A SPIRITUAL CRISIS * BLESS SHOOTING, TORNADO and WAR VICTIMS

"Triumph Over Tragedy"

We all have built into us the capacities for kindness and creativity and beauty. It's a matter of perspective. As Einstein said, "The single most important decision any of us will ever make is whether or not to believe that the universe is friendly." It's our choice.

AMERICAN TRAGEDIES: Random shootings break out across America. Tornadoes kill 58 in Tennessee...

Some things are beyond human comprehension. What does all this chaos, death and destruction mean? Desperate people take desperate measures. Is this a symptom of America's soul sickness?

BATON ROUGE, La. - A 23-year-old woman killed two fellow students with a .357 revolver in a classroom at a vocational college Friday, then committed suicide, police said.

MADISONVILLE, Ky. -- The five women killed in Saturday's shootings at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park thought of their loved ones until the end, the sole survivor said Wednesday in a statement released through police.

KIRKWOOD, Missouri - A man who police say went on a shooting rampage at City Hall in a St. Louis suburb Thursday night had recently lost a lawsuit against the city stemming from disorderly conduct convictions that resulted from his frequent clashes with city officials.

Charles "Cookie" Lee Thornton used two weapons in killing five people and wounding two others at the City Council meeting in Kirkwood, Missouri, police said. The first of the five people killed, Police Sergeant William Biggs, was shot outside the building with a large-caliber revolver and then stripped of his weapon, said Tracy Panus, spokeswoman for the St. Louis County Police Department.

The suspect then carried both guns into the council chamber, where he opened fire at the start of a council session while repeating the phrase, "Shoot the mayor," according to a witness.

Three city officials — Councilwoman Connie Karr, Councilman Mike Lynch and Public Works Director Kenneth Yost — and another police officer, Tom Ballman, were killed. Mayor Mike Swoboda was wounded and remains in critical condition at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Couer, Missouri A local reporter named Todd Smith was also taken there, but was in stable condition.

LAFAYETTE, Tennessee - President George W. Bush toured tornado-battered parts of the U.S. South on Friday and pledged to help the region rebuild after the worst rampage of twisters in nearly a quarter-century killed 58 people.



For SPIRITUAL SOLUTIONS to crises please check out RADICAL PRAYER at my other blog THE PEACEMAKERS* LIGHT OF TRUTH

You can help victims of disasters like these tornadoes by making a gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund through your local chapter, by phone at 1-800-REDCROSS or online at w RedCross.org

MEMO TO HUNTER S. THOMPSON * GUEST BLOG by GARY MARKOWITZ

(WARNING from Gary: THIS IS SATIRE. In case some of you are offended by this piece, please understand it is comedy aimed at white racists and it plays on certain fears. It embraces the delicious idea that Barry (Barack) might actually be a Democrat warrior who might strike fear into our enemies. He’s tall, you know. If you know Hunter, this is totally in line and actually a loving portrait of Obama in the context of the kind of shrewd exaggeration that is his stock in trade.

Memo To Hunter S. Thompson
Guest Blog by Gary Markowitz

Hunter, oh Hunter, how dare you not be here for this one?

We need you, man. We need you bad. HUGE wheels are turning but our eyes are too weak to see what sort of Rube Goldberg device they are hooked up to. If this election season had come sooner or if you could’ve held out longer – I know it was almost three years ago but it seems like yesterday to me – you never would have grabbed that gun off the kitchen counter. You’d’ve roared back from the brink, Hunter and soared to new heights… fulminating in robes and a staff and a long white, beard. Yes – a good look for you. Maybe not.

This is going to be the grand-pappy of all elections, Hunter. All elections. First, the Super Bowl last Sunday where a quarterback – a former high-school catcher and sixth-round draft pick named Brady was supposed to go 19–0. And then Super Tuesday will be upon us and the nation will be gripped with a fear similar to that accompanying a Martian landing. News anchors will hemorrhage under the strain and be gurneyed out on-air – never to be seen again. Strong men will run through the streets screaming like girls. And I’m not just talking about West Hollywood.

We are addled. After seven, mind-numbing years of The Boy Emperor we are like Zombies. We’ve been gaslighted, Hunter – gaslighted Zombies. Yes that’s it exactly. I seem to remember something about a war in Iraq and maybe getting our troops out someday but … maybe it was all a dream. I remember lots of khaki but the rest is a blur. It disappeared so slowly that I didn’t notice. It’s like the movie, Hunter, where Charles Boyer slowly drove Ingrid Bergman mad by turning down the gas a little every day and making her think she was going blind.

