VIETNAM ALL OVER AGAIN!!

I'm tired of people saying this is "war" is different. It is not!

The only difference is that our troops are being forced to kill
scores of civilians at a time to find one or two "insurgents"

At least in Nam there was an armed enemy in sufficient numbers to make some kind of arguement when "collateral damage" (killing of innocents) took place.

I'm pissed, so pissed that it's all I can think about day and night.

I am pissed at people who stick "support the troops" stickers on their car who have no idea what that really means.

I wonder if they say the coffins, one by one, the maimed, disfigured, dismembered of our troops by the thousands...if they would be willing to look their parents in the eyes and say, it was worth it.

I wonder if they saw the tens of thousands of dead Iraqi babies, men, and women...the disfigured, those burned by white phosphorus, amputated legs, feet, hands, and arms...if they would say to those people, "we set you free.:

This "war" is worse than Vietnam in the sense that few people have done a damn thing to speak out against the lies we've been told. Fewer have had the courage to take forward the idea that to truly support the troops we must insist they not be needlessly endangered.

That's what Cindy Sheehan did and continues to do. And what is the response? She's a collaborater with terrorists.

Rep John Murtha tried to speak in support of our troops to prevent more of our sons and daughters from being needlessly slaughtered and he was called a coward!

That's how it works when you take a stand that pricks the conscience of people.

The Administration has not "stretched the truth" THEY HAVE LIED.

Our Congress has not supported the troops, instead many have been nothing more than cheerleaders for the rush to war. Many others are too gutless to take a stand. And a few courageous individuals have tried to speak out. The latter being painted as "extremists"

Here is my theory based on the historical comparison to the Vietnam War.

Our kids go and fight. Some die, many are physically maimed, many more are psychologically and emotionally scarred for life. They return home to a public that "devotes" less than 5 minutes a day thinking about the war. Less time finding out the facts for themselves (listening to Rush Lumbaugh does not count as real information!) and even less time advocating for the troops.

Many of the same people who say support the troops don't give a damn about the troops. As long as they can fill up the SUV, pick up their DVDs at Blockbuster, and plan their next entertaining adventure, life is good. Besides, it's an all volunteer military...so they shouldn't complain.

And that's what really pisses me off. Unlike Vietnam, these are men and women who were not drafted into this insane war. They had already promised to protect and defend this country...with one important qualifier, that we would not place them in danger needlessly. Well, WE HAVE FAILED AMERICA, WE HAVE FAILED.

Our situation is not George Bush's fault, although he has the blood of many on his hands. Our situation is our fault because we remain virtually silent.

"whatever a man soeth, that shall he also reap." I believe the same goes for remaining passive when we know we should act. We will all suffer for our failure to step up in true support for our troops and for allowing this President and his Administration make our world far more dangerous than ever before.

If you really want to begin to understand what's going on AND get involved...start here www.optruth.org and learn what our troops have to say. And then email your congressmen and senators...emaill your friends...talk to your friends...write letters to the editor of newspapers.
Otherwise...IT WILL be Vietnam all over again, again!

DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE THEY DONE!!

The news is out now about the atrocity in Fallujah. Our forces have used White Phosphorus, like Napalm, it burns flesh to the bone. First the Pentagon denied it, now they admit to using it as a 'conventional' weapon.

YOU NEED TO SEE THIS VIDEO...it will probably make you sick...BUT THIS IS THE WHAT OUR TROOPS HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO DO BY THE BUSH/CHENEY WAR CRIMINALS!!

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm

Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre

Veteran admits: Bodies melted away before us.

Shocking revelation RAI News 24.


WARNING

This video contains images that depict the reality and horror of war.

It should only be viewed by a mature audience

GOD HELP US IF WE CONTINUE TO DO NOTHING WHILE INNOCENTS ARE MASSACRED!!

Takin' my country back

(click on this link to hear the song)
http://www.1010kxxt.com/audio/takinmycountryback.mp3

Sung by Joe Stampley

I'm takin' my country back


Country music's got mamas and daddys

We got bar rooms and old heartbreak songs

But I'm here today to stand up and say

How I feel about my home sweet home

What's left, what's right and what's wrong...

and I'm taking my country back

Son, you ain't been doin' her right

Oh, I been watchin' you and I don't like

How you've been treatin' my stars and stripes

You took our jobs and sent 'em overseas

Now we owe billions to the red Chinese

You blew the budget and you botched Iraq

So I'm taking my country back.

