the Democratic establishment, I was not talking about all members of the Congressional Black Caucus or all individual Democrats at all. Never did I lump folks from one party into one monolithic, nefarious category. I am talking about the leaders of the Democratic Party (THE REAL LEADERS). I have issued no disrespect to any political leader doing what is right. I have insulted no hard working true politician at all. So, that is real. I stand by my statements. I did mention that both parties have folks that follow neoliberalism, imperialism, and other evils. That is a fact. Dr. King was fighting truth to power. Dr. King, before he died, was outside of the good graces of LBJ. Also, we as black people have given all of our help to this country in many arenas. We have given our struggle in dealing with this country. Politicians do not make us to submit to them. They should submit to our interests and our demands as human beings. I am not pessimistic since I will always have hope for the future. Not to mention that Dr. King never held unconditional support of the GOP or the Democrats at all. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was involved in passing civil rights legislation, but he always took the time to criticize strongly both the Kennedy and the Johnson administrations for issues of civil rights and the Vietnam War. See, when he was criticizing the powers that be, he was not seeking Washington to do everything. He was making them accountable in a positive direction as a means for them to do their JOBS. When you sincerely inspire politicians to do their JOBS, it has to do with constructive action not unfair demonization. No one says that Washington can solve everything, but we have the free speech right to allow our grievances to be heard. We should fight for truth and hold our political leaders accountable. We should be active in real life and we should do hard work. We should attack problems in a multifaceted approach and not use blanket classifications against all Democrats. On the other hand, the legacy of both major parties has not been perfect when dealing with black people. That is just accurate and it has nothing to do with demonizing people unfairly. It is about showing the whole view of truth (and we are not liberated yet too). Yet, this doesn't mean that no politician is immune from critique. I WILL NEVER ALLY WITH THE GOP AT ALL SINCE WE ALL KNOW THEIR NEO-CONFEDERATE MEMBERS, THEIR TEA PARTY EXTREMISTS, AND THEIR RETROGRADE POLICIES. I AM A POLITICAL INDEPENDENT. If someone forces folks to not critique both parties fairly, then you have authoritarianism and oligarchy not true freedom in a society. See, a strong democracy is about critique not unconditional support. People must be free to think and when independent black people are free to think and to act, real change will come. Black people will win this struggle. We have to use strength, action, and a constructive perspective. We learn about black history not as a means to advance some guilt complex among people. We learn about black history as a means to be educated on our stories, to be inspired to improve our lives and to be furthered strengthen in our determination to struggle for justice. I still think that February should not be the only month that we should do this. We should learn about our true history year round. We still live in the struggle. We fight to maintain our dignity and honor as our people have been strong.

The Brothers and Sisters in the video are right in saying that we have to learn about our history and our heritage. Our BLACK LEGACY IS STRONG. We should respect and honor the sacrifice of our Brothers and our Sisters who paved the way for us. Dr. King and Nelson Mandela have connections. Dr. King publicly opposed apartheid and Nelson Mandela always respected black Americans fighting for liberation too. The struggle for our liberation is not separated by continents. It is linked among the inhabitants of the Earth. When a black person suffers in South Africa, we feel that suffering too. We are one people and God would want us to realize that we have a responsibility to help our neighbors and to live out the creed of fighting for justice. Dr. King taught us about compassion (and of how to fight the oppressor without arms. Malcolm X taught us the value of self-defense under legitimate circumstances) and social justice. To this day, we are facing economic inequality, imperialism, extrajudicial murders of our people, and other evils. So, we have to fight against these things. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became more revolutionary by 1968 by saying that we need a redistribution of economic and political power. Dr. King was right to oppose the evil, unjust Vietnam War. He was right to advocate justice for the poor. He was right to see that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Nelson Mandela was courageous in fighting the evil, fascist, and white supremacist regime of apartheid. He passed away and he wanted peace. Also, South Africa is fighting neoliberalism (as that agenda deals with some elites in South Africa loving the IMF instead of the needs of the people. The Freedom Charter’s words from the 1950’s are superior to the agenda of the IMF), economic disparities, unemployment, and other evils too. The Marikana Massacre of 2012 involved South African black people being murdered by the police. The murdered human beings just wanted workers' rights. Their memory ought to be known too. Steve Biko (he articulated the great ideal of Black Consciousness) was a great South African hero too. So, this struggle for racial and economic justice is continual. It is a shame (according to a new report from Oxfam) that the richest 85 people now have the same amount of wealth ($1.7 trillion) as about half the world’s population combined (that’s 3.5 billion people). The world’s wealthiest 1 percent has $110 