THEM TRUE COLORS
by Mark Finley
3/16/23
On March 15, Paul Vallas sat with former mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green to eat chicken at a Harold’s chicken on Chicago’s south side. The chicken eating photo op took place a few hours after Ja’Mal Green endorsed Vallas in the runoff for mayor which will be decided on April 4th. I’m surprised Green didn’t engage Vallas in a freestyle rap and twerk before they left the restaurant.
I wasn’t surprised that Vallas used an old-as-dust political tactic to lure black votes. The big surprise, or shall I say what’s more shameful was that Ja’Mal Green decided to go where the wind blows- as far as money is concerned- and flipped to side with a republican like Vallas not only to endorse but to pose for such an op.
It was an INSULT and embarrassment not just to Green and his followers, but to the entire black community, and for that matter, ANY RACE!
This chicken /chitlin/watermelon eating stunt with black figures to gain black votes goes back to the early days of campaigning, but I guess white politicians didn’t get the memo that this is 2023 and this optic stunt doesn’t work anymore.
As much smack as he talked about ole school politicians, you think Green wouldn’t have gone for this obvious insult to black people, particularly with this candidate, even hugging him like a long lost relative.
For those who know about Vallas and his and anti LGBT and racist tweets / statements, and how he defended the racist that devastated the capitol on Jan 6 calling it a picnic, plus how everywhere he went he destroyed schools, and blah-blah-blah; don’t you think Mr. Green knows this about Vallas too?
After all, he researched, noted or took jabs at all the leading mayoral candidate’s history past & present including calling Brandon Johnson a FRAUD, but it turns out he’s the FRAUD!
Ja’Mal never mentioned any of the facts about Vallas’s history mentioned here, at least not that I can recall; only commented on his proposals for the city.
Of course Ja’Mal Green knows about Vallas’s history so one must ask, “How much money or backing has Vallas promised Green for the benefit of his business or other ventures?” Can you say “SELL OUT!”
It must be a significant amount for Green to turncoat the community! Yeah Ja’Mal you really give a crap about your people because if Vallas wins, you and every black in Chicago will see how much Vallas will Fuck your people without VASSELINE!
This unequivocally shows Ja’Mal Green’s true colors! I will say it again; Green also knows about Vallas’s past and that he’s a republican, so with everything said, his endorsement for Vallas shows he truly doesn’t give a RATS ASS about the city as a whole! Green is only trying to keep his ass covered as a practicing machine and bootlicking politician period!
Sure Ja’Mal Green had good ideas. An eighth grader can come up with good ideas, but if you know how politics goes, campaign promises and ideas don’t always come to fruition, and some are lies just to gain votes.
Besides, who in god’s name is going to follow an endorsement from someone -not genuine- who not only is still sucking on Similac through a baby’s bottle besides the only votes he got in the race were from his family and a few of his homies?
With that said, I sincerely and strongly urge everyone to NEVER EVER vote for Ja’Mal Green in ANY public figure race in any city let alone a Chicago mayoral race.
If Ja’Mal Green were ever to become Mayor of Chicago, it could be worse than Rahm Emanuel and Lori combined, so just let him stay as a half pint entrepreneur that will GRIFT his followers.
So I ask you Chicago- and especially Black Chicago; do you want to vote for a Republican candidate that’s still on the politics and ideas of the 1940’s like Paul Vallas who will round up every black youth through racial profiling or the turn coating buffoonery of a Ja’Mal Green, orrrrr- a Democrat candidate like Brandon Johnson with plans to move this city forward, leaving the ole school politics as usual tactics in the past?
This is crucial! We can’t afford to put MAGA republican in the Mayors seat that will take Chicago back to the 1940’s and will have every racist from Ron Desantis to Trump parading through Chicago to further stink up & pollute the environment.
I’m sure the eyes of Chicago (especially in the black community) have been opened WIDE with this Revelation!
Well, at least we have a choice. This is America.
I wasn’t surprised that Vallas used an old-as-dust political tactic to lure black votes. The big surprise, or shall I say what’s more shameful was that Ja’Mal Green decided to go where the wind blows- as far as money is concerned- and flipped to side with a republican like Vallas not only to endorse but to pose for such an op.
It was an INSULT and embarrassment not just to Green and his followers, but to the entire black community, and for that matter, ANY RACE!
This chicken /chitlin/watermelon eating stunt with black figures to gain black votes goes back to the early days of campaigning, but I guess white politicians didn’t get the memo that this is 2023 and this optic stunt doesn’t work anymore.
As much smack as he talked about ole school politicians, you think Green wouldn’t have gone for this obvious insult to black people, particularly with this candidate, even hugging him like a long lost relative.
For those who know about Vallas and his and anti LGBT and racist tweets / statements, and how he defended the racist that devastated the capitol on Jan 6 calling it a picnic, plus how everywhere he went he destroyed schools, and blah-blah-blah; don’t you think Mr. Green knows this about Vallas too?
After all, he researched, noted or took jabs at all the leading mayoral candidate’s history past & present including calling Brandon Johnson a FRAUD, but it turns out he’s the FRAUD!
Ja’Mal never mentioned any of the facts about Vallas’s history mentioned here, at least not that I can recall; only commented on his proposals for the city.
Of course Ja’Mal Green knows about Vallas’s history so one must ask, “How much money or backing has Vallas promised Green for the benefit of his business or other ventures?” Can you say “SELL OUT!”
It must be a significant amount for Green to turncoat the community! Yeah Ja’Mal you really give a crap about your people because if Vallas wins, you and every black in Chicago will see how much Vallas will Fuck your people without VASSELINE!
This unequivocally shows Ja’Mal Green’s true colors! I will say it again; Green also knows about Vallas’s past and that he’s a republican, so with everything said, his endorsement for Vallas shows he truly doesn’t give a RATS ASS about the city as a whole! Green is only trying to keep his ass covered as a practicing machine and bootlicking politician period!
Sure Ja’Mal Green had good ideas. An eighth grader can come up with good ideas, but if you know how politics goes, campaign promises and ideas don’t always come to fruition, and some are lies just to gain votes.
Besides, who in god’s name is going to follow an endorsement from someone -not genuine- who not only is still sucking on Similac through a baby’s bottle besides the only votes he got in the race were from his family and a few of his homies?
With that said, I sincerely and strongly urge everyone to NEVER EVER vote for Ja’Mal Green in ANY public figure race in any city let alone a Chicago mayoral race.
If Ja’Mal Green were ever to become Mayor of Chicago, it could be worse than Rahm Emanuel and Lori combined, so just let him stay as a half pint entrepreneur that will GRIFT his followers.
So I ask you Chicago- and especially Black Chicago; do you want to vote for a Republican candidate that’s still on the politics and ideas of the 1940’s like Paul Vallas who will round up every black youth through racial profiling or the turn coating buffoonery of a Ja’Mal Green, orrrrr- a Democrat candidate like Brandon Johnson with plans to move this city forward, leaving the ole school politics as usual tactics in the past?
This is crucial! We can’t afford to put MAGA republican in the Mayors seat that will take Chicago back to the 1940’s and will have every racist from Ron Desantis to Trump parading through Chicago to further stink up & pollute the environment.
I’m sure the eyes of Chicago (especially in the black community) have been opened WIDE with this Revelation!
Well, at least we have a choice. This is America.
FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T KNOW,
LEGAL SLAVERY NEVER ENDED IN THE UNITED STATES!
THIS IS WHAT FUELS THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND HERE'S THE PROOF.
READ THIS SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION;
THE 13TH AMENDMENT...
SHARE THIS / PASS IT ON.
LEGAL SLAVERY NEVER ENDED IN THE UNITED STATES!
THIS IS WHAT FUELS THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND HERE'S THE PROOF.
READ THIS SECTION OF THE CONSTITUTION;
THE 13TH AMENDMENT...
SHARE THIS / PASS IT ON.
A SMOKING GUN OF TRUMP & CO. ATTEMPTING A COUP?
A LONG WAY TO GO
PART III
4-1-2020
PART III
4-1-2020
As detailed in the previous chapters (parts 1 & 2), it is obvious we are experiencing a CRISIS of EPIC proportions!
The fact that Trump and the government is taking advantage of the coronavirus as a convenient front and the carnage we are witnessing may be frightening, but we have not lost this fight yet!
We must closely monitor the side effects this virus has on the nation. They have shut everything down including schools which will leave many of the big kids to run the streets because we know kids feel invincible. If the kids are roaming the streets, that could cause a series of police shootings as states issue stay-at home or lock-down ordinances.
Since Trump declared a national emergency, if disobedience and a lack of law enforcement & firemen rise due to being infected by corona, he can also declare martial law and deploy military in all major cities with high populations of black folks. Also, when declared martial law, Trump can also postpone the election until further notice now that he has national emergency powers. I point this out because we MUST advise our youth on what is really going on – and not to fall for the same ole okey-doke.
They’re also not telling us to wipe our money down with sanitary wipes because the virus is also transferred through money transactions. This is why China burned most of their currency collected by hospitals, markets, and buses in some regions hard hit by the new coronavirus, and the one country that is going to benefit the most from this crisis is, you guessed it. RUSSIA!
Remember, Nancy Pelosi said at least three times that all roads lead to Vladimir Putin who controls Trump.
The collateral damage and mis-management of the virus will create a series of problems that will last for years. The stimulus package, which I prefer to call “Temporary Relief Package”, bails out or pumps up the big companies, but not the people in need. This package will not stimulate the economy; it only temporarily relives parts suffering the most.
There are some good parts of this relief package, but we all know $1,200 given to Americans to cover two to three months loss of revenue will not resurrect the economy now that we know the peak of the outbreak may not arrive for another two to four weeks and the overall decline will last till at least the summer! That’s another three to four months minimum!
Putin wants Trump to destroy the United States, and this virus is the perfect tool to aid in its destruction and re-configuring our civil liberties. The domino effect caused by the virus shot us right into a recession, and this will be the new norm for decades if global warming is not stopped.
Has anyone noticed that since the U.S. gradually went into shutdown mode, rich people are buying stock, and poor people are buying toilet paper? White folks are buying guns & ammo. Blacks are buying paper towels, cleaning equipment and toilet paper! The writing is on the wall and I bet most of y’all still can’t read it or read between the lines!
My anger grew tremendously this week because of how PANZY-ASSED media personalities, reporters, and some community leaders are not fully disclosing how Trump has intentionally held back taking action after being notified of this pandemic which now includes ongoing genocide.
White house Intelligence reported to Trump back in November and every month thereafter on the pending disaster facing the United States if he fails to take immediate action and mobilize to isolate the virus by quarantining the entire nation just like China, South Korea and other countries. The WHO (World Health Organization) offered to help back in December but Trump refused. Besides intelligence briefings, Trump was warned repeatedly by medical professionals like the CDC and Dr. Fauci of what’s to come in the upcoming months if immediate action wasn’t taken.
The U.S. and South Korea got their same case of COVID-19 on the same day - January 20. South Korea took immediate action / Quarantine mode, with massive testing. Trump did not. As of March 30, 158 people died from corona in South Korea, and the U.S. death toll is over 3000 and rising rapidly! Hmmm, that means Trump has the blood of 3000 people and counting on his hands because of his evil and ungodly ways.
If I and others know about this crime, you know damn well journalist, reporters, personalities, and our so-called leaders knew about this as well, but have not fully explained the scenario of Trump Intentionally delaying taking action to their audiences and followers!
Only one person (as far as I know) a black woman on “THE VIEW” called out Trump on this charge and I applaud her. GOD BLESS HER! Only a few Media reps are finally getting with the program by informing fragments of this bit by bit / day by day now that it’s plainly obvious.
Just for the record, I’m’ not just blaming conservative-right wing media people that’s controlled by either their bosses or Trump, I’m also putting ALL progressive, Liberal, left-wing, you name it- media reps, reporters, personalities and community leaders on blast because they’re guilty of this as well!
My message to all of you….
GROW SOME F-IN BALLS- ALL OF YOU- AND STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR PRECIOUS COMFY MEDIA JOBS OR PUSH-BACK FROM TRUMP AND TELL THE PUBLIC WHATS REALLY GOING ON!!! YOU’RE F---IN PATHETIC!!!
Trump has stonewalled everything since in office, and he’s stonewalling the coronavirus response while using a B.S. stimulus package to- 1. To buy votes, and 2. To fill up the pockets of corporations so that they can channel funds to his campaign, plain and simple!
With that said, let me make it perfectly clear this is not any partisan slant as in attacking a certain party or Trump.
Yes, it is true that this country was not prepared for a pandemic partly due to not having a universal healthcare system, but the data proves that if Trump had acted in a humanitarian and presidential manner, we would not be witnessing the level of carnage and the collapse of our economy for months to come.
So I ask anyone within the sound of my voice or the words they read here…
Where is the OUTRAGE? If our nation is suffering from this autocracy, you know the Black community will suffer 10 fold, and I for one is damn tired and pissed about this and anyone who’s read this or is aware of this situation should feel the same!
Moderates haven’t done a damn thing in the last 60 years for everyone to earn a livable wage and have a basic quality of life, and many folks that have lived here for more than 40 years are tired of being tired!
We’re tired of perpetual debt, we’re tired of student debt, we’re tired of being broke, we’re tired of inflated medical and pharmaceutical bills, we’re tired of being mistreated by law enforcement, we’re tired of our communities being neglected, we’re tired of our taxes going up while nothing is done to end homelessness, poor education, and innocent people killed by shootings every day, we’re tired of living this way while other countries thrive, flourish and laugh at us for accepting this level of treatment, we’re tired of the brainwashing and only right-wing slants by mainstream media, we’re tired of the dumbing down of America, we’re tired of broken promises by the Democratic party, we’re tired of the condescending attitudes of this government and its oligarch controlled partisan system, and last but not least, we’re tired of Donald Trump adding fuel to the fire in the destruction of this country! IT STOPS HERE RIGHT NOW!
The future of our community, children, grandchildren, businesses, institutions, and mankind as a whole is at stake. ZERO HOUR has arrived people! IT STOPS HERE!
It’s time for an American UPRISING like no other in History!
It’s time to take control of our government instead of the government controlling us!
In developed countries, the government is afraid of the people. In the U.S. the people is afraid of the government. This is why the people in the U.S. won’t shut down the country and overthrow the government like the citizenry of other countries. They turn out in FULL MASS as in MILLIONS to take over the streets where they shut down entire cities, and in extreme cases, they storm government buildings to oust (meaning remove) corrupt Government leaders. The fourth president of Egypt- Hosni Mubarak, who became Egypt’s longest-serving ruler, was forced out of office by a popular uprising in January 2011 and there’s just too many more to list here.
This is nothing new. This level of a resistance and uprising dates back as far as history is recorded.
People in these countries won’t tolerate this kind of monarchical fascist rule – they fight for their freedoms and rights. And guess what? They get results! Corrupt laws and policies are overturned and rouge leaders are removed. This is what WE THE PEOPLE must do and do it now!
The people in the U.S. don’t do a damn thing! Sure some march in relatively small numbers in central parts of cities and some stage sit- INS, conduct isolated boycotts, then go home to wait for the next atrocity or anniversary of an atrocity or movement to repeat the ritual, then only a fraction of the populace votes on presidential hopefuls to make the changes for their personal interest which by in large never comes.
We never fully unite to take the streets in FULL MASS (by the millions) like other countries because this government keeps us divided through hate, ignorance, religion, fear, racism, and status.
The powers that be also divide us politically by a two party (two tier) systematic government resulting in republican voters and democrat voters- and now the newest term’s; between Trumpster’s and anti-Trumpster’s.
Now this is not just Mark Finley that’s advocating this action, there’s an ever growing number of people that have come to the same conclusion and is expressing this publicly over many progressive outlets including Social Media.
This country is a Molotov Cocktail, and the past four years of Trump and our oligarch bought government should be enough to light the fuse. There are a growing number of whites and other races that have come to the reality that we’ve exhausted all options to change the culture of our government except this final option.
“If they steal this election again, I call for a general strike nationwide and make pitchforks out of sturdy cardboard just to show them how serious we are. We can bring this country to its knees in one day and keep it there until they undue the rigging. It’s time we get serious. They’ve had us on our knees now let them feel what that’s like for a while!”
That statement represents thousands or millions expressing their frustration, anger, and the solution to this CRISIS!
It is documented that even former presidents have stated the seriousness of this situation publicly and have expressed the importance of revolution if you read between the lines.
Before his death, President Woodrow Wilson regretted signing the Federal Reserve Act which gave the Banker families ownership of this country and car-blanch to control the masses through this new monetary, taxation, and credit system which keeps us in perpetual debt.
President Wilson stated in a letter to the people – and I quote…
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world- no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men."
President Woodrow Wilson wrote this in 1914. Now fast forward to today- 2020- and tell me these words don’t apply to the state of the Unites States.
In the midst of the Great Depression, FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) wrote…
“It is time for the country to become fairly radical for a generation,” …and when he became president in 1933, he rallied the American people to do just that.
Accepting the Democratic nomination for a second presidential term, on June 27, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the most radical speech ever given by an American president. Here are the high-points of that speech and I quote…
“For too many of us the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality. A small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor, and other people's lives. For too many of us, life was no longer free; liberty no longer real; men could no longer follow the pursuit of happiness.
Against economic tyranny such as this, the American citizen could appeal only to the organized power of Government.
…The royalists of the economic order have conceded that political freedom was the business of the Government, but they have maintained that economic slavery was nobody's business. They granted that the Government could protect the citizen in his right to vote, but they denied that the Government could do anything to protect the citizen in his right to work and his right to live.
… These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike”.
Now think about that. This is the President of the FREAKIN United States saying this in a speech to the country! And by the way, this is a President that got re-elected 3 times!
You will never hear a president in our lifetime make this declaration.
FDR is hailed as the greatest president this country has ever had, and after reading up on FDR and listening to his speeches, I have to agree. He implemented social programs like Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Medicare, Food Stamps, and so on.
In conclusion, I must say this, and I’ll get off my Soapbox.
For decades, we’ve been fed and taking the best B.S. from this government that literally NO OTHER COUNTRY will take! We’re so quick to point fingers to blame every president that has either done great damage or not enough in this country, but let me remind you, when you point your finger – you have three fingers pointing right back at you!
We’re so quick to blame Trump, Nixon, Bush, Regan, and even Obama for the woes our population has experienced, but what have we done? Presidents are merely symptoms of a much broader situation! They are merely following the directives of the owners of this country!
To the millions, especially our youth that says. ”I’m not voting because voting doesn’t matter”… I say to them, OK then, what does matter??? The answer is you! You matter, we all matter! And it’s you and every able body person, not the Oligarchs- that have the power to turn this cesspool into a true country of liberty and justice for all!
It’s up to you as a whole to make it matter just like the citizenry in other countries have done for decades!
We are at a crossroad where we can no longer blame ANY POLITICIAN! We’ve gone way beyond that point years ago! This is why other countries either shake their heads in pity or laugh at us hysterically- because we sit on our asses, take a bunch of B. S. and complain without taking the necessary actions to take this country back!
With all the protests going on in every city these days, we have yet another great opportunity to combine all these protest marches into one SOLID FULL MASS to take our country back.
But it’s not only showing up in FULL MASS, this fight also includes manipulating the system!
To all the young people out there that doesn’t vote. You must realize the system has manipulated us for decades. They manipulated our parents, grandparents and forefathers. They’re now making us believe that Joe Biden is the best for black people after he launched a program that has jailed millions of black men. Yes, he’s obviously better than having Trump in office, but he’s not our savior.
You MUST turn the tide and manipulate the system! You have tools that your parents or grandparents didn’t have that can easily manipulate the system! Celebrities, politicians, and other professionals do it every day to their advantage, and so should you to save ourselves and the future of our people.
The forces against us are using these tools but you’re not. We must combine every aspect of an uprising including manipulating this system to change America. They set up blocks to make us believe we can’t manipulate this system, but in reality, we can, you can!
To make this point as profound as possible, I’ve extracted excerpts from the greatest speech in sports history from Herb Brooks before the historic Miracle on Ice”. And I quote….
"Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. This is your time. Now go out there and take it!"
Our people have earned and deserve much better! We’ve earned it with our blood, sweat and tears from building this country since slavery. We’ve earned it through death from the ones who sacrificed their lives for our humanity, but now the powers that be have taken away much of what our forefathers have died for. It’s time to take it back!
They’ve revised our democracy to the point where they virtually control our bedrooms, our computers, our bank accounts, our bodies, and our minds. We have to go out there and take our rights back because the owners of this country are damn set on not giving it to us, so the next time I hear someone complain about our government, Trump, Mitch McConnell, Bill Barr, the Republicans, the Democrats, or even the powers that be, I will ask them… “SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?”
See, when the government shuts down the people, it only affects the mid to lower income and the poor. But when the people shut down the Government, it affects the top 5 - 10%- The big corporations and the oligarchs, where their bottom line is greatly affected through productivity on all levels, as well as their capital influence over the parties they endorse with funds-especially the republicans.
Now for anyone who is ready to take that first step, there are steps everyone must take to accomplish our goal.
First, we must all put this energy out in the universe through mind power with positive thoughts, and then pray to send good vibes to one another. When you pray for someone, you send positive vibration’s to them. Pray for all to unite for this purpose. To enforce these thoughts and prayers, action must follow.
Even the bible says prayer without work is dead meat. God is not our housekeeper; he cannot clean up our mess, only we can clean up our mess. God or whatever name your culture worships him by, first gave us a conscious, a spirit, and then gave us a mind to think, rationalize, and execute the cleansing of any mess.
God didn’t just suddenly make the governments of countries treat their people right; the people in these countries prayed for unity and strength, and then acted upon it. They rose to take their countries back! Now it’s our turn!
For starters, we must take the opportunity of living in a Stay-At-Home / Shelter in Place world to take a look at ourselves (called Mirror Moments) because we go out each day to live our lives and view and judge each other in expectation mode.
This opportunity is to make ourselves better people and to do things differently for the betterment of all, not just ourselves. Now that we’re at home isolating, we have plenty of time to tune out any noise and listen to nature and listen to the creator who guides us all.
The nation is closed / shutdown until further notice! Due to the total collapse of the economy and the funding it will take to resurrect it, we are witnessing a sort of resetting in several facets of the economy and society.
This is our opportunity to hit the reset button! This is our opportunity to install UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME! When you think about the logistics, this stimulus cash everyone will get every month till the virus subsides is literally TEMPORARY BASIC UNIVERSAL INCOME.
How about treatment for the corona virus? Yes, the testing is free, but the treatment is not. According to the axioms report, the average cost of treatment for this virus is $24,000.00. Nobody can afford bills in the tens of thousands of dollars! This is also the opportunity for UNIVERSAL HEATH CARE! And there’s so much more!
Rest buttons are being pushed! It’s only logical for congress to hit the reset button to completely balance the national economy. This means everything, every debt, every bill is wiped out! Zero balance! Set at zero!
Why not? Every damn thing is literally frozen in time, and when folks get these piddly widdly $1,200.00 checks, which have been delayed due to congress fighting on the details, they will have to catch up on bills, rent, and household projects to stabilize their lives which may take up to three months- over going out to spend, spend, spend to fuel the economy.
Then the stimulus checks will stop and it will be back to the same mode as before, and this still won’t put people back to work quick fast and hurry! And the work environments and criteria will be changed as companies will realize their employees can produce at home, and be cheaper because they can reduce work space which will lower rental cost, so they will keep employees working at home. However, if this income becomes perpetual, as in continuing 12 months a year, only then will the economy be resurrected as people will start spending in two to three months after the first check is released and their lives become stabilized.
And finally, when this 2 .2 trillion dollars hits the streets, we have the opportunity to form partnerships with Africa through their producers and distributors so we have our own self-contained industries, just like Koreans, Chinese and Jews have.
These are the opportunities that we must fight for and demand! These are unprecedented times, and its time to make take unprecedented action! THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE WORLD! DON’T BLOW THIS OPPORTUNITY PEOPLE!
I must also express my deepest concern to anyone that remains defiant of the seriousness of this outbreak after all the developments over the past week.
I say to you, FOR GODS SAKE, PLEASE OBEY TO THE RULES AND STAY AT HOME UNTIL WE GET THE ALL CLEAR FROM OFFICIALS! THIS IS NO JOKE! The first person to die from corona in Illinois was my friend’s sister; Patricia Frieson! And just a few days ago, she lost another sister Wanda Frieson from corona! That’s two sisters my friend lost in a week’s time from the virus!
An infant recently passed from the virus! A teenager under 18 recently passed from the virus- and on and on! This virus has now claimed more lives than 9/11- passing 3000 on Tuesday, and this wave is getting progressively worse and is expected to last another two months or more, so PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY and don’t be a passer of the virus to your family & friends, even if you don’t value your life, please think of others.
I’ve been working my own front line by giving away bags of food to seniors that have difficulty getting food from stores, so I’m doing everything in my power to help ease the domino effect by this upheaval.
Now, as for taking this country back, here’s how it will go…
Step #1
CALL THE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE @ 202-225-3121. Also call the SENATORS @ 202-224-3121
- ASK TO CONNECT WITH INDIVIDUAL OFFICE
- ASK TO SPEAK TO THE AIDE WHO HANDLES YOUR ISSUE(S)
- LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT of Mark Finley; V.P. Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce, or your States Senator, or Congressman.
- BE BRIEF – THEY RECEIVE HUNDREDS OF CALLS SO YOUR CONSTITUENT WILL STAND OUT
- NOTE YOUR EXPERIENCE
- KNOW YOUR FACTS
Step #2. After you make your call(s), head to the polls in MASS to VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO for the 2020 general election. This massive turnout will turn the senate back to blue (as in control by the democrats) and will also vote out Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham, and boot out William Barr.
A massive landslide victory will assure Trump will not be able to claim voter fraud to keep him in office through the courts. If this happens, this will give Trumps minions time to finagle evidence just like they did for the impeachment hearings. Also, because Trump has stacked the courts, his minion judges can simply rule in favor Trump, so a massive landslide in votes will squash all of that.
Now I’m not suggesting everyone turning democrat, but it is very strategic to vote democrat just to get Trump out of office to stop the hemorrhaging (as in excessive bleeding) from a wound. In order to heal a wound, you got close up the wound first, and Trump is the wound. Then we can deal with whoever is the president and begin fixing the damage Trump has caused.
Just for the record, I’m not loyal to any white supremacist party. I’m totally independent.
This is why we should change from a two party governing system to a parliamentary government where WE THE PEOPLE would only be divided between candidates, not by separate parties that can flip flop on legislation's causing more division and confusion of the people. This will also the electoral college, and combine the two separate conventions (democrat & republican) into one convention!
This is not about democrats or republicans; it’s not even about politics. It’s about healing, and its about living.
I’ll vote for a ham sandwich before I vote for Trump.
Step # 3. If Trump wins, all people of all races must immediately organize to unite in FULL MASS to take the streets, and I don’t mean a simple protest march, I’m talking taking the streets flooding all downtown areas in cities, and focus on surrounding the Capital, the White house, the Pentagon, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, the Airports, and the Central bank buildings. These targets are crucial focus points!
This ABSOLUTELY MUST BE DONE BY MILLIONS turning out ENTIRE CITIES AND LOCATIONS OF GOVERNMENT & FINANCE just like people in countries like China, England, Belgium… etc!
If they (oligarchs) combine their forces to keep Trump in office and to keep us in a perpetual state of division, neglect, sickness and despair, it’s up to us to combine our forces to remove him. Only then will the oligarchs listen and have to comply as we remove all corrupt leaders and put a governing system in place that’s truly for the people and by the people.
This can be done the same way millennial's and have done and currently do when they organize to gather in locations for various reasons, some to commit crimes like the snatch and grab on stores throughout the country, uniting to stage sit-ins… etc. They organize through cell phone calls or over the internet through social media and emails. If the youth can organize to conduct strategic gatherings in MASS, they can surely organize to assemble in MASS for this our CRISIS: PLANET EARTH! NO DOUBT!
Another prime example this can be done is the Million Man March. Held , this gathering of 1 million strong black men took place in Washington, D.C., and this was before the rise of social media and smartphones. If Louis Farrakhan can get 1 million men to converge on a single location, I know damn well people in this country can unite for this CRISIS!
I also recall the Michigan Avenue Shutdown in Chicago which I was a participant. It was the first time where people converged on The Mag Mile (a major financial district) to literally shut down any and all businesses by standing in front of the businesses locking arms so people couldn’t get in to shop while chanting NO WAY, NO SHOPPING TODAY and other chants.
This resulted in a financial loss of 1.5 billion dollars as reported by Mag Mile officials. This was repeated in several Major cities in the U.S. that day, but none was broader and more powerful as the one in Chicago.