And if there happens to be, perchance, the occasional Iraq war article in the paper and if we can force ourselves to look at it, the words just bounce harmlessly off the retina or run down the page like mascara in the rain.

Speaking of Rube Goldberg, Hunter, the 24 hr. media have taken your long, plastic hallway - the place where thieves and pimps run free? That cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of journalism, as you called it? Well, it’s undergone a major remodel and they’ve poured a lot of money into it. There’s no way to get your head around it, Hunter and even if you could, it morphs and grows and mutates so quickly that it would only be for a brief moment in time.

I have watched it closely, Hunter, but it beggars human comprehension. I do know this: It seems to involve a series of large tunnels – the insides of which are similar to a funhouse or perhaps those old, indoor rides at Disneyland where you fly around in cars and there is no horizon. Anything that is written or said or done is vacuumed into one end of this contraption which is driven by powerful, diesel engines salvaged from old aircraft carriers. Then it ricochets around, growing in intensity in a series of chambers where the most outrageous or cheesy or humiliating or irritating things select themselves out in the way that sperm cells do. Then it goes into another tunnel where a miracle occurs: every story that comes out of it is equally true! Don’t even try to imagine the technology behind that, Hunter. And even if what comes out is patently false, it doesn’t matter because more bullshit is streaming from it every second so if you’re trying to figure out who said what or what really happened you’ve already missed the next news cycle.

Indeed. It is an alternate, anarchic environment, Hunter, this New World Order of media, and as you say, good men are dying there for no good reason. We are rudderless. The people cry out for a hero but there is none to answer the call. All we have is poor Howie Kurtzman who dutifully picks at and cauterizes a few of the lesser scabs on the cancerous body but is happy as long as he gets to have a Starbucks on his way home.

So it really hurts that you couldn’t've held out, my friend. I know your leg and hip were a mess and what with crutches and the ice building up on the steps of the cabin it must’ve really sucked. But I can’t help but wonder if your ego didn’t get in the way. You were a serious athlete in the day and I realize that mobility – sudden jukes and dangerous shifts in direction – were your bread and butter but couldn’t you have just cut off the damn leg and hired some crazed, Samoan journalism major to push your wheelchair around?

‘Cause get this, Hunter. Despite the Chicken Ranch-ization of the news, something amazing is happening. Reactionary forces are in disarray and fighting each other on the beaches even as they retreat. They are poised to fall like bark off a rotten tree. A wild-eyed senator named McCain who seems to have more than a little Captain Ahab in him is going to be the Republican nominee. Buy heavenly stock in shredders, Hunter because they can’t control him! And if, perchance, he is lucky enough to be elected, there goes their key to the executive washroom of power and the Georgetown pied-a-terre complete with leather boy and I do not mean a recliner.

And if that happens, Hunter, you won’t even need to make an appointment to see Vin Webber or Grover Norquist or Rove or Cheney. And when you do see them, they turn their pockets out and say – “Look, I got nothing… zilch. We’re gonna have to let the big boys handle this but you didn’t hear it from me.’”

And on the other side, Hunter, it’s going to be either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Or the both of them. And if it’s a Hillary/Obama ticket – and I think it will be – we could be looking at sixteen years of peace, love and understanding. Yes. Hillary (ladies first!) then President Obama. A well-tailored but hulking brute of a man destined to be the black Thomas Jefferson who will brook no tomfoolery from the likes of Turd Blossom and his pasty little friends. He will chase them down like animals and make them pick up roadside trash in florescent jumpsuits while Valerie Wilson rides shotgun and children throw slurpies from passing cars.

Of course that could never happen. But it’s sure fun to think about – at least until the hammer drops and thousands of Blackwater commandos are sent out with warrants signed by Chief Justice Roberts to restore order and roam the streets like cockroaches.

*Sigh* Bad craziness.

Remember that steep hill in Vegas you talked about Hunter? The one where if you looked with the right kind of eyes you could almost see the high-water mark – the place where the wave finally broke and rolled back?

Maybe maybe Hunter, just maybe… maybe that wave is coming back the other way.

Gary Markowitz
Malibu Canyon
February 2, 2008

MAKE HISTORY * VOTE on SUPER TUESDAY

NECK AND NECK: Obama wins more states in the breadbasket! Hillary wins New York and California and more.
Delegate count very close.




(CNN) -- Is Super Tuesday the end?