trillion, 65 times the total wealth of half of the world's population. We should support the improvement of the environment, we should agree with the opposition to corporate exploitation, we should defend the rights of workers, we should love basic human rights (as all humans should be treated with dignity and with respect), and we ought to love of our BLACK HERITAGE. OUR BLACKNESS IS BEAUTIFUL. The struggle has not ended, but we will win in the end. We ought to respect our legitimate heroes and keep on going forward. Grassroots activism and revolutionary change are great concepts to love in our hearts. When you have the faith, the devotion, and the love of true freedom (along with doing real action), then real solutions can come. This case is truly an example of what we should know about. Jordan Davis was unarmed and never touched a hair on Michael Dunn at all. Jordan Davis was murdered without cause or legitimate justification at all. The other people in the vehicle are witnesses to the murderous, reprehensible incident. The other people could have been killed as well, so their lives were threatened by this person Michael Dunn. We all want justice in the case and we want Michael Dunn to face real justice. It is ironic that the same prosecutor involved in the Trayvon Martin case is involved in prosecuting Michael Dunn. I don’t know what the future holds in this case, but we are going to make sure that Jordan Davis’ memory is respected. No one should be murdered for just playing rap music in a vehicle at all. Too many unarmed, innocent black people have been murdered by demented human beings. We should not put up with this. We have every right to stand up and speak out for our people. Also, we should fully know about our rights and exercise them. We are all in solidarity with the family of Jordan Davis.

Many are so correct on disagreeing with the agenda of these extremists. It is hypocrisy with many of the Tea Party/GOP types. They claim to want less government, but advocate big government for the military and other arenas. The vast majority of the expenditures have been sent into the military industrial complex in recent years. They refuse to seek revolutionary, radical solutions to address poverty. Austerity is not a cure for poverty. There should be a raise in the minimum wage. There should be an guaranteed income. There should be an end to the War on Terror and the War on Drugs (with replacements). There should be more community development programs. We should end the bailouts of Wall Street and these are specific solutions. There should some radical solutions. Trillions of dollars have been hoarded by corporations and that action has not decreased poverty. Many anti-poverty programs have been successful. The poverty rate was cut in half from 1960-1970. he data is clear: in the years between 1965 and 1973, poverty rates plummeted, and especially in urban areas, by about 38 percent. By the mid-1970s, virtually all the innovative programs of the Great Society had been cut or eliminated, leaving only cash assistance (which began to decline relative to inflation and was never sufficient to pull folks from poverty), food stamps and limited housing support as the main props of the so-called welfare state. Even New Deal programs and other factors radically decreased the high poverty rates of the Great Depression. TO FOLKS THAT DISAGREE WITH ME IN OFFENSIVE TERMS: THE WAR ON TERROR & OTHER WARS COST MUCH MORE THAN FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS AND IT HAS NOT SOLVED POVERTY AT ALL. The Earned Income Tax Credit or the EITC has helped countless families in the States. That refund goes a long way for families struggling to make ends meet, said Aparna Mathur, an economist with the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute. And because the tax credit is based on income, it phases out as families become more financially stable, another positive feature Mathur cited. Also, the total crime rate has decreased in American cites and across America for the past 3 to 4 decades. We should end corporate welfare and end tax loopholes. There has been increase of poverty because of the recession, economic inequality, criminal actions done by Wall Street, austerity, and other reasons not because of every single War on Poverty programs. Rural housing insurance, Head Start, job training programs, etc. have helped the poor in many ways. There should be independent watchdog groups that make politicians accountable. Moving our consumer dollars away from global corporations to local community banks, credit unions, farmer markets, renewable energy, and community health clinics, with emphasis on prevention can solve many of our issues too. We should end racism and discrimination as a means to give human beings real opportunities. I am so tired of the lie that if we disagree with the GOP, we are accusing all of them of racism. Some of them want to cry about welfare, but refuse to talk about corporate subsidies, bailouts, tax breaks, and other giveaways to the super rich. We are not accusing all of them of hateful racism. We are accusing some of them of racism when they outline racism. Women are suffering in the world and their suffering ought not to be minimized by any politician (a baby has no choice to be in this world and many austerity measures will harm an innocent baby and an innocent mother). Rand Paul agrees with Romney's agenda, so he has no leg to stand on liberation. For him to say that certain mothers should not have certain children after an amount is fascism. There is no other word to describe it. Who is Rand Paul to dictate how many kids a mother should have. Also, eugenicists have have harmed our people using these similar ignorant pronouncements before decades ago (because laws existed decades ago that forcibly sterilized people if deemed they were unworthy of benefits or unworthy of producing human life).

