By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 5, 2022 Most Americans know very little about Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. When the Ukraine-Russia War broke out in February 2022, we were forced to learn more about Putin. Putin is one of the most powerful leaders on the planet. His sphere of influence reaches around the globe. The chart featured in this article used Artificial Intelligence to graphically depict Putin's power and influence around the world. It also demonstrates Putin's influence in America, based upon documented financial transactions and clearly established political relationships. The chart was prepared on March 22, 2022 by TSC, a global leader in Artificial Intelligence software. TSC works with many of the largest corporations on the planet in more than 104 countries. TSC combines data-mining and modeling technologies with traditional approaches, to strategically map, mine and monitor complex business issues. When the Joe Biden administration announced in February 2022 that America, along with its Western allies and partners, was imposing "crippling" economic sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, this move was ill-conceived, poorly implemented, and ineffective in stopping the war. The sanctions actually wound up crippling Americans. Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are forging a new world order. If America does not change to meet the new geo-political threat posed by Russia and China, we are doomed to a new world order that none of us will like. We need to stop fighting each other and start checking the unchecked conduct of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 10, 2022 Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. Her death caused me to reflect on the long, ugly, and violent history of British colonization of countries around the world during the height of the British Empire and the imperial monarchy of Elizabeth's ancestors. For over six hundred years, the sun never set on the British Empire because it spanned the globe. Great Britain invaded foreign countries and took the natural resources out of them by force. At the time, British colonizers acted in the name of the King or Queen of England in power. Great Britain never developed these countries beyond what it took to get the riches out of them with the least amount of expense to the British Crown. The violence, mayhem, and subjugation that was inflicted upon the indigenous people of each country that was colonized were sustained, horrendous, and lasted for hundreds of years. At its height, the British Empire consisted of more than 70 colonies, dominions, territories, and protectorates. Currently the British Empire consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Even after the British colonies, dominions, territories, and protectorates gained their independence, the British Crown retained the riches taken from them by force during Britain's occupation of them. To this day, the British Crown owns vast real estate holdings and palaces in many of these independent nations. A Listing of Former British Colonies, Dominions, Territories, and Protectorates Former British colonies, dominions, territories, and protectorates and their year of independence are listed below. These places are depicted on the global map featured in this article. Afghanistan -1919 Antigua and Barbuda-1981 Australia-1901 -1986 The Bahamas-1973 Bahrain-1971 Barbados-1966 Belize-1981 Botswana-1966 Brunei-1984 Canada-1867–1982-(From 1949 this included Newfoundland and Labrador). Cyprus-1960 Dominica-1978 Egypt-1922 Fiji-1970 The Gambia-1965 Ghana-1957 Grenada-1974 India-1947 Iraq-1932 (British Mandate) Ireland - 1948 Jamaica-1962 Jordan-1946 Kenya-1963 Kiribati-1979 Kuwait-1961 Lesotho-1964 Malawi-1964 Malaysia-1957 Maldives-1965 Malta-1964 Mauritius-1968 Myanmar-(Burma)-1948 Nauru-1968 New Zealand-1907–1986 Nigeria-1960 Pakistan-1947 Qatar-1971 St Lucia-1971 Saint Kitts and Nevis-1983 St Vincent and the Grenadina Lines-1979 Seychelles-1976 Sierra Leone-1961 Soloman Islands-1978 South Africa-1910–1961 Sri Lanka-1948 Sudan -1956 Swaziland-1968 Tanzania-1961 Tonga-1970 Trinidad and Tobago-1962 Tuvalu-1978 Uganda-1962 United Arab Emirates-1971 United States-1776. Prior to the American Revolution the 13 colonies were governed separately, these were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Vanuatu-1980 Yemen-1967 Zambia-1964 Zimbabwe-1980 Current British Territories and Protectorates Overseas Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Island Turks and Caicos Islands. Epilogue Every time a British monarch dies, I think of this sad history and remember the millions of indigenous peoples who died in the quest to liberate their countries from British rule. I save my tears for them. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on March 9, 2017; Updated and Republished on April 3, 2018 and September 13, 2022 Americans rarely see their schoolteachers as heroes and their schools as revered institutions of learning. I do. Whether we recognize it or not, they shape the lives of the children who determine our future. I attended K-4 grade school at Alonzo Lott, a small all-black public elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee. From the fifth grade through high school graduation, I attended the Laboratory School on the campus of what is now Alabama State University. This article features the Laboratory School. The school was founded in 1920 and was located on the campus of Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes in Tullibody Hall. It operated continuously until 1969, when it was closed as part of a reorganization during Alabama State College's transition to university status. The school had an all-black student body, faculty, and staff. It also had only one class of about 30 students for each grade. What the Laboratory School lacked in size and financial resources, it made up for in the heart, intellectual acumen, dignity, and high moral fiber of their teachers and students. By the time the Watkins family arrived back in Montgomery in 1959 to begin my father’s second period of employment at ASU, I had learned to appreciate the knowledge, skills and abilities of my teachers. They were super-smart educators and larger than life figures in my world. They demanded academic excellence from each student and spared no effort to prepare us for success in life. The Standard for Educational Excellence The educational preparation we received at the Laboratory School was intense, practical, and very forward-looking. These teachers produced an academic “dream team” every year. We never felt inferior to any ethnic group or competitor. Racism was never viewed as an acceptable excuse for failing to reach our goals in life. We were taught to treat racism like turbulent weather. It was real and pervasive, but we were trained to find a way around, under, over, or through racism in order to reach our destination in life. Our dedicated and caring teachers, along with our loving parents, synchronized our developing minds, growing bodies, and unconquerable spirit. They prepared us to become agents for the positive changes we sought in the world. Looking back on it today, these teachers were visionaries and unsung heroes. What they achieved in the field of education with limited segregation-era resources and unlimited creative genius was nothing short of a miracle. My friends frequently ask me why I love climbing the mountains of international business, especially since it is filled with daunting challenges and only occasional successes. I do it because I am a flag-bearer for my K-12 teachers. I climb the mountains for them. I will not stop climbing the mountain until I have exhausted every ounce of strength in my body and applied every modicum of knowledge my teachers gave me during the 1950s and 60s. I am the embodiment of their sacrifices, preparation, hopes and dreams. Only when I hoist the flag of educational excellence in their honor on top of the highest mountain peak of international business will my job be done. Unsung Heroes in Education I want all of my readers to know who these unsung heroes are. I want their names and faces memorialized in the annals of recorded history. The Laboratory School is now featured in the University of South Carolina of Museum of Education. The school was also recognized by the Alabama Department of Archives and History in "Laboratory of Learning: Alabama State College Lab High School, a Model Education," presented by Sharon Gay Pierson at the Department's Farley Auditorium on September 17, 2015. My personal heroes in elementary and secondary education were: (a) Messrs. W. J. Coston and Moses Clark, Laboratory School principals; (b) Mr. Thomas Robinson, assistant principal and woodshop teacher; and (c) Mrs. Sadie G. Penn, Mrs. Clara Davie, Messrs. A. C. Henry, Joseph Gilchrest, W. C. Allmon, Tim Sanders, Charles Moss, R. Thomas, David Stott and Clyde Edmonson, Ms. Annetta Baugh, Mrs. Ollie Phillips, Ms. Murrillo Garner, Mrs. Etta Myrtle Alexander, Mrs. Faustine Dunn, Ms. Athalee Smiley, Mrs. Althea Thomas, Mrs. Mary Bell, Mrs. Mattie Gilchrist, Mrs. Evelyn Young, Mrs. Frizette Lee, and Mesdames M.G. Brown, C. Clark, S. Singley, C. Taylor, Draper, Rice and Sneed, all of whom were distinguished educators. When you look at the faces of these teachers and principals in the photographs accompanying this article, you are looking at the faces of greatness in education. We learned Latin, French and Spanish before we could drink from “Whites-Only” water fountains. We learned how to communicate orally and in writing from the best English teachers in America. Our math and science teachers contributed greatly to the success of those students whose algorithms would later transform the global telecommunications and technology industries. Our biology teachers produced the best doctors in America. We learned the countries and cultures of the world from brilliant geography teachers who rarely traveled beyond the state of Alabama. We were constantly reminded that the world is connected by common cultural values and a history of human exploration. By the time we graduated from high school, these teachers had molded our will to win and given us all of the confidence we needed to achieve success against all odds. We were unstoppable in our quest to succeed in life. The Laboratory School had a 100% graduation rate throughout its 49-year history, and every student progressed to a post-secondary education. The students who were educated in this small all-black school in Montgomery went on to favorably impact every aspect of American society, including law, medicine, engineering, civil and criminal justice, science and technology, mathematics, education, business and finance, aerospace, energy, diplomatic services, and international relations. No school in America today has matched the cumulative achievements and positive impact on the world that the graduates of the Alabama State College Laboratory School accomplished throughout their careers. Our teachers were the "best of the best," and we were, too! I am as proud of this family as I am of my Carmichael/Varnado/Watkins bloodline family. PHOTO: Alabama State College Laboratory School Seniors of 1966. Missing from this photo are: Wilmer Ira Ballard, William Bell, Alonzo Bonner, and Ronald Beverly. As of September 13, 2022, the following class members are deceased: Wilmer Ira Ballard, Linda Carter. Gladys Elmore, Gloria Lawrence, Voncile Pierce, and David Ross. Voncile Pierce eventually married John Gibson, who became one of the most distinguished presidents in the history of Alabama A&M University (Huntsville, Alabama). PHOTO: The Class of 1966 in Caps and Gowns. Missing from this photo are: Wilmer Ira Ballard, Gloria Lawrence, and David Ross. PHOTO: Members of the National Honor Society at the Laboratory School in 1965 PHOTO: Ronald Beverly receiving his diploma in May 1966 from Dr. Levi Watkins, President of Alabama State College. PHOTO: Donald Watkins receiving his diploma from his father in May 1966. PHOTO: Ronald Beverly in 1966. Today, Ronald maintains contact with all of the Class of 1966 members and serves as our unofficial "coordinator." PHOTO: The faculty of the Alabama State College Laboratory School in 1966. PHOTO: Mr. Wellington J. Coston was my first principal. He was as solid as a rock. PHOTO: Moses Clark was my second principal. He was brilliant and strong. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 22, 2022 An Editorial Opinion When it comes to higher education, not all colleges and universities are deemed equal. According to MoneyPop.com, there are a few around the country that aren’t worth the student loans and interest rates. Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is one of them. The university has a less-than-average graduation rate and a nonexistent student life. MoneyPop.com is a personal finance, wealth, and consumer website focused on providing tips about saving money and stories about wealth and business in every form. Here is what MoneyPop.com had to say about AUM on March 12, 2021: “No, not that Auburn University but Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama. Truth be told, this university is very easy to get into, but even with a 93% acceptance rate, less than 35% graduate. That’s not a stellar statistic for students looking for a good education. Not only that, but according to previous students, Auburn University at Montgomery has a nonexistent student life, making pricy year fees and accompanying debt not exactly worth it.” MoneyPop.com’s rating of AUM mirrors a comparable “worst college for your money” rating published by Yahoo.com on December 28, 2020. AUM was Birthed in 1967 as an alternative for Montgomery-Area White Students Who Otherwise Would Have Attended Alabama State University Auburn University at Montgomery is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. It was established in 1967 by Act 403 of the Alabama Legislature to provide college-bound white students in Montgomery with an alternative to attending historically black Alabama State University (ASU), which is also located in Montgomery. Act 403 was signed into law during Gov. George Wallace’s infamous “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” era of the 1960s. AUM was intended to symbol of Alabama's massive resistance to the desegregation of the state's institutions of higher education. The racial animus behind AUM’s creation and growth is discussed at length in Knight v. Alabama, 787 F. Supp. 1030, 1127 to 1136 at ¶¶430 to 514 (N.D. Ala. 1991). In short, the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce and all-white state legislators made it clear to Alabama's white businesses and higher education leaders that they did not want white students attending ASU. In 1967, Dr. Joe L. Reed, the former executive director of the Alabama State Teachers Association (ASTA) and an Alabama civil rights icon, and the ASTA, itself, sued in federal court to block AUM’s construction and operation. Plaintiffs claimed that AUM would perpetuate a dual system of public higher education in Montgomery. See, Alabama State Teachers Ass'n, et al. v. Alabama Public School and College Authority, et al., 289 F. Supp. 784 (M.D. Ala. 1968), aff'd per curiam, 393 U.S. 400, 89 S.Ct. 681, 21 L.Ed.2d 631 (1969). The plaintiffs were unsuccessful in stopping AUM's creation. In March 1968, Dr. H. Hanly Funderburk, Jr., was appointed vice president and chief administrator of the newly created university. AUM opened its doors in September 1969 with nearly 600 students in the old Alabama Extension Center on Bell Street, next to Maxwell AFB. Two years later, the university relocated to a 500-acre campus on the old McLemore Plantation tract, 7 miles east of downtown Montgomery. ASU was founded in 1867 as a state institution of learning for freed black slaves. The university is a doctoral degree granting institution that enjoys Level-Six accreditation from SACSCOC, along with Alabama’s three other flagship state universities -- the University of Alabama, Auburn University, and Alabama A&M University. ASU has nearly 6,000 students. ASU offers 47 degree-granting programs, including 31 bachelor's, 11 master's, two Education Specialist and three doctoral programs, a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law, a Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and a Doctorate in Microbiology. ASU has a 99% acceptance rate and a 28% graduation rate. The average cost to attend ASU after financial aid is nearly $20,000. In 2017, ASU reported an endowment of $101 million. The ASU Department of Athletics currently sponsors men’s intercollegiate football, baseball, baseball, golf, tennis, track and cheerleading, along with women's intercollegiate basketball, soccer, softball, bowling, tennis, track, volleyball, golf and cheerleading. Sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS - Football Championship Subdivision for football) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), which it joined in 1982. The ASU Hornets football team plays home games in the University's $62 million football stadium, which opened in November 2012, In contrast, AUM has been accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as an operationally separate institution from Auburn University since 1978. Today, AUM has a 96% acceptance rate, 5,200 students, and a 31% graduation rate. The average cost to attend AUM after financial aid is about $14,000. There are no application fees when applying for admission to AUM. The university also waives ACT/SAT and GMAT/GRE/MAT minimum test score requirements for admission. The most popular AUM bachelor's degrees granted are business administration, nursing, liberal arts, biology, elementary education and secondary education. The university's nursing and medical laboratory sciences programs boast placement rates of more than 90 percent. AUM also offers a joint doctorate program with Auburn University in Public Administration and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Today, AUM holds Level-Five accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). AUM has a reported endowment of $24 million. The Auburn–Montgomery (AUM) athletic teams are called the Warhawks. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference (GSC) as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year (which achieved D-II full member status in 2019–20). The Warhawks previously competed as an NCAA D-II Independent during the 2016–17 school year; and in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC; formerly known as Georgia–Alabama–Carolina Conference (GACC) until after the 2003–04 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1999–2000 to 2015–16. Today, AUM competes in 11 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. Epilogue There was never an educational need in Montgomery for two public institutions of higher education. AUM was constructed as a safe haven for white college-bound students who could not afford to attend the University of Alabama (in Tuscaloosa), Auburn University (in Auburn), or Troy State University (in Troy). AUM is a stepchild in the Auburn University System. Auburn was never interested in building a world-class satellite campus in Montgomery, and did so only after being pressured by state legislators to expand into Montgomery. Today, there appears to be no educational need for AUM's continued existence. It should be merged into ASU so that Montgomery will have one public institution of higher education that has the potential for dynamic academic growth and accretive value. Otherwise, AUM may continue to be recognized as one of the worst colleges in America based upon the cost to attend the University and its limited academic offerings. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 24, 2022 In the age when MAGA right-wing conservatives constantly try to recast the documented history of racism against African-Americans as “critical race theory,” it is important that we re-establish the undisputed truth about our nation's ugly past. The documented account of Frank Embree’s flaying and lynching in Fayette, Missouri on July 22, 1899 has been told in modern times by the acclaimed Equal Justice Initiative, Face2Face Africa, and Patreon. I am telling this story again today so we, as a nation, are not lulled into a state of blissful ignorance about our true history. The Unvarnished Truth About Frank Embree's Lynching On June 17, 1899, Miss Willie Dougherty, the 14-year-old daughter of Wood Dougherty, was dragged from the horse she was riding to Burton to visit a friend and was assaulted by a black man who, in the various reports of the rape, was originally called “the fiend,” “the black brute,” “the negro ravisher,” etc. The attacker was riding a horse owned by John Collins and the “brute” was assumed to be Collins’ nephew, Frank Emory, as he was called in the June 22, 1899, Democrat-Leader. The nephew’s real name was “Embree” and he was from Garnett, Kansas. A huge advertisement offered a $300 reward for “Emory’s” capture -- $150 from Sheriff G.D. Gibson and $150 from Governor Lon Stephens. Miss Dougherty’s dad led the posse to capture Embree, but failed. Embree made it back to Garnett before being taken by Kansas authorities, who then had an internal struggle over who got the $300 reward, the sheriff or the city marshal. The July 6, 1899, Democrat-Leader had a lengthy story about the capture and removal of Embree (first to Huntsville, then to Mexico), Embree’s plea of innocence, his statement of why he fled the area, and the route Embree took to Kansas when he realized he was the target of mob action led by Dougherty. The July 13, 1899, Democrat-Leader used a story from the Mexico Intelligencer regarding the formation of a mob of up to 1,000 that had plans to bypass the law and a trial, causing Embree to request a transfer to Kansas City for his safety. The Intelligencer called for law and order and closed with the following: “He (Embree) might be the wrong negro and the law should be allowed to take its own course.” Instead, a decision was made to transfer Embree to Howard County on a railroad car to Steinmetz, then by wagon to Fayette, via Burton. On the morning of July 22, 1899, a white mob abducted Frank Embree from officers transporting him to stand trial and lynched him in front of a crowd of over 1,000 onlookers in Fayette, Missouri. About one month earlier, Frank Embree had been arrested and accused of assaulting a white girl. Though his trial was scheduled for July 22, the town’s residents grew impatient and, rather than allow Mr. Embree to stand trial, took matters into their own hands by lynching Mr. Embree. According to newspaper accounts, the mob attacked officers transporting Mr. Embree, seized him, and loaded him into a wagon, then drove him to the site of the alleged assault. Once there, Mr. Embree’s captors immediately tried to extract a confession by