Black Churches Rally to Support African American History Museum Amid Trump’s Controversial Order
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
100 Days of the Trump regime.
After Trump's 100 days in office, we see a totally different nation than last year. Trump's DOJ has revoked funding for almost 400 nonprofits, including organizations that advocate for non-English speaking crime victims, support victims of child abuse, hate crimes, and human trafficking, and work to reduce school shootings. After Trump's first 100 days, we have seen a rise of grocery prices, a reduce in the stock market, an increase in layoffs increasing by 205%, children with cancer deported, consumer and worker protections gutted, diseases spending, federal funding illegally froze, and Trump spent over 26 million dollars on golf. All people who live in America, whether documented or undocumented, are supposed to have access to the courts and due process, but the Trump administration has even deported U.S. citizens without due process of law.
Tons of my relatives live in Newport News, Virginia. Newport News is part of Hampton Roads in the 757 area. My maternal 2nd cousin is Gwendolyn Annette Bynum Miranda, and she was born on July 17, 1967, in Newport News, Virginia. She was once married to Brian Earl Austin and later married Marcos Miranda. Her parents are James Edward Bynum (1940-1997) and Shirley Eloise Bass (b. 1944). The mother of James Edward Bynum was my great-grandaunt Estelle Bynum (1918-2002). Estelle Bynum's first husband was Joseph Harris (b. 1920), and they married on April 8, 1944, at Portsmouth, Virginia. Their children are Lillie Mae Bynum (1937-2001), Elizabeth Harris (B. 1948), and Johnny Stacey Harris (b. 1949). My 1st cousin, Johnny Stacey Harris, married Teresa Louvella Epps on July 2, 1967, at Newport News, Virginia. Their children are my 2nd cousins Sean Harris (b. 1966) and Michael Eric Harris (b. 1967). Sean Harris was once married to Lisa Denise Lattimore (b. 1967). Later, he married Nashun Harris, and their daughter is my 3rd cousin Kenisia Harris. Michael Eric Harris was first married to Sonya Marie Hardy (b. 1967). Their children are my 3rd cousins of Ashely Nicole Harris (b. 1987), Alexiss Harris, and Michael E. Harris Jr.. Michael Eric Harris graduated from Warwick High School, lives in Georgia now, and was a former Paratrooper in the United States Army. His current wife is Karen Harris. My great-grandaunt Estelle Bynum's parents were my 2nd great-grandparents of Fenton Bynum Sr. (b. 1885) and Mary Belle Sykes (1888-1936). There is a lot of new information that I found about my late maternal relative Lillie Mae Bynum Maycox. She was born in Southampton County, Virginia, and lived in Newport News, Virginia, for 33 years. She attended Southampton Public Schools and worked at the Riverside Convalescent Center in Hampton. She had two daughters, who are Davinna Simpson (her husband is Toney Simpson), and Monzella Maycox of Newport News. Her aunt is Mary Reed of Norfolk, Virginia. Her six grandchildren are Chena, Stelisa, Jasmine, Louis (who was in the military too and the son of Davinna), Albert, and Sean (who was in the U.S. military and is the son of Monzella).
The Prime Minister Mark Carney won the Canadian election as the Liberal Party has great strength. The Liberal Party has criticized Trump and will probably cause Canada to go at it alone because of Trump's xenophobic tariff policies. Trump miscalculated in claiming that his plans will increase American productivity, and he is ignorant of to see that trade is international. Canada's Carney wants to form more ties to Europe, and many Canadians are canceling their tourism in America. This is hubris from Trump, who is the worst President of the 21st century. Canada will host the G7 meeting. If a black woman was elected President (who is Kamala Harris), none of this nonsense would happen in our generation. Trump is a profane, anti-intellectual coward who cares more for social grandstanding and egoism instead for democratic freedoms.
Many hundreds of pro-Netanyahu radicals in New York City rioted and assaulted Jewish pro-Palestinian protesters, chanting "death to Arabs" which is a racist phrase. This was a mob of over 100 people. Some of the mob assaulted a police officer in Brooklyn, New York City, last Thursday, on April 24, 2025. This came after the mob supported the fascist Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir at a pro-Zionist religious group. The NYPD mostly stood aside while the attacks happened, and there is no evidence that any of the fascist rioters have been arrested or charged. This campaign was supported by Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who falsely equates pro-Palestinian protests with anti-Semitism. One 29-year-old Jewish Israeli American woman was hit in the head with a brick because she was protesting the appearance of Ben-Gvior. The NYPD spoke with members of Chabad's private security group called Shomrim. A mob of cowardly criminals assaulted a local woman resident (who was a bystander). The mob threatened to rape her and said, "death to Arabs." This mob of savages and criminals should be arrested, charged, and placed in prison. Ben-Gvir is part of the fascist Otma Yehudi party, and he called for bombing Gaza and arming West Bank settlers. This is why it is important for people of goodwill, both Jewish and Arabic people, to continue to oppose the genocide in Gaza and advocate for peace.
The U.S. airstrike massacred 68 people in a migrant detention camp in Yemen. We can oppose the Houthi's terrorism, enslavement of black Yemeni people, and racism. Yet, this crossed a line involving the deaths of civilians. This bombing was in Yemen's Sa'da province. The United States has carried out almost daily bombings of Yemen. This comes when Israel has done a bombing onslaught in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Now, Israel has gone to do a deliberate mass starvation of the population of Gaza. That is a war crime. The Houthis hypocritically condemn the attack on Yemen as a heinous crime (which it is), but they permit racism, slavery, and sexism in their organization. So, far-minded people can both condemn the Houthis and the imperialistic strikes in Yemen by the Trump regime too. The refugees globally have been mistreated, abused, murdered, and unfairly dehumanized for generations. Therefore, we must be clear in opposing imperialism in all its manifestations.
By Timothy
Monday, April 28, 2025
Various Topics.
Malcolm X believed in Pan-African unity. Malcolm X didn't just oppose imperialism, colonialism, and capitalist exploitation. He also disagreed with the Vietnam War and wanted total global Pan-African unity. What is Pan-African Unity? That is about the growth and strengthening of social, political, and economic bonds of solidarity among people of black African descent worldwide. The African Diaspora is found globally even in Antarctica and the rest of the continents of the Earth. As for me, I was born and raised in North America, being a black American with distinct cultural traditions from an Afro-French person. Subsequently, there is nothing wrong with that. We can honor our cultural diversity along with recognizing our common humanity as black people, simultaneously.
The fiftieth year anniversary of the successful Selma voting rights movement and the 1965 Voting Rights Act ought to make us have a lot of appreciation of the sacrifice of heroes who stood up for our freedom like Sheyann Webb and Rachel West (who were little children back in 1965), Amelia Boynton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, Diane Nash, Kwame Ture, and other human beings. The black masses of human beings worked courageously in the movement. The organizations of DCVL, SCLC, and SNCC were crucial in the Selma movement for real social change. The Selma Voting Rights movement was also multiethnic, filled with people of every color back then who wanted to see the black people of Selma and nationwide in America to have equality, justice, and liberty. Back then, the American ruling class knew full well that it was greatly hypocritical to proclaim themselves as the arbitrators of "democracy," but see segregation in America and imperialism overseas (with the U.S. government's conduct in the imperialistic actions in Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Greece, Congo, etc.). So, the progressive, freedom-loving people in America worked with diligence to allow the Voting Rights Act to be passed. 1965 was a transition year in world history. By this time, the postwar economic boom started to unravel. This era saw West Germany and Japan compete with America and Western Europe for resources. Automation was a reality, causing industrial jobs to decline involving manufacturing and other type of jobs. Also, the Vietnam War by the late 1960s not only stripped away resources for anti-poverty measures, but the war increased inflation, causing stagflation. In 1965, the Civil Rights Movement debated on what to do next. Some civil rights leaders wanted to continue in voting rights activism in the South, some wanted to go into the anti-war movement, some wanted to build a coalition in the Democratic Party to form an alliance to gain economic and political reforms, and some wanted to go into addressing the massive economic inequality in America.
Immediately after the Voting Rights Act was signed, the Watts rebellion happened in Los Angeles, California. The events of Watts inspired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to go into the next phase of the movement. That phase dealt with economic issues and social issues. As Dr. King said, it's fine to have civil rights, but that means little if a person doesn't have bread to eat or having a living wage to survive in the complexities of modern-day society. A lot of us black people from the South back then didn't realize the suffering and the hurt of the black people in the North, Midwest, and the West Coast (by 1965, many of those regions had civil rights legislation but they still had de facto segregation, which was segregation by unwritten rules, not literal laws). The rebellion in Watts took place in August 1965. It came after a dispute between a black family and the police. Black residents in Los Angeles were sick and tired of discrimination, economic oppression, racism, and other injustices inflicted on them like being treated as a colony under occupation. The Watts rebellion was so large that President Lyndon Baines Johnson called the California National Guard in Watts to stop it. There was the occupation by the police and the National Guard. The events resulted in 36 people died, about 1,000 people injured, 4,000 people arrested, and $200 million in buildings and other property being destroyed. More than 15,000 troops and 1,000 people were mobilized. Almost a 50 square mile area, the rebellion happened. The Watts rebellion was a product of massive racism, police brutality, and economic deprivation. Watts had more than 100,000 people lived in a small, crammed area. There were many people living in run down housing projects, and black families faced housing discrimination. Back then, the unemployment rate in Watts was 30 percent and half of the population was on welfare. These conditions were in the height of the postwar boom. Times were changing, and ore had to be established to make society truly egalitarian. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to Watts to try to calm people down and promote nonviolence, but he was booed by many black residents in Watts. That was taboo as Dr. King was rarely booed by black people back then. Dr. King later realized that people booed not at him personally per se but at the system that deprived them of basic human rights and the chance to achieve their own dreams in the midst of the richest nation in human history. They were desperate for a social change. Therefore, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed to see that a radical redistribution of economic and political power was necessary in order to give black people true liberation.
In other words, it's fine to dismantle segregation. Back in the day, our ancestors fought Jim Crow not to bow down to white people or make ourselves extinct. We wanted desegregation, so we can control the resources in our community and have self-determination without legalized oppression. Malcolm X, Black Power advocates, and even Dr. King advocated black self determination in developing our own institutions plus political and economic power. The problem with Jim Crow is that it was a system that the government controlled that forced black people to have lax rights and lax opportunities to have freedom. At the end of the day, we (who are black people) desire true independence and real freedom worldwide. The problem is that we need to do more that eliminate Jim Crow apartheid. We need to provide decent jobs and improve the social conditions of the entire people. Political and economic power should be in the hands of the people. The real definition of a revolution is a radical change in society where the people have the power to control their own destinies socially, politically, and economically (with a radical redistribution of political and economic power). You can't have justice and true social equality without economic justice. Also, there is no solution without the end of the system of white racism point blank period exclamation point. Dr. King went to Chicago in 1966 to promote housing rights for black residents and true justice. He witnessed thousands of white reactionary racists wanted to hurt him. He was hit in the head with a rock. Therefore, Dr. King wanted to promote economic justice and an end to racist practices in society. Also, Dr. King wanted to promote the greatness of black personhood as he was right to proclaim publicly that Black is Beautiful. Dr. King also talked about the necessity to help the poor (to eradicate poverty with the Poor People's Campaign) and to have solidarity with international movements against colonialism and imperialism overseas.
