Weekend News for May of 2014

Most importantly, the theocratic terrorists ought to be condemned for kidnapping innocent Sisters in the first place. I am glad that Nigerians are demanding the government to do its job stronger. The Nigerian government has that responsibility to use more firm methods in finding the missing children. The State Department can do many things in this situation like working with the international community in putting pressure on Nigerian authorities, so that they can more aggressively try to rescue the missing human beings. We should all be outraged too. In Nigeria, there should be more grassroots organizations (including communities banding together as a means to find the missing girls) support that advocate political and social independence in Nigeria. There has to be greater economic development in Nigeria too. There has to be a bigger emphasis in healthcare, education, etc. Nigerians can also inspire its President to receive international assistance in finding the missing girls (excluding a neo-imperialist agenda, because human lives are at stake and this is an emergency). Additionally, there should be a mass movement to grant human rights to people irrespective of religion or gender. There should be more organizations formed, activism executed, and even other methods being shown too beyond protests. Abayomi Azikiwe & Olufemi Ijebuode have great research on African issues too. In the final analysis, Nigeria should use their resources to find the missing Sisters along with international support. The Nigerian President should welcome international help on finding the girls via massive pressure. The Nigerian actors, actresses, business leaders, educators, lawyers, doctors can show more visibility on this issue internationally (as a means for the world community to understand the plight of the missing people). I have no issue with massive search parties among Nigerians to find the missing girls too. Individually, Nigerians should continue stand up for black girls and black females in general. We all express sympathy for the missing girls and their families. Income inequality is a threat to world peace and social stability in the world. More financial experts are talking about the dangers of economic inequality more and more now. The few at the top (with vast oil resources) have much wealth while the poor suffer without experiencing the rightfully economic justice that they rightfully deserve. Nigeria's ethnic strife, economic inequality, and political issues must be addressed as a means for Nigeria to reach its full potential as a beautiful nation. Samuel James' article entitled, In Nigeria, oil divides the rich and poor" discusses this issue in an amazing fashion.

Learning lessons from the past is key to creating a better future for humanity. The Haitian Revolution is now over 210 years old. That doesn’t mean that we ignore the lessons from that powerful, inspiring Revolution. Therefore, we should learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the New Deal as a means to create economic justice for our people (not reactionary economic ideas embraced by elitists). Any legitimate job created is valuable regardless if it is a government job or a private sector job. Just because there is less government jobs in comparison to private jobs, doesn’t mean that any government job is evil or a sin. Things can change. The future could witness an upsurge of public workers. Public workers are diverse. They deal with construction, environmental infrastructure, and other occupations (not just department work). There are people of many backgrounds (racial, ideological, gender, or otherwise) that want a comprehensive, national jobs plan. The issue is that reactionaries hate this and are in opposition to this. I understand many things. I understand that Reaganomics failed. I understand that from 1945 to 1975 (with more taxation on the wealthy and huge investments) caused the highest GDP growth in American history (possibly in world history along with the poverty rate cut in half). So, we know the truth. In the 1920s, fully half of all Americans could not make ends meet. Roosevelt's New Deal programs had reduced poverty to about 20 percent in the 50s. Johnson's Great Society reduced this to 11.1 percent by 1973. If such real policies can work in Finland, Norway, Sweden, etc. then such policies can work in America. Some talk about fantasy. 100 years ago, folks called Social Security as a fantasy. Also, 100 years ago, folks considered a Voting Rights Act including other potent civil rights legislation fantasies. Yet, when Brothers and Sisters struggle and fight (for cooperation and for the general welfare of humanity), then things demonized as fantasies can be changed into authentic realities. I will never love an economic philosophy that was involved in enslaving my race at all. That is purely the point. An end to imperialist wars, an end to QE, an end to record bailouts, an increased taxation to the super rich, an end to the War on Drugs with alternatives, and real investments are needed to create a better reality for the human race. Governments have created jobs for thousands of years. Also, many government jobs do deal with construction, science (NASA, etc.), transportation (i.e. Amtrak), infrastructure (i.e. the Postal Service), etc. So, folks are in error to assume that the government can't create a single job. That is a lie. Folks can have a Yawn since they want to ignore history. See, a wicked economic system put our ancestors in chains (It has also ruined environmental locations, harmed workers’ rights so much that workers fought back, and increased economic inequality). Dr. King, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, and our other heroes outlined great critiques of that economic system too. I have their quotations. The skeptics can ignore that all they want, but that is history. Wall Street has harmed Main Street in many ways too. The Great Recession taught us all that austerity, sequester, Reaganomics, record income inequality, and other evils are detriments to the progress of society. Also, I never discounted the value of private jobs at all. I just mention that neoliberalism is immoral. All people have the right to your views and I have the right to mine. Many black people have trouble in economic mobility, because of many of the conditions of poverty not because of laziness. Dr. King was right to call the ghetto a domestic colony. Black people have the right to move from it or to transform the ghetto where slums are replaced with affordable, decent housing. Great schools and great jobs can never come unless there is a combined effort of public and private resources. History shows us this. Privatization including corporate greed (that is antithetical to human need) have caused mismanagement and corruption too. Poverty rates have declined worldwide via a comprehensive effort among private power, public power (among all levels of government), and dedicated individuals.

