SwiftVets.com

[margie]

I may be wrong, and please, if I am correct me. But I can't think of another federal holiday named for a particular person. We used to have Lincoln's birthday, and Washington' birthday...that is now covered by President's day. Wouldn't it be politically correct than to call Feb 17th, civil rights day? Not a person's name......

[GenrXr]

I have always had a problem with Martin Luther King day because MLK cheated on his wife and as such imo didn't deserve more then to be acknowledged as someone who gave rise to civil liberties, but hugely lacking in personal character. We do not place enough emphasis on chivalry and personal sacrifice for the good of those around us anymore. MLK was a decent man who did some good, but was no saint by any measure. It is time we start looking at people as they are and not creating myths which perpetuate the immoral fabric our society seems to embellish in. Fifty percent of people who get married soon divorce and why would they stay married when we saint people who are adulterous. I must stress once you get married playtime is over and you can never cheat on your wife. To love is not some gooshy feeling with butterflies in the stomach, rather the definition of love if you believe in God is to serve. Yes that is right if you love your wife your mission is to serve her. And if your lucky she will not only serve you but your children as well.
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"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy

[AMOS]

I agree. Sounds like Michael Savage the other night. Somebody forgot Columbus Day, though.

[noyesj]

Every year sience it started, my calinder shows Black Monday.
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noyesj USAF 1953-1959

[blue9t3]

Just another day to me, Im tired of hearing his name. They should change it to Bill Cosby day.
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MOPAR-BUYER

[I B Squidly]

Wishing to avoid the obligation of another unnpaid holiday Arizona wouldn't adopt MLK Day. An NFL ban extorted recognition. We got the Cardinals and two money losing SuperBowls.

With less than 3% blacks, Phoenix has yet to designate an MLK school or roadway.

[shawa]

blue9t3
Bill Cosby Day! I like that. He sure is saying what needs to be said.
He was in Detroit last week. Said you can't blame racism for poverty.
Unwed mothers with no father in the picture, parents who don't do
any parenting, who don't teach any values to their kids.
My Gosh, telling people to get some responsibilty in their lives??
How novel!!! He is taking a lot of flak for speaking out, but he
perseveres. God bless him!

[msindependent]

Didn't Cosby cheat on his wife too? Has a grown child that was paid to keep quiet for years.

[scotty61]

MLK had some flaws, which showed that he was human. But if you look at what he did, it is admirable. He met violence with non-violence, he perservered in the face of tremendous odds and if you read his "I Have A Dream" speech you see a plea for true equality, not the special treatment that minorities demand today. His asassination changed the course of civil rights, I think for the worse.
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John Kerry. A Neville Chamberlain for our times.

[I B Squidly]

scotty,
I've nothing against MLK. His 'I have a Dream' is right in there with the Gettysburg Address as great American speeches. MLK is no more fallible and human than Lincoln or Washington. Washington was the Father. Lincoln preserved. MLK was an addendum to the Bill of Rights. Why does he rate at the expense of the first two? Restore the B'days of Lincoln and Washington and there's no hard feelings.
Somewhare some PC'er is grousing, "Damn, those dead white guys."

[GM Strong]

Amber Alert: Dr. King's Legacy Reported Missing
by Scott Ott

(2005-01-17) -- An Amber Alert has been issued nationwide today after the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was reported missing on the very day when millions of Americans planned to observe the slain civil rights leader's birthday.

In Jonesboro, Georgia, authorities monitored a speech Sunday by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, after an informant said Mr. Jackson might be carrying the King legacy. However, during his speech it became clear that the legacy was no longer in Mr. Jackson's possession.

Police have released a description of the legacy in Dr. King's own words from a speech he delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Analysis of the so-called 'I Have a Dream' speech shows that Dr. King was concerned primarily with freedom by means of equal rights and equal justice under the law for everyone.

Forensics experts have been unable to find a match for the King legacy among the words of any of the major American leaders who claim the King mantle.

"The King legacy is so easy to counterfeit and then pass off for personal gain," said one expert. "It's just a small cut to take Dr. King's dream that people 'will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character', and to slice out the 'character' part and leave nothing but empty skin. Equality of opportunity gets falsely transformed into equality of results as a birthright."

The most common counterfeits also lack what experts call the "backbone" of the King legacy -- trust in God.

Dr. King allegedy rested his assertion of equal rights on the passage in the Declaration of Independence that says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

"Without a Creator," said the forensics expert, "the legacy of equal rights collapses into a vicious struggle where the strong prevail and no rights can reasonably be asserted. Dr. King knew there is no basis for equal rights without a loving and righteous creator God."

"The second most common measure employed by counterfeiters is to remove Dr. King's desire to unite the races," the source said. "The genuine legacy pictures Black and White holding hands, eating together, marching together as well as singing and praising God together. The counterfeiters inevitably portray civil rights as a struggle of innocent Black against malevolent White, or caring Democrat against selfish Republican. But the King legacy pitted the justice of God against the injustice of men and foresaw the day when God's victory would benefit Americans of every hue, faith and political stripe."

Indeed, the 'Dream' speech text seems to corroborate this when Dr. King said, "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."

A review of the archival audio reveals that the biggest applause line in the 1,619-word speech was as follows: "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a 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.

Amid the roar of applause, Dr. King added, "And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone."

Meanwhile, as the search continues for the missing King legacy, Americans are left to struggle with what it all meant.

"The kids are out of school and I have the day off," said one suburban Philadelphia man, "so we're grateful for Dr. King's efforts to free all Americans from education and work. What a great dream."

In related news, the Columbia School of Journalism today holds a panel discussion titled 'Inequality in America." Professional journalists on the panel include Connie Chung, Geraldo Rivera, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Ed Bradley and Rudi Bakhtiar.
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8th Army Korea 68-69