Politics and Current
‘He Wanted Us Dead’: ‘The Exonerated Five’ Speak Out Against Trump During Democratic National Convention Performance – Essence
PHOTO: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Members of the “Central Park Five,” now often called the “Exonerated Five,” spoke on the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.
Yosef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Antron McCray were wrongly convicted of rape and assault as teenagers in 1989. The case became a flashpoint within the racist atmosphere in New York on the time, fanned in no small part by Donald Trump, who took out full-page ads in several newspapers, including the NY Times, calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty for the boys, who were then between 14 and 16 years old, a move that every one but sealed their fate within the court of public opinion.
“Thirty-five years ago, my friends and I were in prison for a crime we didn’t commit. Our youth was stolen from us,” Wise said on stage. “Every day we walked into the courtroom, people were yelling at us, threatening us, because of Donald Trump.”
“Vice President Harris also worked to make things more fair. I know she will do the same as president,” Wise added. Years later, their convictions were overturned when one other man confessed to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed his guilt. But Trump has never apologized for his actions.
Salaam, now a New York City councilman, said: “45 wanted us to die. He wanted us to die,” he said. “He rejects the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong. He has never changed. And he never will.”
Salaam invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr., the identical words he uttered after being released from seven years in prison: “Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.” He expressed hope that those words could possibly be echoed by thousands and thousands of Americans if Kamala Harris defeats Trump within the upcoming election.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, founding father of the National Action Network and a longtime civil rights leader, gave the boys a private reflection on his many years-long relationship with Trump. Sharpton, who has feuded with Trump for years, delivered a devastating critique of the previous president’s character and motivations.
“Only once in that time has he taken a stand on race,” Sharpton said, referring to Trump’s infamous ads. “He spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for the execution of five innocent teenagers.”
Sharpton’s indictment of Trump didn’t end there. He underscored Trump’s ongoing pattern of self-enrichment and divisive rhetoric, referring to his refusal to apologize for claiming that migrants hold “black jobs” during a recent debate. “Well, in November, we’re going to show him when black people do their jobs. And we’re going to join white people, brown people, and Asian people in doing the work for those who did the work for us.”
As Sharpton turned his attention to Kamala Harris, he invoked the legacy of Shirley Chisholm, the primary black woman elected to Congress and the primary woman to hunt the Democratic presidential nomination. “Fifty-two years after she was told to sit down, I know she’s watching us tonight as a black woman stands to accept the nomination for president of the United States,” he said, his words a poignant reminder of how far the nation has come — and the way far it still has to go.
Sharpton’s message was clear: The fight for justice, equality and dignity continues, and it’s a fight that can not be abandoned. “We have fought too hard to have to leave the kitchen,” he said. “We are now heading to the Oval Office. We will not back down.”
His rallying cry went beyond gender. “We fought hard to get our LGBTQ loved ones out of the closet, and we will not back down,” he continued. “We fought hard for the right to choose, the right to an education. We suffered, we died, we bled, we went to jail for the right to vote, and we will not back down.”
Politics and Current
Washington’s power has modified. Here’s how the ACA could change
Trump teased ACA overhaul; other Republican lawmakers have said changing the laws referred to as Obamacare can be a priority.
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House could embolden Republicans who need to weaken or repeal the Affordable Care Act, but implementing such sweeping changes would still require overcoming procedural and political hurdles.
Trump, a longtime opponent of the ACA, expressed interest in changing the health law during the campaign. Additionally, some senior Republican lawmakers – who will now control each the House and Senate – have said changing the landmark 2010 laws referred to as Obamacare can be a priority. They argue that the law is simply too expensive and an overreach of the government’s powers.
The ruling trio is setting the stage for potentially seismic changes that could limit the expansion of Medicaid laws, raise uninsured rates, weaken patient protections and increase premium costs for hundreds of thousands of individuals.
