Wednesday, December 09, 2020

Political Realities and New Directions.

  

Representative Marcia L. Fudge's nomination as the Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is certainly good news. She is superbly qualified. The mayor of Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser will provide $1,200 stimulus checks to eligible people. While this is going on, Trump refuses to show leadership in promoting stimulus checks for the rest of the American people.  The country need stimulus checks and not immunity for corporations exposing workers to the virus. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has won a second term. General Lloyd Austin is nominated to be part of the Pentagon (as Secretary of Defnese), and Marcella Nunez-Smith is part of the virus task force. The new mayor of Baltimore is Brandon M. Scott. So, all around us, history is being made. Mitch McConnell has blocked the Justice in Policing Act that banned no-knock warrants in America. The House passed the bill. In Virginia, Governor Ralph Northam signed Breonna's Law on Monday that bans the police from using no-knock search warrants in the state. People can say what they want about Virginia, but Virginia proves once again that it's the most progressive state of the how. The NAACP wants Biden to create a cabinet level civil rights envoy. Also, Biden has to decide on the new Attorney General. Many progressives and civil rights leaders want an Attorney General who has experience in civil rights, a person who is opposed to police brutality, and who has the courage from day one to fight for justice for all. I agree with them on that point. The fact of a black woman reporter named Wendi C. Thomas being spied upon for years in Memphis by the police shows us that we need police accountability without evasive, unwarranted spying. That is why the ACLU of Tennessee had sued the MPD for violation of a 1978 consent decree barring surveillance of residents for political purposes. The MPD spied on Dr. King for his fight for sanitation workers' rights back in 1968. Casey Goodson Jr. was killed by a cop in Ohio when he only was holding a sandwich not a gun. This is why centrism doesn't work. Neoliberialism permits poverty and wealth inequality. It allows the working class and the poor to have the greatest tax burdens while the super wealthy, the police, prisons, and the Wall Street billionaire class receives billions of dollars. It's like capitalism for the poor and socialism for the rich. 

 

A very wild story is about Rebekah Jones (who said that the Florida governor was suppressing data involving the virus). She wrote and talked about being a whistleblower in Florida about the Florida response to the virus. Later, armed Florida police stormed her house. They immediately asked everybody to come out (including her husband and children). There was a commotion, and Rebecca was in fear for her life. Rebekah Jones is not a Wall Street fraud banker. She is not a person involved in a stock scam. She is a regular person who was treated with excessive police force. Rebekah Jones said that the police drawn guns on her children. Of course, the police denied this allegation. Drawing guns on innocent children is despicable. The irony is that many black people and people of color have experienced the same terror as Rebecca has. In fact, black people are disproportionately killed by the police, and the criminal justice system needs radical change (that even admitted by people from across the political spectrum). The police said that they had a search warrant to search for 3 hours. They accused Rebecca of sending dangerous texts via hacking to members of the State Emergency Response Team on November 10, 2020. The truth is that Rebecca said that she didn't send the text. The police raid is totally unjustified and wrong. Rebecca was a former health official.

 

You can't love music without criticizing music that glorifies evil. Too many artists want to follow the colonizer tactic of degrading your own people in order to get money. That is why C. Delores Tucker was right to say that negative music is just a means that the prison industrial complex can ruin so many lives under corporate control. Mainstream music is dominated by conglomerates found in America and Europe. Some (not all) music glamorizes behavior that leads into jail plainly speaking. That is why we have to control our own artforms. You noticed that back in the day, tons of music was about uplifting communities overtly. From the Supremes, the Temptations, and the Staples Singers, people wanted a wholesome vibe. Controversial music back then was either in the underground or never promoted in the forefront as a representation of every aspect of black cultural life. This is not about demonizing all music. We know that tons of music have positive messages and are inspirational today. Black music is always a blessing. That is why we have to call out those who claim to love us, but they use lyrics to glamorize being in a violent gang, refuse to promote liberation, or harbor music that promotes anti-black slurs in their music. Real power relates to an economic base, political organization, and the embrace of true ethics in your own life. You have to believe in something and do something about it if change is to come.

 

Right now, the UK are having a nationwide immunization of the pandemic vaccine. It is the largest mobilization of the immunization in UK in UK's history. The vaccine immunization of America will come later. Michael Tibbs, or a 99 year old WWII veterans, receive it in the UK. The FDA Advisory committee will discuss about vaccinations later this week. The New York Times said that the Trump administration passed on the chance to secure more of the Pflizer vaccine.  Some good news is that the Supreme Court reject Pennsylvania Republicans' attempt to block Biden's victory. As senior legal analyst Laura Coates have said, Trump's games are over. Biden won the election in 2020 fairly. We should not be surprised at Georgia Republicans trying to limit mail in voting. Georgia has known GOP members who agree with obscene voter suppression efforts. That is why the new House Representative Nikema Williams desire to fight against this GOP attack on voting rights, when some Republicans are even trying to close down voting locations in Cobb County. Our voting rights are sacrosanct. In the midst of a crisis, there is especially no need to violate constitutional rights. Jobless aid will end for millions of Americans the day after Christmas if nothing is done. 

  

She is one of the greatest singers of the 21st century. When people say that there is no R&B, people need to listen to her music. She loves to perform R&B and soul music. She is Sister Chrisette Michele, and it was her birthday yesterday. She is now 38 years old. She was born in Central Islip, New York. She performed in gospel choir as a young person. Many legendary singers grew up in the church. Her father was a sociologist, and her mother was a psychologist. She worked with many artists like Nas, Jay, the Game, Kanye West, etc. Her debut album was I am from 2007. Her songs like Be Ok, Your Joy, and If I Have My Way were inspiring. Flowing with charisma and a beautiful sound, she outlines her gifts. She was in the song Rising Up ft. the Roots in their album of Rising Down. She toured with her peers like Solange Knowles and Raheem DeVaughn. She gave a tribute to Patti Labelle too. Her 2nd album was Epiphany. Her recent 2020 song was Wait. She won many Awards like the Centric Music Award and a Grammy. Her music always an exquisite jazz quality to it. People from my generation and other generations know all about her great, beautiful talent. I wish Sister Chrisette Michele more blessings.

 

By Timothy

 



 

 

 


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