And just this past year, there’s the uprising in Sudan which protesters demanded a civilian-led government following the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
Now just think of the magnitude if millions converge the same way to shut down every city all day, every day to remove Trump and re-set our government!
It starts with clicks forming groups of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Then these groups merge with other groups making larger groups, and then these larger groups merge with other larger groups, and so on- until you have a massive group in the millions across the country ready to converge! We all just need to agree on the time and day.
History shows it’s that simple. It’s the powers that be and the government that wants you to think that it’s not possible. They want you to remain separated! They want you to stay in your place by frolicking on Facebook, watch mindless TV shows and sporting events while they brainwash you and screw you without Vaseline! They are causing people to be negative and perpetrate a defeatist attitude. DON’T FALL FOR IT!
The outbreak of the corona virus should also not be a deterrent. Actually it should be a motivator because of the disregard of our lives from the Trump administration- as we now know this slow response to action was intentional. Even if all of us are infected by the virus, which we should know by the summer, the healthiest will have little or no symptoms and will fight it off in about two weeks or so.
But even more important, the coronavirus has shown us how much we are all connected worldwide, and also how much we all depend on one another in various reasons but mostly economically. And finally, considering how much we all depend on one another, if you think of spiritual and biblical terms, this coronavirus is serving as a call for us to UNITE and take this stand of an UPRISING to clean house!
This movement does not require reaching out to any prominent leader in particular. This is not meant for their seal of approval. Besides, chances are they won’t do it. Some are cow tied to the system; some are in their comfort zones because that is how they make their living, especially those PANZY-ASSED media personalities and so-called community leaders that won’t tell it like it is.
They don’t want to rock any boats, and some are living in the past when it comes to dealing with this level of decadence and autocracy (you know, the cum-by-ya marching - just pray it away or let Jesus or god handle it bunch) so I’m sure many of these individuals will more than likely attempt to discourage this level of action, or keep their mouths shut by not acknowledging this uprising.
Come to think of it, if these so-called leaders and media personalities know how citizens in other countries have changed their governments by uprising for decades and still won’t even SLIGHTLY suggest that we come together to do the same thing after all these years, especially in this decade of CRISIS, do you really expect them to just suddenly use their platforms to lead their follower’s by saying UPRISING? Don’t listen to them and please don’t fall for their rhetoric!
We are the leaders, not them! They must now accept the uprising, join us, follow us, or go somewhere and sit down!
Just like in the Silent Dollars movement, there’s no one face, leader, front person or civil group to take the accolades, or to be criticized, ostracized, or assassinated. The face of this uprising is every man, woman and child in America! That’s the face, and if there’s any example we can take from this, it’s the people in the developed countries that succeeded in uprisings. THIS IS IT!
It is imperative to shut down all the locations I listed here and REMAIN THERE until Trump vacates his presidential seat and the government is re-set to restore humanity the same way it’s done in other countries! This can be done in shifts. When some folks may have to leave, other folk’s will come and replace them, just like we did in the Michigan Avenue Shutdown. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE THIS CAN’T BE DONE!
Now as far as the Black community is concerned, this corona thang is also giving us a chance to take our community back! No one will be moving over the next two to four weeks easily, and if the National Guard is deployed in the hood, when they leave we must have pillars in place like programs and national grants to keep elements like gang banger's from reforming and taking the streets back. We must take the streets in mass to keep them from re-taking the streets back.
Fear is our greatest enemy, and this system utilizes our fears. We need to get the courage to realize this can be done.
Again, I must stress that we are in the ZERO HOUR! There’s no time for a messiah like savior to emerge, or to depend on the governing carousel of democrats and republicans under an authoritarian bi-partisan rule! We all are the Messiahs! It’s all on WE THE PEOPLE remember? That’s the first three words in the very first sentence in the constitution (the outlining of laws governing the country) which the very fabrics of our corrupt government break and redefines to their benefit right in our faces every day. This is another reason this country remains in a constant state of CRISIS, because they constantly move the goal post.
The second set of words in the constitution is just as powerful –
The perfect union starts with US… WE THE PEOPLE! Union is short for unite and or unification.
The first sentence in the constitution continues…
“to establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Come on now! Let these words sink in! If you read between the lines, the very constitution is telling you it’s all up to us! This first sentence in the constitution sets the tone and says it all. WE THE PEOPLE MUST take this country back and restore humanity!
I guarantee and promise you, there’s no other way. And if these are my last words to the people, so be it for I have done my duty to god and as a human being.
The greatest threat to the planet is not a virus like COVID-19. Viruses are symptoms of biological manifestations, just like global warming, greed, and Trump are symptoms of our society. Man is the biggest virus on this planet. And this planet is a living organism that has its way of eliminating anything that harms its natural environment or threatens to destroy it.
We are now witnessing, the planet dealing with the HUMAN VIRUS as it has begun the process of shaking us off- like a dog shakes off flees. Once this is complete, the planet will allow another civilization to live on its surface until it messes up as our civilization has done.
By not doing anything about this crisis, you are participating in a system that won’t save us.
Now I hate to be blunt, but if anyone still won’t to do a damn thing about this after learning of our situation from any source including this three part series, don’t make any more complaints or cast doubt and negativity on people, or say we didn’t warn you. Just go somewhere, sit down and welcome your fate and eventual demise! NOW THAT’S REAL TALK!
For anyone who spends hours each day on Facebook and other social media, running their business, or any other activity, y’all can take two minutes out of your day to save the fabric of our lives by sharing this information with the youth and anyone in your lives by simply sending a link to this page. Then start organizing!
Speaking of running your business, for the business owners, look at it this way; this is the most IMPORTANT BUSINESS move of your life. You may not be killed by the virus- but instead killed by the business environment, for you will not have a business to run anywhere from a few years to 15 years. I BET YOU MY LAST DOLLAR ON THAT!
If you don’t do anything else but this, at least you’ve done something and your conscious will feel better when you do.
Again; IT STOPS HERE, and until WE THE PEOPLE make it stop, WE THE PEOPLE and this country will forever have A LONG WAY TO GO. By Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
This is the real WORLD WAR Z.
I’ll let the former Governor of Minnesota, Mr. Jessie Ventura have the final word…
“You control our world. You’ve poisoned the air we breathe, contaminated the water we drink, and copyrighted the food we eat. We fight in your wars, die for your causes, and sacrifice our freedoms to protect you. You’ve liquidated our savings, destroyed our middle class, and used our tax dollars to bailout your unending greed. We are slaves to your corporations, zombies to your airwaves, servants to your decadence. You’ve stolen our elections, assassinated our leaders, and abolished our basic rights as human beings. You own our property, shipped away our jobs, and shredded our unions. You’ve profited off of disaster, destabilized our currencies, and raised our cost of living. You’ve monopolized our freedom, stripped away our education, and have almost extinguished our flame. We are hit… we are bleeding… but we ain’t got time to bleed. We will bring the giants to their knees and you will witness our revolution!”
Jessie Ventura
As always in parting, be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Peace & blessings;
Dr. Z
For the strategy of how to take off work to participate in this UPRISING or SILENT DOLLARS legally without repercussions from your employer, go to... Click on either LINK
SILENT DOLLARS WEBSITE https://silentdollars.weebly.com/about.html
A LONG WAY TO GO
Part 2 3-13-2020 Of all the social services other developed countries provide, one can’t go without mentioning the stabilizing anchor; UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME! You know- the program that former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is lobbying to congress which is considered his strongest and most popular campaign promise. Other developed countries have universal basic income and some are experimenting with it.
However, once again, the U.S. has failed to budget its trillion dollar surplus to provide UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME to its longtime unemployed and impoverished population. The closest America has come to delay zero income to the unemployed is temporary unemployment compensation that last on average about 6 months, and the food stamp program aka SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) providing women with children a boost of spendable cash that basically just puts clothes on their kid’s backs and other basic necessities. But what about the men living paycheck to paycheck who’s been unemployed longer than 6 months? Nothing but the SNAP program that only puts a bite to eat in their mouths. With computers and artificial intelligence eliminating jobs- as this technology evolves and becomes more cost effective, it is inevitable that more jobs will be replaced over the next 10 to 20 years. This will greatly increase unemployment and universal basic income will be necessary to stabilize families and the economy. After reviewing everything I laid out so far, it’s no wonder people are getting the hell out of dodge to relocate to one of these countries. It’s all about a standard of living for all, not for a chosen few as dictated in the United States. As many immigrants arrive in America seeking a better quality of life, many Americans are leaving for the same reasons. The number of Americans living abroad has been steadily rising over the last 20 years and by 2018, the Bureau of Consular Affairs estimated American’s leaving the country at the rate of around 32.4 million a year. That’s a record number! And all of these folks leaving the US are not seniors who have retired, the bulk of them are families, some with more than two children. I have friends who lived in Germany, France and visited other countries going back as far as the 80’s. They all were quick to point out the differences between the U.S. and these countries. I admit that if I knew what this nation would turn into when I was 21 or 30, I would have got the hell out myself. And just for the record, I’ve been out the country several times in my life and wherever I went, it was like nothing I ever experienced as in TOTALLY AWESOME! Getting the hell out of dodge is nothing new. People, especially black folks like entertainer Josephine Baker were getting the hell out since the 1920’s, and perhaps even before that. Entertainment, especially popular American music is well appreciated and celebrated in these countries. A key move for recording artist is to do world tours because that’s where the big bucks are! Ole school bands and artist from America like Earth Wind & Fire, Diana Ross and George Clinton still pack large venues overseas, but here, they draw minimal crowds at small venues unless they perform at festivals where folks can see them for free, or they are bunched together for a nostalgia show. When it comes to relocating to these progressive countries, I’ve heard comments from folks like; “I swear, if I could get there, I would”. 16% of Americans overall who said in 2017 and again in 2018 that they would like to permanently move to another country if they could-- is higher than the average levels during either the George W. Bush (at 11%) or Barack Obama administration (at 10%). Could it be that a certain person in the White house has anything to do with record numbers of folks getting out of dodge? Since he took office, record numbers of Americans have left the country or wanted to get out, and if he gets re-elected this November, I promise you that record number will significantly increase. People will not take this level of decadency and neglect anymore! With all that’s going on in this country and the 2020 Presidential election on the horizon, now we have to deal with the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and the impact it’s having on the economy. Other developed countries are well prepared for this level of an outbreak because their systems are set up to address a pandemic. Overall they’re locking down the virus and making sure the spread is minimal. Countries like South Korea are testing 10,000 people a day for the coronavirus from day one. On the flip-side, America has tested somewhere around 500 people as of March 4th. The United States is the least prepared developed country in the world because we don’t have a national health care system, besides having Donald Trump as president. The system is set up not to address a pandemic and dozens are affected nationwide with over 38 deaths reported. There could possibly be thousands of people infected by the virus that’s rapidly affecting thousands more because they believe they just have a common cold. Because of the limited number of test kits, there is minimal testing in the U.S. In Oregon, only 28 people were tested by February 28. Donald Trump’s failure to plan in preparing the United States for the corona virus is causing a ripple effect in the spread of the virus. From the very beginning, Trump downplayed the severity at press conferences- spouting mis-information and putting blame on the CDC while putting himself on a pedestal as usual. And to make things worse, Trump puts Vice president Mike Pence -who has absolutely NO experience in this field- in charge of coordinating the government’s response to the virus. Trump has known about the coronavirus for 4 months yet he hasn’t done a damn thing! Trumps downsizing the White House NSC (National Security Council) and eliminating departments Obama started to deal with viral outbreaks are the reasons for the lack of response, the slow production of test kits, and the rapid escalation of people being infected. "For the first time since 9/11, you don't have someone directly reporting to the president responsible [for threats like] pandemics," an ex-official said. Here it is mid-March, and there’s still a minimal supply of test kits. This should have been handled by the federal government four months ago. So why did Trump reject guidance from the WHO (the World Health Organization) and didn’t order approved test kits from the WHO? People are now asking this question when other countries have ordered the test kits by the millions. Trump referred the corona virus as a democratic hoax. He’s literally sabotaging the health of the people of this country and he’s covering up the lack of response. This is proof that they don’t want to control the virus; they want to control the message and allow the spread of the virus to increase the demand for medicines, face masks, disinfectants and the vaccine. Hmmm, I think we have another Article of impeachment which they should draft immediately! Due to the shortage of test kits, only 2 per-cent of the country has been tested. As the virus spreads and a huge mass of people get sick, hospitals will have an overload in emergency rooms which they cannot handle. This is part of what’s causing the mass rush we are witnessing as people are stocking up on essentials to get them through an inevitable mandatory nationwide quarantine shutdown. This is genuinely surreal. Most people can’t afford to take off sick because they don’t get paid- especially if they work at a small Ma & Paw business, so if there off for two weeks if they are quarantined--- well, I don’t have to tell everyone how that will hurt those living pay check to pay check. Plus, they will not want to go to a doctor or the emergency room if they don’t have health insurance. People are showing up at hospitals and clinics requesting to get tested but are turned down. This is why you have massive community spread of the virus, so look out; this is growing to epic proportions. Now here’s a little secret, if you want to get tested and not get turned down, just tell a hospital or clinic you’re from the media and you’re doing a story on the outbreak. Then they’ll test you. One must ask, could Trumps intentional delay to take action and silencing the medical professionals beside him through a gag order is in part to fatten the pockets of the companies in the pharmaceutical and the cleaning/disinfecting industry? Speaking of a gag order, as of Wednesday, March 11, around 9am, the White house classified all conversations on the corona virus. At the same time, Dr. Anthony Fauci (head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) testified before congress on the coronavirus situation. The hearing was cut short because Trump & Co. didn’t like what Dr. Fauci was saying to the public, and so officials could rush to an “emergency” White House meeting with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to outline how Trump will override or downplay Dr. Fauci’s statements and present Bad-Aid resolutions to the crisis during his address to the nation later that evening. Well as it turns out, according tax returns, in the healthcare sector, pharmaceutical companies like Big Pharma have made big contributions to numerous conservative groups that in turn funneled contributions to Trumps campaign. And yes, stocks has skyrocketed in Big Pharma, Inovio, Clorox, Moderna, and other related companies since the outbreak. It’s also speculated that Trump has invested in pharmaceutical companies, and as of March 1st the healthcare sector contributed over 1.4 million dollars to Trumps 2020 presidential campaign. As for the test kits, instead of ordering test kits from the WHO or other countries, Trump has privatized the production of test kits allowing two clinical laboratory companies, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp to produce test kits. Both are for-profit fortune 500 companies, and its highly possible Trump has investments in these two companies. Ahhhh, now it’s all coming together! It makes sense for Trump and his minions to allow the virus to build momentum so that Trumps pharmaceutical buddies can rake in the cash, then, once they begin distributing the vaccine in about a year or two, all parties involved will make billions, if not trillions. To add insult to injury, on Monday March 9, Trump tweeted a picture of himself playing a fiddle! I couldn’t believe he had the balls to do this! America is on fire and the leader is fiddling? What a SLAP IN THE FACE! Many folks may remember the phrase “Nero fiddled while Roam burned”. Nero, Rome's emperor at the time, was a decadent and unpopular leader in a time of crisis. The phrase has come to mean a person who is neglecting their duties, probably by doing something frivolous, trivial or irresponsible in the face of an emergency. This clearly describes Trump and his response during this time of crisis. It is obvious that the tweet is meant to send a clear message that he doesn’t care if this country burns to the ground and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people unless you’re a millionaire buying one of his condos or contributing to his cause. I wonder how many Trump supporters who know all of these facts surrounding Trumps response to the outbreak would still vote for him after putting every person at risk in the country- including themselves, their children, their parents and so on. Facebook- who’s determined to cater to right wing spreading of misinformation- besides Mark Zuckerberg showing his true colors and being a Trump supporter also played a significant role in downplaying the seriousness of this outbreak. For the most part, Facebook users depend on this platform for their news and information making Facebook a strong influence in controlling thoughts and actions. This is one of the many reasons why I have championed the Facebook Boycott- and you can read the full report in the Exposé of Facebook published in the archive section at Mark’s Corner. The American culture is all backwards in how we are conditioned –as in programed. A computer is an extension of the human brain; in fact, the concept of a computer microprocessor is based on the human brain. You program a computers brain, and you can program people’s brains. Americans are programed how to think and process information, just like computers. Americans are programed to keep up with the Jones's. Americans are programed to zone out instead in zoning in. White folks by in large are programed to be leaders, not followers. Black folks by in large are programed to be follower’s not leaders. The powers that be use mass media, as in news media, TV shows, movies and advertising to program the masses by merging fantasy and reality, and replacing reality with false realities. We’ve turned a reality TV star (Donald Trump) into a president and we’ve turned a movie star (Ronald Regan) into a president. Come to think of it, for the most part, American Idol has a bigger voter turnout than voter turnout for presidential elections. What’s more bizarre is almost as many people watched the super bowl as people who voted in the 2016 presidential election. Fiction has merged with reality to the point many people can’t tell the difference. I wonder how many folks watched the movie “Contagion”? How about the movie WORD WAR Z? Well this is our WORD WAR Z! America is a zombie compared to what it was 40 years ago. We hail the rich and are cruel to the poor. People disassociate from one another as they retreat to their cubical homes after a hard day’s work to get on Facebook and other social media outlets, play video games, or watch the latest episodes of reality TV instead of going out to enhance their own reality by interacting with each other. And now because of the efforts to contain the corona virus, “SOCIAL DISTANCING” is the hot new phrase. Wow, if this country was polarized prior to this outbreak, it’s now polarized 10 fold and might never fully recover psychologically from this mode long after the threat of corona subsides. We already don’t acknowledge one another when we pass each other in the streets with a simple hello or smile. We don’t even take the time to know our neighbors and in many cases, we treat them like crap as well. When interviewed, an administrator in Finland told Michael Moore… “I would never want to be your neighbor”. Due to the collapse of American ethics and infrastructure, we have gone from the most revered (admired & mimicked) country in the world to the most ridiculed and hated, and because of our ignorance, complacency, and the orange man in the White house, we are now the laughing stock of the WORLD! We have become an oligarchy controlled nation plagued with massive consumer debt, student debt, and housing debt, and to top it off we’re at the front door of another recession. Damn right we have a long, long way to go! This is the state of where we’re at as a nation, the true STATE OF THE UNION! The American dream ended in the 90’s, but it is obvious that in other developed countries, the American dream is alive and well. Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. We must never forget, WE THE PEOPLE are the majority, not the billionaire’s and corporations and it’s WE THE PEOPLE that can- and will- take this country back to where every man, woman & child will live and prosper with a dignified quality of life. Over the last two decades, many scholars agree that the two parties, Democrat- (left wing) and Republican- (right wing) are just factions of the White Supremacist Party or rulers. Has anyone noticed that the symbol of the United Sates, the federal government and our federal reserve is a bird? Yep, it’s the bald eagle. This symbol is even on the floor in the oval office and our currency. In reality, this symbol represents the rulers that be- through government and our monetary system- which they own and control. Rulers and occupiers always leave their symbols as a sign of occupation and domination people and territory. You see gang symbols in areas where there’s heavy gang activity, and back in the days, we even saw gang symbols on public transportation systems. Well, this gang- the rulers ancestors- began placing their symbol back in 1782. As for our governing partisan system, the right wing and the left wing is part of the same bird -the symbol of the rulers. In this ruling two tiered system, one party- the Democrats take over for a presidential term or two to correct what the republican party messed up- then the next term, the republican party takes over to mess it all up again. It’s all been set up for division of the nation. When examined carefully, both parties benefit from the tic toc sway of this system that keeps the little people in their place while glorifying and perpetuating Capitalism. The governing officials that make up the two parties have the best salaries, the best health care, the best resources, the best benefits, and the best pensions when they leave office. They need no union because they are a union within itself as they make or change laws to their and their oligarch owner’s benefit, and their name recognition and resume guarantees them a high position in almost any foundation, institution or company in the nation if they decide to leave office to pursue other aspects of their careers. However, in several developed countries their government structures are a parliamentary government based on proportional representation electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. instead of a two party government. Proportional representation characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in an elected body. Thus, people of a country is only divided between candidates, not separate parties that can flip flop on legislation's causing more division of the people. this will greatly increase increase interest in politics / civics, voter registration, and participation. This is how our country should be governed. Now I’m no trying to be an alarmist on gloom & doom or a conspiracy theorist, I’m just stating the hard facts, so here’s the lowdown as to where we are heading. 10 years ago, I’ve seen videos and pictures people took of disposable coffins “known as hermetically sealed caskets” produced by FEMA stacked 7 to 10 feet high in fields in Madison, Georgia that seemed to stretch as far as the eye can see. Why??? The CDC explains these coffins are meant for the burial and or cremation of bodies exposed to infectious diseases to prevent the spread of infection. This is some crap! I wondered what these coffins symbolize or are really there for? First, more than likely, families-especially low income families and the government will choose to cremate a body because it’s cheaper than burial. Cremation of a body will kill a virus instantly, and the ashes will be small enough to be placed in earns- not a coffin that could hold 50 or more earns. So why have they produced disposable coffins in the millions? There are rumors and some theories that the government has been operating behind the scenes to prepare an action in case of an American revolt that will not only squash a revolution, but kill many of its participants. That’s a better explanation than burying bodies infected by a virus, but I think there are other practical reasons for these caskets. It’s highly probable more extreme weather caused by climate change will escalate along with earth shifts like earthquakes, hurricanes, and mass floods resulting in disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Then there is the possibility of Medicare, Medicaid, and social security being cut which will also kill thousands of people- like before these programs were activated in the 1930’s by FDR. Matter of fact, much of this activity is already claiming thousands of lives worldwide. The coronavirus is just the first stage. I thought about this strategy. When they come up with a vaccine for corona- which is estimated may take around 12 – 18 months, who do you think will be the first group of people they will administer the vaccine to? Yep, you guessed it; white folks- especially wealthy whites, governing officials in the house, and the doctors and scientist that keeps them healthy- rest assured. Then the vaccine will be available to the general public. By that time, thousands will be deadly sick or have died. Now if anyone is paying close attention, this pandemic is already causing a world economic problem, and if you have a business, if you’re not feeling the effects now, you will definitely feel it before summer as the nation completely shuts down. Then there’s the BIG BOMB. This is the final blow -the knockout punch that is already hitting us at a drip, drip pace that’s the existential threat to this planet- GLOBAL WARMING! I don’t have to tell you the effects of global warming as you see it every day by massive droughts, fires, and extreme weather that’s already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. About three months ago, another large shelf in the Antarctic collapsed due to the heating of the region. When massive chunks of ice melt quickly, it produces high levels of methane gas. As the meltdown increases, so will the level of methane gas. Low concentrations of methane gas are not harmful, but a high concentration can displace oxygen in the air. This will cause a number of respiratory problems-especially for those with asthma. Scientist has been warning our government for decades that our use of fossil fuels and the exhaust of carbons will result in global warming. This warming has begun melting the Polar Regions and a massive growth and spread of methane gas caused by the collapse of the Antarctic has the potential to choke or suffocate everyone on the planet- everyone except those wealthy oligarchs who will retreat to their sealed bunkers or supply themselves with oxygen masks. Now we must realize, even when a vaccine develops, it can become obsolete if the virus evolves to immunity in a year or two requiring even more time to produce advanced versions. Now we are looking at the high possibility of triple jeopardy considering that the danger levels of illness from the coronavirus includes respiratory- resulting in difficulty breathing and the shutdown of the respiratory system. If this virus mutates to re-emerge seasonally every year just like the flu, and if the outbreak stretches into the 10th year which is the danger year of global warming, now we have a catastrophic problem of biblical proportions. The high levels of methane gas can push people severely weakened by COVID-19 and the lack of medicines from the loss of Medicare and Medicaid to flood emergency rooms, not to mention people injured by extreme weather disasters. Hospitals cannot handle this surge of people and this will also inevitably cause sudden death to millions. To top it off, last year the IPCC released a report warning us that if we don’t stop global warming (climate change) by stopping the emission of greenhouse gasses such as methane and carbon by converting to clean energy, we will have roughly 12 years or less until we all feel the effects and the current down-slide will be irreversible. I have no doubt, the scholars of the powers that be have contemplated this calculation and have come to the conclusion that; if the coronavirus doesn’t kill you, climate change definitely will. It’s literally fail-safe- that is -unless the people rise to stop this in its tracks. We MUST make companies convert to clean energy within 10 years to stop the meltdowns and clean the atmosphere before these anomalies cross paths or merge! So what does this mean for the fate of the U.S. and the entire world? And what is the people in this country going to do facing this grave (no pun intended) situation? We are literally at the ZERO HOUR and there’s only one solution to ending this CRISIS and I will explain it in full detail in the final chapter -the conclusion of this three part series on April 1st. Until then, Peace & blessings A LONG WAY TO GO
Part 1 3-1-2020 Greetings friends, family and believers in critical thinking, truth, justice, freedom and preserving our community and democracy in a holistic conscious way.
