Friday News in Early September 2023.

 

Georgia D.A. Fani Willis criticized House Republican Jim Jordan, because Jordan wanted an investigation to sabotage the Willis investigation and prosecution of Trump and other Trump allies in the conspiracy RICO case. Willis is right to say that Jordan has no legal right to interfere with an ongoing investigation and trial. The Republicans seek power and the protection of Donald Trump for political reasons. They are still angry that the majority of Americans voted for Joe Biden during the 2020 election. For years, Jim Jordan has been an ideologue who seeks democracy to be compromised at the expense of expanding Republican power in America. Now, many co-defendants want the Georgia case to be moved into federal court. Jordan wants to delay the trial in order for Trump to not be prosecuted in state court. Right now, we are in an era where if things don't go right, we could face another civil war in America literally. January 6th proved that. So, we have to do our parts to make sure that nothing in the scale of the American Civil War ever happens again.

I found out recently that Autumn Lanay Ashe is my 5th paternal cousin (b. 1998) as we are both descendants of my 5th great-grandmother of Zilphy Claud (1820-1893). Where does this journey start? First, Autumn Ashe was a great basketball player when she was in school. Her parents are Andrew Fitzgerald Ashe (b. 1964) and Yulonda Denea Carter (b. 1969). Yulonda Denea Carter's parents (or Autumn's grandparents) were James Peter Carter (1945-2023) and Alma Ora Carter, as the couple married on March 14, 1969. My 4th cousin Andrew Fitzgerald Ashe's parents were Nathaniel Herman Ashe Sr. (1934-2015) and Shirley Marie Langston (1937-2003). My 3rd cousin Shirley Marie Langston's parents were Andrew J. Langston (1915-1995) and Carlee Dorcus Evans (1920-1993). My 2nd cousin Carlee Dorcus Evans's parents were Rev. Edward Franklin Evans (b. 1876) and Mobie Lee Sykes (1885-1932). My 1st cousin Mobie Lee Sykes's parents were Willis Sykes (b. 1832) and Lydia Claud (b. 1842). My 4th great-grandaunt Lydia Claud's mother was Zilphy Claud. Autumn Ashe earned the 2012 African American Academic Excellence Award. Autumn Ashe loves her child Kai Ashe-Hardy (or my 6th cousin).

Many Presidential foundations and centers have called to protect democracy. We live at an inflection point in our history. We have threats to democracy constantly in America plus worldwide. It has gotten so bad that some MAGA extremists have talked about civil war if Trump is convicted of many criminal charges. This threat to democracy is global from Hungary to North Korea. Even in Brazil, when most of the population voted out a fascist and allowed a progressive leader to win an election, many far-right extremists staged a coup attempt in Brazil. The coup was unsuccessful which is good news. Yet, the advance of disinformation, the growth of hate crimes (now in 2023 not in 1953), the advance of threats against elected officials, and extremism being glorified represent the greatest threats to our democracy since the American Civil War. This fact is not hyperbole. It's reality. When you have thousands of people on January 6, 2021, trying to overthrow the government waving Neo-Nazi and Confederate flags and then a Russian-funded entity doxed Fani Willis including jurors, then this threat to our democracy is very real. There is only one major party in America whose leadership is in league with the MAGA agenda and is anti-democratic on another level. That is the Republican Party.

There is more information about my family tree too. The late Linda Dianne Claud Fothergill is from the Claud family, and she lived from 1951 to 2000. Her parents are Joe Frank Claud (1930-2018) and Ruth Elizabeth Pugh (b. 1934). Their children are Tisha Fothergill (b. 1970) and Shannon Fothergill-Armour (b. 1975. She married Hakiem S. Armour and their children are Nia Armour and Nicole Armour). Joe Frank Claud and Ruth Elizabeth Pugh's son is Frankie Gerond Claud Sr. (b. 1952). He married Sharon E. Crooms (b. 1952) and their daughter is Tonya Lynn Claud (b. 1973). Tonya Lynn Claud lives in the state of Connecticut. Joe Frank Claud's parents were Peter L. Claud (1891-1969) and Joeanna Claud (b. 1891). Peter L. Claud's parents were Frank Thomas Claud (1856-1948) and Elizabeth Whitehead (1868-1939). Frank Thomas Claud is a descendant of Zilphy Claud (1820-1893). I found out about this information today.

Trump supporter Peter Navarro has been recently found guilty of contempt of Donald Trump. He faces up to 2 years in prison after the conviction including a fine. Navarro defied the January 6th Committee when that Committee used tons of research, investigations, and actions to make the point that Trump worked in a conspiracy in trying to overthrow the legal transition of power from Trump to Biden. Navarro said that he had the privilege to not testify to the court, but there was no evidence that he had special privilege to escape a legal court proceeding. The big picture is that the doors are closing in on Trump's allies and Trump himself. If Biden wins re-election, there is a higher than 70 percent chance of Trump being convicted of many crimes from New York City, D.C., and Georgia.

By Timothy