October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Good morning!

Ken: I can see that change doesn’t come easy for you. Racism is deeply engrained,  but you are on the right path. It’s amazing to me that people such as yourself only do something when what they have been doing to others, they realize is actually what is happening to them as well. Then and only then do they “wake-up”, and want to take action.

Yes, what they are doing to us is just not right….and what you have been doing to OTWs for 27 years is just not right either. And yet you have the nerve to call someone like Robert an asshole for pointing out the truth. I don’t need to stick up for him, but I will say that when you’re pointing your finger at someone calling them an asshole, just look at your hand and see how many of your fingers are pointing back at you.  Now who’s the asshole?

A kiss to your little girl for opening your eyes. I HOPE that you will continue to read, rid yourself of your racism, and pay it forward.

Al: I would say so as well. No doubt in my mind. FYI: I don’t feel you are correcting me. I realize that Jeb is no longer your Governor. Let me remind you that I do not take credit for writing the article. I simply got it from a trusted resource.  The write was originally published in 2003 when Jeb was your Governor.

Let me remind everyone.  The Governor in each state appoints a key person in a very important position. And that position is the secretary of the state’s voting administration. I’m not sure of the exact title, but that person has control of the entire voting process.  So what does that mean? It means they have control over the amount of time that a person has to vote, making it difficult for OTWs to get to the polls. It means that this person has control of the voting machines - they want to rig them? Simple: They can. They can rig the machines so that anyone who votes for a Democrat it automatically changes to a Republican vote. And no one will ever know. It’s why Gore lost the presidency.

Norma Jean: What will it take for you to vote for Obama? How bad does the country need to get before you realize just who screwed up this country and who is trying his best to put it back together? Believe me it will stay this way and get a lot worse if Obama isn’t voted in a second term. Don’t stay home – that is a an automatic vote for the republicans. Vote Obama. Did you read what Henry wrote about women? Don’t be like so many women who continue to stand by men such as Henry. Thanks to President Obama, you’ll be kicking and screaming your way to freedom.

Henry: I agree with your assessment of Bachman and Palin’s intelligence but that is all I can agree with. However, I can answer your question: “People like you fucked it up.” I won’t speak for AH but from his past posts, my guess is that at least one founding father is appalled, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.

Lloyd: It is a very serious threat. And we can not take it lightly because the republican’s main goal is getting Obama out. Who cares what happens to the country before or after, matters not,  as long as he is gone. When people think like that, they will do anything.

Yukio: Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing.

Irene: I’m with you on that one.

Delatam, Fadi: I join you in congratulating Obama  as well. Next on his list: Joseph Kony

East Africa: Obama’s Move to Fight Kony Good

Barack Obama is already getting flak from the right wing media in the US over his decision announced Friday October 14 to send a hundred US “combat equipped” troops to Uganda to assist in finally undoing the horrible misdeeds of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army. According to BBC, those troops are prepared to move through four East and Central African countries searching out and bringing to justice men who have murdered, maimed, raped and abducted children by the tens of thousands in northern Uganda.

Why the world has watched silently since 1987 when Joseph Kony first came on the scene to start his supposedly messianic bloody mission to bring down the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is beyond me. Especially when Museveni would become the darling of foreign donors by the early 1990s, after the then-wealthy Western powers realized he was no threat to their ongoing activities.

Museveni came to power in 1986 and in all likelihood, one year later, Kony was initially propped up by covert forces who were keen to bring down the former guerrilla fighter who brought an end to more than twenty years of hell overseen by Milton Obote, then Idi Amin, and then Obote again.

I for one welcomed Museveni as a hero who proved that Africans can run their own affairs and quash cruel dictators who usually remained in power because they either bowed to or were installed by Western interests wanting to continue reaping the spoils of the region without any government interference.

But Museveni’s success didn’t seem to reach Uganda’s northern region where the LRA were wrecking havoc mercilessly. I never fully understood how the guerrilla fighter-turned statesman couldn’t quash Kony if he could finish Obote! But i’ve been told it was because the LRA would flee across the border into Sudan and melt into the local population.

What I also couldn’t understand is why the West didn’t come to Museveni’s aid, especially after their unforgiveable neglect of Africans during the Rwanda genocide. But now that Obama is trying to rectify that horrible oversight to a very limited degree, he is being attacked by the likes of Rush Limbaugh who despises Obama “on principle.”

Ironically, some of his fiercest critics didn’t sound a peep when he supported French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Cameron and agreed to send NATO forces to Libya. Instead, they quietly endorsed the Western invasion of North Africa in the name of ‘saving civilian lives’ because they cynically understood that what was really at stake was the OIL that no African, especially Gadaffi, should be allowed to control.