stripping him naked and whipping him in front of the assembled crowd, but he steadfastly maintained his innocence despite this abuse. After withstanding more than 100 lashes to his body, Mr. Embree began screaming and told the men that he would confess. Rather than plead for his life, Mr. Embree begged his attackers to stop the torture and kill him swiftly. Covered in blood from the whipping, with no courtroom or legal system in sight, Mr. Embree offered a confession to the waiting lynch mob and was immediately hanged from a tree. Though published photographs of Mr. Embree’s lynching clearly depict the faces of many of his assailants, no one was ever arrested or tried for his death. The July 27, 1899, Democrat-Leader story ran under a banner headline: “Whipped and Hanged,” which began “Frank Embree, the black fiend who so brutally ravished Miss Willie Dougherty on Saturday, June 17, has paid for his hellish crime." The story then went into great length to describe how the mob of hundreds of men intercepted the officials and Embree two miles southwest of Steinmetz, hauling Embree to the site of the rape, a mile east of Burton, and demanded a confession. Embree refused to admit guilt and was then stripped naked, while handcuffed, and was lashed 103 times by a bullwhip, tearing the skin and leaving him a bloody, stoic mess. One report stated that Embree had been castrated, but the Democrat-Leader did not mention it. When Enbree still refused to confess during a break in the whipping, he was again made to stand and the lashing resumed. Almost immediately, Embree cried out to stop and he then confessed to everything, asking that he be shot or hanged and not beaten anymore. He was allowed to pray and that prayer was recorded, word for word, in the Democrat-Leader. He asked that his parents be told of his death and that his body not be burned. Wood Dougherty assured him that his body would be buried, not burned. A rope was tightened around Embree’s neck, thrown over a limb and his body jerked into the air. After a few convulsions, he was dead. A coroner’s jury ruled that the deceased came to his death “by parties unknown to cause his death by parties unknown to us.” Embree’s body was buried in the Nebo Church cemetery. The Democrat-Leader’s editorial comment: “His fate is a fair warning to all others who would commit such hellish crimes. The citizens of Howard County will not tolerate such. The negro was given no more than he deserved. Let others beware.” Images of Frank Embree's lynching and hanging were made into postcards for the white community to celebrate his death and his story, which was told over and over again in the white community. The photos of Embree's flayed body and his lynching accompany this article. After the lynching, the rape of white girls in the local area that were blamed on an unidentified black man continued. This crime pattern tends to prove Frank Embree’s innocence. Epilogue Frank Embree's lynching is NOT a "critical race theory." This event actually happened, and it was fully documented in newspapers of the nadir and in commemorative postcards. There were more than four thousands lynching of blacks in the United States between 1877 and 1950. Until white America embraces the truth about this nation's long, ugly, and well-documented mistreatment of its African-American citizens, we will never be able to reach our full potential as a nation. Spinning history for political purposes is NOT truth-telling. Banning critically-acclaimed history books in public schools is NOT truth-telling. Passing so-called "memory laws" that prohibit teachers in public schools from telling Frank Embree's story is NOT truth-telling. There can be no reconciliation for the wrongs that have been visited upon African-Americans and Native-Americans by today's so-called "white Christian nationalists" until they are ready to accept the unvarnished truth about our nation's historical mistreatment of these ethnic minority groups. 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By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Originally Published (via Facebook) on June 23, 2017; Updated and Republished on September 25, 2022 On June 23, 2017, Natalie S. Lehman and I co-wrote and published an article on my Facebook page titled, “Making America 'Great' Again.” Natalie Lehman’s father, Lt. Colonel Paul Lehman, Jr., was a member of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. He is featured on this website in an article titled, “Lt. Colonel Paul David Lehman, Jr.: An American Military Hero.” What Does MAGA Really Means? What started out as Donald J. Trump’s campaign slogan in his successful run for the American presidency in 2016 has now morphed into a nationwide movement that is engulfing the Republican Party in Trumpism. “Make America Great Again” or “MAGA” is a mantra that inspires pride and excitement in many Americans, while provoking feelings of fear and anxiety in others. In a 2017 Washington Post article, former president Bill Clinton suggested that this slogan is nothing more than a racist dog whistle. “I’m actually old enough to remember the good old days, and they weren’t all that good in many ways,” he said at a rally in Orlando. “… if you’re a white Southerner, you know exactly what it means, don’t you?” Essentially, the MAGA slogan is a political rally cry for white male supporters -- many of whom feel they’re losing power within their country… It’s not just economic power -- white men have lost political clout and social power, too. As noted by well-known economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, white males accounted for seven of ten suicides in 2015, and death rates have been rising dramatically since 1999. This suicide figure remains at 70% today. These "deaths of despair" by suicide, drugs and alcohol are related to the weakening of their conventional societal positions. White males have fewer options and opportunities for work; their marriages are less stable than ever before; and the sense of community that used to build them up and enable them to thrive, is deteriorating. Pain and distress build up over time, ultimately leading to a social collapse -- at least in their traditional world. The white males in this group seem to have lost a sense of status and belonging, which are classic preconditions for suicide. This sense of entitlement, which white males feel is under attack (a sentiment birthed the moment Obama was elected to the White House), stems from a long history of preferential treatment toward white males, which we all know dates back to ancient times. White Male Privilege is Eroding in America Throughout history, individuals, tribes and nations have chased lofty ideals. Our time honored American ideals suggest that we are living in the best country on the planet and that we hold high the principles of freedom, equality and opportunity for all. But we know the truth -- that the history of this country has been riddled with schemes that sounded noble and virtuous, at least on the surface. At the end of the day, their only intended purpose was to award an avalanche of benefits to white European immigrants and their progeny. Thus, at the same time this country’s founders were espousing noble principles, they were aggressively grabbing land and valuables while exterminating native Americans and enslaving people of color who were brought here from Africa. In short, they denied and seized the rights, property and lives of human beings. During the pinnacle of the patriarchy in the United States, which was interestingly supported by both the church and the legal system, half of the population -- women -- was denied the privileges and powers afforded to white males. Before 1865, a mere 157 years ago, ninety percent of blacks in America were slaves. As such, they were denied every freedom historically enjoyed by white males. The pre-European Native-American population, roughly estimated to be 60 million people, was reduced to less than 306,000 in the United States by 1880. Having eliminated, legally and physically, a large section of people, white men competed only against themselves, a relatively small group, often made even more exclusive behind the closed doors of private clubs and brotherhoods. Many of their acquisitions were not earned, but were gifts, like the Spanish land grant offers -- not a gifting of empty land, but land already home to other people. All the while, the new nation’s founders wrote their own “greatness” into their own his-stories. Now, we are at a new crossroads. As the old paradigm unravels, our political and social structures are beginning to decay along with it. The industrial revolution has ended, and blue-collar jobs are mostly obsolete because products are either machine-made or foreign-made. Over the centuries, women and people of color have risen up in sustained excellence for true equality. Many have proven time and time again their intellect, their enduring work ethic, their patriotism, and their core of human decency, despite having to labor twice as hard in mostly hostile work environments. Where does this leave the white male? Men, even those kind and inclusive men, knew they were eating the desserts from an unjust way of life. White Male Anger and Hopelessness When a sense of “greatness” proves false and those once-enjoyed privileges and entitlements start to erode, people feel lost, gutted, empty, hopeless and angry. Infantile, destructive behavior ensues. We have seen this desperation all over the news with mass shootings, the rise of white militias like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, and the January 2, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We have also witnessed the MAGA-dominated U.S. Supreme Court swiftly roll back the constitutional rights of women, blacks, and Native-Americans to their pre-1865 status. Old strategies and old behaviors triggered the crumbling of the “old” world. We have seen how suffocating oppression, racial separation, blind ambition, narrow-minded selfishness, and unbridled personal and corporate greed have damaged the American ideal. We cannot “Make America Great Again” by retreating to those outdated dreams and strategies, even if they are stated more loudly, arrogantly, powerfully, and exclusively. Ultimately, we all have to change, unify and roll up our sleeves to get along if we hope to attain any semblance of true greatness -- greatness built upon a level playing field and mutual respect for all Americans. The only alternative to greatness built upon a level playing field and mutual respect for all Americans is the destruction of America's institutions of democracy. This appears to be the political agenda of today’s “white Christian Nationalists” and extreme MAGA Republicans. The more radical MAGA zealots are calling: (a) defunding the FBI, (b) violence against the federal judiciary, (c) a Second Civil War; (d) a total ban on abortions, (e) white "minority rule," backed by armed militias, (f) a geo-political alliance with fascist Hungarian strongman, Viktor Orbán, and (g) the election of Donald J. Trump in 2024, by any and all means necessary. The perceived MAGA enemies are mainstream media organizations, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Democratic Party. The perceived MAGA global allies are Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. It remains to be seen whether America will be able to survive the MAGA movement and its “old-school” political agenda. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 28, 2022 History has a way of repeating itself. Republicans leaders around the nation are still livid at the way the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) treated former president Donald J. Trump during the Bureau's raid at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on August 8, 2022. Pursuant to a duly issued search warrant, a large number of FBI agents descended upon Mar-a-Lago to retrieve classified documents from the Trump presidency that belonged in the National Archives. Of course, the FBI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Joe Biden appointee, heads the DOJ. Garland personally approved the FBI raid. Led by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. Carolina) and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), these Republicans claim that the DOJ and FBI have been weaponized for the purpose of taking down Trump and his staunch political allies. Rep Greene has even called for defunding the FBI. Does the FBI have a history of being weaponized to further the political agendas of powerful people in Washington? The answer to this question seems to take us back to the FBI’s infamous COINTELPRO era. COINTELPRO COINTELPRO was a secret counterintelligence program carried out by the FBI to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt domestic political and civil rights organizations. Centralized COINTELPRO activities began in August of 1956 and ended centralized operations in April of 1971. I have written about COINTELPRO on several occasions. Two of the most famous targets of COINTELPRO operations were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a non-violent civil rights organization founded by Dr. King in 1957. Both targets were viewed to be "extremist"because they challenged racial segregation and widespread discrimination against African-Americans in all aspects of American society. Under COINTELPRO, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered FBI agents to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" individuals and organizations targeted by the program. By the early 1960s, the FBI identified Dr. King as “the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation.” The Bureau was intent on bringing about King's replacement with someone "acceptable" to the FBI. The Bureau sought to achieve this goal by: (a) continuing and ramping up its efforts to discredit King, (b) maintaining a drumbeat of mass media-distributed propaganda concerning King’s supposed "communist influences" and sexual proclivities, and (c) triggering a spate of harassment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) In 1964, the Bureau tried to convince Dr. King to committed suicide by anonymously mailing him a suicide letter that had been written by the FBI. The suicide letter, which referred to Dr. King as an "evil, abnormal beast," was prepared two days after the announcement of King’s impending Nobel Peace Prize Award. The letter was accompanied by an audiotape recorded by the FBI that allegedly contained a series of King's sexual indiscretions. Dr. King was told the audiotape would be released to media organizations nationwide if he did not acquiesce and commit suicide prior to accepting his Nobel Peace Prize Award. "There is only one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal, fraudulent self is bared to the nation,” stated the FBI letter. Dr. King resisted this FBI-sponsored blackmail attempt and effort to end his life. He would be assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. COINTELPRO was successfully kept secret until 1971 when Director Hoover declared that the centralized COINTELPRO was over, and that all future counterintelligence operations would be handled on a case-by-case basis in FBI field offices. In 1976, the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities of the United States Senate, commonly referred to as the "Church Committee," launched a major investigation of the FBI and COINTELPRO. The Final Report of the Church Committee confirmed the primary methods used by the FBI to carry out the objectives and abuses of COINTELPRO. They included: 1. Infiltration: Agents and informers did not merely spy on political activists. Their main purpose was to discredit, disrupt and negatively redirect action. Their very presence served to undermine trust and scare off potential supporters. The FBI and local police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents. 2. Psychological warfare: The FBI and local police used a myriad "dirty tricks" to undermine progressive movements. They “planted” false media stories and published bogus leaflets and other publications in the name of targeted groups. They also forged correspondence, sent anonymous letters, and made anonymous telephone calls aimed at disrupting legitimate, peaceful protests. 3. Harassment via the legal system: The FBI and local police abused the legal system to harass COINTELPRO targets and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. They discriminatorily enforced tax laws and other government regulations and used conspicuous surveillance, "investigative" interviews, and grand jury subpoenas in an effort to intimidate activists and silence their supporters. 4. Illegal force: The FBI conspired with local police departments to threaten dissidents; to conduct illegal break-ins in order to search dissident homes; and to commit vandalism, assaults, beatings and assassinations. The object was to frighten or eliminate dissidents and disrupt their movements. 5. Undermine public opinion: One of the primary ways the FBI targeted organizations was by challenging their reputations in the community and denying them a platform to gain legitimacy. Director Hoover specifically designed programs to block leaders from "spreading their philosophy publicly or through the communications media.” Furthermore, COINTELPRO created and/or controlled negative media for the purpose of undermining civil rights and political organizations. In Alabama, the Birmingham News (now known as AL.com) was a willing and active participant in COINTELPRO. On October 8, 1962, the initial five newspapers selected for the purpose of disseminating anti-King propaganda and lies were the Long Island Star-Journal, Augusta (GA) Chronicle, Birmingham News, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and the St. Louis Globe Democrat. The News also worked closely with the Alabama Sovereignty Commission throughout the 1960s to implement its “massive resistance” to desegregation initiatives in Alabama and across the South. COINTEPRO Initiatives Can Be Effective Over the course of time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., evolved from an early COINTELPRO target to become the first and only African-American (and non-President) to have a Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and a national holiday in his honor. However, when Dr. King was assassinated on April 4,1968, 75% of Americans disapproved of his civil rights activism and push for meaningful economic opportunities. The FBI's campaign of sustained COINTELPRO activities (which continued to tarnish Dr. King’s name a year after his death) is widely credited with turning public opinion against him. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died on May 2, 1972. His legacy is marred by the public outing of the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. However, this did not stop Congress from naming the FBI headquarters in Washington after Hoover in October of 1972. Repeated efforts to rename the building have failed. FBI field offices in the Southern states like Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida never ceased COINTELPRO activities. These offices enjoy the support from homegrown federal prosecutors and conservative federal judges that is needed to keep the program alive under the benign PR banner of “law and order” activities. The Birmingham News continues in its COINTELPRO role of smearing prominent African-Americans civil rights and business leaders by spewing negative news stories about them in an effort to undermine their reputations in the community. Not surprisingly, the News organization has never condemned any of the FBI’s COINTEPRO activities. Fortunately for all Americans, dynamic changes in the news business and stiff competition from independent online journalists have minimized the adverse impact of the News’ longstanding COINTELPRO tactics. Epilogue Now, we are back to the original question. Does the FBI have a history of weaponizing its investigations and related DOJ prosecutions to further political agendas in Washington? Yes. And, this history is well-documented in Congressional reports and various critically acclaimed publications. Furthermore, there are countless cases that pre-date and post-date the centralized and formal FBI COINTELPRO period (from 1956 to 1971) where the Bureau used its vast resources to harass, discredit, and/or destroy targeted Americans solely for political purposes. The agency was often successful in this effort, but occasionally it was not. USA v. Callie House (1916), USA v. Marcus Garvey (1922), USA v. Alcee Hastings (1981-1983), USA v. Harold Ford, Sr. (1987-1993), USA v. Richard Arrington, Jr. (1988-1992), USA v. Marion Barry (1990), USA v. U.W. Clemon (1996), USA v. Don Siegelman (2005-06), USA v. Ted Stevens (2008-2009), USA v. Jonathan Dunning (2014), and USA v. Christopher Pitts (2016) are just a few examples of the FBI’s willingness to weaponize its resources against well-known political/business figures who were disliked by the political establishment in Washington. What is worst, many federal judges are lawbreakers themselves. Mark E. Fuller, the Montgomery, Alabama federal judge who railroaded former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman in USA v. Don Siegelman was a wife-beater, liar, and obstruction of justice perpetrator. A lot of federal judges have a dark side that nobody wants to talk about. Their colleagues on the federal bench simply bail them out of their embarrassing predicaments and move on. Picking political leaders of their liking seems to have morphed into a tradition at the FBI/DOJ. Has the FBI been weaponized in Donald Trump’s case? Most Republicans think so. Only the passage of time will definitively answer this question. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 30, 2022 In the era of MAGA Trumpism, many blacks in America are starting to realize that we must empower ourselves in order to find and enjoy our rightful place in American society. It has become painfully clear that no political figure or governmental body will do this for us. Affirmative action programs have been extinguished. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been gutted. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been effectively repealed. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 has atrophied from non-enforcement. The federal court system, from top to bottom, is totally insensitive to the protection of our constitutional and statutory rights. Many of our major cities are bankrupt. Crime is out-of-control in too many of our urban cities. The official policy in Washington, when it comes to dealing with us, is “benign” neglect. Our civil rights leaders are worn and irrelevant. Our political leaders at all levels of government have been neutered and are often nothing more than pack mules for special interest groups. Our religious leaders are busy building personality-based ministries. Our schools and communities are in survival mode. Our role models are athletes, rappers, and entertainers. Our teenagers are being slain in record numbers, all too often by other black teenagers. We are living for today, and not tomorrow. And, we hold our breath every Friday hoping that we won’t get fired from our jobs at companies that we do not own. This is the state of black America on Friday, September 30, 2022. It is sad, but true. Not much has changed in our favor since I published my first grim assessment on the state of black America on July 21, 2013. In fact, we appear to be worst off with the rise of neo-racism masquerading as extreme MAGA Trumpism. We are desperately looking for somebody to do something to help us come out of this miserable state of being. Nobody will. No cavalry is coming save us. We Must Save Ourselves We have reached a place where we must act to save ourselves. How will we do it? We must empower ourselves on a personal, familial and communal level. We have the ability to do this; we just don’t realize it, and we rarely use it. Empowerment takes focus, determination, discipline and hard work. We cannot sprint to a state of empowerment; it is a long marathon run to this destination. This may not be a particularly hard feat (given our current state of being), but it is certainly a different way of thinking for us. Where do we start? We start with the realization that money is power. The more money we amass and control, the more power and influence we wield. Can we realistically amass significant amounts of money and wealth in our current state of being? Yes, we are one of the largest and most loyal consumer groups in America. Too often, however, our loyalty is to the wrong people, companies, and things. Can we amass enough money and wealth to make a difference in our lifetime? Yes, we have a long and distinguished track-record of spending money in larger amounts during a much shorter period of time than other Americans. How is this empowerment possible when we seem to be barely getting by each month? We must start by living below our means. Too often, we get caught up on spending money on non-income producing things like a house that’s too large, over-the-top furniture, a luxury car or two, designer clothes, high-end watches, expensive purses, etc., all just to dazzle and impress others. These things cost a lot of money, but they rarely produce any significant wealth. An extravagant lifestyle may feel good, but this spending habit is not an empowerment tool. After we finish this spending spree, we have no cash left. Next, we must give our children a head start in life. Rather than wasting our hard-earned money on must-have gadgets, shoes and clothes, we should give our children and grandchildren a savings account and fund it regularly with the “throw away” money we can save from reigned-in frivolous spending. Gadgets, shoes and clothes come and go, but money will always be fashionable and hip. We also need to focus our kids on owning businesses, as opposed to becoming a permanent class of job seekers. We must break the generational cycle of shying away from the opportunities, responsibilities, and difficulties of business ownership. We have to think about creating jobs, not simply applying for them. Additionally, we must expand the definition of success beyond our focus on professional athletes, rappers, and entertainers. Less than 6,000 of the more than 46.9 million blacks in America will find financial success as professional athletes, rappers, and entertainers. Even then, very few of these individuals possess the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to properly assess and independently control, protect, leverage, and grow their money and other tangible assets. We must create our own wealth to be respected and treated fairly. People of color around the world are doing it. We can do it too. Now is the time for us to start controlling our economic destiny. We have to move from a population of unappreciated consumers to an army of valued business producers. Then, and only then, can we train and hire a workforce that mirrors us, provide major vendor opportunities for others in our business alliance networks, contribute to and reinvest in the growth and stability of our neighborhoods, and get the attention of others who hold power in this nation. The money we put in our children’s and grandchildren’s savings accounts will eventually become their "working capital." It will launch their businesses and give them a meaningful chance in the new empowerment paradigm. So, the next time you are tempted to buy another pair of red-bottom shoes or a Gucci purse, stop yourself and place that money in your child’s savings account. As for the money you would spend while pontificating about Donald Trump or MAGA Republicans while sitting on a bar stool during happy hour—put that money in their savings accounts too. Many of us may also want to rethink all of the money we are spending on private school education (grades 1-12) for our kids and grandchildren. Will this tuition money be more useful to our children in an interest-bearing savings account reserved for a future business venture (after college) than it will be for them to rub shoulders with a bunch of rich kids from the suburbs? Which financial choice will give our children the best footings in life? Self-employment and the high self-esteem that comes from business ownership, or a daytime association with suburbanites kids who, like their parents, see nothing wrong with the Donald Trump or the January 6, 2021 Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol? Finally, we must stop denigrating each other. Our conversations should be about great ideas and pathways to commercializing them, as opposed to finding new and creative ways to demean and disrespect fellow blacks who are striving towards economic independence. What is more, we must stop fighting each other and start focusing on neutralizing the forces that oppose our economic growth. Epilogue Empowerment will begin when we invest in ourselves and in each other. Every ethnic group in America has found empowerment and success this way. We must follow suit and harness our power. The 16 Rules for Success that accompany this article will work for us, as it has for tens of millions of Americans. Study them carefully, and adhere to them religiously. Once we start producing money, wealth, and financial independence for ourselves, America will pay attention to us. We will treat each other with dignity and respect, and we will be treated with dignity and respect. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on March 12, 2017; Updated and Republished on October 6, 2022 George Washington Carver was a famous America scientist, botanist, educator and inventor whose 47 years of work at Tuskegee Institute turned the University into a mecca for black intellectual growth from 1896 until his death in 1943. Born in slavery in 1864, Carver was physically castrated by his former master, Moses Carver, when he was seven years old. The castration occurred because Moses and his wife Susan decided after the Civil War ended to raise Carver and his brother James with their own children. It was common practice for white plantation owners to castrate young black males who had a physical presence in the mansion so that they would not have the ability to engage in sexual relations with the wives and daughters of their masters. Scores of black men were turned into eunuchs through physical castration. They were castrated for one of two reasons: 1. Whites in positions of power did not want them to have sex with any white women, so they made it physically impossible for them to have intercourse; and 2. They did not want them to have sex with other blacks. Many slave owners fell in love with the idea of having the "perfect slave" so they would castrate the male slaves that were not quite the ideal workers. Because they wanted slaves that could work from sunrise to sun down, the slave owners would only allow the most fit of their slaves to have sex. Castration sometimes served as punishment, but most of the time it was performed to "breed" and control blacks. Fast-forward to March 6, 2017: Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, described African slaves as “immigrants” who came to America “to pursue prosperity” during his first speech to hundreds of assembled Department employees. This remark was met with disbelief and swift outrage from blacks and whites alike. Dr. Carson was former President Donald J. Trump’s only black cabinet member. Dr. Carson was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore when my brother, Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr., introduced me to him in 1984. At the time, Levi was a Hopkins physician and the first surgeon in America to successfully implant an automatic heart defibrillator in a human patient. He was also a civil rights pioneer who helped to open Hopkins’ doors to hundreds of black medical students. Dr. Carson was a brilliant surgeon, but he had already been psychologically castrated as a black man by the time I met him. He had completely disassociated himself from any and every activity that focused on the advancement of black physicians and staff members at the Medical Center. Dr. Carson’s castration was so extreme that it caused him to regularly shun participation in the Medical Center’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday ceremony hosted by my brother. The only time Carson attended the event was when he received an award from my brother. In 1987, Dr. Carson performed the pioneering surgical separation of seven-month old conjoined twins, Patrick and Benjamin Binder. They were joined at the head. Johns Hopkins refused to renew Dr. Carson’s employment contract after this phenomenal achievement in medicine. Dr. Carson did not fight for his job because he did not want to make waves at Hopkins. Levi, who was livid over this mistreatment of Dr. Carson, fought for him in a heated private meeting with the president of the Medical Center and won Carson’s reappointment. From that day forward, our family knew that Dr. Carson was a castrated eunuch. Our father, Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr., had always told us that a man who will not fight for himself will not fight for others. Dr. Carson’s words and deeds evidence a growing form of psychological castration in the modern era that began with the 1991 appointment of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court. Remember, Thomas was the lone Supreme Court Justice who voted in May of 2016 in favor of executing Timothy T. Foster. The Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors in Georgia violated the U.S. Constitution by striking every black prospective juror in the murder case against Foster, who is black. The victim in the case was an elderly white woman. An all-white jury convicted Foster of murder. He was sentenced to death. The aspect of Foster’s case that stands out is the vote of the eight Supreme Court Justices who decided the case. The six white justices and one Hispanic justice, who came from conservative, moderate and liberal political backgrounds, united to condemn the racial discrimination in Foster’s case in the strongest terms possible. Clarence Thomas, America's premier "Uncle Tom," had absolutely no issue with the flagrant racial discrimination in Foster's jury selection process. Like Dr. Carson, Justice Clarence Thomas is a psychologically castrated eunuch. On February 27, 2017, I watched dozens of black college presidents meet with President Trump at the White House. These college presidents were gathered up from around the country on short notice and were paraded into the Oval Office where they chatted for a couple of minutes with President Trump, who posed for photographs with him. Each one of these college presidents left the meeting empty-handed. Not one of them demanded a substantive conversation with the President about the desperate financial plight of America's HBCUs. In contrast, rapper Kanye West had a longer meeting with President-elect Trump just one week after he was released from a psychiatric hold at a Los Angeles medical center. Likewise, comedian Steve Harvey, boxing promoter Don King, and former football great Jim Brown had longer and more substantive meetings with Trump than the black college presidents. All of these meetings were orchestrated as made-for-TV showcase events. Today, a growing number of black political figures like U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S. Carolina), Georgia GOP Senatorial candidate Herschel Walker, and John Gibbs, Michigan GOP candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, appear to be handpicked, groomed, funded, mass-marketed as caricatures of themselves, psychologically castrated, elevated to public prominence, and completely controlled by white America. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., predicted this phenomenon in his 1967 book "Where Do We Go From Here?" King warned black America to stay away from psychologically castrated "Negroes" because they will always undermine the advancement and protection of equal rights in America. Psychological castration is more damaging to the psyche of black America than physical castration. While George Washington Carver suffered physical castration, he never subordinated his respect for black Americans and their collective body of achievements to this nation for a pat on the head by the ruling oligarchy of his day. Today’s eunuchs are more than willing to subordinate themselves and other blacks for far less than a pat on the head. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins © Copyrighted and Published on March 1, 2020 In 2010, Jack Camp was publicly considered to be a distinguished U.S. District Court Senior Judge in Atlanta. Privately, Judge Camp had a very dark side -- he loved to hang out in Atlanta's totally nude strip clubs and use illegal drugs with featured dancers. On October 1, 2010, Camp was arrested when he and a local stripper (who was an FBI informant) purchased $160 worth of recreational drugs from an undercover agent. Less than two months after his arrest, Camp pleaded guilty to (a) one felony charge of aiding and abetting a person he knew to be a drug felon in the unlawful possession of illegal drugs and (b) two misdemeanor charges -- (i) illegally possessing cocaine, marijuana, and Roxicodone (a synthetic form of heroin) and (ii) theft of a government laptop computer that Camp had given to the stripper. Camp faced up to four years in prison and $300,000 in fines. This is the sentence that is routinely handed down to defendants who are convicted of the same crimes, together with a sanctimonious speech about how the sentencing judge needs to make an example out of the accused. This is particularly true when the accused is a black male. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan from Washington, D.C. was assigned to handle Camp's case. Hogan wasted no time in bending the "arc of justice" in Camp's favor. Hogan promptly converted the felony charge into a misdemeanor, made the charges run concurrently, and sentenced Camp to 30 days in jail and 10 weeks of community service. He also imposed a $1,000 fine on Camp. This action allowed Camp to keep his right to vote, hold public office, carry a gun, and collect his $174,000 per year salary (with annual increases) for life. The Privileged Few Get Preferential Treatment Federal judges are the only group of public officials who receive lifetime presidential appointments to their job. They take office after their appointment has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They can only be removed from office by a Congressional impeachment proceeding. The judges who serve on the District Courts around the United States and its territories earn a salary of $210,000 per year. The ones who serve on the Courts of Appeal make $223,700 per year. The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court makes $270,700 per year while his eight Associate Justices make $258,900 per year. When federal judges take "senior status" or semi-retirement like Judge Camp, they continue to receive their full salary. Their healthcare plans and job benefits are the best and most expansive in the nation for government officials. In addition to Judge Jack Camp, there are those among the ranks of federal judges who have accepted bribes and kick-backs, those who have lied to FBI agents, those who have committed sexual assaults on women, those who have committed perjury when testifying to judicial investigators and before grand juries, those who have obstructed justice, those who have severely beat their wives, those who have slept with courtroom deputies, court reporters, secretaries, and prosecutors, those who have presided over trials while high on prescription drugs, and those who have routinely held ex parte meetings and phone calls about pending cases with prosecutors and powerful outside parties. What is worse, this smorgasbord of misconduct among the ranks of federal judges continues to this day. When federal judges like Jack Camp commit federal crimes, most of them do not get prosecuted for their offenses. For example, Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana was found guilty of four articles of impeachment in 2009, including accepting kick-backs and lying to the Senate and FBI. Unlike President Trump's friend, Roger Stone, Judge Porteous was never prosecuted by the Department of Justice for lying to Congress. Sadly, the list of federal judges who committed crimes while serving on the bench and who escaped criminal prosecution is long and distinguished. What is worse, federal judges in the modern era of partisan politics have morphed into judicial "fluffers" for prosecutors in cases that involve ordinary defendants. Today, many federal judges use the cases in their courtrooms to push personal ideologies and partisan agendas. Judicial scholarship is often used to erode, not protect, the basic Constitutional rights of ordinary citizens. Appointments to the federal bench have become political "plums" for party hacks. Many of these appointees have no litigation or courtroom experience. Some of them are downright incompetent. Very few of them deserve to be praised for their legacy on the bench. Independent, Online Journalists Are Holding Federal Judges Accountable for Their Misconduct. In recent years, online journalist Roger Shuler (a/k/a "Legal Schnauzer" in Birmingham, Alabama), David Meckley (a/k/a "The Meck" in Dothan, Alabama), and I have written several articles that were highly critical of the federal judiciary. A few readers have suggested that we are not showing the proper reverence and respect for the men and women who sit on the federal bench. For the reasons discussed in this article, I disagree. As professional journalists, we respect those federal judges who deserve respect. However, the number of federal judges in this category is dwindling each year. Unlike most mainstream journalists who are not free to criticize wayward members of the federal bench, Shuler, Meckley, and I hold federal judges fully accountable for their misconduct in the performance of their jobs. No public official should be exempt from the highest standards of accountability, ethics, and integrity, especially those public officials who enjoy a lifetime job with the best salary and benefits package in the nation. State, local, and national bar associations are afraid to criticize judicial misconduct, even when it is glaring and inexcusable. For example, in 2014, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Fuller (in Montgomery, Alabama) savagely beat his second wife Kelli in an Atlanta hotel room. He was arrested and jailed for spousal battery. Fuller's colleagues on the federal bench remained silent about his drunken rage and violent conduct. Some of them tried to help Fuller keep his job by suggesting that he go to anger management classes to control his temper. No bar association group condemned Fuller's violent conduct. Fuller was eventually forced to resign on August 1, 2015 after Roger Shuler, David Meckley, and I engaged in a year-long series of investigative news articles that exposed Fuller's marital cheating, spousal abuse, sexual escapades with courthouse staffers and law clerks, and prescription pill-popping conduct during trials. Fuller also lied to judicial investigators who probed his misconduct. Like Judge Porteous, Fuller was never prosecuted for perjury or any other federal crime. The Trump Effect President Donald Trump has proclaimed, on a repeated and sustained basis, that the federal criminal justice system is "rigged." The cases of Judges Jack Camp, Thomas Porteous, and Mark Fuller appear to support Trump's claim. It is telling that no Republican member of any national, state, or local government body disputed Trump's characterization of the federal judiciary. Furthermore, the Federal Judges Association, a professional organization which was founded in 1982 to advance and protect the financial gravy train that federal judges ride, did not push back on President Trump's description of the federal criminal justice system. This is true even after the President labeled FBI agents as "scum" and federal prosecutors as "corrupt." The double-standard between the preferential treatment accorded to corrupt federal judges, as compared to the harsh treatment ordinary Americans routinely face in the federal criminal justice system, requires no further discussion. It speaks for itself. It is shameful. This is the dark, seedy side of the federal judiciary! It's a cesspool of hypocrisy, favoritism, protectionism, and incestuous dealings. Federal judges truly know how to take care of their own.