www.DemocraticFundamentalism.org - News in Review

Before we get into the news, I want to welcome those linking in from charlesrehn.com and other sites and let you know that on democraticfundamentalism.org we have links to full stories concerning the topics I'll be talking about. Just go to the NEWS in REVIEW link from the front page of democraticfundamentalism.org and select the text version of this report. You'll find the news links there. A music mix that goes with the report, too.

By the way, at such time that I announce my candidacy, these broadcast will be made from charlesrehn.com, the website that is being built in anticipation of my campaign.

As always, I want to point out that my recommendations about CNN are based on my own research concerning the accuracy and thoroughness of news reporting on a consistent basis… I highly recommend CNN. In fairness, there are many good sources of news... At the same time, I want to make it clear that I’m not in any way affiliated with them and receive no benefit from them, except the benefit of the information they provide...

With that, let's get into the news...

January 15, 1929 was an important date in American History... it was the day Martin Luther King, Jr was born. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not grow up with an ambition to be a civil rights leader. He was reluctant to do so when others chose to leave it to someone else to be the leader, to take the risks and to endure the politics of personal destruction. But he understood the difference between right and wrong, moral imperatives and the need for someone to stand up and be a leader, to express the vision and commitment of Americans, according to our Constitution, to a land of equality, the inalienable rights we claim to be divined and granted by God.

On January 15, 2003, I admit, I was offended when George Bush once again brazenly used an occasion of national importance to politicize his party's agenda to disempower the memories and heritage expressed in the honoring of an event or person of national importance.

I was offended by the use of Presidential powers to foist another lie upon the American people. It was a purposeful lie, a hurtful lie, as political advisors confirmed that less than 8% of black Americans voted for George Bush in the 2000 Presidential election... therefore, black Americans were expendable or irrelevant to the Republican Party's goals and strategies.

This should be a warning to Hispanics and other minorities... if your vote cannot be counted on, your needs will be ignored. And lies will be told to explain how your interests are irrelevant to the people as a whole.

A president is supposed to be honorable enough to be certain that all people are represented, not just their political supporters. I am still waiting for honor to be delivered to the White House.

January 15, 2003... George Bush made a speech in which he stated that his administration would be filing an appeal on behalf of students who claim that they were not admitted to the University of Michigan because of racial quotas. He made a point to highlight that race could provide an addtional 20 points in the scoring system used to determine admittance. He failed to point out that academic standing is worth 80 points, and how being an athlete could also provide 20 points. And, of course, he said nothing about legacy entrance points, whereby students are given extra points because their parents attended a given school... the kind that allowed him, with his poor grades, to get into Yale.

Bush created a system in Texas which allowed for the top 10% of any high school class to be entered into higher education. It sounds good, but does nothing in the face of lessening disparities in educational opportunites in the lower grades of schooling, based on wealth, race and segregation.

When George Bush said that some Democrats may use class warfare as a campaign issue... we wondered why he brought it up... the reason is clear... because George Bush, with this issue, has declared class warfare, and Democrats intend to fight it. As usual, never forget... George Bush has declared another war.... not the Democrats.

But Bush's speech was not the worst of it... in fact, it came later in the week when conservatives began describing the Democrats as practicing Racial Discrimination. It is a perverse reversal of the generally accepted meaning of racial discrimination in this country. It is a 10 second sound bite that is nothing but an out and out lie to mislead Americans and convilute the perception of what is actually occurring.

And Bush and Company do it every day of the week. I'll say it. They're semantical liars. Propagandists. And it isn't by accident.

It is part of why I do not believe that George Bush sincerely believes in the United States Constitution. I do not believe he believes in equality. He believes in money and political power.

In honor and support of what Martin Luther King stands for, I'm going to read a few off his remarks.

Where We Are Going?
King's 1967 book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?"

In the treatment of poverty nationally, one fact stands out: There are twice as many white poor as Negro poor in the United States. Therefore I will not dwell on the experiences of poverty that derive from racial discrimination, but will discuss the poverty that affects white and Negro alike.

Up to recently we have proceeded from a premise that poverty is a consequence of multiple evils: lack of education restricting job opportunities; poor housing which stultified home life and suppressed initiative; fragile family relationships which distorted personality development. The logic of this approach suggested that each of these causes be attacked one by one. Hence a housing program to transform living conditions, improved educational facilities to furnish tools for better job opportunities, and family counseling to create better personal adjustments were designed. In combination these measures were intended to remove the causes of poverty.

While none of these remedies in itself is unsound, all have a fatal disadvantage. The programs have never proceeded on a coordinated basis or at a similar rate of development. Housing measures have fluctuated at the whims of legislative bodies. They have been piecemeal and pygmy. Educational reforms have been even more sluggish and entangled in bureaucratic stalling and economy-dominated decisions. Family assistance stagnated in neglect and then suddenly was discovered to be the central issue on the basis of hasty and superficial studies. At no time has a total, coordinated and fully adequate program been conceived. As a consequence, fragmentary and spasmodic reforms have failed to reach down to the profoundest needs of the poor.