By 1966, Kwame Ture promoted the call for Black Power. Black Power was one of the most praised and debated movements of the overall black freedom struggle. It means many things to be many people. It has been slandered as racist by far-right extremists and even some establishment liberals back then. Richard Wright wrote about Black Power long before 1966, but Kwame Ture was the first person to modernize it by 1966 when he called for it in Greenwood, Mississippi. In Mississippi, Kwame Ture, Dr. King, and other civil rights leaders came to defend the rights of black people after a black man was shot in the street. Black Power is the view that black people have the right to own and control the resources in their communities to gain political, economic, cultural, and social power to benefit black people collectively. There are many factions of the Black Power Movement. Some Black Power advocates were more conservative who wanted black capitalism (which was supported by President Richard Nixon in his 1968 Presidential campaign) or a piece of the action. Many of them were in the Republican Party and embraced conservative nationalism. This issue is that many conservative nationalists ignore the necessity to deal with environmental issues, health care, economic inequality, and other progressive issues that benefit black people collectively. The conservative black nationalists may use some "radical rhetoric," but some of them represented a rival middle class faction that doesn't oppose the current capitalist system (just seeking a piece of the pie in that capitalist system, which does nothing to eradicate poverty and economic exploitation. That is a profound contradiction, because an economic and political system based on the exploitation of human beings in a competitive, selfish mechanism can never enact true liberation for all). This doesn't mean that Stalinist Communism is great, as Stalinist Communism makes a human just a cog in the wheel of the state. The state should be controlled by the people, not by a select few to limit human creativity. As Dr. King rightfully said, Capitalists forget that life is social, and Communism forget that life is individual, so we need independence, not the worship of Communism or Capitalism. The lie is that Communism and Capitalism are infallible. The truth is that these 2 economic philosophies are man-made philosophies with imperfections. One proponent of Communism was Karl Marx, who was an anti-religious bigot, racist, self-loathing anti-Semite, and deceiver. In his Communist Manifesto, he bashed morality, and his rare works outlined his hatred of society. For example, Karl Marx made the following words: “The chief mission of all other races and peoples, large and small, is to PERISH in the revolutionary holocaust." (Published by Karl Marx in 1849 in his political journal ‘Neue Rheinische Zeitung’). If I knew of this information for years, don't you think fake liberals who defend Marx to this day know this? Many do. When you think about it, from God's Holy Spirit, the enemy of truth resides in those who use cartel capitalism (which makes nearly an idol of money and outlines the worship of self-interest at the expense of human altruism. Such nefarious teachings are promoted by Ludwig von Mises and the Austrian School, the Mont Pelerin Society, the Eugenics Societies, and the Chicago School, as well as the Republican and Libertarian Parties) and Stalinist communism to promote monopolies, depopulate people, and try to gain the world's resources and control the people unjustly. Dr. King gave a nuanced view of Black Power saying that black people need economic and political power, while he rejected separatism.
The progressive side of the Black Power movement had been represented by the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense (which existed in Oakland, California by October 1967. Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton found that Black Panther Party for Self Defense) and other organizations. The Black Panther Party represented a natural evolution found in the black freedom struggle that wanted more human rights beyond just civil rights. Regardless of the diversity of thought found in the black community, we all desire the same goal (which is which is freedom, justice, and equality for black people and the rest of the human race). The growth of Black Power and Black Nationalist ideologies were prominent from 1966 onward in Civil Rights circles. SNCC would evolve and ally with the Black Power movement. Power. On July 4, 1966, the 23nd annual convention of the Congress on Racial Equality or CORE adopted Black Power as its political slogan for the U.S. civil rights movement. The convention also adopted resolutions opposing U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War and offered support for draft resisters. Its new national director was Floyd D. McKissick. He criticized President Johnson and the more conservative civil rights organizations. He also invited members of the Nation of Islam to the conference, who attended dressed in military style uniforms. James Farmer by this time retired as director of CORE in March 1, 1966. So, CORE by the late 1960’s, embraced Black Nationalism. Likewise, many moderate civil rights leaders would engage even more in the capitalist system (especially after 1968) to follow the agenda of the corporate 2 party system instead of embracing political independence. The masses of black working people including the poor must be part of the solution making process (to oppose economic exploitation and promote economic, racial, environmental, gender, and social justice) in order for justice to be made real. A real revolutionary wants the end of a corrupt system and replace it with a system of justice.
During this time (of the late 1960’s), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became more progressive. CORE was founded in 1942 as originally a progressive organization. It worked in desegregating interstate travel, voter registration, lunch counter sit-ins, and the Freedom Rides of the early 1960’s. CORE ironically by the end of the 1960’s would be more conservative. For example, CORE supported the Presidency of Richard Nixon (who modernized the War on Drugs, attacked the Black Panthers, and he followed many reactionary policies) in 1968 and 1972. In 1968, Roy Innis declared CORE (which accepted a 1968 grant from the Ford Foundation to work for Carl Stokes’ mayoral campaign in Cleveland) to be a Black Nationalist and separatist organization. Many left wing, liberal people left the organization including the entire Brooklyn branch because of the rightwing turn of CORE (Innis changed CORE from its originally progressive mission. Multinational corporations like Monsanto fund CORE. Innis’ son Nigel Innis continues in his father’s conservative agenda). During the 1970’s, Roy Innis and CORE supported Republicans and he even ran as a Republican political candidate. Roy Innis supported George W. Bush when he was President. Therefore, CORE was into the conservative wing of the black freedom movement by the late 1960’s and in the 1970’s. I disagree with Roy Innis ideologically on many issues. Roy Innis recently passed away at the age of 82 on the day of January 8, 2017 from Parkinson’s disease. I do send condolences to his family and friends. Today, during the 21st century, we are still fighting against imperialism, evil drone strikes, economic inequality, misogyny, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other evils.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. allied with LBJ on the Voting Rights Act. Yet, Dr. King would later criticize he Johnson administration in public for Johnson shortchanging the War on Poverty while spending billions of dollars on the brutal, unjust Vietnam War. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a great, eloquent speech criticizing the Vietnam War in 1967 in New York City in the Riverside Church. Dr. King was a vociferous opponent of the costly, unjust Vietnam War. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was also right to say in August 31, 1967 in Chicago that capitalism was built on the backs of black slaves as capitalism is highly exploitative and perpetrates injustices against the workers and the poor. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discussed more about class issues. Dr. King was a great friend of the great, intelligent Marxist historian Brother C.L.R. James. As early as 1966, Dr. King gave a great, accurate criticism of capitalism in the following words to his staff:
“...We are now making demands that will cost the nation something. You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can’t talk about ending slums without first saying profit must be taking out of slums. You’re really tampering and getting on dangerous round because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with the captains of industry...Now this means that we are treading in difficult waters, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong...with capitalism...There must be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move towards a Democratic Socialism...”
President Truman felt that the United States has the right to intervene in Korea to try to stop Communist influence. By July 5, 1950, the first U.S. Marines (leading the U.N. Force) join the battle shortly after landing on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. troops suffer heavy casualties and the four American divisions are driven back into a perimeter around the southern port city of Pusan. The U.S. military had an intergrated force of soldiers. The Battle of Osan, the first significant US engagement, involved the 540-soldier Task Force Smith, a small forward element of the 24th Infantry Division flown in from Japan. On July 5, 1950, Task Force Smith attacked the KPA at Osan but without weapons capable of destroying KPA tanks. The KPA defeated the US, with 180 American casualties. The KPA progressed southwards, pushing back US forces at Pyongtaek, Chonan, and Chochiwon, forcing the 24th Division's retreat to Taejeon, which the KPA captured in the Battle of Taejon. The 24th Division suffered 3,602 dead and wounded and 2,962 captured, including its commander, Major General William F. Dean.
By August, the KPA steadily pushed back the ROK and the Eighth United States Army southwards. The impact of the Truman administration's defense budget cutbacks was keenly felt, as US troops fought costly rearguard actions. Facing a veteran and well-led KPA force, and lacking sufficient anti-tank weapons, artillery or armor, the Americans retreated and the KPA advanced down the Peninsula. By September, UN forces were hemmed into a corner of southeast Korea, near Pusan. This 230-kilometre (140-mile) perimeter enclosed about 10% of Korea, in a line defined by the Nakdong River. The KPA purged South Korea's intelligentsia by killing civil servants and intellectuals. On 20 August 20, 1950, MacArthur warned Kim Il Sung he would be held responsible for KPA atrocities.
Kim's early successes led him to predict the war would finish by the end of August. Chinese leaders were more pessimistic. To counter a possible US deployment, Zhou secured a Soviet commitment to have the Soviet Union support Chinese forces with air cover, and he deployed 260,000 soldiers along the Korean border, under the command of Gao Gang. Zhou authorized a topographical survey of Korea and directed Lei Yingfu, Zhou's military adviser in Korea, to analyze the military situation. Lei concluded MacArthur would likely attempt a landing at Incheon. After conferring with Mao that this would be MacArthur's most likely strategy, Zhou briefed Soviet and North Korean advisers of Lei's findings, and issued orders to PLA commanders to prepare for US naval activity in the Korea Strait.
In the resulting Battle of Pusan Perimeter, UN forces withstood KPA attacks meant to capture the city at the Naktong Bulge, P'ohang-dong, and Taegu. The United States Air Force (USAF) interrupted KPA logistics with 40 daily ground support sorties, which destroyed 32 bridges, halting daytime road and rail traffic. KPA forces were forced to hide in tunnels by day and move only at night. To deny military equipment and supplies to the KPA, the USAF destroyed logistics depots, refineries, and harbors, while U.S. Navy aircraft attacked transport hubs. Consequently, the overextended KPA could not be supplied throughout the south. On 27 August, 67th Fighter Squadron aircraft mistakenly attacked facilities in Chinese territory, and the Soviet Union called the Security Council's attention to China's complaint about the incident. The US proposed a commission of India and Sweden determine what the US should pay in compensation, but the Soviets vetoed this.
Meanwhile, US garrisons in Japan continually dispatched soldiers and military supplies to reinforce defenders in the Pusan Perimeter. MacArthur went so far as to call for Japan's rearmament. Tank battalions deployed to Korea, from the port of San Francisco to the port of Pusan, the largest Korean port. By late August, the Pusan Perimeter had 500 medium tanks battle-ready. In early September 1950, UN forces outnumbered the KPA 180,000 to 100,000 soldiers.
