I believe MLK spoke for all Republicans when he said...

Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children. ~ May 1965 speech to the Negro American Labor Council.

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane. ~ Speech to the Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, Chicago, March 25, 1966.

In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. ~ Speaking on right-to-work laws in 1961.

You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can’t talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. You’re really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry…. Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong… with capitalism…. There must be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism. ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frogmore, S.C. November 14, 1966.

History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them. ~ Speaking to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) on Dec. 11, 1961

There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted until the good societies realize — I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to — segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. ~ Address at the Herman W. Read Fieldhouse, Western Michigan University, 18 December 1963.

I endorse it. I think it was correct. Contrary to what many have said, it sought to outlaw neither prayer nor belief in god. In a pluralistic society such as ours, who is to determine what prayer shall be spoken and by whom? Legally, constitutionally or otherwise, the state certainly has no such right. ~ King sharing his thoughts on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban organized school prayer, in a 1965 interview with Playboy magazine.

We know of no more crucial civil rights issue facing Congress today than the need to increase the federal minimum wage and extend its coverage. ~ Statement on minimum wage legislation, March 18, 1966.

Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. ~ The Quest for Peace and Justice speech, 1964.

[photo by Ron Cogswell]

Republican gun raffle offensive at every level

Josh Marshall: The geniuses who run the Multnomah County Republican Party in Multnomah County, Oregon are honoring Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln by raffling off a rifle in their honor.

From the MCP website …

Portland, OR January 13, 2014: Multnomah Country Republicans recognize the incredible time of year we are in. In successive months to start the year, we celebrate the legacy of two great Republicans who demonstrated leadership and courage that all of us still lean on today: Martin Luther King, Jr and Abraham Lincoln. In celebrating these two men, and the denial of the rights they fought so hard against, the Multnomah County Republican Party announces that we have started our third raffle for an AR-15 rifle (or handgun of the winner’s choice). The drawing will be held at our Lincoln Day Dinner on February 15th, 2014. Tickets are once again $10 apiece, or 12 for $100, and there is a hard cap of 500 tickets in the raffle.

Not only are they raffling off guns “in honor of” people murdered by guns, but they’re returning to the old “MLK was Republican” lie — after a year of especially nasty Republican racism. The party — who argued that Trayvon Martin got what he had coming to him, who said that Mike Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk racial profiling policy was the smartest thing ever, who defended Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson after he said African-Americans had nothing to complain about in the lynching south — does not get to say they’re the inheritors to Martin Luther King jr’s legacy.

And who remembers what MLK was doing the day he was murdered by a Second Amendment Hero using his God-given liberty to protect America from the tyranny of desegregation? That’s right, he was in Memphis supporting the right of collective bargaining for sanitation workers — a right the GOP is currently stripping away from workers in state after state after state.

The only way this could be more offensive is if they took the guns they’re raffling and set up a shooting range where you take shots at an MLK effigy for prizes. The Republican Party in no way represents Martin Luther King’s work — on any level. And anyone who pretends otherwise should prepare themselves for the justifiable anger of those who know better.

When Republicans Dream

Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer.

MLK's Dream (Annotated)

John Darkow: Zimmerman Walks.

Stories to Watch: 1/16/12

Another MLK Day come and gone, which marks another year of a lot of people missing the damned point. Now here's the news...


Big GOP debate tonight. As usual, I'm going to skip it. Who doesn't know what their positions are by now? The only reason to watch is so you can say you saw Rick Perry swallow his tongue or fall over the podium or whatever -- and that's what YouTube's for.


Jon Huntsman won't be there.


Congress' approval ratings dip even lower.


Don't count on using Wikipedia Wednesday.


Hey, you know how that "Stop Romney" coalition of 'baggers and fanatics settled on Rick Santorum? Yeah, turns out it's unsettled again.


Meanwhile, Nate Silver says that Romney is the "overwhelming favorite" for the GOP nomination. Maybe the "Stop Romney" coalition should've gotten started a little earlier.


