Friday News in early May of 2014

I see no issue with what the First Lady Michelle Obama did. It was innocent, legitimate, and real. Some folks need to be reminded that the Nigerian girls' dignity should be respected. Empathy should not be limited by nationality at all. That is the point. As Dr. King said, any injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We should care about our kidnapped young people at home too. No one rational denies the fact that we have to express concern for our domestic issues at all. There are many organizations fighting against the kidnapping of people in America all of the time. I don't agree with the White House on all issues, but I will never ally with the agenda of reactionaries at all. Not to mention that people have the free speech right to condemn theocratic terrorists kidnapping Nigerians Sisters. We are living in an international world. Our people exist internationally as Malcolm X said. Defending human dignity means something. I think that one large Muslim group has condemned their actions too. In essence, this organization is not truly Islamic. It is a reactionary, theocratic movement. Another person was right to mention that the theocrats from Saudi Arabia fund this ideology. Yet, Boko Haram perverts religion. Also, I am learning more about this situation. In Nigeria, there is a huge economic inequality problem and in Northern Nigeria, there is huge poverty. So, there are economic and other factors influencing much of the issues in Nigeria. There is the AFRICOM angle that deals with the West wanting to further exploit the oil resources in Nigeria. We have to condemn any Western military occupation of Nigeria. President Jonathan has been disgraceful in waiting weeks until making a strong condemnation of the evil kidnapping of the young Sisters. Also, many protesters have been jailed. I do believe that Nigeria should work with the international community as a means to find these kidnapped girls. So, Nigeria has to address social inequality since about 60 percent of the residents in Nigeria live in poverty. I have researched this issue more. Anyone real wants the kidnapped young girls to be brought back to their families. The young girls telling their stories are brave people. The kidnappings are tragedies. The theocratic terrorist outfit should not be respected at all. Any legitimate means of getting the rescue of the girls accomplished is what I support. We should also see the complexities of this issue. Nigeria is going through issues of economic inequality, Western capitalist exploitation of its oil resources, and the spread of reactionary theocratic terrorist groups like Boko Haram. We should learn about geopolitics in the world. For years, Boko Haram has done kidnapping and other crimes. Many of Boko Haram members’ relatives were detained by Nigerian forces. Also, the West should not aid authoritarian figures (who violate the democratic rights of African people) in Africa too. What we don’t need is a total Western military occupation of Nigeria. AFRICOM’s agenda is fully known and I reject AFRICOM’s agenda completely. Nigeria needs services from the international community as a means for the international community to assist Nigeria in rescuing the girls though. We have to care, because these girls are human beings. These girls are our people and when we show empathy for our neighbors, we truly express true human dignity for ourselves.

There are many valuable lessons that the younger generation can learn from the older generation (like strategies in bettering society, historical lessons, and their life experiences in general). The older generation's reactions back then to oppression can be of benefit to assist the younger people on how to adequately respond to situations (that deals with issues from family life to other political matters). The youth do need mentors and we have to care. Nothing changes unless we care. We can't give up since no one wins when folks give up. I believe that groups of dedicated, strong, and intelligent adults can intervene when some of the youth act up. Not all of the youth are nihilistic. Some young folks are doing excellent work in building in their own communities. Also, the younger generation has the right to embrace their own creativity and their own unique value too. WEB DuBois was not only a genius, but he actually care about black people. He showed the word the truth that social and economic justice are necessary ideals to advance in society. He passed away in the Motherland and certainly the Motherland will be forever loved by me. So, parents, communities, religious organizations, and a wide spectrum of groups will have to continue to encourage the youth to be intellectually diverse. In other words, the youth at a young age should learn about science, engineering, math, legal affairs, politics, technology, etc. Also, learning is about problem solving too beyond random memorization. Fareed Zakaria wrote a great article that described the lack of education and training in many of our schools. He said that kids must have strong literacy, numeracy proficiency, and technological proficiency as a means for the youth to develop their skills more greatly. We have to grow a culture of intellectual learning in a wide spectrum of fields. If we want to have a smaller class size, higher graduation rates, and other real goals, then there must be investments not austerity. Austerity doesn't work in Greece and it surely doesn't work in America. A real investment is also about cultivating the gifts or the strengths of what black males can do best. Some black people are gifted in sports, others in art, others in math, others in legal affairs, etc. Their gifts ought to be developed by the parents and the community structures. So, the solution will have to be comprehensive. Many of the lessons from the sports industry can be adjusted as a means to grow the powerbase of black males. Thomas Piketty — the French economist and author of the 700-page bestseller “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” is a great work of literature. He writes that we need not only economic justice like taxing the super-rich. We need a greater diffusion of knowledge and skills, so inequalities can be lessen. We have to acknowledge groups and organizations that are doing great work too.