General Douglas MacArthur wanted a victory against the Communists. By September 1950, the Pusan Perimeter defenders were rested and had reinforcements. The KPA of North Korea were undermanned and were poorly supplies. They lacked naval and air support. THe UN forces had this support. To relieve the Pusan Perimeter, General MacArthur had a plan. He wanted an amphibious landing at Incheon, near Soeul over 100 miles behind the KPA Lines. By July 6, 1950, he ordered Major General Hobart R. Gay, commander of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, to plan an amphibious landing at Incheon; on 12–14 July, the 1st Cavalry Division embarked from Yokohama, Japan, to reinforce the 24th Infantry Division inside the Pusan Perimeter. The Pentagon opposed MacArthur's plan. When authorized, he activated a combined US Army and Marine Corps, and ROK force. The X Corps, consisted of 40,000 troops of the 1st Marine Division, the 7th Infantry Division and around 8,600 ROK soldiers. By September 15, the amphibious force faced few KPA defenders at Incheon: military intelligence, psychological warfare, guerrilla reconnaissance, and protracted bombardment facilitated a light battle. However, the bombardment destroyed most of Incheon. The battle of Incheon was successful from General MacArthur.
On September 16, 1950, the Eighth Army breakout from the Pusan Perimeter. Task Force Lynch, 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and 70th Tank Battalion units advanced through 171.2 km (106.4 mi) of KPA territory to join the 7th Infantry Division at Osan on September 27, X Corps rapidly defeated the KPA defenders around Seoul, thus threatening to trap the main KPA force.
On September 18, Stalin dispatched General H. M. Zakharov to advise Kim to halt his offensive around the Pusan Perimeter, and redeploy his forces to defend Seoul. Chinese commanders were not briefed on North Korean troop numbers or operational plans. Zhou suggested the North Koreans should attempt to eliminate the UN forces at Incheon only if they had reserves of at least 100,000 men; otherwise, he advised the North Koreans to withdraw their forces north. On September 25, Seoul was recaptured by UN forces. US air raids caused heavy damage to the KPA, destroying most of its tanks and artillery. KPA troops in the south, instead of effectively withdrawing north, rapidly disintegrated, leaving Pyongyang vulnerable. During the retreat, only 25,000-30,000 KPA soldiers managed to reach the KPA lines. On September 27, Stalin convened an emergency session of the Politburo, where he condemned the incompetence of the KPA command and held Soviet military advisers responsible for the defeat.
By September 27, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur recieved secret National Security Council Memorandum 81/1 from Truman reminding him operations north of the 38th parallel were authorized only if "at the time of such operation there was no entry into North Korea by major Soviet or Chinese Communist forces, no announcements of intended entry, nor a threat to counter our operations militarily." On September 29, MacArthur restored the government of the Republic of Korea under Syngman Rhee. The Joint Chiefs of Staff on 27 September sent MacArthur a comprehensive directive: it stated the primary goal was the destruction of the KPA, with unification of the Peninsula under Rhee as a secondary objective "if possible"; the Joint Chiefs added this objective was dependent on whether the Chinese and Soviets would intervene, and was subject to changing conditions. On 30 September, Zhou warned the US that China was prepared to intervene if the US crossed the 38th parallel. Zhou attempted to advise KPA commanders on how to conduct a general withdrawal by using the same tactics that allowed Chinese Communist forces to escape Nationalist encirclement campaigns in the 1930s, but KPA commanders did not use these tactics effectively. Bruce Cumings argues, however, that the KPA's rapid withdrawal was strategic, with troops melting into the mountains from where they could launch guerrilla raids on the UN forces spread out on the coasts.
By 1 October, the UN Command had driven the KPA past the 38th parallel, and RoK forces pursued the KPA northwards. MacArthur demanded the KPA's unconditional surrender. On 7 October, with UN authorization, the UN Command forces followed the ROK forces northwards. The Eighth US Army drove up western Korea and captured Pyongyang on 19 October. On 20 October, the US 187th Airborne Regiment made their first of their two combat jumps during the war at Sunchon and Sukchon. The mission was to cut the road north going to China, preventing North Korean leaders from escaping Pyongyang, and to rescue US prisoners of war.
At month's end, UN forces held 135,000 KPA prisoners of war. As they neared the Sino-Korean border, the UN forces in the west were divided from those in the east by 80–161 km (50–100 mi) of mountainous terrain. In addition to the 135,000 captured, the KPA had suffered some 200,000 soldiers killed or wounded, for a total of 335,000 casualties since end of June 1950, and lost 313 tanks. A mere 25,000 KPA regulars retreated across the 38th parallel, as their military had collapsed. The UN forces on the peninsula numbered 229,722 combat troops (including 125,126 Americans and 82,786 South Koreans), 119,559 rear area troops, and 36,667 US Air Force personnel. MacArthur believed it necessary to extend the war into China to destroy depots supplying the North Korean effort. Truman disagreed and ordered caution at the Sino-Korean border.
One question is if LeBron James the GOAT of the NBA? You answer what my answer is. Yet, I can't hate on people who view LeBron James as their GOAT. They have the right to their view and opinion. LeBron James earned the right to be in the Mount Rushmore of the NBA's greatest players by his records, his longevity, his skills, his basketball IQ, and his influence in the game. You can't take that away from him, regardless of how you feel about him. To me, Michael Jordan is the Greatest Basketball Player of NBA's History. The reason is that he made more accomplishments and had more efficiency in a shorter period of time than LeBron James and the greats of basketball. Many people forget that Michael Jordan played baseball at his prime and came back to win another 3 peat in the NBA Finals. Wilt, LeBron, Russell, Kareem, Dream, Oscar, Milken, and Kobe never did that feat in their careers at all. To do that takes courage, resiliency, and greatness. Many of these men that I have mentioned were taller than Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was 6ft. 6 being 215 pounds making records and other deeds on the basketball court that few people on Earth can do. According to player BJ Armstrong, Jordan had a lack of sleep. With more sleep and rest, Michael Jordan could have been better. Involving statistics, the debate is closer than people think. Michael Jordan has a larger points per game average than LeBron Jaems, but James has a greater rebound and assists rate. Michael Jordan is a greater defender than LeBron James as Jordan led the NBA in steals three times and won the Defensive Player of the Year before. LeBron James has a clear advantage over Michael Jordan on longevity as you can make the case that LeBron James is the greatest longevity player in NBA history being over 40 years old (being the first and only NBA player to have at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists). Michael Jordan has a greater free throw percentage and LeBron James has a greater 3 point percentage as the times have changed. Also, Michael Jordan played in a rougher era were defense was more harsher against players. Jordan overcame the Pistons, which had fierce defense to win the title. Jordan has a higher player efficiency rating than LeBron. Michael Jordan played more competition in the Eastern Conference (against the Pistons, the Cavaliers, the Pacers, the Knicks, the Heat, and Magics) than LeBron James. In terms of overall NBA accolades, Michael Jordan has a clear advantage over LeBron James. You can't hate on anyone saying that James is the Greatest in their eyes as he has a legitimate case to be in that conversation by the record. LeBron James won 4 championships, 4 MVPs, 4 FInals MVP, 20 All-NBA, 6 All Defense, 21 All-Star titles, and 3 Olympic Gold medals. Michael Jordan won 6 Championships without a loss, 5 MVP Awards, 6 FInals MVP Awards, All-NBA 11 times, All Defense 9 times, 14, All-Star appearances, and 10 scoring titles including 2 Olympic Gold Medals. So, the answer in my eyes is that Michael JOrdan is the greatest of all time as he done more in a shorter period of time with more efficiency plus played baseball during his professional sports career at the same time. I have been blessed to live watching Jordan and LeBron play in their primes, and there is only one Jordan. That is my view.
After Carmelita Jeter retired in 2017, she moved forward with other adventures in her life. She was a great sprinter and her career was iconic. Outside of track and field, she has been involved in fundraising for breast cancer research. In 2014, she was the official ambassador for Susan G. Koleman's California Circle of Promise Initiative. This program was created to raise awareness about breast cancer in the African American community. This is personal for her as her aunt Brenda Washington passed away from breast cancer. Her aunt is Carmelita Jeter's inspiration. Carmelita Jeter revealed that “the women I look up to are every day women.” She honors the women role models in her family. She is a fan of Serena Williams and Candace Parker (as Jeter was a former basketball player). Jeter loves to watch the WNBA and other sports. Carmelita Jeter in interviews have said that education is very important to study in an university. Carmelita Jeter has been a motivational speaker and track and field coach now. She has served as an assistant coach at USC. In May 2023, she was named the new head coach of the track & field and cross country programs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
With her accomplishments on the track field, Carmelita Jeter earned the Jesse Owens Award, one of the most prestigious track and field accolades. Carmelita Jeter has refuted the old stereotypical lie that women have no right to be strong physically. She said that, "“I love that women want to strong not just mentally, but physically.” Carmelita Jeter also clarifies ” it is definitely inspiring to see the movement to be strong is relating to women and is trickling down to young girls.” Recently, Carmelita Jeter gave birth to her first child. Giving birth to a child is always a blessing.
The Torress Strait Islander people culturally and lingustically different from the mainland Aboriginal peoples. They were seafarers and got their livelihood from seasonable horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas. Agriculture developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s. By the mid 18th century in northern Australia, contact, trace, and cross-cultural engagement has been formed between local Aboriginal groups and Makassan trepangers, visiting from modern day Indonesia. Aboriginal society consisted of family groups organized into bands and clans averaging about 25 people, each with a defined territory for foraging. Clans were attached to tribes or nations, associated with particular languages and country. At the time of European contact there were about 600 such groups and 250 distinct languages with various dialects. Estimates of the Aboriginal population at this time range from 300,000 to one million.
Aboriginal society was egalitarian with no formal government or chiefs. Authority rested with elders and group decisions were generally made through the consensus of elders. The traditional economy was cooperative, with males generally hunting large game while females gathered local staples such as small animals, shellfish, vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts. Food was shared within groups and exchanged across groups. Some Aboriginal groups engaged in fire-stick farming, fish farming, and built semi-permanent shelters. The extent to which some groups engaged in agriculture is controversial. Some Anthropologists describe traditional Aboriginal Australia as a "complex hunter-gatherer" society.
Aboriginal groups were semi-nomadic, generally ranging over a specific territory defined by natural features. Members of a group would enter the territory of another group through rights established by marriage and kinship or by invitation for specific purposes such as ceremonies and sharing abundant seasonal foods. As all natural features of the land were created by ancestral beings, a group's particular country provided physical and spiritual nourishment. Aboriginal Australians developed a unique artistic and spiritual culture. The earliest Aboriginal rock art consists of hand-prints, hand-stencils, and engravings of circles, tracks, lines and cupules, and has been dated to 35,000 years ago. Around 20,000 year ago Aboriginal artists were depicting humans and animals. According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and the animist framework, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land.
Later, we see Dutch exploration in Australia. The Dutch East India Company ship, Duyfken, captained by Willem Janszoon, made the first documented European landing in Australia in 1606. Later that year, LuÃs Vaz de Torres sailed to the north of Australia through Torres Strait, along New Guinea's southern coast. In 1616, Dirk Hartog, sailing off course, en route from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia, landed on an island off Shark Bay, Western Australia. In 1622–23 the ship Leeuwin made the first recorded rounding of the southwest corner of the continent. In 1627, the south coast of Australia was discovered by François Thijssen and named after Pieter Nuyts. In 1628, a squadron of Dutch ships explored the northern coast particularly in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Abel Tasman's voyage of 1642 was the first known European expedition to reach Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) and New Zealand, and to sight Fiji. On his second voyage of 1644, he also contributed significantly to the mapping of the Australian mainland (which he called New Holland), making observations on the land and people of the north coast below New Guinea. Following Tasman's voyages, the Dutch were able to make almost complete maps of Australia's northern and western coasts and much of its southern and south-eastern Tasmanian coasts.
