Today is a very historic day. President Joe Biden yesterday (on June 17, 2021) signed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. It is certainly a great time to see a vision made into a reality. This comes in the midst of legislation being debated in Congress that deals with expanding plus protecting voting rights. Juneteenth was originated when Union soldiers told black Texans that the Civil War is over (and black people are forever free). Opal Lee was there at the signing of the bill into law, and she is an elder who fought constantly to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth is part of black American culture and American culture as we (who are black Americans) are very much Americans. Our ancestors helped to build this nation, and we are definitely entitled to reparations. So, this is great news. Likewise, we have a long way to go in dealing with economic inequality, health disparities, environmental issues, gentrification, racism, and other subjects that must be addressed. Far right extremists are not only in favor of voting suppression laws in various states. Also, they oppose critical race theory (that deals with teaching people about the real history of America). Biden is back at the White House from traveling to Geneva, Switzerland. Today, Juneteenth is a national holiday as it should be. Now, the Senate must do its job to pass progressive voting rights legislation. In order to have real healing and real change, we have to be honest about our history. Also, we have to execute policies that address oppression. There must be investments, enforcement to address injustices, and the elimination of the structures of racism too. There must be laws to end police brutality, and there must be reparations for black Americans. We will never forget the Maafa and slavery, and we are entitled to freedom and justice concretely. Juneteenth represents freedom, triumph, joy, resiliency,and power found in our black experience. We, as black people, are beautiful and amazing period.
Now, the Supreme Court for a third time refused to overthrow the Affordable Care Crime. The decision was a 7-2 decision. This is certainly great news. Only Alito and Gorusch dissented. This means that millions of Americans, who have the ACA, will keep their health insurance. Many Republican-led states and some in the Trump administration failed to make their goal to end the ACA a reality. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is a liar to assume that the ACA is a massive government takeover as most health care systems in America are run by corporations not by the government. The ACA is a moderate law that has parts which were promoted by Mitt Romney and the Heritage Foundation. That is why the ACA is a first step in establishing true, universal health care. There should be an expansion of health care as health complications continue to exist, especially during a time of pandemic. We know about the statistics involving health disparities and discrimination in health care services in the USA too. Paxton omits that true federalism means that the federal government makes laws supreme in the land, not the state having a carte blanche right to do as it pleases without restraint. The truth is that overall human rights is superior to states' rights. Some states refuse to even expand Medicaid to help the lives of humanity, which is wrong. You have to help your neighbor, and one way of doing that is to advance Medicaid expansion.
21 GOP members vote no on Congressional Gold Medals for January 6 officers who responded to terrorists. This revealed many things. It revealed the truth that GOP far right people don't care about police protecting people in Congress. Gosar even called the terrorists involved in the insurrection as "peaceful patriots." These criminals aren't patriots. They are sick criminals, traitors, and terrorists plain and simple. The GOP have shown to be a disgrace. I don't understand how anyone can be a Republican now. I can understand if a person is an independent, but the GOP is dominated by overt nihilists and haters of progressive change. I remember years ago when moderate and liberal Republicans existed in the U.S. Congress. That day is over. Back in the day, liberals were in both Republican and Democratic parties. Gosar seek to whitewash the events of 1/6 and use historical revisionism. Now, we have Qanon lovers, racists, and Trump worshipers dominating the GOP presently. For all of its rhetoric about the blue, those 21 Republican reveal themselves as anti-democratic and liars.
Soon, a new NYC mayor will exist. There are many candidates who want that position. New York City has been through a lot. It was originally settled by Native Americans. Later, the Dutch, the English, and black Africans have lived in New York City. NYC was once the major slave depots in the Americas. Warriors for freedom fought back for justice in New York City too. Some of the greatest leaders of the world are found in the city. After deindustralization, complex issues grew too. On the issues of civil liberties, crime, and poverty, I do feel that the best candidate is Maya Wiley. She is a civil rights activist, a person who knows about the issues, and she is a black woman who completely rejects stop and frisk. The de Blasio era will soon be over. Now, we shall see a new human being with the mayoral position dealing with many complex political issues. Regardless of who wins, our core convictions remain the same. We believe in investments to build up communities, we want human beings to be safe and secure, and we want compassion to be sent out to help individuals to reach their highest heights of progress. Our civil liberties, our health, our environment, and our freedoms in general always matter. .
The meeting between President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin is over at Geneva, Switzerland. It was a historic meeting amidst many foreign policy crisis going on in the world from hacking attacks to the growth of China as a superpower. Biden came into the meeting not expecting miracles but an understanding. Putin tried to be slick to obfuscate his human rights abuses by comparing them to America. Putin even slandered the BLM, when the BLM never stormed the U.S. Capitol building in 1/6/2021 at all. BLM means justice for black people not an attempt to destroy democracy. Putin is clear in harboring hatred of real democratic principles, as he is allied with oligarchs. Biden wanted to reiterate the point that he is in favor of promoting democratic values in the world. When asked if he was a killer, Putin never denied that allegation. Biden and Putin gave separate interviews with reporters on the scene. Putin said that he hopes that more dialogue will happen. Putin is a disgrace to compare terrorist insurrectionists to dissidents (the bigot Tucker Carlson from FOX promoted the lie that the FBI orchestrated the 1/6 attack). Putin made a ridiculous comparison. These terrorists killed a police officer in the U.S. Capitol. Biden said that he doesn't have trust of Putin, but he wants to verify if Putin changes course.
By Timothy
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