The Game is Rigged

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/02/07/the-game-is-rigged/

US “Founders” Were Not Liberators

https://www.blackagendareport.com/us-founders-were-not-liberators

The Revolution on Your Momma’s Coffee Table: Lerone Bennett and the Schizophrenia of Ebony Magazine, from 1966 to 1976

https://www.blackagendareport.com/revolution-your-mommas-coffee-table-lerone-bennett-and-schizophrenia-ebony-magazine-1966-1976

News in early February of 2020.

Certainly, Trump is petty. Trump has slammed Democrats and Romney at a prayer breakfast where Pelosi was at too. This comes after Trump Jr. made a vulgar, disrespectful treat about Mitt Romney. This shows that Trump and his allies have no respect for decorum or common decency. The NY Times reported that many Republicans voted for Trump in the Senate out of fear. To his credit, Mitt Romney has been courageous to vote for Trump to be removed from office for abuse of power. The history books will mention him as the only Republican to have done so. Trump's words at the Prayer Breakfast are wrong and inappropriate. A prayer breakfast is about religious expression and being above the divisions that exist in America. Trump is wrong to give Rush Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom. Rush disparaged black people for decades, said that he wanted to mock black people by saying that he is speaking with a "negro dialect" , called Barack Obama the magic "negro," disrespected Michelle Obama, and said sexist comments about Krystal Ball. Rush also mocked Michael J. Fox having Parkinson disease. He said about African Americans that we (who are black Americans) are 12 percent of the population and no one should care about us.

The school , which is part of the Saline Area Schools, in Michigan had more tensions after a Latino American man was disrespected by a parent's racist remark. First, America is strengthen by its diversity. On a daily basis, I encounter people of many walks of life. I don't view them as lesser than me because of their color or their sex or their background that they are born to be. The racist said to the Latino American parent that he should go to Mexico not knowing the man's history or life story. A heroic black man defended the Latino American man by saying that folks should end that racist rhetoric. The reality is that many places in America plus worldwide have serious issues with racism. The African American father's son has been the victim of racist slurs directed at him and others. Many people in the audience disagreed with the racist too. The name of the African American is Brian Wright. The Latino American name is Adrian Iraola. His son was also the victim of racial slurs done by students. That is why it is important to put pressure on society to eliminate structural racism, economic oppression, and any form of oppression. You have to build in society, and you have to speak up about these issues. Helping your neighbor means helping your neighbor for real.


Today is a historic day. The Senate voted "not guilty on both articles of impeachment (i.e. abuse of power and obstruction of justice). This means that Trump right now is not kicked out of his office. As usual, many Republicans supported their party above the principle of holding a rogue President accountable for his erroneous actions. Also, it is important to note that Mitt Romney gave an emotional speech about how Trump is guilty of an "appalling abuse of the public trust." Romney is the Senator from Utah, a Republican, and ran for President before. Romney voted to convict Donald Trump for the abuse of power charge. He is the only Republican Senator to have done so. Romney is right to say that Trump did an act involving Ukraine that is a high crime and misdemeanor. Trump asked a foreign government to find "dirt" on his political rival being Joe Biden. He withheld military funds from the Ukraine to press it to do so. He has been stubborn to disregard legal subpoenas. He has cursed out brave, peaceful protesters, and he has slandered progressive activists for years. Many Democrats did the right thing to vote for the conviction of Donald Trump. Trump's abuse of power, his racism, his sexism, and his xenophobia are overt, cruel, and heinous. Now, the election in 2020 is here. The impeachment situation is a campaign issue. That is why it is important to defend the rule of law, to believe in democratic rights, and to fight to end any injustice in our world.

Today is the Birthday of the late Bob Marley. He was one of the great reggae songwriters. He and Peter Tosh took reggae into another level. Marley would preach in his songs about love, pan-African unity, and his life in Jamaica. He believed in human togetherness. As a songwriter, his words displayed the diversity of his emotions. He had 11 children. His album Legend was the best selling reggae album of all time. He celebrated the sport of soccer, and he was a person who was respected worldwide. He lived in England where he recorded the albums Exodus and Kaya. His songs of One Love, Exodus, and Jamming live onward forever. He performed in America by the latter part of his career. He was in the Rastafari movement. Later, he was baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church shortly before his passing. He not only helped to internationalize reggae music. Redemption song is probably the greatest song he made lyrically and message wise. He helped to promote unity and equality among human beings.