Before I get into this month’s subject, about two weeks ago, it suddenly dawned on me that this is the one year anniversary of launching Mark’s Corner! Well actually it’s been one year and 5 months since the launch on September 1, 2018. I did remember the day of the actual anniversary date but so much was going on the commemoration had to take a back seat while dealing with non-stop news events. 2019 was unprecedented for breaking news cycles and although I’m a few months late, it’s time to celebrate the column. For now I want everyone to hold on to your seats because this is the deepest and most important installment at my corner that should make every one pissed enough to take immediate action, for this detail’s the true STATE OF THE UNION in our country in graphic and precise detail. After my February prediction of whom will be our next president, considering all that’s at stake, I think it’s time to shed light on an issue everyone in this country should be concerned with for this has effected everyone's lives one way or another! It’s all about treating people with dignity and respect with emphasis on low income and the impoverished, and the proof is prevalent in all aspects of life in virtually all of the developed countries on the planet compared to the U.S. Over the past two years we now see how vitally important it is to keep up with the decisions and actions made through congress and the president. We see what happens when our complacency and ignorance allowed a gross, criminal and narcissist individual like Donald J. Trump to run for office- especially the office of the president of the United States, let alone win that election, and now we must deal with the consequences of this complacency and ignorance. Since the late 80’s, I’ve heard stories and read charts of how children in other counties are out performing school children in the U.S. academically, especially in math and computer science, and how developing countries have passed up the Unites States in dealing with humanitarianism and governing for the people and by the people. I wanted to have a full understanding of how far we’ve fallen behind the rest of the developed countries in the world, so I set out to re-examine this subject as more revelations have emerged over the past three years. After reviewing materials and hearing from a growing number of folks on how they are coping with just trying to survive here, it is obvious that the Unites States (the richest country in the world) is not the land of Milk & Honey it’s been hyping for decades. I remember the first time I heard this prediction… “The powers that be will reduce the United States to the level of a third world country in about 15 – 20 years”. That was at least 25 years ago, and I’ve heard several scholars’ project that since then. Well, as of February 2020, that prediction has literally come true. I can boldly say this because as in third world countries, homelessness is now so ramped that it’s in our face with over 1 million living in the streets. Poverty is so ramped that it’s in our face everyday as in third world countries. Sickness, drug abuse, and overdosing from drugs like Opioids and heroin is in our faces everyday as in third world countries. Shootings and other crimes are out of control as in third world countries, the blatant reduction of quality public schools, -miss-educated & malnourished children is prevalent as in third world countries and dictatorship has replaced democracy in this country as in third world countries and so on and so on. Well, technically, this is known as a CRISIS. It can be argued on when this Crisis started, but to cut to the chase, I believe we can agree that this CRISIS made a gigantic leap and was solidified through our government meaning both parties- but mostly the Republican Party dating back to the 70’s & 80’s. The Nixon and Regan administrations made it legal for governing parties -and or- politicians to be bought and ran by big corporations and billionaires (oligarchs) starting with the Buckley decision in 1976, and abolishing the fairness doctrine in 1987 which allowed media platforms to give only one (mostly right-wing/conservative) slant on reporting. So, how far have we fallen behind? Consider this… Let’s start with homelessness. Japan and Denmark’s homeless population is less than 1%, and Singapore has virtually no Homelessness. In Canada, in the city of Medicine Hat in Alberta, no person living without shelter goes more than 10 days before the government provides them with permanent housing, and Finland and Cuba also ended homelessness by literally giving every homeless person their own home. These and other countries looked at how backward this country deals with homelessness (among other things) and decided to take a progressive approach. Give the person their dignity and basic foundation and stability back by giving them a government built home, then they deal with whatever contributed a person to be homeless be it mental instability, drugs or lack of employment through their various programs. Then there’s our infrastructure. Here, our roads are crumbling, trains are derailing, bridges are collapsing, and some buildings are even collapsing- some while under construction, all of which has cost many lives over the decades. Our Government won’t invest in infrastructure. Instead our government invests in Military as Trump just put another $3.5 billion into the military –much would come from counter-drug operations. How about transportation? Developed countries like Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan have high speed rail (more commonly known as bullet trains) that runs on single Magnetic Bars. These high tech trains have been in operation since the 60’s and made phenomenal improvements, yet NO DERAILMENTS. They reach speeds up to 300 Miles per hour which gets passengers from one side of the country to another averaging around 2 to 2 ½ hours travel time. That would be the equivalent of a bullet train going from New York City to L.A. in about 2 hours. The rides are so smooth you can hold a glass of wine in your hand without spilling a drop. Here, it takes an Amtrak train an average of one hour to get from one major city to another in a neighboring state- as in state to state, and a Metra Train takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to reach downtown Chicago from the suburbs, and trains break down, derail from mishaps by operators and rotted tracks that haven’t been replaced since the 50’s, and hit cars & other vehicles trying to cross faulty designed intersections. Speaking of cars, in Japan there’s a section of the country where as you drive your electric car, the road is automatically charging your car so you never have to stop to recharge or worry about running out of power. As for mental stability and stress, in America we are under stress and duress from mental slavery through our jobs, our government, law enforcement and judicial systems. We are worked to the bone, some with little or no rest with over 50% trying to survive at minimum wages or less. Not only that, programs to deal with mental instability have been drastically cut as in Chicago when Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed several mental facilities leaving patients without the medicine’s they need, causing many of them to have episodes in the streets- some violent- resulting in them being arrested. When it comes to employment, a couple interviewed in Italy vacations at least 3 times a year and one of those vacations is for their honeymoon and anniversary. In countries like Italy, you get 8 weeks paid vacation which equals around two months a year. Also, when a couple gets married, they get 15 days paid vacation to go on their honeymoon and also pay for the national holidays, and city holidays. If that’s not enough – and this is an ass kicker, in December, they have an additional salary. There is a 13th month (like an imaginary month where they didn’t work) which is another full month of pay, so you get 2 months’ pay for one month of work. Why? Your regular pay is to pay monthly bills; the second salary is for vacation- “What good is a vacation if you don’t have money to spend” say the owners of the Lardini Company, a multi-Million Dollar clothing manufacturer in Italy. And by the way, if you don’t use all those vacation days that year, they roll over. One guy said he has 80 days of vacation in the bank that he hasn’t used yet because his wife works so much. WoW! That means dude can go on vacation for almost half a year and get paid! Hell, I’m about to mooooove to Italy to work! LOL. And for women who get pregnant, they get 5 months of maternity leave – and that’s PAID MATERNITY LEAVE! The mother MUST take 5 months to bond and raise her child. How can you miss out on your child’s first months? When interviewed on why American’s are so stressed and get sick so easily, corporate presidents/owners in these countries agree that it’s because we (American’s) are overworked, underpaid, and have less sex. They also add… “We have no stress and do not get sick because of our diets and we have more sex. … said the owners of Lardini Company in Italy. Yes, if some of yall didn’t know, sex is arguably the best natural stress reliever. Research shows a great way to ward off anxiety is by connecting in bed. The benefits include release of endorphins and other hormones that elevate mood. It's also great exercise, which itself is an effective stress reliever. So how do companies make any money if they pay all this to their employees? Well, the companies don’t mind paying their workers this much money. In fact, the owners say it’s their pleasure and companies like Lardini still make a healthy profit. “It’s fair and it’s their right. I get a good vacation, they should too. We have to take vacations to relieve our stress, and then we return to work relaxed” –says Lorena Lardini, part owner of the Lardini Company. And when interviewed, employees at the Lardini company say the never get sick because they are not stressed. Indeed stress causes sickness. Italians have one of the highest life expectancies in the world and they live 4 years longer than the average American and by the way, stress is the #1 cause for premature deaths, heart attacks or strokes among black males over 50. In Germany, when people get stressed, they can get a prescription from their doctor for a three (3) week stay at a spa resort for FREE! And they can bring their children if desired or needed. In Italy and other countries, workers produce just as much as workers in the United States, get paid twice as much, and is relaxed, not stressed! They also get a TWO HOUR lunch break like at Lardini where they go home to cook and enjoy their meals. “There is no clash between the profit of the company and the well being of the people”. Says Claudio Deminicati, CEO of the Ducati Motorcycle Company in Italy. In general, corporate America has one hour or less for lunch breaks and many flock to fast-food joints like McDonald's to eat unhealthy crap before beating the BACK TO WORK clock. Some work up to 12 – 14 hour shifts and have to stay with a company almost a year to get a meager weeks’ vacation after being hired. And in big companies like where I used to work, some employees are on call 24/7, or have to work late hours- sometimes pulling all-nighters, and have to check their emails every other hour or so to see if anything has come up. In other countries, workdays end on average around 2 o’clock so folks have time to spend the rest of the day with their families or enjoy life. Bosses cannot intervene in evenings or on vacation or any part of their employee’s private life. In Germany, it is against the law to contact an employee while there on vacation, and a company cannot email employees after work. Here, people work their entire lives under stress and duress, eat a bunch of crap, then get sick, then retire all broken down and on medication, and die. So the oligarchic corporations make billions from this lifelong regiment of the American working public and the impoverished. Then there’s the education system. In Finland and other countries, it’s against the law to charge for education. There are NO private schools in this country and others, and that includes colleges & universities meaning there’s NO COLLEGE DEBT! Also, the students speak multiple languages with some speaking up to four or five. Here, students are lucky just to master English, and college students are in debt before they start their first class. How’s that for stress! But wait, there’s more! Not only do these students outperform students in the American education system, they achieve this with little or no homework! In general, students do an average of 10 – 20 minutes tops of homework in Finland. The administrators point out that a student should have more time to be kids and enjoy life with their families. See, they’ve studied how the brain functions better when given proper rest and less stress which makes people learn more. These schools also have the shortest schooldays and the shortest school years in the western world. And in Cuba, the literacy rate went from 60.0% to 99.75% since 1959. That beats the U.S. literacy rate of 99.0%! My goodness, these statistics are truly unbelievable! How about health care??? I’ve known for years that the U.S. charges two to five times more for health care and related materials to the point where folks have crossed the borders for their medical needs in Canada and Mexico, but what about universal health care? Around two years ago, I learned that the U.S. is one of the few developed countries that don’t have some form of universal healthcare. Then I listened to Thom Hartman who mentioned during his show that while he and his family was in England, his daughter got sick, so he contacted the hospital and they sent a doctor to his hotel to examine his daughter. The doctor diagnosed her with an ear infection, then reached into his doctor’s bag and pulled out some medicine for her to take- told him to give her two pills now and one every hour til the infection is gone. Thom asked the doctor how much is his bill? The doctor said “Awww nothing, have a nice day”, and left! Now that’s what I’m talking about! There was another time when Thom was in Australia, got sick, went to the hospital and they gave him antibiotics for stomach flu, and then gave him a prescription. His total bill was 25 bucks for the entire visit plus prescription. After hearing case after case of how Americans paid little or nothing for health care services in other countries, which includes minor procedures and operations, I dug a little more into this and by my surprise, the United States is truly the ONLY developed country that doesn’t have universal healthcare! Yes that’s right! Every developed country in the world has some form of Universal Healthcare except the United States. Cuba also has FREE Health care- especially hospitalization because the Cuban government operates a national health system and assumes fiscal and administrative responsibility for the health care of all its citizens. And the U.S. is supposed to be the wealthiest country in the word? How’s that for having a long way to go! Well, to be fair, overall, this country has matured to a certain extent in terms of our health- most of which focuses on exercise and healthier diet regiments like non GMO products, plant based products and Vegan, but still has a long way to go as almost 70% of the people in the country deals with some form of illnesses or conditions like cancer’s, high blood pressure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, respiratory, and obesity. Our climate (environmental poisons & extreme heat) and our diets are the root of most of these illnesses. America is also the fattest country in the world! At least 78 million people or 33% of the population is overweight and the obesity epidemic in America has reached 42%. The American diet and eating habits is a big contributor of obesity rooted in a meat & potatoes culture brought on by Europeans after they stole this country. Other contributors are lack of sleep and stress. However, in countries like Finland, the diet of less meats & more fruits & veggies is instilled in their children from birth. I knew most countries practice healthier eating habits, but I was very impressed when I watched a passage in Michael Moore’s Documentary film…”Where to Invade Next” when Michael Moore went to France to visit a school in Normandy to observe how they handle lunch. They consider lunch a class, as the children ranging from about first to fourth grade are taught and conditioned on eating healthy food in a civilized manner, and they even serve each other. They are served a four course meal, starting with an appetizer and ending with a desert. Some of the items on their menus include but not limited to; moussaka, Tomato salad with mozzarella, filet of cod in dill sauce, scallops with a curry sauce, lamb skewers and chicken over couscous, pasta and vanilla desert, and drink lots of water. And it’s not just what their children are fed, but how they are fed. The children sit at round tables (much like a 5 star restaurant) where there are no more than 7 or 8 to a table. The students are served by the chefs that bring the food to them plate by plate – and they use real china- again- similar to how you are served at an upscale restaurant here in the U.S. Hmmm, how’s that on being treated with dignity & honor! Not only that, when shown pictures of what American children eat for lunch which consisted of pizza, fish sticks, fries, and slop they couldn’t identify, they (the kids) looked a bit dismayed with comments like “what is that? and That’s not healthy” and “A bizarre sauce”. When asked if they would eat this for lunch, every child said no, some with a frown, some with a smile. Then Michael Moore pulled out a can of Coca Cola and asked the students if they drink Coca Cola or would they drink Coca Cola? They all said no and only one student – a girl- tried it for the first time. She said it was ok. Even the chef that was interviewed was asked if he had ever had a burger, he proudly answered NO and boasted he would never try one. Now you would think that these are private schools for the upper class or well to do’s in wealthy areas, but no, these are public schools in some of the poorest towns in France -all tuition FREE- and all evenly integrated with blacks, whites and other ethnicities. There is no need for a privatized school system there, and as I stated earlier, privatization of schools for profit is against the law in these countries. These countries also provide FREE DAY CARE! As if that weren’t enough, there’s another aspect of the education of children in these countries that impressed me. From the school principal on down, from day one the first thing the school administrators instill in the children’s tiny developing minds is to ENJOY LIFE. Even the math teacher interviewed in “Where to Invade Next” said he teaches this to his class. And by the looks of it, they make damn sure their children do! How do these countries provide these social services including free healthcare for little or nothing??? It’s in their moral civic structure. Also, they are taxed more than the U.S. Here; social services are being cut like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and food stamps, along with the destruction of the Middle class. This is how taxing generally goes in relation to wages. When taxes go up, wages goes up. When taxes go down, wages goes down. Then there’s the channeling or disbursement of funds -as in fines, fees and tax revenue- from municipal and state and governments. Perhaps people here wouldn’t mind if they were taxed more if they were paid livable wages, and if the tax revenue were channeled evenly to social programs, our infrastructure, the public school system and resource institutions that benefit us as a whole, not just a certain few at the top. Much of the tax revenue and fees in the U.S. are purposely rerouted to private accounts by crooked politicians. This is called in legal terms ‘Misappropriation of funds and the majority of state, city and national governing officials have been guilty of misappropriation of funds one way or another during their careers. Speaking of livable wages, in developed countries like France or England, the minimum wage for a McDonald’s worker and other related job’s is between 18 to $24.00 bucks an hour compared to the meager 7 – 13 an hour here depending on the state. They are paid a livable wage with good benefits and a strong union, so it’s easy to see how they are so dedicated to these companies and produce the same amount or more of quality work than American’s who work their slave driving jobs. Here, about 40% of the workforce makes around $18,000 a year averaging $10.00 an hour and have to work two –to- three jobs or hustle underground jobs with some working 7 days a week just to make ends meet, and many still have a hard time paying their rent. Because workers in these develop countries earn a livable wage, they work only one job. Most jobs in Denmark are steady jobs with excellent benefits and competitive pay. Nowadays, in America people hop from company to company- or small business to small business to get the best wage possible, and if you add layoffs to the equation, there’s no security in working one job at a business or company your entire life or career. Since the crash of 2008, it can take some folks 2 years or more before they can find another job. Ahhhhhh, I get it, that's another stress factor. As for crime, in countries like Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Japan, and New Zealand, crime is at a minimum to the point where for the most part, cops do not carry guns. These countries have stricter gun laws and socially trained effective law enforcement, and drugs are legal in these countries as well. In 2018, Denmark had a murder rate of 0.8 per 100,000 population and there were a total of 54 murders in Denmark in 2017. They treat drug addiction as a sickness not a crime and there’s no underground pressure to compete or kill for drug territories. People in the U.S. are stressed and pissed from all kinds of things, especially dealing with the police, job loss, racial profiling, trauma, and far too many show a lack of compassion while living on the edge day to day. We have become desensitized due to the continuous shock of drama, violence and its aftermath. None is more evident than when an 18-year-old nursing student- Jaya Beemon -was shot and killed recently on 2-26-2020 in a mass shooting when she stopped at a neighborhood grocery store to get some snacks. When her mother saw her dead body at the hospital, she screamed and collapsed on the floor in total anguish. So what did the hospital staff do? They didn’t console her or allowed her to express her grief from the initial shock. They called the police. Instead of de-escalating a tense situation, the police arrested the girl's mother and literally dragged her out of the hospital like a dog. She was charged with a misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor resisting/obstructing an officer. The mother spent the next 12 hours behind bars compounding stress from grief of the murder of her daughter. As for prison and criminal justice reform, prisons in developed counties are also progressive. Convicted criminals are treated like human beings instead of like animals in the US. They are free to leave their rooms within the compound that resembles a country resort. They also have keys to different departments, including their rooms where they have TV’s and other basic household items. They work in kitchens with total access to chef’s knives and other utensils and no one gets out of hand to use them on other inmates or guards, and, the guards have no guns or batons. This is how they totally rehabilitate criminals back into society and placed in the workforce. This also means the recidivism rate in these countries averages around 10% compared to the recidivism rate in the U.S at 50%. What’s very bizarre is that many of the ideas and or policies adopted in these countries came from American ideas – most of which have not been manifested like the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). This is so mind boggling that I need to stop and take a deep breath. I have to because this is just the beginning! Since the origin of the Trump administration, our situation continues to grow worse at an alarming pace and there’s something even more tragic on the horizon. And I’m not talking about the Corona-virus which may kill a whole lot of people. Those numbers will pale in comparison to what awaits us. So take a deep breath, take this all in, absorb it and with that in mind come back for the dramatic continuation of this series. You won’t want to miss this one! Peace & blessings; TINMAN GONE! |
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ARCHIVES
NEW BUSINESS LAWS FOR 2020 & TAXING YOUR
HOME BASED BUSINESS by Mark Finley 2- 6 - 2020 |
The Politics of Blacks Involving Legal Recreational Weed
by Mark Finley 2- 6 - 2020 |
Greetings friends, family and believers in critical thinking, truth, justice, freedom and preserving our community and democracy in a holistic conscious way.
Each year, and in some cases each decade brings in new laws, mostly amended by the state. This year, over 200 new laws have taken effect in states like Illinois. Business owners must know what laws have taken effect. A critical thinking business person should already know what’s coming down the pike so they can contour their business (if necessary) prepare in advance) so their business will benefit or not suffer due to not knowing the new laws in effect. As many may know, these laws have taken effect on Jan 1, as it does each year. Bills are being introduced and taking effect in Washington, and The administration exuberates every day on how it plans to take away programs and cutbacks like social security, but how about local governments? Well I thought I’d list the most pertinent new laws that took effect on Jan 1st if any business owner or entrepreneurs aware of so here we go! Illinois House Bill 2528 Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill Amends the Assumed Business Name Act. Provides that a person conducting or transacting business under an assumed name at his or her residence is not required to include his or her home address while complying with the publication requirements of the Act if that person's safety would be put at risk by publishing his or her home address. Provides that, instead, the person may provide a post office box address. New Business Act (HB 2670) Creates the Illinois New Business Owner Act. Provides that no application for a license for any State or local department, agency, board, or commission shall be denied or acted on adversely by reason of the applicant having been previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses or by reason of a finding of lack of good moral character, except if certain determinations are made. Provides certain factors to be considered concerning a previous criminal conviction. Effective immediately. Business Enterprise (SB 177) Strengthens support for minority-owned companies, allows some companies to qualify for the Business Enterprise Program if they meet certain municipal-level qualifications, and increase diversity in apprenticeships for construction and the building trades. Amends the Motor Fuel Tax Law. Provides that no municipality, county, or road district that received motor fuel tax distributions totaling more than $1,000,000 in the previous State fiscal year shall receive a future distribution of motor fuel tax moneys unless that municipality, county, or road district implements a business enterprise program setting goals for the inclusion of minority, veteran, and female-owned businesses in the procurement of contracts. Amends the Department of Transportation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that the Department of Transportation shall assist municipalities, counties, and road districts in implementing those programs. Effective immediately. Those earning minimum wage will get a raise on Jan. 1 when Illinois increases the state's minimum wage for the first time in over a decade, from $8.25 to $9.25 per hour. The minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2025. Title Insurance-Independent Escrowee (SB 195) The purposes of escrows, settlements or closings, "good funds" may be in the form of a check drawn on the fiduciary trust account of a title insurance company, a title insurance agent or an independent escrowee. A title insurance company, title insurance agent, or independent escrowee shall not make disbursements in connection with any escrows, settlements, or closings out of a fiduciary trust account or accounts unless the funds in the aggregate amount of $50,000 or greater received from any single aggregate amount of $50,000 or greater party to the transaction are good funds as defined in paragraphs (2), (6), or (7) of subsection (c) of this Section; or are collected funds as defined in subsection (d) of this section. Dealer Licensing (HB 3269) Makes changes to how car dealers' agents may transport vehicles, background checks on remittance agents. Amends the Alternative Fuels Act. Provides that the Secretary of State may collect user fees for vehicles of the Second Division registered under plate category C. Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code Provides that a dealer may use a special plate issued to the dealer to transport a vehicle sold to a customer either by towing or by driving the sold vehicle with the special plate attached to the vehicle. Provides that the Secretary may limit the number of special plates authorized that are issued to dealers, manufacturers, or transporters based on factors including, but not limited to, sales of vehicles, revenue, or number of employees. Adds background check and education requirements for applicants for a remittance agent license adds requirements for licensure of a new vehicle dealer or a used vehicle dealer. Defines "Buy Here, Pay Here used vehicle dealer" and creates licensure requirements for a Buy Here, Pay Here used vehicle dealer. Provides that the Secretary may create special dealership licenses for entities that specialize in specific types of used motor vehicles that may be based on model, make, age, or other factors that the Secretary deems appropriate. Provides that any owner who is not a manufacturer of the vehicle and chooses to lease a used vehicle for a period of less than 12 months shall ensure that the lessee maintains valid registration and liability insurance and shall not collect any fees in connection with the registration of the vehicle unless the owner is also a licensed remittance agent. Personal Information Report (SB 1624) Requires companies that collect personal information concerning Illinois residents report data breaches affecting more than 500 Illinois residents to the Attorney General. Synopsis As Introduced Amends the Personal Information Protection Act. Provides that a data collector required to report breaches to more than 100 Illinois residents as a result of a single breach must also report to the Attorney General. Provides that the Attorney General shall report to the General Assembly specified information concerning breaches of data security by February 1 of each year. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Provides that a data collector required to report breaches to more than 500 (rather than 100) Illinois residents must provide notice to the Attorney General in the most expedient time possible but in no event later than when notice is provided to the consumer (rather than within 14 days). Provides that the Attorney General may publish information concerning the breach. Deletes a proposed requirement that the Attorney General report to the General Assembly regarding breaches. Here are five new Federal laws that went into effect on New Year's Day 2020.
These are the quintessential laws that every business person should be aware of. For more and other laws in the state of Illinois, visit this site…. https://patch.com/illinois/across-il/25-new-illinois-laws-2020-could-change-your-life Now now it’s time for the nuances about writing off your home based business at tax time. Home based businesses are the fastest growing base for start-up business in the country. Over the last decade, high-speed internet, a proliferation of devices and applications, and changing attitudes about the nature of work have made working at home a reality for millions of people around the world. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 business start out as home based with more than 50 million Americans working independently (at home) as freelancers. There are many entrepreneurs whom are working from home that does not know all the nuances of writing off their home based business. Many peeps don’t know the level of tax write offs in your home when you run a home based business. Just like a storefront-brick & mortar business, the business owner can write of literally everything in their home. This means you can write off pens, pencils, paper, printing paper, staples, tape, computers, printers, cell phones & phone bills, utilities and even your work space. Until next month, Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Peace & blessings! |
Greetings friends, family and believers in critical thinking, truth, justice, freedom and preserving our community and democracy in a holistic conscious way.
Well, Well, Well… Weed is now legal in Illinois to indulge recreationally. This rollout marked a new prohibition in the state as it follows several states that took the jump to legalize weed which marks a big change in our society. However, despite this significant and historic change, there are still some things that remain the same. White people are still steadfast diligent in applying laws, systems and policies to assure white dominance in markets and industries over people of color and there’s no more blatant proof of this ideology than the recent rollout of selling and consuming recreational marijuana legally in Illinois. Black Alderman in Chicago fought to curtail the opening for legal weed despite a wild, angry debate in City Council, and a stand taken by the black caucus (aldermen), Mayor Lori Lightfoot beat back an attempt by black aldermen to stall the start of recreational marijuana sales in Chicago for six months, setting the stage for the city’s legal weed bonanza to start Jan. 1. In particular, they are upset that the 11 medicinal cannabis dispensaries that get to immediately switch to recreational sales on Jan. 1 under state law are overwhelmingly white-owned establishments. And the early returns on other applicants for recreational licenses in Chicago show few minority owners. A few weeks before the rollout, out of the 24 black aldermen (Chicago’s black caucus) who was to vote to pass legislate to hold back the opening day for Dispensaries to sell legal weed in Illinois to July, there were 6 aldermen who suddenly turned to reverse their decision and voted NO before the city council. Black aldermen who tried unsuccessfully to push the start of recreational sales back to July nonetheless claimed victory because they said Gov. J.B. Pritzker pledged to allow two more medical marijuana dispensaries to open, in Chicago’s Chinatown and Hyde Park neighborhoods, with strong minority ownership numbers and the likelihood both will be able to transition over to more profitable recreational businesses. Alderman Jason Ervin and other black aldermen argued that because the war on drugs has disproportionately impacted black and brown communities, it is unacceptable to allow white-owned businesses to corner the market for recreational pot. Ervin says the fact that no African Americans have an ownership stake in any of the city’s dispensaries is “a travesty” on which the council needed to take a stand. Black Caucus members said they were encouraged by a last-minute proposal from the mayor’s office, but that the compromise wasn’t enough to derail the legislation. The mayor emerged with a big legislative win after hours of intense, often heated public debate on the City Council floor about the need for more African Americans among the ranks of owners in what promises to be a lucrative industry. Regardless, the minority owned dispensaries will still have a steep hill to climb as many folks will be stuck on patronizing the dispensaries they’ve been going to, especially the dispensaries in the hood that will have to compete with the underground market where the prices are much cheaper. As for law enforcement I got to ask… What’s up with the Police in bordering states like Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Iowa? I’ve seen a lot of discriminate set-ups for racial profiling and this is yet another goodie spawned by the rollout. Many of the people standing in the long lines at the dispensaries in Illinois, especially the dispensaries in the far end townships came from the neighboring states of Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky and Iowa. And it’s apparent that a small percentage of these folks making the trek to be part of this historic event are black folks. As I talked with a friend the next day after the grand rollout, she noted that many folks will get caught up from this prohibition on weed in Illinois. I did concur as news came over local media that a black man was stopped at the Indiana border possessing some weed he brought from a Dispensary in Chicago. At approximately 1:30 am, Trooper Carlson was stationary on I-80/94 eastbound under the Burr Street Bridge when he observed a 2016 Chrysler 200 traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was traveling at 103 mph in a posted 55 mph zone. The driver identified himself as Michael L. Peavy, 26, from Hammond, Indiana. There was a strong odor of raw marijuana emitting from the vehicle and Peavy appeared to be sweating profusely. Peavy was retrieving documents when Trooper Carlson observed a black handle to a handgun under the feet of Mr. Peavy. Trooper Carlson gave commands to the driver to put his hands up, however, Peavy ignored this directive and attempted to start his vehicle. Due to this response by Mr. Peavy, Carlson believed that the driver was attempting to leave. Trp. Carlson was able to open the driver’s door and had Peavy exit from the vehicle as he took him into custody. A subsequent search yielded 100 grams of marijuana and a Glock 22 handgun with an extended 50 round barrel magazine. Mr. Peavy had purchased the marijuana from Illinois earlier that morning when the dispensaries began selling legal recreational weed. Mr. Peavy was transported without further incident and incarcerated at Lake County Jail. The following charges were filed through the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office: • Possession of handgun no permit with a prior conviction- Level 5 Felony • Dealing marijuana – Level 6 Felony • Possession marijuana with prior conviction – Level 6 Felony • Reckless driving- Class C Misdemeanor. Possession of marijuana is illegal in Indiana. Marijuana purchased in neighboring states is a criminal offense to possess in Indiana. The Mission South Shore dispensary, 8554 S. Commercial Ave., the closest dispensary to Northwest Indiana — where weed remains illegal is more than likely where Mr. Peavy purchased some of his weed. Besides Mr. Peavy and other blacks, this opening attracted plenty of whites from Indiana like the Hoosiers. Some Hoosiers were cautious, saying they planned to keep their purchases in Illinois. Others planned to head home right away. Nigel Rowl and Vanessa Moreno drove an hour-and-a-half across the border to arrive at the dispensary at 4:30 a.m. Rowl said his brother lives in Illinois and they’ve made plans to take their goods to his house. He said they won’t be driving across the state line with cannabis, which remains illegal. “I wouldn’t chance that,” Rowl said. Illinois residents can purchase up to 30 grams of flower, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate or 500 milligrams of edibles. Non-residents are limited to half that amount. Mission South Shore had a $300 purchase limit to have enough supply to meet the surge of sales. The reason I’m focusing on this for the moment is that there are perhaps several police municipalities that are taking advantage that marijuana is still illegal in their state to set up posts at or near the border to corral up people crossing the border from Illinois who they suspect may have some legal recreational weed they just purchased. Well needless to say, I bet dollars to doughnuts the majority of them are specifically targeting blacks like Mr. Michael Peavy. Keep in mind that most of these states are RED STATES – mostly conservative & racist which is also reflected in their police districts, so I have no doubt that an order from some of their high ranking officers is to target black folks. So far, I haven’t heard of any whites being pulled over, ticketed or arrested for possession of marijuana since the rollout in Chicago, the surrounding townships ,or neighboring states. Some of these whites that crossed the border opted to spend the night or two in Illinois to consume their weed instead of taking a chance transporting it over the border, and if there are or were white’s that got pulled over for whatever reason and was found to have weed purchased from the dispensaries not properly contained or have-or-were smoking while driving, I bet the cops just gave them a slap on the wrist by giving them a brief lecture on how to transport their weed based on the new guidelines and sent them on their merry way. Bottom line… since the rollout, arrests and ticketing for small amounts of weed are still happening in Chicago and townships in Illinois and around the borders of Illinois, and as in the past, blacks are taking the blunt of these arrests due to the racial climate in this country, and these arrests and tickets are fueling a cash cow for revenue for the state and local municipalities. Why cops are still able to arrest people regardless that weed is now legal in Illinois? It’s because of the strict guidelines attached to the transport and or consumption of legal marijuana set by the state. Right after the grand rollout, the guidelines were released and disseminated mostly through white media and social outlets. PSA announcements/commercials began hitting the airwaves of radio stations where the majority of their listeners are white folks. In the hood, blacks do not listen to these media outlets, so the majority of them are learning of these guidelines by trial & error (as in happenstance being profiled by cops while transporting or consuming marijuana in their cars or on foot) and word of mouth from family, friends & associates- particularly on social media sites like Facebook where the reports and information has been slowly trickling in. The guidelines for transporting legal weed in the state are; While in transport, the weed should be kept in a sealed, childproof container so the smell/aroma cannot get out and concealed or stored in a place not visible to the general public- especially children. Consumption (smoking) of the weed is still prohibited in public as well as any vehicle. Consumption is only allowed in the home or private property of individual’s where allowed, and folks can smoke on their front porch or in back yards without getting a ticket. As far as quantity is concerned, the amount one possesses in transport is also limited. Since dispensaries are limited to selling up to one (1) ounce, or 30 grams of flower, so in turn one can only possess one ounce or less on their person be it walking, driving or riding in any form of transportation. As for employment, you can still be fired for smoking if your employer has a no drug policy, regardless of the law. The same goes for a potential employer where you may have to take a drug test prior to being hired, so in both cases one may be weary of smoking or taking e bibles with small traces of THC. Needless to say, on Jan 1st the majority of black folks were unaware of these new guide lines as many people be they white, black or brown assumed they can now walk the streets and smoke or light up while cruising in their cars or carrying more than an ounce on them in transport. Now that it’s been a month, many blacks are learning of these new guidelines- some the hard way- and hopefully are adhering to them. As I observe or hear of the different stories of black’s still being ticketed or arrested with weed, I sit here and wonder, things haven’t really changed in this state when it comes to making revenue off of black & brown people but more so things remain the same in white people cornering a market by getting a head start on legal weed sales over black & brown people. So in all , be cognoscente that not only has the state racked up 40 million in revenue since the rollout, the state and other states are also racking up revenue by taking advantage of the new laws & stipulation’s by arresting or ticketing folks, mainly black folks. As for the pricing of rec-weed, Dispensaries are charging anywhere from 60 to 87 dollars for one gram of flower. That equates to paying up to 80 bucks for one joint or blunt. This huge jump in pricing is mainly due to the high tax- in some cases up to 40% tax. Then there is the overhead the dispensaries are paying for be it rent, equipment…etc. Now on the flipside, like other states that has legalized marijuana, due to the extreme prices the rollouts haven’t affected the back alley/ private underground dealers. In fact, it is said that the underground business is flourishing even more than before the rollouts due to the high prices in the dispensaries. Now that we’re into the second month, many if not all the dispensaries have ran out of recreational flower and won’t fully restock until the growers harvest is finalized in about 5 months – which means the supplies will be very slim to none until around the summer of 2020. This setback has made the back door underground dealer flourish more than ever because many who got a first fresh taste of weed during the rollout are now seeking out the underground private dealers- many of whom have the same quality of weed the dispensaries sell but at much cheaper prices. That’s obvious! Who wants to wait weeks or months to continue to get high when they can go to the underground, especially if they are newcomers that recently purchased from the dispensaries? The average person in line during the first day of the rollout claimed they have been smoking weed all of their mature lives- some as far back as 17-18., and they added that they just wanted to be a part of history. It’s obvious they’ve been dealing with underground dealers prior to that historic day so I doubt very seriously they will wait months for the dispensaries to get their fresh harvest stock in to continue smoking buds. This rollout and discrimination from the dispensaries to the streets have made the Pandora’s Box open even wider, and this will be a sort of Karma lesson to the establishment not to exclude a certain race from prospering while continuing their profiling ways. Until next month, Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Peace & blessings! |
FACEBOOK:
ARE YOU SUPPORTING A WHITE SUPREMACIST &
A RACIST CORPORATION?