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it is not the end, but it is more than the end of the beginning. It is perhaps the beginning of the end.

But with only two or three major candidates left in each party, and with more than half of the country voting, surely both races will be decided on February 5.

Maybe. Maybe not.

The race isn't over until somebody gets a majority of delegates, and both parties have rules that make it difficult to get to a majority.

The Democratic rules award delegates proportional to the vote, so if a candidate gets 40 percent of the vote, he or she gets 40 percent of the delegates.

The winner does not take all. The candidate who comes in second will continue to amass delegates. The candidate who comes in first has to win by overwhelming margins in order to get to a majority quickly.

That seems less and less likely. Polls show Barack Obama gaining momentum as Super Tuesday approaches. Crushing victories by either Hillary Clinton or Obama don't seem to be in the cards.

The fact that most delegates are awarded by congressional district makes it less likely that either Clinton or Obama will sweep the field. Each contender will be able to find pockets of strength in different areas of a state.

And keep this in mind: Many states, including California, allow their residents to start mailing in their ballots weeks before primary day.

What happens to the thousands of Californians who voted weeks ago for John Edwards or Rudy Giuliani? Tough luck. They wasted their ballots.

The Republican race still has three major candidates, each of whom has won at least one state.

Mike Huckabee is likely to win delegates in states and districts where evangelical voters predominate on February. A three-way split makes it harder for a Republican candidate to build a majority.

Past campaigns have seen a reverse bandwagon effect. When a candidate gets close to winning the nomination, the bandwagon doesn't speed up. It slows down.

Voters in the late primaries say, "Oh my God! What have we done?''

That happened to Jimmy Carter twice. In 1976, an "ABC" -- Anybody But Carter -- movement led to late-season victories by Jerry Brown. In 1980, after Carter beat Edward Kennedy in the early primaries, Kennedy started winning.

The race got closer and ended up going all the way to the convention.

It happened in the 1976 Republican race. Gerald Ford defeated Ronald Reagan in the early contests. But when it began to look like Ford had the nomination, Reagan started winning the late primaries. The suspense continued right up to the convention.

If Clinton seems to clinch the nomination Tuesday, watch for a "stop Clinton" movement to emerge in the late primaries, led by Democratic officeholders terrified of running with Clinton at the top of the ticket.

The same thing could happen if John McCain is the big Republican winner on Super Tuesday. Some conservative activists have already signaled an interest in trying to stop McCain in the late primaries. His biggest competition is Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor.

So even if we get apparent nominees on Super Tuesday, the late primaries offer a setting for the final phase of nominating process: voters' remorse.

By Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst

OBAMA-CLINTON or CLINTON-OBAMA

So happy together... With John Edwards as Attorney General and Dennis Kucinich as Head of the FCC!

My friend Gary envisioned Barry (Barack) and Hillary skating off together in a fantasy sequence. At one point, I thought they were going to kiss. What sweet-nothings were they whispering in each other's ears at the end of the California debate last night? One thing I loved is that they each sanctified John Edwards. He is now a saint. They both vowed to champion his cause: poverty in America. (Read more on the amazing John Edwards below.) After losing both of our favorite Progressive candidates, Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards, it was a relief to hear both Hillary and Obama speak so clearly and passionately about the issues. I am relieved and would be happy with either of them as president.



"WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU" JOHN EDWARDS TELLS THE HOMELESS

Barack Obama: "John Edwards has spent a lifetime giving a voice to the voiceless."


I had the honor of interviewing John Edwards, his courageous wife Elizabeth and their daughter Cate on three separate occasions for our radio show. You can hear these interviews in the archives at Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk
I am very sad that he has decided to leave the campaign. His impassioned plea to help the poor deeply affected me. I think Edwards is one of the most committed public servants today, and I hope he becomes Attorney General—  or even head of the FCC — as my friend and fellow blogger Mike says.

At each stop on his camaign tour John Edwards describes the dismay he felt when visiting a homeless shelter that must turn away 70 families each month for lack of space.

"Children. Living on the street in America," he says, pausing to let the image sink in. "All while Exxon-Mobil makes $40 billion. Last year, 37 million people in this country, about the population of California, went hungry. In the richest nation on the planet."

The Associated Press via Yahoo:

Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters’ sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.

