Being Black in Pete Hegseth’s Military - The Atlantic
Pete Hegseth’s blocks on promotions rankle former military leaders
Pete Hegseth's racism keeps getting more obvious
thehill.com/policy/defense/5918902-hegseth-navy-air-force-blocked-promotions/
Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers
Pete Hegseth's racism keeps getting more obvious
Pete Hegseth restoring names of Army bases first named after Confederate generals : NPR
The new FIFA World Cup is taking place now in 2026 in the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada. Recently, Mexico has defeated South Africa in a soccer match. Soccer has an interesting relationship with America. In America (where I'm from), the sport of soccer has increased in its popularity, but the most popular sports in America are football, basketball, and baseball. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, other than America. Therefore, tons of people take soccer seriously. In America, there are security measures all over cities where the games will take place like in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Santa Clara, and Seattle. Some people are concerned that Trump officials will politicized the games which has taken place as some soccer officials overseas have been banned from coming to America plus ICE could harass people in various stadiums. The World Cup prices are extremely high too. This may hurt hotels and airlines. We should see what the future will be involving the World Cup in North America.
The New York Times reported on how Bongino cursed at Bondi about the Epstein files. The report cited how the Trump administration scrambled for action involving the files. Trump was at first hesitant to release the files, and he had to be forced to release the Epstein files. Trump even called the Epstein issue a "hoax," which is a lie. Epstein was a cold stone abuser who harmed innocent girls and innocent women. The New York Times reported on how some in the Trump administration considered pardoning Maxwell which is ludicrous. Maxwell is in much cozier prison. Trump has denied any criminal misconduct. Trump and Epstein were once friends and flown on a plane together. Later, Trump refused to be Epstein's friend. Trump has continued to attack Iran again recently for a 2nd day in recent weeks. Trump's tax cuts to the rich has caused Social Security's trustees to warn the program will be unable to pay out full benefits by 2032. People still voted for this extremist Trump. In recent decades, we know that a Republican is elected President, a Republican messes up the economy (with tax breaks to the rich, cuts to the social safety net, and other policies of trickled down economics), and a Democrat President cleans it up. So, we need economic populist solutions to our issues among other things.
Consumer prices have increased to the highest levels in three years. Some Republicans still blame Biden for this reality when Biden saw the lowest unemployment rate of black Americans in American history. Therefore, these consumer prices have rising by many complex factors, including the disastrous Iranian War. No one person can directly impact the economy as the economy changes by diverse factors. We have this economy when Trump and members of the oligarchy experience record profits. Many Americans struggle to buy their own groceries. Trump said that I like higher inflation is total extremism to put it lightly. Even Bill Clinton, during his Presidency, saw a budget surplus. So, political leaders and anybody should care about the economy as the economy directly deals with living conditions, consumer price index, employment, and other vital economic indicators. There must be a progressive policy discussion and governmental policies to address high inflation, high consumer prices, and other economic problems.
The New York Knicks made a historic comeback in defeating the San Antonio Spurs with the score of 107 to 106. It was the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history after the Knicks were trailing the Spurs by 29 points. The Spurs blew the lead. The New York Knicks played until the final time of the fourth quarter ended. When Anunoby tipped the ball in the hoop after Jalen Burnson shot it with 1.2 seconds left, the stadium of Madison Square Garden celebrated massively. When the Spurs had a chance to win the game, and they failed, people in the stadium celebrated. Celebrities as diverse as Spike Lee, Nas, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Tyalor Swift, Timothee Chalamet, Michael J. Fox, Adam Sandler, Keke Palmer, the Haim Sisters, Taylor Swift, Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Fat Joe, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Jerry Seinfield, Larry David, and other people cheered on their team. The New York Knicks never gave up. The Knicks had more unity and team chemistry to cause them to win 3 games to one. We saw see what the future holds, but this was one of the greatest NBA games that I have seen in my life.
A lot of news are going on. Albanian people are protesting the Kushner linked project in the thousands. There is also beef supply at its lowest in 75 years and prices are very high. This comes as the CDC just declared a national emergency for the screwworm spread. It can spread to cows and in rare instances can go to human beings. Farms in Arizona and Colorado are in risk too. Trump allowed DOGE to cut the screwworm monitoring programs that is meant to stop what is happening in agricultural communities. Also, Ken Paxton of Texas supported DOGE cuts that weakened screwworm defenses and put Texas cattle at risk. Despite the words from the DOJ to not support the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, the administration is trying to use slick means to allow the payout (which rewards terrorists who harmed police officers during the January 6th, 2021 attacks). With Trump saying that no one cares about housing, being askance about rising gas prices, he doesn't think about Americans' financial situation, and he loves inflation, we are dealing with a President who cares more for his narcissism than the American people.