Later, the British and French people came to Australia. William Dampier, an English buccaneer and explorer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699, and published influential descriptions of the Aboriginal people. In 1769, Lieutenant James Cook in command of HMS Endeavour, travelled to Tahiti to observe and record the transit of Venus. Cook also carried secret Admiralty instructions to locate the supposed Southern Continent. Unable to find this continent, Cook decided to survey the east coast of New Holland, the only major part of that continent that had not been charted by Dutch navigators. On April 19, 1770, Endeavour reached the east coast of New Holland and ten days later anchored at Botany Bay. Cook charted the coast to its northern extent and formally took possession of the east coast of New Holland on 21/22 August 1770 when on Possession Island off the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. In March 1772 Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, in command of two French ships, reached Van Diemen's land on his way to Tahiti and the South Seas. His party became the first recorded European to encounter the Indigenous Tasmanians and to kill one of them.
In the same year, a French expedition led by Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn, became the first European to formally claim sovereignty over the west coast of Australia, but no attempt was made to follow this with colonization. European colonization and imperialism in Australia existed. Many Europeans from the British to the Swedish had plans to colonize Australia long before 1800. After the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Britian lost most of its North American colonies and consider establishing replacement territories. Britain had transported about 50,000 convicts to the New World from 1718 to 1775 and was now searching for an alternative. The temporary solution of floating prison hulks had reached capacity and was a public health hazard, while the option of building more jails and workhouses was deemed too expensive. In 1779, Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent scientist who had accompanied James Cook on his 1770 voyage, recommended Botany Bay as a suitable site for a penal settlement. Banks's plan was to send 200 to 300 convicts to Botany Bay where they could be left to their own devices and not be a burden on the British taxpayer. Under Banks's guidance, the American Loyalist James Matra, who had also travelled with Cook, produced a new plan for colonising New South Wales in 1783. The British wanted to send convicts to Africa, but it failed.
The colony of New South Wales was established with the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 vessels under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip in January 1788. It consisted of more than a thousand settlers, including 778 convicts (192 women and 586 men). A few days after arrival at Botany Bay the fleet moved to the more suitable Port Jackson where a settlement was established at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788. This date later became Australia's national day, Australia Day. The colony was formally proclaimed by Governor Phillip on February 7, 1788 at Sydney. Sydney Cove offered a fresh water supply and a safe harbour, which Phillip described as being to him as the greatest harbor in the world. The territory of New South Wales claimed by Britain included all of Australia eastward of the meridian of 135° East. This included more than half of mainland Australia. The claim also included "all the Islands adjacent in the Pacific" between the latitudes of Cape York and the southern tip of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). In 1817, the British government withdrew the extensive territorial claim over the South Pacific, passing an act specifying that Tahiti, New Zealand and other islands of the South Pacific were not within His Majesty's dominions. However, it is unclear whether the claim ever extended to the current islands of New Zealand.
Governor Phillip wanted the inhabitiants to have harmonious relations with the Abrorginal people and try to reform the convicts of the colony. People struggled at first. Early efforts at agriculture were fraught and supplies from overseas were scarce. Between 1788 and 1792 about 3546 male and 766 female convicts were landed at Sydney. Many new arrivals were sick or unfit for work and the condition of healthy convicts also deteriorated due to the hard labour and poor food. The food situation reached crisis point in 1790 and the Second Fleet which finally arrived in June 1790 had lost a quarter of its passengers through sickness, while the condition of the convicts of the Third Fleet appalled Phillip. From 1791, however, the more regular arrival of ships and the beginnings of trade lessened the feeling of isolation and improved supplies. Many settlers were in Tasmania. By the late 1790s, there were freed convicts. Farms grew in more fertile areas around Paramtta, Windsor, Richmond, and Camden. The New South Wales Corps was created in England in 1789 as being part of the British army. Australia grew. The amount of convicts and free settlers increased in New South Wales. More colonies grew in Western Australia and Tasmania. In Australia, conflicts among convicts, free settlers, and Aboriginals grew.
Families of convicts were also offered free passage and about 3,500 migrants were selected under the English Poor Laws. Various special-purpose and charitable schemes, such as those of Caroline Chisholm and John Dunmore Lang, also provided migration assistance. Women fought for their rights too. Back then, most people in Australia who were settlers and convicts were of the Church of England. The Church of England worked with many Governors. Catholic Churches grew by the 1830s and the 1840s. Secular schools grew. Matthew Flinders led the first successful circumnvatigation of Australia from 1801 to 1802.
Many Abroginals died after Euroepeans settlements via smallpox as the Aborginals had little resistance to many introduced diseases back then. An outbreak of smallpox in April 1789 killed about half the Aboriginal population of the Sydney region. The source of the outbreak is controversial; some researchers contend that it originated from contact with Indonesian fisherman in the far north while others argue that it is more likely to have been inadvertently, or deliberately, spread by settlers. There were further smallpox outbreaks devastating Aboriginal populations from the late 1820s (affecting south-eastern Australia), in the early 1860s (travelling inland from the Coburg Peninsula in the north to the Great Australian Bight in the south), and in the late 1860s (from the Kimberley to Geraldton). According to Josephine Flood, the estimated Aboriginal mortality rate from smallpox was 60 per cent on first exposure, 50 per cent in the tropics, and 25 per cent in the arid interior. Other introduced diseases such as measles, influenza, typhoid and tuberculosis also resulted in high death rates in Aboriginal communities. Butlin estimates that the Aboriginal population in the area of modern Victoria was around 50,000 in 1788 before two smallpox outbreaks reduced it to about 12,500 in 1830. Between 1835 and 1853, the Aboriginal population of Victoria fell from 10,000 to around 2,000. It is estimated that about 60 per cent of these deaths were from introduced diseases, 18 per cent from natural causes and 15 per cent from settler violence. Many racist British settlers attacked and murdered Aboriginal people, because they believe in the myth of the superiority of British civilization. Many Aboriginals were kidnapped including men, women, and children. Some Aboriginals burned the crops of British settlers and the burning of property. These were acts of resistance to the loss of traditional land and food resources. There were serious conflicts between settlers in the Sydney region and Aboriginals (Darug people) from 1794 to 1800 in which 26 settlers and up to 200 Darug were killed. Conflict also erupted south-west of Sydney (in Dharawal country) from 1814 to 1816, culminating in the Appin massacre (April 1816) in which at least 14 Aboriginal people were killed.
In Van Diemen's land, the Black War broke out in 1824, following a rapid expansion of settler numbers and sheep grazing in the island's interior. Martial law was declared in November 1828 and in October 1830 a "Black Line" of around 2,200 troops and settlers swept the island with the intention of driving the Aboriginal population from the settled districts. From 1830 to 1834, George Augustus Robinson and Aboriginal ambassadors including Truganini led a series of "Friendly Missions" to the Aboriginal tribes which effectively ended the war. Around 200 settlers and 600 to 900 Aboriginal Tasmanians were killed in the conflict and the Aboriginal survivors were eventually relocated to Flinders Island. Racists used the Australian native police (made of native troopers under white officers) to disperse Aboriginal tribes in eastern Australia, especially in New South Wales and Queensland.
In central Australia, it is estimated that 650 to 850 Aboriginal people, out of a population of 4,500, were killed by colonists from 1860 to 1895. In the Gulf Country of northern Australia five settlers and 300 Aboriginal people were killed before 1886. The last recorded massacre of Aboriginal people by settlers was at Coniston in the Northern Territory in 1928 where at least 31 Aboriginal people were killed. Some in Australia wanted self government. There were the gold rushes of the 1850s in Australia. There were new constitutions in New South Wales, Victoria, and Van Diemen's Land. Women's suffrage was formed in Victoria by 1884. Political parties, entertainment, and other strikes existed in the 1800s and 1900s. Australia used its troops in WWI and WWII. There was Robert Menzies and the Liberal Party of Australia having a large political influence in the country.
The Menzies era (1949–1972) saw significant strides in civil rights for indigenous Australians. Over the period, Menzies and his successors dismantled remaining restrictions on voting rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples culminating in the Menzies Government's 1962 Commonwealth Electoral Act, while the Holt Government's landmark 1967 Referendum received overwhelming public support for the transfer of responsibility for Aboriginal Affairs to the Federal Government, and the removal of discriminatory provisions regarding the national census from the Australian Constitution. By 1971, the first Aboriginal Senator was sitting on the government benches, with Neville Bonner becoming a Liberal Senator for QLD. There was the problem of assimilation which deal with negating Aboriginal families and culture. There were forced removal of multiracial people from their families even in the 1960s and 1970s to brainwash them to view whiteness as superior. In 1997, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission estimated that between 10 per cent and one-third of Aboriginal children had been removed from their families from 1910 to 1970. Regional studies indicate that 15 per cent of Aboriginal children were removed in New South Wales from 1899 to 1968, while the figure for Victoria was about 10 per cent. Robert Manne estimates that the figure for Australia as a whole was closer to 10 per cent. The Aboriginals fought for their civil rights too. Australia has been run by both progressive and conservative leaders for decades since the 1940s. The 1960s proved a key decade for Indigenous rights in Australia, with the demand for change led by Indigenous activists and organisations such as the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, and embraced by the wider population as citizenship rights were extended. Lionel Rose and Evonne Goolagong were famous Aboriginal people.
In 1965, Charles Perkins, helped organize freedom rides into parts of Australia to expose discrimination and inequality. In 1966, the Gurindji people of Wave Hill station commenced the Gurindji strike in a quest for equal pay and recognition of land rights. In 1966, the Australian government gave Aboriginal people the same rights to social security benefits as other Australians. A 1967 referendum changed the Australian constitution to include all Aboriginal Australians in the national census and allow the Federal parliament to legislate on their behalf. A Council for Aboriginal Affairs was established. Popular acclaim for Aboriginal artists, sportspeople and musicians also grew over the period. In 1968, boxer Lionel Rose was proclaimed Australian of the Year. That same year, artist Albert Namatjira was honoured with a postage stamp. Singer-songwriter Jimmy Little's 1963 Gospel song "Royal Telephone" was the first No.1 hit by an Aboriginal artist. Women's Tennis World No. 1 Evonne Goolagong Cawley was celebrated as Australian of the Year in 1971.
Country Liberal Adam Giles became the first indigenous Australian to head a state or territory government when he became Chief Minister of the Northern Territory in 2016.
Neville Bonner was appointed Liberal Senator for QLD in 1971, becoming the first federal parliamentarian to identify as Aboriginal. Eric Deeral (QLD) and Hyacinth Tungutalum (NT) followed at a state and territory level in 1974. In 1976, Sir Doug Nicholls was appointed Governor of South Australia, the first indigenous Australian to hold vice-regal office. By the 2020s, Aboriginal representation in the federal parliament had exceeded the proportion of Aboriginal people in the general population, and Australia had its first Aboriginal leader of a state or territory in 2016, when the Country Liberal Party's Adam Giles became Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. In January 1972, Aboriginal activists erected an Aboriginal "tent embassy" on the lawns of parliament house, Canberra and issued a number demands including land rights, compensation for past loss of land and self-determination. The leader of the opposition Gough Whitlam was among those who visited the tent embassy to discuss their demands.