John ran a good campaign and vowed to stay in it all the way to the convention, but apparently that’s not going to happen. John’s populist message scared the daylights out of the wealthy elite and the corporate media, which ultimately hurt his coverage. We wish him and his family all the best.
____________________________________________

Edwards leaves the race having made a big impact on the two remaining candidates. His populist rhetoric forced his rivals to compete for union support, and he was the first out of the gate with detailed plans for universal healthcare and education, putting pressure on the field to match him. The former trial lawyer arguably won a majority of the debates, time and again challenging his opponents to refuse money from lobbyists and speed up their plans for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.

What his exit will mean at the polls is less clear. On the one hand, it should help Obama consolidate the sizeable anti-Hillary contingency of the Democratic Party. At the same time, however, he drew more votes from Clinton than Obama in the first four contests — blue-collar white workers — so it could also help her fend off Obama, whose recent endorsement by Ted Kennedy should help with organized labor. Edwards announced no plans to endorse, but he has made his preference clear over the course of the campaign, dubbing himself and Obama candidates of change and Clinton the face of the "status quo." And if anyone should pay close attention to the race that Edwards has waged, it's Obama: if he doesn't win the nomination, four years from now he could be in John Edwards' shoes.
_________________________________

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry." Audrey Hepburn is famous for the poem "Time Tested Beauty Tips", which she used to recite to her sons. The poem includes verses such as, "For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day." The poem is popularly attributed to her, but it was in fact written by Sam Levenson.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR... TAKE TWO

"For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry." Audrey Hepburn is famous for the poem "Time Tested Beauty Tips", which she used to recite to her sons. The poem includes verses such as, "For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day." The poem is popularly attributed to her, but it was in fact written by Sam Levenson.

Fear is "False Evidence Appearing Real." All that depresses us, all that we fear is really powerless to harm us. If we stay in wonder, humility and gratitude, fear loses its grip. There is a spark of the Divine in every one of us. Sooner or later, you have to find our soul, inner peace, God — whatever you want to call it. When materialism ceases to fill you up, and you've had enough sex, drugs, violence, war, gossip, food and TV — you have only one place left to go.

I wonder if Diablo Cody knew she was writing one of the most heroic pro-life movies ever. I loved JUNO the Oscar-nominated film starring the adorable Ellen Page and directed by Jason Reitman. Check out these opening credits:
JUNO


WINNER OF THE SAG AWARDS: The Cohen Brothers' "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" is chilling depiction of a sociopath and "THERE WILL BE BLOOD" based on Upton Sinclair's book OIL, is an excruciating character study of greed, played by Daniel Day Lewis — who was mesmerizing. I was disturbed by this movie, but can't stop thinking about it. It was torture to watch, but you can't take your eyes off of Daniel Day Lewis and wonder what created a wretch like this.




*******************************************
RETIREMENT PLANNING FOR 2008

Had you purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

Had you purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49.00 left.

But, had you purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to consume beer and recycle. Just kidding.
It's called the 401-Keg.

(Joke of the Day courtesy of my husband's email)

GOOD NEWS NETWORK.ORG

Iraqi Boy Sends Messages of Peace in a Bottle
Written by Graciela Sholander
Iraqi teen and his friends work towards peace by sending peace messages in bottles down the Euphrates River. The 14 year-old says he loves all the people of Iraq and hopes to encourage brotherhood among the sects with messages of peace. (CNN Video)

11-Year-Old's Idea May Become Law: Boy's Initiative May Be Passed as Law to Help Feed Homeless

Jack Davis, 11, says, "If you think there's a problem in the world, you don't wait for other people to fix it. You have to try to fix it yourself." (ABCNEWS.com)

Jack Davis is only 11, but he had a pretty grown-up idea: He was disturbed to learn that Florida restaurants throw out food that could be given to the hungry and the homeless -- because the restaurant owners could be sued if anyone who ate the food became ill or developed food poisoning.

"I thought it pretty disturbing to see pounds, pretty much, of food being thrown away every single day," the 11-year-old said. Jack had visited a homeless shelter on school field trips and he worried about people going hungry.

"I realized that I could make a difference by trying to change the law," Davis said.
Jack's idea was to pass a law that would give restaurant owners' some protection from lawsuits. He got his dad to float the idea to some Florida legislators.
____________________________________________

REPUBLICANS REFUSE HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN... AGAIN

The House [debated] the override of the President’s veto of the revised bipartisan SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) bill. The President’s veto on December 12 denied health care to children of hardworking families across America just as the country began experiencing an economic downturn, with families increasingly struggling with the costs of heat, food, gas and health care.

