Happy Juneteenth 2020.

Juneteenth is an important African American celebration and holiday. It has a long history. Long ago, the Confederacy was defeated by Union forces, black heroes, and other people who defeated the immoral bondage of slavery. Most of the Civil War ended by April of 1865. By June 19th, 1865, something happened. Union Army General Gordon Granger (who led 2,000 federal troops to occupy Texas via the federal government) read the federal orders of proclaiming freedom for black Americans at Galveston, Texas. He said that all of the people of Texas are now free. Immediately, black human beings praised this joyful occasion. The Emancipation Proclamation freed black people in the Confederacy in 1863. The end of the Civil War totally ended slavery nationwide along with the 13th Amendment by December of 1865. Juneteenth has been called Freedom Day, Jubliee Day, and Emancipation Day. This day is now an official state holiday in the state of Virginia. Back then, black people celebrated freedom on the day. Many black people from Texas took Juneteenth Day to celebrate it to Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and other places of America via the 2nd Great Migration (from ca. 1940-1970). Juneteenth is our day of celebration. With the events going on, we have a long way to go, but our cause for justice is always just.

The Supreme Court today made another historic decision in striking down Trump's attempts to eliminate DACA protections. Trump tried to use an executive order to stop the DACA program, but the Supreme Court said that Trump went too far. One surprising thing about this decision is that Justice John Roberts sided with the progressives. This miracle shows us that we don't know what to expect at times with this court. One of the great signs of a nation is how its treats the sojourner. We know that immigrants have made long lasting contributions in American society. Immigrants are also made up of people of every color. Yes, there are black immigrants too. This decision by the Supreme Court represents not only honor but compassion. Diversity is always part of our strength. The evils of xenophobia and racism should not only be condemned but eradicated in the world.

The fall of Confederate including other statues in America and in other places of the world represent the words of "ye shall reap what you sow." For centuries, statues of barbarians, racists, enslavers, and murderers have been all over the world. I will not sugarcoat what I say on this issue, because it's a real thing to say. That is why I felt nothing when protesters took down many of these statues. The Confederate Robert E. Lee enslaved black men, black women, and black children. Leopold of Belgium was involved in the murder of 15 million black Congolese people. Winston Churchill was not only an advocate of imperialism, but he said that he wanted the blood of Indian people to be shed. Conquistadors exterminated Native American people. Christopher Columbus was so wicked that I can't cite a lot of graphic stuff that he and his allies did to the Taino and Arawak people of the Caribbean.

These statues of these wicked men represent false idols. Once those false idols are removed and real history is taught to people (along with structural change coming forth), then you can have justice and healing. No one should glorify mass murderers like Columbus and Leopold. International white racism is not just about slurs. Racism is about the idolization of the images of oppression, and it is systematic in its nature. Those, who did crimes against humanity, are not heroes but wicked foes of freedom. Churchill wanted to gas Iraqi people during World War I. Governor Cuomo is wrong to defend the statue of Columbus in NYC. Therefore, those monuments celebrate genocide. Them coming down should be celebrated by us.


John Bolton tell-all book is not surprising. Bolton called Trump ignorant, corruption, doesn't understand basic information like how certain places aren't part of Russia (i.e. Trump didn't know that Finland wasn't part of Russia), etc. Bolton accused Trump of wanting President Xi of China to help him be re-elected. It is no secret that Trump is not fit to continue to be in the Presidency. The irony is that Bolton is the neo-conservative involved in bringing America into the unjust Iraq War, but he wrote his book criticizing the policies of Donald Trump. Trump is trying to block the release of the book because of political reasons. Bolton said that the House should have investigated Trump for impeachable actions beyond Ukraine. When you have critiques about the Trump Presidency from people from across the political spectrum, then you witness the malfeasance and corruption of the Trump White House. Bolton accused Pompeo of cursing Trump behind his back. Bolton accuses the White House of White House misconduct of making obstruction of justice a way of life. Trump is the same person who supported police forces to tear gas and assault with pepper bags against peaceful protesters on July 1, 2020 at Washington, D.C. That is why leadership matters. That is why you don't run a government like a corrupt business. You run the government with the people in mind. People are criticizing Bolton (who is a neo-con) for not revealing information critical of Trump earlier, especially during the time of the impeachment hearings. That is a fair criticism, because that would be brave to put a spotlight on the current corrupt administration.




By Timothy