The Whitlam government came to power in December 1972 with a policy of self-determination for Aboriginal people. The government also passed legislation against racial discrimination and established a Royal Commission into land rights in the Northern Territory, which formed the basis for the Fraser government's Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. Women have increased power in Australian government, more migrants and immigrants have came to Australia too. The Prime Minister of Australia now is Anthony Albense since May 23, 2022. Australia had high inflation in recent years. He is part of the Labor government. To this day, Aboriginals still fight for equality, home ownership, adequate employment, adequate education, and health care.
In our time near the Summer of 2025, Trump has shown havoc in American society. He has promoted triple-digit percentage tariffs that threaten our economy. He has overreached so much that his approval is as low as 39 percent. This comes after 100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion in the 2024 election. 70% of these donations went to the Republicans. Trump has allowed radical DOGE cuts that have allowed innocent federal workers to be fired unjustly, and harm tons of children and adults. Trump has been a threat to democracy by seeking to strip birthright citizenship (as found in the Fourteenth Amendment), defied a Supreme Court order (to allow a legal resident to come back to America from El Salvador after he was kidnapped without due process of law), tried to force Harvard University to accept whitewashing history policies, desires to annex Greenland (and the Panama Canal and Canada), threatened to arrest Liz Cheney (for Cheney's opposition the terrorism of the January 6th insurrection), pardoned January 6th insurrection terrorists, illegally jailed pro-Palestinian residents without due process (in violation of the First Amendment), and tried to intimidate the media (like trying to shut down Voice of America, shutting NBC News and NRP out of work spaces at the Pentagon, and the administration canceled subscriptions across agencies to publications like Politico and Reuters). These acts are done in just the first 100 days of the Trump regime. You have many cabinet members who are compromised, involved in scandals, and many GOP Congressional people refuse to go on town halls, as many people oppose the MAGA agenda. There are high prices of groceries, and threats to Medicaid and Medicare being cut in various budgets. Many people have held a sit-in on Capitol steps to protest the policies of the Trump administration. There are protestors now fighting against fascism and the wicked policies from a tyrant in the White House. We are in the middle of a movement and real change must be done in the streets, in Congress, in the courts, and in other places of our society.
By Timothy
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Friday, April 25, 2025
Later April 2025 News about the Earth.
This shows how cowardly Trump is. Jennifer Vasquez is the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He is forced to hide in a safe house after the Trump administration posted her home address online and shared it with millions of people. Their children have to hide with her too. DHS official Tricia McLaughlin has attacked Abrego Garcia's wife after the Trump administration openly defied a Supreme Court order to bring Garcia home. Trump has no right to deport legal residents without due process of law. As Bernie Sanders has said, we have a corrupt campaign finance system that influences both major parties. For example, Sanders is right to say that Elon Musk spent up to $277 million to elect Donald Trump in 2024, and AIPAC has spent millions of dollars to defeat Democrats who oppose the far-right extremist and overt war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu (I heard of Netanyahu since the 1990s). Citizens United should be gone to allow Big Money out of U.S. politics.
The oligarchs have become wealthier as time has gone on. The 19 richest households in America increased their wealth by $1 trillion in the year of 2024, according to the capitalist The Wall Street Journal. Their combined wealth grew from 1.6 trillion dollars to 2.6 trillion dollars, a large 62.5 percent increase in one year. The smallest fortune in this group comes to $45 billion. Many of these billionaire oligarchs are Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, etc. Many of them include people like Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, and Steven Schwarzman. The one trillion dollars in increase in wealth for the 19 households is enough money to abolish poverty, hunger, and homelessness. It can cause a wage increase of $7,000 for each other. It could more than double the budget for K-12 public education. The billionaires use their influence to dominate television networks, educational services, police institutions, political organizations, and other aspects of society. The system of oligarchy benefits from an unchecked monopoly.
Legitimate regulations are always needed in our society for many reasons. Regulations can help save lives, improve our environment, and keep diseases away from the human race. Back in the 1850s, there were lax regulations on milk in New York State. Many people put chalk and alum in milk, causing thousands of babies to die. The public backlash led to the earliest food safety regulations in American history. Before federal inspection, meat was processed in filthy factories with spoiled cuts, rats, bacteria, and chemicals. Lead, arsenic, and mercury were found in many cosmetics back in the day, causing rashes to organ damage. The regulations have improved our world. The Trump administration now wants the EPA to roll back environmental safeguards (which will cause more pollution), some MAGA people want to remove habitat protections, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was gutted (making it harder to hold lenders and financial institutions accountable), and NOAA staff have been cut that harms the agency's ability to track climate data and predict disasters. Trump wants to deregulate crypto and childcare. History proves that we need legitimate regulations to grow our human civilization indeed.
Recently, Russian terrorists attacked Ukraine, from Kyiv to Pavlohrad. Many people have been murdered and injured by this illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many of the same so-called anti-war crowd who are legitimately outraged at the war crimes taking place in Gaza are stone-cold silent when Ukrainian civilians are killed by war crimes. I wonder why? We know why. Trump is naive to think that Putin is just going to accept a deal in the immediate future. Putin doesn't want Ukraine to exist as an independent sovereign nation. Putin has made that clear in his speeches. Any token deal will give Putin an upper hand, and Putin will try to invade other places if given the opportunity. According to Kherson's region governor Oleksandr Prokudin, Russia has targeted critical infrastructure and residential buildings. Putin's attack on Kyiv on Thursday killed 12 people and wounded 87 other human beings. Putin doesn't want peace, but imperialism. Innocent Ukrainian people and innocent Russian people sincerely desire peace in Eastern Europe. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wants peace and doesn't want Russia to control Crimea, which he said was against his country's constitution.
Let's mention the elephant in the room. Shannon Sharpe has been accused by one very young woman of rape, and she is suing him for $50 million. Sharpe denies all allegations, and the young woman is adamantly positive that he raped her. We will wait until all of the evidence comes out and find the truth one way or the other. One thing is true. Shannon Sharpe made terrible decisions regardless of if he is innocent of rape. First, Shannon Sharpe is a grown man, being almost 60 years old, having relations with a 19-year-old girl. When I say girl, I mean girl. I am 41 years old, and I consider any human being 25 years old or younger to be a baby. A 56-year-old man has no business in my opinion, to have romantic relations with a 19-year-old girl. Consensual relations may be legal (among a 56-year-old and a 19-year-old), but to me, that isn't morally right. A 19-year-old child should have the opportunity to live life and grow. Mo'Nique and other people tried to warn him. Shannon Sharpe wanted to live a hedonistic life, but there are serious consequences that result from hedonism. Sharpe needs to realize that he isn't white. Being a black man in America, we have to take more precautions than the average Joe. We must be wise and use Plan A, B, C, etc. That is the way it is. As black people in general, we have to be 2 to 3 times better than the average person to climb that ladder. That is the way it is. Many of our people need to stop living in fantasy and live in reality. Like always, rape is wrong, and all rapists should experience punishment for their crimes. The girl on a text message using Sharpe as a sexual fetish, and Sharpe loving it, shows his self-hatred. We haven't forgotten the offensive words Shannon Sharpe said about black women. He mocked the hair of black women, which contradicts his so-called pro-black statements on shows. So, once again, traitors never prosper. God is not mocked. What you reap is what you shall sow.
By Timothy
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
During These Important Times.
The GOP has been filled with fascists back then and today. One California Republican mayor has used fascist language against the homeless. This mayor is mayor of Lancaster, California who is Rex Parris. He said that the city's homeless group of people should be given "free fentanyl" as much as they like and expressed the desire for a federal "purge" to eliminate them. He has been elected mayor of Lancaster, which is an industrial city located north of Los Angeles, California. Lancaster is home to the U.S. military and corporate interests like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Honeywell. Parris's words are grotesque and inappropriate. They are evil in their composition. Him wanting to purge homeless people ignores the root causes of homelessness and real solutions to address this important issue. Parris made no evidence that homeless people are all criminals who make up most of robberies, rapes, and half of all murders. He tries to cite the Bible to justify his nonsense, but even the Bible is clear to mention that we must love your neighbor, defend the poor, and show mercy to fellow people. Fremont, California once banned outdoor sleeping until the ordinance was repealed after a public outcry. Unbelievably, the richest nation in human history (i.e., the United States of America) struggles to guarantee housing, healthcare, and dignified work for Americans. Yet, this is a reality because the mainstream worldly system cares more for profit than human dignity.
For this Earth Day of 2025, we are reminded to defend and protect plus improve our environment. We live on planet Earth filled with fauna and flora that sustain our diverse ecosystems (that exist in temperate, tundra, desert, and subtropical climates). Our Earth is fragile. We won't worship the Earth as an idol, but we honor our duty to take care of the planet Earth, created for all beings. From photosynthesis to homeostasis, we love the beauty of the globe. The issue is that we have climate change and other forms of issues that threaten all civilizations. Climate change has increased, and the government has known of the serious threat of climate change since the 1960s (during the time of President Lyndon Baines Johnson). We know it will take an international effort to ameliorate some of these environmental complications. Activists have worked hard to advance laws that clean our Earth, defend endangered species, protest to advance legitimate environmental regulations, and develop green technologies to help human lives (in rural, suburban, urban, and other human locations). When we were young, we were taught about recycling, planting trees, picking up trash, and conserving energy to help our environment. These legitimate actions are intrepid. Yet, we also need to address climate change and other issues that will inspire us to make the Earth better environmentally.
Trump has increased its attacks on FED chair Powell. The problem is that Trump's tariffs could ruin our economy, ruin relationships with our allies, and allow a massive global downturn. I don't blame Trump mostly for this. I blame Trump supporters too, as these supporters knew full well about the racist, xenophobic, and sexist agenda of Donald Trump. You notice that the pro-Trump MAGA supporters are hugely silent on the Internet in large measure, because they knew that there is no defense of Trump deporting legal residents without due process of law, there is no defense of Trump's massively large tariffs, there is no defense of Trump trying to collect student loans in default (even by garnishing wages from over 5 million borrowers), there is no defense for Trump to defy a Supreme Court order either, and there is no defense of Trump desiring to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal including Canada. Donald Trump is a felonious tyrant who doesn't care about all Americans but certain Americans (and we know which certain people he cares about). Therefore, we have the right to speak our minds and stand up for justice and freedom for all. Also, we have hope for the future. Ultimately, God is in control.
Pope Francis died recently at the age of 88 years old. He was probably the most progressive politically Pope in the Catholic Church's history. He had a stroke and passed away. As recently as Sunday, he was in Vatican City waving to the crowd on Resurrection Day. We have empathy for his life. Although I disagree with many of the Catholic Church's doctrines as superstitious, we do have compassion for a human life that has passed away. He tackled social issues. He was also a Pope who wanted to confront poverty, opposed the war in Gaza, and promoted the humanity of refugees. He was part of the Jesuit Order. Pope Francis met with many world leaders and talked about resisting climate change. Many liberals and many conservatives disagreed with some of his views. Many liberals and many conservatives agreed with some his views. Pope Francis promoted an image that he was a friend of the people. The Catholic Church is in an age of transition. It can go to a more conservative course or a more progressive course. Time will tell. What is true is that the progressive side on many issues was represented by Pope Francis.