From CBS News: The vote was 260-152, at least 15 votes short of the two-thirds threshold needed to override a veto. The Democratic bill _ backed by 45 Republicans in the House _ would expand eligibility for SCHIP benefits to 10 million uninsured children. Republicans have rejected the measure because they believe it would allow illegal immigrants and middle income people to get government health coverage, even though there is explicit language in the bill to prevent such problems.

Unfortunately, the House Republicans sustained Bush’s veto, by narrowly denying the two-thirds necessary to override the veto: 260 in favor of passage versus 152 against, despite the veto-proof margin in the Senate, meaning 42 Republicans voted with the Democrats. Rep. Charlie Rangel:

“I stand in support of overriding the President’s veto, not for the reasons given by Chairman Dingell — that it’s the right and moral position — because that has existed all of the time and yet we’ve been unsuccessful. But I would say to the gentleman from Texas that since the last time this has come up, the President has admitted we are going toward a recession and that economy may be jeopardized unless the Congress supported a stimulus package. It would just seem to me that if it’s recognized that our states are going to go into deficit, our governors are going to have serious problems, and that it is very possible if not likely that services for our kids will be further cut under Medicaid, it would seem to me that a legitimate argument could be made that by providing care for these 11 million children it allows the parents to know that they’ll be able to be more productive knowing that their kids are covered by health insurance. It’s sad that the poor now have to be used merely as a vehicle to stimulate our economy but had we taken care of these people… perhaps we’d be not going through this struggle. So it occurs to me that this is another opportunity that the minority would have, not just to do the moral thing but to do the economic thing, and to be of some assistance to the governors who are screaming out for the continuation of this program, indeed the expansion of it.”

photo credit: Peyton Quinn "Freedom From Fear" How to Take Back Your Life and Dissolve Depression"

FREEDOM FROM FEAR * KING'S SPIRIT LIVES ON

"Barn burned down, but now I can see the moon."

Don't panic. Though trickle-down Reaganomics is clearly the cause of our economic woes, there is no need to panic over the so-called 'recession.' Everything that is happening is simply showing us that predatory lending and greed-based corporatism has got to end. Capitalism run amuck has run amuck. For many years I've seen this coming -- in the obsessive advertising products we don't need and creating industries out of our insecurities. The outsourcing and 'buy, buy, buy' mentality is what needs to be changed. We will create green industries at home. We will become more conscious of those in need. We all need to simplify and take care of each other. This morning I had a very calm feeling about the stock market and the sub-prime catastrophes. People who panicked, sold and lost. Those who were not ruled by false evidence appearing real (fear) were fine. I almost sold my stock, then meditated, and decided to sit still. My stock went up. Americans are powerfully resilient, industrious and innovative. Fearmongering will not take hold here. Obviously we cannot sustain a consumer society without bringing manufacturing jobs back here, but we should open our minds to embrace the train that has already left the station: globalization. There is no turning back, so we better love our neighbors as ourselves. Including some of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi is an amazing place. Do not be in fear of "the other." Anyway, when you keep your heart on the spiritual values of life —— love, charity, truth, empathy, generosity — you really know what's important. My family could live in a one bedroom shack and still be happy because we finally have our values in the right place: love, friendships, family... and dogs.

Something Good Always Comes of Bad

Even the severed branch 
grows again.

And the sunken moon
 returns

Wise men who know this

Are not troubled in adversity.

GOOD NEWS HEADLINES from GOOD NEWS NETWORK.ORG

Google Commits 25M Toward Global Warming, Poverty, and Disease

Google's philanthropic arm on Thursday said it is taking aim at global warming, poverty, and pandemics with millions in cash and the Internet giant's global resources. They chose five of the world's ills and crafted core initiatives to best match Google's strengths .

In Abu Dhabi Green Visionaries Unveil Plan for World’s First Carbon-Neutral, Waste-Free, Car-Free City
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is awash in profitable oil reserves yet pouring billions into renewable- and sustainable-energy technologies to build the world's first zero-emission city, "a metropolis that emits not a single extra molecule of carbon dioxide -- the cause of global warming". Abu Dhabi's green ambitions extend well beyond the construction of a city for 50,000 residents using no cars and lots of solar energy...

Johnny Depp Donates $2M to Children's Hospital
Talk about generous... Johnny Depp paid a secret visit to London's Great Ormond Street Children's hospital on Sunday - and donated $2 million of his own money. GOOD NEWS NETWORK.ORG

'Black Billy Elliot' Pirouettes Past South African Prejudices
His chosen vocation ridiculed by peers and elders alike, a South African teenager remains unwavering in his ambition to become a world-class ballet dancer.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Here are the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. courtesy of TomCat at one of my favorite blogs POLITICS PLUS

Now it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read "Vietnam." It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that "America will be" are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.

