Rand Paul and Other Issues.

Rand Paul recently announced his candidacy for the Presidency on early April 2015. He has used social media to proclaim his agenda too. He is running for the Republican Party, so he is a Republican Party activist. He wants to change the Republican Party in his mind to embrace more of his views. He has spoken in many locations that Republicans typically won't go into like in Ferguson, Detroit, etc. His goal is to follow the principles of capitalism and follow neoliberal philosophies. People talk about his views on the War on Drugs and the criminal justice system. He's right to mention the fact that the criminal justice system is racist and that the War on Drugs has harmed communities of color. I believe that the War on Drugs should end and be replaced with alternatives. He's right to condemn NSA warrantless spying against American citizens. The NSA and the CIA has violated the human civil liberties of people for decades (long before the President was elected back in 2008). One weakness of Rand Paul is his views on economic and social issues. Rand Paul has made it clear that he wants to cut many social programs that are preventing the poor from starving to death. He wants to cut Medicare, welfare, Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, etc. That is a blatantly austerity agenda and it won't work to solve our problems in America, because our economy is extremely fragile. Rand Paul has opposed a tax treaty which would target tax cheaters overseas. Sen. Paul has proposed the implementation of a flat tax, which would tax income at a single flat rate and entirely exempt capital gains, dividends and interest from taxation. A Citizens for Tax Justice analysis of a similar flat tax proposal found that it would increase taxes on the bottom 95 percent of Americans by almost $3,000 on average and at the same time give the richest 1 percent of Americans an average tax cut of nearly $210,000. A flat tax is blatantly reactionary and retrograde, because the poor will pay a proportionally higher tax rate than the super wealthy. Rand Paul has not support an end to the military industrial complex. He has voted to increase funding to the Pentagon. He has hypocritically lectured people on abhorring "big government" but he wants the expansion of the government in the form of growing the military industrial complex. The government should be by and for the people (and the government has every moral right to provide the General Welfare to the people). He talks about liberty and freedom, but freedom has nothing to do with allow any private entity to do whatever it wants to do (in other words, pollution is wrong, racism is wrong, and legitimate regulations to protect the environment is a good thing. Even Adam Smith admitted that the markets must have regulations. Human rights are superior to states' rights). This doesn't mean that we give the Democrats a pass. We have a Democratic Presidency supporting the spying of innocent citizens, we see the neoliberal agenda continuing by the White House, we see the funding of the militarization of the local police, we see the expansion of the evil war on terror (which Democrats not just the Republicans have supported), the evil NDAA is here, etc. Although, it is fair and legitimate to expose the extremism and bigotry found in the Republican Party (which is a party I will not support at all). Freedom is about respecting human justice, fighting evil, and promoting goodness as well.



This is a complex situation. Chaos in Somalia increased when the U.S. collaborated with Ethiopia to invade Somalia in 2006. This ended the Islamic Courts Union’s rule of Somalia and caused the growth of al-Shabab (which is an ally of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda originated form Osama bin Laden, who was a CIA asset via Operation Cyclone). Al-Shabab ironically existed as a youth wing of the ICU. Kenya has militarily intervened in Somalia too in fighting al-Shabab forces. Drones have killed hundreds of people in Somalia. Al-Shabab has made military incursions in Kenya as well. Somalia has oil resources, which is one reason why the West is intervening in the region. A resolution will have to be a product of collective actions. There must be the respect for the rights of the ethnic minorities in Kenya including Somalis and Muslims. There must be adequate security protection in Kenya and there must be further socioeconomic development in Kenya. In many cases, terrorism has arisen because of bad economic conditions, desperation, and a lack of hope. To get rid of terrorism, institutions must promote progressive solutions to help the masses of the people. Somalia should be free from al-Shabab (which is a counterrevolutionary terrorist group who has killed innocent human beings), but Somalia should not be some puppet Western client state. Somalia should be independent. Kenya should not only protect their country. They should advance more political solutions, so Kenyans can have total democratic rights continually. The attack on the Kenyan University was evil. Yes, it is a tragic situation. Somalia has a long history. Today, many view Somalia as a failed state, because of competing warlords and other reasons. Al-Shahaab has been funded by Saudi Arabia as well. America is aiding the Saudis in their war against Houthi militias (in Yemen). Somalia exists as it is because of many reasons. Somalia was a colony of Italy and Britain. Mohammad Siad Barre made some social programs which helped many Somalis during the 1970’s. IMF and World Bank policies harmed Somalia during the 1980’s. When the overthrow of Barre came about in 1992, Somalia was never the same. A civil war ensued and Somalia is still struggling to maintain true political and social stability. AMISOM (or the African Union Mission in Somalia) is occupying large sections of Somalia. A lot of the problems in Somalia have existed by both the reactionary Islamists and by the policies of Western imperialism. I will not say that Somalia will never be truly free, but it will be a long time before Somalia witnesses some stability. It seems to me that the only solution long term will be to address the huge poverty in Somalia (including the political reconciliation of the different factions and ethnic groups in Somalia as well). There must be a political resolution in Somalia along with addressing of its poverty if Somalia can find true justice. The West is in Somalia as a way for them to make sure that oil resources pass through the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. So, the West wants more geopolitical power and the growth of their hegemony not necessarily the advancement of “humanitarianism.” RIP to the victims who have died in Kenya. I send my condolences to the families of the victims too.