June has been filled with a smorgasbord of news. Donald Trump has recently been interviewed on the Meet the Press show to falsely claim that massive voting fraud has taken place in California. The NBC interviewer, Kristen Welker, asked Trump legitimate questions about elections. Trump believes in the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, and that the California primaries were "rigged." Trump believes that any election that GOP members lose is automatically illegitimate, which is not only wrong. It represents authoritarianism as human beings have the right to vote for whoever they desire. The Trump lies about elections are not being criticized by many GOP members, as the Republican Party has gone from the Party of President Abraham Lincoln to the party of Trump. Trump later walked out of the taped interview with Kristen Welker after acting unprofessionally and disrespecting Welker with ad hominem attacks. Trump's behavior was rude and not representative of a true moral leader. Hypocrites defend this behavior because they worship a fraudulent political ideology instead of following truth and justice for all. Trump has defended the controversial $1.8 billion fund to help terrorist insurrectionists involved in the January 6th terrorist attack (after these terrorists assaulted police officers, destroyed property, waved Confederate plus Neo-Nazi flags, and some of them wanted to hang former Vice President Mike Pence). We live in a unique time of American history, and our democratic freedoms must always be honored.
Hegseth criticizing Europe in a D-Day speech is offensive and disrespectful to the heroes of Normandy. On D-Day, on June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces used the largest amphibious invasion in human history to liberate a continent from the overt wickedness of Nazism. Hegseth forgot that black people and people of color lived in Europe for centuries and millennia. Many black people were involved in the action of D-Day including two of my late relatives. Cultural diversity is not a sin despite Hegseth's bigoted remarks. Helping our neighbors, embracing people of diverse background, and loving our neighbor is a perquisite in being a righteous person. Comparing human migration to a D-Day invasion is purely disgusting and historical revisionism. Hegseth firing people who are black people and women for no reason outlines his lies. D-Day is about celebrating the heroism of soldiers who opposed the evils of tyranny, xenophobia, racism, and bigotry that the Nazis promoted. Hegseth invoking his reactionary immigration views on a D-Day speech is not the time nor place for such rhetoric. Caring for migrants in a humane fashion is not evil as the Golden Rule is superior to the anti-immigrant nonsense spewed by Hegseth. Hegseth's rhetoric is not new. His white nationalist rhetoric is purely part of the MAGA's ideology.
The Iran War continues to be very complicated. Iran recently attacked Israel, and Israel responded by attacking Iran. Trump said that he runs the shots involving the Iranian war, not Netanyahu. This is the first time the public has been informed about the tensions between Trump and Netanyahu over the Iranian negotiations. Trump wants negotiations to continue, and Netanyahu wants stricter conditions in dealing with negotiations, especially in dealing with Lebanon. The Iranian war is highly unpopular, as the majority of the American people oppose the Iran War. Iran has shot down an American helicopter too. While U.S. imperialism is evil, the Iranian regime is not a paragon of virtue by its actions of suppressing dissent in Iran, targeting civilian locations, and seeking a fascist regime to permanently rule of the Iranian people. Trump is lying, saying that people went to jail for January 6th terrorism for nothing at all, when videotape evidence shows January 6th insurrectionists assaulting police officers. We have to be concerned with the truth, and the truth is that opposition to authoritarianism is a duty of ours in seeking a better, democratic society.
Lesley Groff, Epstein's former assistant has testified under oath to Congress. She appeared in the Epstein files 166,906 times. She is an eyewitness of many events pertaining to the Epstein files. The crimes of Epstein took place from America to Epstein Island. Groff was an Epstein aide who had no choice but to testify. The Democrats and many Republicans came out to ask Groff important questions about the total truth. Groff said that she was disgusted by Epstein's conduct and called him an abuser. Groff handled schedule and mundane tasks. She called Epstein a monster and manipulator. She claimed that Epstein hid his criminal activities from her. This is part of her testimony. Many Epstein survivors disagreed with Groff and believed that Groff arranged victims to go to Jeffrey Epstein. Now, the public can see all Epstein files. Groff said that she didn't see Epstein doing misconduct.
The oppression of migrants exists globally and very few in the corporate media are reporting on this reality. In Italy, 4 migrant farmworkers were born alive in a minivan. These were agricultural workers who died in southern Italy on June 1, 2026. This was an act of violence and cold-blooded murder. The victims are Waseem Khan (a 29 years old Pakistani national) and 3 Afghanis who are Amin Fazal Khogiani being 28, Ullah Ismat Qiemi being 19, and Safi Iayjad being 27. These were locked inside of a minivan at a gas station on the Statale 106 highway in Amendolara, a small municipality on the Ionian coast of Calabria. The migrants challenged stolen wages, and two murderers burned them up. CCTV footage released some of the tragedy. The murderers were caught, and their names are Safeer Ahmed and Ali Razia, both Pakistani nationals. Only one survivor is a 35-year-old Afghan national Taj Mohammaed Alamyar by shattering the rear window and crawling out. Another worker escaped only because illness had kept him home that day. More vehicles with Pakistani nationals were set on fire too in Calabria. This represents a war where criminals try to target human labor. An economy that treats human beings as objects and commodities without personal dignity is an economy that is archaic, wicked, and must end to be replaced by a fair economy for all.
