Late January 2025 News.

 

President Biden gave his Farewell Address to the American people. The address was both inspirational and somber. It was both hopeless and filled with warnings about the present and future. President Biden warned of an oligarchy taking shape in America with centralized power and influence that threatens our democracy and freedoms. There is a group of influential billionaires who are allied with Trump who desire to gain more power, and power in allegiance to corporate interests. President Biden defended his policies and legacy as President. President Biden established many accomplishments in American society. For example, The Biden/Harris administration improved the U.S. economy (during the peak of the pandemic-induced recession) to have a record 16.1 million jobs created and a record 21 million new business applications. We have the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years from the Biden/Harris team. President Biden is the most pro-labor President in American history to fight for overtime pay, pensions, and protested with striking workers. With the Biden Presidency, we saw a massive decrease in crime, and increase housing development, more infrastructure development, cutting child poverty in half, taking on climate change. The Biden/Harris administration conserved 647 million acres of lands, more than any President in history. He has appointed the first black woman Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and over 200 of the most diverse judicial appointees ever put forward by a President. President Biden signed the Safe Communities Act to make a bipartisan effort to combat gun violence. Biden has been in the federal government as a political leader for over 50 years now. The Presidency of Biden had errors too which has been explained by even numerous progressive scholars. President Biden said that massive lies and misinformation are dominating the social consciousness by social media giving up fact-checking and the mainstream press ending. He condemned the abuse of power.

There are a lot of things that many people don't know about pertaining to Pete Hegseth. The Senate Armed Services Committee held it first and only hearing on Hegseth who wants to be the Secretary of Defense. Pete Hegseth was a FOX commentator, and he defended war criminals. The Republicans control most of the Senate in 53-47, so it is most likely the GOP will vote for him. Hegseth advocates the commission of war crimes. He was an infantryman in a unit notorious for murdering prisoners and was a guard at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. He openly defended the torture of waterboarding. Hegseth criticized the Geneva Convention. We are in the era of the nadir of American democracy. Nadir is a word meaning the very low point. Many U.S. government officials are complicit in torture, the mass killing of civilians (in the Mai Lai massacre decades ago), and the U.S. funding of the Gaza genocide. Hegseth openly wants the use of the military against political opponents. Hegseth openly advocates fascism with his fascist tattoos on his body (including the Latin phrase Deus Vult or God wills it. This slogan came from medieval Crusades and is used by white racists, fascists, and Islamophobes), his rejection of the Geneva Convention, and support for Trump's failed coup against America. He is a notorious hater of progressives and progressive views as proven in his own book.

There is the Stilfontein massacre in South Africa. There have been 78 dead bodies found in the gold mine at Stilfontein in South Africa. They have been blockaded by the ANC government for months. Another 248 gaunt and emaciated miners made it out alive in the last few days, during a desultory rescue operation the government had to be ordered to carry out by the High Court in Pretoria. Trump's Attorney General pick Bondi answered many questions in her hearing. She was asked about if she wanted unconditional loyalty to Trump. Pam Bondi refused to rule out prosecutions of political opponents. She also said that Biden was the President, but she refused to say that Biden never stole the 2020 election explicitly.

Days ago was the Birthday of the late Birthday of the late Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a great philosopher and civil rights leader who stood up against injustice. He suffered a great deal. He experienced racism, being assaulted, being stabbed, and being cursed out constantly. Yet, he had an undying faith in nonviolence and a hope that the future would embrace the Promised Land of justice and equality for all. Dr. King was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a family of preachers. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were preachers. Dr. King went to college when he was a teenager, and he worked hard in groups like SCLC and other organizations. Dr. King worked with other people to help end Jim Crow apartheid. From many decades ago, she was a revolutionary who questioned militarism and poverty. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. loved his wife, Coretta Scott King, and their many children. The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that his promotion of nonviolence as a way of life has changed the world in enumerable ways. He protested, was placed to jail, and came out to speak his mind in eloquent ways. 

Rest in Power Brother Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There is the new Gaza ceasefire deal that has been historic. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with Secretary Antony Blinken announced the deal. The people who helped the deal were the Biden administration and the Qatar prime minister. The cooperation for the deal was almost unprecedented. Brett McGurk, the longtime Middle East negotiator for President Biden, had been in the Qatari capitals for weeks in trying to make a final agreement. He was joined by President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witfoff, in the final push. Both Biden and Trump took credit. Yet, the deal ultimately took place during the Biden Presidency. There has been a separate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu probably waited until Trump was elected to be more open to a deal as Netanyahu is a known Trump supporter. The implementation of the deal could begin as early as Sunday according to an official. The reality is that the ceasefire deal is good news as we want Israeli hostages home, Gaza reconstructed, and peaceful existence among Palestinians and the Israelis in the Middle East.

By Timothy