------

Those were the words of Martin Luther King in 1967. What he said then is every bit as true today.

Study: Schools becoming more segregated - U.S. 'has been going backward' CNN

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A dozen years after the Supreme Court made it easier for public schools to escape court-ordered desegregation plans, black and Hispanic students across the country are increasingly less likely to learn side-by-side with their white counterparts, according to the findings of a study released Sunday.

Although minority students in the South and West, the regions with the largest minority populations, attend the most integrated public schools, so-called "resegregation" is occurring faster there than in other regions, according to researchers at Harvard University's Civil Rights Project.

The study also found that among minority groups, Hispanic students attend the least-integrated schools; Asian students, the most integrated. White students were the most segregated overall, attending schools that, on average, were 80 percent white.

In the 2000-2001 school year, the average student body of a Hispanic student's school had a white population of about 28 percent; for blacks, the figure was about 31 percent, according to the study, which was based on statistics provided by local school systems to the U.S. Department of Education.

In 1987, the average student body of a black student's school was 37 percent white, about 6 percentage points higher than it was in 2000. The white percentage in the average Hispanic student's school fell by about the same percentage during the same period, according to the study.

Also, more than a third of black and Hispanic students attended a school with a minority population of more than 90 percent, the study found.

Census figures for 2000 show that the nation's non-Hispanic white population was 69 percent; the black and Hispanic populations were both about 12 percent. The study found minority student enrollment was nearly 40 percent, almost twice the percentage in the 1960s.

"The country has been going backward toward greater resegregation in all parts of the country for more than a decade," said the study's authors, who argue not only for retaining existing integration programs but also for expanding inner-city-to-suburban programs to increase diversity.

"Since the end of the Civil Rights era, there has been no significant leadership towards the goal of creating a successfully integrated society built on integrated schools and neighborhoods," the authors said. "Race matters strongly. Racial segregation almost always accompanies segregation by poverty and many forms of related inequality."

The study notes that Asians, the minority group most likely to attend integrated schools, are the most highly educated racial group, while Hispanics have the highest high school dropout rate. Asians also live in the most integrated neighborhoods, while Hispanics tend to be more isolated by geography and language, the study said.

In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that school districts that had complied with court-ordered desegregation orders and done everything feasible to eliminate the effects of prior discrimination could get out from under court supervision, even if racial disparities still existed.

Many districts have taken advantage of the ruling to end court-ordered desegregation programs and resume sending children to schools in their neighborhoods. The study's authors contend that has contributed to increased segregation of schools, particularly in the South.

In 1988, the percentage of black students in majority-white schools in the South peaked at more than 43 percent. By 2000, that figure had fallen to 31 percent -- lower than it was in 1970, the study found.

So, you tell me... who is practicing racial discrimination.. I mean, you can try to hide it in statistics and fancy words... just like accounting problems in the corporations that have stolen your money... but the truth is the truth... and the Republican Southern Strategy, covertly implemented by people like Trnt Lott... has been working... all the while, people like George Bush perpetuate the bald faced lies that racism is no longer the issue it used to be, and even more, that they are in favor of empowering minorities.

I admit, those are strong words... but consider this: part of the strategy of slave owners was to gain free or cheap labor, and a big part of the strategy to keep it that way was to keep slaves illiterate and ignorant. We may not have legal slavery, but keeping the national minimum wage low is one way to keep the "slaves" in their places... and perpetuating the disparity in educational opportunities keeps them ignorant.

Interestingly enough, Republican commentaries refer to Democrats as Marxists... you might want to recall, it was Stalin who used free labor to build the Russian economy.

Remember, history repeats itself, and Condoleeza Rice is a student of Russian History, and an expert at Stalinism.

Well... with that.. I'm sure I'll start some controversy somewhere along the line... just telling the truth folks...

In a way, I'm going to change subjects a little... but not really... I'm going to talk about how the citizens in more than 25 nations around the world have been protesting for peace over the weekend... and how conservatives are using the same kind of semantical lies to discredit those protesting, particularly in the United States....

-------

CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer

BLITZER: An anti-war group, meanwhile, has revived one of the most controversial but famous political ads in history. It was used only once by Lyndon Johnson's campaign in 1964.

. Maybe it will end quickly, maybe not. Maybe it will spread.

Maybe extremists will take over countries with nuclear weapons.

Maybe the unthinkable.

ROBERT GEORGE, NEW YORK POST

Peter BEINART: Oh, absolutely over the top. They never make any real argument how on Earth war in Iraq is really going to lead to nuclear war, presumably in the United States.

