Hegseth wants the media to sign a document that makes journalists a security risk, even if the information is unclassified information. Many media outlets are refusing to sign the documents from Axios, MSNBC, ABC, and even Newsmax (plus FOX News) won't sign. The reason is that the document obviously is against the First Amendment. This new Pentagon policy is an attack on free speech. Donald Trump believes that if 97 percent of the press is against him, then that is not a free speech issue. He is wrong because the press and anyone, for that matter, has the right to show strident dissent with his policies. The press should never be intimidated to push the party line from any administration. This Pentagon policy is anti-freedom of the press. We see these overt attacks on democracy once again, and we are appalled at this reality. Hegseth wants press members in the Pentagon to be propagandists instead of expressing their own independent reporting. Hegseth wants to expel the press because he is a hypocrite trying to create a safe space in the Pentagon to spew pro-Trump views. This authoritarian agenda is worldwide, from Argentina to Hungary.
We have a democratic crisis in America now. Many courts have tried to prevent Trump from using National Guard troops in American cities, but Trump wants to go ahead with this agenda regardless. Trump is a habitual liar, too, by saying that the FBI planted agents in the 1/6 crowd. He may be considering invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to attempt to control the American people. With ICE acting aggressively against immigrants and U.S. citizens, with the National Guard going into cities (in Los Angeles for a time, in D.C., and in Memphis), mass deportations, the expansion of the executive branch, and with him trying to get rid of birthright citizenship, we have issues in our country. Hypocrites like Alex Jones for years talked about black helicopters and military forces in the streets (he said this back in the 2000s in his movies and DVDs), but Alex Jones is silent on Trump enacting the same policies that he warned people about. This shows that the MAGA movement doesn't care about liberties and freedom but power over human beings. Either we have laws and liberty or we don't. The Trump administration has made it perfectly clear that it wants vengeance, attacks on progressive people, and authoritarianism, not justice for all people.
MAGA can never criticize DEI at all when the White House has a 34 time convicted felon and a person accused of sexual assault by multiple women (who is Donald Trump), a former heroin addict being the head of the Department of the Health and Human Services, the former head of the WWE (without education experience) being the head of the Department of Education, and a person who paid a settlement to avoid sexual assault case is the Secretary of the Department of Defense. Black people, all people of color, women, etc., who have massive qualifications, should not be made scapegoats for all evils in America. We live in a time when we have to be vigilant to defend our rights.
We live in a new time. Trump went to the Israeli Knesset first to celebrate the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Benjamin Netanyahu was there, and Trump even wanted the Israeli Congress to pardon Netanyahu. Trump is certainly among Netanyahu's greatest allies. Back in the 1990s, I heard of Netanyahu, and even back then, he was a far-right hardliner. He hasn't changed, and he refuses to support a Palestinian state. One piece of good news is that the remaining Israeli hostages are free to go back to their loved ones and families. We should celebrate that, because no person should be unjustly kidnapped and experience torture. We know that Hamas is a terrorist organization that has committed unspeakable crimes not only against Jewish people but against Palestinian people in Gaza too (as many Hamas forces have attacked and murdered Palestinian opposition groups). Yet, this conflict has been complex. Many international organizations and human rights groups have documented Israeli military war crimes in Gaza. These findings aren't just discovered by the U.N. It has been human rights groups globally. So, when Israeli far-right people say that human rights abuses are Hamas propaganda, we should let them know that the images of Palestinians starving speak for themselves. Many churches being bombed in Gaza speak for themselves. Many Palestinian journalists and journalists in general being killed by attacks speak for themselves. Therefore, we have to call out war crimes and genocide. All of the evils in the region weren't just committed by Hamas, which is a terrorist organization. Trump went to Egypt to sign the ceasefire deal. Many Israelis and Palestinians are celebrated. Many Palestinian detainees have been released as well. Now, we have to do the heavy work to take the next step. That next step is total reparations and rebuilding of the Gaza lands and Palestine period, outright independence of the Palestinian people, no occupation, and progressive leadership in Israel to handle business. There must be more investments in humanitarian groups to save Palestinian lives as well. Israelis and Palestinians deserve peace and justice without delay.
Some sad breaking news is that the neo-soul singer D'Angelo passed away today from pancreatic cancer. He was only 51 years old. He is part of us as he was a black man from Virginia. He was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, where many of my cousins and aunts live to this day. D'Angelo brought flair and swagger to soul music and R&B music. He loved to perform. A lot of people didn't know that he was a very shy man, which is shocking to us. Angie Stone inspired him to show more confidence, and D'Angelo is one of the many icons of music. His music was about love, especially love for Black women, as seen in songs like "My Lady" and its remix. Brown Sugar was one of his signature songs back in 1995, which I watched on the Box and Splash TV back in 1995 when I was a pre-teen. He made many albums and touched many lives being a kindhearted person. His Generation X peers, including Erykah Badu, Maxwell, and others, appreciated his gifts to the world. His legacy is real and etched in our consciousness forever.
Rest in Power Brother D'Angelo.
By Timothy
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