April 4th,1968

1.15.2007

First a plug.
8 1/2 by Eleven was updated today.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today is Martin Luther King Day, a day that celebrates one of the most amazing men of the past 100 years. His "I have a Dream" speech still gives me chills, and you can see all 20 minutes of it, as I posted a video of it at the WoW. You can find it here.

It is interesting to look at what Dr. King fought for, and where Black America finds itself today. It is also interesting how long it took for MLK Day to become and official federal holiday. 1983 it was signed into federal. It was opposed vehemently by that idiot Jesse Helms and it was even opposed by Reagan, until Congress passed it with a veto proof majority 338 to 90. Even after that, it was not officially observed until 1986, and even then it was not until 2000, that all 50 states observed it.

Dr. King was a great man, one of the greatest leaders this coutry ever had. He was a very eloquent speaker, again one of the best of all time. Very intelligent, and could be color blund when he needed to be.

Malach is not black, though Malach lives in a fairly racially deverse part of the country; he has Black friends, and Black co-workers. Something we discuss quite a bit is "the Dream" 40 years later. Yes, Blacks defintely have more rights and freedoms than they did, but there is still and inherit racism and bigotry in this country that a Black man or woman will have to face. Jobs, schooling, places to live, are still not completely equal, and those living below the poverty line still tend to be mostly minorities. It is better though, and seems to get better with each generation.

We also discuss Black culture quite a bit and it's embrace of fools, gangsters, hip hop artist, professional athletes, drug dealers. Much if what is labeled as "Black Entertainment" seems to promote violence, mysogyny, and ingnorance. We discuss that for many black men, their heroes are not men like Dr. King, but guys like 50 cent (and a lot of white kids for that matter). I have often wondered if Dr. King would be proud of his people . . . black music, black television and movies if he were alive today.

I am a big fan of Aaron McGruder, more specifically his cartoon strip The Boondocks. I love that McGruder is not afraid to show some of what is wrong with Black America and America in general. The Boondocks has been made into a "cartoon" on [adult swim], and is one of the best shows on television. The Boondocks did a show last year, the premise of the show was that Dr. King, was not killed, but put into a coma and woke up in the year 2000. The show is of course funny, and poignant, and goes through the next couple of years of King's life, where he experiences how far his people have come, events like 911 and his reaction to them, and other things like that. It also shows how King is not nessecarly confortable with what his people have done with their freedom. The end of the show, King goes to a rally of the first black political party, to give a speech, it is in the YouTube video below. One warning, the n-word is prevalent in it.

The whole episode in very powerful, and one of the best things I have ever seen on TV.

Peace and keep the dream alive.

You Are Listening too . . .
By The Time I Get To Arizona, by Public Enemy (1991). It is fairly obvious why I put it here.

Goodbye to Saddam's half brother.
So, Barzan Hassan and a few other were hanged today. Evidently they miscalculated the hanging and decapitated Hassan. There is also a video, which has not been leaked, and security was ultra tight, so no cell phones caught the action. There have be requests to post this video at the WoW. Sorry none of my sources have the video. And I ask again, how are the Kurds supposed to help this?

The Confederate Flag.
Honestly I really don't know what a state organization would display it. Isn't it akin to a local German province decided to display the Nazi flag as "part of their heritage?" I mean, slavery is part of the heritage of the US, but we don't celebrate it, at least most of us.

The last word.
So, Ladanian Tomlinson was upset with the Patriots they were disrespectful after won a very hard fought and emotional game, becuase the mimick an idiotic dance the steroid freak Shaun Merriman does, which is just as disrespectful, everytime he sacks a quarterback. This is what the NFL has become. Thanks TO.

Wow!
You mean it is acutally going to get colder than 50 degrees around here?

Malach's Quote of the Day.
Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am Malach and I have a dream.