Today is the day that we honor a man who in his time, was the moral leader of a generation not just of Americans, but people around the world. We are here today in the Golden State, in the navel orange capital of the world, our beloved city of Redlands, not just to celebrate the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, but also what his life, and his dream mean for us today, on the eve of history.
I am SOOO EXCITED to be a part of this HISTORIC and AMAZING time in our Nation's history!
I am CONFIDENT that BARACK OBAMA is the NEXT PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES!!
I would like you all to take two minutes of your time to listen to this powerful and amazing song written by the Purple Vintage Space Princess called "Yes We Can"!
The words and the images are the reason why BARACK OBAMA IS the NEXT PRESIDENT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhEpRxNkE8
PLEASE CONTACT PURPLE VINTAGE SPACE PRINCESS aka PVSP if you have any questions
www.purplevintagespaceprincess.com
I have read Barack Obama's eloquent statement with respect to the pending FISA legislation.
It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses.
That is in my opinion not acceptable.
because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
But I do not see God working in this 21st century. Read More »
I watched the full story done by Tom Brokaw on the History channel last night, after having caught portions of the story previously. I remember as a child, hearing about the blacks uprising and rioting, and I remember the protests by both blacks and whites against the Vietnam War. However, the program gave me a renewed sense of how horrible the discrimination against blacks has been, and how much I am a peace lover. I also see so much of King in Barack, also a peace lover, also against unwarranted war, and able to motivate people into action to resolve problems we face, without using violence. King's objectives were never completed, and now we have Barack to continue the fight for justice and peace. I know that my own parents had some bad feelings about blacks, and I know myself I have some fear of blacks if I don't personally know them. I see also though, that the plights of the blacks is also the plight of all of us in America today. I would like to say to the black population that I am very sorry for what they have had to endure, and would like to join with them in renewing the causes they fought for so many years ago. Yes we can!!!
Thank you Barack, for re-engaging us!
Side note: Did anyone see the blog about Barack's comments in San Francisco, about his 'experience' that qualifies him for foreign relations? He did a great job, and I hope he speaks of his experience in such detail much more often. He does have a global view and understanding, and it will be a tremendous asset for us to have him in place to rebuild our relationships with foreign countries, and promote the best for all of humankind.
Many are giving recognition and thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. thismonth for the rights and freedoms he fought for, and that we enjoy today.
I was 18 when King was murdered by an assassin's bullet. It took years for me to fully understand what King died for. Many under the age of 50 still do not understand what King gave us and why he was killed, so I will outline it here:
As long as King focused on the African American community, and as long as hetalked in terms of race, then he might be a problem to the Administration anda thorn in the side of then President Johnson, to a limited degree. Be he really didn't pose a radical challenge to the system of power with that focus.But when King took up the question after the passage and ratification of the1965 Voting Rights Act, of America's involvement in the War in Vietnam and how billions of dollars was being spent abroad that we needed for domestic reconstruction at home, he was a problem. He took up the issue of poor people's rights, the need not just to have a right to vote, but a human right to a job, that homelessness should be abolished, and everyone should have clean affordable shelter. That education should be free to all, not just to public schools, but university education. That we do something about the great inequalities of wealth and power and privilege, which are structurally stratified within the society. When King began to talk this way, that's when he posed a threat to the system.When King talked about doing "The Poor People's March" which brought together not just blacks, but hispanics, poor whites and other ethnicgroups, he became dangerous to the status quo. We're talking about a distribution of the wealth of this country. The freedoms, privileges and rights the disenfranchised enjoy today are due to the efforts and sacrifices of this great, great man. We should never forget that.History repeats itself.The reason King and this historical video are so important is to see howthe events of 2008 mirror 1968 - 40 years later. The situation today issimilar, but in many ways worse: The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, threatsof an Iran War, WWIII, the collapse of the U.S. economy, fewer jobs, peoplelosing homes across the nation in droves, inflation/recession (at the sametime), and a quickly approaching depression. The difference is that people affected today are not just minorities, but the entire middle class of allraces. This is a battle in the U.S. between the rich and the poor.Barack Obama has been compared to Dr. King. While there are manysimilarities, they are clearly different. We know of King's contributions;Obama has yet to prove his. Dr. King opened the door and cut the path;Obama is now walking in that path. He cannot walk it alone and needsall the help he can get. At first, watching this black and white video is a blast to a past world many will not relate to. As you get into the video, the similarities of the strugglesKing and the people fought for are shockingly similar to today. Please take some time and watch this important video. It will help tounderstand what life was like in the 60's for minorities, inequality, theViet Nam War and other issues King fought against. It will help tounderstand what we are up against today.This video is about YOU, me and America. YES WE CAN!MarionEvents That Lead to the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.http://www.teachpeace.com/assassinationofmlk.htm_________________________________________
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr.
