Many Issues Shown.

Recently, there is the controversy over the deal with Jay Z and the NFL. Jay Z wants the NFL to promote his ROC Nation artists in halftime celebrations in exchange to some reforms dealing with social issues. Immediately, many people have called this a sellout move, and Jay Z responded back with ambiguous statements about kneeling is over and we must use action. Kneeling by definition is action. Boycotting by definition is part of action. No one reasonable says that kneeling is the only thing that we ought to do, but protest is a critical part of any struggle for our liberation. Not to mention that Keapernick has done action in foundations, and other programs to help people be educated on our civil liberties, etc. The NFL is playing chess. This looks like a business move more than a means to enact real social justice. Corporations will benefit from this more than the average Brother or Sister in the street. I think that the NFL is using this deal to try to silence unorthodox protests against the league's restricting Colin Kaepernick from playing. Also, the NFL has not addressed many owners not only being Trump supporters, but funding Trump events when we know that Trump is a stone cold racist. Trump said things in public that an ordinary man or ordinary woman would be fired from their jobs for saying. Jay Z is honest in his lyrics about being a business, Man. This debate is not new. In our black community, we have debates on whether to use business models or more revolutionary means to get our freedom. Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. DuBois debated these issues back in the day. Nothing is new under the sun. The lack of details in Jay Z's plans have caused people to ask legitimate questions about the motivations from Jay Z and the NFL. To this very day, the NFL has lacked accountability for its treatment of not only Kaepernick but other athletes who have decided to stand up for justice.

Jay's Z claims to be a social activist, but his record is mixed. He has brought up the documentary about Trayvon Martin and Kalief Browder. Dream Hampton said that he does things behind the scenes to help black people via investments and foundations. We know about Jay Z using scholarships to help many people. You can't say that he never helped any black person in his life, because he has helped many black people from bailing out prisoners in Ferguson plus Baltimore to policies from his foundation. Yet, we know of his errors like refusing to defend a black victim of racial profiling at Barneys, his investment in the Nets' Stadium at the expense of homes being destroyed via gentrification in Brooklyn, and his lust for neoliberal capitalism. So, I know my stuff about these celebrities. I a'int just typing these words now. I believe in Jemele Hill's view that Jay Z is being used by the NFL as a buffer in order for the NFL to absolve itself from its sins. We have to act accordingly to see that we must use chess not checkers. The best way to get solutions is by struggle, growing our own institutions, confronting corrupt corporate power, and to inspire change not for the rich interests alone but for the grassroots people in the streets especially. We have to love and care for the working class and the poor including the suffering if we want real freedom. We have to deal in political action in ending structural evils in our society. We can't worship celebrities. Confronting those in power makes a difference as history teaches us.



Representatives Omar and Tlaib are blocked from going into Israel. Trump supports this move. This isn't unusual as we know about Netanyahu. I knew about Netanyahu since the 1990's. He was a far right hardliner back then, and he is one today. He is the one who is Trump's ally when Trump is a racist. It's appalling since these two women are elected members of Congress, and they are entitled to their free speech rights. Both Omar and Talib are not anti-Semites, and they don't hate Israelis. They disagree with some governmental policies from Israel, and want justice for Palestinian human beings. They also support the nonviolent BDS movement. Trump is a disgrace as a President, and is known to target black women and other women of color who disagree with his abhorrent views. Netanyahu has been accused of bribery and fraud by his own government, and he embraces the far right extremist Bolsonario from Brazil including other people with nefarious views.

Netanyahu also praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban praised Miklos Horthy (or the Hungarian who promoted real anti-Semitic laws and worked with the Nazis). Orban had said anti-Semitic tropes against George Soros. Orban backed a state funded museum that experts say downplays the role of Hungarian collaborators. Now, Israel allowed Tlaib to come to only visit her grandmother, and Israel doesn't want her to speak out on Middle Eastern matters as a catch. This is nothing more than a curtailing of the freedom of speech explicitly. We are clear that we want justice in the Middle East. Part of that justice is making sure that the life of an Israeli is as respected as the life of a Palestinian person. That means that a progressive solution should exist among all sides and the permanent occupation of Palestine must be ended.


Trump's reckless economic policies are dangerous. We have growth in some areas of the economy, but millions of Americans are still one or two paychecks away from actual poverty. Tariffs is never a long time solution to solve economic issues as tariffs are taxes on customers who pay for goods and services. He wants to punish China, but he passed his tax cuts for the wealthy that has expanded the deficit plus debt. Economic indicators should be analyzed, and fermenting trade wars is not wise especially during a fragile economy. Some predict an economic correction, because of the continuing fall in bond yields, a financial crisis in Argentina, political instability in Europe in the Brexit crisis, and the protests in Hong Kong. Also, farmers are owed more respect than being victims of some trade war. Many farmers have sold their cows, and some farmers are desperate for a resolution. Therefore, these tariffs have to end, and we have to have a settlement. Germany's economy has contracted by 0.1 percent in the second quarter. Germany has a powerful economy especially in manufacturing. There is a contraction in exports. The U.S. Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates in order to try to stabilize the economy. These events show how economic nationalism at the end of the day doesn't work, because we have a global, interdependent economy. This is also why the social safety net can't be completely privatized as some Republicans want. 10% of American households own 84% of all stocks. 52% of Americans have money invested in the stock market. The oligarchs were bailed out during the 2008 economic meltdown not most homeowners. What happens in America will effect the world and vice versa.



By Timothy