As if the weight of such a commitment to the life and health of America were not enough, another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1954.* And I cannot forget that the Nobel Peace Prize was also a commission, a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for the brotherhood of man. This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances.

But even if it were not present, I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me, the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I am speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the Good News was meant for all men-for communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the one who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this one? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?

________________________________
The FBI began wiretapping King in 1961, fearing that Communists were trying to infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement, but when no such evidence emerged, the bureau used the incidental details caught on tape over six years in attempts to force King out of the preeminent leadership position.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. He was assassinated in 1968.

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melba Pattillo Beals

When I first met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in fall of 1957, I was immediately struck by the deep stillness he projected. I will never forget his posture as he entered the room, slowly, majestically, with eyes that seemed to absorb everything. I had read about this great man, seen his picture in the newspaper, and had often heard the adults talking about him.

At the time, I was 15 years old, and was one of nine African-American teenagers whose safety was in jeopardy because we were on the front lines of a civil rights struggle Dr. King had helped to start. We nine Arkansas teenagers were stuck in the civil rights struggle to integrate schools. We were caught amid a firestorm of controversy among states’ rights advocates, gun-toting segregationists, and proponents of the supremacy of federal law.

Dr. King had come to this secret meeting of NAACP leaders gathered to discuss how to keep us—the “Little Rock Nine,” as we were called—alive in the face of mounting violence.

We were in the deep throes of learning what it means to take a nonviolent stand. We had become the instruments in a legal challenge to desegregate Little Rock Central High School. This was following the United States Supreme Court decision that “separate is not equal” (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).

After a long silence, he began to speak.

During that meeting, as Dr. King continued to look at all of us with his probing gaze, he moved slowly, as though there was no rush. When he took his seat, he continued to look around with purpose, his laser-like eyes landing on each of our faces. During these long minutes, which to me seemed to collect into an hour, he said nothing. I could even hear him breathe softly. By virtue of his presence—so still, so silent—every one of the folks in the room, some 15 adults and teenagers, also fell silent. We were compelled to give him our undivided attention. Finally, after a long silence, he began to speak.

Dr. King’s words were slow and melodic. At the beginning, I was eager to speed him up, to have him give some advice that would somehow rescue me from the hard place in which I found myself. The daily physical and verbal barrage I faced as we tried to desegregate the high school had made me more frightened than I had ever been before. I had begun to realize the truth of my situation—the possibility that I could die at the hands of white segregationists who would rather see me dead than sitting beside their children in a classroom setting they had claimed exclusively as theirs for generations.

I had never before been forced to take stock of myself in this way. I’d always known that my only salvation was my faith in God. But now, the child in me wanted human rescue. I wanted Dr. King to say the words that would ease my pain and restore my innocence. Over and over again my grandmother India, and my mother, Lois, had always told me: “God is your only protection. God is your life.”

I felt I had no right to turn back.

During the course of this conversation with Dr. King, I mostly listened, hoping that somehow he had the words that would magically free me from my commitment to claim my civil rights. Yet, as he spoke, I felt his words and his presence thrusting me deeper into my commitment. He was so solidly grounded in the belief that all men, women, and children are equal and that they must demand to be treated as equals. In his presence, I couldn’t shrink into my personal fears. He was so totally unselfish, and exhibited such absolute faith in protection for those who do God’s will, I felt I had no right to turn back—to abandon my task.

“You are not doing this for yourself,” he said, “but for generations yet unborn.” Stunned by his words, I sat back in my chair and stopped my silent whining and complaining. I began to feel embarrassed that I had given in to my selfish feelings.

I wondered about this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man of medium height, chocolate complexion like mine, and an almost ordinary appearance, except for his eyes and powerful carriage. What spiritual energy propelled him always forward? What did he know about God’s will that I had not yet learned?

I have survived, against all odds.

Now, 50 years after the Brown decision, and some 47 years after that meeting—just as I do at this time every year—I think more about Dr. King, about who he really was, and what he stood for. Just as he promised, I have survived, against all odds. I know it was the act of stopping to listen to God, as Dr. King also did, that sustained me. A line from the Bible—and one that Mary Baker Eddy also quotes in Science and Health—is that we must “pray without ceasing.” I know I am here today because of unceasing prayer, and from taking time to ponder God’s will for me.