We had a bundle in the treasury drawer

More than there had ever been there before

But every day we're drownin' deeper in dept

Maybe four years should be all you get

Then you gave tax breaks to the millionaires

And tried to make the workin' man pay

But you can't tax a man when his jobs not there

Now look at where we are today...hey

I'm taking my country back

Son, you ain't been doin' her right

Oh I been watchin' you and I don't like

How you been treatin' my stars and stripes

you've got too many fancy friends for me

The Saudis treat you like you're royalty

You blew the budget and you botched Iraq

Now I'm takin' my country back

Now I can understand why you were hot

'Cause Bin Laden never did get caught

So you said we had Saddam to blame

Tried to tell us it was all the same

But now the years roll by and our kids keep dyin'

You don't even have a plan to bring 'em home

And those W.M.D. you promised on T.V.

Hey admit it, you figured it wrong...

so I'm takin' my country back

Now you don't know my name,

but you know who I am

I'm your everyday work hard, play hard

Raise kids and pray hard common man

And lord knows I love this land...that's why

I'm taking my country back

Son, you ain't been doin' her right

Oh I been watchin' you and I don't like

How you been treatin' my stars and stripes

You say "unite" but you divide us more

Cussin' each other on the Senate floor

Ain't we supposed to be above all that?

Hey I'm taking my country back

I got my family and my church and flag...

Now I'm takin' my country back

Copyright 2004 David A. Kent
http://www.takinmycountryback.com/

When The President Talks To God

Sung by Bright Eyes on the Jay Leno Show on 5/2/05

Click on the link below to see the video:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8782.htm

When the president talks to God

Are the conversations brief or long?

Does he ask to rape our women’s' rights

And send poor farm kids off to die?

Does God suggest an oil hike

When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God

Are the consonants all hard or soft?

Is he resolute all down the line?Is every issue black or white?

Does what God say ever change his mind

When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God

Does he fake that drawl or merely nod?

Agree which convicts should be killed?

Where prisons should be built and filled?

Which voter fraud must be concealed

When the president talks to God?

When the president talks to God

I wonder which one plays the better cop

We should find some jobs. the ghetto's broke

No, they're lazy, George, I say we don't

Just give 'em more liquor stores and dirty coke

That's what God recommends

When the president talks to God

Do they drink near beer and go play golf

While they pick which countries to invade

Which Muslim souls still can be saved?

I guess god just calls a spade a spade

When the president talks to God

When the president talks to God

Does he ever think that maybe he's not?

That that voice is just inside his head

When he kneels next to the presidential bed

Does he ever smell his own bull***t

When the president talks to God?

I doubt itI doubt it

'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'

It doesn't surprise me that Pat Robertson, the wacky founder of the 700 club, advocated Chavez being assasinated. Chavez has the gall to put Christ's words into practice, "help the poor, resist evil, etc."

He is not at all following the Bush/Robertson "Gospel" of KILLING THE TERRORISTS...and letting the private sector take care of those souls whom God has seen it fit not to bless!

I am not now, nor have I ever been a communist....but I can tell you this much, if the options were:

1) Unrestricted, "grab all you can and to hell with the poor"style Capitalism

vs.

2) Even distribution of wealth for all citizens.

I'd be taking option 2!

Someday...maybe people will realize that the communist boogie man was a convenient method to demonize the concept of equitable wealth distribution.

The following article is a description of the 2003 documentary about President Chavez. Again, it's no surprise that the he is criticized as being a "commie" etc. etc. by those who prefer to have a right wing, death squad loving, puppet regime that would cater to the big corporations.

(By the way, don't bother trying to find the DVD for purchase, it's not available anywhere on the internet. Netflix advertises it, but I'm not willing to subscribe to the service to find out if it's actually in stock. If I sound paranoid...it's for a reason, I put nothing past our "leaders" from squelching something like this.)

'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'
'Revolution' focuses on telegenic Venezuelan

Friday, April 16, 2004
By Barry Paris, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Objectivity? Forget the eye of the beholder. In a documentary, it's the eye of the editor that matters. Two different filmmakers can turn the same raw footage into a positive or negative polemic -- fashion a hero or an anti-hero -- depending entirely on their political bias.

A riveting example is "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," whose ironic title turns out to be happily untrue, thanks to the Irish Film Board duo of Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain. They happened to be in the right place at the right time: Venezue-la during the 2002 coup that briefly deposed President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter. Chavez is the populist-socialist who was democratically elected on a platform of redistributing the fabulous wealth of Venezuela's 20 percent petro-elite, at least in part, to its 80 percent of the poor. From Day One in office, Chavez was despised by the oil barons of his own nation and by the Bush administration, whose unrestricted capitalist "globalization" he opposed.