There are individuals who certainly believe in certain beliefs. They have the right to believe in your views on economic issues. Me, I decline it. Also, we are the United States. Many cities in poorer white communities have suffered too. Many cities (with mostly white and mostly black populations) suffer not because of the policies from Finland. Many cities suffer because of austerity, unfair trade deals, deindustrialization, lax investments, economic inequality, poverty, and other socioeconomic issues. That is easily explainable. It has nothing to do with true progressive actions (since many Democrats running those cities followed Reaganomics or neoliberalism along with massive austerity cuts just like many Republicans). Also, I am a political independent. So, the skeptics can call me whatever you wish. These reactionaries certainly love economic views that Malcolm X and Dr. King reject. Also, we can solve crime, poverty, and unemployment issues with an increased minimum wage (including an economic Bill of Rights as advocated by Dr. King), an end to QE plus Wall Street bailouts, an end to the War on Drugs, an end to the war on terror, increased taxation on the super-rich (which they can afford), true investments in our communities (from both the public and private sectors), and other real solutions. Also, teenage pregnancy has decreased in the black community. From 1991 to 2010, the rate of births to black teens, 15-19, fell by more than half, with a full 9 percent drop just between 2009 and 2010 alone. Likewise, from 1980 to 2008, the birthrate for all black women under 18 fell by more than half. Crime rates have declined in black communities nationwide since the 1970's. There are more and more black Sisters in colleges and owning business now. There are many black people making great economic successes. As for SNAP, 64 percent of black recipients who come on to the program, move off the program rolls within a year, suggesting that benefit receipt is, for most, a short-term and transitional reality, rather than a long-term condition. For cash assistance, about half of blacks who enter the program will be off the rolls within 4 months, and 7 in 10 will be off within a year. We have a very long way to go, but we are not out of the woods. I acknowledge the problems of Democrats like many of them being too reactionary on many issues (like Bill Clinton on his policies involving the prison industrial complex). So, the truth is that reactionary ideologies and retrograde discrimination have harmed much of the black community. Here are other facts. Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents. Mixed economies have worked in Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, etc. Also, ghetto is a term describing a location not a state of mind. Many folks living in the ghetto have an upright character. I find it highly offensive for some to say ghetto (to be used as a slur against the poor) when folks with bad character exist across socioeconomic backgrounds. Many people are poor by no fault of their own. It is that same economic system that brutalized our people, exploited our people, and harmed our people in other ways. 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic Presidents. Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic Presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year). Republican Presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic Presidents. As Michelle Alexander points out in THE NEW JIM CROW, a central part of the current evil is the prison industrial complex, fueled by the "war on drugs" initially started under the Nixon administration and it greatly expanded under the Reagan administration. There has to be a ban on mandatory minimum sentences, giving ex-felons voting rights and job opportunities (after they fully paid their debt to society), spreading of medical marijuana, and funding for drug treatment programs that can help nonviolent people who experience drug addictions. These are specific plans not generalizations. Also, I advocate a massive, comprehensive approach in transforming the ghetto. I never discounted the role of private organizations. I believe in an all of the above approach as I have maintained. You can ignore that if you wish, but I will not. There is no evidence that massive austerity will cause a massive change in the black community. Many middle class blacks need to stop their arrogance. Many of them have arrogance in blaming the poor without witnessing the complexities of poverty. Many of the middle class blacks fear the poor of their own people as a means to escape their responsibility to help their poorer Brothers and Sisters. Many of them are scared and frighten of white people instead of loving black people. Dr. King said interesting words on this issue: "...Middle-class values stress the importance of career and money. These were not the values which led to the civil rights movement; these are not the values which lead to positive social transformation..." We need both educated black people and grassroots black people too as a means to help our people. It is not an either or proposition to me. Some have listed many names. I am not moved by stereotypical rhetoric. Also, welfare has been drastically cut by Clinton and other President. Most black people don't have welfare Section 8 is not even a totally free system. Folks can be stripped of Section 8 via violations. Section 8 is not some free ride. Most black poor people in America are not on welfare, are not on the corner dealing drugs, and most are working as best as they can. Folks from across the political spectrum believe in responsibility, accountability, and honor. So, some using reactionary stereotypes against people that disagree with them are evil. We know that the economic corruption from Wall Street and the derivatives market contributed to the Great Recession (which occurred first under a Republican President). The Great Recession has harmed the black community and black people collectively never created it at all. Nothing massively changes unless we as a people address poverty and other socioeconomic issues in our communities. We need to improve our morality, strengthen our family, and allow our children to be respectful in the world. Yet, that is not enough. We have to change institutions and confront racism, discrimination, and poverty to see our people to reach its highest potential collectively. It is truly a fantasy to expect nothing short of revolutionary solutions to address the needs of the poor and the oppressed. Not all welfare is evil either. Studies have documented the benefits of a slight minimum wage increase. Any social dysfunction can be solved not by authoritarian, theocratic policies. It can be solved by improving education, increasing the minimum wage, and instituting public plus private programs to address the needs of the community. These items are beyond welfare. We can both improve our morality and radically transform society wherefore the oppressed have justice. Also, both genders are entitled to equality as Malcolm X has said. See, Ella Baker, Gloria Richardson, Betty Shabbaz, Myrlie Evers-Williams, etc. were not in the back of the bus (of our struggle for black liberation). They were standing up fighting for our liberation via great leadership. Men and women have the right to express great leadership. It is always part of my thinking to reject following Eurocentric notions of gender. Fundamentally, black feminists are not monolithic. Many black feminists (who never created the Maafa, never originated the War on Drugs, never created modern oppression, in America, and never created Jim Crow either) do not hate the nuclear family, love black men sincerely, and seek humane justice. Not all single mothers are monolithic either. Some single mothers exist, because of many reasons. These single mothers should not be demonized unfairly. BLACK MEN SHOULD NOT STAND IN FRONT OR BEHIND BLACK WOMEN. BLACK MEN HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO STAND ALONGSIDE BLACK WOMEN TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. Malcolm X had it right when he said the following words about women: "...If you are in a country that is progressive, the woman is progressive. If you’re in a country that reflects the consciousness toward the importance of education, it’s because the woman is aware of the importance of education. But in every backward country you’ll find the women are backward, and in every country where education is not stressed it’s because the women don’t have education.” There is not a single piece of evidence that all black feminists abhor the nuclear family, abhor men personally, or want to witness a complete breakdown of society at all. Folks have the right to agree or disagree with feminism. The fundamental point is that all humans are created equal and all humans should have basic human rights. Also, before Steinem, there were Black Queens and black women having great power were realities in the Motherland. Therefore, black people have every right to believe in fairness among both genders not antiquated, Victorian, and Eurocentric views on gender at all. African history and culture greatly praise the power of Women. So, males and females should be treated with dignity and respect. Males and females have equal value. 

