The breaking news is that Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy. This is a serious, felony charge. He is the leader of the Oath Keepers, a far right terrorist group involved in the treasonous January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The Justice Department accurately stated (using videotape evidence and other documents) that the defendants used a conspiracy to forcibly stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power from then President Donald Trump to Joe Biden (and plotted to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021). Five members of the Oath Keepers were convicted on charges of obstruction of an official conspiracy. Only 2 of the five traitors were convicted of seditious conspiracy, who are Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs. This is a monumental victory for the Justice Department. Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, and Thomas Caldwell are disgraces to what democracy and freedom are all about. They decided to support a sexist, racist, and xenophobic fraud, Donald Trump. They wanted to overthrow the government, and they failed. The convicted people face years and possibly decades in prison.
In China, there are unprecedented protests being so large that we have seen this since 1989 (when Chinese people stood up for liberty). Many people are against the zero COVID policies that some view as too excessive. Many Chinese protesters have defied Chinese authorities. There are protests at universities, on the streets of major cities, etc. These human beings not only want to be free from lockdowns that they view as going too far. They want to end the strict censorship and violations of common civil liberties that the Chinese government has brought to them for decades. Some young people are using open dissent. Some crowds of people in many cities in the hundreds have said "Give me liberty or give me death!" This comes after at least 10 people died in a fire in Xinjiang that caused political rallies all over China. Some protesters have called and chanted for free speech, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and other political demands in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu (in the west). Universities have large protests too with people showing blank papers.
The Ukraine war is going on. Russia continues to cause war crimes by attacking maternal wards, apartment buildings, and other civilian locations. Putin apologists (from the far right and some in the so-called left) omit this reality because it totally goes against their big lie that Putin is an innocent actor. The reality is that Putin is a far-right extremist who doesn't care about his own Russian people. He only cares about power and maintaining it. Elon Musk lied and called Vindman a puppet and puppeteer. Vindman criticized Musk over his inordinate control of Twitter. Elon Musk wants to use Twitter to promote his propaganda under the guise of "free speech." Promoting free speech comes with basic responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to promote the truth of being pro-democracy.
Most Republicans are silent on Trump meeting with the racist white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the anti-Semite Kanye West. Nick Fuentes believes in Holocaust denial and wants a theocratic state in America. Trump claimed that he didn't know Nick Fuentes. It is obvious that Donald Trump is a racist and anti-Semite. The reason is that Trump called Mitch McConnell's wife a racist slur, he said that a Mexican American judge can't judge a case fairly because of his Mexican heritage, and he said that Jewish people are disloyal if they are Democrats. This silence from many Republicans shows me that many of them approve of Trump's evil actions. Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, and other Republicans have criticized Trump for the meeting. We have a turning point in American history. These events document how we must be steadfast in opposition to racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and bigotry in general. Trump once said that he didn't know who David Duke was. When I was a child, I knew David Duke was a racist, far-right extremist. Trump gives aid and comfort to racists and extremists because he is one of them.
Recently, Clarence Gilyard passed away at the age of 66 years old. For decades, he has been a professional actor and a teacher of acting in Las Vegas, Nevada. When he was on the screen, he represented a segment of human beings who desired excellence and a unique flair for creativity. He was born in the Pacific Northwest in Moses Lake, Washington. He earned his way by his own merit in education, in the military, and being a university professor. We know him for his characters in Matlock, Die Hard, and Walker Texas Ranger (which broke down barriers and promoted a diversity representation of black human life). When I was a young child, I watched episodes of Matlock. I watched episodes of Walker Texas Ranger too. He earned a BA from California State University, Dominguez Hill, and a MFA in Southern Methodist University. He played Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind movie trilogy (which is about the Antichrist, the Book of Revelations, and the Rapture). He loved his six children and his wife. I send condolences to his family and friends.
Rest in Power Brother Clarence Gilyard.
By Timothy
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