Hey Reader,

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Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I’ve just come to realize how reflective this day is as some people have to go to work on today and some people don’t. I wonder what Dr. King would say the status of his dream is in 2024. I recently learned that Dr. King wasn’t originally nonviolent and had to be convinced to be so.

I find it almost unfortunate that other people groups are more prolific with the civil rights laws and the 14th amendment in the United States than black people ourselves, when we’re the one’s the laws were made for. I also find it unfortunate how we treat ourselves/each other when it comes to positions of influence on all levels.

The striking down of affirmative action aided by a black man still reverberates and will probably continue to do so. Regardless of who you thought benefited the most the fact of the matter is, with it society felt obligated to give us a chance, and now that isn’t so.

Racism is still alive an well. You may not even like the notion that, “society felt obligated.” The bottom line is black people are still behind in so many ways because of 400+ years of slavery. You can be physically free and mentally in bondage. There is a lot yet to be done on that front.

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Update

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Unfortunately this past weekend there was no weekly roundup. I published it on X (twitter) that there wouldn’t be. Follow me on X to keep up with all Life with Ken developments. Normally I wouldn’t address it or I would less “dramatically,” but it was the first roundup of the year. Essentially I burnt out. I ran out of steam and didn’t have it in me to continue making content last week. During our two week break between Christmas and last Monday I didn’t take any time off. I haven’t taken any time off and in fact am busier now than I was for most of 2023.

Unfortunately life is requiring more of me on different levels and it’s difficult. I’m still tired and burnt out and running virtually on E as I prepare this Newsletter. I don’t know what I am going to do but I wanted to be open and transparent about this. Life with Ken is taking steps to adjust how we do things to accommodate and mitigate this from happening again and ultimately we are hoping for an opportunity to take some real time off.

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What I am Interested in This Week:

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Iowa Caucuses 2024

Today is the Iowa Caucuses and the first votes to be cast in America's 2024 election cycle. These caucuses are happening on the Republican side of the isle and are between candidates Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. In the last poll before the caucuses Trump is up 48% while DeSantis sits at 16%, Haley 20%, and Ramaswamy 8%. The democrats are caucusing in Iowa too but theirs is primarily mail in ballot; it started on January 12th and goes until March 5th. That's a little wild in my opinion but so is the fact that Joe Biden is being presented as the de-facto nominee of the Democrat party, and some pundits say that there is no Democrat primary.

The candidates running against Joe Biden in the Democrat party are Marianne Williamson, Dean Phillips, and Cenk Uygur. The Caucuses matter mainly for momentum. Whoever wins the Iowa Caucuses are likely to get a boost in name recognition and publicity going into the next state's vote. It's like that if Trump's competition on the Republican side doesn't out perform him that they will have to suspend their campaigns indefinitely. Click here to read an article on this story.

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South Africa Sues

South Africa is suing Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. South Africa infamously went through their own apartheid during which Nelson Mandela said, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” On December 29, 2023 South Africa Brought their case before the ICJ and hearings began on January 11, 2024. South Africa's legal team made a lengthy argument against Israel and cited various statements made and actions taken by the Israeli government.

Israel's defense team and Benjamin Netanyahu himself made arguments saying that the war in Gaza was provoked by Hamas' attack on October 7th, and they have a right to defend themselves. Next to come will be the ICJ's decision. South Africa has made several requests of actions to be taken by the ICJ to curb Israel's behavior. But while weighty, the ICJ's decisions are not enforceable and are incumbent upon the guilty party to behave in accordance. Click here to read an article on this story.

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Taiwan Election

Over this past weekend Taiwan held it's election for it's government. The results are the people voted for the ruling party to remain in power. Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has become the President of Taiwan. However, they also now have a split legislature making policy making more difficult. The Taiwanese people became so during the Chinese civil war where the Chinese Communist Party or CCP, won against the Republic of China.

After the war the people of the Republic of China fled to Taiwan where they are based today with hopes of reclaiming the mainland. One of the main points of the war was to unify China, this motive has contributed to the CCP's One China Policy. The CCP and President Xi Jinping is not thrilled by the outcome of the election. They were in favor of Ching-te's Kuomintang opponent, Hou Yu-ih. The CCP says the results of Taiwan's election are not representative of public opinion and will only delay the inevitable, reunification. Click here to read an article on this story.​

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Word of Encouragement

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This week I want to encourage you to stay warm. Literally, It’s cold outside. At least in America it is below freezing with winter storms across the country. I also know it’s cold in other parts of the world as well. But also metaphorically, you don’t know what someone else may be going through. Your kindness can be impactful. Give others some grace and mercy.

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Have a stupendous week! As always you are welcome to reach out by responding to this email or here.

All the best,

Ken

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