Larry Elder is wrong on many levels. He is the man that defended the war on terror (including the Iraq War, which has brought deaths, torture, extra occupation, and other evils against people globally, especially people of color. Our ancestral homeland has been exploited as a product of this wicked, unjust, criminal, and evil war on terror. Massive amounts of wealth have spent to benefit the military industrial complex while the poor suffer in America plus globally. Our people have a rich legacy of being anti-imperialist). Elder ignores income inequality and capitalist exploitation too. The fact is that David Sterling has a history of being involved in bigotry and he was accused of anti-discriminatory policies against minorities involving housing. Elder ignores that, because he places guilt totally on the woman, instead of rightly placing blame on the racist Donald Sterling. Sterling was never forced via coercion to make those statements, mistreat players, or to be charged with violating federal law. Sterling did that out of his own volition. It is ironic that the same ones yelling about personal responsibility refuse to want to make Sterling to have personal responsibility for his words and actions. It is the same ones lecturing about post racial fantasies, but their fantasies have been totally refuted with the deeds of Bundy and Sterling. Elder has expressed the views of reactionaries for years. People who responded to Sterling's words are expressing free speech too. A cooperative society is superior to an objectivist (or selfish, individualist) society. "Pastor" Manning slandered Africa in disgusting terms. He is a traitor. The worse one is Jesse Lee Peterson. He called the First Lady names that I can't repeat here. Jesse Lee Peterson makes Manning look like a "saint." He or Jesse Lee Peterson once said that the Maafa was like an uncomfortable plane ride and he was glad of slavery. I listened to what he said on YouTube. So, he is wrong and a truly sad individual. To reactionaries, the free market is God literally. We know that there is no quantifiable evidence that the free market is omnipotent or perfect at all. There are legitimate regulations in ecological affairs, economic affairs, and other affairs as a means to stabilize society. Many GOP members blocking a minimum wage increase outline the extremism of many of them. Many of them don’t care about the poor or seeking poverty to be eliminated at all. The vast majority of Americans want an increase of the minimum wage, even most Republicans. The Republicans in large measure have rejected public investments in a national jobs plan when they hypocritical claim that they want a jobs bill. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report on Tuesday on the impacts of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and $9 an hour. It found that a $10.10 minimum wage, implemented by 2016, would mean higher earnings for 16.5 million workers, resulting in $31 billion more in higher earnings. It would also lift nearly 1 million people out of poverty. If you work hard and play by the rules, then you should be rewarded. We know that massive austerity & sequester failed globally. A $10.10 minimum wage would mean a direct raise for 16.7 million workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute, who would then have more money in their pockets to spend on goods and services, boosting the economy. It also found that a gradual increase to $10.10 by 2016 would increase wages by $35 billion, which would boost GDP growth by about $22 billion. So, the facts are here. Folks have the right to advocate eliminating unfair tax breaks, ending unjust wars, ending bailouts to big banks, and increasing the minimum wage. A living wage for humanity is just plain commonsense point blank period. 

 By Timothy