Our Principles.

When you think about freedom, you have to think about the work that many people have done in order to getting that blessings that numerous folks take for granted. Many great leaders and progressives fought long and hard to get the GI Bill to help veterans. Black people and other human beings fought to defeat Jim Crow apartheid and they caused civil rights laws to be passed (including the Voting Rights Act to be implemented). Medicare and Medicaid weren't formed by centrists. They were formed by the efforts of dedicated heroes who wanted the poor and the elderly to survive in the richest nation in the history of the world. SNAP, affirmative action, etc. didn't arise out of thin air. They were established by heroism. These facts relate to the reality that when we have solidarity and reject selfish individualism (as advanced by Ayn Rand and other folks), then true change can occur in the world. The fight for freedom is constant. Many human beings need living wages, adequate health care, great education, and other policies that enrich the architecture of American society. Our problems aren't just local or national. They are global in scope. That is why you need to redistribute political and economic power more fairly when you have more record income inequality worldwide. Democracy is always better than oligarchy. We have to embrace a great concern for the environment. Air pollution is still a serious problem that kills tons of people per year. Climate change is ever present in our society. Back in the 1960's, scientists warned President LBJ on climate change too. When oppression exists against a group of people in another country, we all experience oppression.

The Judge has sentenced Manafort for 47 months in prison. That is incredibly light. Those, with nonviolent drug offenders, readily get into prison for much more than 47 months. This person Manafort lied, defrauded the government, and committed other crimes. Another court will pass a sentence on Manafort next week. He was the former Trump campaign manager during the 2016 Presidential campaign. Some speculate that the judge sent this light sentence since the judge has antipathy towards the Mueller investigation. Judge Ellis said that Manafort lived a somewhat blameless life, which is a total lie. Judge Ellis is a disgrace. Paul Manafort used tactics of corruption, deception, and nepotism. The Alexandria court convicted him of 8 felonies. This decision represents the reality of the privilege of him (if Manafort was a black man or a person of the Islamic faith, he would never get some 47 months in prison). Manafort didn't express remorse, but he talked about his discomfort.

For decades, he has been a lobbyist and a political allies of Republican. He was part of the Trump administration and later he was indicted by the authorities. Two federal courts have prosecuted him. He has been found guilty of bank and tax fraud. On September 14, 2018, Manafort entered into a plea deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering. His story is about how no good fruit comes from a rotten tree. The Trump administration's root is corrupt and its tree is filled with nepotism. Michael Cohen has recently sued the Trump Organization for almost $2 million. It is no secret that the Trump Organization has been caught doing financial corruption. The Trump University committed fraud against innocent people too.

Yesterday was the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. This came in the midst of the Selma Voting Rights Movement. That movement was about a coalition of people (from SNCC, the SCLC, the Dallas Voting League, and other groups) that desired to fight for the voting rights of African Americans. Back then, literacy tests and other discriminatory policies prevented many black people from voting throughout the South. The incident happened when peaceful civil rights protesters were at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. State troopers were there and County Sheriff Jim Clark wanted the protesters to leave. Later, cops beat the peaceful protesters with nightsticks, and some experienced tear gas. Television recorded the images and the injured included people like Amelia Boynton and John Lewis (who were almost killed by crooked officers). The acts of brutality were condemned worldwide including by President Lyndon Johnson.

The movement for social change increased and later marchers would reach into Montgomery from Selma (along with the Voting Rights signed into law by August 6, 1965). A lot of blood being shed (Jimmie Lee Jackson, Rev. Reeb, and Viola Luizzo were murdered by racists for just standing up for the right to vote), determination, and sacrifice caused the Selma voting rights movement to be successful. Likewise, we know that we have a long way to go with the gutting of parts of the Voting Rights Act via the Supreme Court decision (back in 2013) and voter suppression ID laws in states from North Carolina to others. After the events of Selma, the Civil Rights Movement reached into a new era filled with the historic elections of black politicians, the Black Power Movement, housing issues, and other important economic issues. Voting is a fundamental human right and we will defend it without compromise.

By Timothy