In analyzing Dr. King’s journey, I remember the truism that action speaks louder than words. I cannot forget that he took so much time to look into my eyes, and into the eyes of everyone in that room. With that pause, he confirmed my value as a human being. He had taken time to acknowledge and value every human being in his presence. It made me feel so special for that moment. I wonder what the world would be like today if each of us took time to value other human beings as he did.

Dr. King’s manner compelled us all to stop and be reminded to listen for God’s direction, just as he was doing. The strength that enabled him to take action in support of his beliefs remains a universal stream from which others can draw so that they, too, can claim what has always been rightfully theirs—respect, equality, opportunity. It is a stream available to every human being.

Dr. King’s spirit lives on.

On January 15, 2004, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would have celebrated his 75th birthday. The human Dr. King has made his transition into a place beyond our limited understanding. And yet, more than 34 years after his departure, his prayers, thoughts, dreams, and philosophies, surround us. In this way, he is still with us. Dr. King’s spirit lives on with such vitality that it continues to churn and move and compel me to think about nonviolence, about giving personally, and achieving personal best. And above all else, about striving to be kind and loving no matter what the circumstance.

Dr. King lived a life that was a testimony to the uniqueness of God’s ideas. He grew up in a southern state where during his youth African-American people were not respected or listened to. In some cases, they were not even treated as human beings. Nevertheless, his father, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., embraced the written word, first in the Bible and then in great intellectual books. This love of learning would profoundly influence the development of his son.

As a young man, Dr. King, Jr., was already winning awards for his ability to influence others. It would be the spoken word, instead of violence, that he would use in his struggle for equal rights. His gift of words, prayer, and deep insight would help him chisel a mantle of nonviolence that would be the platform on which he built a movement. And this movement would change the course of American history and elevate the quality of the lives of millions of folks like me.

Happy Birthday, Dr. King. I thank you.

(Reprinted from the January 19, 2004, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.)

HAD ENOUGH? * HOPE, LIGHT and INSPIRATION

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

TODAY ON BASHAM AND CORNELL: "Strength through peace" — not peace through strength. Presidential Contender Dennis Kucinich is our guest again today. Kucinich will discuss updates on the MSNBC debate exclusion fiasco. Also: Emmy Award Winning Actress & Edwards supporter Jean Smart.

If you're in Vegas for the Nevada caucus, you can listen live at 8 AM on KLAV 1230 AM or on the web at Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk




DAUGHTER DAY: CATE EDWARDS AND CHRISTINE PELOSI on our show today! If you live in Vegas you can tune in Live or go to our website and listen in the audio archives. The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas and simulcast worldwide on the web. All shows are archived and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk

** NBC/GE WON THE RIGHT TO EXCLUDE KUCINICH FROM THE NEVADA DEBATE. The network won an emergency appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court to overturn the judge's decision to allow America to hear from Dennis Kucinich.

How can a network whose purpose is to serve the public interest have such power in destroying the democratic process?

WHY did NBC take such extreme measures to keep Kucinich from the debate? Does the network think it would be bad for the democratic process to have at least one candidate onstage who is against media monopolies, won the Gandhi Peace Award, never voted for the war, and is pro-environment? This is a travesty, an abomination and proves that network conglomerates do not have the public interest at heart.

Dennis Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland in 1977 on the promise to save the city’s municipally-owned electric system which offered customers significantly lower rates than the private utility. A year later, Cleveland’s banks demanded that he sell the city’s 70 year-old municipally-owned electric system to its private competitor (in which the banks had a financial interest) as a precondition of extending credit to the city.

The attempted political blackmail failed as did several assassination attempts. He remembered his parents counting out coins on the dresser and refused to sell the people’s power. In an incident unprecedented in modern American politics, the Cleveland banks plunged the city into default for a mere $15 million despite being offered triple collateral to protect the loan.

The principled stand destroyed his political career. He lost his reelection bid. He was demonized as the mayor who threw Cleveland into default. Fifteen years later, the citizens of Cleveland - recognizing he had saved them hundreds of millions of dollars in municipal power bills and also forced the private utility to keep bills low to compete – voted him into the Ohio Senate. His campaign signs featured a light bulb and the expression “Because he was right.” In 1998 the Cleveland City Council honored Dennis for “... having the courage and foresight to refuse to sell the city’s municipal electric system.”
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Fear is 'false evidence appearing real.' Don't give "evil" any power by holding it in your thought. Do not worry or fear anything, no matter how bad things look.