Attorney General Holder -- rightly -- compares voter ID laws to the Jim Crow laws Martin Luther King fought against. Obviously, this is the worst thing ever.


Finally, a Santorum staffer who's a misogynist? Imagine how surprised I'm not.

Related articles

• The Republican Field on Martin Luther King: It's Complicated (alternet.org)
• Polls Suggest GOP Nomination is Locked Up (politicalwire.com)
• On MLK Day: How a Racist Criminal Justice System Rolled Back the Gains of the Civil Rights Era (alternet.org)
• With GOP field down to five, four candidates sharpen attack on front-runner Romney - Fox News (foxnews.com)

Stories to Watch: 10/19/11

Great show last night and today the faucet's fixed. Got a tiny leak in the pipe that a plumber's going to have to look at though. Now here's the news...


In order to generate headlines for a by now almost forgotten campaign, Rick Perry embraces the flat tax. At a time when the majority of Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy, this is a desperate ploy to find a flag fringe Republicans will rally around.


If there's one person who would be the last I'd check with to see what Martin Luther King would've thought about something, it just might be Allen West.


Writer and activist Naomi Wolf is arrested in relation to Occupy Wall Street protests. Her take here.


Sen. Jim DeMint can shut the hell up about what is and isn't constitutional now. Hey Jim, ever hear of a thing called the "First Amendment?"


Rick Santorum wages war on contraception.


A Republican Rep. holds what she calls a "townhall meeting," but asks the local paper not to publish a notice of the event. See, if everyone knows about it, then its much less likely that the only questions Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler would receive would be along the lines of "why are you so awesome?"


Just how awful is Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan? This awful. Seriously, follow this link.


Finally, in a surprise to absolutely no one, an AP analysis of a South Carolina voter ID bill shows it would hit blacks the hardest. It's like I always say, look out when a Republican tells you they want change -- all it means is that they want to change something back to the way it was when it sucked.

Related articles

• Tea Party-Backed Rep Makes Hair-Raising Claims About Occupy Wall Street (huffingtonpost.com)
• It can happen to you: Author Naomi Wolf arrested on sidewalk (wilderside.wordpress.com)
• Feminist Author Naomi Wolf Detained At Occupy Wall Street Protest (huffingtonpost.com)

Stories to Watch: 8/28/11

Hurricane Irene downgrades to a tropical storm. The American death toll at this moment seems to be ten. Flooding, power outages, downed trees widespread. Just because it's been downgraded, don't think you're out of the woods if you're in the path. It's still a very dangerous storm. Stay inside until authorities tell you it's safe to come out. Lots of live power lines laying around out there. Now here's [the rest of] the news...

***
The most brainless headline of the day: "Do We Really Need a National Weather Service?" -- from Fox News, of course. The money shot: "It issues severe weather advisories and hijacks local radio and television stations to get the message out. It presumes that citizens do not pay attention to the weather and so it must force important, perhaps lifesaving, information upon them."

Steve Benen feels the need to clarify, "This is not, by the way, a parody."

***
It's come to this; the right is now criticizing President Obama for competently handling Hurricane Irene. We also learn that Vice President Joe Biden was out golfing when he should've been stopping the hurricane. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.


Rick Perry is quickly learning how difficult it is to have things both ways.


What would Martin Luther King jr. think of Republican voter ID/disenfranchisement laws? I think we all know the answer to that. But just in case you can't guess, civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis verifies that he'd be against it -- strongly.


American Family Association's Bryan Fischer was a dumbass again.


Finally, never, ever, ever, ever visit Drudge Report. I never do and I'm able to find news stories just fine. In the latest example of worthlessness, DR puts up a headline decrying Hurricane Irene as a "phony hurricane." If you want to make yourself stupid, just drink. It's more fun.