ARE YOU SUPPORTING A WHITE SUPREMACIST &
A RACIST CORPORATION?
Published on 8 -1-19
Revised 12-31-19
Revised 12-31-19
Greetings friends, family and believers in critical thinking, truth, justice, freedom and preserving our community and democracy in a holistic conscious way. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
It’s the start of a New Year, and so I find it crucial that African Americans (black folks) take the time to reflect and start this New Year off right by redirecting our priorities.
It’s great to be back from a well-deserved break and as I sat at my computer this morning, I though it’s about time to address a subject matter and practice that most of yall may be a victim of or participating in- for the most part, on a daily basis.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m talking about participating in Facebook and Facebook’s growing image of racial misconduct towards black folks and malicious conspirator practices.
I was considering writing this piece before I took my vacation, but during this time, revelations and allegations of Facebook’s practices was still emerging so I thought to sit back to let the gooey details unfold as I watched Mark Zuckerberg testify before congress to address allegations of collaborating with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election and racial misconduct towards blacks.
It’s been 15 years since Facebook launched in 2004. Since then, its popularity skyrocketed in 2006 as celebrities, politicians, and personalities from media platforms took advantage of its burgeoning growing audience by starting their own Facebook page which attracted even more people to jump in its cesspool.
Soon Facebooks active users reached 1 Billion worldwide, and eventually blew up to today's 2.41 Billion making it the biggest social network worldwide. After a string of scandals in 2018 damaged its reputation and raised questions about its handling of people’s data, the social network lost many users but eventually gained new users around the world and garnered a record profit.
However, there are big dark clouds that remain hovering over the Facebook world. RACISM & CORRUPTION!!!
I was talked into getting on Facebook in 2005 after a friend of mine boasted on how it would do my business good. At the time, I was on Excite chat and a couple of other chat rooms and had absolutely no interest in Facebook as I considered it and still consider it a sophisticated chat room. At first, I used my own name, and after a couple of years as Mark Finley, I was not impressed. Keep in mind I admit my only intent in getting on Facebook was to aid the growth of by businesses.
None of my close friends was on Facebook at that time and had no interest in getting on it. Much of my family was not on it as well, and based on the dialogue promoted and expressed by users, I feel that if any of my true friends and associates wanted to communicate with me, they can give me a phone call as I would.
Through its controversial down period many people left Facebook. Most were whites, followed by segments of other ethnic groups. So why blacks (African Americans) haven’t taken a stand to boycott or leave Facebook altogether since blacks –like in most facets of our society have taken the blunt of racism and social injustice? Well, I as well as a couple of family members decided not to wallow in this cesspool or take this injustice lying down.
On January 1, 2019, I called for all blacks to boycott Facebook in protest and support other social media outlets that treat black folks with some form of respect and without all the fluff and inappropriate behavior.
Perhaps Blacks have not taken a stand at this juncture is because of ignorance- I.E. the lack of information- as the majority of black Facebook users rely and depend on Facebook for the bulk of their national and local news reports- much of which is passed on by other Facebook users, and much of which is misinformation or disinformation.
With that said, I might as well lay out the gruesome details and or facts on this torrid situation for those who are unaware. My boycott is not without documented facts to back this up so here are the top reasons why blacks, including business professionals should join the boycott.
Only recently, due to the pressure and media coverage of the surge of hacking by Russian operatives and white supremacist groups, have Facebook begun deleting these and other accounts guilty of this level of inflammatory behavior. Why now??? The truth of the matter is advertising! Facebook doesn’t want to lose many of their liberal / progressive advertisers- most of whom get their news feeds from major media outlets.
5. Besides being filed by the government, every bit of information; your personal or un-personal- has been sold to over three thousand corporations which uses your info to advertise and solicit. Now keep in mind, these data bases are hacked yearly so your info is also in the hands of thousands of criminals to use at their convenience. Many of these crimes occur as scams through your email and cell phones. Even your pictures are now being used by facial recognition software to be used as well. Together, these facets can be used now or years down the road to extort or sabotage you -and or- your business.
These are pretty damming violations for any social media outlet or business but if that’s not enough to make anyone consider a boycott, there’s more.
Upon this expose by these employees, several other blacks left Facebook.
WHEW!!! That’s more than enough damming facts to determine Facebook’s not about equal and fair treatment of black people in all its facets! After reviewing the points I just listed, if these facts are not enough for any black person to remain a supporter of Facebook by deleting their account in a show of protest- at least to make our point, then nothing will.
Yeah Yeah, I know many of yall have been relying on Facebook to keep up with family, friends, or marketing your business, but as a business person, you should know, Facebook is not the Holy Grail of marketing, only a small part in the marketing / advertising spectrum depending on the business model, and there are plenty of other options in social media to keep up with Family & friends, and advertising.
Much of Facebook is all show and no action, except for a Facebook live (video broadcast) where people and many media outlets use the live stream for their radio & podcast shows or personal revelations.
Facebook’s lack of respect and racism of African Americans is right in our faces. The reasons for a boycott could not be more perfectly clear unless your eyes, ears and social media peer pressure and or greed decides to continue to go with the Facebook flow.
Like I said, there are other social media platforms out there. Some of them were here before Facebook came along to steal their thunder, like Black Planet (which I’m on), Twitter, Tagged, Tumblr, and now Snap chat, and many more. Hmmmm, by the way, Facebook owns a few of these outlets as well (like Instagram) so you might want to do some research on your own to see who owns who.
I even started an alternative yet innovative Social Media Platform back in 2008 designed to move forward from the old Facebook format called MFN: Multi Facet Network, which got many accounts but didn’t blow up enough to keep up the rigorous & demanding operations, so I had to pull the plug on it in 2013.
Just for the record, MFN had more options and (amenities) than Facebook at that time including live BROADCAST, but because it was black owned by myself, the general public - mostly followers- flocked to Facebook mostly because some celebrities and community leaders were on there. Thus the chain reaction took place.
Lets’ face it; it takes lots of people to run a growing, multifaceted social media platform – of which I could not afford to do without the support of masses as you guys flocked in support of Facebook.
MFN continued to hold live broadcast of events and live streamed other people –like D.J.’s doing their thing long before Facebook took to live streaming and it also had more in-depth profile pages that didn’t require you to give your most personal information but allowed separate or open contact for users. But as we all know, Facebook is where everyone is at- it’s the spot- YEAH RIGHT! It became the place to be with the in crowd despite its owned and ran by white supremacists/racists.
Here’s how basic website platforms build revenue & equity. Based on Google Analytics, a websites earning potential depends on hits if there not selling products. These hits- I.E. unique visitors- turn into points registered by the website calculated by Google Analytics. The more hits and or visitors a website receives on a daily basis, is the more the website attracts advertising which pays for the growth and continuation of that website like hiring help (employees) to assist in running it, maintaining it, etc.
Regardless of all this evidence of Facebook’s disrespect to our race & community, you don’t see our prominent leaders be they politician’s, activists, clergy, or media reps with high volume platforms like local progressive radio talk show hosts mentioning this or suggesting any level of a Facebook boycott! That’s Interesting- NOT A ONE??? Well that my friends is because they opted to join in participating in Facebook’s cesspool for the betterment of their careers or objectives and are now turning a blind eye to this atrocity.
For the most part, folks on Facebook are there to be seen and or heard and are competing in a popularity contests to stroke their egos. The more friends you have the more you are revered. However, this friend thing is just a cliché as no one has literally a thousand friends in the TRUE sense. It’s just a name given for virtual friends as in cyber land. In the Facebook universe, your friends are for the most part cyber friends. For the most part, these so-called friends (mostly local) won’t be there for you in a time of need or death, and don’t support businesses, especially black owed businesses, despite the fact that they may like your post or give a comment or two.
Now on a positive note, Facebook is good for keeping up with family members and finding a friend / acquaintance or two from your past, but if you’re a business owner, you should realize Facebook is only one part of marketing, not the only source of marketing. Many people – especially peeps under 30 think Facebook is the internet, but it’s not. It’s basically only a vast website that allows you to have a page for your info and to communicate to others.
Now let’s look at how much revenue Facebook generates that blacks are aiding in this proliferation of which not a penny has found its way into the Black community.
Facebook earns over 6 billion – yes 6 BILLION dollars a MONTH- not a year, and how much of that revenue goes back into the black community??? And for anyone who doesn’t know, referring back to Google Analytics, if you’re a Facebook user, every click of the mouse you do on Facebook, including logging-in puts at least $1000.00 into Mark Zuckerbergs pocket, which equates to Zuckerberg earning at least 6 Million a day.
To sum it up, at least 2.5 Million of that comes from black users. That’s equates to at least 70% of blacks supporting a man that is a racist—yea I said it- Harvard Grad Student Mark Zuckerberg who’s following the same path set by his Secret Society predecessor’s for white supremacy & dominance.
Hell to the NO!!! That means every click you do on Facebook means you’re supporting a racist/white supremacist corporation that’s’ aiding in the destruction of your people. SHAME!
And to put the icing on the cake, Mark Zuckerberg has been meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House and Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley, a top tech industry critic. This is the latest sign of the tech mogul's personal outreach amid mounting scrutiny from Washington.
This blatant move is to back Donald Trump and Republican senators to keep Trump in office so that Democrats like Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders won’t break up Facebooks monopoly and take Facebook to the Supreme Court for participating in Russian interference.
This also means that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook is part of the billionaire OLIGARCHS that owns and are funding republicans who remain standing behind Trump despite the fact that Trump and his crime family are blatant criminals, narcissist, and racists, and is guilty of obstruction of the CONSTITUTION!
We may never know how much money Zucerberg has contributed to Trumps campaign and the campaign of republicans, but I have no doubt the amount is in the multi millions. It’s all about WHITE SUPREMACY and the gentrification of Black people! Rest ASSURED!
I knew about Mark Zuckerbergs racist demeanor the second I saw his picture back in the early 2000’s.
So what is Facebook (Zuckerberg) subliminally communicating to its users? Twitter and other social media outlets have banned and or deleted political advertising, especially Ads for Trump, and outlets like CNN have turned down running Trump Ads. Facebook is the core of Trumps re-election strategy with over 1400 different Ads running with the majority of them laced with blatant lies, misinformation and blasphemy, and still allows foreign & domestic advertising, as Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) says its ok, and he didn’t suspend Pro-Trump accounts for fear of backlash. You can’t do that in any other media. What’s more troubling is that over 40% of Americans rely on Facebook as their primary source of news.
In a nutshell, Facebook lies to the American people for profit, and if you’re a Facebook user, (I’ll say it again), you’re contributing to the decadence and dumbing down of this nation, and the profit of this racist institution with every click of your mouse.
As I scanned the progressive media and social media outlets, I’m happy to see that some folks are finally waking up and are super pissed at Facebook for violating their rights, allowing false advertising and mis-and disinformation, and many are expressing their grievances publicly like a recent post by user Zlobnik59 who states…
“Facebook doesn't give a shit about posts spreading violence and fuming a civil war in Ukraine, split in society, pleas for genocide of fellow citizens. Why would they care about fucking ads? When reporting via facebook's system they return a message "We didn't find anything violating facebook rules in a post you've reported". So basically racism, fascism and anti-Semitism are allowed on facebook, at least in Ukraine. And that's just 'beautiful'.
As if these facts aren’t enough to get some of the millions of blacks to kick Facebook to the curve, I recently learned that at this very moment, Facebook is the biggest hub for CHILD PORNOGRAPHY in the world. Yes, with over 40 Million images. Whaaaaat???
Now with all the algorithm technology Facebook and other Social Media outlets deploys, there is no way in HELL Facebook should be allowing this crime- as well as others- to permeate its pages, especially at this magnitude.
Let there be NO MISTAKE; Facebook is a tool for the Oligarch’s and Russia to contribute to the decadence of America, to sway public opinion, influence illicit behavior, gathering and selling personal information, utilizing images for facial recognition and fixing elections; all in the guise of keeping up with Pookie and Grandma. This is corruption to the 10th degree.
So I ask anyone within the range of my voice or reading this article who’s a diligent user on Facebook; “Is this the kind of disgusting, criminal laced, racist, controlling and misleading social media platform you want to support and belong to?”
Facebook may be at the top of the heap in social Media, but it’s at the bottom of the barrel for social fairness, capitalism and racism against African Americans, and the general public for that matter, and for that, I decline to participate in a cesspool that is totally against my people while simultaneously spreading filth, deceit, and much more. So until Facebook cleans up its act-which by the way may never happen in our lifetime, as they say on the television show Shark Tank, “IM OUT”.
Since my departure from Facebook and launching the boycott, almost 1 MILLION CONSCIOUS BLACKS have left Facebook along with over 3 MILLION WHITES and other nationalities, especially now that Zuckerbergs true colors have been revealed- GREAT!
My boycott has gained enough steam to begin to put a dent in Zuckerbergs bottom line and it will continue to grow as the truth reaches millions more.
Now, anyone who’s read this article of documented facts on this institution and the white supremacist at the helm who will remain loyal to Facebook as a user, they’re also subliminally supporting Donald Trump, the billionaire oligarch controlled republicans, contributing to their own discrimination as well as their people, and participating in criminal activity by funding this institution through every click of the mouse, and they should be DAMN ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!
Back in the early 2000’s, Professor Willie Dixon (historian/teacher at Triton College) said unless black folks unite, think and reinstate their consciousness, black folks will boogie themselves right into the gas chamber. Well at this juncture in our history, it is apparent that this is coming to fruition.
One thing is for sure, ones actions may do one thing, but ones conscious will think, say or do another.
I’m fortunate and blessed to keep my conscious intact by doing the right thing.
I wish everyone a very blessed, conscious, and prosperous New Year!
Let this be the year we turn this thing around.
JOIN THE BOYCOTT! SPREAD THE WORD!
Until next time…
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM!
PEACE & BLESSINGS!
It’s the start of a New Year, and so I find it crucial that African Americans (black folks) take the time to reflect and start this New Year off right by redirecting our priorities.
It’s great to be back from a well-deserved break and as I sat at my computer this morning, I though it’s about time to address a subject matter and practice that most of yall may be a victim of or participating in- for the most part, on a daily basis.
If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m talking about participating in Facebook and Facebook’s growing image of racial misconduct towards black folks and malicious conspirator practices.
I was considering writing this piece before I took my vacation, but during this time, revelations and allegations of Facebook’s practices was still emerging so I thought to sit back to let the gooey details unfold as I watched Mark Zuckerberg testify before congress to address allegations of collaborating with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election and racial misconduct towards blacks.
It’s been 15 years since Facebook launched in 2004. Since then, its popularity skyrocketed in 2006 as celebrities, politicians, and personalities from media platforms took advantage of its burgeoning growing audience by starting their own Facebook page which attracted even more people to jump in its cesspool.
Soon Facebooks active users reached 1 Billion worldwide, and eventually blew up to today's 2.41 Billion making it the biggest social network worldwide. After a string of scandals in 2018 damaged its reputation and raised questions about its handling of people’s data, the social network lost many users but eventually gained new users around the world and garnered a record profit.
However, there are big dark clouds that remain hovering over the Facebook world. RACISM & CORRUPTION!!!
I was talked into getting on Facebook in 2005 after a friend of mine boasted on how it would do my business good. At the time, I was on Excite chat and a couple of other chat rooms and had absolutely no interest in Facebook as I considered it and still consider it a sophisticated chat room. At first, I used my own name, and after a couple of years as Mark Finley, I was not impressed. Keep in mind I admit my only intent in getting on Facebook was to aid the growth of by businesses.
None of my close friends was on Facebook at that time and had no interest in getting on it. Much of my family was not on it as well, and based on the dialogue promoted and expressed by users, I feel that if any of my true friends and associates wanted to communicate with me, they can give me a phone call as I would.
Through its controversial down period many people left Facebook. Most were whites, followed by segments of other ethnic groups. So why blacks (African Americans) haven’t taken a stand to boycott or leave Facebook altogether since blacks –like in most facets of our society have taken the blunt of racism and social injustice? Well, I as well as a couple of family members decided not to wallow in this cesspool or take this injustice lying down.
On January 1, 2019, I called for all blacks to boycott Facebook in protest and support other social media outlets that treat black folks with some form of respect and without all the fluff and inappropriate behavior.
Perhaps Blacks have not taken a stand at this juncture is because of ignorance- I.E. the lack of information- as the majority of black Facebook users rely and depend on Facebook for the bulk of their national and local news reports- much of which is passed on by other Facebook users, and much of which is misinformation or disinformation.
With that said, I might as well lay out the gruesome details and or facts on this torrid situation for those who are unaware. My boycott is not without documented facts to back this up so here are the top reasons why blacks, including business professionals should join the boycott.
- In 2001 I saw a picture of Facebook’s staff. As I suspected, out of about 50 people or so, there were no Black people (African Americans) in the pic. Just a few Asians, middle easterners and a couple of Hispanics.
- Fast forward to June 2014. I read an article on Facebook’s diversity and saw an updated picture of the staff and there is literally no difference. In fact, Facebook admits it has a long way to go in achieving staff diversity.
- Bias against black users over white users: Over the past few years’ blacks that posted disparaging comments on whites and white supremacy groups were blocked or accounts pulled entirely, as to when whites posted disparaging racial comments / remarks, their post remained and or their accounts/page was left unaltered. My BBA (buy Black Alliance) page was also kicked off Facebook in 2016 for making friend requests to the general public but I rejuvenated my BBA page using a different email.
Only recently, due to the pressure and media coverage of the surge of hacking by Russian operatives and white supremacist groups, have Facebook begun deleting these and other accounts guilty of this level of inflammatory behavior. Why now??? The truth of the matter is advertising! Facebook doesn’t want to lose many of their liberal / progressive advertisers- most of whom get their news feeds from major media outlets.
5. Besides being filed by the government, every bit of information; your personal or un-personal- has been sold to over three thousand corporations which uses your info to advertise and solicit. Now keep in mind, these data bases are hacked yearly so your info is also in the hands of thousands of criminals to use at their convenience. Many of these crimes occur as scams through your email and cell phones. Even your pictures are now being used by facial recognition software to be used as well. Together, these facets can be used now or years down the road to extort or sabotage you -and or- your business.
These are pretty damming violations for any social media outlet or business but if that’s not enough to make anyone consider a boycott, there’s more.
- Hundreds if not thousands of cops are involved in racist, misogynist, homophobic Facebook groups and other Social Media outlets, yet Facebook has NOT Canceled/deleted their accounts.
- Mark Zuckerberg was called to congress over a data scandal and Facebook’s accountability. Now I don’t know about you, but if any CEO is called to appear before congress, it is because that company has a stronghold in their market effecting or reaching millions of people on a daily basis. Facebook has over 2.32 billion users as of March 2019 despite a decline of 15 million users since 2017. This makes Facebook perhaps the most influential and powerful social media outlet where the majority of its users rely on their news and other media content shared by friends and relatives. In short, Facebook is a controlling outlet for opinion and actions that spreads misinformation, disinformation, and perpetuates irrational behavior, hatred and biasness.
- A former Facebook employee who is black accused the company of having “a black people problem” that was published recently. The former employee- Mark Luckie- said Facebook’s population of black employees is not representative of the company’s black user base. Luckie’s note provides an inside look at what it’s like to be black inside of Facebook, but it is not the first time Facebook’s lack of diversity has been exposed. Among the highlights in Luckie’s note are anecdotes he shares about how he and other employees of color are treated by their fellow colleagues. “At least two or three times a day, every day, a colleague at MPK [Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park] will look directly at me and tap or hold their wallet or shove their hands down their pocket to clutch it tightly until I pass,” Luckie wrote. Another former Facebook employee expressed to CNBC that he’s not surprised, and added,
Upon this expose by these employees, several other blacks left Facebook.
- Civil rights groups say Facebook has not cut down on hate speech against African Americans
- Even the U.S. government charged Facebook with racial discrimination which included housing Ads in violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act seeking damages and unspecified relief for harm caused, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said here in its civil charge that Facebook also restricted who could see housing-related ads based on national origin, religion, familial status, sex and disability.
WHEW!!! That’s more than enough damming facts to determine Facebook’s not about equal and fair treatment of black people in all its facets! After reviewing the points I just listed, if these facts are not enough for any black person to remain a supporter of Facebook by deleting their account in a show of protest- at least to make our point, then nothing will.
Yeah Yeah, I know many of yall have been relying on Facebook to keep up with family, friends, or marketing your business, but as a business person, you should know, Facebook is not the Holy Grail of marketing, only a small part in the marketing / advertising spectrum depending on the business model, and there are plenty of other options in social media to keep up with Family & friends, and advertising.
Much of Facebook is all show and no action, except for a Facebook live (video broadcast) where people and many media outlets use the live stream for their radio & podcast shows or personal revelations.
Facebook’s lack of respect and racism of African Americans is right in our faces. The reasons for a boycott could not be more perfectly clear unless your eyes, ears and social media peer pressure and or greed decides to continue to go with the Facebook flow.
Like I said, there are other social media platforms out there. Some of them were here before Facebook came along to steal their thunder, like Black Planet (which I’m on), Twitter, Tagged, Tumblr, and now Snap chat, and many more. Hmmmm, by the way, Facebook owns a few of these outlets as well (like Instagram) so you might want to do some research on your own to see who owns who.
I even started an alternative yet innovative Social Media Platform back in 2008 designed to move forward from the old Facebook format called MFN: Multi Facet Network, which got many accounts but didn’t blow up enough to keep up the rigorous & demanding operations, so I had to pull the plug on it in 2013.
Just for the record, MFN had more options and (amenities) than Facebook at that time including live BROADCAST, but because it was black owned by myself, the general public - mostly followers- flocked to Facebook mostly because some celebrities and community leaders were on there. Thus the chain reaction took place.
Lets’ face it; it takes lots of people to run a growing, multifaceted social media platform – of which I could not afford to do without the support of masses as you guys flocked in support of Facebook.
MFN continued to hold live broadcast of events and live streamed other people –like D.J.’s doing their thing long before Facebook took to live streaming and it also had more in-depth profile pages that didn’t require you to give your most personal information but allowed separate or open contact for users. But as we all know, Facebook is where everyone is at- it’s the spot- YEAH RIGHT! It became the place to be with the in crowd despite its owned and ran by white supremacists/racists.
Here’s how basic website platforms build revenue & equity. Based on Google Analytics, a websites earning potential depends on hits if there not selling products. These hits- I.E. unique visitors- turn into points registered by the website calculated by Google Analytics. The more hits and or visitors a website receives on a daily basis, is the more the website attracts advertising which pays for the growth and continuation of that website like hiring help (employees) to assist in running it, maintaining it, etc.
Regardless of all this evidence of Facebook’s disrespect to our race & community, you don’t see our prominent leaders be they politician’s, activists, clergy, or media reps with high volume platforms like local progressive radio talk show hosts mentioning this or suggesting any level of a Facebook boycott! That’s Interesting- NOT A ONE??? Well that my friends is because they opted to join in participating in Facebook’s cesspool for the betterment of their careers or objectives and are now turning a blind eye to this atrocity.
For the most part, folks on Facebook are there to be seen and or heard and are competing in a popularity contests to stroke their egos. The more friends you have the more you are revered. However, this friend thing is just a cliché as no one has literally a thousand friends in the TRUE sense. It’s just a name given for virtual friends as in cyber land. In the Facebook universe, your friends are for the most part cyber friends. For the most part, these so-called friends (mostly local) won’t be there for you in a time of need or death, and don’t support businesses, especially black owed businesses, despite the fact that they may like your post or give a comment or two.
Now on a positive note, Facebook is good for keeping up with family members and finding a friend / acquaintance or two from your past, but if you’re a business owner, you should realize Facebook is only one part of marketing, not the only source of marketing. Many people – especially peeps under 30 think Facebook is the internet, but it’s not. It’s basically only a vast website that allows you to have a page for your info and to communicate to others.
Now let’s look at how much revenue Facebook generates that blacks are aiding in this proliferation of which not a penny has found its way into the Black community.
Facebook earns over 6 billion – yes 6 BILLION dollars a MONTH- not a year, and how much of that revenue goes back into the black community??? And for anyone who doesn’t know, referring back to Google Analytics, if you’re a Facebook user, every click of the mouse you do on Facebook, including logging-in puts at least $1000.00 into Mark Zuckerbergs pocket, which equates to Zuckerberg earning at least 6 Million a day.
To sum it up, at least 2.5 Million of that comes from black users. That’s equates to at least 70% of blacks supporting a man that is a racist—yea I said it- Harvard Grad Student Mark Zuckerberg who’s following the same path set by his Secret Society predecessor’s for white supremacy & dominance.
Hell to the NO!!! That means every click you do on Facebook means you’re supporting a racist/white supremacist corporation that’s’ aiding in the destruction of your people. SHAME!
And to put the icing on the cake, Mark Zuckerberg has been meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House and Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley, a top tech industry critic. This is the latest sign of the tech mogul's personal outreach amid mounting scrutiny from Washington.
This blatant move is to back Donald Trump and Republican senators to keep Trump in office so that Democrats like Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders won’t break up Facebooks monopoly and take Facebook to the Supreme Court for participating in Russian interference.
This also means that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook is part of the billionaire OLIGARCHS that owns and are funding republicans who remain standing behind Trump despite the fact that Trump and his crime family are blatant criminals, narcissist, and racists, and is guilty of obstruction of the CONSTITUTION!
We may never know how much money Zucerberg has contributed to Trumps campaign and the campaign of republicans, but I have no doubt the amount is in the multi millions. It’s all about WHITE SUPREMACY and the gentrification of Black people! Rest ASSURED!
I knew about Mark Zuckerbergs racist demeanor the second I saw his picture back in the early 2000’s.