Jim DiEugenio has made a great review of the Oliver Stone Untold History series. One positive about the series and the book is that it can provoke debate and discussion about American history. From the life of Henry Wallace to the present realities that we witness from the 21st century, we can learn lesson from the past. In that sense, we can further develop the political and economic realities for the future. History is complex at times. One part of the documentary that I respected was how it showed how brutal war is. War has been glamorized, but war does result in the deaths of civilians all of the time as found in WWII, the Vietnam War, and the current war on terror. If we want to get anywhere as a nation, we have to embrace a rational foreign policy and take care of the general welfare of the people domestically. Oliver Stone’s work exposed America’s bloody price for power. We know that the American political system has been dysfunctional. We know that reactionaries advance false narratives about their agenda and we have the right to counteract this counterrevolution (supported by FOX News, the Koch Brothers, and other dubious characters). We have the right to question conventional wisdom, so independent solutions can flourish in the world. We know that one of LBJ’s biggest mistakes was the military escalation in Vietnam. Even appointed Defense Secretary Clark Clifford saw that America could not win. That is why on March 31, 1968, Lyndon Johnson came on national television and announced a bombing halt over North Vietnam. Soon, the North Vietnamese agreed to peace talks and wanted to end the war. North Vietnam agreed to begin the talks in Paris in that summer. The problem was that the Republicans knew that if Johnson was successful in a negotiated settlement that would aid the Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey. Nixon could lose, so Nixon said that he had a secret plan to end the war. So, Nixon sought to derail the peace talks to negate any political advantage that might accrue to Humphrey. His plan was to use China Lobby leader and anti-communist activist Anna Chennault to urge South Vietnam to sandbag the talks. This was done through contacts with South Vietnamese Ambassador Bui Diem and President Nguyen van Thieu. Johnson considered Nixon as doing treason. Johnson buried the controversy and Nixon won the election. If this information was out in public, Nixon could have lost the 1968 election. Many Democrats go easy on Republicans to advance non-partisanship, but many Republicans still exploit silly controversies which only polarize the nation (and weaken the powerbase of Democrats). As time goes on the Nixon, Reagan, and Bush (both Bushes) Regimes have done crimes, corruption, and other controversial policies.

Exercise and healthy living are commonsense ways for human beings to feel better not only physically, but emotionally and socially. You just feel good after a strong workout. Exercise is not monolithic, so performing a diversity of exercise routines is a great benefit for anybody. Racism is still a serious problem in the world. I don’t agree with Kim Kardashian on every issue (folks know the issues). She did made many interesting points on this issue. To fight it, we have to not only condemn it. We have to live our daily lives in treating our neighbors as ourselves and educate people on the truth that there is nothing wrong with the diversity among the human race. Racism and intolerance are based on fear, misunderstandings, hate, and other insecurities that ignorant people have. Many have not taken racism seriously until it affected them directly. This situation will take a long time to solve fully. The evil system of white supremacy ought to be opposed by us. We have to have honest, real discussions about this issue. We have to continue to be in solidarity with oppressed peoples and we have to stand up against evil too. If someone is being mistreated based on their race in public, then we have every right to stand up as a means to defend the human rights of that person. Children should be taught early on about their great human value and that hatred against fellow human beings based on skin color is wrong and immoral. We have to deal with ending discriminatory prison industrial complex policies, and we should have continued enforcement against discrimination. Love is superior to prejudice. At the end of the day, the truth will prevail. That is why we have to reject any propaganda from the media and realize that no human is superior to the black man or the black woman at all. For us to be free, we have to appreciate our BLACK IMAGE. Yes, we should respect our black African phenotype. Our features given to us from birth are beautiful. Black is Beautiful without question. Also, we are not worried about the black female haters. They are insecure and use deception. The truth is that black females and black males have great value and deserve dignity & respect. Also, a Sister's beauty, intellect, and strength ought to be respected.

The words from Coughlan about Melissa Harris Perry were immature, ignorant, and disrespectful. White privilege and white racism are evils that we ought to oppose firmly. Cursing someone out has nothing to do with authentic political discourse. It is one thing to mention dissent about Melissa Harris-Perry’s policies, but Coughlan was just plain wrong. Also, there is nothing wrong with embracing the power of the community in raising a child. Parents raising a child should be respected. Parents have the responsibility to care for a child, but that doesn't mean that the community has no role to help a child. No one is an island. Not to mention that there is power in the individual and power in the collective. There should be no contradiction in respecting the individual and the collective. There is nothing wrong with parents and the neighborhood looking out for children at all. That view is not controversial from Melissa Harris-Perry at all. Now, we should clean up our house. We have to recognize both the positive and negative statistics in our communities, so we can be honest to find ways to solve our problems. We need to strengthen our families and deal with poverty. If folks want to see a reduction in poverty then we should end QE including big bank bailouts (and use that money to invest in our infrastructure, in our education, and in our legitimate social services). There should be an end to abusive credit practices and make sure that consumer disclosure of financial entities is enhanced. Repealing all of the Bush tax cuts can be a benefit to society too. There should be an elimination of unfair tax breaks (i.e. ending offshore tax abuses by the super wealthy. I have no issue with a speculation fee on Wall Street speculators too. There is nothing wrong with ending subsidies for Big Oil) found among big corporations. There should be more programs to expand access to health care too. Voters have the right to use their voice to prevent Coughlan from gaining public office. The same racists talking about worshiping the GOP ignore the criminal actions of Wall Street and how not one Wall Street banker have been convicted on serious financial crimes at all (in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Great Recession taught us that the markets must have legitimate regulations since the markets are not omnipotent at all. Massive deregulation and privatization have contributed to the BP disaster in the Gulf Coast and the mining disaster recently in West Virginia). Many of them lecture on family values, but they advance an economic agenda dealing with neoliberalism (via austerity) that will harm the family. There is the Jackson Rising Movement advancing cooperatives (in local communities), which I support too. Charlie Crist should be a political independent in my view. We should have a saving and investing strategy (including an emergency fund that has been said that the financial expert). You are right on that point. In the final analysis, a lot of the extravagant matters are not worth buying or consuming. With the conditions in our communities, we should not waste our resources. This process will be easier for some and more difficult for others because of variety of reasons. Regardless if you agree with capitalism or not, we should proficiently learn about financial literacy. There must be a more cooperative society.

By Timothy