The Past, the Present, and the Future.

The 2012 Presidential campaign would be another victory for President Barack Obama. Yet, this campaign would be tougher than his previous Presidential campaign. It would be closer in the election results. This 57th quadrennial American Presidential election was historic. Barack Obama would defeat Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney was involved in the Republican primary where he debated people like John McCain, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Jr., Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, and other candidates.  By May of 2012, Mitt Romney won the Republican primary race mostly. He picked Paul Ryan, who is a known reactionary especially on economic issues, as his running mate. Paul Ryan is a member of a new generation of conservatives. The 2012 Presidential campaign centered heavily on the Great Recession and debates on whether the economic recovery and job creation was powerful enough. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney had three debates that dealt with budge issues, the Affordable Care Act, foreign policy, taxes, etc. Barack Obama struggled in the first debate and did much better in the last 2 debates. Super PACs were used during this campaign. The 2012 broke previous records in financing, fundraising, and negative campaigning. The Republican nomination convention took place in August 2016 in Tampa, Florida. The Democratic National Convention was held in Charlotte, North Carolina during September 2016. The Constitution Party National Convention took place in Nashville, Tennessee. The Libertarian National Convention took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Green National Convention took place in Baltimore, Maryland. The election took place to end completely on November 6, 2012. There was early voting in September of 2012 too. This was the time of voter suppression laws being first instituted massively (during the 21st century), which restricted the types of materials that people could use to vote and even the times when people could vote. Civil rights groups denounced such bad laws. Even former  President Bill Clinton denounced them, saying, "There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today." These voter suppression laws (which are supported by the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC) are found in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, etc. Many third parties existed too. They include Jill Stein of the Green Party, Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, etc.

President Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney involving both the popular vote and the Electoral College. Obama had 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206 votes. Barack Obama carried every state and districts (among states that allocated electoral votes by district) that he had won in the 2008 Presidential election except North Carolina, Indiana, and Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district. His margin of victory has declined from 2008. Most liberals and moderates voted for President Barack Obama. More women voted for Obama than Romney. More single men and more single women voted for Obama than married men and married woman. The vast majority of African Americans and people of color voted for President Barack Obama during the 2012 election while the majority of white Americans voted for Romney. Young people younger than 40 mostly voted for Obama while those older than 40 voted mostly for Romney. Urban communities mostly voted for Barack Obama. Suburbs, towns, and rural communities mostly voted for Mitt Romney. Those who made less than $50,000 a year voted in the majority for Obama. Those who made more annual income voted mostly for Romney.  Therefore, we see a pattern here. President Barack Obama became the first incumbent since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 to win reelection with fewer electoral votes and a lower popular vote percentage. Yet, Obama was the first two term President since Ronald Reagan to win both his presidential bids with an absolute majority of the nationwide popular vote. Not since 1820 had three consecutive American presidents succeeded in securing two consecutive terms.


This is magnificent news. The Colored Girls Museum is a crucial reminder of the contributions and strength of the experiences of black women, black girls, including women and girls of color. The art, the literature, and the culture of these human beings (as shown in the gorgeous location) are vitally important to know about plus respect. The museum is found in Germantown, Philadelphia and Philadelphia has an excellent culture that deals with the arts and human expression. Sister Vashti Dubois is doing great work in showing artifacts and inspiring people to see how dynamic the power of women and girls are. For decades, she has worked diligently to improve the lives of black women and black girls. The museum also celebrates Black Girl Magic, which is a sacrosanct movement which we all graciously support. Museums and art represent cultural treasures. They develop creativity and inspire our thinking on reality. The Colored Girls Museum is not only a beautiful treasure. It is part of our cultural ethos as human beings. I wish the museum even more success. I want to mention this point too. I like to send great congratulations to the progressive people of Portland, who have stood up against Islamophobia. Recently, a racist murdered 2 people and injured one person. These 3 people tried to defend Muslim women. They were attacked by an evil male with a knife. Many people of Portland have stood up to condemn that hateful terrorism and to express solidarity with the Muslim community in America. Regardless of our creeds, no one should be oppressed. When the rights of one person are diminished, all of our rights are threatened. We are opposed to the agenda of Trump. Also, we believe in standing up for human rights, and social justice.


Sister Ellen Ector is also almost 70 years old. Her story is a great one, because it shows clearly that we should never ever give up on our dreams. We exist on this Earth as a product of a miracle, because our ancestors suffered unspeakable injustices. They lived, so we could live. Therefore, it is important to be appreciative of life, to congratulate those who make excellent accomplishments, and to never unfairly hate our neighbor. I believe in the Golden Rule and I do wish more blessings for Sister Ellen Ector (who is involved in fitness and helping people all over). Also, we should never underestimate humor. Humor builds up the immune system and it's just joyful. Humor is glorious and beautiful. Also, humor is a reminder that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. Life is about collectively improving humanity beyond just individual pursuits. During this time of the year, many people are graduating or about to graduate. It's great to celebrate their successes. The greatness of education is immeasurable. During this life, we are blessed. We have a place to live, we have a chance to eat food, and we have friendships. Many people in this world don't have that, so it is always important to promote that love for humanity, to fight for justice with due diligence, and to proclaim the truth in season and out of season. Life is a journey. The more we express empathy, compassion, and just treatment towards our neighbors, the more we recognize the common humanity that we all share (and the more are souls are enriched progressively. We have hope for a great future providentially).

The general welfare has great moral and spiritual meaning. Instead of advocating selfishness and an abhorrence of solidarity, the general welfare precisely means that we are our Brothers and our Sisters' Keepers. It means that totally that true government should be by and for the people. The government's responsibility is to provide the general welfare for people too. Enriching the super rich at the expense of the poor is no real system at all. Greed never works, because the Great Recession of the XXI century taught us that. Also, the love of money is the root of all evil (as economic inequality is one sign of how we must fight poverty too). It is right to use the human creative imagination to build up our infrastructure, to promote legitimate social programs, to fight for justice, and to advance workers' rights. The freedom of the press, the freedom of the speech, and other freedoms must always be protected and promoted by us. I believe in liberty and justice. Many Americans and other people globally love real freedom and embrace collective power. There is a perfect reason why I believe in progressive change. The reason is that life changes constantly and it is always important to care for the environment. We live in one world and a real revolutionary will always combat the evils of pollution and inspire real research to combat diseases. I believe in fighting poverty too. Also, I believe in creative energy to advance health care and to protect our civil liberties. I believe in black liberation. That is why I unapologetically show information about Black History and I believe in real Black Unity too. I believe in government that is active to fulfill its responsibility and obligation to defend the sick, to help the elderly, to defend the rights of immigrants, and to protect the rights of workers (which is why Social Security is a very successful program including Medicaid and Medicare. Workers, activists, and socialists fought for these programs heroically). Therefore, it is firmly reasonable for all us to carry onward on the progressive traditions of free thought, of collective power, and of the thriving to improving the world that we live in. We believe in moving forward and respecting our neighbors as ourselves. Human rights for all is our credo and we believe it with vigor and zeal.

By Timothy