Most of Obama’s current critics don’t yet realize that once again the covert issue in this troop deployment could also be oil. Instead, Limbaugh complained on his radio show that Obama was “sending troops to Africa to kill Christians.” Can you believe it? The guy is not only racist, but also so utterly ignorant that he upgrades a butcher like Kony to being an ‘authentic’ Christian. Launching his religion-based smear campaign, Limbaugh applauds the LRA for its “good work” of “fighting Muslims in Sudan.”

What’s scary about this sort of smear campaign is that in America today, the likes of Limbaugh, including his Fox News colleagues, are commanding much of the mainstream media, meaning many ordinary Americans are likely to listen to Fox or right-wing radio talk, and believe what they hear.

This is a moment when Americans ought to applaud Obama for doing what Bill Clinton didn’t have the guts to do 17 years ago when more than a million innocent Africans were being slaughtered en masse in Rwanda. Since 1987, Kony”s LRA has also been murdering an incalculable number of Africans in Uganda, and at last, an American head of state is doing something about it.

The Ugandan foreign minister has welcomed the deployment of US troops. And while Emira Wood, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus claims Obama’s decision had more to do with the OIL recently discovered in Uganda than any selfless initiative taken on behalf of his African kin, the locals are grateful for any sort of protection.

What’s ironic to me is the timing of President Obama’s decision. People are asking, why now? And I don’t have an answer, but I have to say that just last week, a film opened at a cinema house down the street from me, starring the action-hero Gerald Butler (300) as a degenerate biker who finds hope and meaning in life by coming to Uganda and waging his own Rambo-like war on a “brutal renegade militia” known as, none other than the LRA.

The movie bombed in my neighborhood, but the following Friday is when President Obama announced that he too was going to “do good” for African children. One only hopes his show fares better than Mr. Butler’s did at the box office

*****

Readers: I’m done flapping my lips. Your turn. Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

 This is not a good morning when you read an article such as this:

China: Toddler Run Over Twice, Over A Dozen Passersby Ignore Her (GRAPHIC VIDEO)

Horrifying footage of a 2-year-old girl in China being run over by two separate vehicles and left to die by passersby has stirred outrage throughout the country, with CNN reporting that security footage of the incident has led the nation of 1.3 billion people to do some collective soul-searching.

According to Shanghaiist, the two-year-old, who has been identified as Yueyue, was run over on Thursday outside of a hardware market in Foshan in southern China’s Guangdong province.

Security camera footage shows a driver in a white van hit the young girl, apparently crushing her under the weight of the front wheel. The driver pauses briefly, but then continues to drive forward, running over her with the back wheel.

The following video shows more than a dozen passersby walk, ride motorbikes or drive past the young, bleeding girl without stopping to help. They clearly notice the badly injured child, as some motorists swerve to avoid her body. After three people walk past, a different truck runs over the young girl again.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW

Shanghaiist reports that seven grueling minutes passed before a trash collector picked up Yeuyue’s body and alerted her mother so that she could take the child to the hospital.

According to The Telegraph, Yeuyue suffered injuries to her head and has to use a ventilator to breathe. She is reportedly in critical condition in intensive care at a hospital in Guangzhou.According to AFP, the toddler is in a coma and doctors do not expect her to survive.

Yeuyue’s tragic story was Monday’s most popular story on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service, Shanghaiist reports. CNN’s Enuice Yoon explains in the video below why the footage has gripped the nation’s attention:

“Many people are discussing what they perceive as a loss of morality in Chinese society,” she said to Erroll Barnett. “…some observers have been pointing out that China education system really has failed here, that it’s failed to emphasize and reinforce the need to respect human life at a time when 1.3 billion people all clamoring and rushing to climb up the economic and social ladder.”

The Telegraph‘s Peter Foster offers another explanation of what could have led so many people to walk past the young girl without stopping to help:

Others blamed China’s compensation culture for the apparent show of callousness, recalling a famous 2006 judgment when a Good Samaritan who helped a woman get to hospital was wrongly ordered to pay her compensation.“They didn’t ignore the girl, they just didn’t dare help her,” said one comment among many that said that Chinese law had helped create a fear of intervening.

 The Washington Post references an editorial in China Daily from January that calls for a law to protect Good Samaritans from liability.

Earlier this year, a 22-year-old woman riding her bicycle in China’s Zhejiang Province was killed after being hit by a three-wheeled vehicle. Four subsequent vehicles ran over her, and while several of the vehicles’ drivers stopped, none waited for help to arrive, ChinaSmack reports.