“The Republicans’ plans — they don’t say they’re going to repeal the ACA, but their set of policies could amount to the same goal or worse,” said Sarah Lueck, vice chairman for health policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , a research and policy institute. “This can happen through legislation and regulation. We are ready for anything. It can take many forms.”
Over the years, Republicans in Congress have solid dozens of votes in an try and repeal the law. They didn’t accomplish that in 2017, when Trump became president, despite serving in each chambers and the White House, largely because some GOP lawmakers wouldn’t support laws they believed would cause such a marked increase in the uninsured rate .
Similar opposition to the amendment to the law may appear again, especially as polls show ACA protections are popular.
While neither Trump nor his GOP allies have detailed what they’d change, House Speaker Mike Johnson said last month that the A.C.A. needs “massive reform” and can be included in the party program if Trump wins.
Congress could theoretically amend the ACA and not using a single Democratic vote, using a process referred to as “reconciliation.” But the narrow margins by which Republicans control the House and Senate mean that only a handful of “no” votes could derail the effort.
Many of the more ambitious goals would require Congress. Some conservatives have called for changing the funding formula for Medicaid, the federal government’s medical health insurance program for low-income people and other people with disabilities. The idea could be to make use of budget reconciliation to get lawmakers to agree to cut back the share the federal government pays to the growing population. The group that will be most affected could be mostly higher-income adults and adults who do not need children, moderately than “traditional” Medicaid beneficiaries similar to pregnant women, children and other people with disabilities.
A conservative idea that will allow individuals to make use of ACA subsidies for exchange-traded plans that violate the health law would likely require Congress. This could encourage healthier people to make use of subsidies to purchase cheaper and stingier plans, raising premiums for older and sicker consumers who need more comprehensive coverage.
“This is like a plan to repeal the ACA,” said Cynthia Cox, vice chairman and director of the Affordable Care Act program at KFF, the nonprofit health information organization that owns KFF Health News. “It’s repeal by another name.”
Congress would likely be needed to pass a proposal to transfer a few of consumers’ ACA subsidies to health savings accounts to cover qualified medical expenses.
Trump could also decide to bypass Congress. He did so during his last term, when the Department of Health and Human Services invited states to use for waivers to change how they pay for Medicaid programs – limiting federal funds in exchange for greater state flexibility in running the program. Waivers are popular in each blue and red states as other changes to Medicaid are made.
“Trump will do whatever he thinks he can,” said Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of presidency at American University. “If he wants to do something, he’ll just do it.”
Republicans have an alternative choice to weaken the ACA: They simply cannot do anything. Temporary, increased subsidies that reduce the cost of premiums — and have contributed to the nation’s lowest-ever uninsured rate — will expire at the end of next 12 months without congressional motion. Then there could be contributions double or moreon average, for subsidized consumers from 12 states which have signed up for the federal ACA exchange – in accordance with KFF data.
This would mean fewer people could afford the costs of the ACA exchanges. And while the number of individuals covered by employer plans is prone to increase, it’s estimated that between 2024 and 2033 there can be a further 1.7 million uninsured people annually, in accordance with federal estimates.
Many of the states that will be hardest hit, including Texas and Florida, are represented in Congress by Republicans, which could prompt some lawmakers to think about ending the subsidies.
The Trump administration may determine to stop defending the law against lawsuits in search of to overturn parts of it. One of the most characteristic cases questions the ACA requirement for insurers to cover some preventive services totally free, similar to cancer screenings and alcohol use counseling. About 150 million people now profit from the coverage requirement.
If the Justice Department withdrew its petition after Trump took office, plaintiffs wouldn’t need to comply with the coverage requirement — which could trigger similar challenges with broader consequences. A recent Supreme Court ruling left the door open to legal challenges from other employers and insurers in search of the same relief, said Zachary Baron, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Health Policy and Law.
Meanwhile, Trump could initiate changes from his first day in the Oval Office through executive orders, i.e. directives which have the force of law.
