July 4, 2012 -- Happy Birthday America!

While we are in the midst of a Presidential Election year,  we have come to Halftime in the Game of  (Oval) Offices.

Second Continental Congress signing the Declaration of Independence

Today, I don't care if you're Right, Left, or anywhere in between (that includes you PaulBots too!), today we are all Americans.  

Every year around July 4th, I read from AJ Langutth's Patriots on the history of how America became free of her Motherland, England. 

This is one my favorite passages from that book:

"When members of the Continental Congress came to Jefferson's stirring conclusion, a majority thought it should include one last appeal to the power even greater then George III....They did not meddle with Jefferson's last oath, more solemn than anything they might devise:

"And for support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortune and our sacred honor'"

"On July 4, 1776, independence was declared in language worthy of it."
-- AJ Langguth, Patriots, pg. 362

 And here are the words that made us a free peoples:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.

Words that changed the world.  Enjoy your July 4th!

And now, some music to enjoy!

 

Martin Luther King Day 2011

First let's hear a speech that makes even today's speakers seem like gnats:


Martin Luther King, Jr: "Mountaintop" speech full length from Filip Goc on Vimeo.

Here is a transcript (and some quotes):

Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, "Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?" - I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God's children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn't stop there. I would move on by Greece, and take my mind to Mount Olympus. And I would see Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Euripides and Aristophanes assembled around the Parthenon. And I would watch them around the Parthenon as they discussed the great and eternal issues of reality. But I wouldn't stop there.

I would go on, even to the great heyday of the Roman Empire. And I would see developments around there, through various emperors and leaders. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even come up to the day of the Renaissance, and get a quick picture of all that the Renaissance did for the cultural and aesthetic life of man. But I wouldn't stop there. I would even go by the way that the man for whom I'm named had his habitat. And I would watch Martin Luther as he tacked his ninety-five theses on the door at the church of Wittenberg.

But I wouldn't stop there. I would come on up even to 1863, and watch a vacillating president by the name of Abraham Lincoln finally come to the conclusion that he had to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. But I wouldn't stop there.

...

But I wouldn't stop there. Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy." [applause] Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding - something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee - the cry is always the same - "We want to be free."

...

Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity.

Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants who happen to be sanitation workers. Now, we've got to keep attention on that. That's always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window-breaking. I read the articles. They very seldom got around to mentioning the fact that one thousand, three hundred sanitation workers were on strike, and that Memphis is not being fair to them, and that Mayor Loeb is in dire need of a doctor. They didn't get around to that.

...

Now these are some practical things we can do. We begin the process of building a greater economic base. And at the same time, we are putting pressure where it really hurts. I ask you to follow through here.

...

And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers?

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. [applause] And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!

---

Martin Luther King talked of individual freedom and Economic freedom -- the freedom to do and be in America whatever you wanted to be.  Voting Rights and respectability came from the Civil Rights Movement.

Here is another person worth listening to.  Watch:





Think about what happened to Herman Cain and Justice Thomas.  

Any person in poverty is not free, neither is keeping the State in the way of creating jobs. 

And in lieu of the Democrats, if you oppose Alfonzo Rachel, then you too are a racist.

My support of Freedom House is simply about wanting all men (and women) should be free.

My question: Is there racism today? If yes, how is it fixed? If not, where was the Tipping Point?

America's Last Living Gonzo Journalist: Robert Stacy McCain

"But what was the story....Free Enterprise. The American Dream...Do it now: pure Gonzo Journalism," -- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, pg. 12.

Or you can watch this scene from Where the Buffalo Roam (NSFW):



RS McCain stayed over and wrote about the BCS game (ROLL TIDE!) here, here and here. And yes, he did experience Fear and Loathing in Burbank.

When it comes to friends and family, Martin Luther King, Jr's quote comes to mind:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

He came out to Los Angeles and Orange County on a wing and a Prayer and met many Bloggers and activists. Even while he was away, he was attacked by a lesser Blogger. No one can ever ask the Gonzo Journalist if he was dedicated to the cause, he was. But he also respects and loves the Jews (in the Diaspora and in Israel) unlike some writers at The Atlantic magazine I can mention. And his protege, who has yet to chastise his mentor for the Anti-Jew remarks.

That is why RS stands miles above Conor or Frum.

Like a typical journalist, he smokes heavily and was always connected to the doings in the Right Blogosphere. He is, what is known as a "Connector," Mock him at your peril. Driving from Costa Mesa to Griffith Park by way of the Sepulveda pass, I saw Smitty and RS write a post on the road. That is dedication.

He saw my fundraising proposal and is helping with it. (meeting on Monday @11:00 AM -- wish me luck). Underneath the good ol'boy exterior is a dedicated journalist looking to write about the American Dream. Something Andrew Sullivan knows nothing about.

Why hasn't he been picked up by the Washington Post Editorial Page? Because they don't understand RS' mission:

"You found the American Dream?" he said, "In this town?
I nodded. "we're sitting on the main nerve right now," You remember that story the manager told us about the owner of this place [Circus-Circus]?How he always wanted to run away and join the Circus when he was a kid?"
Bruce ordered two more beers. he looked over the casino for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, I see what you mean," he said. "Now the bastard has his own circus...."
...
"Absolutely," I said. "It's pure Horatio Alger..."
-- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, pg. 191.

When RS is coming your way, he is looking for the American Dream. R.S. McCain, America's last Living Gonzo Journalist.

My question: What is The American Dream? And was Hunter S. Thompson right?