Martin Luther King Jr

The Dangers Of Political Extremism: Assassination Of Political Leaders

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Today is a day to dwell on the dangers of political extremism, the kind of rhetoric that we have been witnessing more than ever since the Great Recession occurred in 2008 and after. The election of the first African American President in 2008 has added to the cauldron.

The chasm between the political parties is wider than ever, and the hot rhetoric displayed on much of talk radio and Fox News Channel is more intense than ever, and will, unfortunately, get worse as the heat of the Presidential campaign intensifies.

Political extremism of the past led to political assassination in American history, as witness:

Abraham Lincoln, murdered at the end of the Civil War, April 14, 1865, by a Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.

William McKinley, murdered by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, on September 14, 1901.

John F. Kennedy, murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, a supporter of Fidel Castro and Cuba, 48 years ago on this date, and being commemorated today.

Martin Luther King, Jr,, murdered by a racist, James Earl Ray, on April 4, 1968.

Robert Kennedy, murdered by an Arab sympathizer, Sirhan Sirhan, on June 5, 1968.

These five assassinations, along with the assassination by mentally ill people of James Garfield and Huey Long; and the attempted assassinations of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan are constant warnings of the dangers of violence once passions are aroused to a dangerous level.

When one considers that an individual was recently arrested for having shot at the White House, and perceived as a danger to President Barack Obama, it makes one feel a chill go through his spine, this on top of a similar incident under Bill Clinton.

Our nation’s leaders are under constant threat, and we need to tone down our rhetoric in memory of the death of John F. Kennedy nearly a half century ago, as we do not want to go through the horror and pain of such an event ever again!

Herman Cain: A “Clarence Thomas” Presidency America Cannot Afford!

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Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain may be the “Flavor of the Week” or the “Flavor of the Month” in the Republican Presidential race, but he represents a great threat to social justice, racial reconciliation, and political democratization as he has revealed that he is an admirer of Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his constitutional views; agrees with the neo-conservatives who advised George W. Bush to engage in war in Iraq; and is ready to raise taxes on the middle class and the poor, and further skew the acquisition of wealth by the elite top one percent, making him a favorite of the extreme right wing Koch Brothers!

This man is displaying a desire to take America back to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, as he rejects Social Security and Medicare as we know it, and basically the whole substance of the New Deal and Great Society!

Without ANY experience in government, he has the nerve to expect that we will elect him to the Presidency, without any concept of world affairs, not even understanding, when asked, what a neo-conservative is; with the belief that simplification of taxes will somehow magically solve the economic crisis; with a cockiness and arrogance that he is best qualified to lead over people who have been in the public sphere for years; with a willingness to attack his own racial group as “brainwashed” and undermining their role or significance, therefore, in American society; and with a narrow minded view about illegal immigrants and Muslims, designed to draw conservative support from the bigots and the extreme right wingers who would not have given Herman Cain the time of day in the past, and are now using him in an attempt to convince the country that they are not outside the mainstream!

Herman Cain is dangerous in that he would set back all of the human rights, social justice, and common decency that has made America a beacon for the world, in favor of greed, selfishness, and the worship of wealth without responsibility to the body politic! A President Herman Cain would be the ultimate irony, that after centuries of struggle by African Americans, that two of the three branches of government would be controlled or influenced by people who are self hating, and are joining those who would harm the progress that has been made with blood, sweat and tears, including that of Martin Luther King, Jr, who is being honored today with the dedication of the King National Memorial in Washington, DC!

Dedication Of The Martin Luther King Memorial In Washington, DC Today!

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Today will mark the dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, DC, between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

It is a magnificent depiction of the great civil rights leaders, and marks the first time we have dedicated a memorial to an African American, who promoted peace and justice and human dignity.

It is a day to realize that King set the conditions that forty years after his death, we would see the election of the first African American President of the United States, Barack Obama.

The memorial will be visited by millions over the years, and it marks one of the great stories of American history, the struggle to end discrimination and recognize that we are a nation of many races, nationalities, and creeds, and that it makes us stronger because of that reality.

This is a day to celebrate and renew our devotion to the positive message and beliefs that he promoted in his tragically short life of 39 years!

April 4, 2011: The True Beginning Of The 2012 Presidential Election Campaign!

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Today, April 4, 2011, will go down in history as the the true beginning of the 2012 Presidential campaign!

On this 43rd Anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, our first African American President, Barack Obama, announced his candidacy for a second term, in a You Tube video, and in emails to supporters.