So what is Facebook (Zuckerberg) subliminally communicating to its users? Twitter and other social media outlets have banned and or deleted political advertising, especially Ads for Trump, and outlets like CNN have turned down running Trump Ads. Facebook is the core of Trumps re-election strategy with over 1400 different Ads running with the majority of them laced with blatant lies, misinformation and blasphemy, and still allows foreign & domestic advertising, as Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) says its ok, and he didn’t suspend Pro-Trump accounts for fear of backlash. You can’t do that in any other media. What’s more troubling is that over 40% of Americans rely on Facebook as their primary source of news.
In a nutshell, Facebook lies to the American people for profit, and if you’re a Facebook user, (I’ll say it again), you’re contributing to the decadence and dumbing down of this nation, and the profit of this racist institution with every click of your mouse.
As I scanned the progressive media and social media outlets, I’m happy to see that some folks are finally waking up and are super pissed at Facebook for violating their rights, allowing false advertising and mis-and disinformation, and many are expressing their grievances publicly like a recent post by user Zlobnik59 who states…
“Facebook doesn't give a shit about posts spreading violence and fuming a civil war in Ukraine, split in society, pleas for genocide of fellow citizens. Why would they care about fucking ads? When reporting via facebook's system they return a message "We didn't find anything violating facebook rules in a post you've reported". So basically racism, fascism and anti-Semitism are allowed on facebook, at least in Ukraine. And that's just 'beautiful'.
As if these facts aren’t enough to get some of the millions of blacks to kick Facebook to the curve, I recently learned that at this very moment, Facebook is the biggest hub for CHILD PORNOGRAPHY in the world. Yes, with over 40 Million images. Whaaaaat???
Now with all the algorithm technology Facebook and other Social Media outlets deploys, there is no way in HELL Facebook should be allowing this crime- as well as others- to permeate its pages, especially at this magnitude.
Let there be NO MISTAKE; Facebook is a tool for the Oligarch’s and Russia to contribute to the decadence of America, to sway public opinion, influence illicit behavior, gathering and selling personal information, utilizing images for facial recognition and fixing elections; all in the guise of keeping up with Pookie and Grandma. This is corruption to the 10th degree.
So I ask anyone within the range of my voice or reading this article who’s a diligent user on Facebook; “Is this the kind of disgusting, criminal laced, racist, controlling and misleading social media platform you want to support and belong to?”
Facebook may be at the top of the heap in social Media, but it’s at the bottom of the barrel for social fairness, capitalism and racism against African Americans, and the general public for that matter, and for that, I decline to participate in a cesspool that is totally against my people while simultaneously spreading filth, deceit, and much more. So until Facebook cleans up its act-which by the way may never happen in our lifetime, as they say on the television show Shark Tank, “IM OUT”.
Since my departure from Facebook and launching the boycott, almost 1 MILLION CONSCIOUS BLACKS have left Facebook along with over 3 MILLION WHITES and other nationalities, especially now that Zuckerbergs true colors have been revealed- GREAT!
My boycott has gained enough steam to begin to put a dent in Zuckerbergs bottom line and it will continue to grow as the truth reaches millions more.
Now, anyone who’s read this article of documented facts on this institution and the white supremacist at the helm who will remain loyal to Facebook as a user, they’re also subliminally supporting Donald Trump, the billionaire oligarch controlled republicans, contributing to their own discrimination as well as their people, and participating in criminal activity by funding this institution through every click of the mouse, and they should be DAMN ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!
Back in the early 2000’s, Professor Willie Dixon (historian/teacher at Triton College) said unless black folks unite, think and reinstate their consciousness, black folks will boogie themselves right into the gas chamber. Well at this juncture in our history, it is apparent that this is coming to fruition.
One thing is for sure, ones actions may do one thing, but ones conscious will think, say or do another.
I’m fortunate and blessed to keep my conscious intact by doing the right thing.
I wish everyone a very blessed, conscious, and prosperous New Year!
Let this be the year we turn this thing around.
JOIN THE BOYCOTT! SPREAD THE WORD!
Until next time…
BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM!
PEACE & BLESSINGS!
IMPEACHMENT SYNERGY
It can happen to any business or Company leader 11/3/19 |
THE BLACK FEMINIST EFFECT!
Shaping business & politics |
Ohhhhh yes, it’s going to be a beautiful week for an impeachment proceeding! We’re now into daylight savings time and after setting our clocks back one hour, we are given an extra hour for sleep or to squeeze in any chores, activities or business moves that’s been on our minds. As we are in the midst of a constitutional crisis, in this time of the dawn of a historical impeachment proceeding, I chose this extra hour to review everything leading up to this historic event as it relates to us- especially as business people, and I must admit, it was mind boggling.
Taking it from the top, whatever side you stand on politically- as in Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Green Party, there’s one thing all sides can agree on at this juncture; Donald J. Trump will be impeached by the house and at this pace, I expect the final hammer to drop sometime in December. Hmmm, that’s just in time for a political Christmas present for at least more than half of the people in the nation. This impeachment process will be a lesson in civics and the constitution for the many that will follow the public hearings over the next two months, and I strongly urge any business person to pay close attention to how this procedure is conducted for in comparison, on a local basis, as noted -politics is local, many businesses if evolved properly, will have to deal with some sort of municipal processing’s under current or new laws- all based on politics. Now if you’re a staunch Trump supporter (a Trumpster) that has been brainwashed by the fervor of the Trump cultism- yeah, Trump is a cult of personality that created a cult following that has devastated this country, and you believe Trump should not be impeached because you follow FOX news or any Right wing/conservative media outlets that dominates the airwaves in every city- be it radio, television or hijacked internet social media sites like facebook, then you’re either in denial or scared of what Trump will do when he is impeached or is about to be impeached –like starting world war III. Ok, I’m going to break it all down to the basic facts. We should first take a look at the confirmed/documented grounds for impeachment without hyperbole and with all confirmations and testimonials by all players and witnesses. Get with the program people and you Trumpster’s, this is definitely not FAKE NEWS! You must face up to the facts that there is abundant evidence of abuse of power and obstruction of justice by Donald J. Trump. Both are impeachable offenses. First, let’s get straight the official definition of grounds for impeachment. The grounds for impeachment are not limited to criminal offenses. “Unlike a criminal case,” the 1974 Judiciary Committee report says, “the cause for the removal of a President may be based on his entire course of conduct in office. In particular situations, it may be a course of conduct more than individual acts that has a tendency to subvert constitutional government.” Ohhhhh, juicy! Now let’s refer to article II, Section 4 of the constitution… The constitution states; Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution provides that “The President … shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” The meanings of treason and bribery in Trumps case are clearly defined. Treason is defined explicitly in the Constitution. It is the meaning of that third element – “high Crimes and Misdemeanors”. Now let’s get down to the meat & potatoes. Trump has been accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment by at least 24 women. These accusations alone certainly provide a cause for an impeachment inquiry, however, these crimes were conducted before Trump entered office and quite possibly may be excluded from the official impeachment counts during his presidency, so I won’t include them in this official list of the most damaging offenses during his presidency. The following is a list of the top and most damaging impeachable offenses by Trump.
IN addition, Robert Mueller’s report contains 10 instances where President Donald Trump potentially committed obstruction of justice. Here's what we know about obstruction of Justice Obstruction of justice accounts for a federal crime in which someone "corruptly" attempts to “influence, obstruct or impede” the “due and proper administration of the law” in a pending proceeding, according to federal code. Here are the 10 instances of potential obstruction Mueller outlines in his report: 1. Trump asking James Comey to let MIchael Flynn go 2.Trump’s reaction to the Russia investigation 3.The firing of James Comey 4.Mueller’s appointment and efforts to oust him 5.Efforts to curtail the Russia investigation 6.Attempts to stop the public from seeing the evidence 7.Trump trying to get Jeff Sessions to take back control of the investigation 8.Trump telling Don McGahn to deny that the president had wanted the special counsel removed 9.Trump’s team asking Flynn for a “heads up” on information and commending Paul Manafort for not “flipping” 10.The president’s changing behavior toward Michael Cohen Take your pick from this astonishing and growing list (at least 42 listed here) marking an unprecedented number of impeachable offenses by a president in the history of this Nation. WOW! That’s a record that may never be broken! It’s a no brainer that Trump will be impeached and I suspect that the bribery case and obstruction of justice cases will be the topping the list in the impeachment hearings which shall begin this week. As anticipated by all political analysts, Trumps impeachment will not go through the (republican) senate for conviction or removed from office unless many of the republicans suddenly realize their vote can cause a loss of finances for their re-election and or to get on the right side of the Law and history, but regardless the fallout from the impeachment hearings as well as the impeachment will no doubt be devastating. The public impeachment hearings will reveal most if not all of the offenses on my list and quite possibly Trumps tax records from 2016 to present which will definitely sway overall public opinion on the Trump presidency to the point of considerably lowering his vote totals for the 2020 election. That means if we as a people and congress stop all fraudulent electoral attempts including voter suppression and Russian interference, Trump will not win this election and quite possibly not even get the nomination as republicans are gradually turning against Trump to get on the right side of history and the law as we get closer to D-day or in this case i-day (impeachment Day). By now, most folks who’ve been following the latest revelations and proceedings have learned a little to a lot more on understanding the strategy of this move for impeachment led by Nancy Pelosi- who in my opinion would also be a formidable presidential candidate. As I stated in an earlier article (that you can read in the archives below), Trump will not take this lying down. I believe as the hammers continue to pound him towards some sort of conviction, if all his deal offer’s fall short of keeping him and his crime family out of prison, Trump will flee or at least attempt to flee the country. Recently, some media reps, concerned citizens and talk show hosts have also expressed this concern siting Trump as a flight risk since I mentioned this move several months’ months ago. It only makes perfect sense that Trump has planned this exit strategy at least a year ago if things go way too south on him to face definite prison time. This is the protocol for all mobsters, high profile criminals and political whistle blowers when all else fails. Just look at Edward Snowden now living in exile in Russia or how two of Rudi Giuliani’s boys were caught at the airport trying to flee the country a month ago with no return flight tickets, and yes, Giuliani will go down as well in time. Trumps final option is to flee the country to live in exile in either the Ukraine, Saudi Arabia or Russia under Vladimir to continue as his flunky since he owes Putin millions if not billions by now, and maybe to continue plans to build a trump tower in Russia. Trump recently announced he’s selling the Trump hotel in DC for $500 Million. That comes to about $2 million per hotel room. His other properties (if not by name sake rights) may be seized under federal criminal or bankruptcy laws in each state except Florida where the Mar-a-Lago Club, Mr. Trump’s resort in Palm Beach where Trump has changed his permanent residence. One reason Trump is moving to Florida is because there is no income tax law in Florida, but the main reason Trump is moving to Florida is because when you declare bankruptcy in Florida, you don’t lose your house which brings me to the other reason he’s selling the Trump Hotel in D.C. - because he is running out of money. Kids, the moral of this story is; Don’t run a political office- especially the president of the United States as you ran your corrupt and failed business empire in a gangland style, especially if one of your failures included bankrupting a casino. HOW THE HELL DO YOU BANKRUPT A CASINO??? Trump managed to do it twice- not once. Everything Trump touches turns to dust. I agree that due to his financial failures and criminal dealings, Trump is not a billionaire as boasted since the 80’s. Economic expert guru Thom Hartman put his net worth as low as a negative 1.5 billion. So far my calculation’s put him at a negative 2.6 billion worldwide, but that is a crude estimate as I’ve stopped counting from fatigue of research (SMILE) but here’s the kicker; If Trump had invested his money into the Dow in an Index Fund back in the day, he would have a net worth of at least 40 to 45 Billion dollars. That’s something all business folks should know and do when their bottom line and total net worth reaches a comfortable mark. Put some of that cash into an Index Fund. This also should show everyone on how stupid and terrible a businessman Trump is. What troubles me the most during this whole escapade called the Trump presidency is how many Trumpster’s (mainly his base) are still standing by Trump and are still in denial of his impending impeachment? About a week or so ago, I’ve heard folk’s in all walks of life (mostly conservative Trump supporters) claim that the impeachment inquiry was not going to continue, but here we are. It’s also troubling on how influential the Cult of Trump has made some white supremacist come out the closet causing some of them to openly express their disdain on black & brown people and their horrible and unlawful treatment in the streets and companies in this country. Many have been vociferous on how they have purchased guns & amo to get ready for a civil war like the major league umpire Rob Drake who stated, “I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVIL WAR!!!”. When Trump is one way or another forced out of office or is impeached, Trump has been enticing his base with this level of a reaction for months. Enticing this level of a reaction??? Hmmmm, that coincides with Impeachable offense #10 on my list; “INCITEMENT OF VIOLENCE”. It’s also very sad on how Trumpster’s ignore most if not all of the findings revealed since Trumps taking office with emphasis on the recent revelation of bribing a foreign leader for his personal gain in his re-election campaign. This shows how a powerful cult figure like Trump can cause many to think and do unthinkable things. Never the less, TRUMP IS TOAST anyway you look at it as the cookie continues to crumble, so observe the upcoming public impeachment hearings and take note from the attorneys and the congressional standpoint. You never know how much of this civic and constitutional crisis case you may need to know down the road. There are much more devastating incidents, findings, and statements by officials I can add to this article, like he “Urgent Concern” determination by the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, or the Intelligence employee that leaked classified info to journalist, or how you can trace the identity of the whistleblower that is a C.I.A. Officer, and much more. However, there’s way too much for here so I will save that for my book. In the meantime, stay focused and be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Peace & blessings! |
With all that’s going on in this country and the world like climate change & its effects, out of control violence & killings, rising prices, layoffs, homelessness, and even Trumps impending Impeachment & the whistle blower, it’s a wonder any of us can keep our heads from spinning off our necks. Yet through it all, there’s one positive force in our community that’s been a key factor in keeping things in perspective and moving forward, and that’s black feminist. Black feminist has been at the forefront of pioneering in the community since the 1600’s dealing with the matrix of politic domination affecting everything from politics to the governing of the United States and civil rights, to family and business.
This matrix of politic domination as Patricia Hill Collins - an American academic scholar and university professor- describes can also be traced back to the early days of politics and the dating back to the 1600’s. This was the matrix of a race of people that implemented ideologies, systems and tools used for domination of all races, classes and even religious cultures, through white/European supremacy. Since then, Black feminist thought and matrix have played a pivotal role in dealing with these elements on every level described by Patricia Hill Collins. Every level has had an effect on shaping cultures in this country- none greater than black culture. By observing other cultures along with white racists, these elements that have been brought into US culture have indeed been accepted as part of the dominant cultural image. I say this because the majority of other races or nationalities of immigrants over the decades that settled in the U.S. have followed suit in how they view and or treat other races with emphasis on African Americans. A prime example is the Arab’s or middle easterners invasion by setting up shop in black neighborhoods in the late 80’s. Their businesses were mostly small bodega-like grocery and liquor stores where they openly displayed negative attitudes towards blacks and treated many of their customers like crap through discrimination, sexism, and for the most part- not hiring blacks in the neighborhood. In addition to this mindset and behavior, they sold mostly low grade produce and meat products and sold them at inflated prices. They’ve learned much of this behavior from observing the protocol on how whites view and treat blacks in America. Once they pocketed the black dollar, they did not put some of those dollars back into the community thus siphoning the community of the black dollar circulation and jobs causing a ripple effect on the lack of resources and poverty in the black economy. A decade of this skullduggery may have been the spark for many black feminist as we began to see the rise of black female entrepreneurs and businesswomen opening businesses in the community in the early 90’s. Many of the business clearly visible were hair salon and nail shops, followed by unique/handmade clothing and specialty shops, much of which were inspired by black feminist thought. I thought happily by visiting many of these business is that the sisters running these businesses hired blacks-mostly residing in the neighborhood where the business is located. These Black feminist proudly express that the elements of their racial and cultural biography are unique and very special in identifying not just them but their cultural background and beliefs. I believe these elements of their racial and cultural biography were so profound and influential that it’s been appropriated into “dominant” US (white/European) culture. A prime example of this was showcased back in the late 70’s when bo-derrick- a popular television actress, film producer, and model noticed how beautiful African and African American braids looked on black women and decided to get her hair done in this hairstyle, dyed her hair and also tanned her skin. Because of her influence in Hollywood & media, many white females followed suit and began wearing African brains and cornrows. The trend grew so popular that it was referred to as “the bo derrick look”. Not surprising to me, much of this cultural bio takes continues to this day as we now see white women getting injections in their buts to make them bigger, tanning salons permeating in white neighborhoods and even in how our music has been hijacked- like jazz, blues and hip-hop/rap—can you say EMMINEM or VANILLA ICE? Both are considered strong generic images and also two of the greatest rappers in Hip-hop. In my opinion, these examples of cultural appropriation matter in the matrix of domination because in many cases, these generics are used to market African American ideologies and cultures into a money making resource for whites while blacks are left with crumbs, especially black women to further subordinate and oppress. It can be argued that racism is an offshoot of classicism, but either way one looks at it , the end result is the domination of a class, gender, and race of people to be subservient and depending on the white race for survival and even prosperity which still permeates and poisons our society today. However, I must add that tribalism is also considered a main element in the levels of racism as tribes are now defined by ethnic groups. This is how many black feminist reflects on their identify thought through their ethnic background, child rearing and experiences from birth to today. As Black feminist became more familiar with the mechanics of the racial and political climate in this country, many of their life experiences caused them to reflect on and cultivate their own matrix in terms of how they dealt with and currently deal with situations that suggest or involves a dominatrix oppressor force that must be addressed. I reflected on a friend of mine telling me about a situation as a letter carrier in the late 90s. She delivered mail to a then ex-super bowl Chicago Bears player living in Wicker Park, and had previous arrangements with him to use a key hidden on his property to open his door to put any boxes and all accumulated mail when he frequently traveled (or was otherwise away from home). On a day that she had to deliver a couple of big boxes to him, she left her mail truck (with rear lights blinking) in the middle of the street while unloading the boxes and took them inside the townhouse. How strange and ironic that a white male customer that lived across the street from her delivery would take it upon himself (without questioning her, seeing the mail truck and he knew her as his mail carrier), to call the Chicago Police on her. The customer that called the police on her literally threw a rock and hid his hand. As she was coming out of the house, locking the door and putting the key back in its secure place, the police rode upon her, apprehending her and put her in their car for a dilemma that lasted well over an hour. This situation ended when the Postal Inspectors and a host of postal management came out to clear everything up. In the meanwhile the person that called the police department did not come out to tell his side of what he thought he saw until a police officer knocked on his door and told him that someone from his house phone number had made a phone call to the police. In his defense he did say that he had only seen her from the back while she was using the key to open the door (something everybody on the block knew that she did periodically for that particular customer), and he thought that she was a burglar. She, as well as I found his story quite compelling as in disturbing. Not only did he saw the postal uniform, but in the past he helped her to unload many boxes from her truck to take inside of the Bears’ player house. To this very day she has continuously been mesmerized by the events of that day. She asked herself, why would he suddenly act in this manner? Was it the change in today’s racial climate? Was he juiced up on alcohol or drugs? Regardless of what caused him to flip, his actions were obviously racially motivated. She noted; “If this could happen to me while I was gainfully employed on a job that fell within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Postal Inspectors, then this could happen to any black person at any given time”. This was not just another ordinary day at the office, but this was clearly a day and a situation where a white man used his dominating power (more commonly known as white privilege) to perpetrate an injustice against her, a black woman. This and other experiences did not stop her from evolving her thought and matrix to pursue her dreams of being a chef as she was a cook/chef, entering cooking contests and eventually starting her supper club business. Let’s cut to the chase. Knowledge is power and power is king. In relation to- shall I say the black feminist revolution, the black feminist thought is and always been based on the knowledge she possesses. In today’s modern era of politics, the black feminist thought has become more politically astute. Black feminist thought has made black women influential and empowered when it comes to selecting, voting and running for leadership roles in this country. Perhaps the most recent examples of this empowerment is when the black female vote was the deciding factor when electing blacks to office around the nation, especially in the larger cities. Thanks to black feminist effect, there are currently 22 Black women in the house. These women are; Frederica Wilson, Terri Sewell, Maxine Waters- (commonly known as AUNTIE MAXINE in the black community), Bonnie Watson, Stacey E. Plaskett, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Gwendolynne S. Moore, Ludyma Love, Barbara Lee, Brenda Lawrence, Alma Adams, Lauren Underwood, Karen Bass, Beatty Joyce, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Yvette Clark, Valdez Butler Demings, Shelia Jackson Lee, Marcia L. Fudge, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Brenda Jones, and Robin Kelly. This is a result of the reinstating of black consciousness which has focused on the urgency to become more involved in politics and or civics. Our growing knowledge of civics has leapfrogged the black feminist movement to the forefront of politics where we have witnessed and are experiencing a more racially or ethnic body in congress by electing more women of color than ever in the history of the United States. Today, more women of color than ever in this country’s history are running for office. Some are even bidding to become the first woman of color to be elected as president of the United States. At the forefront of the black feminist pack of presidential hopefuls are Kamala Harris, an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from California since 2017. Kamala Harris rose to power in through the Democratic Party by previously serving as the 27th District Attorney of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011 and 32nd Attorney General of California from 2011 until 2017, and is one of the black females in Washington that has publicly took on Donald Trump by siting his racism, crimes, and calling for his impeachment. I would consider both Kamala Harris and Maxine waters great examples of black agents of knowledge not just because of their stance on Trump, but the information they’ve put out on the misconduct of this society towards black people. Even locally, here in Chicago black feminist thought has influenced the rise of dozens of black women to seats of power in city government. None can be more prevalent than the elections of states attorney Kim Fox, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton, and the first African American female and LGBT mayor Laurie Lightfoot, all of whom currently serve and embody a formidable and dominant force in Chicago politics. I must add and we all must acknowledge that part of this surge is credited to this being – as many refer to as- the year of the woman- as women of color have been placed in various seats of power in all facets of our society, with the most recognizable in politics, rallies and marches, corporate America, and law enforcement due to their platforms showcased by the media. As of today, black feminist are leading the pact over all ethnic groups in opening up business, with 90% of their business residing in the black community, and many of these businesses have grown to become very successful. Much of this rise and success can be accredited to Black feminist thought. Black feminist thought is what helped free many slaves during slavery thanks to queens like Harriet Tubman who formed the Underground Railroad. Black feminist thought is what launched The African-American Woman Suffrage Movement that focused on the particular challenges faced by Black women, even after the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments in the late 1800’s. Black feminist thought is what inspired Madam C.J. Walker, née Sarah Breedlove, to become a businesswoman and philanthropist who was the first black female millionaire in the United States in 1919. Black feminist thought is what fueled the civil rights movement thanks to Rosa Parks (a secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP) and Claudette Colvin. Both refused to give up their seats to whites on buses in Montgomery Alabama. Black feminist thought is what kept families and the black community together from post slavery to today. Black feminist thought is what created the Black Lives Matter organization in response to the wave of racial profiling by police which caused dozens of unarmed blacks to be murdered by racist cops in various situations like Michael Brown, Anthony Lamar Smith, Eric Garner, Rekia Boyd, and Sandra Bland. And last but not least, Black feminist thought is what created the largest number of new black female entrepreneurs / business owners over the past 2 years in the United States. This is why, and I do conquer that Patricia Hill Collins own thought that black feminist thought demonstrates black women’s emerging power places Black women as agents of knowledge, but more so, agents of change. Until next month, Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. |
TRUMPS TARIFF –TRADE WAR WITH CHINA
What it means for you or your business. 8-1-19 ' As I woke up this morning I thought, “Oh man, there hasn’t been a more toxic mix of ingredients in this current events gumbo in the history of mankind than the one we are experiencing”, and perhaps one of the key ingredients is –needless to say—Donald Trumps induced tariff war.
