End of the Week News in Early May of 2022.

 

One sad milestone is that there are now over 1 million deaths from COVID-19. That number is certainly unfathomable to comprehend, but it's a real number for us to realize. This is a mass death from a terrible illness. This virus has ruined lives, turned cities and towns upside, and made people realize that life is very fragile. These lives are all precious. The pandemic has contributed to many problems in America. Massive isolation in many parts of America contributed to a growth of mental health issues globally, not just in America. Many students didn't graduate in person before. Some kids and adults have issues with socialization and the complex nature of love plus relationships. Death of this scale is certainly very much transparently clear. After the White House Correspondents' Association event, a mass group of new cases of the pandemic spread among political including media leaders too (like ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, etc.). Therefore, folks have to realize that the pandemic is not over. Now, variants have been growing in South Africa and globally. Cases of COVID-19 are increasing slowly. We have to be vigilant and show human compassion.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates. This policy won't stop massive inflation from occurring now in America. The increase is a half a percentage point which is the largest rate hike since 2000. FED Chief Jerome Powell supports this action. The Federal Reserve claims that such actions are done to slow down inflation long term. They want to slow the economy by slowing spending without driving it to recession. This type of logic is confounding. Inflation is now at a high of 8.5 percent. Powell claims to desire price stability on behalf of American families and businesses. Yet, this hardship is harming mostly to the working class, the poor, and the homeless. People now are sacrificing fuel, food, and medicine to help their families. Many of us are blessed. Many of us have a lot of money in our accounts, we have homes, and we have other resources. Other folks don't have these institutions. That is why revolutionary economic change is needed to end economic oppression, not token policies. Rising interest rates will not only deal with oil prices. They deal with mortgages, credit cards, student loans, car payments, and other types of consumer debt. The average American household has about $115,000 in debt. Powell praised Paul Volcker who creased the economy during the early 1980s to drive inflation down. We don't need that at all. We desire real solutions.

There is the story about Dave Chappelle being attacked on stage. Regardless of how folks feel about his jokes or recent controversies, Dave Chappelle never deserved to be attacked. I'm glad that Dave is okay. The person who wanted to slam Dave was stopped by security guards. Jamie Foxx came on stage to make sure that Dave was safe. Many people came up to protect Dave Chappelle too. The criminal is Isaiah Lee who is 23 years old. Chris Rock and Jamie Foxx helped to calm the crowd down. Hip hop artists Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli have performed music from their new album. There were other comedian guests there too. Some people have made up the lie that Will Smith caused this reality. The only person responsible for the assault is Isaiah Lee and no one else. I find it ironic that many people want to blame one person (who wasn't in the Hollywood Bowl) for the incident instead of the person at the place who tried to tackle Dave Chappelle.

One of the most important news is about the wildfires in New Mexico. The governor of New Mexico is pleading for President Biden to help out the state. She said that, "I have 6,000 people evacuated. I have families who don't know what the next day looks like." This quote from the Governor is the reason why I never believed in laissez-faire capitalism or the philosophy of you're on your own. The fact is that no human is an island, and the government at every level (including the federal government) has the God-given right to help human beings and to promote the general welfare of society. I do agree with the Governor that President Biden should have a Presidential disaster declaration to allow money into New Mexico (so lives can be saved literally). Seven wildfires are burning in New Mexico now. There are over 223,979 acres burned now. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said that aid is coming. New Mexico has experienced a severe drought influenced by climate change too.

Yesterday was the Birthday of the late Brother Jim Kelly. He was a martial artist who broke down barriers involving martial artists who were black in film. Back in the 1960's, many expert black martial artists were discriminated against heavily. Real martial artists like Vic Moore and Sanders Muhammad literally had to fight for fair representation in tournaments being black Americans. Jim Kelly was born in the South in Paris, Kentucky. When he was at Bourbon County High School in Paris, Kentucky, he played basketball, football, and track and field. He studied Shorin-ryu karate. At Lexington, Kentucky, Kelly worked further with marital arts with Sin Kwame The. He studied Okinawan karate with many people. He won 4 championships in 1971 in martial arts tournaments. Kelly created his own dojo. Many celebrities came to his dojo, and he was in many films like Black Belt Jones, Enter the Dragon, Take a Hard Ride, Three the Hard Way, etc. He played tennis for years too. With his athleticism, charisma, and strength, he helped future men and women to act in courageous ways. Jim Kelly respected Bruce Lee as the real deal as a fighter and as a martial artist. 

Rest in Power Brother Jim Kelly.

By Timothy