African Americans

The Republican-Right Wing Attempt To Distort Historical Truth And Facts

Ronald 3 Comments

For anyone who teaches American history in the public schools and in colleges and universities, the warning is out, that Republican and Right Wing propagandists are working to prevent the teaching of historical truth and facts.

In Texas, and developing in other Republican controlled states, teachers are being informed that they may NOT teach the reality of American history, which has been covered up for too long, but in recent years, has been dredged out of secrecy or lack of research.

One can love America, and yet admit that there has been a lack of historical reality of the mistreatment of native Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, immigrants, Jews, and women as part of the discussion of our past.

Students need to learn and know the entire truth, in order for the nation to move ahead and overcome the racism, nativism, misogyny, antisemitism that were and are, sadly, part of the history of America.

How can we overcome the widespread prejudices, biases, and narrow mindedness still present in America, if we continue to promote a distorted view of reality?

The historical profession needs to engage in lobbying and other activities to insure that we do not have propaganda and lies being perpetuated in the future, as ignorance and naivete about our past can only undermine progress and change in the future!

Time For Washington DC To Become 51st State!

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It is long overdue for Washington, DC to become the 51st state, as was attempted by amendment from 1978 to 1985, but falling short by only having 16 states, 22 short of the number needed for ratification.

Now it can be done by vote of Congress, as has happened for every other state, and the only reason it did not occur in the 1978-1985 period was pure racism, because a majority of the federal district are African American citizens, which is a disgraceful excuse, and time to overcome!

If Washington, DC were to become the 51st state, it would likely have two Democratic Senators and one Democratic Congressman, which is why the Republican Party, which was founded on opposition to slavery, but has now become a racist, white supremacist party, opposes it, but also did decades ago for the same reason!

The District of Columbia would be 49th in population; First by Gross Domestic Product per Capita; First by Median Household Income; 34th by Total Domestic Product, and the first new state since Alaska and Hawaii were added to the Union as the 49th and 50th states in January and August 1959.

Both Alaska and Hawaii had much of their population being “minorities”, and it is time to overcome racial issues, and accept that residents in Washington, DC deserve statehood.

The residents are first in educational attainment with nearly 60 percent having a bachelor’s degree; and 34 percent having an advanced degree.

It has the greatest population density, nine times more than New Jersey, which is second, and 11,000 times more dense than Alaska, which has a density of one person per square mile!

And 46 percent of DC residents are white, and more whites have moved into DC in recent decades. And finally, DC residents pay more taxes than 19 states, so they deserve representation!

The Senate Filibuster Designed For Obstruction, And Historic Denial Of Basic Civil Rights

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The US Senate is the greatest deliberative legislative body in the world, but also condemned in history for promoting denial of civil rights for people of color, particularly, but not only for African Americans.

The filibuster was used to prevent federal anti lynching laws in the years after Reconstruction and through to the 1950s by Southern Democrats, and then it was used to prevent basic civil rights laws, until Lyndon B. Johnson showed great courage, and used various tactics to overcome the denial of civil rights, and accomplish the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Now, the Republicans have used it in the past decade to stop progress under President Barack Obama, and now are threatening the same under Joe Biden, and specifically in areas including voting rights, and inhumane treatment of various minorities, including people of color, women, gays and lesbians, disabled people, and immigrants from Latin America, Asia and Africa.

They claim the mantle of “minority rights”, but only for their narrowminded effort to promote white supremacy, and refuse to accept the reality of a multi ethnic and multi racial and diverse future America in the next 25 years.

The Senate has been an obstructionist legislative body, where Senators who represent far less than a majority of the population are able to prevent what a clear majority of the population wishes to see in the promotion of human rights and work against racism, nativism, misogyny, homophobia, antisemitism, and Islamophobia!

So a change, requiring a “spoken” filibuster, which used to be the norm, needs to be revived, and that will bring about the ability to overcome the filibuster in a short period, and allow for progress on so many important issues the Senate needs to address to advance American democracy!

Voting Rights Act 1965, And Now The Same Battle Again, This Time Caused By Republicans, NOT Southern Democrats!

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On this day, 56 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke before Congress, and called for a Voting Rights Act to insure all Americans could vote.

