I voted early in the morning because it was the right thing to do. For years, we have seen this battle between democracy and fascism firsthand. Our ancestors defeated the fascists during WWII, but fascism didn't end in 1945. Right now (not in the 1940's), we see a record-breaking amount of anti-Semitism, racism, and Islamophobia in public. One Jewish person was killed in California recently, we have black people being murdered by racists in supermarkets, and we have a Palestinian child being murdered by a racist in the Midwest. These events happened in our time, so naivete is over. Voting is more than an exercise of making a choice. Voting deals with our taxes, how our resources are allocated in our communities, and who politically runs the local, state, and federal governments. So, anyone saying voting doesn't matter is wrong, because the Republicans are promoting voter suppression laws. If voting was futile, voter suppression laws wouldn't have existed nationwide, not just in the South. I voted for the environment, for health care, for equality, and for civil rights. That is what I voted for without apology.
The 2023 elections could be a prelude to the 2024 elections. During the 2023 election, Democrats had many victories in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, etc. In my state of Virginia, Democrats have now projected control of the state House and the state Senate. That is very historic. Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia wanted a 15-week abortion ban. There are rumors that he might run for President in 2024 or 2028. Ohio voters decided to have a constitutionally protected right to abortion with the passage of a ballot measure. In Kentucky, the Democratic governor Andy Beshear defeated his Republican challenger Daniel Cameron (who was a state attorney general with ties to former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell). President Biden is struggling in the polls because a certain number of Americans are ageist, support MAGA cult views, are closet racists, many Democrats have done a bad job in showing their messages to the people, desire a bourgeois fake society where rights are restricted (except for a select few), and incumbents in general struggle in re-election campaigns historically. 2024 is a long way to go, so we shall see what the future holds. Democrat Gabe Amo became the first black person to represent Rhode Island in the state in Congress. In Philadelphia, former councilmember Cherelle Parker became the first woman to be the city's mayor. She will be the city's fourth black mayor and the 100th in Philadelphia's history. In Virginia, Michael Feggans won a victory in Virginia Beach for the state House defeating Republican Karen Greenhalgh. Joshua Cole defeated Republican Lee Peters in the state House election too.
We have a month after the Hamas attack against Israel. Hamas's attack was very vicious in Hamas killing men, women, and children in cold blood in Israel. Towns were attacked, and bloodshed was massive. These acts by Hamas have no justification, but anti-Semites celebrated such atrocities. The Israeli hostages should come home now without delay. Likewise, evil does not justify other forms of evil against other people. Palestinians live with their rights depleted, having to go through checkpoints just to go to a job, and face massive bombings in Gaza. The massive deaths of over 10,000 Palestinians done by the far-right Netanyahu have nothing to do with self-defense or justice. It's vengeance and collective punishment. This vengeance ironically only grows tensions and puts more Israeli and Palestinian innocent lives at risk. You can't bomb your way out of a solution long-term. At the end of the day, rational Jewish and Arabic people in the Middle East will have to come together to solve the crisis with economic and political solutions.
Multiple things can be true involving the Middle East crisis. It is true that the rise of anti-Semitism globally from American Universities to London is evil and unjust. We see Jewish people assaulted, racist images shown, and rallies calling for the murder of Jewish people. That is evil and wrong. Hamas killing men, women, and children plus raping innocent Israelis is wrong. Anyone supporting Hamas is an evil person, and I don't care who it is. Likewise, the suffering and oppression plus occupation of the Palestinian people is wrong too. Anyone silent on the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza is wrong. We know that the far-right Benjamin Netanyahu is silent on settlers harming Palestinians in the West Bank, silent on Christians in Israel being spit upon and cursed at by bigoted Israelis (not all Israelis), and the racism found in some segments of Israeli life. We realize that many Arabic people in the Middle East (not all Arabic people) have shown anti-black racism too. So, this issue is complex and deserves rational solutions, not race-baiting or lies. When even Blinken wants a humanitarian pause, you know times have changed. Durbin, Murphy, and Sanders want a bombing halt in Gaza. We want all Israeli hostages returned to Gaza, a ceasefire, and an end to the occupation, so a real free Israel and a free Palestine can live together side by side in peace. Threatening to punish Biden in the polls over the Middle East (when Netanyahu is a friend and ally of Trump) only benefits Trump in 2024.
Trump testified in a New York Court. Trump lost his composure and railed at the judge and the New York Attorney General. Trump left the court after five hours of testimony. Trump's anger is a guilt complex. Trump testified under oath on Monday during his New York civil fraud trial. He was pressed about the values of his properties and his role in their appraisals. The former President verbally attacked the judge and New York attorney general when asked if values were overstated. The $250 million lawsuit was brought up by the New York attorney general's office. She accused Trump and his co-defendants of committing numerous frauds by inflating assets on financial statements to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies. The judge ruled already that Trump is liable for fraud, and he's considering how much Trump will have to pay in damages. This case is civil, not criminal. Yet, it can threaten Trump's business in New York state. Attorney General of New York Letitia James wants to bar Trump from doing business in the state and to dissolve his companies. Trump faces four criminal trials as he campaigns in his reactionary Presidential campaign.
By Timothy
No comments:
Post a Comment