A much greater offense to the Yankees came in October 2001. Just a few weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a few days into the war against Afghanistan, Chavez delivered an extraordinary television address to Venezuela -- AND the United States:

"We support the war against terrorism ... Let us find the terrorists -- but not like this," he said, holding up a grisly wire-service photo of Afghani children killed by American bombs intended for the Taliban.

"They say it was a mistake," he continued. "Are they going to keep making these mistakes? We demand that you think before you act. You cannot fight terror with more terror."

If non grata in Washington before, Chavez was now fully demonized. Jesse Helms accused him of "consorting with narco-terrorists in Colombia." Colin Powell and Ari Fleischer endorsed the fear and loathing of his "road toward Castroism."

There was no truth to the former and some to the latter charge. An unabashed admirer of Fidel and Che, Chavez echoed their prioritizing of universal literacy ("First you must start reading!") in his ongoing poetic exhortations to the peasantry. But unlike the Cubans, Chavez's literary sensitivity and gentle personality allowed for no media censorship, no jailing of political enemies, no outlawing of opposition parties, and -- once restored to office -- no punishment even of the perpetrators of the coup against him.

Tribute must be paid to Venezuelan civility in general. Short-lived oil-puppet President Pedro Carmona dissolved parliament and the supreme court, but he was no Pinochet. Instead of Chavez being murdered, as the Chilean military did Allende, he was hauled off to an island but returned, soon enough, in good health.

It was a rare case of a military establishment doing the right democratic thing, with that even rarer thing in Latin American history: a happy ending. There's a slightly comic "Mouse That Roared" touch to it, which is not to trivialize its seriousness or its astonishing behind-the-scenes footage, shot before, during and after the coup.

Bartley and O'Briain had amazing access to everything and everybody, the connivances and the chaos, and condensed it into 74 tight minutes. It's a bit too adoring of Chavez, but ... well, he IS rather adorable. You may not think so. See it and decide for yourself.

Meanwhile, my favorite quote in the film is uttered by CIA director George Tenet (that clueless handler of pre-9/11 and Iraqi WMD intelligence): "I would say that Mr. Chavez doesn't have the interests of the United States at heart." As any GOOD Venezuelan president should and would, of course.

The day I marched for my grandson's future

I wrote a weekly column from 1993-2000 in the Navy News (now defunct) in Bremerton, Washington (near Seattle). On November 30, 1999 I joined thousands of other people in one of the largest demonstrations held in Seattle since the Vietnam War. We were there to protest the heartless plan by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and their ongoing effort to take advantage of workers all over the world under the guise of "free trade."

Sadly, 6 years later, things have become even worse for workers across the globe. Since then the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has been put into place. It's just a continuation of "business as usual" for the greedy multi-national corporations or as I prefer to call them the ANTI-national corporations.

The following column was my attempt to illustrate what's at stake if we fail to act...the future of our children and grandchildren!

FROM INSIDE THE GATE
Mark A. Moshay
For Navy News 12/8/99

The day I marched for my grandson’s future

It’s 12:30 am, December 1, as I sit here in my office to write this column. Fourteen hours ago, I stood among thousands of people from all over the world at Memorial Stadium in Seattle. We came together to march on behalf of workers everywhere. We came to send a message to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Our message was simple: “The WTO must adopt policies to protect workers, the environment, but most of all our children.” The short version we chanted along the march was, “WTO - fix it or nix it.”

There is no way that I can describe the feelings of pride, hope, and compassion I felt during the rally and march. I have spent the past hours struggling with how I could capture, in words, the intensity and significance of this event. Truly, the whole world was watching.

Though our march was totally peaceful, there was violence later that day. It’s sad when a few extremists can take the spotlight away from the real issues at hand. That was a major disappointment. Regardless, we made an important statement to the WTO, but more importantly, to the world community.

I decided that most effective way for me to relate my thoughts would be to share a letter that I wrote. The letter was to my grandson:

Dear Cameron Mark,
I am writing this letter to tell you about a very important event that occurred today. It will be several years before you read this, because you are only two years old. But someday, I hope you will read these words and understand that on Tuesday, November 30, 1999, I marched in the streets of Seattle for you.

You see Cameron, your grandpa has always believed that men, women, and children should be guaranteed certain basic rights. They deserve to have food and shelter, fair wages, and a clean environment. But, not everyone believes that these things matter.