Today, as this article is released, the next round of Trumps tariffs goes into effect and big businesses have stocked up to delay raising prices until absolutely necessary. Its Jacked up enough that were experiencing the effects of climate change, Brazil burning- which we're losing 20% of earths oxygen- think of how that will affect people with asthma, tax hikes, social dysfunction, gentrification, racial profiling, and mass shootings literally every day. Damn, all we need is a war on the taxing of purchasing imported goods from other countries to put our economy in the toilet. This is perhaps the craziest, irrational move that could actually effect Trumps re-election as his approval rating has dropped to an all-time low of 40% and has plunged in every key battleground state since taking office in January 2017. As of this past week, fifty-three percent of Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing. He (Trump) said he would eliminate the National debt in eight years, but as of today, has increased the debt by 40% in fewer than three years. The president is not just tweeting the nation into a recession, but will simultaneously aid by tweeting the authentic & original black community into extinction. Why I say this? Just take a look around our communities and notice how Mexicans, Asians and other ethnic groups have planted seeds by starting businesses, buying homes –and or- renting apartments or condos –mostly in new developments – driving up property values, rent and taxes thus further increasing gentrification. Yeah, yeah, I know--- politics is local, so I don’t blame Trump for a process that began during the Regan administration, but I can blame congress, Mitch McConnell, and also blacks as a whole for not standing up to this government to take action in many ways, one, by going to the polls, and two, by staging the biggest National boycott in history. However, I must add our white brothers and sisters are just as guilty by adding to the problem. More or less all race need a conscious uplifting to make his government do the right thing. You know- like how he citizenry in other counties turn out in the millions to over throw/remove governing entities or to change policies. In countries like France, its government is scared of the people, yet in America, the people are scared of the government. Wow… that’s what happens when you allow billionaire corporations control our thoughts and actions through most media. No wonder things are so corrupt and jacked up here. This current trade war featuring the latest Tariffs on China will make the prices of literally everything go up. I also shake my head at what makes this utterly insane is that the United States has owed China Trillions of dollars over the past two decades, and now China has been cashing and banking in on this debt year by year- similar to what Saudi Arabia did in1990. So why would a nation or better said, a president be stupid enough to implement a tariff or an embargo on products from China? I have my reasons but will reserve them for later. This move (trade war) is defeating the purpose of tariffs which is to save costs of product purchasing to strengthen a nation’s economy jointly through reducing taxes, consumer spending and an overall positive growth effect on jobs. A trade war occurs when one country (Country A) raises tariffs (a tax or duty) on another country’s (Country B) imports in retaliation for Country B raising tariffs on Country A's imports. Trade wars are a side effect of protectionism, government actions and policies that restrict international trade, generally with the intent of shielding local businesses and jobs from foreign competition, or of righting trade deficits (a country's imports exceeding its exports). With all this talk about Trump, the economy, and the yield curve that media, economic experts, and left wing talking heads are using to predict this new recession, if anyone has studied the markets and economics, Trump is not the proliferator of the next recession. He’s just the finger to point at as his tariffs will cause the recession to occur much faster. The recession was predicated to begin in about two to three years or so, but now it is predicated to start in about a year or less. I, along with reputable non-partisan experts have predicted another recession long before Trump took or shall I say stole the presidency. The economic woes have been building since the Regan era that launched Reaganomics. I’ve been tracking this (the next recession) since 2014 as it is noted that we never fully recovered from the 2008 recession as several markets were still very shaky and some business were –and or- are currently closing or laying off employees. We’re already weathering the devastating fallout of the first wave of Trumps tariffs starting in January 2018. These tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum which, according to Morgan Stanley, covered an estimated 4.1 percent of U.S. imports. That was bad enough considering we all purchase products that implements aluminum one way or another like certain can goods, aluminum foil & pans, etc-etc. This latest trade war round will impact everything from the beer you drink on the weekend to the musical instrument you play, to the clothing & shoes you wear, to the diapers, TV’s, Computers, or the book your kid reads. Effected industries are diverse, but they all have something in common: They represent American small and medium-sized businesses that rely on China either for production or essential equipment. Small and medium-sized businesses- at least the ones who keep up with current events, are scrambling to make plans from delaying store openings and closings to implementing hiring freezes, and even considering price increases. My concern is that many small black business owners whom are not paying attention will have the hardest time adjusting when the boom hits which may cause some to close their doors. By now, most rational folks know there’s no logic behind Trumps malicious moves, so again I ask the question: Why would a president of this country pass tariffs on China when you owe China Trillions? Hmmm, I think I have the answer, but will save that for next time. In 2005, China declared that it doesn’t want the money owed from the U.S. because the value of the U.S. dollar has shrunk drastically – Chinese spokesman claims. Mr. Trump had initially said he would impose 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese-made goods, essentially targeting everything that the United States buys from China that has not already been hit by previous rounds of tariffs. He later delayed more than half of the latest round of tariffs until Dec. 15 to avoid hitting American pocketbooks during the holiday shopping season, and he canceled another one-tenth of it. Really now??? I and any economic advisor and political insider knows Trump delayed this action because much of his puppeteers like the KOCH brothers ---- whom owns several companies covering dozens of industries will lose millions if not billion’s, and you don’t want to piss of the coke brothers like Trump has done last year. He (Trump) knows that the Koch brothers (minus James KOCH- who recently passed) fuel many of the campaigns of the Republican Party which is why they won’t ruffle any of Trumps feathers. China is no fool as well; in fact they are well versed in economics and have shown phenomenal growth since the new millennium. In fact, as of this month, China is now the world’s second largest economy and is expected to pass the U.S. as the world’s #1 economy anytime now- ehhh I’ll say in about a year or so. In China, 75% of their millennial's have purchased homes. On the flip-side, fewer than 40% American millennial's have purchased homes. Chinese has planted their seeds in this country and other countries like Jamaica, France, Belgum and Germany by opening up businesses and purchasing properties. But more so, because of the tariffs, China is now buying from Brazil and Canada. It’s become obvious how China has planted seeds in every major city in the country like Chicago, Illinois. Chinese have been slowly taking over the Bridgeport community since 2000. They’ve bought and still are buying many homes, especially newly built homes in this community as well as opening dozens of businesses along the Halsted and Wentworth corridors. I have no doubt China will adjust- in fact, China has already made plans for adjustments and will do just fine. All things considered, the United States needs China more than China needs the United States, and quite frankly, the majority of companies / corporations will still do business with China despite Trumps unlawful command to stop doing business with them. Does he really think these companies will all of a sudden lose billions of low wage manufacturing & trade revenue because of a President that’s out of his freakin mind… I don’t think so. And how about black businesses? If white business will catch a cold during this debacle, Black businesses will catch the FLU as for the most part, what powers any commercial business is trade and imports. Oh- but as I write this article, let me fill you in on a little known fact that mainstream media for the most part is ignoring. There are industries that are already in a recession. I.E. the trucking Industry- as reported by BARONS & other economic gurus is now in a recession. That isn’t good since shipping is the lifeblood of the economy, moving goods along its tar-paved arteries. “The freight industry is currently experiencing a recession, which began in October 2018,” writes Aaron Terrazas, Convoy director of economic research, in a report recently published. The $800 billion U.S. freight industry has been in a recession since October of last year, so black business that deal with imports in the clothing industry will also be hit very hard. The farming industry is also in a recession thanks to Trumps Tariffs. Germany has gone into a recession, and I know most folks are blaming Trump, but in reality, the world has gone soft, and we are about to experience a world depression. The 'bloodbath' in America's trucking industry has officially spilled over to the rest of the economy BUSINESS INSIDER reports that indicators from the trucking industry have for months been warning of an economic recession, as truckers have seen their pay slashed in what has been called a "bloodbath" in the industry. To make matters worse, as of Aug, 23, in retaliation to Trumps tariffs, China said it would impose tariffs on $75 billion in American-made goods if President Trump carries through on his promise to escalate his trade war with Beijing. The tariffs include American agricultural products, crude oil, and cars, which will fuel a growing world recession. I can go on and on mentioning effected products and industries, so instead of flooding this article with this endless list, let’s just say literally every product we consume / purchase and every industry including housing will be or has been affected by the increasing rounds of Tariffs as well as manipulating the stock market where the billionaires will be the ones who benefit (as in CASHING IN) on it. Like the American tariffs, China’s proposed tariffs would go into effect in two stages. The new round of tariffs would take effect on Sept. 1- which is today’s release date of this article, and on Dec. 15, according to the commission. This news threw a shock wave of reactions as markets fell in afternoon trading in Europe, and Wall Street opened lower. So if you’ve been following the economy and industries over the last 10 years or more, (since the 2008 crash) it should be no surprise to you that we will soon experience another economic crash (recession) even more devastating the 2008. Experts like Thom Hartman have been predicting this, and in fact, as I mentioned, we haven’t fully recovered from the 2008 recession, only segments of our society have seen significant recovery. There’s no more evidence of this than the black community where due to the lack of employment, resources, escalating rent, and tax hikes, our community has never rebounded from 2008s recession- some say depression- and has slowly declined economically since then. How about the tickle down effect? This trade war will be most devastating to the consumer. People living from paycheck to paycheck, which is about 50% of this Nation will feel the fallout the hardest as most shop from stores like Target & Wal-Mart. By late September- early October, stores like Wal-Mart will have price increases from .50c to $2.00 depending products, imports and state taxes. In fact, we’ve already seen price increases in some of the industries mentioned. To make matters worse, 50% of Americans can’t handle a $400.00 emergency or a hospital bill which can bankrupt them overnight and as for our low wage workers, this means that as in 2008, the people that will either have their hours cut or lose their jobs entirely will be mostly black folks, especially in the restaurant and big store industry where there is room for cutbacks. And how about the business owner? Biz owners will face the painstaking decision to either layoff, cut workers hours, or close altogether. And without jobs plus price & tax increases, rising rental and utility costs, many more people will be in danger of losing their homes which will lead to more families facing homelessness. More folks will resort to selling goods in the underground market –like the loose cigs and cheap merchandise. Some will resort committing crimes to keep food on the table and a roof over their head- which means lower income folks may be incarcerated. The black middle class will be nothing much more than a memory as the middle class in this country has gone from 50% in the 70’s to 15% today- 2019. Well, let me be quite frank with this statement. The black community will be hit the hardest because for the most part, blacks do not support black businesses. So just think about this; if we’re not patronizing our business now, just think of how the black community will crumble even more because of this trade war. The restaurant industry will feel the pinch first due to the recent and ongoing collapse for the farming Industry because of Trumps tariffs which has already claimed casualties by Farmers going bankrupt at an alarming rate. A total of 84 farms in the upper Midwest filed for bankruptcy between July 2017 and June 2018, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Well black community, you can’t blame Trump for this debacle because if you stick together as other ethnic groups do, our community could weather this storm. Other ethnic groups like Mexicans & Chinese diligently support their business, and the majority of them are on the same economic level as the Black community. They will rebound from support alone and adjust, but as for the black community, it will continue to crumble, complain, and point fingers at Trump as they follow media outlets like FOX, CNN, and Facebook. If you – black community want to minimize the damage and in may cases survive from this trade war and the impending recession that’s beginning to plague our already fragile community, I strongly urge you take a stand and support any and every black owned business as much as possible, for if you think it’s bad now, or think 2008 was bad, this new recession will be much worse - guaranteed. May I remind anyone whom is economically aware; the more blacks support black businesses, the more our dollars circulate through our community instead of leaving the community right away, which decreases the chance of cutting hours or laying off employees, and in most cases, will open the door to hire more of us in the community for economic growth & stability. It’s up to you—not Trump or any political party, or local politician. Our economic climate was here long before Trump and it will be here long after he’s gone unless we unite and take a hard stand on government cultural reform. It’s all on you. As always in parting, BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM! Peace & blessings |
BACK INDEPENDENCE DAY
VS JUNETEENTH INDEPENDENCE DAY What's the Difference??? Black America,
LETS GET READY TO RUMBLLLLLLLE!!! In this corner, we have the abolition of slavery in the U.S., more generally, the emancipation of slaves throughout the confederate south and the observation and celebrations that followed. Weighing at 150 years, the historically acclaimed JUNETEENTH; formally titled Juneteenth Independence Day! And in this Corner, we have the creation and commemoration of the official National Holiday as a result of the Nationwide Full Press Economic Boycott SILENT DOLLARS, weighing in at Negative 5 years and 6 months from its conception to its facilitation and implementation- the official undefeated Independence champion of the world, BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY! May the two meet in the center of the ring, shake hands and come out fighting! Okay, Okay, All kidding aside, Before I breakdown the concepts of the two independence days, let me clear the air about my thoughts on Juneteenth. I'm all down for recognizing and observing the freeing of slaves and the day we observe this moment in Black History, but I must make clear in respect to both metaphors, they are of two separate and different origins, derived from actions and procedures therein. Plus, this article is to also clarify the definition of independence, in terms of a race or culture in a structured society, not only to be politically, but historically correct. I found it necessary to write this article because there are some black folks, especially the more culturally & conscious blacks that believe that I, along with thousands of other blacks that are supporting and proceed with the movement highlighted by SILENT DOLLARS, are either minimizing the significance or replacing JUNETEENTH entirely as a Black / African American Independence Day through the SILENT DOLLARS incarnation of our official BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY. THIS IS TOTALLY NOT TRUE! Some of you who’ve read my articles over the last few years may remember that I make clear that the play on words can be very powerful in defining, suggesting, governing and even controlling a people or masses, and I know for a fact that this were the case when our ancestors or scholars of that era, or circa that era, defined or equated the freedom of slaves as being independent. Yes, blacks were literally independently free to roam this country as individuals, but that does not mean that they were free mentally and economically, let alone independent as a community, as individuals and as a people as a whole. This is why I have to tell the truth based on basic and documented facts, regardless of who is either embarrassed or angered by it. Remember that THE TRUTH IS THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE! First, let’s keep it very real my people from a factual standpoint. These two declared days of observation are derived from two separate entities. Both have similar concepts with great intentions, but with two very different definitive origins. Let’s start by making it clear of how Independence Days are declared. If you go down the line of ethnic groups Independence Days, they were all the result of a civil unrest, a civil war or national protest that often resulted in a physical confrontation between the armies or enforcers of the governing or ruling powers that be and the civilians of that country, continent or nation. With that said, let’s examine and properly define the origins of the two Black Independence Days. First we have Juneteenth- More historically and official titled; JUNETEENTH INDEPENDENCE DAY Juneteenth. Independence Day, Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States that commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas in June 1865, and more generally, the emancipation of African American slaves throughout the Confederate South. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in most states. During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863. It declared all slaves to be freed in the Confederate States of America in rebellion, and not in Union hands (this excluded Tennessee, Virginia and lower Louisiana, which were occupied by the Union). As news of the end of the war moved slowly, it did not reach Texas until May 1865, and the Army of the Trans-Mississippi did not surrender until June 2. The holiday is observed primarily in local celebrations. Traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, singing traditional songs such as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", and readings by noted African-American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou. Celebrations may include parades, rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests. As of 2013, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 175, acknowledging Lula Briggs Galloway (late president of the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage) who "successfully worked to bring national recognition to what is nationally & historically titled…”Juneteenth Independence Day”. By 2008, nearly half of US states observed the holiday as a ceremonial observance. As of May 2014, when the Maryland legislature approved official recognition of the holiday, 43 of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have recognized Juneteenth as either, a state holiday or ceremonial holiday, a day of observance. So, that means that Juneteenth was still not recognized as a NATIONAL HOLIDAY, only a state holiday. States that do not yet recognize it are Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah. It's very cool that states approved recognition of the Holiday, but to this day, at least 60% of blacks have absolutely no idea of Juneteenth, let alone identifying it as Black Independence Day, and by in large, although Juneteenth is recognized by the majority of states, for the most part is i largely celebrated in about 3 states, Texas, New Orleans and Arkansas. If you ask 20 people in the streets in most major cities, you’ll be lucky to get 1% of that 20 to acknowledge that they know about Juneteenth, let alone celebrate it, especially in the Northern states. Also, by following the protocol for establishing an Independent society, the freeing of slaves was not the result of a civil war, or a fighting back of slaves to the degree that blacks, let alone slaves won either a physical battle or revolt. More isolated geographically, Texas was not a battleground. Planters and other slaveholders had migrated into Texas from eastern states to escape the fighting, and many brought their slave property with them, increasing by the thousands the number of slaves in the state at the end of the Civil War. In rebellion to the emancipation, the underground slave trade was formed, which is a form of chattel slavery. Also, let’s not forget that Blacks were still, and still are Africans by genealogy, who were removed from their homeland and economically independent society (tribe), and were stripped of their authentic culture and identity including their original name and native tongue, to be reinvented in the face, lifestyle, and mentality of another culture and ethnic group- that being Caucasian / European, to be totally subservient and dependent –not Independent on this race for their survival, as long as they remained in this land. White America and our government are still perpetrating this concept and mindset to this very day! Let there be no doubt, as our liberties, civil rights, and programs that we fought so hard to achieve are being systematically taken away year by year, which equates to Blacks or the Black community remaining totally dependent on this European controlled society. If you want to go by the correct definition of Independence- in relation to an ethnic group or race, it is as follows… “Any ethnic group or culture with an established community that is economically independent of any other race or culture that sustains their society, community and culture through self-produced commodities, businesses and institutions to build and sustain prosperity for its people, residing in a country, continent or nation”. Oh and by the way, have you noticed that every ethnic group in this nation has either achieved and or is building on this definition of Independence except African Americans, primarily because… 1. By the design of this corrupt racially biased system and government, which systematically tore apart the black family, and simultaneously prevented any attempts of blacks to form our self-sufficient independent communities, and 2. Due to the lack of consciousness, complacency, self-destruction, and self-hatred to the point of not building productive institutions and starting and patronizing black owned businesses that will circulate our dollars through our community to employ each other. These are the reasons why blacks are on the economic bottom. Although Blacks were free to traverse about the Unite States as individuals, they were not independent by ANY stretch of the imagination. Even when slavery was abolished, there were many blacks that decided to remain with their white masters because they have been conditioned since birth to either look up to or rely on their masters for economic and personal security, as if they were their gods or parents. This mindset or mentality (passed down through generations by these enslaved forefathers) still exists today in many blacks across this nation. Slaves were only promised the compensation of 40 acres and a mule (known as reparations), but that never happened. After being freed, blacks still had to work for white Americans (for the most part), and were also being denied any liberties or resources to become economically independent, let alone form a totally self-sufficient independent community. Yes, there were many attempts to form economically independent Black communities in states across the country since the abolishment of slavery, where we built our own textile industries and other commodities for commerce like in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but they were quickly obliterated by hating rebellious white society, probably orchestrated by the government as well, which threw us back to the dark ages, as Blacks still remained economically dependent, and mental-subservient slaves under this racially biased system, and in some cases, still are to this day, as many of these same hurtles and ideologies still exist in a different guise in white America, especially corporate America and the South. When slaves were freed, this opened the floodgates for open season on blacks because they were no longer protected from the ownership of whites, slave masters or plantation owners. There were no laws or legislations pertaining to Jim Crow, so the rebellious whites angered from the abolishment became Black headhunters, body snatchers and illegitimate bounty men. Blacks had to dodge these individuals to avoid being killed, or captured to be sold to the underground slave market which were entirely ignored by the government. That is why many blacks along with the freed slaves migrated to the northern states, but many of these hunters followed them to re-capture them to take them back south to be sold to the underground slave camps. Many blacks still had to run away from states like Texas to join the military to avoid these head hunters, and other anti-free-slave-rebels, only to be treated like second class citizens, even in the Military where the blacks had to live in deplorable conditions where many of them died to infectious diseases. Now, does this sound like being Independent to you? It surely doesn’t to me! Not only that, as states acknowledged Juneteenth Independence Day to be observed on June 19, demands for congress to make it a National Holiday to be honored by ALL STATES was greatly ignored. That’s is mainly because we asked, instead of taking & demanding! The CIVIL WAR was not Blacks fighting against whites or the system; it was whites against whites with a certain number of blacks helping them, yet, they were still discriminated by separation and provided fewer and deplorable accommodations. Second, we have BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY. This is the day when Blacks stood still – or shall I be more politically correct- the day Blacks will stand still- as in not patronizing, supporting, and also, not working for all non-black owned businesses and institutions in a NATION WIDE, FULL PRESS ECONOMIC BOYCOTT known as SILENT DOLLARS. This formula is a variation of the formula our oppressors used on us since slavery that stifles their mode of productivity. This Boycott- blacks sophisticated and non-violent CIVIL WAR shall take place on Monday, June 1st & 2nd of this year. June is the most vulnerable and strategic month in big business and corporate America. The massive strike will create a temporary economic collapse in the white economic base, equaling a loss between 1 and 3 trillion dollars nationwide. The demonstration will begin on a Monday due to the fact that Monday sets the tone and flow for the entire workweek and is the most important and productive day of the workweek on average. Many important parcels, (shipped & received), business pitch team travel days, big meetings…etc., take place on Mondays. This day in commemoration will not have a pre-cursor title like Juneteenth, but the definitive title of BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY. This definitive title is what gets people’s attention, and this title is something everybody has heard a million times in their lives every year, and can subconsciously identify with from the saturation of the July 4th hype / commercialization. The highlight of the boycott will be celebrated by cooking lavish meals and barbeques to be shared with family, friends and associates, basically the same spreads that almost 90% of blacks prepare and consume for holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, July 4th, Christmas and more, all of which has nothing to do with our authentic culture. Additional celebrations & ceremonies will include parades, concerts, festivals and other modes of commemoration that will be the staple of these two prolific days. The colors Red, Black & Green, (the colors implemented by Marcus Garvey), will adorn each home, with matching flags for all to proudly wave wherever they go. Unlike July 4th, BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY is to be recognized and celebrated during the entire month of June that also ties in with honoring Juneteenth Independence Day. Each week will represent a different THEME representing the historical voyage of blacks since being bought here for slavery, and the progression of a societal structure for economic independence. This month long observation and ceremonies will also bring a strong resurgence in recognizing and commemorating Juneteenth, our consciousness, and other important observances in African American culture. If you want to read up on these 4 weekly themes and the ceremonies connected with them, you can get them all by going to the silent dollars website at www.silentdollars.weebly.com In comparison, when you ask Black folks, especially our youth about Juneteenth, for the most part, they have no idea of its premise. Then, you have to take the time to explain to them what Juneteenth means as in explaining its origin and significance in our history, which is a good thing- for they should know this, but they have no sense of connection to this event, let alone any interest because it marks a time in our history that they either don’t want to know about or is angered at the origin, definition or premise. Yes, I know this is a bad thing- for every Black should know, or at least want to know and respect our history, especially to pass it on to their offspring and grandchildren. They also feel this has nothing to do with them since they are living in, and are part of the culture of living for the moment and taking action now. Ohhhh yes, I do realize and agree that NOW or TODAY is what’s up! The tactics and agendas of yesterday have changed and or evolved. Gentrification is not racial gentrification as it was during the 80’s & 90’s; it’s now about class economics, as it doesn’t matter what color you are as long as you have the money to live in these targeted areas. The proof can be seen in the Pilsen and Humboldt Park communities in Chicago, IL, where they were once predominately Hispanic, and now mostly Yuppies. TODAY is our focus because the level of hatred, racism and discrimination is on the rise and blatantly demonstrated in the recent revoking (the stripping of the title) of the United States Little League Championship of the Jackie Robinson West Little league Baseball Team. This discriminatory act is a guise to diminish the accomplishments of blacks during Black history month, a vengeful quest pursued by Chris James, the Evergreen Park coach -- whose team was slaughtered by Jackie Robinson West in the regional playoffs, and, to deter and keep blacks from entering Major League Baseball. Fortunately, regardless of these efforts, Major League baseball will be monitoring these kids when they enter high school. Now, on the other hand, when you mention BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY to our youth and adults as well, many, if not most will say…”Hmmm, when is this?” or “What is SILENT DOLLARS?” or “When will this happen?” Their curiosity & interest level is automatically peaked, and they want more information and enlightenment, and the majority will listen to what you have to say. When you explain that we are creating this day by launching a 2 day, NATIONAL FULL PRESS ECONOMIC BOYCOTT that continues the movement started back in November of 2014, the majority is overwhelmingly in favor and is much more likely to participate. Remember, as I stated earlier, the play on words are very POWERFUL when introducing a concept or idea, and this can go a long, long way. Since there is no event in terms of a BLACK VS WHITE CIVIL WAR, and also because there has been no legislation to make Juneteenth a National Holiday where everyone in every state in this nation is granted the day off with pay in corporate America and big businesses, Juneteenth has never really resonated with black people as a whole, which is why there is no mass, nationwide interest. This is why our youth and adults alike have not jumped on the Juneteenth bandwagon. Our youth are much more intelligent than you give them credit for. Many of them do not hang the streets shuffling and selling drugs, nor are complacent in trying to make a better life for themselves by working hard to be a productive part of the community and society. Some of them are taught our history by their elders & mentors, and others read and study our history as well, and they’re conversant amongst their peers in passing & or sharing this information. Remember, they were the first to take to the streets in response to the results of the Michael Brown, Eric Garner and other cases, so let’s give them credit where credit is due. It is not their fault that we, their forefathers dropped the ball in being man enough to keep our neighborhoods from going to crap, or standing up against a system that has its foot our necks. For the first time in African American history, every Black in the United States and beyond has a chance to be a part of history, to participate in a Nationwide demonstration, and, as in every movement from the first marches in New York in the 20’s & 30’s, to the civil rights movement in the 60’s, to the recent marches, sit-ins and die-ins around the country, our youth will again be a large part of making new black history by continuing the movement by spreading the word and participating in SILENT DOLLARS and starting our NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED IDEPENDENCE DAY to be a part of something positive and worthwhile to make a change, and to say… “I helped bring justice for my people”, to say, “I was a part of creating our Independence Day”, to say, “We all came together to make our lives better, because our lives matter!” And last but not least, to say… “WE WILL BREATHE!!!” A pushback from a certain segment of the Black empowerment, economics, historical, and conscious community reminds me of Republicans that vote against their own interest in congress or general elections. They are afraid of the sanctity of Juneteenth being lost (which it obviously will not be); so they are refusing to participate in -and-or support SILENT DOLLARS rather than joining us in bringing the changes in this nation to right the wrongs that are plagued on Black people, which will ultimately bring a halt to our extermination. Then there are the activists that are so HELL-BENT on their agendas, that they will not take the time to support this demonstration or to simply spread the word. And finally there are the haters and boulé-boot licking blacks that want things to stay the way they are for their own selfish reasons- I guess because they capitalize of the flaws and situations that plagues our community, or the fact that they hate the fact that they did not come up with this solid formula to bring a change in our community, and society as a whole. This means that these individuals that I’m calling out are willing to shoot themselves in the foot to participate in the continuing legacy of this biased system, the unlawful treatment, gentrification and extermination of Black people. This also means these blacks are “PART OF THE PROBLEM, NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION” Fortunately, as stated in the SILENT DOLLARS introduction & synopsis, major boycotts only needs about 10% - 15% of participants to make them successful, as proven by the Florida Protest, the Boycotts in Cincinnati, and others. So let me give you the 411… QUITE FRANKLY, WE DON’T NEED THEM! AND WE DEFINITELY DON'T NEED A PUPPET GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED FALSE FACE TO STEER OR DETER US AWAY FROM SILENT DOLLARS AND OUR OFFICIAL NATION WIDE BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY TO BE HONORED AND CELEBRATED IN EVERY STATE, NOT JUST A CHOSEN FEW! THE OLE SCHOOL THINKING AND PUSHING THE SAME OLE DRY, IDEAS AND STRATEGIES THAT KEEPS US APPOSING EACH OTHER, STAGNATE AND COMPLACENT, ARE NOW A THING OF THE PAST! WE ARE NOW IMPLEMENTING NEW, INNOVATIVE, STRATEGIC IDEAS THAT WILL BRING THE CHANGES THAT OUR PREVIOUS GENERATIONS FAILED TO PRODUCE, AND CONTINUE TO FAIL TO PRODUCE, WHILE RE-INSTATING OUR CONSCIOUSNESS AND ECONOMIC STABILITY. In November, studies from coalition members and constituents showed that due to the strategic formula and mass marketing, at the current rate of the momentum in spreading the word and galvanizing, SILENT DOLLARS will gain at least 20 to 50% of participants nationally, which is more than enough to greatly obtain the results outlined in the formula. This means that the changes and the advent of our official Independence Day are eminent! So I say to theses hating, Boot-licking, nay-saying, self-destructive, negative blacks… TO HELL WITH THEM! But do not fear my beating-breaking heats! Remember that the plans for the annual month long observation and celebration of BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY will simultaneously connect with Juneteenth, and will also introduce traditions to continue the resurgence of our consciousness and the fortification of our culture. Maybe if these NON SILENT DOLLARS Rebels, check their history, while seeing the significance of making new BLACK HISTORY, they will see that there is plenty of room to have more than one day of observance of our Independence, where we can tie in Juneteenth with the official observation of the anniversary of SILENT DOLLARS that will create the official BLACK INDEPENDENCE DAY, to make the entire month of June a month of celebrations and ceremonies as we unite for our future this year and every year! I made a parody of a boxing match in the title of this article to make a very poignant statement. When it comes to one vs. the other, it’s a TIE- HANDS DOWN! They are both the WINNERS! They will tie in together historically, as one links with the other to recognize and celebrate our transitions, progressions, and accomplishments. If any black person is truly about our people, then everyone in question will spiritually follow this progression to connect everything from our past to present. And when these rebels and haters visit the website at www.silentdollars.weebly.com, they and anyone will see that Silent Dollars not only provides a failsafe formula for a peaceful demonstration, but also provides information on how to combat corporate America, build our economic base by providing information on how to start & maintain your business and business support, building our pride and consciousness and much more! Hopefully they will see that not only is SILENT DOLLARS reviving and preserving the traditions and observations of Juneteenth, Kwanza and other significant notes in black history and culture, but also continues to make new black history by establishing new traditions. PEOPLE UNITED CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED! PEACE & BLESSINGS, and.... BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM |
Mark Finley’s Weight Loss Regiment
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A TRUMP MOMENT
The True National Emergency by Mark Finley 1/19/19 |
Here is the comprehensive dieting regiment I pieced together over the years. This regiment is a collaboration of several implementations which when applied together in an orderly & timely fashion, produced my expedient and astonishing weight loss.