There is more news about our society. Trump has gutted food inspection programs at the FDA and the USDA, including the committee that investigated last year's fatal Boar's Head listeria outbreak. The USDA is rolling back safety regulations to "streamline" meat processing. This is immoral as regulations to promote safety in our foods must exist to help any human life. Lina Khan is right to say that firms shouldn't get away with inflating costs via hidden fees. 58 corporations facing federal investigations and enforcement lawsuits collectively gave $50 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Cases against 11 of these corporations have already been dismissed or withdrawn, and 6 have been halted. Many large corporations have controlled competitors over the years and reap the profits under the cover of inflation. Trump wants to end the free IRS Direct File program.
By Timothy
Monday, April 21, 2025
Late April 2025 Information.
Dr. King, Nash, Bevel, and other people organized a second march to be held on Tuesday, March 9, 1965. They wanted clergy and citizens from across the nation to join them. Hundreds of people joined the call from the SCLC as they were outraged at television images of Bloody Sunday. The Civil Rights Movement grown in more influence. To prevent another outbreak of violence, SCLC attempted to gain a court order that would prohibit the police from interfering. Instead of issuing the court order, U.S. District Court Judge Frank Minis Johnson issued a restraining order, prohibiting the march from taking place until he could hold additional hearings later in the week. Based on past experience, some in the SCLC were confident that Judge Johnson would eventually lift the restraining order. They didn't want to alienate one of the few southern judges who had displayed sympathy to their cause by violating the injunction. The SCLC didn't have a large infrastructure in place to support the long march, one for which the marchers were equipped. They knew that violating a court order could result in punishment for contempt, even if the order is later reversed.
Some people in Selma movement, both local and from across the country, wanted to march on Tuesday to protest both the "Bloody Sunday" violence and the systematic denial of black voting rights in Alabama. Both Hosea Williams and James Forman argued that the march must proceed and by the early morning of the march date, and after much debate, Dr. King had decided to lead people to Montgomery. Assistant Attorney General John Doar and former Florida governor LeRoy Collins, representing President Lyndon Johnson, went to Selma to meet with King and others at Richie Jean Jackson's house and privately urged King to postpone the march. The SCLC president told them that his conscience demanded that he proceed, and that many movement supporters, especially in SNCC, would go ahead with the march even if he told them it should be called off. Collins suggested to King that he make a symbolic witness at the bridge, then turn around and lead the marchers back to Selma. King told them that he would try to enact the plan provided that Collins could ensure that law enforcement would not attack them. Collins obtained this guarantee from Sheriff Clark and Al Lingo in exchange for a guarantee that King would follow a precise route drawn up by Clark. On the morning of March 9, 1965, this day would be known as Turnaround Tuesday. Collins handed Dr. King the secretly agreed route. King led about 2,500 marchers out on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and held a short prayer session before turning them around, thereby obeying the court order preventing them from making the full march, and following the agreement made by Collins, Lingo, and Clark. He did not venture across the border into the unincorporated area of the county, even though the police unexpectedly stood aside to let them enter. This plan angered many protesters as this plan was created in secret without input from SNCC.
As only SCLC leaders had been told in advance of the plan, many marchers felt confusion and consternation, including those who had traveled long distances to participate and oppose police brutality. King asked them to remain in Selma for another march to take place after the injunction was lifted. That evening, three white Unitarian Universalist ministers in Selma for the march were attacked on the street and beaten with clubs by four KKK members. The worst injured was Reverend James Reeb from Boston. Fearing that Selma's public hospital would refuse to treat Reeb, activists took him to Birmingham's University Hospital, two hours away. Reeb died on Thursday, March 11 at University Hospital, with his wife by his side. Many people mourned the death of Rev. James Reeb. Tens of thousands held vigils in his honor. President Johnson called Reeb's widow and father to express his condolences (he would later invoke Reeb's memory when he delivered a draft of the Voting Rights Act to Congress). Black people in Dallas County and the Black Belt mourned the death of Reeb, as they had earlier mourned the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson. But many activists were bitter that the media and national political leaders expressed great concern over the murder of Reeb, a northern white man in Selma, but had paid scant attention to that of Jackson, a local African American. SNCC organizer Kwame Ture argued that "the movement itself is playing into the hands of racism, because what you want as a nation is to be upset when anybody is killed [but] for it to be recognized, a white person must be killed. Well, what are you saying?" What Kame Ture meant is that a black life is as valuable as any other life of any other color.
Dr. King's credibility in the movement was shaken by the secret turnaround agreement. David Garrow notes that King publicly "waffled and dissembled" on how his final decision had been made. On some occasions King would inaccurately claim that "no pre-arranged agreement existed", but under oath before Judge Johnson, he acknowledged that there had been a "tacit agreement." Criticism of King by radicals in the movement became increasingly pronounced, with James Forman calling Turnaround Tuesday, "a classic example of trickery against the people." Following the death of James Reeb, a memorial service was held at the Brown's Chapel AME Church on March 15, 1965. Among those who addressed the packed congregation were Dr. King, labor leader Walter Reuther, and some clergymen. A picture of King, Reuther, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Iakovos and others in Selma for Reeb's memorial service appeared on the cover of Life magazine on March 26, 1965. After the memorial service, upon getting permission from the courts, the leaders and attendees marched from the Brown's Chapel AME Church to the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma.
More events in Montgomery, Alabama took place. After the turnaround in the second march, the Selma movement organizing were waiting for a judicial order to safely proceed. Tuskegee Institute students, led by Gwen Patton and Sammy Younge Jr. decided to open a Second Front by marching to the Alabama State Capitol and delivering a petition to Governor Wallace. They were joined quickly by James Forman and much of the SNCC staff from Selma. The SNCC members in many cases had a distrust of Dr. King after the turnaround Tuesday and wanted to have a separate course. By March 11, 1965, SNCC started many demonstrations in Montgomery and put out a national call for others to join them. James Bevel was SCLC's Selma leader followed them and discouraged their activities. This caused conflict between SCLC and Forman plus the SNCC. Bevel accused Forman of trying to divert people from the Selma campaign and of abandoning nonviolent discipline. Forman accused Bevel of driving a wedge between the student movement and the local black churches. The argument was resolved only when both were arrested.
On March 11, 1965, seven seven Selma solidarity activists sat-in at the East Wing of the White House until arrested. Dozens of other protesters also tried to occupy the White House that weekend but were stopped by guards; they blocked Pennsylvania Avenue instead. On March 12, President Johnson had an unusually belligerent meeting with a group of civil rights advocates including Bishop Paul Moore, Reverend Robert Spike, and SNCC representative H. Rap Brown. Johnson complained that the White House protests were disturbing his family. The activists were unsympathetic and demanded to know why he hadn't delivered the voting rights bill to Congress yet, or sent federal troops to Alabama to protect the protesters. In this same period, SNCC, CORE, and other groups continued to organize protests in more than eighty cities, actions that included 400 people blocking the entrances and exits of the Los Angeles Federal Building. President Johnson told the press that he refused to be "blackjacked" into action by unruly "pressure groups." The truth is pressure from activist group using protests and civil disobedience are legitimate tactics in getting solutions enacted. The next day he arranged a personal meeting with Governor Wallace, urging him to use the Alabama National Guard to protect marchers. He also began preparing the final draft of his voting rights bill. On March 11, Attorney General Katzenbach announced that the federal government was intending to prosecute local and state officials who were responsible for the attacks on the marchers on March 7. He would use an 1870 civil rights law as the basis for charges.
On March 15, 1965, the president convened a joint session of Congress, outlined his new voting rights bill, and demanded that they pass it. In a historic presentation carried nationally on live television, making use of the largest media network, Johnson praised the courage of African-American activists. He called Selma "a turning point in man's unending search for freedom" on a par with the Battle of Appomattox in the American Civil War. Johnson added that his entire Great Society program, not only the voting rights bill, was part of the Civil Rights Movement. He adopted language associated with Dr. King, declaring that "it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome." Afterward, King sent a telegram to Johnson congratulating him for his speech, calling it "the most moving eloquent unequivocal and passionate plea for human rights ever made by any president of this nation." Johnson's voting rights bill was formally introduced in Congress two days later.
On March 15-16, 1965, SNCC led several hundred demonstrations (that included Alabama students, Northern student, and local adults) in protests near the capitol complex. The Montgomery Country sheriff's posse met them on horseback and drove them back, whipping them. Against the objections of James Bevel, some protesters threw bricks and bottles at police. At a mass meeting on the night of the 16th, Forman "whipped the crowd into a frenzy" demanding that the President act to protect demonstrators, and warned, "If we can't sit at the table of democracy, we'll knock the f____ legs off." The New York Times featured the Montgomery confrontations on the front page the next day. Although King was concerned by Forman's rhetoric, he joined him in leading a march of 2000 people in Montgomery to the Montgomery County courthouse. According to historian Gary May, "City officials, also worried by the violent turn of events ... apologized for the assault on SNCC protesters and invited King and Forman to discuss how to handle future protests in the city." In the negotiations, Montgomery officials agreed to stop using the county posse against protesters, and to issue march permits to black people for the first time.
The third and successful March from Selma to Montgomery was the product of many things. On March 17, 1965 (a week after Rev. James Reeb's death on Wednesday), Judge Johnson ruled in favor of the protesters. He said that their First Amendment right to march in protest could not be abridged by the state of Alabama in the following words: "The law is clear that the right to petition one's government for the redress of grievances may be exercised in large groups...These rights may...be exercised by marching, even along public highways." Judge Johnson had sympathized with the protesters for many days but had withheld his order until he received a total commitment of enforcement from the White House. President Johnson had avoided such a commitment in sensitivity to the power of the state's rights movement, and attempted to cajole Governor Wallace into protecting the marchers himself, or at least giving the president permission to send troops. Finally, seeing that Wallace had no intention of doing either, the president gave his commitment to Judge Johnson on the morning of March 17, and the judge issued his order the same day. To ensure that this march would not be as unsuccessful as the first two marches were, the president federalized the Alabama National Guard on March 20 to escort the marchers from Selma. The ground operation was supervised by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He also sent Joseph A. Califano Jr., who at the time served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, to outline the progress of the march. In a series of letters, Califano reported on the march at regular intervals for the four days.