By Timothy
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, up North, in Brooklyn, New York City. She is the younger child of Diane Hankerson and Michael Haughton, a warehouse worker. She has African American, Afro-Jamaican, and Native American heritage. Her name is the feminine form of Ali, meaning "highest, most exalted one, the best." Aaliyah loved her name and was proud of it. When Aaliyah was five years old, her family moved into Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad. In Detroit, Aaliyah's father worked in the warehouse business, one of his brother-in-law Barry Hankerson's widening interests. Her mother stayed home and raised her and her brother. Her mother enrolled her in voice lessons at an early age. Eventually, she started performing at weddings, church choir events, and charity events. Aaliyah attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where in first grade she was cast in the stage play Annie which inspired her to become an entertainer.
Aaliyah's mother was a vocalist, and her uncle Hankerson was an entertainment lawyer who had been married to Gladys Knight. As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York City to audition for commercials and television programs, including Family Matters. After failing to land a role on the show she continued her acting through the Gesu Players. In 1989 at age ten, she appeared on Star Search, where she performed "My Funny Valentine." Aaliyah chose to begin auditioning. Her mother made the decision to drop her surname. She auditioned for several record labels and at age 11 appeared in concerts alongside Knight. After attending a Gladys Knight concert with music executive Suge Knight, and seeing Aaliyah perform on stage, rapper Tupac Shakur wanted to sign her to a record deal. Aaliyah attended Detroit schools and believed she was well-liked, but she was teased for her short stature. By age 15, however, she came to love her height. Her mother told her to be happy she was small and complimented her. Although some children disliked Aaliyah, she determined, "You always have to deal with people who are jealous, but there were so few it didn't even matter. The majority of kids supported me, which was wonderful." Even in her adult life, she considered herself small. She had "learned to accept and love" herself and added: "the most important thing is to think highly of yourself because if you don't, no one else will." During her audition for acceptance to the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts, Aaliyah sang "Ave Maria" in Latin. Aaliyah held a 4.0 grade-point average when graduating from high school. She reflected: "I wanted to keep that 4.0. Being in the industry, you know, I don't want kids to think, 'I can just sing and forget about school.' I think it's very important to have an education, and even more important to have something to fall back on." She considered a future career teaching music, music history or drama if she did not make a living as a recording artist because, as she reasoned, "when you pick a career it has to be something you love."
After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12. Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, who became Aaliyah's mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her first album, recorded when she was 14. Aaliyah's debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was released under her mononym "Aaliyah", by Jive and Blackground Records on May 24, 1994; it debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 38,000 copies in its first week. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and it was certified two times Platinum by the RIAA. To date the album has sold over 3 million copies in the US. In Canada, the album was certified gold by Music Canada for 50,000 copies in shipments. In 2014, Vibe magazine estimated that the album had sold six million copies globally. Upon its release, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some writers noted that Aaliyah's "silky vocals" and "sultry voice" blended with Kelly's new jack swing helped define R&B in the 1990s. Her sound was also compared to that of female quartet En Vogue. Christopher John Farley of Time magazine called the album a "beautifully restrained work", noting that Aaliyah's "girlish, breathy vocals rode calmly on R. Kelly's rough beats." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that the album had its "share of filler", but described the singles as "slyly seductive." He also wrote that the songs on the album were "frequently better" than that of Kelly's second studio album, 12 Play. The single "At Your Best (You Are Love)" was criticized by Billboard for being out of place on the album and for its length.
Aaliyah's debut single, "Back & Forth", peaked at number 5 on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks. Two more singles charted: a cover of the Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album's title track, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number", peaked at number 75. Additionally, she released "The Thing I Like" as part of the soundtrack to the 1994 film A Low Down Dirty Shame. In August 1995, Aaliyah was featured on the single remix to Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s song "I Need You Tonight."
There was the USATF Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station, Texas, filled with track and field athletes. Gabby Thomas made headlines by winning the 200m with a world-leading time of 21.70 seconds. Athletes competed at Cushing Stadium at Texas A&M University. Texas A&M is home to many track and field icons and lovers of the sport too. That time is Gabby Thomas's third fastest time of her career. Kayla White of America won 2nd, and Favour Ofili of Nigeria won third. For the 110m hurdles for men, Jamar Marshall won 1st, DeVlon Wilson won 2nd, and Connor Schulman won third (all people being Americans). For the women's 100m hurdles, Demisha Roswell of Jamaica won first, Ackera Nugent of Jamaica won 2nd, and Rayniah Jones of America won third. For the women's 400m hurdles, Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain won first, Ashley Miller of Zimbabwe won 2nd, and Shamier Little of America won 3rd. For the men's 200m race, Makanakaishe Charamba of Zimbabwe won first, Tate Taylor of America won 2nd, and Aaron Brown of Canada won 3rd. For the women's 800m, Shafiqua Maloney of Saint Vincent won 1st, Kelly-Ann Beckford of Jamaica won 2nd, and Victoria Bossong of America won 3rd. For the men's 800m, Navasky Anderson of Jamaica won 1st, Abraham Alvarado of Mexico won 2nd, and Sean Dolan from America won 3rd. For the women's hammer, Camryn Rogers of Canada won first, Rachel Richeson of America won 2nd, and Jie Zhao of China won 3rd. For the 100m men's race, Trayvon Bromell of America won first, Andre de Grasse of Canada won 2nd, and Oblique Seville of Jamaica won 3rd. For the women's 100m, Sabrina Dockery of Jamaica won 1st, Audrey Leduc of Canada won 2nd, and Jodean Williams of Jamaica won 3rd. There were other athletes who won including high school kids and para athletes too.
