Yesterday, President Joe Biden gave one of the most important State of the Union addresses in American history. He spoke about a myriad of challenges and hope. It had a mixture of progressive and moderate views in it. Biden's political career has been filled with moderate philosophies. Everything in the world is not peachy or gravy. We have a pandemic, which has declined in America, yet it has harmed millions of people worldwide. We have massive police brutality and economic inequality. Also, a war in Ukraine continues as a product of Putin's imperialistic aspirations and lies. Russian forces targeted a Jewish memorial in an attack which is reprehensible. Crisis is found domestically and internationally. Many people in Congress cheered his proclamations. Biden is right that Russia used bellicose actions in fighting Ukraine unjustly, but we don't need some war with Russia. Biden said that no U.S. forces will be in Ukraine at all. Almost 1 million Americans lost their lives due to COVID-19. We are better prepared now than last year, but we have a long way to go in experiencing a more normal post-pandemic life. The pandemic is a serious issue. He wants to cut prescription drugs prices, create faster tests and pills to treat COVID-19. Biden spoke of his massive sanctions against Russia. These sanctions have come from the European nations too. Biden promised that America and its Allies will defend every inch of NATO territory. There are military troops sent to NATO nations in Eastern Europe from Poland to Estonia.
We should reject Russian imperialism, but we don't need rhetoric that advances Western warmongering and imperialism either. It is wrong for Western imperialists to attack Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and other places of the world, and it is wrong for Russia to attack Ukraine in a brutal, illegal fashion. Two wrongs don't make a right. Now, more than 2,000 Americans have died from the pandemic everyday which is huge. There is Long COVID which harms the body long term in years, possibly decades. President Biden promised to end the opioid epidemic, the mental health crisis, give support for veterans, and end cancer as we know it. Also, Biden is silent on the issue of canceling student debt. Democracy is at stake now, especially after the January 6th fascist coup d'état against the American government. We see many heroic Ukrainian people giving humanitarian aid to help the Ukrainian victims of the airstrikes from Russia. There is high inflation involving prices for food and other supplies because of many factors like the concentration of wealth among the 1 percent, etc. President Biden's speech dealt with the theme of establishing unity for the American people. Biden wants to cut airspace in Russia. There is a huge epidemic of the oligarchy having record profits while other people suffer poverty, disease, homelessness, and other tribulations. Biden said that he wants no defunding the police but funding the police with reforms. Defunding the police (which has been embraced by courageous experts for generations) just means resources are used to help build up communities not eliminating methods to stop crime in general. We have many states harming voting rights in America. That isn't right. Biden talked about securing the border and having immigration reform. So, Biden's speech isn't a totally radical left-wing speech. That is why moderates in the media love Biden's speech as many in the corporate media believe in neoliberal moderate fantasies. That is why all oppressed people, including the working class, have the right to unite and fight for revolutionary, progressive solutions involving our democracy.
I recent found some information on more of my distant cousins. They are related to my late 2nd cousin named Rosa M. Claud (1909-1985). Her parents were Richard Washington Claud (1874-1945) and Ann Elizabeth Claud (1875-1960). Richard Washington Claud's parents were George Washington Claud (1854-1923) and Martha Velvin-Furgerson (b. 1830). George Washington Claud's mother was my 5th great grandmother Zilphy Claud. Rosa M. Claud was born on June 18, 1909. Rosa M. Claud married the late WWI veteran Soloman Riddick (1892-1969). Their children are my 3rd cousins whose names are: Richard S. Riddick (1932-2018), Lizzie Marie Riddick (b. 1934), Lewis Riddick (1935-1993), Tuther Riddick (1937-1939), Frances Odell Riddick Forte (b. 1940), Mazie Lee Rick Robinson (b. 1945), Samuel Cecil Riddick Sr. (1947-2004), and Johnie Albert Riddick Sr. (b. 1949). My late 3rd cousin Samuel Cecil Riddick Sr. as also a Veteran War veteran. He had many children with Cassaundra Yvonne Whitehead (b. 1949) who are Samuel Cecil Riddick Jr. (b. 1973), Brian Andre Riddick (b. 1977), etc. My 4th cousin Brian Andre Riddick honors her daughter named Briana Melina Riddick (she is my 5th cousin being born in 2002). Briana Riddick studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Her grandmother is Guillermina Bautista.