On Sunday, March 21, 1965, almost 8,000 people assembled at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to start the journey to Montgomery. Most of the participants were black Americans. Also, there were many white Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans who were involved in the Selma to Montgomery final march too. Spiritual leaders of multiple races, religions, and creeds marched abreast with Dr. King, including Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Iakovos, Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel and Maurice Davis, and at least one nun, all of whom were depicted in a photo that has become famous. The Dutch Catholic priest Henri Nouwen joined the march on March 24. In 1965, the road to Montgomery was four lanes wide going east from Selma, then narrowed to two lanes through Lowndes County, and widened to four lanes again at the Montgomery county border. Under the terms of Judge Johnson's order, the march was limited to no more than 300 participants for the two days they were on the two-lane portion of US 80. At the end of the first day, most of the marchers returned to Selma by bus and car, leaving 300 to camp overnight and take up the journey the next day. On March 22 and 23, 300 protesters marched through chilling rain across Lowndes County, camping at three sites in muddy fields. At the time of the march, the population of Lowndes County was 81% black and 19% white, but not a single black person was registered to vote. There were 2,240 whites registered to vote in Lowndes County, a figure that represented 118% of the adult white population (in many Southern counties of that era it was common practice to retain white voters on the rolls after they died or moved away). On March 23, hundreds of black marchers wore kippot, Jewish skullcaps, to emulate the marching rabbis, as Heschel was marching at the front of the crowd. The marchers called the kippot "freedom caps."
On the morning of March 24, 1965, the march went to Montgomery County, and the highway widened again to four lanes. All Day, as the marchers approached the city, additional marchers were ferried by bus and car to join the line. By evening, several thousand marchers had reached the final campsite at the City of St. Jude, a complex on the outskirts of Montgomery. That night on a makeshift stage, a "Stars for Freedom" rally was held, with singers Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Peter, Paul and Mary, Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Baez, Nina Simone, and The Chad Mitchell Trio all performing. Thousands more people continued to join the march.
On Thursday, March 25, 25,000 people marched from St. Jude to the steps of the State Capitol Building where King delivered the speech "How Long, Not Long". He said: "...The end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. ... I know you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long."
After delivering the speech, Dr. King and the marchers approached the entrance to the Capitol with a petition for Governor Wallace. A line of state troopers blocked the door. One announced that the governor was not in. Undeterred, the marchers remained at the entrance until one of Wallace's secretaries appeared and took the petition.
Later that night, Viola Liuzzo, a white mother of five from Detroit who had come to Alabama to support voting rights for black human beings, was assassinated by Ku Klux Klan members while she was ferrying marchers back to Selma from Montgomery. Among the Klansmen in the car from which the shots were fired was FBI informant Gary Rowe. Afterward, the FBI's COINTELPRO operation spread false rumors that Liuzzo was a member of the Communist Party and had abandoned her children to have sexual relationships with African-American activists. The FBI lied once again, and J. Edgar Hoover was a coward to allow his agents to slander an innocent woman, who was Liuzzo. Murder is always wrong. The third Selma march received national and international coverage. The Selma march showed the courage of the people who desired voting rights and justice for all. Racists Like U.S. Representative William Louis Dickinson) accused the marchers of alcohol abuse, bribery, being part of a Communist conspiracy to destabilize America, and other sexual acts, but people of all ages were in the march. These allegations were false and denied by local and national journalists plus religious leaders (Congressmen William Fitts Ryand and Joseph Yale Resnick denied the allegations from Dickinson. Dickson opposed the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Civil Rights Act). The truth is that American citizens of every color and background have the right to vote and other human rights without discrimination and without oppression, period.
There was the unsung event of the Hammermill boycott. During 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. was promoting an economic boycott of Alabama products to put pressure on the State to integrate schools and employment. In an action under development for some time, the Hammermill Paper Company announced the opening of a major plant in Selma, Alabama; this came during the height of violence in early 1965. On February 4, 1965, the company announced plans for the construction of a $35 million plant, allegedly touting the "fine reports the company had received about the character of the community and its people." On March 26, 1965, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee called for a national boycott of Hammermill paper products until the company reversed what SNCC described as racist policies. The SCLC joined in support of the boycott. In cooperation with SCLC, student members of Oberlin College Action for Civil Rights joined with SCLC members to conduct picketing and a sit-in at Hammermill's Erie, Pennsylvania headquarters. White activist and preacher Robert W. Spike called Hammermill's decision as "an affront not only to 20 million American Negroes, but also to all citizens of goodwill in this country." He also criticized Hammermill executives directly, stating: "For the board chairman of one of America's largest paper manufacturers to sit side by side with Governor Wallace of Alabama and say that Selma is fine ... is either the height of naiveté or the depth of racism."
The company called a meeting of the corporate leadership, SCLC's C. T. Vivian, and Oberlin student leadership. Their discussions led to Hammermill executives signing an agreement to support integration in Alabama. The agreement also required Hammermill to commit to equal pay for black and white workers. During these negotiations, around 50 police officers arrived outside the Erie headquarters and arrested 65 activists, charging them with obstruction of an officer. Before the march to Montgomery concluded, SNCC staffers Kwame Ture and Cleveland Sellers committed themselves to registering voters in Lowndes County for the next year. Their efforts resulted in the creation of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, an independent third party.
After long debate, the voting rights bill was passed during the summer and signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson as the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. Many people in the Civil Rights Movement celebrated the bill being signed into law. The bill was signed by President Johnson in an August 6 ceremony attended by Amelia Boynton and many other civil rights leaders and activists. This act prohibited most of the unfair practices used to prevent black people from registering to vote and provided for federal registrars to go to Alabama and other states with a history of voting-related discrimination to ensure that the law was implemented by overseeing registration and elections.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act sought to secure the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Act is considered to be the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country. The National Archives and Records Administration stated: "The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most significant statutory change in the relationship between the federal and state governments in the area of voting since the Reconstruction period following the Civil War." The act contains numerous provisions that regulate elections. The act's "general provisions" provide nationwide protections for voting rights. Section 2 is a general provision that prohibits state and local governments from imposing any voting rule that "results in the denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen to vote on account of race or color" or membership in a language minority group. Other general provisions specifically outlaw literacy tests and similar devices that were historically used to disenfranchise racial minorities. The act also contains "special provisions" that apply only to certain jurisdictions. A core special provision is the Section 5 preclearance requirement, which prohibited certain jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without first receiving confirmation from the U.S. attorney general or the U.S. District Court for D.C. that the change does not discriminate against protected minorities. Another special provision requires jurisdictions containing significant language minority populations to provide bilingual ballots and other election materials.
Section 5 and most other special provisions applied to jurisdictions encompassed by the "coverage formula" prescribed in Section 4(b). The coverage formula was originally designed to encompass jurisdictions that engaged in egregious voting discrimination in 1965, and Congress updated the formula in 1970 and 1975. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula as unconstitutional, reasoning that it was obsolete. The court did not strike down Section 5, but without a coverage formula, Section 5 is unenforceable. The jurisdictions which had previously been covered by the coverage formula massively increased the rate of voter registration purges after the Shelby decision. In 2021, the Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee Supreme Court ruling reinterpreted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, substantially weakening it. The ruling interpreted the "totality of circumstances" language of Section 2 to mean that it does not generally prohibit voting rules that have a disparate impact on the groups that it sought to protect, including a rule blocked under Section 5 before the Court inactivated that section in Shelby County v. Holder. In particular, the ruling held that fears of election fraud could justify such rules without evidence that any such fraud had occurred in the past or that the new rule would make elections safer.
Research shows that the Act had successfully and massively increased voter turnout and voter registrations, in particular among black people. The Act has also been linked to concrete outcomes, such as greater public goods provision (such as public education) for areas with higher black population shares, more members of Congress who vote for civil rights-related legislation, and greater Black representation in local offices. The Supreme Court's Selby decision and the 2021 decision are wrong in my opinion. The Voting Rights Act should be strengthened, not weakened. Voting is a human right along with due process.
In the early years of the Act, overall progress was slow, with local registrars continuing to use their power to deny African Americans voting access. In most Alabama counties, for example, registration continued to be limited to two days per month. The United States Civil Rights Commission acknowledged that "The Attorney General moved slowly in exercising his authority to designate counties for examiners ... he acted only in counties where he had ample evidence to support the belief that there would be intentional and flagrant violation of the Act." Dr. King demanded that federal registrars be sent to every county covered by the Act, but Attorney General Katzenbach refused. By the summer of 1965, SCLC worked with SNCC and CORE to promote a large on the ground voter registration programs in the South. The Civil Rights Commission described this as a major contribution to expanding black voters in 1965, and the Justice Department acknowledged leaning on the work of "local organizations" in the movement to implement the Act. SCLC and SNCC were temporarily able to mend past differences through collaboration in the Summer Community Organization & Political Education project. Ultimately, their coalition foundered on SCLC's commitment to nonviolence and (at the time) the Democratic Party. Many activists worried that President Johnson still sought to appease Southern whites, and some historians support this view.
By March 1966, nearly 11,000 black people had registered to vote in Selma, where 12,000 whites were registered. More black people would register by November, when their goal was to replace County Sheriff Jim Clark; his opponent was Wilson Baker, for whom they had respect. In addition, five black people ran for office in Dallas County. Rev. P. H. Lewis, pastor of Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, ran for state representative on the Democratic ticket. David Ellwanger, a brother of Rev. Joseph Ellwanger of Birmingham, who led supporters in Selma in 1965, challenged incumbent state senator Walter C. Givhan (d. 1976), a fierce segregationist and a power in the state senate. First elected to the state senate in 1954, Givhan retained his seat for six terms, even after redistricting that preceded the 1966 election. In November 1966, Katzenbach told Johnson regarding Alabama, that "I am attempting to do the least I can do safely without upsetting the civil rights groups." Katzenbach did concentrate examiners and observers in Selma for the "high-visibility" election between incumbent County Sheriff Jim Clark and Wilson Baker, who had earned the grudging respect of many local residents and activists. With 11,000 black people added to the voting rolls in Selma by March 1966, they voted for Baker in 1966, turning Clark out of office. Clark later was prosecuted and convicted of drug smuggling and served a prison sentence. The US Civil Rights Commission said that the murders of activists, such as Jonathan Daniels in 1965, had been a major impediment to voter registration.
Overall, the Justice Department assigned registrars to six of Alabama's 24 Black Belt counties during the late 1960s, and to fewer than one-fifth of all the Southern counties covered by the Act. Expansion of enforcement grew gradually, and the jurisdiction of the Act was expanded through a series of amendments beginning in 1970. An important change was made in 1972, when Congress passed an amendment that discrimination could be determined by "effect" rather than by trying to prove "intent." Thus, if county or local practices resulted in a significant minority population being unable to elect candidates of their choice, the practices were considered to be discriminatory in effect. In 1960, there were a total of 53,336 black voters registered in the state of Alabama; three decades later, there were 537,285, a tenfold increase.
LeBron James returned to Cleveland from 2014 to 2018. On June 25, 2014, James opted out of his contract with the Heat, and on July 1, he officially became an unrestricted free agent. On July 11, James revealed via a first-person essay in Sports Illustrated that he intended to return to the Cavaliers. In contrast to The Decision, his announcement to return to Cleveland was well received. The next day, James officially signed with the team, who had compiled a league-worst 97–215 record in the four seasons following his departure. A month after James' signing, the Cavaliers acquired Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, forming a new star trio along with Kyrie Irving. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers worked hard. By January of the 2014-2015 season, LeBron left the season for two weeks due to lfet knee and lower back strains. That was the longest stretch of missed games in his career for that time. James played 69 games and averaged 25.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. During the second round of the playoffs, he he hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give Cleveland a 2–2 series tie with the Chicago Bulls. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks to advance to the NBA Finals, making James the first player since the 1960s to play in five consecutive Finals. For most of the Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Irving and Love were sidelined due to injury, giving James more offensive responsibilities. Behind his leadership, the Cavaliers opened the series with a 2–1 lead before losing in six games. Despite the loss, he received serious consideration for the Finals MVP Award, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game.