This marked the South leaving the Democratic Party, and becoming Republicans, and now Republicans are working to deny African Americans and Latinos the right to vote all over again.

This is because the Supreme Court in 2013 allowed much of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to be repealed by the conservative Court, in Shelby County V. Holder, and opened up massive efforts to limit voting.

The new bills HR 1 and HR 4, now introduced in Congress, are trying to prevent state legislatures from bringing back the old days of voter suppression.

The Republican Party, rather than broaden their base, are trying to insure that only white voters, the Trump voters, will be able to control government, but it is a losing strategy long run, as nothing will prevent the white majority from declining to less than 50 percent of all Americans in the next quarter century.

So the Republican Party is in its death knell, unless and until they realize the future, and adapt to it soon!

Texas Is Crazy To Drop COVID 19 Restrictions: Will Likely Lead To New Surge Of Cases And Deaths!

Ronald 3 Comments

Texas is the second largest state in population and in land area, but Texas government under Republican dominance in the past four decades has been a total disaster!

It continues to discriminate against its African American and Latino population, making it more difficult for them to vote!

Its electric grid system led to disaster and loss of property and life last week, and no apologies from Texas Republicans!

And now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced that COVID 10 Pandemic restrictions are ending in the next week!

This is a total disgrace, and undermines the fight against the pandemic, as Texas with more than 30 million people, and with so much commerce and travel in a state as large as Texas, is a prime area of the infection, and undermines what President Joe Biden, scientists, and medical personnel say needs to be done to overcome the pandemic, which has cost more than half a million lives in one year!

This is states rights gone mad, and already, Mississippi, the poorest state in America, is also abandoning the restrictions on the pandemic, and do not be surprised that Florida, with its moronic governor Ron DeSantis, will be next!

So the battle to overcome COVID 19 is being sabotaged, and will make the recovery be more extended, at much greater loss of life!

Joe Biden Becomes Third President (After Ulysses S. Grant And Lyndon B. Johnson) To Emphasize Racial Equity In First Months Of His Presidency

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President Joe Biden has made racial equity a landmark moment of his Presidency from the beginning, and already is perceived as being the third President to make civil rights a major goal immediately upon taking the oath.

The first President to do this was Ulysses S. Grant in 1869, promoting the concept of the 15th Amendment, granting the right to vote to African American men, and being added to the Constitution in 1870.

Also, Grant promoted better treatment of Native Americans in his Inaugural week, and is seen as the most tolerant and open minded on that issue of any President in the post Civil War years.

The second President to make civil rights a key issue immediately was Lyndon B. Johnson upon becoming President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963. Johnson made the push for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which had been floundering in Congress after it was introduced by Kennedy in the summer of 1963. And Johnson went on to promote also the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as the 15th Amendment had been denied for many decades in the Southern states, as Jim Crow segregation reigned.

And now, Joe Biden is pushing and promoting action, as a result of the well known discrimination in criminal justice; and in dealing with the endemic poverty in minority communities; the lack of adequate health care including in the COVID 19 Pandemic; problems of education and work opportunities and housing that persist; the need to clean the environment where often there is massive pollution in areas ignored before now; and also the difficulties faced by women, transgender citizens, the gay community, and the disabled. The purpose is to get rid of systemic discrimination against all the above groups.

One can hope that major progress on these areas of policy can be accomplished!

The Heroes Of 2020: Bright Lights In A Year The Worst In Most People’s Lifetimes

Ronald 9 Comments

The year 2020 has been the worst year in most people’s lifetimes, but there have been heroes who deserve attention and appreciation from all decent Americans.

The ultimate hero is Dr. Anthony Fauci, who reached the age of 80 yesterday, and has been an inspiration to anyone who believes in science, and respects expertise over “junk science”, or science that is generations out of date.

Some of our greatest heroes of the year, sadly, have departed, including Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who left a legacy of promotion of equal rights for all groups in America, including women, people of color, the disabled, and equal justice for all.

Also departing this world was Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, who promoted the concept of “good trouble” to advance human rights in a world and nation that too often is not engaged in such efforts.

Another hero is former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who advanced equality of gays and lesbians, just by becoming the first known gay Presidential contender, and now will be the first openly gay Cabinet officer as Secretary of Transportation.

