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And, yes, I DO take it personally

Monday, January 16, 2012

Lamenting the loss of our civil liberties on the day set aside to honor Martin Luther King

chris hayes interview with former guantánamo detainee lakhdar boumediene...

boumediene, explains in Arabic how his life was devastated by indefinite detention...

In October, 2001, six Algerian men were arrested in Bosnia and accused of plotting to blow up the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo. They were later released due to insufficient evidence, but immediately handed off to U.S. military forces. In an exclusive interview Chris talks with Lakhdar Boumediene, one of the six men arrested who was then detained at Guantanamo for seven years - without charge or explanation.

With the help of a translator, Boumediene explains life as a Guantanamo prisoner, including the internal politics, ways in which he says U.S. military officials tortured him, and the struggles he faced after being released.


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

in a similar vein, glenn reminds us of the tremendous attack on our civil liberties that continues unabated under barack obama... he cites jonathan turley's wapo op-ed...
In The Washington Post yesterday, Law Professor Jonathan Turley has an Op-Ed in which he identifies ten major, ongoing assaults on core civil liberties in the U.S. Many of these abuses were accelerated during the Bush administration in the wake of 9/11, but all have been vigorously continued and/or expanded by President Obama. Turley points out that these powers have long been deemed (by the U.S.) as the hallmark of tyranny, and argues that their seizure by the U.S. Government has seriously called into question America’s status as a free nation: “They form a mosaic of powers under which our country could be considered, at least in part, authoritarian.” All ten of these powers are ones very familiar to readers here:

Assassination of U.S. citizens; Indefinite detention; Arbitrary justice; Warrantless searches; Secret evidence; War crimes; Secret court; Immunity from judicial review; Continual monitoring of citizens; and Extraordinary renditions.

feel the hope...? feel the change...?

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Monday, March 08, 2010

Two calls for rebellion

chris hedges...
There are no constraints left to halt America's slide into a totalitarian capitalism. Electoral politics are a sham. The media have been debased and defanged by corporate owners. The working class has been impoverished and is now being plunged into profound despair. The legal system has been corrupted to serve corporate interests. Popular institutions, from labor unions to political parties, have been destroyed or emasculated by corporate power. And any form of protest, no matter how tepid, is blocked by an internal security apparatus that is starting to rival that of the East German secret police. The mounting anger and hatred, coursing through the bloodstream of the body politic, make violence and counter-violence inevitable. Brace yourself. The American empire is over. And the descent is going to be horrifying.

Those singled out as internal enemies will include people of color, immigrants, gays, intellectuals, feminists, Jews, Muslims, union leaders and those defined as "liberals." They will be condemned as anti-American and blamed for our decline. The economic collapse, which remains mysterious and enigmatic to most Americans, will be pinned by demagogues and hatemongers on these hapless scapegoats. And the random acts of violence, which are already leaping up around the fringes of American society, will justify harsh measures of internal control that will snuff out the final vestiges of our democracy. The corporate forces that destroyed the country will use the information systems they control to mask their culpability. The old game of blaming the weak and the marginal, a staple of despotic regimes, will empower the dark undercurrents of sadism and violence within American society and deflect attention from the corporate vampires that have drained the blood of the country.

"We are going to be poorer," David Cay Johnston told me. Johnston was the tax reporter of The New York Times for 13 years and has written on how the corporate state rigged the system against us. He is the author of "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With the Bill," a book about hidden subsidies, rigged markets and corporate socialism. "Health care is going to eat up more and more of our income. We are going to have less and less for other things. We are going to have some huge disasters sooner or later caused by our failure to invest. Dams and bridges will break. Buildings will collapse. There are water mains that are 25 to 50 feet wide. There will be huge infrastructure disasters. Our intellectual resources are in decline. We are failing to educate young people and instill in them rigor. We are going to continue to pour money into the military. I think it is possible, I do not say it is probable, that we will have a revolution, a civil war that will see the end of the United States of America."

bill quigley...
It is time for a revolution. Government does not work for regular people. It appears to work quite well for big corporations, banks, insurance companies, military contractors, lobbyists, and for the rich and powerful. But it does not work for people.

The 1776 Declaration of Independence stated that when a long train of abuses by those in power evidence a design to reduce the rights of people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is the peoples right, in fact their duty to engage in a revolution.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said forty three years ago next month that it was time for a radical revolution of values in the United States. He preached “a true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.” It is clearer than ever that now is the time for radical change.

[...]

Forty three years ago next month, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached in Riverside Church in New York City that “a time comes when silence is betrayal.” He went on to condemn the Vietnam War and the system which created it and the other injustices clearly apparent. “We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing oriented” society to a “person oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

It is time.

food for thought, for sure...

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

A Brother Tim Op-Ed

I try to keep my posts proprietary to the blog on which they're written. However, as this story refuses to give up the ghost; I thought I'd launch my boat and see how it floats. This was originally published at the Blog of Revelation.