Related articles

• Hurricane Irene: The View from Richmond, VA (harpins.wordpress.com)
• Hurricane Irene: August 28 as it happened (telegraph.co.uk)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Dedication Postponed By Hurricane Irene (huffingtonpost.com)
• Obama Tells East Coast Residents to Prepare for Hurricane Irene (businessweek.com)

Stories to Watch: 8/27/11

Heading out to a street fair later today. Summer's winding down, so you've got to get these things in while you can. Now here's the news...


Is Hurricane Irene made worse by global warming? Environmentalist Bill McKibben thinks so. Needless to say, the people who think snowfall in the winter disproves global warming (i.e., dumb people) are unconvinced. Global warming denial is a religion with these people and they'd point and laugh at "global warming alarmists" if the average temperature on Earth was 120 degrees. Meanwhile, 2011 is on track to be the most expensive year in history, in terms of weather -- $32 billion at the end of June. And that's not even including the costs of heating and cooling. So clearly, absolutely nothing unusual is going on.


With Eric Cantor holding federal emergency disaster relief hostage to more spending cuts, the time has come to point out that this is just plain immoral. Would Cantor hold back funding if we were attacked by a foreign army? I'm going out on a limb and saying no. So explain to me what the big fucking difference is here. Luckily, Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond is there to call Cantor out. If Democrats don't make Cantor's "let them drown, so we can afford tax cuts for the rich" policy a major focus in the next few days, they're really dropping the ball. People need to see that the Republican Party in no way represents their interests. This is beyond shameless and in a saner, more moral world would mean the end of Cantor's career. Seriously, this is the sort of over-the-top evil that the clownish villain pulls in bad comedies. You expect them Duke boys to show up any time in the General Lee and foil the plot.


While we're at it, throw Ron Paul out with Cantor.


Michele Bachmann has a great idea; lower our minimum wage to match our competition overseas. Want to make sneakers for a few bucks per 12 hour shift, like those lucky workers in China? Vote Bachmann!


Qadaffi's mercenaries call it quits.


Super-patriotic hater of federal government Rick Perry goes to the feds with his hand out again.


Finally: with the MLK Memorial finished, it's a good time to revisit the right's "Martin Luther King was a Republican" meme. Guess what? He was no Republican.

Related articles

• Can Democrats Blow the Upcoming Payroll Tax Fight? (griperblade.blogspot.com)
• From Martin Luther King's Dream to Eric Cantor's Obsession (themoderatevoice.com)
• Rick Perry's Evolution and Global Warming Denial Propel Him into the Lead in Iowa (firedoglake.com)
• Eric Cantor: No Federal Relief For Earthquake Or Hurricane Damage Unless It's Offset By Spending Cuts (outsidethebeltway.com)

Stories to Watch: 4/2/11

Martin Luther King jr died on April 4th -- he was in Memphis supporting the right of sanitation workers to collective bargaining. Unions here in Madison will hold a weekend memorial today. Keep that in mind, the next time some rightwing nutjob says he was a conservative.


The Wisconsin Democratic Party says they'll have enough signatures to get at least six recall elections running for eight of the Republicans eligible.

***
President Obama wants most federal vehicles to be greener by 2015. Exceptions are "Certain specialized vehicles including those with law enforcement and security specifications." This includes the presidential limo, which is the worst thing ever!

Keep in mind that the presidential limo is basically a tank on a truck frame and you get why fuel efficiency shouldn't be a priority. Also keep in mind that, had Obama decided to replace the prez's tank with a fuel efficient car, these same wingnuts would be complaining about that, too. It's all about being reactionary.

***
If Barack Obama is reelected, the nation is doomed. DOOMED!!


The GOP is dropping serious money trying to erase an embarrassing video from history. In it, Rep. Sean Duffy talks about how hard it is to muddle through on only $174,000 a year. Sure, plenty of people have seen it, but that's not the point. The point is that it could wind up in a campaign ad. Did I mention that this is all happening in Wisconsin, were the GOP is currently running scared? Maybe I should have.


Finally, this is fun: House GOP bring in a rightwing scientists to debunk global warming, he doesn't stick to the script, and actual science breaks out.