Rest in Power Brother Bob Marley.

The late Natalie Cole's birthday was yesterday. She would be 70 years old today. She was a classic singer like her father the late Nat King Cole. He made many hits like This Will Be, Inseparable, and Our Love. She sold over 30 million records worldwide. She was an actress too with one child. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was Maria Hawkins Ellington. Her debut album was Inseparable. She won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Her song Unforgettable in 1991 was very popular. She did the song in honor of her father. Her Unforgettable album sold more than 7 million copies in America alone. It won many Grammys including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for the top song. She was in the movie Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story which she played herself. She won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. She was honored by many legends from Mary Wilson to Gladys Knight. Her memory lives on.

Rest in Power Sister Natalie Cole.


By Timothy

The 2020 State of the Union Address.

The State of the Union address from Trump has been over. We live in an unique time of extreme partisanship and a confusion set of events. We still haven't' seen the victor of the Iowa Caucus. The situation in Iowa was so bad that the Iowa Democratic leader has publicly apologize for the fiasco. During the whole Trump speech during the State of the Union address, House leader Nancy Pelosi tore up the speech. She said that she did it because she believed that it was the courteous thing to do. Trump's speech was typical red meat for his far right base, and many Democrats walked off from the area, because of the cruelty of his speech. Trump wants to cut food stamps, cut Medicare, and Trump is notoriously lying. Trump said that he wants to protect pre-existing conditions, but he is in court in trying to end the ACA. Trump is overt in his racism and xenophobia. For example, Donald Trump have called black women low IQ and a dog.  No black woman should be called out of her name. No black man should be called out of his name. His policies benefit big corporations, he believes in cutting legitimate environmental regulations, and he makes a mockery of democratic freedoms.

One of Trump's lies in his State of the Union address is that poverty is plummeting. The reality is that almost half of Americans don't have 400 dollars in dealing with an emergency situation. 140 million Americans live in poverty. 62 million Americans live making less than a living wage. Trump lied and said that undocumented human beings are destroying health care. The reality is that undocumented human beings pay million of dollars in taxes and Social Security. Trump refuses to shake Nancy Pelosi's hand.  Trump issued a right wring tirade not only against socialism. It was a tirade against progressive values in general. In his usual fashion, Trump disrespected immigrants, attacked his political opponents, and claimed that the American economy is at its strongest in history. Regardless of Trump's words of claiming that the economy is strong, we have records levels of social inequality, global conflicts, and opposition to his administration. Trump lied and said that socialism destroys nations when what destroys nations revolve around corruption, racism, sexism, capitalist exploitation, xenophobia, and bad policies from the 1 percent.

Trump awarding Rush Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom is wrong and disgraceful. For decades, he or Rush has spewed overtly racist and other bigoted comments. Now, I don't wish him ill will from cancer. We wish him to recover from cancer. Yet, I have every right to disagree with Rush ideologically. Limbaugh has divided Americans for a long time. Trump gloated over his assassination of Iranian leader General Qassim Suleimani, which was a war crime that brought America almost to war with Iran. Trump abhors universal health care when millions of Americans now either can't afford health care or have expensive health care costs to pay for. Change must happen involving health care. The celebration of the 100 year old Tuskegee Airman Brigadier General Charles McGee was important and vital. McGee was involved in the liberation of millions of people from tyranny and oppression during World War II. The overall point is that you need to address poverty, infrastructure, education, health care, climate change, and other important matters. Trump's words advance imperialism, plutocracy, and the reactionary status quo.


Yesterday was the Birthday of the late,great legend of Rosa Parks. A lot of people don't know that Rosa Parks supported the Black Panthers and viewed Malcolm X as a hero. She was active in the struggle long before the 1950's. Her life existed in the realm of courage plus a love of justice. She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Rosa Parks always believed in self defense. She lived on a farm as a child and was raised in the AME church as a large number of African Americans are Baptists and AME members. She was married to Raymond Parks in 1932. She joined the Montgomery Chapter of the NAACP back in December of 1943. She refused to get up from a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Later, she worked with others in the historic 1950's Montgomery Bus Boycott.

