The Ohio Democratic Debate and Other News.

The debates among the 12 human beings on stage started with eloquent denunciations of the policies of Donald Trump. They cited his corruption, suppression of transparency, non-cooperation with legal subpoenas, and other acts that merit impeachment. Many candidates attacked Elizabeth Warren, since she is the front-runner. The people who did so aren't just Biden. They include Buttigeig, Beto O'Rourke, and Amy Klobuchar. Ironically, Beto criticized Warren, but Warren issued details about how her wealth tax proposal would be implemented. Andrew Yang talked about how automation has ended many jobs. He is right. Warren said bad trade deals contributed to job losses, and she is right. Yang wanted the decriminalization of the possession of the small amounts of opioids (along with treatment and counseling for those who have addiction). Yang also wants a universal basic income for Americans (in 1,000 dollars per month. Rich people don't need a UBI. I have no issues with poor or middle class people receiving it as long as social programs aren't cut in the process). The candidates debated health care between universal health care and some Medicare for all choice mixed with private health care. Julian Castro wanted a wealth tax and an inheritance tax. Cory Booker wanted to address child poverty. Elizabeth Warren was calm cool, and collected when her policies were criticized. The candidates talked about foreign policy. Tulsi Gabbard gave her take about Syria. She wanted an end to the war in Syria, but she disagreed with how Trump went about it involving the Kurdish people being abandoned. She compared the Syrian war to a war for regime change. Buttigeig disagreed with Gabbard on Syria. Klobuchar saying that Israel is a beacon of democracy is very telling as a Google search can show how racism, discrimination, and the harsh mistreatment of Palestinians are found in Israel. Not all Israelis are responsible for these evils, but there is no peace without an end to occupation (and a promotion of true equality and justice among both Israelis and Palestinians). Netanyahu has been accused of financial corruption, and he's a far right zealot. It is no secret that many of the candidates on that stage are in favor of militarism in the region. We don't need endless wars. We want diplomacy, real solutions, and investments to build up the Middle East. Bernie Sanders did well, especially after he had a heart attack. He spoke out against income inequality, oligarchical control of resources, and Trump's criminality.



All of the candidates agreed with each other about exposing Trump for promoting a further disaster in Syria when many ISIS criminals have escaped prisons. Kamala Harris talked about women and reproductive issues. Julian Castro said that police violence is a gun violence issue. He is right. Cory Booker wanted reconciliation among the people in debate stage, and he said that we support women because women are people period. The candidates debated gun control. They agreed on promoting gun control, but they disagreed on how to proceed. There should be a ban on the importation of assault weapons and other actions. There should be a ban on the loopholes that gun manufacturers have involving gun violence. They discussed about the opioid epidemic too. Senator Kamala Harris wanted drug companies executives to go to prison if they are complicit in the opioid crisis. She is right. I disagree with CNN showing ads from the NumbersUSA group (which is an anti-immigrant group with ties to the white supremacist John Tanton). Many candidates either wanted to regulate Big tech companies or break them up with antitrust policies. Kamala Harris wanted Elizabeth Warren to allow Twitter to ban Trump from Twitter. Kamala's request was reasonable as Twitter is a private company. Trump has slandered people, intimidated witnesses, and spewed overt hate and bigotry.



Once again, Rand Paul is lying about socialism. Socialism is not about genocide or death. Socialism is about the government control of the means of production. It is also about workers' control of the means of production. It deals with the workers owning their own economic power. People have the right to disagree with it, but not every socialist is complicit in murder and genocide. Rand Paul is the same person who compared student loan debt forgiveness to giving people heroin. He hypocritically claims to support free market fundamentalism, but voted for earmarks in Kentucky (which was a government give away). He made the inaccurate statement that fatherless homes and a lack of morals contributed to the rebellion in Baltimore (which is straight up bigoted and ignores police brutality and social injustices), but his son was arrested for drunk driving. He believes that America is a Christian nation, which is a violation of the Constitution. The Constitution says that there is no religious test. Also, many of the Founders like Jefferson weren't Christians. They were Deists, some were Christians, and others were openly hostile to Christianity like Thomas Paine. There is no establishment of religion as cited in the First Amendment. I believe in the separation of church and state. I believe in God also. One of his former aides is Jack "Southern Avenger" Hunter, who believed in neo-Confederate views. Rand Paul opposes an expansion of health care rights publicly for people. He is not some anti-war hero. He is a reactionary extremist.



The murderer, now ex-cop Aaron Dean has been charged with murder. Aaron murdered a young Sister named Atatiana Jefferson in front of her nephew. The murder was so unjustified that the Forth Worth police organization has no choice but to let that murderer go from his job. Atatiana's life is gone physically. She won't see her relatives on this Earth anymore. She won't witness a lot of things in life, and that is so sad. Likewise, we want justice. There is absolutely no excuse for Dean's actions. Dean violated deescalation protocols, and violations of use of force policies. Dean should at least go to prison for life. We do send prayers and condolences to the Jefferson family. We are further inspired to do what is right, speak up in favor of justice, and walk righteously to defend the truth.



There is a lot of controversy with Lebron James. Lebron James recently said that one man named Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey was misinformed and didn't have the right response to criticize China's response to Hong Kong protesters. Lebron James also said that Daryl Morey must be careful what he says on social media like Twitter, and he said whether he agrees with Morey's comments or not is another matter. Immediately, people have criticized him or Lebron. My view is that we as black people must stay on code. Even though I disagree with Lebron James' views, I don't view his statements as a justification to call this man out of his name. We can agree to disagree. This is normal. Many of us don't agree with our friends on every issue, and that's fine. I respectfully disagree with Lebron James on this issue, since freedom can't wait. We, as black people, know exactly what it is like to be oppressed and maligned because of our color. Dr. King was right to say that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. China's government has forsaken its socialist and revolutionary roots by its actions not only against Hong Kong protesters, but against their own citizens in many areas of China. It is no secret that the Chinese government has policies that overtly violate the freedom of speech and other democratic rights. Being a revolutionary means that you have to take risks, and many people won't like you. That is the name is of the cause. We will be hated by many for standing up, but the crown of glory is more important than political correctness. Yes, we know that NGOs and the CIA fund many of these movements overseas. Also, it is true that the vast majority of these democratic freedom fighters in Hong Kong aren't puppets. They are independent, courageous, and they deserve our support plus solidarity. We not only want Hong Kong to maintain its rights. We want all of China to embrace total democratic freedom. We want America to do the same, since America has its issues of police brutality, racism, discrimination, economic deprivation, homelessness, etc. We want any nation and any people worldwide to reach its highest potentials. We hold dear the concept of justice for all as all people are created equal.





By Timothy