WARNING: The following footage contains graphic content:

Readers:  Where is the love and compassion? Where is the humanity? Since when has suffering a personal loss meant more than the loss of a human being? That is the problem with our society. We’re so concerned about our loss that we have become numb to the feelings of and care for others. But this video shows what happens when we care less about each other. It doesn’t take much thought to know that if we all cared more about each other we would all be looked after…we would all be cared for.

What happened to “Love thy neighbor”? Obama is trying to do this with his health care…with his jobs act. But people are only focused on their needs and could care less about the needs of everyone collectively. Throw in racism, and you can see why we are where we are.

As sickening and as shocking as this video is, it is very representative, and symbolic of how the world is today.  It says it all. I am just disgusted by it. No words can describe what I feel. If you have words, blog me.

Peace & Love…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Good morning!

After 25 years with Wells Fargo, and other “big banks’, two years ago I left and took my business to smaller community banks. Perhaps now is the time to do the same same if you haven’t already.

Community Bank To Pay Customers To Open Accounts In Response To BofA’s Fees

While many banking giants are starting to charge fees for debit card use and other once-free services on checking accounts, one regional bank is doing exactly the opposite.

Southwest, Florida-based Community Bank is offering customers $5 per month to open a checking account, Bradenton.com reports. The payment is a direct response to big banks that have recently announced a slew of fees that they’ll be charging their customers.

“We needed to do something to help consumers who are under attack from behemoth national banks charging fees that just don’t make sense,” Katie Pembles, Community Bank president told Bradenton.com in an interview. “People have a choice of where to bank, and at Community Bank, we thought paying people $5 per month rather than charging them $5 per month was a good way to set us apart.”

Bank of America announced last month that it would charge customers a $5 fee to use their debit cards starting in 2012. Wells Fargo said in August that it would start testing a $3 debit card fee this fall and Citibank announced that they would start charging certain mid-level customers up to $20 per month for low account balances.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and other banking officials have said that the new fees are necessary for the banks to recoup revenue that they’ll lose as a result of the new Dodd-Frank regulations that cap the fees banks can charge merchants for debit card swipes, among other things.

President Barack Obama slammed the big banks for charging the fees, saying that customers are being “mistreated.”

If the outrage on Twitter following Bank of America’s announcement is any indication, Community Bank’s offer may convince consumers to open and account with them. Credit unions have already gotten a boost from the big bank fees; Navy Federal Credit Union said new account openings were more than 20 percent higher than normal the weekend after Bank of America announced the fees.

Readers: Aren’t you just sick of the big banks? Now is the time to do something. Stick ‘em where it hurts before they stick you. Make the switch.

AH: How fun. Your adventures always seem so exciting.

ZL: Sounds like you had a wonderful and special birthday with your fave peeps! I’m craving those cookies myself.

PS: My blog was down last night, so I am assuming it was down for most of you too. Obviously  I am able to post this morning…Let’s HOPE you can read this….and blog me. :)

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Good morning!

A long time coming has finally arrived.

Obama: ‘Keep climbing toward the promised land’

Tens of thousands of people have gathered on a beautiful fall day in Washington to witness the formal dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial that opened in August.

“As tough as times will be, I know we will overcome. I know there are better days ahead. I know this because of the man who towers over us,” President Obama says.

On Deadline will be live blogging the event.

Update at 12:16 p.m. ET: President Obama appears to choke up for a moment as he delivers the final words of his speech: “With our eyes on the horizon and our faith squarely placed in one another, let us keep striving, let us keep struggling, let us keep climbing toward the promised land of a nation and a world that is more just and more equal for every child of God.”

Update at 12:09 p.m.ET: Obama calls for more work to address poverty and unemployment and rundown schools. “Change has never been simple or without controversy, change depends on persistence, changed required determination,” he says.

Update at 12:07 p.m. ET: Obama tells the crowd to call on King for inspiration as they struggle with today’s challenges in education, health care and the economy. “Dr. King refused to accept what he called the “isness” of today. He kept pushing for the “oughtness” of tomorrow,” Obama says. “Let us not be trapped by what is. We can’t be discouraged by what is. We have to keep pushing for what ought to be. … If we maintain our faith in ourselves and the possibilities of this nation, there is no challenge that we can’t surmount.”

Update at 11:58 a.m.ET: The president recalled King’s “I Have a Dream” speech during the 1963 March on Washington, saying it spurred the process of civil rights change.”Without those glorious words, we might not have had the courage to come as far as we have,” he says. “Yes, laws changed, but hearts and mind changed as well.”