She was mentored by one of the grandmothers of the civil rights movement, Septima Clark. Rosa Parks defended the rights of homeowners, prisoners unjustly imprisoned, and the oppressed. She lived in Detroit where she worked with John Conyers on political issues. Rosa Parks supported the Selma voting rights movement, the Freedom Now Party, and she was a friend to Malcolm X. Later on, she fought apartheid in South Africa. She fought police brutality and was involved in the Black Power Movement. Rosa Parks was an icon who saw wrong and desired to end it. She had a glorious light, and now she is in the presence of our ancestors and the Most High receiving her just crowns of glory.

Rest in Power Sister Rosa Parks.


By Timothy

John Kenneth Galbraith: A Hero in our Time

https://kennedysandking.com/articles/john-kenneth-galbraith-a-hero-in-our-time

The Day of the 2020 Iowa Primary.

During the age of ancient Rome, boxing was a popular spectator sport in ancient Rome. Fighters had to protect themselves. They used leather thongs around their fists. Later, harder leather was used and the thong soon became a weapon. The Romans used metal studs on the thongs to make the cestus. Roman Amphitheaters were where such fighting events took place. The Roman form of boxing was often a fight until the death to please the spectators who gathered at such events. In later times, purchases slaves and trained combat performers were used as valuable people in the sport. Their lives were exploited. Many slaves were forced to fight against each other in a circle marked on the floor. By 393 A.D., during the Roman gladiator period, boxing was abolished because of excessive brutality. It wasn’t until the late 16th century when boxing re-surfaced in London. Records of classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Many people used weapons and using fists waned. There were many accounts of fist fighting sports in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was the sport in ancient Rus called Kulachny Boy or Fist Fighting. As the wearing of swords became less common, there was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prizefighting. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury, and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used. This earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. On  January 6, 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle (and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica) engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher with the latter winning the prize.

Early fighting back then had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. An early article on boxing was published in Nottingham, 1713, by Sir Thomas Parkyns, a successful Wrestler from Bunny, Nottinghamshire, who had practiced the techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler, described a system of head-butting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws, not recognized in boxing today. The first modern boxing rules were called the Broughton’s rules. It was introduced by champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes happened. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Broughton encouraged the use of 'mufflers', a form of padded bandage or mitten, to be used in 'jousting' or sparring sessions in training, and in exhibition matches. These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers; they permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to end the round and begin the 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. However, this was considered "unmanly” and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the Seconds of the Boxers. Modern boxing has a three minute limit to rounds (unlike the downed fighter ends the round rule). Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as the contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wrist wraps to protect their hands, they used different punching technique to preserve their hands because the head was a common target to hit full out. Almost all period manuals have powerful straight punches with the whole body behind them to the face (including forehead) as the basic blows. The London Prize Ring Rules introduced measures that remain in effect for professional boxing to this day, such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting a man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting.


