A New Chapter in the 2024 Election.

This is a new era in this political season. This 2024 election is one of the most interesting elections in my lifetime. This is when Vice President Kamala Harris held her first campaign rally with her Vice President pick Tim Walz in Philadelphia. Kamala Harris introduced him as a family man, a coach, and a person who is a hunter but believes in reasonable gun safety laws. Kamala Harris criticized the Trump agenda as antithetical to the principles of peace and justice for all. As we fully know, Donald Trump wants a Muslim travel ban, was convicted of 42 counts of a felony, and seeks to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Then, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (who was in the U.S. military, was a Social Studies teacher, a football coach, and his wife is an English teacher) told his story. Tim Walz gave his story about his upbringing in Nebraska, his love of his family, and him standing up for freedom. Tim Walz gave cultural references and wanted the enemies of democracy to mind their own business. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz wanted people to support their campaign seeking an approachable vibe. Both advanced the principle of having joy instead of hate, division, and bigotry. The Trump and Vance team desire the same old playbook of extremism, habitual lying (like Trump saying that Harris never claimed to be black when she called herself an African American before), and a hatred of the rule of law. Vice President Kamala Harris is right to say that a high form of patriotism is about standing up for the legitimate principles found in America like equality, opportunity, freedom, inclusion, and justice. After this event, the Kamala and Walz team will travel to many battleground states to express their progressive message to the American people.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games on August 6, 2024, have great developments. Track and field athlete Gabby Thomas of America fulfilled her dream. She won the 200m women's race representing the new generation of track and field athletes. She is already a legend who graduated from Harvard, has a social consciousness about health care issues, and continues to help people in real life in Austin, Texas to live better quality lives. Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia won silver after winning gold in the 100m, and Brittany Brown took bronze in the women's 200m race. Brittany Brown worked hard in her career too. Gabby Thomas is the first American woman to win the 200m event since the icon Allyson Felix won it in 2012 (at London's Summer Olympics). Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400m hurdles semifinals to compete for the 400m hurdles final. Her rival is the Netherlands runner Femke Bol. Cuba's Mijain Lopez made Olympic history and was the first Olympian to win the same event during five Olympics in a row. He won the Greco-Roman wrestling event. Chilean Yasmani Acota won silver. Lopez put his shoes on the center of the mat to indicate that he is retiring. 

For the 1500m men's race, U.S. long-distance runner Cole Hocker won gold, Great Britain's Josh Kerr won silver, and America's Yared Neguse won bronze. It is the first time in 112 years that two Americans earned spots on the Olympic men's 1500m podium. Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigsten didn't get the medals. Brazil and Spain played in women's soccer. The U.S. women's soccer team defeated Germany with a goal from Sophia Smith. They will play Brazil in the Olympic final for the women's tournament. Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew won gold in the women's park final, Japan's Cocona Hiraki earned silver, and UK's Sky Brown won the bronze medal. Snoop and Martha Stewart give a play-by-play commentary on the Olympic dressage action in dealing with horses. America's men basketball team beat Brazil in the semifinals against Brazil in a score of 122 to 87. Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo was his country's first double Olympic gold medalist. Freddie Crittenden from America breezed his round in the men's 100m hurdles semifinals. America's Caroline Marks earned the gold medal in the women's surfing event. Germany's Christian Kukuk won gold in the three-way jump-off involving equestrian. Silver went to Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, and bronze came to Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands. Rock climbing grows in the Olympics too. For the women's hammer throw, Canada's Camryn Rogers won gold. America's Annette Echikunwoke won silver, and Zhao Jie of China won bronze. As for the women's discus throw, America's Valarie Allman won gold, Fen Bin of China won silver, and Sandra Elkasevic from Croatia won bronze. Valerie Allman is the first American to win the discus throw for back-to-back Olympic Games. 

One of the most important events now is the far-right extremists using riots all over the United Kingdom. These people are not freedom fighters. They are not for the interests of the people of the United Kingdom. They don't represent the vast majority of the people in the UK. They are of the same ilk as the Nazis decades ago who can't stand diversity, immigrants, and refugees. The Golden Rule dictates that you treat your neighbor as yourself. These far-right terrorists have burned buildings, beat black people in England, assaulted Muslims, abused people of Pakistani descent, and lied about their own history. Many of these far-right people are descendants of the Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Normans in England. These people were not indigenous to the United Kingdom originally. They came from Germany and Scandinavia. The Norman invasion of England took place in 1066 A.D. Recently, we have DNA evidence of black sub-Saharan African people who lived in the UK long before 1066. These riots represent the growth of the fascist movements. Many of my relatives were WWII veterans who fought in Normandy in real life and in other places to defeat fascism. In our generation in 2024, we have to defeat fascism again. Now, these far-right terrorists have been egged on by people like Tommy Robinson who falsely claimed that the perpetrator of the knife attack killing three innocent children (in Southport, England) was done by a Muslim asylum seeker. Now, these criminals have attacked immigrants' homes and shops They destroyed property. Richard Rice and Nigel Farage defend these terrorists as "concerned British citizens." They are not concerned citizens but thugs and far-right racist savages. These far-right terrorists don't care about children or morality. They only desire the power to oppress vulnerable human beings. Anti-fascist protesters have protected many immigrants in England too. Extreme nationalism and xenophobia merge readily into violence as history teaches us. This fascist movement is embraced by Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen in France, it's found in Hungary (with Orban), etc. It is important to confront poverty, end economic inequality, and reject austerity.

The August 5, 2024, events of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have been historic too. For the 800m women's race, Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won gold, Tsige Dgume of Ethiopia won silver, and Mary Moraa of Kenya won bronze. For men's soccer, France and Egypt faced each other. For the women's 5000m race, Kenyan Beatrice Chebet won gold, Faith Kipyegon won silver from Kenya, and Sifan Hassan won bronze from the Netherlands. In the 3X3 basketball involving women, America defeated Canada for the bronze. Germany will play Spain in the gold medal game later today. Involving the 200m semifinals, all three Americans move to the women's 200m semifinals. American Brittany Brown with a time of 22.12, McKenzie Long of America, and American Gabby Thomas will race for the 200m finals along with St. Lucia's Julien Alfred.  For equestrian individual jumping qualifiers, Julien Epaillard of France, Shane Sweetnam of Ireland, and Karl Cook of America rode perfect courses to top the scores and make the finals. As for the 200m finals, Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, and Kenneth Bednarek will advance to the men's 200m finals. Armand Duplantis of Sweden wants to have a gold medal in the pole vault. Miles Partain and Andy Benesh of America will play in the men's beach volleyball quarterfinals. Kenneth Rooks is the only American to race at the men's 3000m steeplechase final. Canada moves on after America's defeat in the women's beach volleyball game. Denmark's Viktor Axelsen won gold in the badminton men's singles event. As for women's gymnastics, Beyonce's music underscores the first all-Black Olympic gymnastics podium with Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, Simone Biles of America, and Jordan Chiles of America. American Nikki Hiltz raced in the 1500m women's race. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won her first gold medal involving the floor event of gymnastics. She is Brazil's most decorated Olympic athlete. Jordan Chiles won bronze, and Simeone Biles won silver.

By Timothy