Obama Shakes Off Wright Jab

Although it was a stinger, it was by no means a knock-out blow. It never even drew blood. The pounding Obama has taken from the MSM pundits seems to have only proved to make him stronger, as witnessed by the primaries in North Carolina and Indiana last night. The question that the pundits of the MSM refuse to ask, even though it is asked daily in the blogosphere, is: What was Wright's motivation?

I have read and heard explanations such as, 'He was duped' or 'He's out to ruin Obama'. There may be some degree of truth to those explanations, but it is much more complex than that.

The Rev Jeremiah Wright is a self-aggrandizing, bombastic, egocentric, fool. He is an 'old-school' Black who refuses to accept or acknowledge progress. He is afflicted with what I would term, Plantation Syndrome. If he gets a traffic ticket; is declined credit; turned down for employment; or has his electric service cut off; the reason is always the same: "It's because I'm Black". It's the selfish resistance to accept responsibility; something I'm
certain he's preached on many times. It appears Wright has succumbed to the lustful desires of the flesh. Paul counsels in Galations 5:16-17
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Make no mistake about this: Rev Wright is an intelligent and well-educated man. Was he duped? To some extent. Was he trying to purposely hurt Obama? Again, to some extent. His motivation is spawned by his fleshly desire for vengeance.

The man started his calling with a good heart and noble intentions -- helping and lifting up the poor and downtrodden. In that, he experienced much success. Day-Care Centers; Outreach Missions; Food Pantries; and preaching the love and understanding of the Gospel of Christ. But somewhere, sometime, something went terribly awry.

I have several Black friends, including Pastors, and
am no stranger to Black Churches and their style of preaching and worship. I have spoken with them about the Wright Debacle, and they are all of the opinion that, worse than the pain he has inflicted on Obama, is the damage he has done to the Black Church, and Christianity in general.

Black Preachers are fiery, entertaining, animated Bible-thumpers; but they are NOT vitriolic or hateful. The Blacks I have talked with, including the Pastors, feel adamantly that he does NOT represent the Black Church. From my personal experiences, I tend to agree with them whole-heartedly.

He's correct when he said, "Black Churches worship differently", but not in the way he implied. Black Churches are on a different, possibly higher, spiritual plane; due to the histrionic tribulation of subjugation. There is a lot of truth in what Wright said, but with his intelligence and education, the language and words he used, were both irresponsible and inexcusable. Mark 7:15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. So...... How did the flesh get such a death-grip upon a Man of God?

Frustration (I can understand that). But Wright let his frustration give way to anger, and his anger birthed a bitterness within him. Anger has a way, if not kept in check, to eat a man up, from the inside out. David advises in Psalm 37:8
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

Wright was little-known outside of the Greater Chicago area, where he was highly esteemed. He saw in Obama, a chance to gain national prominence; to become, as it were, the next Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton. To him, the opportunity was irresistible.

However, after being forced to resign both his coveted position as Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, and his seat on Obama's Spiritual Advisory Committee; his frustration, anger, and bitterness reached the boiling point. When he was offered the 'National Spotlight' by his long-time friend,
Rev Barbara Reynolds (an ardent Clinton supporter), at the National Press Club; he jumped on it like a duck on a June-bug. He had little or no concern for the ripple effect it would have on Obama, the Black Church, or Christianity. He thought only of himself, and his need to vent his anger and bitterness. He felt the National Press Club event was the perfect venue for the unleashing of his vengeance. Wrong---- It only tarnished his reputation, and sullied his message.

He should have prayed for discernment, as to why the MSM was giving him so much airtime, when preachers like John Hagee, Pat Robertson, Rod Parsley, Jerry Falwell, et al, make the same comments and worse; yet are given little to no coverage. Hypocrisy rears it's ugly head again.

So what do we do now?

I would exhort all people of faith to pray for Jeremiah Wright. I have, and will fervently continue to do so. I pray that Rev Wright will be blessed with:
Inner-peace -- To be freed from the bonds of the demons of his frustrations, anger, and bitterness.
Strength -- To combat the lusts of the flesh that are overtaking him.
Wisdom -- To see the error of his ways, and a return to the good works the Lord has commissioned him to do.

And what should Rev Jeremiah Wright do?

He should repent, apologize, ask forgiveness of those he has wronged; and above all, keep his mouth shut tight till the Holy Ghost gives him utterance.

Will he do it? I don't know. Given his mindset and performance over the last couple of months, it appears doubtful. But hey.......Scripture tells us that only God can change a heart, and with God, all things are possible.

Alors, I will keep the faith and continue praying.

Peace and Grace,
Brother Tim

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Monday, January 21, 2008

MLK: "The time has come to speak the truth about this war"

martin luther king jr. speaks to us from beyond the grave...



from brasscheck tv...
Nothing could be more relevant today.

Yet you won't see this speech on US television, nor will you hear it even referred to...even on Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday in the United States.

is it any wonder he was assassinated...?

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