“Look at the faces here around you, you see an America that is more fair, and more free and more just than the one Dr. King addressed that day. We are right to savor that slow but certain progress.”

Update at 11:54 a.m. ET: He says King would be the first to say that the monument is for the many who fought for civil rights, including many in the crowd today. He calls it “a monument to your collective achievement.”

Update at 11:53 a.m. ET: Obama addresses the crowd at the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. “An earthquake and a hurricane may have delayed this day, but this is a day that will not be denied,” he says.

Update at 11:51 a.m. ET: President Obama addresses the crowd.

Update at 11:43 a.m. ET: Aretha Franklin sings a song that she says was often requested by King: Take My Hand, Precious Lord.

Update at 11:37 a.m. ET: Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are seated on the platform, as is Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. The president is being preceded by Ken Salazar, the secretary of the department of the Interior, which has overseen the construction of the King monument. He calls Obama “the personofication of that American dream.”

Update at 11:30 a.m. ET: Rev Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, accompanies President Obama as he views the memorial only minutes before he addresses the crowd. The president holds hands with his eldest daugher Malia, as they view the moment. First lady Michelle Obama is walking with their other daughter, Sasha.

Update at 11:14 a.m. ET: Rev. Al Sharpton says the marker is not a monument of old times past. “This is a marker for the fight for justice today and a projection for the fight for justice in the future because we will not stop until we get the equal justice justice (that) Dr. King fought for.” He also called for “economic justice” and the protection of programs like Medicare. “This is not about Obama, this is about our Mama, and we’re going to vote like we never voted before,” Sharpton says.

Update at 10:55 a.m. ET: Controversy about the memorial is being set aside. USA TODAY’s Melanie Eversley asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, whose agency helped oversee the construction of the memorial, about the dust-up over the drum major quote, one of 14 inscribed on the memorial.

It says, “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.” Some, including poet Maya Angelou, say the paraphrase does not accurately reflect what King said and makes him look arrogant.

The actual quote, delivered in a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”

Salazar has said he would revisit the inscription after the dedication. But Sunday, he declined to comment. Calling this “an inspirational day,” he said, “I’m not going to speak about that today.”

Update at 10:46 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s New Jersey correspondent Alesha Williams Boyd was at the Martin Luther King Presbyterian Church in Neptune before 4 a.m. Sunday with more than 50 people waiting in the morning chill for a charter bus that would take them to the dedication ceremony. It was important for them to make the four-hour trek today, they said.

“I remember everybody stopping in the streets, people crying,” Elizabeth Jordan, 57, of Neptune, said of King’s assassination in 1968. “It was like a family member had died. I think that was when I first knew who he was.”

She now knows well King’s legacy as an advocate for peace, justice and equality for all, she said. “This is an historic moment,” Jordan said. “It’s something I never thought I’d see — the memorial, a black president. … The dream is finally coming alive.”

Update at 10:44 a.m. ET: ”Forty-five years after King delivered the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech not far from here, we are here doing something nobody ever believed would be possible,” say Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as he arrived at the memorial site with a contingent of black lawmakers. “This is amazing.”

Update at 10:39 a.m. ET: Rev. Joseph Lowery, the 90-year-old co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, says King gave birth to a “new America.”

“This marvelous present is imperiled today by forces that have come to turn back the clock … But we want to make sure they understand that we have marched too far, prayed too hard, wept too bitterly, bled too profusely, and died too young to let anybody turn back the clock on our journey.”

Update at 10:28 a.m. ET: Rep. John Lewis, Democratic congressman from Georgia, notes that he is only person still living who spoke at the Lincoln Memorial for the “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963.

Had it not been for King’s philosophy of peace, nonviolence and his insistence that nonviolent resistance be based on “brotherly love,” Lewis says, “this would be a different nation; we would be living in a different place today. … But Martin Luther King Jr. must be looked upon as one of the founding fathers of the ‘New America.’

“One man not only freed a people, he liberated a nation,” says Lewis.

Lewis says he is repeatedly ask if the election of Obama as president is the fulfillment of King’s dream. He says he tells them, “it’s just a down payment, we’re not there yet.”

Update at 10:27 a.m. ET: King, Jackson says, would be sad that a “redemptive moment of historic proportions” that came with the election of Obama in 2008 “has been met with unrelenting retribution, retaliation and unprecedented opposition.” “Many seem willing just to sink the ship just to destroy the captain,” Jackson says.”We must do better than that.”

Update at 10:13 a.m.ET: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his assassination, is speaking.