“Early executive orders will give us an idea of the policies the administration plans to pursue,” said Allison Orris, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “Early signaling through executive orders will send a message about what guidance, regulations and policies may follow.”
In fact, Trump relied heavily on these orders during his previous term: An October 2017 order directed federal agencies to start modifying the ACA and ultimately increased consumer access to health plans that were illegal. He could issue similar orders early in his latest term, using them to start the strategy of forcing changes in the law, similar to increased oversight of potential fraud.
The administration could take other steps early on that will conflict with the ACA, similar to limiting federal aid funding and helping people enroll in ACA plans. Both actions depressed registration during the previous Trump administration.
Trump could also use regulation to implement other conservative proposals, similar to expanding access to medical health insurance plans which can be inconsistent with ACA consumer protections.
The Biden administration has held back Trump’s efforts to expand so-called short-term health plans, disparaging the plans as “junk” insurance because they could not cover certain advantages and will refuse to cover individuals with pre-existing health problems.
The Trump administration is anticipated to make use of regulations to reverse Biden’s decision, allowing consumers to maintain and extend their plans for much longer.
But drafting the rules became rather more complicated after a Supreme Court ruling that said federal courts not needed to defer to federal agencies facing legal challenges to their authority. As a result, any Trump-era HHS rules may require greater efforts to dam them in the courts.
Some individuals with ACA plans say they’re concerned. Dylan Reed, a 43-year-old small business owner from Loveland, Colorado, remembers the pre-ACA days and doesn’t need to return to the days when insurance was difficult to get and he couldn’t afford.
In addition to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety, he suffers from scleroderma, an autoimmune disease related to: joint pain and numbness in the limbs. Even on the ACA plan, he estimates he pays about $1,000 a month for medications alone.
He worries that without the ACA’s protections, it can be difficult to seek out coverage for his pre-existing conditions.
“It’s definitely a scary thought,” Reed said. “I probably would have survived. I would just be in so much pain.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom dedicated to publishing in-depth journalism on health issues and is one among the predominant operating programs of KFF – an independent source of research, polls and journalism on health policy. Find out more about KFF.
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||(),g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){ g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“film-recommended-film”,”true”)})}(); ( () => { ( ( cb ) => { window.tpd = window.tpd || {}; if ( true === tpd.cmpReady ) { console.log( ‘(TPD)(Brid) CMP was already ready, working player.’ ); cb(); } let tpdCmpReadyListener = () => { console.log( ‘(TPD)(Brid) Event ready for CMP began, running player.’ ); window.removeEventListener( ‘tpd:cmpCb’, tpdCmpReadyListener( ‘script’ ); s.src=”https://player.target-video.com/player/build/targetvideo.min.js”; s.async = true; let goal = document.getElementById( ‘Brid_21904’ ); goal ); window._bp = window._bp ||. {“div”:”Brid_21904″,”obj”:{“id”:”41122″,”width”:”1280″,”height”:”720″,”stickyDirection”:”below”,”playlist”: “21904”}} );
Politics and Current
Distraught mother of 13-year-old Texas boy who died on gymnasium floor – questions why school didn’t immediately get him help when he had trouble breathing
A grieving family is questioning the actions of administrators at a Texas middle school where their son died after falling during basketball practice.
According to KTRKXavier Thompson died at Thornton Middle School in Katy on November 15. His mother said he suffered an asthma attack that day, and immediately after her son’s fall, they immediately received calls from concerned teammates.
“I had to call a panicked student who kept asking me what to do,” said 13-year-old Xavier’s mother, Brittany Thompson. “It saddens me that no one called 911 when they saw my baby was having trouble breathing.”
Xavier coaches also quickly contacted Thompson and her husband, and the couple insisted that they call emergency services to the school. The family also noticed that there was a hearth station right round the corner.
When Xavier’s father arrived at school, his son was not breathing. Family members claim that he was the one who resuscitated their son, however the actions taken didn’t bring him back to life.