As for Ukraine, 5 people were killed in a strike at Kyiv, Ukraine. Putin's airstrikes have hit the Kyiv Holocaust Memorial. This desecration of a holy site shows Putin to be a lying hypocrite. This coward Putin claims that he wants to get rid of Nazis, but he authorized airstrikes to target civilian targets. The deaths of civilians represent overt war crimes by Russian imperialists. A military strike from Russia have strike near a Kyiv tower. There is a convoy of 40 miles of Russian forces near Kyiv. Russia is increasing its intensity of its attacks of Ukraine on March 1, 2022. Explosions have been heard in Kyiv. The Ukrainian President accuse Russia of committing war crimes in Kharkiv. Missiles have slammed into local government buildings. People are searching for survivors in the center of Kharkiv. Many people hide in bomb bunkers to protect their lives. Men, who are from 18-60 years old in Ukraine, are required to fight in Ukraine against Russian aggression. The people of Ukraine are defiant against the war strikes. We should not be shocked at this reality. Putin invaded Georgia unjustly, meddled in the 2016 election, jailed peaceful protesters, and now allowed targeting of civilians in Ukraine.
She is one of the greatest actresses of all time. She is eloquent, insightful, inventive, and a gorgeous black woman. I remember her words on Essence like yesterday being powerful to not only refute colorism but to glorify the glory of Blackness in general. Lupita was right to say that realizing our internal beauty is key in developing our souls. True beauty, as she accurately states, is about compassion for yourself and for other human beings. She is a young icon being Sister Lupita Nyong'o, and her Birthday was yesterday, being 39 years old. Her accolades are extensive winning an Academy Award, a Daytime Emmy Award, 4 NAACP Image Awards, and 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards. She was born in Mexico City, Mexico to Kenyan parents. Her family left Kenya in 1980. Later, Nyong'o holds dual Kenyan and Mexican citizenship. She is of Luo descent. Lupita grew up in Nairobi. She saw plays and was immersed in diverse cultures. She was in the play Romeo and Juliet at age 14 playing Juliet. Later, she said that The Color Purple inspired her to go into professional acting. She learned Spanish when she was 16 years old. She had an IB Diploma in 2001 from St. Mary's School in Nairobi. IB relates to college level studies in high school, similar to AP courses. Lupita was in roles like The Constant Gardner. Later, she enrolled in the master's degree program in acting at Yale School of Drama. Her breakthrough role was in Steve McQueen's historical drama 12 Years a Slave in 2013. I read the whole book with the same title before. For that movie, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the sixth black actress to win the award. Nyong'o starred in the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She has been in plays and more movies for years like Black Panther in 2018. Eclipsed was the play that she was in (written by her friend Danai Gurira). The play is about the 2nd Liberian Civil War. For the film of Black Panther, Lupita learned martial arts training. She is an environmentalist, an activist, and a scholar. Black is King (made by Beyonce) featured her too in July 2020 on Disney+. By 2022, she will star in the movie The 355. Now, she can speak English, Spanish, Luo, and Swahili. Lupita is a member of the board of trustees in the Africa Center in 2020. Also, she and her mother were honored with a Visionary Lineage Award at The Harlem School of the Arts. Her debut book of Sulwe came out in 2019. Sulwe won the Outstanding Literary Work-Children award at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards show. She is filming the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever being released again in 2022. Lupita is an icon of grace and maturity. Lupita Nyong'o is a sage and wonderful role model for the younger generation, especially for black women. Talent, wisdom, compassion, and continued blessings characterize the essence of her personality prodigiously. Her commitment to excellence is vastly inspirational. I wish Sister Lupita Nyong'o more blessings.
By Timothy
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