Another hero is Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who has done an amazing job pursuing justice, equality, and the interests of the American people, in a time of the massive threat presented by Donald Trump, and has not blinked at his threats, misogyny, and crazed insanity. She has had to deal with the unrelenting misogyny of many in the Republican Party opposition, and Trump supporters who show a total lack of respect for her that they would never utter against a man!

Another hero is California Congressman Adam Schiff, who was a key player in the impeachment investigation of Donald Trump, and is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He has suffered from threats and vicious attacks by Donald Trump and his minions, but has demonstrated courage and conviction in an admirable manner.

Another hero is South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, the highest ranked African American in Congress as House Majority Whip, third ranking leadership role. If it were not for Clyburn, Joe Biden would not have been able to become the Democratic Presidential nominee this year, as Clyburn’s endorsement was a major factor in Biden winning the South Carolina Primary and moving forward to the top of the Democratic Presidential ticket.

Another such hero is the future First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, who, with her elegance and intelligence, will raise the level of that position from the disgraceful low level it reached in the past four years.

California Senator Kamala Harris, soon to be Vice President of the United States, is another hero, who will be the first woman, and first woman of color with her Jamaican and Asian Indian heritage, to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. She is a role model for women and racial minorities, and will be a very influential Vice President, more in the direction of Joe Biden, Al Gore, and Walter Mondale, than Mike Pence!

And last but not least, Joe Biden, who is a man of decency, compassion, ethics, and empathy, will be our 46th President on January 20, 2021. He will face the most daunting set of issues of any President since Abraham Lincoln in 1861, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, and Barack Obama in 2009. His long career in Congress, and his outstanding Vice Presidency give America hope, that in a time of a “dark winter”, as Joe Biden calls the COVID 19 Pandemic and the Second Great Depression, that Biden will take leadership on the level of FDR’s New Deal to take us to brighter days and a recovery in 2021 and beyond!

Everyone needs to pray for his success, but all know that he will not waste a minute or a day in promoting himself on Twitter or playing golf, as our despicable 45th President, Donald Trump, has done more of in the past four years, than doing his job!

Tonight’s First Presidential Debate: The Middle Class Guy Vs The Phony Billionaire And Bully

Ronald 14 Comments

Former Vice President Joe Biden enters tonight’s first Presidential debate in Cleveland against President Donald Trump in a position of strength. He is far ahead in most state polls, including in the Midwest where Hillary Clinton lost the election in 2016.

Biden is the middle class guy who has had struggles and tragedies in his life, much like the vast majority of Americans. He possesses naturally great compassion, empathy, decency, and tons of government experience as US Senator for 36 years and as one of the two best Vice Presidents in American history, alongside Walter Mondale.

Biden comes in with public opinion polls showing great strength for him among college educated voters of both genders; suburban women; African Americans; Latinos except for Cubans; Asian Americans; Jews; Social Justice Catholics; mainline Protestants; moderates; Independents; young voters; and a small sliver of Trump voters in 2016 who realize Donald Trump is a phony billionaire and bully!

Putting Biden in the Oval Office will give us a President with more background knowledge and expertise than any President when he entered the Presidency—more than Lyndon B. Johnson or George H. W. Bush.

Biden knows world leaders and can restore US foreign policy so that foreign allies can against trust our government.

Biden can restore much of the damage done to our domestic infrastructure and our government agencies that are so necessary to continue the advancements of the New Deal, Great Society, and the later accomplishments of Presidents of both parties from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama!

We will have a President who does not lie 20,000 times in three and a half years;

who will not ignore medicine and science;

who will pay his fair share of taxes;

who will not cheat on his wife with other women;

who will pick judges who understand that originalism is the wrong approach to law;

who will work to cross the aisle when possible, instead of constant insults and bullying of opponents and critics;

who will have a Vice President, Kamala Harris, who gives us confidence should there ever be an emergency;

who will restore faith in our basic values of democracy and freedom;

who will bring back honor and decency to the Oval Office;

and who will support total exposure of all crimes committed by the present incumbent of the White House!

Joe Biden Is A Role Model For Young People, While Donald Trump Is NOT A Role Model For Anyone!

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The greatest tragedy long term of the horrible person we have in the White House now is that he is NOT a role model for anyone!