The 2015-2016 season would be different for LeBron James. Cavaliers' coach David Blatt was fired midseason. Cleveland finished the year with 57 wins which was the best record in the East. LeBron had 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game on 52 percent shooting (during that season). In the playoffs, the Cavaliers advanced comfortably to the NBA Finals, losing only two games en route to a rematch with the Golden State Warriors, who were coming off a record-setting 73-win season. Golden State in the Final had a 3-1 lead. Many people thought it was over, but LeBron James responses by registering back-to-back 41-point games in Games 5 and 6, leading the Cavaliers to two consecutive wins to stave off elimination. In Game 7, he posted a triple-double and made a number of key plays, including a chasedown block on Andre Iguodala's go-ahead layup attempt, as Cleveland emerged victorious, winning the city's first professional sports title in 52 years and becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit in the Finals. James became just the third player to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7, and behind series averages of 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 2.6 steals per game, he also became the first player in league history to lead both teams in all five statistical categories for a playoff round, culminating in a unanimous Finals MVP selection. LeBron James said that after this NBA Championship, he felt that he was the greatest player in NBA history. LeBron James has many injuries during the 2016-17 season. It was a bizarre year.
Following a January defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans, James publicly criticized Cleveland's front office for constructing a team that he felt was too "top heavy", for which he received counter criticism. The Cavaliers finished the season as the East's second seed, with James averaging 26.4 points and career highs in rebounds (8.6), assists (8.7), and turnovers (4.1) per game. In Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, he registered 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists against the Indiana Pacers, leading Cleveland to a comeback victory after trailing by 25 points at halftime, representing the largest halftime deficit overcome in NBA playoff history. In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, James scored 35 points and surpassed Jordan as the league's all-time postseason scoring leader. The Cavaliers won the game and the series, advancing to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive time against the Golden State Warriors, who had signed James' rival Kevin Durant during the off-season. Behind averages of 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game, James .became the first player to average a triple-double in the Finals, but Cleveland was defeated in five games. By the 2017-18 season, Kyrie Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics. Irving didn't want to play with James anymore.
Their turnaround began with a victory over the Wizards on November 3 where James scored 57 points, which represented the second-highest point total of his career and tied a franchise record. In January, the Cavaliers had a losing record, and James was criticized for his lackluster effort. The next month, James won his third All-Star Game MVP Award, after posting 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and several key plays to help Team LeBron win over Team Curry. Following another round of trades in February, Cleveland returned to form and James reached a number of historical milestones; on March 30, he set an NBA record with 867 straight games scoring in double digits. James eventually finished the season with averages of 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 4.2 turnovers per game.
In the playoffs, James guided the Cavaliers to another Finals rematch with the Golden State Warriors. Along the way, he had some of the most memorable moments of his career, including a game-winning shot against the Pacers and another against the Raptors, after which a new nickname, "LeBronto" was popularized. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, James scored a playoff career-high 51 points, but Cleveland lost 124–114 in overtime. Following the loss, James injured his hand after punching a wall in the locker room, which hindered his effectiveness for the remainder of the series. The Cavaliers lost the series in four games, with James averaging 34 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game for the Finals.
By the 2018-2019 season, LeBron had injuries can went to the Los Angeles Lakers. James's agent Rich Paul wants more championship. LeBron James and the Lakers overcame many challenges to get into victory. The 2018-19 season had to change lineups. It turned around by November. In November, they began a turnaround, which included two of James's strongest performances of the season. On November 14, he registered 44 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. Four days later, James scored a season-high 51 points in a victory over the Heat. After blowing out the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, Los Angeles improved their record to 20–14, but James suffered a groin injury, the first major injury of his career. James missed a then career-high 17 consecutive games, and the Lakers fell out of playoff contention without him, marking the first time that James missed the playoffs since 2005. In March, the Lakers announced that James would begin a minutes restriction, and he was later officially ruled out for the rest of the season. James' final averages were 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game. Despite his inconsistent campaign, James was named to the All-NBA Third Team, marking the first time in twelve years that he did not make the All-NBA First Team.
The 2019-2020 season was very special. Anthony Davis was on the team. Frank Vogel was the Lakers's new head coach. The LA Lakers had a great start. Behind James' leadership, the Lakers opened the 2019–20 season with a 17–2 record, matching the best start in franchise history. On January 25, James scored his 33,644th career point, passing Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time regular season scoring list. The following day, Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. James delivered an improvised eulogy in honor of Bryant at Staples Center, before a January 31 game against the Portland Trail Blazers. In early March, before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, James led the Lakers to a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in a matchup of conference leaders, followed by a streak-breaking victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.[233] Regular season play resumed in July and concluded in August within the confined NBA Bubble, where James ended the regular season as the league leader in assists for the first time in his career, averaging 10.2 assists per game. He earned a record 16th All-NBA Team selection as part of the First Team, extending his record First Team selections to 13.
The Lakers entered the playoffs as the top seed in the West and advanced to the NBA Finals convincingly, with only three total losses along the way. In Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, James helped clinch the conference championship by scoring a game-high 38 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter. In the Finals, James and his teammates found themselves matched up with his former team, the Miami Heat, and quickly took control of the series with a 2–0 lead. In Game 5, James had his best statistical performance of the Finals with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in a memorable duel with Miami's Jimmy Butler, but Los Angeles was ultimately defeated in a three-point game. The Lakers eliminated the Heat in Game 6, which earned James, who averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game during the series, his fourth NBA championship and fourth Finals MVP award. At 35 years and 287 days old, James became the second-oldest player in league history to win the award, and the only player in NBA history to win the award with three different franchises. James and teammate Danny Green also became the third and fourth players in NBA history to win at least one championship with three different teams each.
The 2020-2021 season was when the LA Lakers was in a new era. On February 18, 2021, James became the third player in NBA history with 35,000 career points, joining Hall of Famers Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone; aged 36 years and 50 days, he was the youngest player to reach the milestone. On March 20, James sprained his ankle against the Atlanta Hawks, but was able to hit a three-point shot afterwards to keep his 10-points streak alive before exiting the game. By March, the Lakers were No. 2, two games behind the Utah Jazz, but they went 14–16 without Davis and 6–10 without James, falling to No. 5. James returned on April 30 after missing 20 games, the longest absence of his career. By the end of the season, he had his 17th consecutive season with 25 points per game, the most in NBA history. The Lakers lost in the first round. Later, in the 2021-2022 season, James worked with Carmelo ANthony and Russell Westbrook in the Lakers.
In a game against the Pistons on November 21, James was ejected in the third quarter after getting into a scuffle with Isaiah Stewart during the 121–116 victory. This was only the second time in his career that he was ejected from a game, and James was suspended for one game due to his actions. In his next 16 games, James averaged 30.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks on 54 percent shooting, also achieving his 100th triple-double, while becoming the third player in NBA history to surpass 36,000 career points: during this period, James played 35 percent of his minutes at center. From December 19 to February 26, 2022, playing 23 out of 27 games, he had a streak of 23 consecutive 25-point games.
In December, James became the second player in NBA history (after Jordan) to post 40 points and no turnovers at age 35 or older. By January 20, James became the fifth player in NBA history to record at least 30,000 career points and 10,000 career rebounds; he is the first player to record at least 30,000 career points, 10,000 career rebounds, and 9,000 career assists.In the same period, he surpassed Robertson for fourth all-time free throws made, and Alvin Robertson for 10th all-time in career steals. In February, James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored in both the regular season and playoffs; by March, he passed Karl Malone for second in the all-time minutes and regular season scoring lists.At the 2022 NBA All-Star Game held in Cleveland, James was celebrated among the other 74 players for the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. James led all players in fan votes with his 18th All-Star selection, tying Bryant and just one behind Abdul-Jabbar; his team achieved its fifth consecutive All-Star victory, defeating Team Durant 163–161, with James hitting the game-winning dagger shot in front of his hometown crowd.
In March, James recorded two 50-point games, which were also his Lakers' career-high, becoming the oldest player to have multiple 50-point games in a season, as well as the first Lakers player since Bryant in 2008 to have back-to-back 50-point home games; it was James' 15th 50-point game in his 19-year career, including the postseason. He also recorded his 10,000th career assist, becoming the only player in NBA history to record at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists. On March 27, James became just the second player in NBA history to score 37,000 points. By the 2022-2023 season, LeBron had the NBA all-time scoring record. Kareem Abdul Jabbar gave him a ball to celebrate his record being broken. On December 13, James scored 33 points in a 122–118 overtime loss to the Celtics, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most 30-point games in NBA history. James recorded 516 30-point games in 1,386 career appearances.
On February 7, 2023, James passed Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. Abdul-Jabbar had previously set the record on April 5, 1984, eight months before James was born. After James broke the record, the NBA stopped the game with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter for an on-court ceremony. During the ceremony, he received the game ball from Abdul-Jabbar. James also gave a speech and then embraced Abdul-Jabbar, as well as his family. The Lakers excelled in the Playoffs and lost to the Denver Nuggets in 2023. Entering the 2023–24 season, James was the oldest player in the league, following the retirements of Udonis Haslem and Andre Iguodala.[353] In the season opener against the defending champion Nuggets, James put up 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 119–107 loss. On November 21, in a 131–99 blowout victory over the Utah Jazz, he became the first player in league history to reach 39,000 career points. Six days later, in a 138–94 blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar's record of 66,300 minutes to become the player with the most minutes played in NBA games during the regular season and playoffs. On January 25, 2024, James was named an All-Star starter for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, marking his 20th NBA All-Star selection, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar for the most All-Star selections in NBA history. On April 2, James passed Oscar Schmidt to become the world's all-time scoring leader in basketball history. After the playoffs, the 2024-2025 seas saw LeBron play with his son Bronny. This was the first father-son duo in NBA history.
On November 13, he logged a triple-double of 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists, in a 128–123 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. At age 39 years and 319 days, he broke his own record previously set in November 2019 for the oldest player to record a triple-double in three consecutive games. On January 3, 2025, James put up 30 points and eight assists in a 119–102 win over the Atlanta Hawks. He surpassed Jordan (562) for the most 30-point games in NBA history. James also passed Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for the fourth-most games played in the regular season in NBA history. On February 6, James recorded season-highs 42 points and 17 rebounds along with eight assists in a 120–112 win over the Golden State Warriors. He joined Jordan (43 pts) as the only players to record 40+ points in a game at 40 years or older. At 40 years and 38 days, James became the oldest player to score 40+ points in a game. He is also the youngest, at 19 years, 88 days old. He became the first player older than 30 to record 30+ pts, 15+ reb, 5+ ast and 5+ triples in a game. On March 4, 2025, James surpassed 50,000 career points across the regular season and playoffs during a 136–115 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. On April 9, he played his 1,561st regular season game, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second on the league's games played list. This comes after he won the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. In the 2025 NBA Playoffs, The Lakers are in the mix.
By Timothy
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