Immigration and Compassion

One of the most heartbreaking stories this year is the cruel action of the Trump regime splitting up children from their parents based upon immigration status. These children are in detention camps nationwide without access to their parents. They are forced in a regimented fashion to get food and to do other actions. Sessions and Trump of course endorse this morally reprehensible policy of ripping children from their parents at the border. That is why protests are existing now in Dayton, Ohio, Providence, Rhode Island, etc. This is a humanitarianism crisis. Many mothers are in separate detention centers without knowing where their children are located. Many mothers were deceived about where their children were at according to Representative Pramila Jayapal. Sessions and Huckabee ignore that not all laws are just laws. An unjust law is no law at all. Therefore, many in Congress are trying to use policies to stop this blatant usage of overt evil. Many from across the political spectrum have condemned this policy as un-American (as it is un-American and inexcusable). Therefore, Trump's immigration policy is total barbaric and cruel. The Justice Department watchdog report said that some in the FBI acted inappropriately. Also, the FBI Director Christopher Wray is launching a internal review of the situation in the FBI. He didn't comment on individual employees. Also, he promises to hold accountable those FBI employees who did anything illegal if they are found to be doing an action in violation of the law. We will see what the future holds.

For over four decades, there is a woman who has produced, acted, used comedy, and expressed the wide ranging diversity of human creativity. She has worked with some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time and maintained a humbleness about her craft simultaneously. She is Martha Gibbs and it was birthday yesterday. She was born in Chicago and she is now 87 years old. She graduated from high school in 1949. She moved into Detroit and then into Los Angeles. She was in movies of the early 1970's and was in the Jeffersons playing Florence. The Jeffersons is a show about a family who moved into a richer apartment in downtown New York City. Later, she was in Checking In and 227. I remember watching 227 when I was in elementary school. She has released many albums and moved onward to guest appear on many shows throughout the 21st century too. In 2018, she has a role in the ABC show Station 19. She continues to work in her gift. I wish Sister Martha Gibbs more blessings.


Yesterday was the Birthday of Brother Marcus Miller and he's 59 years old. He is a famous jazz musician and producer. He can play multiple instruments and he has composed his own music for years and decades. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, among others. Members of his family played music in the church and he worked hard in expressing his music. He has his own jazz show too on radio. He won many Grammys for being a producer for some of the great musicians like Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, etc. His 2015 album, Afrodeezia, earned a Grammy Award nomination in 2016 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. I wish Brother Marcus Miller more blessings. Yesterday was the Birthday of Sister Linda Clifford. She is now 69 years old and she was born in New York City. She is a famous singer spanning decades. She has been involved in disco, R&B, and house music. She has worked in jazz too. Throughout the 1970's and the 1980's, she had hits like "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love", etc. In 2015, Clifford collaborated with disco and house vocalists Martha Wash and Evelyn "Champagne" King on the download-only single "Show Some Love", which reached number #6 on the Billboard Dance Charts the same year, and released on Martha Wash’s own label Purple Rose Records. Their collaboration was credited as a group to "First Ladies of Disco." I wish Sister Linda Clifford more blessings.


There has always been the debate on whether who is the greater basketball player, Michael Jordan or Lebron James. I have watched them both in their primes. So, I know that these players are the greatest NBA Players in their respective generations. Lebron James is the greatest player of this generation and Michael Jordan was the greatest player of his generation. That is the general consensus. Also, we have to realize that Lebron James and Michael Jordan are different in many ways. Michael Jordan is a more individualized player. Lebron James is a more team-oriented player. Lebron James loves to pass the ball to make his teammates better while Michael Jordan is a competitor who wants to use his strength to try to make shots first. Lebron James is taller, stronger, and bigger than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan gain more strength by the early 1990's to be a lot stronger than when he was playing in the 1980's. Michael Jordan is a player with more championships and MVP awards than Lebron James. Lebron James in his career propelled his teammates (James has less help than Jordan) into the Finals more so than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is a better defensive player (Michael Jordan won Defensive player of the year and has more NBA All Defensive First Team than Lebron James) than Lebron James while Lebron James is a great passer and rebounder. So far, Michael Jordan has more individual accolades than Lebron James. Michael Jordan had to face tougher competition in the Eastern conference during his career (i.e. the Knicks, the Pacers, the Celtics, and the Pistons. Michael Jordan is a 10 time all scoring champion) than Lebron James has to face in the Eastern Conference currently. Lebron James has a slightly better field goal shooting percentage overall than Michael Jordan. Lebron James is a better three point shooter than Michael Jordan and Jordan is a better free throw shooter than Lebron James. Michael Jordan has a better points per game than Lebron James. Also, Michael Jordan retired in 1993, played minor league baseball, and came back to win 3 NBA championships straight. No basketball player in the NBA has ever done that. During the playoffs and during the Finals especially, Michael Jordan has shown better leadership as a basketball player. When it is time to take over a game, Jordan took over a game during the Finals. The elephant in the room is whether Lebron is better than Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is a great player and one of the top 10 greatest NBA player in history. He can shoot from multiple angles and he is a great, courageous shooter (and he's the second greatest shooter guard next to Michael Jordan, who is number one). That debate is over. In my opinion, Lebron James is a better basketball player than Kobe Bryant. Here are reasons why: Lebron James has a greater three point shooting percentage overall than Kobe Bryant, Lebron has a better points per game average, Lebron James has a better rebounds percentage, and Lebron James is a better assister than Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant heavily relied upon Shaquelle O'Neal, Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher, etc. to get his first 3 rings straight. Kobe Bryant has more NBA Finals championships than Lebron James and they each have 2 Olympic gold medals. Lebron James has a 3 times Finals MVP and Kobe Bryant has 2 Finals MVPs. Kobe is a better free throw shooter than Lebron while Lebron James is 16-5 all time Head 2 Head against Kobe (in terms of their teams playing against each other). Kobe Bryant has played more seasons than Lebron (he has 4 MVP awards) and has more overall points than him. Like Jordan, Kobe is a more individual player than Lebron James. In terms of clutch moments, you can make the case that Jordan and Kobe are more clutch than Lebron. Also, Kobe Bryant patterned much of his game from Michael Jordan. It is true that Kobe Bryant is a much better defender than Lebron James. Also, it is true that Lebron James is unlike any other player in modern NBA history with his strength, speed, and other attributes. Lebron has his own style and skills. In other words, the torch has been passed from Jordan, to Kobe, and now to Lebron. All three players are great players. I can drop the mic.

Me personally, I think while Lebron James in the future can be greater than Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan currently is the GOAT of our time. This debate can't be truly figured out or even debated fully until Lebron James retires, which won't happen anytime soon. Also, Lebron James is better than Michael Jordan in terms of speaking out on social issues in public at such a young age. For example, Lebron James has spoken up against police brutality, gun violence, against the genocide in Darfur (which is in Sudan), the extremism plus bigotry of Donald Trump (who isn't my President), and he has spoken up on other important issues. Likewise, Michael Jordan has done charities also. So, what is more important is not whether Jordan or Lebron is the best basketball player ever. What is most important is how we desire to see our communities grow, to find ways to improve our families, and to fight for justice that should be ours by birthright. We can recognize the greatness of both Jordan and Lebron while keeping our eyes on the prize (which is justice).


By Timothy