The Weekly Rewind

Friday… you know what that means… , it’s porkchop day in the employee cafeteria… that, and it’s time for The Weekly Rewind…

Here ya go:

Applaud: Monday was the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King… let’s keep his memory and dreams alive forever. So far, $72.9 million has been raised to erect a memorial to Dr. King that is expected to cost $100 million. So if you want to help, donate today.

Heckle: to what seems to be even more cronyism in the Bush(whacked) Administration (… I know, I know, I should be used to it by now from this man) Do you know who Frederick Kagan is? He’s the American Enterprise Scholar who had “the president’s ear” on Iraq and is responsible for crafting the escalation plan. One would think that the person Bush placed responsibility on for crafting a new stratgy for Iraq would have a long military history and experience as a military expert… well, one would think that… and hope that… to bad he isn’t a “military expert” (Yeah… I have great hopes for this plan working…)

Applaud: to giving it back. Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki has decided to “take a page out of the Bush administration playbook..” Earlier this week he said that that criticism of his administration from “President” Bush gives the terrorists a “morale boost” and pushes them to make an extra effort. Monkey see… monkey do…

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) Administration… do you sense a theme here? While House Democrats want to cut student loan interest rates… the administration has “declared its opposition” even though the bill would cut interest rates on some college student loans in half and “would help an estimated 5.5 million students.” (Nice… the White House really does care about the people don’t they? Fuc**** idiots…)

Applaud: to political satirst Art Buchwald… who passed away earlier this week (Thursday). Democrat or republican, Liberal or conservative, it didn’t matter to him, he would skew each side with snark (even before we knew what snark was) and wit. And he did it for over four decades. He will be missed.

Heckle: to the Bush(whacked) Administration. Experts tell us that the Administration is leaving out important details in regards to the Iraq troop “surge” (read: escalation). McClatchy Newspapers: “President Bush and his aides, explaining their reasons for sending more American troops to Iraq, are offering an incomplete, oversimplified and possibly untrue version of events there that raises new questions about the accuracy of the administration’s statements about Iraq.” (I am shocked… shocked to find gambling going on in this establishment…)

Applaud: Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) just created his. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is poised to make herself one… former Sen. John Edwards (D-SC) has one… as does Gov Tom Vilsack (D-IA). A few others are considering doing the same… I writing about the ever-popular Presidential Exploratory Committee. This is gearing up to be a croweded and, some say, an historic Presidential campaign. Can’t wait to see how this one plays out. (My opinion can be summed up in two simple words: No. Hillary…. Okay, two more words: No. Kerry.)

Heckle: to the same old, same old. According to the Washington Post, at least half a dozen congressional spouses have jobs as registered lobbyists and several more are connected with lobbying firms. Coincidentally… all reforms that are being made in regards to lobbyists seem to be excluding the aforementioned spouses… but I’m sure there’s no connection to that whatsoever…

Applaud: to Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for speaking the truth and ignoring the pressure of the White House. He stated in an interview that Taliban attacks have surged by 200% in December. (Wouldn’t it make more sense to add more troops to Afghanistan, where the terrorist/Al-queda links actually are, then to Iraq? I would think it would, but I guess that’s what happens when I think for myself…)

Heckle: to Commander Cuckoo-Bananas schedule. After six horrific… terrifying… nauseatingly troublesome… civil liberty-erasing… deadly… catastrophic… immoral… sheep-like thinking… years in office, “President” Bush has now spent one full year (or 365 days) at Camp David. The Bushes (The Bushesssses?) left Friday evening for their 116th visit. If you’re asking where his Camp David visits ranks with his Crawford, Texas visits… David is still way on down the line. As of Jan. 1, Bush has spent 405 days in Crawford. Including the days immediately after Hurriance Katrina and immediately after the death of former President Gerald Ford. Bush… a prince of a man… and by prince I mean moron.

Applaud: to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE). He’s joing leading Democrats in introducing a resolution that opposes “President” Bush’s buildup of troops in Iraq. For those of you keeping score, this puts a bipartisan spin on the looming showdown over the war… which include Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and his cap plan . Especially when you consider that Bush says Congress and the Senate can’t stop his escalation plan… Liberal and conservative Constitutional Law experts disagree... Llllllleeetttssss getttt readddddddyyyyyy toooo rrrruuuummmbbbbbllllleee…

Heckle: to slow-ass comprehension… and evern slower speaking up. Okay, I’ll give him the benefot that the news probably took this long for the concept to comepletely reach his brain , but almost three weeks after the fact, President Bush said the execution of Saddam Hussein “looked like it was kind of a revenge killing.” The hanging of Saddam by the Shiite-led government is also helping accelerate Sunni-Shiite sectarianism across the Middle East.. (and Lord knows that will help defuse the situation…)

Applaud: to shrinking political capital. No, not Bush’s, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s. It seems that he is now under pressure from “higher authorities” in Iran to “end his involvement in the country’s nuclear program.” (Good news… but answer me this; why can’t we get the same thing over here?)

Heckle: to Frank Hargrove (R-VA). A day after our nation observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, he said that slavery ended nearly 140 years ago and that “black citizens should get over it.” He then went on to say; “Are we going to force the Jews to apologize for killing Christ?” (The crap that oozes out of their mouths just amazes me sometimes…

Applaud: to General Electric, DuPont, and Alcoa, along with about seven additional major companies for banding together, along with a few environmental groups, to call for a “firm nationwide limit on carbon dioxide emissions.” A limit that would lead to reduced emission of “10 to 30%” over the next 15 years… (Excellent… about time some of our larger companies start leading by example. Maybe the gop will finally see the light)

Uber-Heckle: Okay, when I tell you this, don’t panic… on second thought; panic. The Doomsday clock was moved closer to Armageddon this past week. Mass hysteria in 5…4…3…

Applaud: to the fall of the axe… and by axe I mean justice. Ex Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH) has been ordered to serve 30 months in prison for accepting gifts, favors and campaign contributions in exchange for official actions. This makes him the first elected official to be sent to prison in the ongoing investigation of ex-lobbyist Jack “Black Hat” Abramoff'. (Hopefully, and I think I speak for a LOT of people; he wont be the last. Don’t bend over for the soap Bob…)

Heckle: Really???? Rich Little??? Are you fuc**** kidding me???

Applaud: to the Senate (Democrats and republicans) who approved legislation (with a 96 to 2 vote) that would limit the influence of lobbyists, constrict congressional ethics rules and put a stop to spouses of senators from lobbying senators and their staffs. (Nice piece of legislation, but let’s hold off on praising it more until it actually is signed into law…)

Heckle: to Attorney General Alberto “Torture is my Life” Gonzales. Do I really need to give a reason? Sigh… okay; heckle(s) for this, this, this, this aaaaaand this… what. A. Tool.

Heckle: to Vice-President Dick “Dick” Cheney. Why? Because he should be heckled every damn chance we get. Along with “President” Bush, AG Gonzales, Karl Rove, Condi Rice… let’s just throw in every single member of the Bush(whacked) administration and cabinet and be done with it.
That’s all we got, take ‘em as you will.

I Have a Dream

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!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial - Washington D.C. August 28, 1963

Happy Birthday Dr. King. Let your memory, dreams, and life never die or fade from our nation's memory.