And this is exactly what I was talking about earlier, the problem with the anti-war movement. They're not making serious, real arguments. It's demagogy. And I think it should be -- I hope it's taken off the air.

BLITZER: Robert?

GEORGE: Yes, it's ridiculous. It's this group MoveOn.org, you know, who came out of the whole Lewinsky scandal. Unfortunately, they didn't move on. Their lies just got bigger.

BRAZILE: I think it's credible. I think it helps to define this debate, the consequences of a preemptive strike. So I think for that purpose alone, it really helps to educate.

GOLDBERG: First of all, I mean, I agree entirely with Peter, but it also shows that they're frozen in the past, that they still see things through this sort of peacenik, 1960s mentality and that everything can still be explained by that.

But it also, you know, it reminds us of the incredible slander that there was -- that was delivered against Barry Goldwater in those days, and I have to speak up for the man.

Jonah, is the anti-war momentum growing?

GOLDBERG: Yes, I think it is. The problem is, is that the momentum is growing in the wrong direction. If this had been an anti- war movement organized by, say, the National Council of Churches or somebody like that, you wouldn't have had the freak show that you had in Washington this weekend.

The problem is, is the people running the anti-war movement aren't honest, conscientious, liberal sort of people who are against war or have a reasonable argument about this stuff.

It is run by this group ANSWER and some other coalition groups that are basically a bunch of pachouli-soaked nut jobs, who are Marxists, anarchists, who have all sorts of bizarre agendas about what the world should be about. And their biggest problem for the anti-war movement today is that whenever their leaders speak, they discredit themselves. BLITZER: All right, what about that? We heard Ramsey Clark speak at this rally yesterday. Al Sharpton was there, Jesse Jackson was there, Cynthia McKinney.

What do you -- are they all a bunch of nut jobs?

BRAZILE: No, I don't think so. But I do believe that Jonah makes a very important point, in terms of the PR effort.

Look, you don't have to look at the number or the size of the protest to know that there is an effective peace movement taking place in American politics today. Just look at the polls. The president's poll numbers are down.

That said, look, I think the war movement -- yes, an anti-war movement yesterday managed to do one thing, and that is they captivated moms and pops across the country saying, "Look, it's time to have another dialogue." And it may take off.

BLITZER: Peter, how concerned should the Bush administration be about this seemingly growing anti-war movement?

Peter BEINART: Not at all. I think Jonah's absolutely right, these are exactly the guys they want in opposition.

And it's not just that they're on the far left. They do not have a policy. Remember, it's not just that these guys are anti-war. For years and years, they've been passionately anti-sanctions.

So the question you have to ask these guys is, you don't want war against Saddam, you don't want sanctions against Saddam, then you don't think Saddam is a threat at all? That is a lunatic, marginal position to take.

---------

Now, what does this all have to do with Martin Luther King? It's this: whenever the people in power do not wish to give legitimacy to people who have a different opinion, such as this one held by what I call the NEW MORAL MAJORITY< people who actually want to resolve issues left unresolved for generations, what do conservatives do - they instigate politics of personal destruction by calling people nuts for having the guts to speak out.

The protests are not just about war... they are about people who are speaking out against the policies and traditions of a government that is not truly responsive to the will of the people, and the well being of the people. Remember, the people ar enot required to have policies... politicians claim to have those. And the New Silent Majority is beginning to say that they don't like the policies that are in place.

Remember, people claimed Martin Luther King was called everything from insane, to a communist for leading this nation to address isssues of civil rights...

In my mind, it is lunatics who purposely set out to suppress free speech and civil rights... all the while getting paid to express their opinions on national tv. They should spend more time understanding the issues of citizens, instead of characterizing them as idiots for making legitimate demands of their government.

It is the lies of the people allowed free access to the media that ultimately undermine the basic principles and values of this nation.

The I Have A Dream Speech

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to 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 and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

---

With that, we'll call it a wrap.

Recommended Reading

How to Generate Public Acceptance of War by Hermann Goering, Hitler's #2 man. Read this quote, find out why that's significant, and why it should be viewed as an acceleration in the Bush Administration's plan to convince Americans to go to war in Iraq... soon... to save his Presidency]
Recommended book: Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the OJ Simpson Trial by Alan M. Dershowitz. It's short, inexpensive and incredibly revealing. Includes a new distinction; testilying. My copy cost $3 See Also: The Genesis of Justice and Shout Fire.
10/19/2001 - From Hitler To Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden - Insider Connections and the Bush Family’s Partnership with Killers of Americans


What the Bible Says About the Times We're In	Mississippi and Meredith Remembering Integration	The Power of Caring www.cnnsi.com/caring

	Return to Broadcast Table of Contents Speaking it into existence... The News In Review World & National News, thoughts & insights you may not have heard Webmasters: Click here to add this broadcast to your site