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on August 4, 2022 EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS --- In October and November of 2017, I published a series of exclusive articles on my Facebook page that exposed the role Joe Perkins and his "dirty tricks" firm Matrix, LLC, played in the rape-suicide case of Megan Rondini, a well-liked and highly-respected University of Alabama honors student. On July 2, 2015, Megan Rondini reported to Tuscaloosa County, Alabama (USA) Sheriffs Office deputies that she was raped at the home of local playboy T.J. "Sweet T" Bunn, Jr., a Tuscaloosa County businessman and then-member of the Alabama State Conservation Board. Rondini also made the same report to a rape counselor at the University of Alabama. "Sweet T" is the son of a powerful Alabama Crimson Tide football program booster, who has since died. His wealthy family was also friends and supporters of disgraced former Alabama governor and Perkins political "puppet," Robert Bentley. Sheriffs deputies quickly turned against Megan Rondini once they realized "Sweet T" was the designated rape suspect. Additionally, the University's rape counselor withdrew from counseling Rondini after she learned that "Sweet T" was the accused rapist. Once she realized there would be no criminal justice in her rape case, a distraught Megan Rondini committed suicide. After Rondini's death, the case faded into Alabama's dustbin on failed justice for sexual abuse victims. In July 2017, Buzzfeed News featured Megan Rondini's tragic story in a widely disseminated international article. My investigative articles followed and provided undisclosed details of the police cover-up and failure of criminal justice in Rondini's rape-suicide case. The Tuscaloosa News focused on publishing a full-page "victim shaming" ad against Megan Rondini and her family. Alabama's largest media organizations avoided reporting on Megan Rondini's rape-suicide case for several years out of a fear of losing crucial advertising dollars from Joe Perkins' powerful government and corporate clients. Perkins/Matrix Sued Watkins for Defamation On November 13, 2017, Joe Perkins and Matrix sued my law firm (Donald V. Watkins, P.C.) and me for defamation. I asserted First Amendment freedom of speech and freedom of the press defenses. Perkins and Matrix claimed that my articles portrayed them in a false light by describing the role they played in the Megan Rondini rape-suicide case. The articles were based upon my conversation with Joe Perkins, my independent research and multiple background sources, my interviews with Megan Rondini's father, information supplied by confidential and credible news sources, and forensic evidence. They were copyrighted and published in my capacity as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Joe Perkins gave the court a sworn affidavit in the case in which he stated: " I have never taken any actions to obstruct the truth in any rape case, including the rape allegations raised by Ms. [Megan] Rondini and her family." This statement was patently false when it was made. Yet, he filed it with the court anyway. Perkins' false affidavit testimony was enough to hoodwink Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Allen May into awarding Matrix and him a $1.5 million judgment against my law firm and me in August 2021 without conducting the jury trial I requested under Alabama law. I appealed this $1.5 million Judgment to the Alabama Supreme Court. My appeal is pending before the nine-member Supreme Court. Jeff Pitts Exposed Perkins' Bold Lie On August 3, 2022, Jeff Pitts, Matrix's former CEO, filed an Answer in Perkins' lawsuit against him in Jefferson County, Alabama Circuit Court. The Answer contained a bombshell revelation about the Megan Rondini rape-suicide case. In his Sixth Defense, Pitts stated: "Defendant Pitts was compelled to resign [his job as chief executive officer of Matrix] because of Perkins' inappropriate and unethical business practices, including, but not limited to, initiating and directing the creation of an explicit video used in an attempt to intimidate the family of Megan Rondini, a rape victim who had committed suicide, to settle a civil claim [filed by her estate]....". On October 26, 2017, I broke the news about Perkins' fake video in an article titled "Matrix, LLC, Implicated in Threat Against Megan Rondini Family." The article stated: "On October 4th, Matrix created a big problem for the Bunn family and itself. On this date, Matrix surreptitiously delivered a plain envelope addressed to the law office of the Rondini family's Birmingham attorney that contained an EMTEC M700 16GB flash drive with two nude photos -- one of a male and another one with a male and female in bed -- and a one-minute-long 'video diary Number #1' recorded by Megan while she was home alone, sitting up in her bed, playfully talking about her evening at Harry's Bar, and eating a snack..... The purpose of the flash drive was to threaten and intimidate the Rondini family, which has a federal court wrongful death lawsuit pending against Sweet and other defendants for causing or contributing to Megan's suicide after he escaped criminal justice in the case .... Unbeknownst to Matrix, the nude woman in the photo, which was taken in 2014, is not Megan Rondini. The video, which shows a facial shot of Megan, was recorded on May 27, 2015. None of these items had any relevance to the rape incident Megan reported to police on July 2, 2015.... It is noteworthy that the video and photos were extracted from Megan Rondini's cell phone during the police investigation into her rape report against Sweet. Only three groups had Court-authorized access to the photographs and video in the police file -- (a) the Rondini family, which did not send these items to Matrix, (b) the Bunn family, which hired Matrix to manage damage control for Sweet T and the Bunn family businesses, and (c) the Tuscaloosa News, which has worked closely with Matrix to smear Megan Rondini..... Information technology forensic experts examined the flash drive and found that it contained a host of information from a laptop used by Matrix employee Robert Taylor .... The Metadata also revealed that the video and photos in question came from 'https://alacourtimages.alacourt.gov/Alacourtimages.....". In an October 29, 2017 article titled, "Bunn Family PR Firm Linked to Recent Cyber Attacks," I again discussed Matrix's creation and delivery of the fake video to the Rondini' family's law firm. Despite my introduction of the flash drive photo, Metadata, and other credible evidence of Matrix's direct involvement in the Megan Rondini rape-suicide case, Judge Allen May granted a summary judgment in favor of Perkins and Matrix under the pretense that these two Megan Rondini articles, along with three related ones, defamed Perkins and Matrix. May was handpicked by Gov. Bentley and appointed to his judgeship before Bentley resigned from office in disgrace amid a "power-for-sex" scandal with his senior staffer/lover. The $1.5 million court award was predicated, in large part, on Perkins' sworn false testimony. No party is permitted to use perjured testimony to procure a court Judgment. Perkins' Longtime Friend Confirmed Matrix's role in the Rondini Rape Case Paul Hamrick is a longtime friend, former client, and one-time employee of Joe Perkins. On June 7, 2022, Hamrick issued this stark warning to the public about Joe Perkins on his Facebook page: "Today there is a different nature to Joe [Perkins]. [H]is threats and acts of intimidation have grown much worse and been directed at women and children. In one of the most inhumane acts I can imagine, Joe created a fake set of files and had them delivered to the family attorney of a rape-suicide victim [Megan Rondini], apparently to intimidate them against pursuing litigation ..... I have worked with abuse victims since the late 80s. I'd like to say I've never known a human being capable of such a monstrous act, but that would not be true because I know Joe Perkins. Let that sink in, attempting to intimidate a father who has lost his young daughter. It breaks my heart to think someone I've been so close to could carry out such an abomination against humanity .... I'm obligated to put my friends, clients and former clients on notice: [E]very thing Joe is doing today is heinously wrong and potentially dangerous. This is not going to end well for Joe or those he has pulled into his mess. Those supporting Joe in his attacks on me have told me directly they had no choice, Joe made them do it." Perkins' Daughter Made Additional Shocking Allegations Against Her Father On June 6, 2022, 39-year-old Taylor Lea Perkins posted a comment on her social media site that blew the lid off of two of her father's "dirty secrets." First, Ms. Perkins publicly alleged that Joe Perkins arranged for hotel room abortions for pregnant women, who were forced to have them. Second, Ms. Perkins confirmed that her father helped to cover up another alleged rape by "Sweet T." On May 15, 2022, I published an article titled, "Joe Perkins' Daughter Claims He Sexually Abused Her as a Child." The article detailed Taylor Lea Perkins' account of a decade of childhood incest and rape allegedly committed against her by Joe Perkins. Perkins has not publicly denied or commented on any of his daughter's claims. Epilogue Joe Perkins is a man who has made a life and career out of trashing innocent lives. According to Taylor Lea Perkins, he trashed her life by making her the victim of serial acts of childhood incest and rape. According to Paul Hamrick, "over the last several months, Joe has betrayed his own clients, attacked and sued his own employees and threatened friends and colleagues." Hamrick said Perkins is a man who is capable of "monstrous acts," including faking video files on a rape-suicide victim to discourage her family from pursuing justice in a civil lawsuit. Now, Jeff Pitts and Paul Hamrick have exposed Perkins' lies about Matrix's and his involvement in the Megan Rondini rape-suicide case in a way no one else could. For decades, Joe Perkins, who is a confessed federal election lawbreaker himself, operated within a tight circle of convicted felons like former state Rep. Oliver Robinson, former Alabama College Chancellor Roy Johnson, Matrix CFO Kimberly G. Hines, and others to carry out his "dirty tricks" agenda for Alabama Power company, the Southern Company, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, Florida Power and Light, the Alabama Education Association, Auburn University, and other political powers in the southeast. He bills himself as a crisis manager. Perkins also developed and deployed phony grassroots groups and digital platforms to intimidate individuals as a method to influence public perception and litigation. According to Jeff Pitts, Perkins also ordered and directed the "clandestine surveillance of top executives of his largest client, the Southern Company, to influence corporate decision-making and succession planning for his own benefit and at the direction of executives of Alabama Power Company, while masking payments through excessive retainers paid to Matrix and Perkins Communications via multiple contract/work orders. Those payments were used by Perkins and his companies to pay invoices for private investigators and other consultants, so it would not be directly linked back to the Southern Company." This is who Joe Perkins is. He destroys lives for fun and for a living. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this article, please click on these links to follow Donald Watkins: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on May 1, 2022 I entered the federal prison system on August 28, 2019 at the Federal Prison Camp at Talladega. From the moment I entered the system, a series of remarkable and courageous men lifted me onto their shoulders and made it possible for me fight for the freedom of scores of deserving inmates, some of whom were actually innocent of the charges against them. Over the past three years, I have written articles about a few of these men. Now is time to tell you how we became friends and comrades in the never-ending struggle for truth, justice, and respect for human dignity. The Inspirational Men of FCI Talladega As fate would have it, Mr. George Washington Dunn, Jr., was my first cellmate. He was the Head Orderly of T-Dorm, where I was housed. George and I were inseparable from August 28, 2019 to May 12, 2020. This courageous man stood tall in stature, in courage, and in his love for humanity. I featured George in a June 17, 2021 article titled, "George Washington Dunn, Jr.: Standing Tall in the Trenches." Dr. Donatus MBanefo, MD, served as my "de facto" personal physician at FCI Talladega. His story is featured in my January 22, 2020 article titled, "God Wears a Robe-Part 4: Dr. Donatus O. Mbanefo: A Case Study in Xenophobia." This distinguished man was educated at the best British-run schools in Nigeria and colleges in London. Dr. Mbanefo has certifications in optometry, applied physics, electromagnetism, and motion, heat, light and sound. Dr. Mbanefo received medical licenses in Nigeria and the United States. After FCI Talladega Warden Cheron Y. Nash allowed inmate Mack Smith to suffer and die a needless death in April of 2020 from what we believed was an early case of COVID-19, I knew that I needed a world-class physician to take care of my medical needs and to intubate me in my dorm, in the event I contracted COVID-19 at age 71. Not only was the healthcare at FCI Talladega woefully inadequate, but Warden Nash was simply too incompetent to implement, maintain, and oversee a healthcare service that met the needs of Talladega's inmates. Nash was a classic case of affirmative action gone wrong. Mr. Johann Jordan, a former math instructor at South Carolina State University, was a prison camp inmate at Talladega. Johann is a math genius. We worked together as teachers at the prison camp. Johann also tutored GED students and advanced math students. Johann, whom I consider as one of my sons, left FCI Talladega in November of 2020. He is now a highly successful mainstream businessman in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Eventually, Johann Jordan, Dr. Donatus MBanefo, Isaac Culver (who is featured in my January 20, 2020 article titled, "God Wear a Robe-Part 2: The Judicial Lynching of Isaac Culver"), and I formed a math and physics team to solve the Navier-Stokes Equation, one of the six unsolved math problems published by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Boston. We solved this decades-old complex math/physics problem in about four months. I was charged with: (a) writing up our team's formal Navier-Stokes solution, (b) validating our solution with my sister Marie (who holds a PhD degree in Math from the University of California at Berkley), (c) patenting our solution domestically and internationally, and (d) licensing our solution to NATO allies in Europe that use and deploy naval submarines. Because U.S. prisoners are legally and technically "slaves" under the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, my team may not be able to own the proprietary intellectual property rights we developed while we are inmates. As a prophylactic measure, we will protect our intellectual property rights by registering them in a nation that prohibits all forms of slavery. Sweden offers us this protection. Surviving Detention in the "Hole" I spent eight months in the maximum security "Hole" in the medium security federal prison in Talladega. During my first stay in the "Hole" in April of 2020, my cellmate was Mr. Keith Barnhart from Charlotte, North Carolina. Keith was a former military intelligence officer and a God-send. Ironically, Keith's father was an outstanding student at Alabama State University while my father was president of the University. We bonded immediately. From Keith, I learned survival techniques for when one is captured as a "POW" and subject to the most inhumane prison conditions. Interestingly, when I was booked into the "Hole," the SIS lieutenant who took me there referred to me as a "POW." When I exited the "Hole," the white guards who escorted me to the exit door chanted, "Dead man walking, dead man walking, Dead man walking!" They only stopped chanting this phrase when Lt. Sanders, a black supervisor, entered the intake area of the "Hole." FCI Talladega's "Hole" is what one would find in a third-world country. It is old, filthy, and rat and rodent infected. It is engulfed in toxic black mold; it has drinking water that is contaminated with lead poisoning; and it's toxic air pollution is extremely dangerous for staff and inmates, alike. When the air-conditioning went out during the summer of 2020 and temperatures in the closed-door cells soared to 110 degrees inside some of the cells in the "Hole," I asked Warden Nash to leave the food slat open in the solid metal door so that Keith and I could get some air circulating in the cell. She rudely said, "No," and huffed off. Afterwards, I felt a heat stroke coming on. Keith laid me on the concrete floor and placed a wet towel over my back to cool down my body temperature. I slept on the concrete floor each night and breathed the small amount of circulating air that flowed through the half-inch gap at the bottom of the cell door until the air-conditioning was repaired several days later. U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta After arriving at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta on November 23, 2020, I was reunited with Keith Barnhart, who had arrived there before me. Keith was freed shortly thereafter. Then, Mr. Ralph Menard became my cellmate in Atlanta's Holdover Unit. Ralph, who is of Haitian descent, is a young and brilliant intellectual. He was a highly successful businessman in Miami and Atlanta before his imprisonment. On December 28, 2020, Ralph helped me prepare my written objections to the Alabama Department of Revenue's time-barred effort to assess $2 million in taxes on $13.4 million in income that had been previously reported and taxed by state and federal authorities. On March 7, 2022, the Department's general counsel agreed with our legal position that the assessments were null and void. As the first and only African-American since the 1940s to start and operate a successful full-service commerce bank in the United States, I taught Ralph how his immediate and extended family could start and operate a successful bank that focused on commercial customers in the United States and Haiti. Ralph's family is working on this project now. Because of widespread graft and corruption among staff members and some inmates at the Atlanta Penitentiary, this prison facility was quietly closed in the summer of 2021. The Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma In February of 2021, I met Derrick Perkins at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He became my cellmate. Derrick was in his early 30s and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. Again, God placed me with a brilliant and well-mannered cellmate. It was through Derrick that I met a young, gifted, and black female entrepreneur who I will prominently feature in an upcoming article after she closes a Wall Street capital funding deal for her international e-commerce business. This woman is a former Bill Gates Millennial Scholar and Kentucky Governor's Scholar. She attended high school with Derrick. If there is a female entrepreneur in the U.S. who is smarter and harder working than this young woman, I have not met her. I enjoy mentoring business women immensely. She has exceeded all of the expectations that I had of her. Within the next 5-10 years, this woman's name, business, and brand will become a household word around the globe. My only regret about Derrick and his female friend and classmate is that I did not meet them when they were in high school. Had I known them when I operated The Children's Bank, I would have funded their teenage business concepts. There is no doubt in my mind that both of these young entrepreneurs will become mega mainstream business icons. Federal Prison Camp at La Tuna When I arrived at the Federal Prison Camp at La Tuna, I saw that the predominant inmate population was Mexican-American. Again, God placed me with two great cellmates -- Benjamin Robles and Efren Cardenas-Jimenez. They welcomed me with open arms. Efren is in training to become a Christian outreach minister for troubled youths. He is my spiritual adviser. Benjamin, who comes from a family of long-haul trucking owners and operators, has educated me on the operational aspects of the national and international integrated long-haul ground logistics business. Both men are intellectually gifted and have excellent people skills. Efren has a peace and serenity about him that I have not seen since I was in my Sunday School class in the 1950s with a new young pastor named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Efren's impact on the world will be great. I am so glad that God allowed my life to intersect with Efren's. Benjamin also educated me on the real-life impact of the U.S. Immigration Services Agency's 1954 "Operation Wetback" program that rounded up 1.3 million Mexican-Americans and Hispanic migrants living in America and deported them to Mexico. Sixty percent of those who were deported were American citizens. Some of Benjamin's relatives were among those who lost their homes and everything else they owned during "Operation Wetback." Bridging Ethnic Divides Through friends like Benjamin, Efren, Alphonso Woodley, Sr, and a host of others at La Tuna, I have been able to bridge the cultural divide between Hispanics, Asians, whites, Native-Americans, and blacks in the Camp. This successful bridging is readily adaptable to the diverse groups in the outside political world. A major part of multiculturalism is education on: (a) the importance of bridging ethnic divides, (b) the impact of political activism, and (c) the necessity for strategic political alliances among historically disadvantaged groups. I have been able to greatly expand my political reach beyond the walls of FPC La Tuna through my association with Benjamin, Efren, Alphonso, and their friendship circles. Whenever I leave La Tuna, my reach in the international business and U.S. domestic political arenas will be broader than it was before I entered prison. My goal is to positively impact the outcome of the 2024 presidential race through political activism. As the founder and owner of an online news publication for Independent voters with a growing national and international base of readers, I have aligned myself with a new, California-based Super-PAC for Independent voters and a nationwide voter registration drive that targets new Independent voters of all races and backgrounds in six swing states. To me, the future of America and national politics rests with Independent voters. Epilogue To the men who lifted me up during my prison ordeal, I am indebted to you for life. Your friendship is genuine and enduring. You suffered greatly for what you did for me, but you lifted me up anyway. I will never forget you. We have forged a friendship for life. As each one of us is released and begins his work assignments and pursues our collective political objectives, we will experience the bright futures that are waiting for us. No person or force can stop us from lifting up all of humanity, just as we lifted up each other. George Dunn, you paid the highest price for standing up for me and telling the truth when FCI Talladega pressured and punished you because you would not tell a lie on me. I will never forget your bravery, suffering, and quiet dignity. After I am released from prison, I will lift up all of you and show you that the world appreciates what you did for me, and for humanity. In spite of a concerted effort by my enemies to imprison and destroy me, God has continued to bless me with the ability to positively impact the lives of deserving men, women, and children around the world. I never abandon a true friend, ever! I love you guys!