End of the Week News in December of 2023.

 

Trump has attended the New York civil fraud trial recently. The accounting expert has testified for the defense. New York state Attorney General Letitia James brought the case against him. Trump said that he did nothing wrong, but Attorney General Letitia James disagreed with that assumption. The trial will deal with evidence, witnesses, and other forms of information. This is a civil case, so this trial will most likely result in a payment settlement made by Trump. Eli Bartov is the accounting expert whom Trump's lawyers support. Trump is being sued for $250 million and seeks to bar him from doing business in New York state. Trump wants an expanded role in the military in domestic areas, ban homeless camping, target media who disagree with him, and pardon the terrorists who harmed people in the U.S. Congress on January 6th. Trump is a traitor to democracy and America. During the recent Republican debate, only Chris Christie criticized Trump on stage. A possible second Trump Presidency will ruin American democracy as we know it.

Recently, there was the Congressional hearings on anti-Semitism on college campuses. Many heads of universities were grilled by Congressional people on the issue of anti-Semitism on college campuses. Many of the heads later regretted giving ambiguous statements on the topics. Anti-Semitism is wrong and evil. Hamas is a terrorist organization that raped women (now, the WSWS website denies this which isn't surprising as WSWS glorifies slave owners and racists like Jefferson and George Washington), kidnapped innocent people, and murdered innocent human beings in Israel. Two things can be true. There is a serious problem of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on college campuses nationwide in America. Jewish people, Arabic people, and any other group of human beings should never be harassed, discriminated against, called slurs, and treated unjustly. We realize that all people should be treated with dignity and respect. Another true thing is that some (like far-right extremists and bigoted zealots) want to lie and conflate legitimate criticisms of the policies of the Israeli government with anti-Semitism. Some extremists feel that Israel is immune from any critique (even the Old Testament had strong critiques against the government of Israel), and some equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Zionism is a form of nationalism that teaches that Jewish people have the right to a homeland in Israel controlled by Jewish people specifically. Zionism is also a political being not monolithic (as different factions of Zionists have existed historically from the views of Herzl to other people). People have the right to agree or disagree with Zionism, but every anti-Zionist is not some anti-Semite. Many anti-Semites are anti-Zionists, but not all. Not everyone who expresses peaceful disagreements with the theology of Islam is Islamophobic. Therefore, that nuisance should be embraced, but liars don't like nuisance. They like narrow-minded views to be the order of the day.

Another major mass shooting took place in UNLV (in the University of Las Vegas). This is the location where one murderer killed 3 people at least. This is an epidemic in that extremists believe in the lie that nothing can be done to solve this. These problems are caused by evil people, and they can be solved by human efforts. There are constant investigations to figure out motives and other facts as they pertain to this massive tragedy in America. Legitimate gun control legislation can't be passed by Congress, because the NRA and other groups promote the lie that any gun regulation is equivalent to gun confiscation of all guns in America. The vast majority of Americans support federal background checks and other federal gun regulation legislation. This crisis can be easily rectified by strong political courage without compromise. 

There is a new rise in COVID-19 cases across America, especially in the Midwest and the Northeast (with colder temperatures than other places in America). Many in the media aren't reporting on this news. This is the 8th wave of this virus. COVID-19 is no game as this deadly virus can damage every organ system and cause many long-term debilitating symptoms. According to the new wastewater data, oncologist Dr. Mike Hoerger of Tulane University, about 1.2 million Americans are catching COVID every day, and 8.6 million people are now actively infectious. Increasing hospitalizations are happening in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. Omicron EG.5 and HV. subvariants are harming people. With COVID-19, RSV, and the flu, we have a massive pandemic. Long-term COVID may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease and dementia because COVID harms the brain's blood vessels. We know that vaccinations, booster shots, and UVC technology can reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and all airborne pathogens. Ultraviolet light can kill viruses.

Recently, famous TV sitcom and movie producer Norman Lear passed away at the age of 101 years old. As a lifelong liberal, he never sugarcoated his views in public and in private. He produced shows that reflected his progressive viewpoints. He helped to produce some of the greatest sitcoms of all time such as The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Good Times, etc. In those shows, we know full well people in real life, who represent the characters of those shows fully. One way to eliminate racism and evil bigotry in general is to confront these evils, refute false ideologies, and give people wise education to change human minds. Norman Lear loved justice and equality for all. The All of the Family show was decades ahead of its time dealing with the topics of racism, feminism, poverty, social inequality, divorce, infidelity, rape, the Vietnam War, and other issues. He helped to produce movies like The Princess Bride and Fried Green Tomatoes. Lear said that work, lox, and bagels plus the love of his family including laughter were secrets to living a long life. Lear wanted to confront the issues in our cultures, so solutions exist. I send condolences to his family and friends.

By Timothy