I have not looked at the show Black-Ish. I don’t know too much about the show except what people have said about it (and watching scenes of the show on the Internet). From what I have heard and read, the show is mostly a satire mixed with humor. It describes a satire about not only about race, but about the debates many black families have on education, relationships, love in general, racial history, black culture, and a diversity of other important topics. The show in its composition I don’t feel is trying to perpetrate massive stereotypes. I think it tries to show issues to their audiences and try to display a mixture of comedy and satire. In that sense, people can be entertained and think about relevant social issues going on in the world. Peyser is using hyperbole to assume that Black-ish wants to portray people of all skin colors as biased, clueless, and racist. For Peyser to assume that is silly. One thing that I get from the show Black-Ish is that it is not condescending. The show is not trying to talk at you. The show is trying to talk with you on issues relevant to black people and people from across America. Reasonable people understand that the show is not trying to act racist. The show is trying to confront racism in a witty, satirical way, so society can open their eyes on various issues progressively. Yes, some white folks falsely equate black solidarity or a show filled with black people as equivalent to racism. Racism deals with power and prejudice as well. White racists use prejudice and power as a means to oppress human beings internationally in dealing with housing, jobs, and other aspects of society. Peyser is using a distraction from the real issue about how black people have the right to express their intellectual curiosity firmly without the approval of the white establishment. We don't hate anybody. We just love our natural creativity and our strong heritage as black people. That's real talk. There are no words to describe the pain that the family of those who passed away is going through. The father was helping his children and the poor have not only suffered mistreatment, but they have readily been scapegoated unfairly too. This story is why I will never believe in massive austerity against the poor and the working class. This story is why society must advance more compassion to families struggling. If big Wall Street banks can receive trillions of dollars in bailouts & other tax subsidies, then working class and poor families can receive some assistance in fulfilling the ideal of altruism. RIP to Rodney Todd and his children.



What he did was low and disrespectful. He obviously doesn’t know what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is not a purely quota system. Affirmative action is about giving qualified minorities fair opportunities to go into college or to have a job. There should definitely be affirmative action for the poor. His action is about lying, cheating, and using deception as a way for him to advance some radically conservative political agenda. He is a total disgrace. Mindy Kaling’s brother needs to wake up. You will notice that this male won’t use ways to actually change the system for the better like addressing economic inequality, advocating smaller class sizes, promoting mentorships, and addressing socioeconomic problems in communities nationwide. He is not going into the black community to help the black community. He is just hypocritically using the racist tactic of calling himself black (when that is not true) while hypocritically condemning affirmative action as “racist.” People know that education is different for the poor and for the super-rich. The poor readily receive lax educational services while the rich receive state of the art technology and other modernized resources. There is no way to end racism and discrimination unless there are policies to address discrimination. We know that many affirmative action programs have helped minorities and women for decades (in spite of states recently banning affirmative action involving college recruitment). We know that the playing field is far from level. That male is hypocritical to refuse to expose white affirmative action from legacies, various other restrictive policies, record bailouts, and other forms of white privilege. What he has done is to strip opportunities from others as a way to exploit himself (in the midst of his own privileged life). What he has done was cruel and evil. As far as I’m concerned, Sacco is not suffering a dire situation. She made a disgraceful, evil comment. The same ones who lecture us black people about “no excuses” are trying to make excuses for her despicable tweets. AIDS is found globally and Africa is a beautiful continent. Sacco is not suffering real agony. She is going through real guilt. Those suffering HIV/AIDS are going through real agony. Also, black people are some of the most forgiving people throughout human history. We are not obligated to forget what she said. We need justice though. Sacco should take real personal responsibility for her own actions and we as black people are not required to bow down to her. She needs to move on with her life. We will continue to fight for racial justice, for social justice, and for an end to the system of white supremacy.


Yes, even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. never wanted black people to eliminate their cultural heritage. Dr. King always said that Black is Beautiful and he advocated the pooling of black economic resources and the building of black institutions (as shown by his own words in his final speech in Memphis, Tennessee). The illusion of inclusion definitely doesn't work and what works include self-determination and mobilizing plus organizing our own powerbase (as other ethnic groups have been doing for a long time in America alone). We have to reject the selfish individualism and the lust for greed including the disregarding or the minimization of the black struggle (which are philosophies embraced by many of the "New Blacks" or the "New Greens"). There is nothing wrong with more solidarity and more unity. Strong black people will continue to speak truth to power. I do respect how the people in the show document how both parties have been responsible for neoliberal philosophies and policies. The proposed Republican budget is not only cruel, but it can harm poor and working class people directly (while expanding the already bloated military budget). Even the middle class will suffer if that budget was passed. We all know that the Wall Street banks and the rest of the 1% control the 2 party system. Also, the Democrats have proposed cuts to social programs as well. Bill Clinton and other Democrats have supported neoliberal policies from welfare "reform" to imperial aggression in foreign nations (including NSA spying, whistleblowers being imprisoned, torture, and assassinations of American people without due process of law). Mo'Ne Davis is a young Sister who was a victim of racism and sexism via cowardly people using social media. The system of white supremacy has not gone away. So, we should always defend the human dignity of Mo'Ne Davis and we have to fight the nefarious system harming people globally.

By Timothy