An email from a family member:
Hey Brian! I am very impressed with Barack Obama and his staff. They took middle school students (non-voters) and made them VIP’s at the speech, placed them in the FRONT row and interviewed them. That to me is a strong indication of what is really important to Obama. He has our full support!
Dre's Social Studies teacher, held a short essay contest with his students. The winners were taken to the Barack Obama speech with Mr. Morris, where they ended up in the front row. Dre got to shake Barack Obama's hand and was also interviewed by a member of Barack's staff and later today by the Englewood Herald, his essay will be published with them. Dre, by the way, took first place in the contest and I have enclosed his essay. On the third slide, even though it is a little blurry, is Dre shaking Barack's hand.
Thanks again!SMS Principal's Secretary
Barack Obama Political Rally
Short Essay Contest
by Dre Gentry
The 2008 Presidential Election is so important to me and the people of my generation for several reasons. It is the first election with a woman and black man as candidates for president. The outcome of this election could determine the direction of American Politics for the next century. For example if Obama was elected, American History, especially African-American history would be shaped by whether Obama is a strong president, a weak one, or even if he is assassinated. Being a young black man myself, this election has the potential to change the course of my life. This election is not just about minorities but it is the first true test of the growth of American Politics since the assassination of Martin Luther, King, Jr. Have we as Americans finally matured? The 2008 election may hold the answer.
Use Martin Luther King, Jr. on War link to hear the entire speech on a You Tube video available at the time of this posting. 40 years ago this year Dr. King was slain. His words sound as true today as they were back then. Some excepts:
Don't let anyone make you think that God choose America as his divine Messianic force to be a sovereign policeman of the whole world God has a way of standing before the nations with judgment and it seems that I can hear God saying to America you're too arrogant if you do not change your ways I will rise up and break the backbone of your power......leaders for various reasons, refuse or can't take a stand or have to go along with the administrations, that's their business, but I'm gonna say tonight that I know that justice is indivisible; injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.Like anybody I would like to live a long life; longevity has it's place, but I am not concerned about that now.
With Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Senate that passed an Iran Resolution when smart people know that a USA attack could cause a united attack on the USA by countries like China and Russia, Obama wins the race for being one of the best choices for president if we, the people survive GWB/Cheney's term of office.
"When we look at modern man we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of a kind of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance we learned to fly the air like birds, we've earned to swim the sea like fish yet we haven't learned to walk the earth as brothers and sisters."
Martin Luther King - Technology
On this, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, I just want to pause and reflect for a moment on his great legacy. Wouldn't he be proud that we have a truly viable African-American candidate for President of the United States!? Perhaps he would be even more proud, though, that Barack Obama is not only a candidate for black Americans, but that his message and appeal are for all Americans - that he is not a viable candidate because he is black and catering to one special interest, but rather, that he is an African-American who is viable precisely because he blurs racial divisions and lots of other divisions. Senator Obama is so widely respected for simply being the PERSON he is - not the African-American person he is, but simply the person he is.
Barack Obama's message is so powerful because it appeals to the hopes in all people, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation or any other characteristic that might serve some to pigeon-hole people into one classification or another. I hope the resonance of that message is a reflection of a maturing of American society to go beyond the interests of one group or another and seek our highest good as Americans as one people, a people who have a vested interest in contributing to creating a better world together. That would be Dr. King's dream realized.
With that being said and similar feelings being expressed far and wide, I hope those in the media, his challengers for the presidency to the extent they may have done so, and any others who might seek to divide the strength and unity of the Movement Barack Obama inspires can soon put the issue of race to rest. In his empowering message of hope and change, Barack Obama transcends all of those things which have divided Americans in the past. Through his vision, our country can truly be healed and we can accomplish great things together. As someone living in Spain whose home state is the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, I close this appeal with, ¡Sí se puede!
Aloha Friends,
This Thursday we'll be filing papers to nominate Barack Obama as a candidate for President in Hawaii. We'll be gathering at the Democratic Party of Hawaii headquarters at 3 pm to file the papers, which will be followed by a brief press conference led by Brian Schatz.
We'd like to have at least 30 supporters attend, so please come and invite friends. We will have signs for supporters, but please wear an Obama '08 T-shirts if you have one.
More details RSVP
...that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men* are created equal.'"
Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for these words and for your dreams that have inspired generations of Americans. Alas! Unfortunately, some of your dreams have yet to be realized while others which have been have since been compromised.
Now, forty-four years later, Senator Barack Obama is our country's hope to carry on your visions and mine and those of millions of Americans.
I pledge to work with and for Sen. Obama to ensure that our Constitional rights are reclaimed and protected for all.
*My feminist self insists that women be included.