Xavier’s mother said that just the day before his asthma attack, her son was dancing within the lounge, thrilled to make the school’s basketball team. The next day he died.
“I don’t understand,” said the Thompsons’ lawyer, George Powell. “Without medical personnel present, calling parents will not help anyone who has been injured or has some form of respiratory distress.”
The family told KTRK that Xavier had suffered from asthma his entire life, but his condition was well controlled. They established an motion plan regarding his condition with the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District. The middle school also had two inhalers reserved for the teenager in case he needed medication.
“They have medical exams, we have medical insurance on file and they have all their emergency contacts,” Thompson said. “What’s the point if kids have to name it and say, ‘What do we do?’”
Thornton Middle School officials sent a letter to oldsters of all students notifying them of Xavier’s death and offering students counseling.
“I just want my son back. I’d give my life for him in a heartbeat. I’d go and breathe for him if I could,” Xavier’s mother said with tears in her eyes.
Xavier’s family said an autopsy was performed to find out the precise cause of death and is currently awaiting the outcomes.
A district spokesperson told KHOU 11 that Xavier’s death was asthma-related and there was no information on the medical treatment he received.
Another Houston-area family also experienced the same tragedy to the Thompsons three months ago when a student died at the center school.
Landon Payton collapsed and lost consciousness Aug. 14 at Marshall Middle School. Unlike young Xavier, the 14-12 months-old didn’t suffer from any breathing problems and was in good health, in response to his father, Alexis Payton.
Payton raised questions concerning the school’s response to Landon’s fall within the school gym after learning that the school nurse didn’t know how one can perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or use the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED), a tool that emits an electrical shock to revive normal function. heart rhythm when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest.
Two teachers’ unions later said the school’s defibrillator was defective or outdated.
A Southern California family can be questioning the moments surrounding the death of their 12-12 months-old son at middle school last 12 months. Yahshua Robinson collapsed during gymnastics practice at Canyon Lake Middle School during a heat wave when temperatures reached 107 degrees. Robinson’s parents learned that a teacher had told him to run away as punishment for wearing inappropriate clothes to class. His family says he collapsed at school and died of cardiac arrest.
Politics and Current
We need to have an uncomfortable conversation about America
We need to talk about cockroaches.
According to renowned entomologist Karlous Miller and John Whitfield Jr. (known for his groundbreaking research on a young fly): everyone has them. Although the mosquitoes could have killed more people throughout history than all of the wars, open borders, and Black Lives Matter protests combined, people they’re biological programmed to hate cockroaches greater than every other insect. Housefly it’s much dirtierbut cockroaches symbolize uncleanliness and misery. For many, a single dead cockroach on the lounge floor is more embarrassing than a fly within the kitchen, a mosquito in your skin, or a dead body within the basement.
Not I.
It’s not that I’m just not ashamed of them. I understand that there may be nothing I can do to erase the bulk those that survived prospered from the surface of the planet. The only thing I can do is solve the issue and forestall it from getting worse. Nobody really eliminates cockroaches, you only have to fight them every single day. But apparently there’s just one thing more embarrassing than being a cockroach hunter:
Being a part of a monoracial coalition.
According to experts, political analysts and folks who just say things, the 2024 election was a results of many aspects. For some, Trump’s genius was a matter of religion – proof of what can’t be seen. Wind bags stuffed with political opposites Joe Scarborough AND James Carville blamed Kamala Harris’ loss on the “woke era.” Others blamed the Democrats’ defeat on the party’s inability to attract white women, Latinos switching sides and the party’s lack of messaging. These may sound like different political theories, but they’re all based on the identical unspoken hypothesis. It is an unkillable pest that crawls out of its hiding place every election season. Even essentially the most progressive, outspoken experts are reluctant to address this. This shouldn’t be a theory. It is a fact hiding within the deepest, darkest recesses of each post-election postmortem. But in some way it’s
White can’t be defeated…
The unspoken concept of an invincible coalition of white voters is the breeding ground from which all political opinions are hatched. Experts not only base their analyzes on the existence of this hidden nest of Caucasian voters, but assume its inevitability… Progressive candidates will lose. A black woman cannot turn into president… it doesn’t deal with race… it doesn’t admit that trans people exist. It’s as if white persons are biologically programmed to vote against everyone else. And apparently the one way to defeat the good white cockroach of electoral politics is to pool our voting power through Black, indigenous, people of color washing their feet, eating spicy food, and playing tambourines in church, just like the BIPOCLGBTQIAvengers trying to stop white supremacist Thanos from straight finger snaps.