We are sometimes led to believe that darkness is as real as light; but Science affirms darkness to be only a mortal sense of the absence of light, at the coming of which darkness loses the appearance of reality.

"As vapor melts before the sun, so evil would vanish before the reality of good. One must hide the other. How important, then, to choose good as the reality! God is love, infinity, freedom, harmony... This spiritualization of thought lets in the light, and brings the divine Mind, Life not death, into your consciousness." - Mary Baker Eddy

I'm going to put up inspirational ideas every day from now on. Christine Pelosi is right: we need to inspire each other and stop spiraling down into so much fear about the economy, the war, the world.

We need to lift each other up and be the party of hope and inpsiration. We can be the party of light.

GOOD NEWS HEADLINES

Arab Sitcom Becomes Surprise Hit in Israel

Every week in Israel, thousands of Jewish families open up their homes to an Arab family. The latter are only fictional characters — from the hit Israeli sitcom Arab Work — but still, many say this is a critical marker in (pop culture) history. (read more at: GOOD NEWS NETWORK.org

Positive Radio Brings Calm to Tense Kenya Slum

Pamoja FM broadcasts African music, reggae, and hip-hop – as well as mellow encouragements to remain calm and nonviolent during the country's worst political crisis

Celebrating 800 Years of Rumi, Sufi Poet of Peace

"Rumi's poetry, originally written in Persian, has endured through the centuries, especially in the Islamic world. Christians, Muslims, and Jews gathered at a mausoleum to celebrate Rumi's poetry.

How The Bucket List Film May Change Your Life & Make You Happier

A corporate billionaire and a working class mechanic have nothing in common until they're forced to share a hospital room.
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I am a big supporter of Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards and think they are the purest Progressives (although I love Obama, and think Hillary would be good too.) But outside of Kucinich, of the "Big Three" that were allowed to debate in Nevada this week, Edwards is David to Goliath. He represents the interests of American citizens with a carefully thought-out plan for restoring economic prosperity and handing it back to the middle class.

Items of Interest:

1. Fox News: We Report -- Even if We Know It's False
From Paul Begala at HuffPo: "After I told Fox yesterday that the story about me wasn't true -- and this is the surreal part -- they kept reporting it anyway. Fox's Garrett told me he'd "take it under advisement." Take it under advisement?"

2. Finally, Lee Iacocca, one of the most successful businessmen in the country, speaks with outrage and says what we have been saying all along. This essay is long overdue. Please scroll down and read it and then decide which candidate should be the next President of the United States and Leader of the Free World. But first these photos...

I was researching the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in southwest Cambodia, built by the vanished Khmer empire. I am obsessed with archaeology and the sacred sites of the world. The strange beauty of these pictures haunts me on several levels.

The roots of the iconic tree wrapped around the Temple of Ta Prohm, seem a fitting metaphor for the Bush Dynasty's parasitic grasp on our fragile democracy. (You know, elitism with its claws in our constitution.) All this came to mind because our guest on Friday's show was Jill Derby, the Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party. She had traveled to Cambodia in the early 70's when these temples were relatively untouched by tourism.

Below are the "Heads of Kings and Buddahs." The ancient Khmer regime mixed religion with politics as if they were one and the same. (Photo credit: Linkinn Angkor Wat)



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Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic.
I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! - Lee Iacocca

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
By Lee Iacocca with Catherine Whitney

Had Enough?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.

My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to—as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests. Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us.

Who Are These Guys, Anyway?

Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them—or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy.

And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.

Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?

The Test of a Leader

I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points—not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.

So, here's my C list:

A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.

If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.

A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President—the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush, "Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't.

Leadership is all about managing change—whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.

A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.

A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths—for what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.

A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.

If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.

To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION—a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President—four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.


There's more in Iacocca's new book.

If you've missed our show, check out the audio archives. We have interviewed John & Elizabeth Edwards, Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich, John Dean, Pat Buchanan, Valerie Plame, Lou Dobbs, Helen Thomas, Christine Crier, Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage, Congressman Charlie Rangel, Senator Byron Dorgan; Christine Pelosi, Dahr Jamail, Senator Mike Gravel; bestselling authors Greg Palast, Paul Krugman, Greg Anrig, Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert and Paul Waldman are regular guests. Upcoming: Obama and Hilary. The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern) on KLAV 1230 AM Radio live in Las Vegas and simulcast worldwide on the web. All shows are archived and can be listened to at Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk