May 31, 2019 updates.

Saudi Arabia is having an emergency meeting with other nations. The purpose of the meeting is obvious. They want to confront Iran. Iran is not mostly Arabic in terms of ethnicity. Most Iranians are descendants heavily of the Medes and the Persians. Iranians speak an Indo-European language. Therefore, most Iranians are non-Arabic peoples. The overarching issue is this: Saudi Arabia wants Sunni hegemony in the Middle East while most Iranians are Shia. Iran is allied with Iraq since Iraq is heavily Shia. Trump helped to shut down the Iranian nuclear deal that the Obama administration originally established. Therefore, Trump wants a more hard-line approach in dealing with Iran. Bolton has accused Iranian forces of attacking oil areas and planning attacks. Bolton is a known neo-con who has made aggressive, war mongering statements about Iran for years, even before Barack Obama was elected President. Sunnis and Shias are like Catholics and Protestants. Both Sunnis and Shias believe in Islam, but they have different interpretations of the successors of Muhammad. That is where the split took place early in Islamic history.Therefore, some in Saudi Arabia have a deep rooted animus towards some Iranians (and vice versa). These complex foreign policy matters require sober reasoning and learning about complex issues. We don't need Sunnis and Shias at each other in a contentious relationship. We want peace in the Middle East. That peace is going to require dialogue, constant communication, progressive political policies, and no war mongering agenda.

Centrism under the guise of "pragmatism" doesn't work because of many reasons. One reason is that a clock or patience shouldn't define a person's freedom. Freedom should be given to humanity by birthright. If you rely around another person for your freedom, you'll never be truly free. If anyone suppresses someone's legitimate freedoms or rights, then that is a violation of the democratic spirit of liberty. Also, pragmatism or centrism never caused the revolutionary changes in human history. Women never gotten the right to vote in America by centrism. It was won by protests, civil disobedience, and other radical actions. The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were never created by pragmatism. It was created by men, women, and children who risked their lives for the rights of black people. A lot of people died for the right to vote and for the abolishment of Jim Crow apartheid in America. The workplace protections, the elimination of child labor, and the 40 hour work week was achieved by protests, demands, and courage not centrism or pragmatism. In our generation, we face criminal justice issues. Those issues require local, state, and federal policies that deals with bail, laws, and systematic racism that is found in the criminal justice system. Therefore, the revolutionary mentality is necessary to make the Dream real for people.

Robert Mueller gave a historic speech at a press conference today during Wednesday morning. Mueller said that if he wanted to say that Trump committed no crime, he would have said so explicitly. Therefore, Mueller wanted the charge of obstruction of justice to be sent to Congress for determination. Congress does have the responsibility and the right to impeach Trump for various reasons (from obstructing justice, lying explicitly about many issues, being hostile to subpoenas, and trying to make officials lie for the purpose of ending the Mueller investigation). Mueller (who made the point that he choose his words carefully in his report) stated that his investigation is officially over, and that he couldn't personally indict Trump since he doesn't have the authority to do that (based upon legal protocol). The speech was very important, since it made the point that legal processes are necessary to handle political controversies.

To Mueller, Department policies regulated his actions. His report is filled with hundreds of pages. Mueller never cleared President Trump of obstruction of justice. After his statement, many Democratic candidates immediately have called for Congress to commence with impeachment hearings. This speech deals with the probe on Russian election tampering, corrupt Trump officials, and other issues. Mueller said that he will resign from the Department of Justice and return to private life. Some want Robert Mueller to testify to Congress. The overall point is that the democratic principle of no one being above the law must be enforced by Congress. Trump, in my view, should be impeached.


Tomorrow, it will be June. June is African American Music Appreciation Month or Black Music History Month. For a long time, black people have shown music that reaches into our souls and dealt with many topics. Mahalia Jackson was the greatest gospel vocalist ever with her songs on spirituality. Aretha Franklin made records that wanted respect and true love. Stevie Wonder's songwriting and music are universally respected by people globally. Rakim has shown excellent lyricism for decades. Also, music is diverse. Black people are found in hip hop, R&B, country, jazz, rock, funk, blues, disco, house, techno, reggae, rumba, samba, etc. That is why investments in music and the arts are very important. Music can inspire us to do things, and it can expand our creativity. Studies have always presented research on the beneficial characteristics of music on human beings. Also, it is important to reiterate that music is not limited based upon age or generation. There are tons of human beings who are young and old that are displaying magnificent music. Therefore,the greatness of us is that we are multifaceted in our Blackness. We can perform music, be involved in STEM fields, write, study, and help our communities at the same time. Black music is always a blessing.


By Timothy