Starting his campaign at the beginning of April allows early raising of campaign funds, with the estimate that Obama will raise a BILLION dollars, surpassing the three quarters of a billion dollars raised in 2008, an all time record!

The Republicans are hinting at running, but interestingly, no one has yet fully announced he or she is running, probably due to the reality that raising money to compete with Obama will be very difficult, and there are many doubts that anyone can realistically defeat Obama, with even the economy starting to improve noticeably, if slowly!

We will be witnessing a lot of demagoguery and silliness by the opposition party between now and November 6, 2012 but as long as Obama sticks to his basic message and works hard at his job, as he has done every day for over two years, the most challenging since the early years of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he will win re-election handily!

Reflections On The Eve Of Two Anniversaries And The Recent Arizona Tragedy!

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This week marks the birthday and national holiday for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr., who would have been 82 years old yesterday.

It also is the 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy this coming Thursday.

And sadly, it is just a little more than a week since Jared Lee Loughner opened up fire in Tucson, Arizona, and killed six, wounded nineteen and attempted to assassinate Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at a Congressional meeting with constituents outside a supermarket.

These three events all are tied together by the connection of gun violence, and by the specter of the plague of mental illness which is so much ignored in this society, as compared to people who have physical illnesses, such as heart disease or cancer.

Besides having reasonable controls on the type of ammunition available, and preventing unstable people from having the right to weapons, we need to recognize that mental illness is a malady which must be addressed, instead of overlooked and ignored until a tragedy occurs.

The need for national health care is ever more important in the midst of this recent tragedy, and the critics of the health care legislation that the Republicans are now trying to repeal must accept that the responsibility of all Americans is to help prevent future tragedies by providing necessary intervention, no matter what the cost in taxes!

The sooner we realize that we all have a responsibility to each other, that this is not just a ME society, but rather a WE society, then we will be able to start healing as a nation with many troubles, trials, and tribulations!

Senator Bernie Sanders Of Vermont: A Truly Principled Progressive In The Vein Of Ted Kennedy, Paul Wellstone, And Russ Feingold! :)

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Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is still in process on his personal filibuster of the Obama-GOP tax deal, which has caused a major split in the Democratic Party in Congress.

Sanders is an Independent Socialist who allies with the Democratic Party in the Senate. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1991-2007, and was elected to the Senate in 2006. He has the distinction of being the longest serving Independent member of Congress in American history.

While some would say, “but he is a Socialist!”, the answer is “So what!” There is nothing wrong with Sanders’s brand of Socialism, as it is in the tradition of great progressives of the past, including Robert La Follette, Sr, Robert La Follette, Jr., George Norris, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Ted Kennedy, Paul Wellstone, Russ Feingold and many others.

He is the champion of the working man and woman, of the middle class, of the poor, of the sick, of the elderly, of the young, of ethnic minorities, of ALL average Americans who will NEVER achieve the so called “American dream” of becoming wealthy. All they want is a fair shake from their government, instead of a government that favors the wealthy and upper class and corporations that promote monopoly, greed and selfishness.

Sanders is to be applauded for his principled stand, his high moral and ethical beliefs, and his willingness to remind us of how desperate conditions are for millions of Americans, who cannot afford gasoline, food, rent, medical costs, clothing etc on their struggling low income jobs if they are fortunate enough to have one, and the millions of Americans who have no work, are losing their homes, and whose children are facing the scarring nature of economic deprivation. 🙁

Sanders’ filibuster speech, lasting seven hours at this point with no set end in sight, is a speech for the ages, a speech which should be honored historically as much as the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963, along with the great principled speeches of the people mentioned above, and others not named.

If only we had one hundred Bernie Sanders in the Senate, or a combination of Sanders and the various progressive leaders mentioned above, who are part of our history, we would be a far better nation.

Instead, through the ignorance and fear of many poor and middle class citizens, plus manipulation by special corporate
interests in the recent campaign, and assisted by the Supreme Court Citizens United decision in January, the country is now faced with the reality of a Republican Party which is going to make the plight of the American people MUCH MORE NIGHTMARISH over the next two years! 🙁

They have Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in a tough position for the moment, necessitating, unfortunately, the striking of a deal just to accomplish short range goals.

But starting next year, Barack Obama and his party MUST fight the good fight that Bernie Sanders represents, and work to convince the American people that the Democrats are indeed the party of the people who have their best interests at heart, and deserve control of both houses of Congress and the White House in the 2012 elections!