There are some people who believe that the most important thing in life is how much wealth they can accumulate. They are so driven by their desire for money and power that they are willing to look the other way as millions of people are forced to live in terrible conditions.

A lady spoke at our rally today. She was a mother not much older than your mom. She was from Central America. She said that last week she had worked 74 hours. Her wages for the week were $69.00, less than one dollar per hour. The lady said that she was unable to properly care for her family on such a low income.

A man from Malaysia said: “At this very moment it is midnight in Malaysia, and children as young as four years old are working right now. They are pressing the rivets into blue jeans to be sent to the United States. Clothes they can not afford. Other children are making toys for children like you. Toys that they will never get to own or play with.

Cameron, I learned a lot today. I realized that your future depends on the things that I do right now. I can’t do it alone. But I want you to know that, today, I met men and women who will help your grandpa make sure that you will have the basic rights that I spoke about.

Your mom and dad gave you your middle name in honor of me. I am very proud that you carry my name. One day I would like you to carry something else for your grandpa. I want you to carry on the work that we started here in Seattle today.

I hope you will always be willing to stand up for those who are unable to stand. I hope that you will be willing to march for those who are unable to march for themselves. Today Cameron Mark, I marched for those kinds of people, but I also marched for you.

Love Grandpa Mark

My Heart Is Broken 2,000 Times

IRAQ

Now, 2,000 of our kids are dead, thousands more maimed for life, and thousands of innocent civilians are dead and maimed as well.

Surely most of us agree that terrorism has to be addressed. But it makes no sense to "declare war" on an unseen enemy. Yet that is just what our "leaders" chose to do.

Anyone who criticized the war was accused of not supporting the troops.

How does sending our young men and women off to die based on an untruth show support?

How does sanctioning torturing suspected terrorists in inhumane ways, this escalating the hatred for our nation show support for our troops?

When our soldiers return home their families are struggling as necessary "safety net" services are cut to provide billion-dollar contracts for companies to profit from the war.
How does that show support for our troops?

To do these things to our troops is unconscionable.
What galls me more is that these "leaders" drag Christianity into the horror of returning evil for evil.

My heart is broken 2,000 times over.

I cannot remain silent while our "leaders" continue to slaughter our children.

Staying the course?

What does President mean when he says "stay the course"?

From what I can tell here's the course we’ve been on ...

COURSE: INVADE IRAQ - We invaded Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

RESULT: No WMDs were found.

RESPONSE: "We’re still right in doing so because of the link between Al Queda and Hussein."

RESULT: No link between the two was found.

RESPONSE: "We’re still right in doing so because of the horrible treatment by Hussein of his people.

RESULT: Abu Ghraib Prison, Guantanomo Bay, and other locations reveal serious human rights abuses by US Contractors and military personnel.

REPSONSE: “We're still right in doing so because of the need to establish a democracy that will provide freedom for all Iraqi citizens."

The Administration recently said that Iraq could even end up as an Islamic theocracy in which many will be denied full rights as a citizen, for example - women!

This stubbornness on the President’s part has brought deadly consequences for our troops and thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens.

It’s time for a genuine course correction!

April 2000, farewell column...

Ok, this is a bit self-indulgent.

This was my last column for the Navy News. I miss writing the weekly column. So, when my co-worker Susanne suggested starting a "blog" I jumped write on it (spelling pun intended).

I've been a full time union representative 5 years now, and I still love my job!

It's wonderful to come to work each day knowing that I will have several opportunities to help our members and their families.

- mark

FROM INSIDE THE GATE
Mark A. Moshay
For Navy News 4/26/00

After 26 years with the Navy, I’m headed outside the gate

Last week I announced my decision to leave federal service. In May, I will begin a new career with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). This will be my last column.

On occasion, I’ve been criticized for injecting too much of my personal life into what I write. I’ve tried to maintain a proper balance during the past seven years. This final column will probably cross the line in that regard. But I want to share some thoughts about the world inside the gate.

The Navy has been a major part of my life since I was 17-years old. I enlisted in high school on the delayed entry program and went to boot camp after graduation in the summer of 1973. I’ve been employed by the Department of the Navy all but eight months since that summer.

The Navy has given me many opportunities. When I was hired in 1978, I worked as a file clerk in the Supply Department. Within a year, I went to the electric shop as a helper.

Eventually, I achieved journeyman electrician. To this day, that is one of my proudest accomplishments. I hold tradespeople in high esteem, they are the ones who literally get the job done.