The tacit acceptance of white invincibility is the rationale and reason for the existence of the phrase “multi-racial coalition.” race is a greater predictor of electoral politics than sex, education and even religion. That’s why the information showing that Spanish male voters support Trump is even noteworthy. White invincibility explains why 53% white women I voted for a white woman opponent in 2016 and why 19% black men vote for white supremacist in 2020.
But what in the event that they’re fallacious?
What should you discover about it? most white women he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 and never got anywhere near that result 20% of the vote by Black men? What if Latinos hadn’t moved toward Trump? What if black voters didn’t stay home? What if that is all exit polls as fallacious as ever?What if there have been no “unless”? What if sometimes in some elections you only cannot beat white people?
Does this make you are feeling uncomfortable?
When 8 out of 10 white Georgians crawled out of their hiding places to vote, Trump’s victory was inevitable. The rappers who showed up to twerk at Harris rallies didn’t matter. The pantomime guy on the Trump microphone was irrelevant. The discussion about black male voters has turn into moot. More again. Harris has greater than Biden. But even when every non-white voter in Georgia voted for Kamala Harris, she would still lose the state.
Harris winning Georgia was mathematically inconceivable.
Another example comes from the much-discussed Berks County, Pennsylvania. Everyone was shocked once they came upon about it Trump won essentially the most Latino county within the state of Pennsylvania. However, when comparing the outcomes from 2024 counting votes in individual districts down 2020 election results and the US Census shows that Harris’ campaign won more votes than Biden in each of them majority-Hispanic census tract tract within the district. Harris lost because Trump simply accrued votes and increased turnout within the whitest areas and throughout the county 74% white.
Because few states release this sort of data, we cannot have a more complete picture of what happened across the country until we see more accurate data from studies like Verified Pew Voters or A study of cooperative elections. But explaining the 2024 election is awkward. The point is that 2020 was an anomaly. It is kind of possible that the person who won second essentially the most votes within the history of American presidential politics can only be surpassed by a nationwide pandemic that gave voters unfettered access to the ballot. It may simply be that they desire a lying, corrupt white supremacist as their leader, and there may be nothing the democracy can do to stop it.
As uncomfortable as it might be to admit, possibly that is what America wants and democracy has actually won. Maybe white supremacy is like cockroaches. It’s actually inconceivable to do away with it…
You have to fight it every single day.
-
Press Release8 months ago
CEO of 360WiSE Launches Mentorship Program in Overtown Miami FL
-
Business and Finance6 months ago
The Importance of Owning Your Distribution Media Platform
-
Press Release8 months ago
U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce Appoints Robert Alexander of 360WiseMedia as Board Director
-
Business and Finance8 months ago
360Wise Media and McDonald’s NY Tri-State Owner Operators Celebrate Success of “Faces of Black History” Campaign with Over 2 Million Event Visits
-
Ben Crump7 months ago
Another lawsuit accuses Google of bias against Black minority employees
-
Fitness7 months ago
Black sportswear brands for your 2024 fitness journey
-
Theater8 months ago
Applications open for the 2020-2021 Soul Producing National Black Theater residency – Black Theater Matters
-
Ben Crump8 months ago
Henrietta Lacks’ family members reach an agreement after her cells undergo advanced medical tests