Getting away from his policies for a minute, Donald Trump is a person who clearly is a massive liar, more than 20,000 times in office in three and a half years, by count of the Washington Post.

Trump is also a racist big time, since the 1970s with housing in Queens County, New York, and labeling the “Central Park Five” guilty before trial, and unwilling to concede after DNA investigation years later that the five young men who went to prison were innocent, even after they left prison. He continues to promote that all black men are hoodlums and dangerous to white suburbia.

Trump also labels all Latinos in a negative manner since he began his campaign against Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and has separated innocent children and babies at the border through the abusive ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) agencies. He has also talked about “S hole nations” in Africa, and attacked Asian Americans, and the land rights of native Americans. Only a racist would not see this to be so, that Trump is a racist and a nativist, in a manner and intensity of no other American President!

Trump is also a misogynist, who has had a love life of cheating and abuse of women much greater than any other American President, including those we know had scandalous love lives. He is the only President to have had three wives and two divorces, and even cheated on his third wife right after his son was born, by affairs with two porn stars. So his morality is zilch!

So Donald Trump is a disgrace, and no role model for children, as he encourages young boys and men to be abusive and reckless with young girls and women. This is a matter that affects the psyches of young girls and women, that they are supposed to be, according to the Trump viewpoint, taken advantage of and abused by boys and men!

This is a tremendous tragedy for the nation, to have such a man in the White House!

We have the alternative of Joe Biden, who has led a life of responsibility, morality, ethics, decency, compassion, and empathy, and as a great parent and husband. While no person is perfect in every action and utterance, Joe Biden is indeed a great role model for young men and women, and will grace the office of the Presidency in a way in which we can again believe the Presidency is a role model for the nation!

Donald Trump Has Committed Negligent Homocide And Needs To Pay The Price For This Crime Against The American People!

Ronald 6 Comments

As bad and evil as Donald Trump has been, no one in their right mind would imagine that the 45th President would commit negligent homocide.

Bob Woodward’s new book with taped statements of his interviews with Trump show that the President knew how serious the CoronaVirus Pandemic was early on, but went ahead and kept it from the American people, supposedly to avoid a “panic”, which is preposterous on its face!

Trump has been promoting chaos, anarchy, and mayhem for the entire time since he announced for President in June 2015. He is not unwilling to stir anxiety.

But to keep the truth from the American people, and attack mask wearing, and refuse to allow scientists to lead policy, Donald Trump has not only committed an impeachable case on its own, but also a human rights crime against 200,000 Americans who have died, and the many tens of thousands who will still die. This is not even counting those who get very ill, suffer, but fortunately recover.

Donald Trump has no ethics, morals, decency, empathy, or compassion for human suffering!

And the Woodward book shows he has no sense of white entitlement, and unwillingness to understand how African Americans feel about their plight of degradation which has gone on without pause for 400 years, and now is making them, along with Latino Americans, the largest number of victims of the pandemic.

It is impossible to imagine, under any circumstance, that after this revelation, along with many others in the last month, including the book of Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, that the President could possibly win a second term honestly.

That would require a total mental illness takeover of a majority of the American people, and that cannot be conceived to occur!

But by all justification, the Republican Party in Congress should be going to the White House and demanding and pressuring Trump to resign, just as courageous Republican leaders, including Barry Goldwater, Hugh Scott, and John Rhodes did in August 1974 regarding Richard Nixon.

But so far, not a peep has come from Republicans, and what it means is that by all moral standing, the Republican Party needs to be destroyed as an entity, as it has besmirched the history of the party that gave us some outstanding Presidents, and members of Congress, and state government leaders.

There is a dire need for total reconstruction and reorganization of those decent Republicans and conservatives not in office, but having a conscience.

Donald Trump needs to be held accountable in a court of law, for the mass deaths on his watch without any rationale, and to spend the rest of his life in prison, and no pardon by Mike Pence should be considered if he succeeded by resignation of Trump to a short term Presidency!

Mike Pence is also guilty of the crimes that Trump perpetrated, as he had to know the truth about the CoronaVirus Pandemic, and was totally a sycophant!

There is no excuse for either Donald Trump or Mike Pence, the worst combination President and Vice President in all of American history!