The Coca Cola commercial shown during the Super Bowl was not offensive to me. It did not present a political agenda in trying to indoctrinate folks to speak another language in an authoritarian fashion. It was not about setting up legal policy in the States. It was not about mocking the English tongue. It was not about denying people the right to sing songs in America in English. It was about the celebrating the cultural diversity of humanity in the American landscape. American culture has never been monolithic. It has been diverse for a long time. Even Native Americans have diverse cultures (during the past and in the present) from the Aztecs to the Mayans. American culture has been an amalgam of different languages (since many words that we speak were borrowed from other languages and incorporated into English. English itself has borrowed words from European tongues and tongues in Asia, Africa, etc.), different cultures, different music, different political ideologies, etc. So, the commercial wanted to express the free speech right (or what is mentioned in the First Amendment) of those brave human beings to sing a song in different languages. Xenophobia and racism has been embraced by many of the disgraceful Twitter comments. These 2 twin evils are directly tied to fascism (as fascism has been embraced by those fascists in the Ukraine now). So, we should have tolerance of diverse cultures of the world. Western arrogance has caused many to view America as God. Well, America is not God. We have the free speech right to say in English or any other language to condemn imperialism, to condemn xenophobia, to condemn bigotry, to condemn poverty, and to condemn economic inequality (part of the agenda of oligarchy. It is the system of white supremacy that seeks to force people to view America in such narrow-minded terms ignoring the fact that the original languages of America were never English at all). So, this commercial has the right to exist. It is a shame that he or George Zimmerman is exploiting the death of Trayvon Martin as a means to try to try to gain "popularity." He is trying to use celebrities as a means to advance his own narcissistic, nefarious agenda. He craves attention. The best thing to do is to give him no attention at all. No one should fight this man in the boxing arena. Even if someone beats him in a boxing match, he will use that as a means to promote himself. So, the best thing that we should do is to ignore his antics. We should give him no attention at all. He is a non-factor when it comes to the interests of black people. Our interests like usual deal with us building our communities, improving our families, fighting injustice, uniting with our Brothers and our Sisters globally (in a pan-Africanist fashion), and opposing the extrajudicial murders of unarmed, innocent black human beings. One thing that is certain is that there can be no one size fit all solution involved with this emergency of school shootings. This is a national emergency and school violence occurs in urban, suburban, rural, and other communities in the world (among numerous backgrounds). Safety measures can help many schools like security, specialized doors, and the dealing with gun safety. Yet, there is a deeper issue at hand too. There is a culture of hatred, resentment, and hopelessness among many in this country. This perverse culture is unfortunately glamorized in the mainstream media, movies, etc. Some folks feel like there is no hope for the future and others have serious mental illness issues that they can’t control by themselves. So, it is important to have programs to deal with the social betterment of humanity like counseling services, mental health programs, and we individually have a role too. We have to treat our neighbor as ourselves, fight back against a person being unjust mistreated, and improve our culture in America. We have to teach the youth the difference between reality and fiction, right and wrong. We can be the leaders in positively impacting the world. We can’t be naïve about the truth and we have to deal with comprehensive solutions. We do this for the children and humanity in general.

By Timothy