Wednesday, March 09, 2016

More Primary News in March of 2016

Today, there have been wins made by Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders had an upset victory in Michigan. He won the Michigan primary taking 50 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent for Hillary Clinton. The billionaire Donald Trump won Michigan taking 38 percent of the vote, with Texas Senator Ted Cruz edging out Ohio Governor John Kasich for second place, with each winning about 25 percent. The turnout was higher in both the Democratic and Republican primaries than in previous statewide votes in Michigan. The Democratic vote was up 75 percent from the last contest primary in 2008. The Republican vote was up 20 percent from the 2012 primary. The victory for Sanders was powered by an 81 percent margin among voters younger than 30. Sanders won nearly every county outside the Detroit metropolitan area. He more than doubled his support among African-American voters, from 15 percent in recent primaries in the South to over 30 percent. Besides Michigan, by far the biggest state to vote Tuesday, there were Democratic and Republican primaries in Mississippi and Republican-only contests in Idaho and Hawaii. Hillary Clinton had a huge victory in Mississippi Democratic primary. She won 83 percent of the vote to 16 percent for Sanders. Trump won the Mississippi Republican primary more narrowly taking 48 percent to 37 percent for Cruz. Cruz won the Idaho primary easily winning 42 percent of the vote to 29 percent for Trump.  Donald Trump won Hawaii too. The state of Michigan and other places of America suffered bad polies from both of the big business parties. Bernie Sanders is still in the race. The fascistic billionaire Trump is still in the lead of the delegate count for the Republican crowd. The Sanders’ victory in Michigan is seen as a shock by the Democratic Party establishment and the corporate controlled media. Even Sanders was surprised too. The candidate left Michigan for a series of rallies in Florida and his campaign did not hold the traditional rally for supporters to watch the vote and celebrate the victory, because it did not expect to win. This shows that the working people, the poor, the youth, and others want real change not the status quo from the corporate financial elite. Exit polls from Michigan found that of voters participating in the Democratic primary, 91 percent said the most important issue was health care, inequality or the economy, while only 9 percent said it was terrorism or national security.

In addition, 85 percent said the US economic system favors the wealthy and 86 percent said they were worried about the US economy. As former Obama campaign chief David Axelrod said on CNN, the vote showed that “among working-class whites, and actually among minorities too, there are deep concerns about how the economy is run.” Other media pundits noted that the Clinton campaign now faces an uncertain future in a series of contests in industrial states such as Ohio, Illinois and Missouri next Tuesday, as well as elsewhere in the Midwest and in Appalachia in later weeks. Sanders has support among people opposed to big business policies. Trump’s popularity is based on the anger among many working class people. Yet, Trump has used bigoted statements and attacked immigrants and minorities, particularly Muslim-Americans, threats of violence, and even, in the past week, appeals at rallies for supporters to stand up and pledge their allegiance to the candidate by raising their arms in a manner reminiscent of the spectacles staged by Mussolini and Hitler. Both Sanders and Trump has made similar appeals to economic nationalism as they oppose certain trade deals, but not the capitalist system as a whole. The capitalist system ultimately is responsible for mass unemployment, wage cutting, etc. Mexican and Chinese workers are just as much victims of exploitation and violations of their economic rights as American workers are. Clinton joined in this orgy of chauvinism, denouncing corporations that did not practice “patriotism” in their economic decision-making. Trump has taken advantage of the right-wing record of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party to exploit the economic grievances of a large layer of lower-income white workers by providing a scapegoat in the form of immigrants, Muslims and other minorities. People don’t need to scapegoat Muslims, immigrants, back people, etc. People need jobs, housing, health care, education etc. The media has glorified the demagogue Trump. Exit polls in Michigan found that 50 percent of Republican primary voters found him untrustworthy, 47 percent would be dissatisfied if he became the nominee, and 44 percent found his campaign the most “unfair” of all the candidates. What these candidates in either the Republican or Democrats won’t advocate is the total end to Western imperialism. We want solutions.



