Tidbits on Life.

 

 

The Texas Senate passed the elections bill after a 15 hour filibuster from a Democratic senator. The bill is called Senate Bill 1. It will add new restrictions and criminal penalties to the voting process. The vote is 18-11 along party lines. Democratic State Senator Carol Alvarado led a filibuster. The bill is blatantly unjust. It has mail in ballot restrictions, a drive thru voting ban, restrictions to early voting timeframe, video surveillance, and assistance restrictions. The goal of voting is to increase access, but this Texas voter suppression bill will reduce voting access among black people, Latino people, poor people, the elderly, the disabled, young people, and other human beings who just want to vote without discrimination. The bill goes to the House. In Texas, the Texas House speaker signed civil arrest warrants for 52 Democrats. The House Sergeant at Arms has deputized law enforcement to force Democrats state members to come into the Austin state Capitol building. Abbott wants to reach quorum to process with his reactionary agenda. The Texas House didn't have quorum present. Our voting rights are under threat. If they are suppressed in Georgia, they are threatened nationwide. This is a crucial time in our nation's history. We have to be about our business to defend human, civil, and voting rights without apology. We have to promote truth and justice.

 

The 2020 U.S. Census has released its data on how diverse America is. America is now more diverse and multiracial than ever before. America is already the most diverse nation racially, linguistically, and culturally in human history. People of color in America have increased from 34% in 2010 to 43% in 2020. It is no secret that people of color are growing in population for decades in the United States of America. Diversity is always a beautiful thing. The white population is now 57% in 2020. White people are in the majority population in every state, except in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The white population is below 50% now in Maryland, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and California. The population decreased in more than half of all U.S. counties. Population growth is mostly in urban or metro areas. We have more than 331.4 million people in America now. The black American population in 2020 is now 41 million, which is up 6% from 2010. It is now 12.1 % of the total U.S. population. There are 3.7 Native Americans, the Asian population is up to 20 million people, 62 million people are Hispanic or Latino. Many scholars believe that the 2020 census could have under-counted the Black, Latino, Asian, and Native communities. As for New York City (or the largest city of America in terms of population), it has grown its population to 8,804,190 people. That is huge being almost 9 million people in a city in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia meaning its population density is very high. So, we will further study the numbers from the U.S. Census in 2020. It's a very historic time to be alive indeed.

 

The pandemic virus is rising in many states of America. GOP governors have defied safety measures. There was a group of people in Tennessee threatening health experts who want people to wear masks. Also, we know that the low vaccination places have a surge of the virus. More cities and other locations would have policies to require people to have vaccinations before going into places. I think it is despicable for grown adults to scream and curse at doctors in Tennessee who just want to do their jobs. We want our health protected, and hysteria is never a way to engineer a just resolution. We know that the military is planning to require soldiers to have a vaccination or take COVID testing. We know that many schools have mask mandates, and some states are threatening school districts if they have such mandates too. We know that 99.99% of Americans who died from the pandemic virus are people who are unvaccinated. Therefore, research, not lies, are always important to advocate. 

 

It has been 4 years since the Charlottesville, Virginia racist hate and terrorist rally. It happened in my state of Virginia. I'm a black Virginian, so we know about racism firsthand. The event included racists, anti-Semites, Trump supporters, and outright fascists. Many of these terrorists used Nazi salutes. Proud boys and people waving Confederate flags too. A day later on August 12, 2017, there was a violent clash when racists harmed progressive protesters. One racist neo-Nazi murdered one young woman with a car in the crowd. Her name was Heather Heyer. Many people were injured by the Neo-Nazi too. Donald Trump said the racist remark that there were fine people on both sides. That is an outright lie. The alt right terrorists were filled with hatred. This extremism didn't end in 2017. These fascists invaded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The federal government has warned that threats for more political violence is real. Trump said that he knows who the officer who shot Ashii. We know about this fascism, because our ancestors were victims of this fascism. So, we have to be aware of these things. This fascist white racist threat is the biggest threat to our democracy since the American Civil War. I'm not exaggerating. This is real.

Days ago was the Birthday of Sister Patti Austin, and she is 71 years old. Those, who are fans of old school R&B music, have always heard of her. She was born in Harlem, New York City. She can do R&B, pop, and jazz. In her life, she was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington referred to themselves as her godparents. When she was 4, she performed at the Apollo Theater. Later, she had a R&B hit called Family Tree in 1969. She sang backup to Paul Simon. Later, she had the hit with many people like Michael Jackson and had a duet with George Benson on Moody's Mood for Love. Her Number 1 hit on Billboard magazine pop chart was the famous song of Baby, Come to Me with James Ingram. She made another duet with James Ingram named How Do You Keep the Music Playing in 1982. She has worked on jazz and made her own albums for years. In recent years, she loves to make more jazz music. She won a Grammy in 2008 for Best Jazz Vocal Album called Avant Gershwin. She has an honorary doctorate Berklee College of Music too. Patti Austin remains one of the many icons of music. I wish Sister Patti Austin more Blessings.

 

By Timothy