First things first; the most powerful tool in losing weight is your mind. If you’re not prepared mentally to be diligent in following any regiment, you’ll never lose weight or will quickly regain weight. You must have it set in your mind to lose the weight and the discipline will follow. Once you do so, only then will you be ready. This regiment is not designed to lose weight for you to put it back on in a few months or a few years. This regiment reconditions (cleanses) your entire digestive system back to its original state by using natural foods and herbs. Your stomach will be affected first and the fastest, as it will shrink back to its original size intended for your body mass when you were born. If you constantly eat fatty foods, your taste buds and digestive system are conditioned to eating fatty foods. The stomach is a natural weight controlling mechanism that most people convert into a garbage disposal system as they go through their early years and throughout their life. By reconditioning your digestive system, it will eventually become less tolerant of greasy fast foods (like fried chicken fried in unclean grease), and other contaminated foods. My weight loss regiment and the reconditioning process is structured on two key factors. The first key factor is TIMING. Timing eating meals will aid in your weight loss while still enjoying the foods you love, but in moderation. This is not complicated for as your system reconditions itself, this timing routine will come very natural, sometimes without you even thinking about it. Also, in regards to your timing when eating… never eat and go lay down or go to sleep- especially at night. Your digestive system and body activity is at its slowest at night and shuts down when you sleep so you cannot properly digest your food, let alone burn it off when you lay down. Also, when eating your food, avoid drinking your beverage while consuming your meals. We are conditioned to clearing our pallets by washing down our foods while eating, however, waiting till after you’ve finished your meals to drink your beverage helps in a speedy & proper digestion. This may sound difficult for some, but you will quickly get used to this method. You may also find yourself drinking less at mealtime as your regiment progresses. The best example of this can be seen in nature with wild or domestic animals. You never see a bear or big cat drag their catch to a nearby lake or pond to drink while eating. They eat their solid food first and drink later. When you watch your dog or cat eat, they eat their solid food completely first, then will drink from their water bowl, sometimes later. They never go back & forth from water to food and back again… never. You never see domestic or wild animals eat and then lay down or go to sleep either. I will go into specific times for eating meals later. The Second Key factor is GARLIC. Garlic plays a major role in reconditioning your digestive systems tolerance to high cholesterol & toxic laced foods. Garlic is an ancient Egyptian remedy & cleansing herb widely used in many dishes for health purposes as well as for seasoning. I got a frown or two from people when I told them to eat raw garlic mainly because they think you’re supposed to chew on the garlic and they can’t stand the strong pungent flavor, especially when it leaves the taste in your mouth, or they believe that when you eat raw garlic, it comes out of your skin pores and makes you stink of garlic. First of all, you don’t have to chew on your garlic, just swallow it. Second, there is no clinical proof that after you eat raw garlic, the scent comes through your skin to make you smell of garlic. What you smell is the scent on people’s hands after they have chopped up some garlic. They have either not properly washed their hands or didn’t wash their hands at all. Garlic is so strong that even when you wash your hands, you can still smell the scent on your fingers, so don’t believe the hype! Just wash your hands thoroughly even if you have to wash them twice. This is the reason why many people resort to taking garlic supplements, mostly in pill / tablet form. Avoid taking these supplements. Only buy natural whole bulbs of garlic which will be much cheaper than any supplement. You can get a whole bag of garlic that contains at least 6 garlic bulbs (around a month’s supply) for about $1.25 – $1.75 in the produce section in any decent grocery store. Each garlic bulb averages around 8-12 cloves, depending on the size of the bulb. The benefits of taking garlic are… 1. It will help lower your blood pressure 2. It cuts fat, burns calories & carcinogens and helps cleanse the system 3. It lowers your appetite or hunger, especially in the evening When taking your garlic, crush and or chop two cloves into fine tiny bits. Place it in your mouth and take in some juice with the garlic and swallow them together. The garlic will go down smooth and not leave the strong residue & scent in your mouth or throat. For best results, take garlic at least 5 times a week – mostly during the evening hours between 7 & 10 pm. On occasion, you can also take garlic in the mornings before you start your day or after breakfast. Other Natural Key Foods I strongly suggest that will aid in your weight loss as well as maintaining your health and vital nutrients are…
These foods contain either soluble or insoluble fiber that absorbs water and traps sugars, cholesterol and fats in the stomach and carry them through the digestive track, which contributes to the digestive systems regularity. Some of them like Chlorella and Salmon also fights or prevents cancers, diabetes and other ailments. I must mention, a plant based regiment is the best way maintain optimum health, but if you’re hooked on eating meats, this regiment is the next best option for cleansing and to reduce weight and eliminate sickness. Follow it to the max! Starting Off Your Day / Breakfast Start off your days eating fruit. Bananas are one of the most effective fruits followed by grapefruit, apples and oranges. Nuts & grains are also acceptable. Oatmeal offers high fiber and natural grain. Anything that involves fibers & grains will do. I have stopped eating big greasy high cholesterol breakfasts many mornings. It’s been suggested that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It should be as it sets the tone & pace for the day and give you energy. However, this is impossible if you’re ingesting high cholesterol foods every day like… eggs, sausage, hash browns, bacon, pancakes, etc. -all the traditional breakfast foods that many people eat most mornings, not to mention doughnuts, cookies & other sweets. These sweet delights and breakfast items are only good for adding sugar & salt in your system to get you going with that sugar rush in the morning, thus adding to weight gain & high blood pressure. They should only be consumed every now and then, not on a daily basis. I only teat myself to the traditional big greasy-cholesterol filled breakfast once a month, or maybe twice a month but that’s rare. I also follow the same rule for lunch, usually eating this type of food only once a month. That is a maximum of two (2) fried food based meals averaging once a month. I don’t suggest eating fried foods and try to eliminate them altogether by gradual reduction. Eat breakfast by 9am. You can also eat a bowl of homemade noodles for breakfast. If you have an urge to eat at10am try more nuts or fruit. Coffee has been proven not to be good for you mainly because of the caffeine and it can also cause weight gain. You can substitute coffee with Ginseng to give you that morning energy. Also, avoid processed, canned and frozen-TV dinner style foods, and anything containing GMO’s (genetically modified Organisms). They contain high levels of salt and or high fructose. Always read the ingredients and nutrition facts on any product, especially these items. Some contain as much as 35% – 50% salt- which means half of what you’re ingesting is SALT! Only cook with salt sparingly and try to avoid adding salt to your foods before eating. This same rule applies to food products that contains sugar. You will see and taste the difference in a few months to a year. I have also increased my water intake. You don’t really need the 8 glasses of water as prescribed years ago, but it can’t hurt. You can get the required amount for proper digestion and hydration with around 4 - 5 glasses a day. Drinking two glasses of warn to room temperature water in the morning will get you started, then one glass before lunch and one before dinner. Drinking water after lunch will help reduce your desire for eating heavier foods later in the day. Avoid drinking carbonated and sugary drinks like pops and other artificial beverages. Lunch Lunch is where you can really go for it. Theoretically, lunch is the most important meal of the day because it is what will carry you through your afternoon & most of the evening so make sure to eat a decent meal. The ideal time to eat your lunch is between 12pm and 2pm. May I re-iterate that it is very important to avoid processed foods at all costs for any meal. They contain salts and fats that add weight quickly I strongly suggest in preparing your lunches at home as much as possible. This way you won’t be tempted or subjected to eating unhealthy fast foods that’s all over the place, plus you will also SAVE LOTS OF MONEY. If you don’t have time to prepare your lunch in the morning, then take time in the evening when you make your dinner or before you go to bed. Another way to ensure proper healthy digestion after eating meals is to drink hot teas or juices, or water at room temperature after consuming your meals, especially when you eat fatty or greasy foods. When you drink cold beverages when eating greasy foods, the beverage cools the grease in your stomach and solidifies the grease into globs just like you see grease turn solid when it cools or is refrigerated. This causes slower digestion (indigestion) and adds to the clogging of the arteries as the grease is not trapped but concentrated. Hot tea or warm juices will keep the grease lose to quickly pass through your system to be broken down – gut again only eat greasy food in moderation like once a month. Again, remember to avoid drinking your beverage till after you’ve finished your meals. After lunch, you can nibble on fruits, nuts and a sweet every now & then. Later in the day make sure to drink at least two to three glasses of water before you leave work or get into the dinner hours. Dinner Dinner is very easy to navigate. This is where your timing is the most effective. Never eat a big meal after 7:00pm. This is the time when the digestive system slows down and is at its lowest rate. Many people have a tendency to eat a big meal after 7pm and then sit in front of the television for the rest of the evening or will go lay down while the food sits & builds fat in your stomach. If you do eat a big meal in the evening hours, make sure you eat it by 7pm. After 7p.m., you can snack on small portions of foods; some crackers, peanuts, peanut butter or fruit, but make sure there’s no meat (for the most part) or high cholesterol foods. You can also resort to eating your garlic. Usually a clove or two will do. By doing so, the garlic will not only cleanse your system and help lower your blood pressure, but you will also lose your hunger so you won’t have to eat anything else. Generally, wait until about 8pm to have your garlic, that way you should have no problem getting hungry for the rest of the evening as it takes your digestive system at least 2 hours to fully digest your food. By that time, you will be ready to go to bed. No problem! Also, remember to take your garlic at least 4 – 5 times a week at this time. Including at least once on the weekend. You can also take your garlic whenever you eat fatty or foods high in salt content like pork. I always eat garlic either before I have pork or after. This will cut the fats & indigent calories in the pork. Also remember for insurance; try drinking hot teas after eating some meals, especially if you’ve eaten fatty foods or food with high cholesterol content. Conclusion / Results Stick to this regiment on a daily basis and it will become quite natural. Be patient and you will definitely lose weight and soon you will be able to turn your weight on and off like a faucet. YOU WILL BE IN TOTAL CONTROL! By following this regiment, I went from a pants size 44/46 inches to 32/34 inches or from wearing extra-large size clothes to medium with ample room! That’s a total of ten inches in my waistline equaling a weight loss of as much as 100 pounds! In short, I went from 270lbs max down to around 170 lbs. I lost so much weight so quickly that I even experimented by stopping my regiment for about a month to see if this plan was really what took the weight off -- to see if I would have substantial weight gain again. I sure did gain some weight back, but not nearly enough for me to gain it all back. I just gained a few little pounds and went right back to my routine. This little experiment shows that you can turn your weight on & off like a faucet! Being in total control by gaining or losing weight at your will! This is how celebrities gain or lose weight for demanding roles or performances. When you gain control of your weight, that doesn’t mean you will be able to pack away doughnuts and pizzas every day and get away with it. But yes, you can cheat a bit more as I’m sure many will do. Eventually your body will know and tell you when you have consumed low rate fast food. I do allow myself to cheat every now and then, especially after my weight was under my control. I cheat more on the weekends especially if I’m out and about or is very active in the evenings. Please note that after your system has reconditioned itself to your new regiment, you may naturally lose the urge to eat certain fried foods as often as you were and quite possibly ditch some of them altogether because you may experience slight discomfort from these types of foods entering your system, especially if they were made in restaurants like KFC & Popeye’s. The discomfort can range anywhere form a slight or mild to a heavy food poisoning effect mostly in your stomach or head. The worst could be a decent stomachache. This will be your most significant sign that your system is now reconditioned and accustomed to your new regiment. Your stomach pouch would have also significantly shrunk to its natural size so you will also naturally consume smaller portions of the meals you’re eating. Some people have asked me if I had stopped eating my BBQ Ribs from my restaurant to lose all my weight. I tell them, “Absolutely no!” I still enjoy my Ribs at every rib sale and then some. One ole-school secret about eating pork is THE GARLIC. If you take your garlic before or after you eat ribs (or for that matter, any pork) the garlic will cut the fat, carcinogens & pork to shreds and will also make the digestion faster while cleansing your system. Ignore the myth that eating pork makes you unhealthy or will kill you. Abuse of anything can kill you, but I may also add that everybody’s system is different so make sure you know your tolerance levels. One of my BBQ mentor’s from the past, Mr. Lang (the owner of Lang’s BBQ) ate his ribs everyday just about till the day he passed. I must add, Mr. Lang lived to be over 100 years old (around 110 by his passing) and he became the city of Chicago’s oldest registered voter back in 1986. It doesn’t look like eating pork every day made Mr. Lang unhealthy & killed him before his time did it? And as I explained earlier, by sticking to this regiment, you will still be able to enjoy all your favorite foods but in moderation depending on the types of food you will ingest and you can do this with little if not any exercise. However, I certainly advise you to exercise as you do this regiment especially if you are over 40 and have lots of weight to lose because you will lose your weight so fast that you will have a lot of excess loose & flabby skin that will be very hard to get rid of in most cases. The strategy is to first lose your fat before working on your toning. If you work on your skin tone & muscles first or simultaneously, you’re just building muscle under fat that will protrude your fat out even more and just add more weight, which will be discouraging. When you start your regiment, you can start exercising by walking or swimming first to get the excess weight falling off, and then you can start toning exercises in about 4-5 months, and include the forms of exercise to keep your skin and muscles toned. Working out will be much easier once your systems reconditioning has begun and you’ve lost a few pounds. Now if exercising or working out is not your thing, don’t worry. You would have still lost all your excess weight. GOOD LUCK! |
Knock’ Knock’. Wake up! There’s an orange maniac operative infiltrating the white house as president of the United States and he’s tanking the country! You would have to have been living under a rock or on a remote deserted Island with no communications for the past two years if you haven’t heard about Donald Trump, his illegitimate presidency, his unscrupulous practices going back to the 80’s, and his latest manufactured crisis by shutting down the government.
Since taking the oval office, many folks have had a Trump moment. I avoided publicly commenting on Trump regardless that he’s been the main topic in all media, at the recent holiday dinner tables and water-coolers. However, since the TRUE NATIONAL CRISIS called Donald Trumps Presidency is coming to a fever pitch, it’s time I threw in my two cents and share some information. I’ve had several Trump moments since he’s been elected, but my ultimate Trump moment came the week Trump sniffed his way through his oval office address on January 8 on the border situation and his wall. I’ve never seen a more sinister look on Trumps face as the one during his oval office address which signaled to me that there’s something more to this shutdown than previous ones. A million thoughts raced through my head in regards to this situation but a few stood out to define my trump moment. Trump’s house of cards is finally falling due to the sentencing of his cronies, mounting evidence of his crimes, Mueller’s report preparing to wrap up, and that the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Investigation could prove Trump to be a Russian agent. This is unprecedented in U.S. history as we’re at a crucial crossroad in America. By the way, several sources revealed Trumps sniffing during his addresses and debates is either anxiety and that he sniffs Adderall, a stimulant drug used to treat ADHD that’s often used for focus, energy and literacy, especially when he reads from Teleprompters. Sources say Trumps been sniffing Adderall since the U.S. beauty pageants in the 80’s. The extended Government Shutdown proves how everything is interconnected. We see that even a slightly extended partial shutdown of the government trickles down to effect literally 80% of the lives in this community. We’ve experienced several shutdowns in the past and we’ve always got through them more or less without a scratch but none has lasted and begun to take a heavy toll as this one. This is the longest shutdown in U.S. history which is why the effects are trickling down to all facets and levels of society. We’re seeing how Local businesses– in particular, restaurants, food trucks, and various shops are impacted as government workers on furlough or not receiving paychecks have cut back patronizing these businesses causing a significant loss in revenue and forcing some to close early or temporarily lay off workers. Any business that’s near or does business with a high concentration of government workers is affected. Even the white house cooking staff is on furlough so Trump orders McDonalds and other fast foods to feed his guests. Whoa! Many of the 800,000 federal workers whom are living paycheck to paycheck at roughly $500.00 a week are going to food pantries, calling in sick to do or look for other jobs, or are in danger of losing their homes or jobs entirely. Some are forced to work without pay and will get fired if they protest. CAN YOU SAY SLAVERY??? Besides National Parks and TSA departments, Health Programs, Food Stamps, Section 8 Vouchers, The Federal Trade Commission (the agency that deals with identity theft), Veteran’s Checks, Government Contractors, The Department of Agriculture, Farmers, Public Institutions regarding Grant Funding and even a branch of the U.S. Military are all affected. “USDA- a 100 percent financing option, is stopped due to the shutdown and Federal Courts are also directly impacted meaning civil cases will be suspended. In short, every government contracted program and institution will be impacted if the shutdown continues past February so the huge economic ripple effect is across the board and will directly affect you, me, everyone one way or the other. Just give it time. Even if you’re financially well off and or have a significant savings, you’ll still fell a pinch or two from a prolonged shutdown as prices increase in almost every industry and a reduction in services from the impending recession which may lead to a depression. Considering all that will be affected, it’s a no brainer that if this shutdown continues past March, it will cause an increase in crime, homelessness, job loss, hunger, and civil unrest – in fact a massive increase. Some of the 800,000 have already received eviction notices. Eventually this shutdown will impact most businesses including the home and auto markets. Delta says the shutdown has already cost the company 25 Million dollars. This will be the final straw to launch another recession. Ahhhh, I remember the strategy of the ruling class to create chaos to restore order out of chaos for profit. Republicans have been trying to kill Food Stamps, Social Security and Medicaid for at least a decade and after Trumps tax cut was launched for the rich and corporations last year, republicans will hijack these programs to give these funds to the Billionaire’s. Still, questions arise on the true reason for this shutdown. Could this shutdown be a test by the oligarchs as done in other countries to prioritize our government? Could it be part of the rise of autocratic governments ruled by the rich? Trump doesn’t care about the government. During his campaign he said he would reduce the size of the government. Trumps hypocrisy about Illegal immigrants was made public when two of his employees came out as illegal immigrants. One of these employees- Ms. Victorina Morales who worked as part of a group of housekeeping, maintenance and landscaping for five years at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J stated the reason she decided to come forward… “We are tired of the abuse, the insults, the way he talks about us, and we help him make money”. It was also recently reported that a Trump winery in Virginia is seeking to hire foreign guest workers, at $11.40 p/hr. Let’s keep it real. Millions of business owners and some biased whites across the nation want Illegal’s to work in this country because they have been- and still are- replacing blacks in the private and small business sector for dirt cheap labor. During a news cast in January, a white woman comment on this issue stating…”We want them here so they can work for us”. Trump, his spokes people Sarah Huckabee & Kellyann Conway and Fox News avoids mentioning that 1.5 million people enters this country every year legally by bus, plane, boats & cars through ports of entry including the North Canadian border. Out of these, most are Canadians and other white ethnic groups. They arrive on work visas and after their visas end, many don’t return to their countries and blend into their communities. In addition, since 2008, more immigrants have left the United States than entered the United States. What we see coming to the Southern border are for the most part, refuges seeking asylum not immigrants, so there it is- and you can fact check me on this and everything else mention here. Until his run for president, I paid Trump very little if not any attention during his reality TV star apprentice run. After I peeped how he ran his candidacy and learning of his history, I felt he had very little chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Trump didn’t want to be president and was sabotaging his candidacy and I wondered why? Was this another publicity move or a pressured move? I also questioned his bizarre behavior like his constant lies, how he often reverses his statements, his denials regardless of documented proof, and his loyalty and sucking up to dictator Oligarchs like Russia’s Vladimir Putin. For the answers to these and other questions, it’s necessary to take a deep dive into Trumps life story; Ahhh yes, the making of the maniacal Donald Trump. So, for those who don’t know and would like to know, here’s a condensed version of what created the beast called Donald Trump. As media and internal investigations revealed Trumps history, we learned that he was always a grafter-con-artist, a scammer, a racist, womanizer, and narcissist. Much of his mentality and behavior was learned from his upbringing by his father who was of German ancestry. New York Times investigators revealed that Trump was never a self-made billionaire as he boasted, but was given and inherited his fortune from his father starting at age 3 when Fred Trump put $200,000 a year into a trust fund in his name. By the time Trump was 8, he was a millionaire. Financial records reveal Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. During his childhood, Trump never had a loving relationship with his parents and he was placed in Ivy League schools. Trump was never a great student and didn’t get along that well with most of the teachers and some fellow students thought he was a bully. By 13 young Donald was yanked out of this serene life and packed off to the New York Military Academy (NYMA), a private boarding school. Trump went on to Fordham University, then the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in economics in 1968. He helped manage his father’s portfolio of residential housing projects for the middle class in Brooklyn and Queens and became favorite to succeed him after his elder brother, lacking the killer instinct that their father sought, became a pilot. His brother died at 43 due to alcoholism, a tragedy that Trump said led him to eschew alcohol, cigarettes and drugs all his life. Young Trump was never taught discipline and how to manage millions as he cultivated his narcissism, disrespect & abuse towards women and racist treatment towards black & brown people where he denied Blacks to move into his buildings and called for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. Trump mastered his father’s tactics and began faking his status as a billionaire by and making calls to media outlets to reporters as “Barron” to make false statements on his fortune, and purchasing rights to- of all things, beauty contests. Eventually Trump properties rose across America and around the world. Trump convinced most media reps of his billionaire status while simultaneously squandering his capitol by making bad or unscrupulous business deals. Trump also opened hotels and casinos, a venture that led to four bankruptcy filings. I was amazed at learning the majority of his businesses went bankrupt or was closed due to lawsuits. How do you BANKRUPT A CASINO? Trump sure found a way. Trump began associating with mafia figures and borrowed money from the American banks but did not pay back the banks so the banks refused to loan Trump any more money, thus Trump began slipping into bankruptcy. Trump married three times and had affairs while married to all three. He first married Ivana and they have three children together, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, them he married Marla before dating and marrying Melania. Desperate for money, to climb out of bankruptcy Trump turned to overseas banks like Deutsche Bank Russia, primarily for money laundering, and dictator oligarchs like Russia’s Vladimir Putin whom he studied and admired. Trump looked up to these ruling mobster dictators and took pages from their playbooks to further his grafter and gangster like lifestyle, besides influencing and manipulating elected officials and the media. Even Trumps son Eric said the Trump’s did not need American money anymore. Trump literally ran into the ground every business he started or took over. Today it’s estimated that Trump has had a negative net worth for at least the past 20 years. This is why the Disrupter & Chief (Donald Trump) is selling out and tanking this country like no president before him- to gain capital through other countries. Democrats now control the house and can thwart much of his attempts, but overall, Trump and the Whitehouse is now ran by wealthy oligarchs (billionaires like the Coke Brothers), Mega Corporations & Vladimir Putin, Fox News and Right Wing Conservative Media lead by Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin which is why we need to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. Any of these entities could be the reason Trump is tanking the country. Only time and perhaps Mueller’s report will tell. Trumps temper tantrums are more frequent because he no longer gets his way and he anticipates certain charges based on Mueller’s report. People are now seeing that the emperor has no clothes and fortunately, some of these people are Trumps base and certain members of the Republican Party as his approval rating is at an all-time low at 37 percent. As for this Immigrant /Drug/ Wall situation, here’s something else to ponder. By declaring a National Emergency, Trump will be granted Emergency Powers. This is the last thing we want to happen. Under a National Emergency, a president gains an additional 132 powers. Trump can use one of these powers to suspend the constitution. Trump can also suspend his impeachment by gaining these 132 powers. I shudder to think of what can happen then. Electing Trump as president is like giving a Chimpanzee a machine gun. Looking back to around the mid 90’s, I remember the ruling class’s key for control and dominance is to keep the population separated, poor, non-informative and non-educated to maintain a system that stifles wealth, and a scenario resulting in a chaotic situation by taking away income, limiting support funds, vital resources to cause mass crime, shootings, civil unrest to restore order out of chaos for profit. Now if anyone still thinks they or their business will not be affected by this shutdown if it continues past February, they’re seriously in denial or ignorant to the facts. As of the release of this article, it’s been over a week since Trumps oval office address and he hasn’t declared a National Emergency which is cause for suspicion. I wondered why Trump threatened to declare a National emergency then walked it back- at least for now. Apparently the window is closing or has closed for that declaration due to pending and mounting legal matters, and it can be declined by congress- and or- the senate. Realizing this, it suddenly dawned on me on Trumps- and or- his puppeteer master’s next move. Strategically, Trump or Mitch McConnell (possibly directed by Putin or the Coke brothers) may wait a while, let’s say anywhere from another month to four months to build up chaos. That’s enough time for the weather to warm up a bit in the Midwest & East Coast regions for more desperate people to take to the streets as well as committing more brazen crimes. This way Trump has created a bigger / broader National Emergency than the artificial illegal Immigrant situation. Then Trump can declare a National Emergency Crisis on four fronts, 1. Civil Unrest, 2. Massive crime / shootings, and 3. Economic collapse as in a recession. Economic experts have been predicting that another recession is inevitable for the past 2 years and based on the volatile Markets, this recession may begin in 2019- and there’s no vehicle better to launch this recession than this extended shutdown. This recession will be much worse than 2008, and aided by the shutdown it will serve multiple purposes, including ethnic cleansing. The calamity caused by the shutdown will authorize a mass roundup of firearms, individual’s, and killing people in the streets, especially Black and brown people after deployment of the National Guard. Trump will declare victory and conduct another address from the Whitehouse Oval office to say… “See, I’m a great Dictator – errrhh ehh, President- `SNIFF, I got funding for the wall-`SNIFF, I got the government re-open and I restored order in the streets of America-`SNIFF”. Sure anything can happen between now and next month. Maybe someone will wake up and end this shutdown before things get too out of hand, but based on the trajectory and players in this debacle; it’s highly probable this will continue. Trump may have painted himself into a corner with this government shutdown, but now both sides share equal blame in the continuation of this Shutdown. Technically, the one guy who can open up the government is Mitch McConnell, who can call the senate to hold the vote to reopen the government, but he won’t do it either because- unless Trump tells him its ok or McConnell is bought out by the Coke brothers as he’s up for re-election next year so he doesn’t want to blow his campaign contributions. This shutdown has also come down to a white power struggle on all sides because of the system. I can only guess that after the shutdown ends, it won’t be long until its MUELLER TIME! I believe there are two scenarios on how Trumps exodus will play out which will go something like this…. 1. As anticipated, Trump is now coined the worst president in U.S. history. After heavy fact checking and calculating, Trump is literally bankrupted as all his earnings are absorbed in court fees, payoffs to his oligarch loans and working capital to keep his remaining properties afloat. If Mueller’s investigation concludes before the 2020 elections, when Mueller releases his report to the attorney general, the attorney general will forward the report to congress and the Democrats will begin proceedings for impeachment, then congress will bow to the evidence and pressure to indict and convict the Trump crime family on everything from money laundering to conspiracy, to treason & obstruction of justice, to violating the emoluments clause. Somewhere in this time-frame, facing the inevitable, Trump will attempt to cop a plea deal to step down (resign) for him and his crime family to get off free. However, if Trump survives until 2020, I expect him not to run for office again and if Trump gets Nicky Haley to run and become president, he will get her to pardon him and his family. Keep in mind, this pardon only covers federal offenses. Trump cannot be pardoned for State offenses I.E. New York State indictments. Once Trump is out of office, Melania will file for divorce due to breach of their pre-marital contract by having affairs with other women and will write a best seller book to cash in and get vengeance. Remember, Donald & Melania has been living as separated spouses since Donald became president and it’s rumored that Melania filed for divorce before Donald became president. Their son Barron will be 14 years old in 2020 so Melania will also get substantial child support. Since Trump has a negative net worth, this final blow could leave Donald Trump a totally broke and convicted criminal with no earning potential. 2. If the courts or Mueller doesn’t grant Trump a plea deal to get his crime family off the hook, or if Trump doesn’t get Nicky Haley or any Trumper to pardon him, after Melania sues him and his conviction leads to certain prison time, which should be as many as 7 - 12 years, in desperation, Trump will flee or at least attempt to flee to Russia to live in exile. After all, Edward Snowden and others before him fled to Russia and other countries after being caught as traders, and if you think about it, since Trump answers to Putin, I believe Putin assured him the day they met in private- telling Trump something like this…“If the kitchen gets too hot, I got your back and besides, you owe me and the Deutsche bank a S--- load of money, so, you can live in Russia, build a hotel here and work for me for the rest of your life”. Trump never wanted to be president. He was pushed into running by Vladimir Putin to destabilize America while gaining Russian economic stronghold in America through trade and purchase, and for Trump to eventually relieve sanctions, tariffs, and build hotels in Moscow Russia. This is the reason Trump confiscated the notes from the interpreters after his private meeting with Putin last year. Now I must not leave out the possibility that as a last ditch effort, John Bolton and Trump may start a war which will invoke additional executive emergency powers to keep Trump in office. But this story doesn’t end here. The government is part of the problem, not the solution. We are the solution. That’s why I’ve been stressing the urgency for Government Reform (as in reboot) for the last 6 years. I truly believe that as a united front, businesses and all cultures can use their power to change the culture of our government. Be it a parliamentary system or combining of parties, this system needs reform now! The organized political parties (Democrats & Republicans) are simply divisions of the White Supremacist Party and are the catalyst for division in our country. Government reform will not only stabilize the economy, but will pass legislation's to prevent a shutdown from causing a massive domino effect or prevent a shutdown altogether. More Trumps or worse are waiting in the curtains to come out to possibly be elected as president. - This nation must not make the same mistakes made during the 2016 elections. It will take all cultures, not just the black community to unite on this front because- 1. We all should now see the game played that manipulates and divides us by using fear mongering, hate, religion, race, wealth status, and politics; and 2. Our lives and quite possibly the lives of everyone in the world is at stake if we don’t make our Government stop the true global/national emergency crisis called Climate Change / Global Warming within the next eleven years. This shout down is a test- a test on mankind as in how we treat each other and how we take advantage of the opportunity to change our government. This is our last chance to come together instead of being divided to make sure something like this shutdown never happens again. Citizens in other countries unite to reform their government and so should we. It takes all of us, our organizations, and community leaders to unite to organize a mass strategic protest / demonstration like SILENT DOLLARS to bring all this B.S. to a halt and reform the government. We all have a duty to promote and support a reformed, reinvigorated and conscious government. António Guterres, the ninth Secretary General of the United Nations gets the final profound word in this commentary from his address to the United Nations on the state of this nation on Sept 25, 2018. “In the face of massive, existential threats to people and planet -- but equally at a time of compelling opportunities for shared prosperity -- there is no way forward but collective, common-sense action for the common good.” Moving forward, Be Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Problem |
7 Principles:
Mistakes Black Business Owners Make. 1/1/19 HAPPY NEW YEAR & HAPPY KWANZA!
We’ve survived another year filled with non-stop events, circumstances, challenges and setbacks, and in some cases advances. Its 2019 – a time to clean the slate, and Black owned business should be the vehicle for our regaining our economic base. However, many business owners remain stagnant in the advancement of their business. Why? A recent study shows that Blacks are at the same economic level since slavery. After hearing this report, I ponder on why and how this is possible in 2019? I acknowledge that systems have been in place to stifle our economic growth and stability but there’s a core element that makes these systems feasible and successful. The mistakes black business owners make which is the reason many Black businesses remain stagnant which stifles the internal economic growth of our community. So let’s get on track in 2019 and breakdown of the main reasons why our businesses remain stagnant or fail. I call this the Seven Principles on running your business in honor or Kwanza and its seven principles. 1. Self-based income. A mom & pop business generally operates to provide for one or two people (the owner(s), but no matter how many employees a business have, a conscious & savvy business person will always follow one of the top golden rules- or- ehhh, 7 principles; Always pay your employees respectfully. Of course people who start a business are in it initially for their prosperity and freedom, and some are also in it to better the community, but there are far too many small business owners that structure and or operate their business selfishly rather than to secure efficient & loyal employees for substantial growth. This was personified during the crash of 2008 as many employers took advantage of the market to pay well under minimum wage while adding more duties for employees. This is one reason why many businesses- especially restaurants remain stagnant in growth or close up shop after a year or two. Here’s a prime example; I‘ve done marketing for a person that started her restaurant business in 2012. Today, 2019, her business is basically at the same economic level as its start in 2012, plus this business is in substantial debt. Why? First; she did not create a payroll system which she included deductible taxes, but chose to pay employees under the table at the cheapest pay rates below minimum wage. The result; she does not offer employment security as in benefits and unemployment compensation. Second; she does not properly screen employees when interviewing- frantically hiring people to replace the former employee. She also hired illegals (non-documented) to pay them roughly $6.30 p/ hr. thus, the majority of the workers either stole from her or quit after a few weeks to a few months creating a constant revolving door or employees, as well as a steady stream of loss of revenue. In addition, if her business had a bad day at the register, she would tell employees it was a slow day and then go into the register to give then 20 – 30 dollars at the end of the day after they spent up to eight hours working that day. If you structure and run your business in this manner, you will never obtain a full staff of dedicated and faithful employees that will stay with you, especially in this economic climate where the average minimum wage is around $12.00 p/ hr. After observing this operation for about a year, I noticed she traveled frequently and had other assets which by deduction means she spent much of her business earnings on herself rather than disbursing much of that to secure employees by paying them at least minimum wage. I gave this person advice in these areas and even helped to improve the image of her business which helped in a couple of areas, but she basically stuck with the same mentality that put her in this position in the first place. People will stick with a business paying significantly below the minimum wage until they find another or better job paying more or may quit altogether if the workload or treatment is too much to bare, and in most cases people will not respect a business owner that chooses to conduct their business in this manner, which is why there is so much theft, quitting and firing after a couple of months. We even see this in big companies like Target, Mariano’s- etc. that pays the minimum wage, so you know the small mom-pop business that operates like this are suffering this fate 10 fold. Business owners must realize, there is also the concept of sacrifice when first starting or maintaining a well-run business as it relates to hiring employees. Businesses always pay the employee first. In fact, the employees are generally the first in line to get paid when running a business after the initial launch. In terms of sacrifice, when revenue is slow, business owners must make sure their employee(s) are paid before they’re paid. I know several business owners whom did not pay themselves to make sure their employee’s got paid well. They only paid into the business when necessary to keep their business functional. Some owners did not pay themselves for months and sometimes a year or so just to make sure their employees were paid so the employees would not jump ship. As time passed, productivity and revenue increased to where the owners were able to pay themselves and now they have a solid self-sustainable / lucrative business with good and faithful employees. 2. Lack of support for other Black owned businesses & Institutions. One thing that holds our community back is businesses / business owners and organization owners do not support other business or institutions. I can make this profound statement due to undisputable evidence in sectors of marketing –especially Social Media. Sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn- snap chat and Instagram are havens for business to market or represent their business, but of all the social Media avenues I peruse, none is more guilty of business not supporting each other is LinkedIn. I receive several messages a month in my message box in my Buy Black Alliance LinkedIn account from individual’s representing their business, and they’re all letting me know they have products or services to sell me or offering to help grow my business or organizations in their capacities. Some have claimed to peek at my profile page so they can see the BBA is an Organization that urges and guides our community to Black Owned Business, and also helps build these businesses. For the most part, these individual’s show no interest in the BBA. Their only concern is getting the BBA’s money. I’m the first to support a business, but the one sidedness got a bit tired, so it got to the point that I began suggesting that if they are that concerned about the community or helping the organization, then they can start by joining the BBA. I also urge them to carefully review the membership registration & benefits page on the website so they will see what benefits their business will receive as a member, much of which will draw more customers to their business. Membership is the first step in putting the dollars back to support the community. Needless to say, there are too many business owners not seeing the big picture. I know it’s not all about being cheap as membership starts at $10.00. They spend 10 times that amount when ordering business cards, flyers, or getting Ad space. Community Relations can gain customers if businesses have good relationships with local government’s I.E. their Precinct captains, Aldermen, States Representatives, and Congressmen. Alderman is perhaps the most viable of all, not just because every business must be cleared by their Alderman, but the Alderman’s office can promote the business by having the business flyers or pamphlets in their office. Depending on the business format, a business can also partner with their Alderman on events, local issues and giveaways where the Alderman can be seen –as in even Aldermen like to market themselves by appearing at the functions they sponsor. 3. Thinking inside the Box instead of thinking outside the Box. A business owner MUST think outside the box to form or create ideas that will advance their business. Forming alliances with other business and local agencies to have joint savings, as in launching savings campaigns where when one purchase something from Business A, they get a coupon to save on an item from business B. Equipment sharing is another option. 4. Short-cutting in marketing. When starting a business, owners have a budget (working capital) to invest in the essential’s to run their business. First impressions are crucial in starting a business, however, most business owner’s fall short of investing in marketing to launch their business. There are too many business owners that rely solely on Social Media and flyers to market their business. You cannot just rely on Social Media to promote your business, there’s a vast world out there to market your business that millions subscribe to, and believe me- many of them are not into social Media. Most Black Biasness owners tend to scrimp dollars by self-marketing instead of hiring a marketing agency or a Graphic Designer to create promotional materials for their business. I know several business people that had their kids or grandkids design their flyers or attempt to build their websites, and most results are horribly non-professional. A business should allocate at least 10 - 15% of their start-up budget for Marketing. Radio Ads are a sure fire way to reach a broader audience, as 70% of people who listen to small to mid-market stations will research and or consider if not patronize a business that advertise on these stations. Advertising and also sponsorship rates are as low as $30.00 on stations like WCPT in Chicago. Other stations charges from $150 – $280.00 for ad space, so there’s absolutely no excuse for a business owner to ignore local Radio advertising. Ads in local papers are also reasonably priced, especially papers specifically formatted to advertise businesses. And last but not least, television Ads are essential to exposure and growth for a business. There’s a reason why Major Corporation’s spend Millions if not billions of dollars on television ads. The key to placing the most affordable TV ads is for your commercial to be showed during the overnight night hours – generally from 2 – 4am, and as in Radio, there are small market television stations where you can place a commercial to run at affordable rates. As your business grows, you’ll place more ads at more or earlier hours with more viewership. 5. Giving Back to The Community Owning a business is a privilege and a blessing. A conscientious business / business owner shows gratitude by sharing their blessings by giving back to their community, especially those in the community who are not as fortunate. You can tell a conscientious business owner that is about their people / community by how they promote other entrepreneur’s, events, and gives back to the community. Image is everything, and giving back to the community is great for community relations. Businesses that give back to the community have a larger number of clientele and repeat clientele than those who don’t resulting in a higher community relations image. It doesn’t take a lot to put back into the community. Giveaways are a great way to give back to the community. Some businesses give away food like free dinners, and some businesses like mine have given away school supplies. Some have thrown meet & greet events where they have supplied the community with various services and information on resources and employment opportunities. Business can also throw events that will have information that promotes other businesses, so keep in mind; it’s the little things that count in business community relations that will benefit your business. It’s these little things that show that you as a business owner cares about your community. One way to achieve funds for giveaways is for the business to divide its corporation into a not for profit charitable organization to receive grants. When a business achieves not for profit status, they can obtain donations from charitable institutions. However, a business can also achieve merchandise to giveaway by simply asking for donations from companies or other local businesses. I speak from experience because I’ve accomplished this on several occasions for my business. 6. Joining Business Support Organizations Too Many black owned business fall short of this principle. Business that join business support organizations have more visibility or awareness in the community than those who don’t. Joining these organizations also enhances their image. Business support organizations are another marketing tool for a business because these organizations advertise that business and support that business in their own capacities. Prime organizations that smart business owners join are local Chambers of Commerce and business alliances. Every city has an organization or two that also guides the public to support Black Owned business as well as marketing and representing a business like the Buy Black Alliance. Memberships are very affordable and most cases is prorated to the size of a business- so the smaller the business the cheaper the membership fee. In short, one had washes the other as when a business joins a business support org, they’re also supporting that organization which helps the organization build strength to in turn support the business and community so the dollars circulate and the image on both sides strengthens. 7. Not obtaining Certificates. Once a business gets to a certain monetary level, the business can be eligible to obtain certificates to make deals with big businesses – especially corporations. Most black businesses are not aware of this to advance growth and save some extra cash. Imagine if your business has just cut a deal with a major company like Jewel or Mrianos to stock your products. The Result If a business owner applies and adheres to these 7 principles to run their business, I guarantee their business will not only flourish, but the business will hold a pristine image and be known as a pillar in the community. Besides doing good business of course, this is will attract faithful employees while employing more blacks, more clientele as well as faithful clientele, and will be a viable engine to regain our economic base. Do it smart! Do it right! And as always… Be Part of The Solution, Not Part of The Problem. |
ECONOMIC CASTRATION
By Dr. Umar Johnson & Mark Finley 1/1/19 This piece chronicles arguably the most pivotal point in America as it relates to the Black Community to date. After watching a video of Dr. Umar Johnson, it is necessary to add dialogue from that video that’s on point with this subject and confirms this historic passage that has affected literally every Black in the United States to this day and for generations to come unless we wake up as a people.
Regardless of any controversy on Dr. Umar Johnson, he basically speaks truth to power in his documented speeches and videos and these truths should not be ignored. Read on and share to enlighten. Mark Finley; President BBA, Vice President Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce. Slavery didn’t destroy the black family. We were still getting married during slavery -in secret- even in punishment of death, during re-construction, Jim Crowe, and during Civil Rights. Question; When did you see the rise of the singe parented Black female household? Answer; 1970. After they killed Dr. King, The U.S. Government said we must neutralize the Black power base, and they determined the Black Power base was the BLACK FAMILY. It was independent black skilled men & women who financed Dr. King, Marcus Garvey, Mr. Muhammad, Snick & Core, the Freedom Riders…. etc. So the government determined - if we want to crush the black struggle, we got to crush the Black family. However, I must slightly digress back to the 60’s. This period planted the seeds to separate the Black family by introducing the welfare program that denied a black male that wasn’t married (in a relationship-or the father of the children) to live in the same household with the female. If a black male was caught living with an unmarried black female, the female would lose her welfare benefits. This triggered a social and psychological mindset on many Black females to depend on the government (white man) instead of her black male counterpart for providing for her children / family, thus making it a bit harder for blacks to form solid relationships that would form families. At the same time the Government decided this was the perfect time to break up, destroy or stifle or kill core organizations / institutions and individual’s fighting the struggle, the Black Panthers, Medgar Evans, the Nation of Islam and the leaders Malcolm X & Elijah Muhammad, John F. Kennedy, and Dr. King who was assassinated in1968. The strategic formula was in effect but there were two more steps to complete this formula. In 1970 they came into the Black communities and de-industrialized our city centers. In 1970, they started shutting down the factories. Remember, up until the 1950’s & 60’s you didn’t need a degree to get a decent job. Many of us have grandparents that worked in the factories their whole life, and lived better lives than were living now with 2 & 3 degrees. They cold work in their same neighborhood and everybody worked for the factory earning good benefits; medical, dental, and retirement pensions. They started shutting down the factories in 1970, then began placing liquor stores on as many corners as possible in the community for those to drown their sorrows, then they went into the inner cities and started de-industrializing the high schools. Up until 1970 you could graduate from almost any school with a skill. You were certified as a plumber, certified as an electrician, certified as a carpenter, auto body technician, a brick mason, a welder… etc. They took all those programs out. These are the skills that pays the bills. As long as you have a skill, you can always feed your family, but if all you have is college degrees, you might end up in the unemployment line because the skills that we learned in College are not necessarily marketable to other black people. I was taught psychology, physiology and sociology and Dr. Umar Johnson is a psychologist, but there aren’t too many Black people looking for a psychologist to reveal all the skeletons in their closet so they started sending us to college, instead of teaching us how to work with our hands. I am versed in Writing, Marketing, Graphic Designs, and Advertising. I also head an organization that supports Black businesses. I learned some of my skills starting in high school and then in the corporate advertising industry, yet regardless of my vast skill-sets, hardly no black person- in business or otherwise- is seeking to purchase any of my skills through my business Finley Enterprises or the BBA. THIS IS DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CASTRATION OF THE BLACK MALE. Then came the 1980’s. Now the CIA (AKA the Cocaine Import Agency) comes into play. Now the unemployed black man who has always been the bread winner up til 1970 has a decision. I can sell this crack to put food on the table or I can smoke it to deal with the fact that I’m no longer economically relevant to the Black woman. Even in slavery, the black male was always the breadwinner up until 1970. Crack Cocaine also took down many black females who were also targeted for family disablement. History makes it perfectly clear- The decade of the 70’s was the decade of making the black man economically irrelevant to the black woman. Black males are the only men in America that is OUT EARNED and OUT EDUCATED by our mates. No other woman in any ethnic group in America OUT EARNS and OUT EDUCATES their mates. Now couple this with companies purposely hiring black women over black males, especially in reasonable wage paying departments. This was not the black woman’s fault. All of this was systematically done to make the black male economically irrelevant to females and to keep black families from forming. Then came the 1990’s. The Bill Clinton Crime Bill sated “3 strikes and you’re out”, and mandatory minimum wages were mandated. Now the unemployed black men who got caught smoking or selling with crack were sent off to jail. Then they gave us the ADHD to dope up our children with the same medicine that sent the father to jail. In retrospect, I utilized my handy skill sets to make and sell jewelry around the mid 90’s and began grilling and selling BBQ ribs in the late 90’s, and quite frankly, these two business ventures were the most lucrative businesses I’ve started and the most reliable and secure. Just another testament on how handy skill sets are the key to supporting a family and secure employment. Then came the new millennium- the 2000’s. George bush hits us with the FAITH BASED INITIATIVE. He finds a loophole in federal law that allows the government to finance churches. Now the mega churches and medium size churches in the black community are being financed and controlled by the Government. You think it’s a coincidence that you don’t see no major churches involved in the mis-education movement, no major churches involved in the mass incarceration movement, no major churches involved police genocide, no major churches involved in poverty? Where is the Black church in 2019 when it comes to back people issues? Where is the Black church in 2019 when it comes to calling out the truths about our flawed electoral, political and judicial systems? They’re missing in action because they are being paid by the government to stay out of the struggle! That’s why it’s called FAITH BASED INITIATIVE. These pastors are the new FBI Agents! In closing; to know where you’re at and where you’re going, you must know your history. History shows what happened to the Black Man and the black community resulting in the Economic Castration of The Black Man. As a baby boomer, I witnessed and remember literally everything mentioned above and the outcome. Blacks are slowly waking up but the numbers are still too few. Why is every ethnic group in America thriving and has advanced passed black people economically? Why even Mexicans and in many cases illegal immigrants- including DACA’S has advanced passed blacks? Besides the illegal hiring’s and access to resources, their FAMILY BASE remains INTACT! The core of economics is FAMILY! The United States is owned and ran by the powerful ruling FAMILES; the Rockefellers, the Chase’s, the Rothschild’s and the Warburg’s, just to name off the top. Immigrants learned and utilized skills to provide for their FAMILIES! We see them in our neighborhoods doing everything from landscaping to renovating and also cooking for restaurants. It’s time for Blacks to regain these skills and FAMILY! Regaining our identity and consciousness, learning skills that require our hands to produce, and above all resurrecting the BLACK FAMILY BASE is essential in getting back our ECONOMIC BASE and our respect to continue our fight on our injustices. We must realize how we’ve been played and manipulated and are still being played and manipulated to be separated and feel insignificant as a productive entity in this society. We must love, respect and support each other in our endeavors without hated, jealousy or fronting to be competitive and respected in this world, and always in parting… Be Part of The Solution, Not Part of The Problem. |
Blacks Must Also Fight Climate Change
BY Mark Finley 12- 1 - 2018 |
March to a BIGGER DRUMMER
BY Mark Finley 11- 1 - 2018 |
HEALTH IS WEALTH! Health is the primary key to a successful business person, especially in this day and age where even our very environment is tainted right down to our atmosphere. The drinking water in major cities (like Flint Michigan) is tainted with lead affecting 15 million Americans, especially our children.
As I woke up to hear the latest news briefs, I had to reflect on everything that is-or-has affected our lives both locally and nationally, and how the frequency of these events have increased to the point of something happening literally every day. This year in particular, we’ve witnessed or experienced a record number events impacting our everyday lives. Democrats took back the house after a predicted blue wave, big box stores like Target have strategically been removed from parts of our community and TIF (Tax Increment Financing) funds are used in part of the gentrification process, California burns, Alaska experiences a sizeable earthquake, indictments to Trump and his minions are on the way, and the black community is beginning to see justice served as Police officers are finally being held accountable for their actions as two cops have been indicted & convicted for murdering Black people- just to name a few. However, I thought- out of all these and many other crucial events and or issues, which event should black business people and the entire community for that matter must also focus on correcting in 2019? Another question is… which of these events has blacks, especially black leaders (caucuses) have either not addressed or gave a brief honorable mention that should be in included in their radar??? CLIMATE CHANGE! If you’ve talked to or been monitoring progressive/independent media, whites are seriously focusing on climate change, but the Black community is strangely silent and complacent on this environmental emergency. To this day, I haven’t heard from not ONE Black activist or leader urging our community to also focus on this emergency, despite the information and warnings on all media outlets, let alone that we’re also experiencing the effects of this global event. African Americans have been under attack since slavery, and our health has always been a main target. While we defend against economic and civil attacks, while our back is turned fighting in one direction our physical health has been attacked from limiting the availability of healthy foods in the community by creating food deserts to disbursing chemicals and various toxins in our water & landfills, Industrial plants in our neighborhoods, and extreme health care costs and a lack of health care services. Now we face an even bigger fight. If we don’t stop CLIAME CHANGE, it will affect every aspect of our lives; in fact it is coming dangerously close to affecting every aspect of our lives already. Sure the earth’s climate has always naturally shifted in minor degrees since its origin, but old greedy/selfish White men (our government) has contributed to an environmental shift producing extreme weather, which is why we are experiencing more frequent bigger and stronger hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and January cold & blizzards in November in the Midwest and East Coasts. During my speech at the Grand Ballroom in Chicago, I stressed the importance of keeping our health intact as a key part of success in our fight against the system and starting and maintaining a business. You cannot fight the good fight or run a business if you’re extremely unhealthy or sick. What’s driving climate change is the tampering of natural elements which is causing the drastic changes in the environment we are experiencing. Greenhouse gas emissions are also contributing to climate change. Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation and Industry. FRACKING is a major element in escalating Climate change as the drilling and or eroding of the glaciers and icecaps in the Antarctic is producing a massive amount of Methane gas into the air. Hey, wake-up-call! Man cannot inhale massive amounts of Methane gas without dying! The behavior of the fossil fuel companies will cause an additional 140,000 children to develop asthma, and Trumps rollback of Fossil fuel production will cost 60,000 jobs! With the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the UNFCCC invited the IPCC to provide a Special Report in 2018 on “the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre–industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emissions pathways”. The request was that the report, known as SR1.5, should not only assess what a 1.5°C warmer world would look like but also the different pathways by which global temperature rise could be limited to 1.5°C. In 2016, the IPCC accepted the invitation, adding that the Special Report would also look at these issues in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. How close are we to 1.5°C? Summary: Human–induced warming has already reached about 1°C above pre-industrial levels at the time of writing of this Special Report. By the decade 2006–2015, human activity had warmed the world by 0.87°C (±0.12°C) compared pre-industrial times (1850–1900). If the current warming rate continues, the world would reach human–induced global warming of 1.5°C around 2040. The report was written and edited by 91 scientists from 40 countries who analyzed more than 6,000 scientific studies. The Paris agreement set out to prevent warming of more than 3.6 degrees above pre-industrial levels — long considered a threshold for the most severe social and economic damage from climate change. But the heads of small island nations, fearful of rising sea levels, had also asked scientists to examine the effects of 2.7 degrees of warming. To make a long story short, the IPCC report is telling us we need to reverse emissions trends and turn the world economy on a dime, said Myles Allen, an Oxford University climate scientist and an author of the report. To prevent 2.7 degrees of warming, the report said, greenhouse pollution must be reduced by 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050. It also found that, by 2050, use of coal as an electricity source would have to drop from nearly 40 percent today to between 1 and 7 percent. Renewable energy such as wind and solar, which make up about 20 percent of the electricity mix today, would have to increase to as much as 67 percent. Scientist have calculated that under the current procedures, mankind has literally 10 – 12 years to correct the procedures that has caused massive climate change or the consequences will be fatal. “This report makes it clear: There is no way to mitigate climate change without getting rid of coal,” said Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University and an author of the report. The World Coal Association disputed the conclusion that stopping global warming calls for an end of coal use. In a statement, Katie Warrick, its interim chief executive, noted that forecasts from the International Energy Agency, a global analysis organization, “continue to see a role for coal for the foreseeable future.” Rising sea levels, droughts, massive floods and famine, and heat waves are causing millions to take refuge in other countries, and already over 20 million people have died- 12 million of those were children. If you’re still in doubt or have been duped by the Trumps Kool-Aid, this additional data should make you conscious enough to make this fight a priority.
Birds primarily eat insects. Farmland birds have disappeared due to the insects they live on. Fish that have fewer May flies to eat has decreased. The fish are decreased, like salmon. If the bees and fish disappear, where would the Grizzly bear be if they can’t catch fish or get honey? We are actually documenting a MASS DIE OFF. As many of us march in the streets of America to fight injustice, blacks must also take charge in the fight to save humanity. Paul Wortman of East Setauket, NY quoted on Oct. 8… “This latest report should be Code Red for the global community. The climate catastrophe is now upon us and denial and ignorance are just death wishes. I just visited a friend who's one of the world's foremost atmospheric scientists and a co-author of an early Nobel award winning report on climate change. His observation was simply, "Everything that has been predicted is happening." There is truth in this world and this is one of them. We need to move quickly to a carbonless energy system consisting of geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar and wind power. Our own survival depends on it.” Finally, as mentioned; scientist and the IPCC stated the deadline to correct Climate change is circa 2030. That gives us 10 – 12 years to reverse the effects of Climate Change. Ironically, some scriptures like the original book of revelations by Dr. Malachi York has predicted 2030 will be the year of the beginning of the end of mankind as we know it through wars, drought and famine- much due to Climate Change. Once the Antarctic meltdown reaches a crucial level, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions aided by methane gas caused by the melting ice alone will kill of most if not all of the earth’s population. If you’re a business owner under 50, it’s a no–brainer that you, your children, grandchildren, or your business won’t be around by 2050 unless you make this a priority to fight to reverse Climate Change by 2030. This is can be one fight we can win if we stand up to our government! African Americans have several issues to deal with, but we must also include Climate Change by placing this emergency situation on our agenda! It is obvious that it is RIGHT NOW BEGINNING TO KILL THE PLANET and ALL OF US! Call Congress of the United States (202) 224-3121, sign petitions, take to the streets, confront your local representatives/ leaders, put the pressure on and do whatever it takes to bring this issue to the forefront. The future of mankind depends on it. HEALTH IS WEALTH! And as always in parting, Be Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Problem! Peace and blessings. |
It’s November, the height of fall and we’re quickly approaching the end of another marching season- or year –depending on how you see it, and as usual the messages the unlawful treatment of blacks, gun violence, and the neglect of providing resources in the black community as is provided in white communities are loud and clear. However, while the cameras are rolling and cities and sometimes the nation watches on the various news platforms, the organizers, activists, community leaders, and even marchers are blowing a supreme opportunity. While they’re calling out these injustices targeting or occurring in the black community, and chanting no justice no peace and other popular slogans, they must also inform the people to focus on supporting black owned businesses in the black community, and the economic impact it would have. If black owned businesses are strong, as they grow our collective political influence will also gain strength. Adding this to the list is a vital tool in fighting these injustices, as it reflects on how we treat each other in the form of support.
As I’ve observed organizers over the years when they announce a protest march during their interviews, or are interviewed during a march/protest, they never include mentioning supporting black owned businesses. Absolutely never! And no one else has witnessed an activist, organizer or community leader (outside of the ole school Jessie Jackson /Rev Sharpton’s) mention this vital implementation during their rant. When the late Dr. Webb Evans (Mr. BUY BLACK) former president of the United American Progress Association participated in protest marches he always had a sign or stressed to whomever he saw to BUY BLACK!, and every year held a Buy Black parade in the heart of the black community where the message “BUY BLACK” was heard loud and clear. It’s all about making the protests / marches more impactful with a holistic approach. Not only should these organizers urge the black community to focus on supporting black owned businesses every day or as much as possible, but also refrain from supporting businesses of the oppressors every day, not just during an organized protest on Black Friday or Christmas eve. How about organizers arranging a day without black people? The same protest that Hispanics and white women organized and executed almost two years ago. They chose a day where they not only did not support businesses, but they also did not show up for work on those days. Ahhhh, yes, they took a page right out of the playbook which can be obtained on silentdollars.weebly.com. SILENT DOLLARS is a holistic formula featuring a strategic two day protest/ demonstration –as in 2 Days without Black people- where blacks not support non-black owned businesses while simultaneously not working for non-black owned businesses. It is soooo shameful that individuals with the platforms to make SILENT DOLLARS a huge success threw it under the bus, only for other ethnic groups to utilize it for their causes. If organizers march for these issues, they should include the vital issue and message to support black owned businesses, and that message should go hand in hand when protestors march down highway’s and city streets while they have the cities and sometimes the nation’s attention. When they point out these attributes to reform our community on newscasts and radio shows, if they include mentioning supporting black owned business while they have these platforms, there would be a significant difference in black business awareness and sales. They must also organize to march to the offices of aldermen in the community that have been co-opted under mayoral administrations like the Rham Emanuel administration in Chicago, where they can conveniently hide behind because they are not standing up to demand equal distribution of resources- especially TIF funds into the community, then signed off on the closing of 50 schools in the community, and even to vote these water carrier alderman out of office in the next election. At least once a year, these same organizers must also march through the black neighborhoods solely with the message of supporting black owned businesses as a source for fighting back on the injustices to black people and the community. Recently, a list of corporations participating in prison industrial slave labor was published where these corporations purchased products produced by prisoners who got paid anywhere from nothing to $2.00 a day. The list included such big names as WHOLE FOODS, McDonalds, Victoria’s Secret, Exon Mobil and many others, yet not one organizer- that I heard, mentioned this in their observations of how blacks are still enslaved in this country due to a loophole clause in the anit-slave freedom act that abolished slavery. Also, to this day not one of these organizers has planned a protest or boycott of these corporations. This would have also been a great talking point not only alerting the community to this injustice, but identifying the corporations that is taking advantage of our community so they too can be boycotted. Yet recently, after the guilty Verdict of the Jason Van Dyke trial of 16 counts of aggravated battery (Murder), organizers and protestors took to the streets once again and stressed that this fight is not over as to bring alderman’s and other cops to justice to be removed from their platforms, yet as cameras rolled for the nation to see, not one organizer took advantage of this national stage to include supporting black owned businesses as part of the fight! Even LaQuan’s great uncle – rev. _____- whom held a press conference gave a magnificent speech left out the crucial component of this fight for our community to focus on supporting black owned businesses as his church is in the heart of the community while many black businesses are struggling as many will be forced to close their doors due to taxes, tactics and above all, support from the community. This was undoubtedly the biggest platform and chance for every community organizer and protestor to make this point on behalf of the community. Even if our fight eliminates all radical, trigger happy cops and water carrying alderman, this will not make our people focus on supporting black owned businesses or for that matter the hatred in our conscious that causes us to run in the direction of other ethnic businesses to patronize. Over the years as I participated in several protest marches, out of all these marches, other than myself, not one organization or participant had any message or sign stressing supporting black owned businesses. However, as I held up my BUY BLACK ALLIANCE SIGN at a few, many protestors checked it out and acknowledged the significance in this message. This is why I know for a fact that if organizers included this motion in their rants with all the media coverage, it could spark a significant economic impact in the black community, considering millions watch the local and national news-cast that would point out or remind thousands to a million or more blacks to buy black. If these protest are using these tactics to bring attention to the white community by distributing the pain due to the issues the black community faces, then the protests should also include and or bring the message to our own community to wake up and support black owned businesses. If you’re going to protest and shut something down, shut it down holistically, not monetarily. After all, this is a big part of the fight and part the solution. BUY BLACK! And as always in parting, Be Part of the Solution, Not Part of the Problem! |
African Americans lack of support of
black owned businesses by Mark Finley 10 - 1 - 2018 |
THEY SHOULD GO SOMEWHERE AND SIT DOWN
by Mark Finley 9 - 1 - 2018 |
IT IS NOW FREE TO JOIN THE BUY BLACK ALLIANCE!
ANYONE CAN JOIN BE THEY CONSUMER (INDIVIDUAL) OR A BUSINESS / ENTREPRENEUR.
Visit our MEMBERSHIP PAGE for DETAILS
ANYONE CAN JOIN BE THEY CONSUMER (INDIVIDUAL) OR A BUSINESS / ENTREPRENEUR.
Visit our MEMBERSHIP PAGE for DETAILS