The oligarchy doesn't care about human rights, environmental justice, or the aspirations of the masses of the people in general. Sister Michelle Alexander has done an excellent job in exposing the evil components of the mass incarceration state (which has grown under Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton). The prison industrial complex not only exploits human life. Solitary confinement has been explicitly condemned by many human rights activists. Also, many people who leave prison face economic discrimination, deprivation of voting rights (even if they are nonviolent offenders in some states), and a lack of educational opportunities. Many people lack housing and health care rights. Capitalism is linked to racism and imperialism. This is a class struggle for human liberation. Therefore, social activists are speaking out about these important issues form police brutality to the rights of immigrants. Crooked cops act as an occupying force instead of a force of humanity and progressive compassion. Sister Michelle Alexander is right to call for the fight for the human rights of black people, the poor, etc. Not all relationships will be the same. Some relationships work best in one way and other relationships work best in a another way. Theorotically, I'm certain that equal partnerships exist and relationships where one person is the dominant partner. That's part of life. That's part of freedom. Relationships can't be just about fun, yet relationships (including marriages) can include fun in the process like vacations, various dates, outings, etc. I do believe that whether someone is married or just have a partnership, these decisions should be respected. Just because someone is married, doesn't means that a equal partnership is not in existence in that marriage. Just because someone is not married or is single doesn't mean that this person's life has no value or lacks merit. So, we should allow human beings to live out their own lives as best as they can. Strong marriages ought to be praised. Some folks don't want to be married and that's their right. In the final analysis, we desire human beings to achieve their own pursuit of happiness.


People should definitely read India Arie's interview. It was excellent, insightful, and it discussed the issue not only about the biopic, but about the industry in general. India Arie is right that colorism is still a pernicious problem in Hollywood and even her actress friends admitted to her about how they struggle to get roles based on skin complexion. Nina Simone was an icon. She inspired others, because she was unapologetic in expressing her music and she loved the essence of her dark black skin. As India Arie has mentioned, the "biopic" is a caricature since the film is historically inaccurate and other qualified black actresses can easily portray her (without the utilization of prosthetics and without using dark makeup). We believe in using our resources to not support does who issue historical revisionism. India Arie has shown grace, compassion, and valuable wisdom throughout her interview. This issue is much bigger than Zoe Saldana. This issue is about the fact that the legacy of Nina Simone (which is filled with music, social activism, and courage) ought not to be sanitized by anyone. Our heroes always inspire us to this very day. Magnificent news. She has shown that life is diverse and that girls have the right to fulfill their own aspirations in many different ways. She loves her community and her friends plus family. She's from Brooklyn and Brooklyn has a history filled with strong Brothers and Sisters. In her interview, she says that she loves Caribbean music and the music from Corinne Bailey Rae. Corinne Bailey Rae is an amazing singer and her songs deal with philosophy, love, life, and other subjects. Her music is superb. Nzingha's confidence is outstanding and black excellence is always glorious. Sister Nzingha Prescod is making history and we all wish much more success for her.

The class action lawsuit should come. The Flint residents have been a huge amount of pain and disrespect by evil people. Certain people wanted to cut financial corners and that is why they switched the water supply used to send into Flint. The problem in Flint has to do with the inadequacy & brutality of capitalism and the corruption found in the oligarchy. The Flint River is filled with poisons and members of the DEQ, Governor Snyder, and others downplayed the significance of the poisoning of the water supply for a long time. Emails document the negligent actions of corporate people and government officials among many levels of government. After more than a year of ignoring citizen complaints about the water and slandering scientists who were issuing warnings about dangerously high levels of lead, on October 1, 2015, Snyder grudgingly acknowledged that there were problems with Flint’s water. On October 6, 2015 he provided the funds to switch back to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) pipeline. The Republican Governor Synder should not only resign. He (along with others) should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Lawsuits should come and people should be prosecuted. On October 14, 2014 Valeria Brader, Snyder’s top environmental policy advisor, requested the governor’s office ask Flint’s emergency manager to move the city’s water supply back to the Detroit system, its original water source. This was a full year before the state finally authorized the switch. More facts are coming out. Members among both parties made huge mistakes involving this Flint water crisis. Also, we send great Kudos to the activists who have helped Flint residents with water, resources, and love. It will take probably more than 1 billion dollars to replace poisoned pipes and rebuild the infrastructure in Flint, Michigan. Lead is a neurotoxin and this problem is nationwide. We want jobs to be given to people and we want justice.

By Timothy


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