In the late 1980s I became active in the electrician’s union. In 1990 when I was promoted to ship’s scheduler, I joined the Planners-Estimators, Progessmen and Schedulers (PEPS). I’ve served as President of our local since 1992.

Make no mistake about it, I,m not leaving the shipyard with any ill feeling. To the contrary, I will always be proud to tell say that I spent 25 years working at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

I’ve had the opportunity to view life at the shipyard from the perspective of an active duty sailor, a white collar clerk, a blue collar tradesman, as a scheduler, and as a union activist. In each role, I’ve met many dedicated and talented people.

I get irritated when I hear negative remarks about shipyard workers. The vast majority of our people are top quality workers.

Our shipyard has a reputation that spans the globe and a legacy that stretches from the 19th to the 21st century.

Every employee and every sailor attached to PSNS, should be proud of who they are and what they do. They should never doubt their contribution to our country.

My involvement in union work has always been driven by a desire to help others. As a child, my mother continually reinforced the importance of helping those in need. As a widow raising two kids on her own, she always managed to find a way for us to put together a basket of food and gifts for a family in need during the holidays. That’s one of many examples I learned from mom during my childhood.

Children learn more by what they see than what they’re told. My involvement in organized labor and in the community has helped me demonstrate my values to our three children.

My wife Jeanne has been my greatest source of encouragement throughout my career. Many times, when I felt giving up on some overwhelming challenge, she was able to inspire me to press on.

Leadership, is the ability to inspire others to achieve a goal. It’s not a difficult concept to explain, but it takes a lifetime to perfect. I think I’ve had some measure of success as a leader. I’ll always be grateful to the union for giving me the chance to lead.

I’m looking forward to my next challenge, but I sincerely appreciate the many opportunities and challenges that I found working for the Navy.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support over the years.

Now, it’s time for me to go, outside the gate!

"I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe this is one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century.

In the 42 years since Dr. King delivered this address, many things have changed for the better for people of color. Yet, sadly, the growing economic disparity between rich and poor in America is threatening to undermine the strides toward freedom that Dr. King dreamed about. Instead, we see people of all colors, working people, caught up in a downward spiral as corporate greed dominates our country.

My dream is that workers - black, brown, red, yellow, and white will stand together and take our country back so that ALL Americans can share in the fruit of our labor and the bounty of our land!

"I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream 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." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,

"Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"


Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

My country right or wrong?

(The following letter was published in our local newspaper in early 2004).

January 27. 2003

Dear Editor,

I am deeply concerned at the ignorance displayed toward the principles this country was founded upon. That ignorance starts at the top with our President, and unfortunately extends down to the common person.

It seems to me that ever since the Vietnam era, there has been a new theory of patriotism. That theory is expressed in phrases like, “my country, right or wrong,” “America, love it or leave it,” and more recently George Bush’s “you’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists.”

We’ve forgotten that this nation was established to free ourselves from the tyranny of dictatorship of kings and despots. We no longer seem to relish healthy debate. Challenging our government’s actions is not only good for America, it is an essential component in protecting our freedom.

When protests turn to violence and anarchy, such actions should be dealt with. However, protest itself should not be restrained, but rather unlawful actions themselves.

In hindsight, we often criticize the German people for Hitler’s reign of terror. We villify the Japanese people for their submission to their Emperor’s attempt to enslave the Pacific.

Yet, they simply followed the logic many of our leaders and common people proclaim to in America today.

That is, do not question, do not challenge, simply follow - My country, right or wrong.

Check out the PAP ATTACK!!

Mike Papantonio is a regular on my favorite radio station http://airamericaradio.com/ along with his co-host Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Together they host a show called "Ring of Fire" http://www.ringoffireradio.com/mike_papantonio.asp

Mike has a huge archive of audio editorials that hit the nail on the head on everything from the non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction to Karl Rove's Words of Mass Deception.

It's called the "Pap Attack" http://www.ringoffireradio.com/media_source_PA.asp?srcid=10

The files are arranged in chronological order in MP3 format.

Mike is an accomplished attorney with a superb ability to lay out the facts on the issues with simple clarity.

WARNING: Your blood pressure may rise dramatically as you hear of the utter lies, hypocrisy and deception we have faced with this Administration.

My personal favorite: What Would Pat Robertson Do?
Mike exposes the sheer greed and insanity of this wolf in sheeps clothing!
http://www.ringoffireradio.com/video/WS%20Sept%208th%202005%20Pap%20Attack.mp3