There is a controversy involving Senate candidate Graham Platner. He is in the state of Maine. He is facing tons of controversies, like allegations of physical abuse from multiple romantic partners, etc. These partners maintain that Platner acted erratically and used violence against them. Platner admitted to suffering from issues, but he denies any physical abuse against the women who accused him. Also, there has been a Nazi-themed tattoo found on him and offensive resurfaced social media posts. Graham Platner wanted to continue in his campaign. Democrats are split, with some wanting him to continue and others refusing to support him. I do believe in redemption and improving one's life, but redemption should be done on an individual level. There is a difference between redemption involving accidentally stepping on one's foot and continuing a political campaign and allegations of abuse and racist tattoos plus offensive social media posts. Some say that Republicans do the same thing, and GOP followers still support people like Trump, etc. My rebuttal to that view is that we aren't Republicans. We should never use the GOP's low standard of moral principles as an excuse to brush aside serious allegations. These allegations aren't a minor misstep or spilling water on the floor. It involved harming innocent human life and having racist tattoos on one's body. Bernie Sanders supporting Platner is not shocking. We reject sexism, domestic violence, anti-Semitism, and all forms of bigotry, period. We don't expect our political leaders to be perfect, but anyone following righteousness (not doing bigotry or assault) is easy to do. So, I believe that Graham Platner should not be in this race and should be replaced with another Democratic candidate. Some things are more important than politics.
One of the most disgraceful actions of our generation is the 2026 GOP members in Minnesota giving a moment of silence to the cowardly murderer Derek Chauvin. This shows how racist the GOP is. Derek Chauvin is a convicted murderer who was convicted by a jury of his peers. He put his knee on the neck of George Floyd for more than 8 minutes without empathy and compassion to a fellow human being. The other officers were cowardly too by doing nothing, not even telling Chauvin to stop on what he was doing. George Floyd said that he couldn't breathe and never received any immediate medical assistance. The GOP hypocrites who did the moment of silence should be completely voted out of office. This happened on May 30, 2026, and this disgraceful act has been condemned by Democratic and some Republican leaders. This took place during the state GOP convention in Duluth, Minnesota. The liar Delegate Christopher Rocco said that Chauvin was a victim of injustice and wanted a federal pardon. Rocco should be voted out of office. They are hypocrites since they lecture people on morality and truth, but they glorify a murderer. These are the same people who glorify Trump, who is complicit in the war crime of murdering people in the Caribbean without due process of the law or a trial.
There are many parts of plant cells, and many of these components differ greatly from those of animal cells. The cell wall is the tough outer layer. It is made up of mostly cellulose, which protects, supports, and provides shape to the plant cell. The cell membrane or plasma membrane is a semi-permeable barrier that controls the movement of substances (water, nutrients, and waste) in and out of the cell. The nucleus is the control center of the planet cell that has the cell's DNA and ordinated the activities like growth and reproduction. The cytoplasm is a gel like fluid that fills the cell and holds the organelles in place. The chloroplasts are the sites of photosynthesis. They contain chlorophyll, which captures sunlight to convert it into usable energy and sugars. The large central vacuole is a large sac that stores water and nutrients. It helps to maintain turgor pressure so the plant remains upright and firm. The ribosomes are tiny structures responsible for protein synthesis. The ER or endoplasmic reticulum is a network of membranes. The Rough ER is studded with ribosomes to produce and transport proteins while the Smooth ER produces lipids. The Golgi Apparatus acts as the packaging and distribution center, sorting, and modifying proteins for use inside and outside the cell. There are more parts of a plant cell like the amyloplast (or starch grain), raphide crystal, peroxisome, lysosome, plasmodesma, and the nuclear envelope.
The Ecumenical Movement is one of the most unique, deceptive movements in the world. It believes in the view that nearly all denominations that claim to be "Christian" (even Jehovah Witnesses, Unitarians, Mormons, etc.) are all are one in the religion of Christianity. It views doctrinal differences as secondary to unity. There is a large call for unity, but unity must exist in truth and sound doctrine. The Ecumenical movement is a deception, because it has an unscriptural view of doctrine. Doctrine is found dozens of times in the Bible. Acts 2:42 says that the church at Jerusalem was steadfast in the apostles' doctrine. There is only one doctrine that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he died and rose from the dead three days later, and he sits at the right side of God the Father. The church is required to contend to sound doctrine as found in Jude 1:3: "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." The Apostle Paul promoted Christians to embrace real doctrine found in 1 Timothy 1:3 and 1 Timothy 4:13. Doctrine is very important as it relates to baptism. Many denominations believe in the false doctrine that baptism is a substitute for the blood of Jesus Christ to forgive all sins, but the Bible says that baptism is immersion, an ordinance for only believers in God to follow, and that infants can't be baptized. Many in the Ecumenical movement ignore apostasy and how to deal with it. Jesus Christ predicted that before the time of the end, apostasy will exist as found in Matthew 13:10-11. 24-15, 33. The Apostle Paul called this apostasy embracing fables, lovers of oneself, being cold towards people, disobeying mothers and fathers (who are doing the right thing), and rebellion against righteousness. False doctrines like calling Mary the Queen of Heaven, transubstantiation (or the communion host becoming Jesus, which is blasphemy), purgatory, the intercession of the saints (which is overt necromancy), the world-faith heresy, etc. are commonly embraced by deceived human beings in our generation. The Ecumenical movement is wrong to ignore the call for believers in God to separate from heresies and heretics until they come home to embrace the light of God. True Christian unity is about being in one mind in embracing Jesus Christ, spreading the Gospel (as commanded by Jesus in his Great Commission), and follow the Holy Scriptures. The Ecumenical movement is controlled by major religious groups like the World Council of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church (especially after the Vatican II creation), the Rockefeller Foundation, Mormonism, etc. They are funded by the CFR, the Bilderberg Group, the Skulls and Bones, and numerous establishment organizations. The Ecumenical Movement existed back in the 19th century via cooperative, interdenominational missionary societies like the London Missionary Society, YMCA, and the YWCA. Later, the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference started the modern ecumenical movement to end denominational divisions in Protestants. the World Council of Churches was formed in 1948 to represent Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox Churches. The Vatican II conference from 1962 to 1965 was created by Pope John XXIII to promote interfaith dialogue among Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic Churches. You have the National Council of Churches and more council in the 20th and 21st centuries.
By Timothy
David
One of the greatest heroes of the Bible is David. David came from humble beginnings being a descendant of the ancient Hebrews from the tribe of Judah. David had a long legacy of problems, resiliency, power, and glory. David was a lover, a fighter, and the King of Israel who witnessed Israel reach new heights of power and glory. He lived during the First Temple age where religious ceremonies were conducted by many priests of the Levite branch of religious scholars. David has been researched and written about for generations and millennia form the Bible, the works of Josephus, and ancient scholarly works, and modern literature. David wanted justice for his people, and he received mercy from God Almighty for his errors. David's life motivated believers globally to see improvement, to desire wisdom from the Lord God, and to never give up in life. As you live life, you must embrace opportunities to be better people. David lived his life to the fullest and had a child who was the wise, controversial King Solomon. Both had similarities and differences. Solomon followed many false gods and David repented after committing adultery and other sins. David remains one of the many human icons of the Scriptures.
Ancestry and Early Life
David's family tree has a long history indeed. David's lineage comes from the tribe of Judah, of the 12 tribes of Israel. From Judah, who was the son of Jacob (Jacob was the recipient of the scepter blessing mentioned in the Pentateuch). Jacob and his wife Tamar had a son named Perez. Perez's son was Amminadab. Ammindab's son was Nahshon, who was the leader during the Exodus. The Exodus story in the Bible was when Moses, the prophet, led the Hebrews out of bondage in ancient Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel in the Levant. Salmon married Rahab. The son of Salman was Boaz who married the Moabite woman named Ruth. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse. Jesse's son was David, the 2nd King of Israel. Of course, Saul was the 1st King of Israel. The Davidic line continued after the passing of David. As time went about, the Kingdom of Israel lasted from ca. 1010 B.C. -930 B.C. There was a division with the 2 Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Then, there was the Babylonian exile. This was when Babylonian forces invaded Israel and forced many Hebrews to be in exile in Babylon during the late Bronze Age of the history of the Middle East. To Christians, the David genealogy as found in Matt. 1 and Luke 3 explicitly connects to Jesus Christ to fulfill prophecy. During the Babylonian exile, descendants of David existed like Exilarch (or Reish Galuta, leading the Jewish community in Babylon). The first book of Samuel and the first book of Chronicles state David's story as David being the youngest of his siblings. He had at least 2 sisters, Zeuriah and Abigail, whose son Amasa served in Absolom's army. Absalom was one of David's younger sons.
Adulthood
King David was one of the most popular people of the Old Testament along with Abraham and Moses. He is discussed in 28 Biblical books and his name is recorded in the King James Bible (in 1,139 times) more than anyone else. When David was young, he was considered by the public the least of Jesse's sons and was assigned the humbling task of tending sheep according to 1 Samuel 16:11. He is the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz. The prophet Samuel is charged with anointing a new ruler over the Hebrews as found in 1 Samuel 16. King Saul had rebellion against God, so Saul wasn't part of this process. Samuel visited Jesse and rejected his first seven sons, and he anoints David in a private ceremony, as Israel's new king. King Saul was distressed and depressed after God's spirit leaves him as found in 1 Samuel 16:13-14. His servants wanted to find a skilled musician to change his mood and further recommend David due to his admirable traits. David became Saul's musician and his armor bearer (1 Samuel 16:15-23). Back then, the Philistines was Israel's enemy. The Philistines gathtered their army to invade Israel. Saul's forces also gather and camp near the enemy. Goliath, the Philistine champion, taunts Israel for forty days to send out a man worthy to fight him (1 Samuel 17:16). His challenge receives no response. David, coming to give supplies to three of his brothers in the army, appears among Saul's troops. He offers, after hearing Goliath's taunts, to fight him by himself. He defeats the giant in battle, cuts off his head, and then goes on a whirlwind tour of Israel touting his victory (1Samuel 17). David and Saul's son Johnathan become the best of friends and make a friendship covenant (1 Samuel 18:1 - 4). King Saul makes David one of Israel's military leaders (1 Samuel 18:5). Women sing praises, after one of his victories over the Philistines, that David has slain tens of thousands and Saul thousands. The king hears this praise and begins to view David as a threat to his throne (1 Samuel 18:6 - 9). Saul twice attempts but fails to personally murder David (1 Samuel 18:10 - 11). He then decides to distance himself from him by making him a commander over 1,000 men (verse 13). The king then offers him his daughter Michal in marriage if he brings to him 100 Philistines. His plan to have the enemy dispose of David backfires, however, when he returns with 200 (verses 20 - 27). Jonathan, Saul's son, seeks to protect David from his father's wrath. He is able to calm his father down and have David return to the king's service (1Samuel 19:1 - 7). David then fights the Philistines at an unknown location and slaughters them (verse 8). An evil spirit moves Saul to attempt to murder David, forcing him to flee to Samuel for safety (1 Samuel 19:9 - 17). The king then sends three sets of assassins that ultimately fail when God distracts them from their mission. Saul himself then travels to Samuel but is also distracted from carrying out the murder (verses 18 - 24).
David continues to try to escape from Saul trying to kill him. David travels to the city of Nob and meets with Ahimelech the High Priest (1 0Samuel 21). He then secures food for his starving men and flees to Gath. Fearful of his identity being discovered in the Philistine city, he pretends to act like an insane person. His act convinces the king of the city to leave him alone (1 Samuel 21:10 - 15). David soon leaves Gath for an Adullam cave. He then travels to Mizpeh where he secures a safe place for his parents to stay (1 Samuel 22:1 - 4). God then informs him to go to the land of Judah. King Saul meets with the High Priest and the priests of Nob to accuse them of treason for aiding David. Although they deny the charge, they are all murdered when the king has Doeg slay all 85 of them. Doeg then proceeds to Nob where he slaughters most of its innocent inhabitants (1Samuel 22). David fights, with God's blessing, the Philistines who are raiding the city of Keilah. He soon slaughters the enemy and saves the city (1Samuel 23:1 - 5). He then leaves with his men for the safety of the wilderness of Ziph. Jonathan finds him in the forest and the two men meet for the last time (verses 16 - 18). The Ziphites, who know where David is hiding, reveal his location to Saul. As the king and his men begin to close in on David, a messenger arrives to inform him that the Philistines have again invaded the land. Saul breaks off his pursuit and rushes to fight the enemy as David travels to hide himself in Engedi (1 Samuel 23:19 - 29). Saul continues to pursue David after he finishes dealing with the Philistines. Saul's life is spared, however, when David refuses to kill the king when the opportunity to do so presented itself in a cave (1 Samuel 24). Then, the prophet Samuel passed away as found in 1 Samuel 25:1 in ca. 1012 B.C.
Being the King of Israel
Before King David was King, Saul was killed. David, after mourning the loss of Saul and Jonathan, asks God if he should move out of Ziklag. The Lord informs him he should move him and his family to Hebron (2 Samuel 2:1 - 2). David, at age 30, is anointed king of the tribe of Judah in Hebron (2 Samuel 2:3 - 4). He also commends the men of Jabeshgilead for retrieving Saul and his sons' bodies from the wall of Bethshan and burning them (1 Samuel 31:8 - 13, 2 Samuel 2:4 - 7). Saul's military commander Abner, shortly after David is made Judah's king, begins to execute his plan to make Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) ruler over the rest of Israel (2Samuel 2:8 - 32). He takes Ishbosheth to Mahanaim then soon takes several men to Gibeon. In Gibeon, twelve of his men fight and lose to twelve of David's men led by Joab. Abhner and his men engage in a civil war with David's men led by Joab (2 Samuel 3). Ishbosheth, at the age of forty, becomes king of over all the Israelite tribes except Judah (2 Samuel 2:10). Abner, angry at an accusation laid against him by Ishbosheth, abandons supporting him. He then meets with David and promises both he and the rest of Israel will now support him (2 Samuel 3:7 - 21). Joab, angered that David didn't arrest or kill Abner when he had the chance, murders Abner when he returns to Hebron. Two of King Saul's military captains, sensing Ishbosheth's weakness after the death of Abner, murder him in his sleep (2 Samuel 4:1 - 7). Ishbosheth's rule lasts only two years (2 Samuel 2:10). All the tribes of Israel, right after Ishbosheth's death, anoint David as their king. David ruled only over the tribe of Judah for seven and one-half years (2 Samuel 5:1 - 5). King David conquers Jerusalem and makes it the political and religious capital as found in 2 Samuel 5:6-10. He expands his Kingdom as recorded in 2 Samuel 8. King David made errors like his affair with Bathsheba as found in 2 Samuel 11-18. There is the rebellion of Absalom.
The Future Legacy
King David passed away, but his legacy extended long after his passing. Later, Judah's line would be inspired by the Messiah. The tribe of Zebulun lived in the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus Christ would perform many of his miracles and teachings at as found in Matthew 4. The tribe of Benjamin would be the ancestors of the King Saul (of the Israelites, but he became too prideful, but King David was the next king from the tribe of Judah) and the apostle Paul. Paul was once known as Saul who was involved in the murder of early Christians. Romans 11:1 showed that Paul is a descendant of Benjamin. Later, Paul had a vision to be a Christian who wrote a large percentage of the New Testament. Bible prophecy of the Old Testament explicitly mentioned that the Messiah will have the lineage of David. Isaiah 11:1 said that a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Jesse was the father of David. We know that the book of Matthew shows the genealogy of Joseph being from King David (via King Solomon), and the book of Luke showing the genealogical lineage of Mary being from King David via Nathan (Solomon's brother). Jeremiah 23:5-6 mentioned that God will raise up for David a righteous Branch and he will rule as king wisely executing justice and righteousness in the land. Luke 1:32-33 mentioned that the Son of God will have the throne of David and rule in an everlasting Kingdom.
Epilogue
King David remains one of the many icons of the Bible and religious culture. In history, King David lived in the Levant (or the Middle East). Back millennia ago, the Middle East was filled with numerous civilizations (like Aramean kingdoms in Syria, the Phoenicians, Babylonia, Assyria, Urartu, Elam, etc. Major urban centers in the region were Ur, Hamat, Harran, Sidon, Gaza, Jerusalem, and Aleppo. These cities are found in the Fertile Crescent), and the Middle East regularly traded with Africa (the homeland of the entire human race), Asia, and Europe. King David survived many scandals and conflicts to be the ruler of Israel. He ruled with many decrees and saw Israel grow into a powerful Kingdom with the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel including diverse human beings. At the peak of the Kingdom of Israel (before the great division into the Israel and Judah separate kingdoms), King David saw mighty developments economically, politically, and socially. David survived a civil war too. He saw Jersualem made into the capital of Israel along with the Ark of the Covenant being placed in the city of Jerusalem too. He passed away at an old age, and his son Solomon took over the kingdom. King Solomon, of course, helped to construct the First Temple in Jerusalem. King David was blessed by God in many arenas, and his descendants saw the Lord Jesus Christ walk on planet Earth in a glorious fashion. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who died and rose again 3 days later to save the sins of the entire world. So, the story of David reminds us that mistakes in our lives will not have to encompass our entire story. Human beings can use resiliency, faith, and courage to improve our lives as time goes on.
Conclusion (Summer 2026)
The Justice Department wants to toss out conspiracy convictions for the January 6th terrorists. This act is not only wrong. It's treason. The DOJ involved in this action are traitors to America, because the January 6th terrorists not only invaded the U.S. Capitol like a group of unhinged thugs. Their goal was to overthrow the American government using violence, lies, racism, and bigotry. Many of these terrorists were members of the reactionary Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. These groups are known for violence against protesters and supporting Trump in a disturbing fashion. The Justice Department wanted a federal appeals court to throw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were sentenced to prison terms for leading terrorists to attack officers and tried to attack Congressional leaders. Trump commuted the prison sentences of many several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. The previous Biden administration upheld convictions of these thuggish criminals. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is a disgrace to whitewash the real history of January 6th, because she follows conservativism unconditionally instead of morality and justice for all. January 6th, 2021, was a date that will live in infamy when MAGA terrorists waved neo-Nazi and Confederate flags on Capitol grounds, stole property, destroyed windows, tried to hang former Vice President Mike Pence, and called black officers the n word. God doesn't condone the acts of cowardly insurrectionists and traitors to America. Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged by the January 6th cowards told the truth that, "I would remind Americans that these were traitors to our country...They planed, indited, and carried out an insurrection."
During this era of time, more and more people are opposing the agenda of Donald Trump. We tried to warn people since 2015 that Trump is a deranged cult leader. Now, the handwriting is on the wall. It is no secret that Donald Trump is the leader of the MAGA movement. The far-right movement in the Earth have many racist white nationalists who desire America to be expansionist so much that Trump desires to conquer Greenland. The behind the scenes actions of the Trump regime have been deplorable like Trump cutting USAID from giving lifesaving work and help to mostly black people in Africa (and other persons of color worldwide), Trump once trying to downplay the Epstein files (that exposes the wickedness of Epstein plus other super wealthy sick people who abused kids), and he once posted an AI image portraying himself as Jesus Christ (that he deleted as that was extremely blasphemous). The biggest irony in the world is that Trump claims to love America, but many of his policies like the Iran war, cuts to health care, and gutting legitimate environmental regulations are destroying America. Trump eliminating safety measures that protect the public from diseases and cancers will harm human lives plainly speaking. Trump hates America by seeking to destroy American institutions and ruin American society. We know that many ICE agents have terrorized communities by slamming a girl's face to the ground (in Massachusetts), beating people, and caught abusing the rights of U.S. citizens too, not just undocumented immigrants. The same billionaire oligarchs who pay little to no federal taxes are fleecing the working class, the poor, and the middle class for financial plus political gain. Trump, Vance, and Elon are influenced by the Claremont Institute, and many in the far right embraced the evil agenda of Accelerationism. The wicked spirit of racism and xenophobia consume MAGA (as proven by the Politico story exposing private Telegram chat among many Young Republican leaders promoting racism, Nazism, and other evils) which is why Trump wants birthright citizenship gone (when birthright citizenship is explicitly mentioned in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution).
Slavery in America that was legalized was not too long ago. My 2nd great grandparents were slaves, including my 5th great grandmother Zilphy Claud. Voting Rights Act existed in 1965, and that was less than 65 years ago. Therefore, many people want us to ignore racism, black history, Wall Street, and other important issues, but we have to go about to tell people that true American history matters. We see evil in the world and false prophets and MAGA extremists still endorsing Trump unconditionally when Trump gutting the USAID has caused a nation to go into famine (in Somalia). You even have Trump advisor Paula White-Cain comparing Trump to Jesus Christ which is blasphemy. Trump curses peaceful protesters, and Jesus Christ came about to give good news to the poor and the oppressed. Trump said that he doesn't ask God for forgiveness, when Jesus Christ prayed to God the Father. Trump allows the murder of people without due process in the Caribbean, and Jesus Christ explicitly condemned murder of innocent human life. We have the growth of the new hantavirus, ebola, COVID-19, and other diseases that the world hasn't done enough to prevent its massive spread in the globe. King Charles wants a national ID system in the United Kingdom. The war in Ukraine continues after Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine existed. BBC has reported on Russian vigilante forces who attack people constantly. These vigilantees believe in a far right nationalist agenda and they want migrants locked up.
Isn't it ironic that Trump executed his Iranian war with Benjamin Netanyahu when some of the Epstein files have been released after Trump called them a "hoax" before. Obviously, the files are very real showing how many very wealthy, powerful people including Epstein abused girls and women for years. The files showed the allegation that Trump raped a 13-year-old girl. We don't know if this is true or not, and Trump has denied that allegation. The bigotry of MAGA is overt when many of their followers want to blame immigrants for everything when many U.S. oligarchs are found to have paid little to no taxes, involved in financial corruption, and regularly oppose the interests of working class people, middle class, and the poor (with their advocacy of stealing taxpayer dollars to aid January 6th terrorists and to condone the elimination of legitimate environmental regulations, while tax breaks for the super rich exist). Some of his most loyal followers like Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem were fired, and Trump only cares about maintaining power and his agenda being promoted. The Trump movement always have puppets like Nicki Minaj who defended Elon Musk, who is known for being far right and has been sued for racist practices. The MAGA glorification of racists like John Wayne, Ronald Reagan (who called black Africans slurs), and Charlie Kirk (he should not have been murdered as murder is wrong. Yet, he said that he has a fear of being flown by a black pilot when America's black war pilots won battles in WWII and other wars like the Tuskegee Airmen). Trump and his followers want to attack any free speech that disagrees with Trump, and Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. This is all part of the accelerationist agenda to make the old school monarchy system revived in the 21st century. This agenda is anti-American, as the enemies of truth want America to be destroyed and replaced with a globalist system that is anti-democratic. The real patriots are those who want civil rights, civil liberties, the rule of law, and the separation of powers maintained. The enemies of freedom want tax breaks for the super wealthy, our voting rights restricted, divisive hatred for the sake of loving hatred, and a massive destruction of our institutions. That is the difference. That is real talk.
*One of the most important aspects of human health is regulating stress. Too much stress can damage the human body, increase cortisol, and even cause heart attacks or other heart ailments. Chronic stress is a very serious issue. People with high psychological chronic stress (according to a meta-analysis study from 2019) have a 45% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, even after controlling for diet and exercise. When stress grows in the body for months or for years, the human body has an allostatic load. That means to cortisol problem, increased belly fat production, more inflammation, and impaired blood sugar control. To reduce stress levels, human beings need mindfulness-based stress reduction actions. A 2020 meta-analysis study showed that 8-week MBSR programs have decreased depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Emotional awareness and expression therapy (or EAET) is very crucial in reducing stress that allows people to live a more successful, fulfilling life. Many professional therapists use EAET to help patients to confront, process, and deal with avoided feelings in handling stress and trauma. Such EAET plans can reduce depression, PTSD, and anxiety. CBT or cognitive behavior therapy can help with blood pressure. So, the truth is there. People can exercise (using strength-building exercises, cardio, and metabolic fitness), fuel the system by using healthy nutrition, sleep, and retrain stress responses. That deals with stress beyond just exercise and diet. Addressing stress directly always matters.
By Timothy