Creflo Dollar is one of the world’s most famous Prosperity Gospel preachers. He is a dedicated follower of its doctrines for decades now. His ally is the well-known Kenneth Copeland. His radio and TV show called “Changing Your World” is very popular. He has been on programs worldwide and in the Trinity Broadcasting Network plus the Lesea network. He is the pastor of the World Changers Christian Center. That is a non-denominational church in College Park, Georgia. It has a $6.5 million gold dome. Creflo said that he paid 18 million in cash for his new facility. It has 8,000 seats and a plastic container for offerings at the end of each row. The church has over 20,000 members. He has two Rolls Royce’s. He plies in a private jet worth multiple millions of dollars. He has a wife with five children. He has a bachelor’s degree in education. Creflo like other prosperity preachers said that mere humans are gods: “…See if you are truly a child of God, if you were born out of God, you got to be a part of the God class.  I know I’m not God.  But I’m a child of the Most High…I’m a part of the God class…. But then the next verse says, “Because you did not believe you were gods, you’re going to die like men.”  But it says you’re gods.  And I said now, Lord, wait a minute here.  How we going to prove this?  Because I kept hearing over and over again all this week, we need to have a God training class for Christians.  So they can start acting…”) (Our equality with God through righteousness 1/21/2001). The reality is that Psalms 82:6-8 said that, “I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes." The biblical application of this verse was addressed to the judges of Israel they were called gods not because they were divine but because they represented the true and only God when they judged the people. The word for God that is used here is elohim, which can mean rulers, (not Yahweh elohim used only for the one God). The word for Judges is found in Ex.21:22; 22:8-9 it is ha elohim (other scriptures of how the acted Deut.1:16;16:18; 25:1; 2 Sam.11:7). Creflo said the false doctrine that God made a duplicate of himself when he made Adam: “So when God made man all he did was take a reflection of him… So he said let us make another speaking spirit.  When God made Adam all he did was make an exact imprint of hisself. He duplicated himself, he was the image and from his image came hisself…" (Our equality with God through Righteousness 1/21/2001). The reality is that Adam was not God. He wasn’t a duplicate of God. The Scriptures mentioned that God alone is eternal, uncreated, uncaused, and infinite.  Creflo agrees with the Mind Science position by saying, “Growing into sonship means that you grow in your ability to operate as a “little God” (a replica of the Father) in the earth” (World Changers magazine, p.6, Dec. 2002). Creflo Augustus Dollar Jr. was born in College Park, Georgia on January 28, 1962. Dollar justifies his teachings by saying that God wants righteous people to inherit wealth on this Earth. He wants people to claim it and he believes in the myth that righteousness, wealth, and riches go hand in hand. He believes that faith is a spiritual force that leads to prosperity. The truth is that wealth isn’t necessary a sign of righteousness as some of the wicked people in human history were rich. We must use logic and science plus prayer to deal with health issues as health issues exist by many reasons not because of a lack of faith. The Gospel is about changing lives, helping others, and having glory without a lust for material wealth. There is nothing wrong with houses, clothes, and cars. What is the problem is about how some want to promote the falsehood that material wealth is a prerequisite of salvation or righteousness. That is the problem.



We live in very interesting, exciting times.The 2020 Presidential election, in my view, is the most important election of my lifetime. The paradox is that the Democratic race in 2020 started with candidates representing the most diverse field among one of the two major parties in American history. Although, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Corey Booker, and other candidates left the race because of financial issues. This upcoming election is a referendum on what we Americans desire for our future. At the end of the day, this is for our descendants' future. Donald Trump is obvious on what he is. Trump has obstructed the execution of legal subpoenas, he has tried to intimidate witnesses, he has cursed out heroic, peaceful protesters (involving the NFL), and he has been implicated in numerous scandals (from Trump University to the Ukrainian scandal). Trump has been a habitual liar. The Democratic Party is also having an internal debate. Some want the Democrats to become more progressive, and some want it to embrace a more moderate approach. The DNC rule change that deals with debates (or candidates will no longer need to meet any specific requirements. For example, the candidate will need a few polls or earn a delegate in Iowa or New Hampshire to join a debate) have caused a benefit to candidates like Michael Bloomberg. This change have caused anger from many progressives. Michael Moore spoke out against Bloomberg, Bloomberg talks about his support for gun control, his policies to fight climate change, and his efforts to expand health care. Yet, many people don't know that Bloomberg imposed a five year wage freeze after the 2008 financial crisis, demanded cuts to pensions, eliminated more than 6,000 teaching positions, closed 20 fire companies, and promoted stop and frisk in New York City as mayor (he recently apologized for that bad stop and frisk policy). Bloomberg is in the race in part because of Warren and Sanders talking about having billionaires experiencing true accountability in their lives via progressive economic policies. Joe Biden, Pete Buttegieg, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and Bernie Sanders are the leading candidates so far. What we do agree on is that we desire environmental protections, an expansion of health care, the elimination of economic inequality, promoting racial justice, and the love of democratic freedoms. History teach us that structural change is necessary beyond piecemeal policies, in causing our world to see an egalitarian, justice-filled existence. That is the truth. Social Security, civil rights laws, voting rights laws, Medicare, Medicaid, and other progressive policies existed by sacrifice, revolutionary action, and courage not moderation. The Democratic race is less diverse, but the backbone of the Democratic Party are black people. No one can win the election without black people, other people of color, women, young people, working class people, rural people, people of the urban communities, and other minorities. That's reality. Our lives matter, and voting matters. The reason is that voting determines education benefits, voting rights, which judges are on the courts, who will you have in city council, and how your resources are allocated to your communities. Therefore, this is about our freedom being protected and expanded as justice is for all.





By Timothy