Update at 10:12 a.m. ET: Former CBS anchor Dan Rather, speaking to the crowd, says King once spoke to him about news coverage of the civil rights movement, expressing concern that local affiliates in the South would put pressure on the network news organizations to tone down their coverage. Rather said that at the time he didn’t believe that would happen. “In retrospect, I can’t ignore that the CBS affiliate in Atlanta refused to carry some CBS news reports about the movement in 1962,” he says.”They censored them.”

Update at 10:08 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s Hadley Malcolm, speaking to members of the audience, says Manuel Forsure, 22, just moved to D.C. from Austria two weeks ago to intern at the Austrian embassy. “It’s an exciting day,” he says, adding that he’s looking forward to hearing President Obama speak. “We learned about the civil rights movement in school. It’s not just in the U.S. That’s why it’s important.”

Fellow intern Barbara Posch, 31, says they were encouraged to come to the dedication by their boss. “She said it would be a great opportunity,” Posch says. “The speeches aren’t focused on America. It’s about a global movement about the discontent with the economy.”

Update at 9:55 a.m. ET: Martin Luther King III calls for an end of “conservative policies that exclude people. … We must finally get rid of racism.”

Update at 9:51 a.m. ET: King III praises the “occupy” economic movement that began on Wall Street, saying, “We must stand up for economic justice.”

GALLERY:  Photos from the MLK ceremony

Update at 9:48 a.m. ET: Martin Luther King III, King’s son, says it is important “not to place too much emphasis on Martin Luther King the idol, and not enough on the ideals of Martin Luther King.” King, who was joined on the stage by wife, Arndrea, and daughter, Yolanda, said the nation needs a new dream that targets the triple evils — racism, poverty and militarism. “We can’t be free unless we are all free.”

Update at 9:42 a.m. ET: She notes that her father was actively involved in a poor people’s campaign when he died. She says she believes that he would be supportive now of protests by the poor and the unemployed. “I hear my father say: We must have a radical revolution of values and a reordering of our priorities in this nation. I hear my father say, as we dedicate this monument, we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society, to a person-oriented society.”

As we protest we must conduct ourselves on a higher plain of dignity, Bernice King said, invoking her father’s words and melodic delivery, USA TODAY’s Desair Brown reports. “We must pray together children or we will get weary … Free at last, free at last. Thank God we are free at last,” she concluded, to rousing applause and ovations.

Update at 9:39 a.m. ET: She also praises her mother, Coretta Scott King, for her work with King and, after his death, for continuing his legacy. Her work, says Bernice, helped make the “most hated man in America in 1967 to now be one of the most revered and loved men in the world so that we might be able to build a monument in his honor. Thank you, Mama, for your dedication, thank you for your sacrifice.”

Update at 9:36 a.m. ET: Rev. Bernice King” says the day “is not just a celebration for African-Americans, but Americans and citizens around the world. No doubt today the world celebrates with us.”

Update at 9:34 a.m. ET: Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., says, “It is a great time of celebration and the entire King family is proud to witness this day.”

Update at 9:32 a.m. ET: USA TODAY’s Carly Mallenbaum reports that spectators are looking for any sort of shade on the open lawn. Families sit in chairs with built-in canopies. Women sit beneath open umbrellas. One woman fans herself with an innovative device: A hand fan that turns into a straw hat.

Update at 9:29 a.m. ET: King’s sister, Christine King Farris, refers to Obama, the first African-American president, and says, “All dreams can come true and America is a place where you can make it happen.”

Update at 9:20 a.m. ET: Gray spends much of his speech noting that residents of Washington, D.C., do not, under the Constitution, have full voting rights. He calls on President Obama and Congress to end this “yoke of injustice” and “remove the shackles of oppression.” The voting restrictions were put in place when the District of Columbia was created. The district does not have a voting representative in Congress.

Update 9:17 a.m. ET: Mayor Vincent Gray of Washington, D.C., says the memorial is “long overdue.”

Update at 9:11 a.m. ET: Gwen Ifill, managing editor of PBS’Washington Week, addresses the crowd as master of ceremonies.

Original post: The striking weather is in sharp contast to the stormy weather driven by Hurricane Irene that forced a postponement of the ceremonies in August.

President Obama will be among those honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader during the four-hour program. Others who will appear include singer Aretha Franklin and poet Nikki Giovanni, who will read a poem, In the Spirit of Martin.

Thousands of people began gathering at dawn at the memorial, which is not far from the Lincoln Memorial. Organizers say they expect as many as 50,000 people to attend today, USA TODAY’s Melanie Eversley reports.

King’s sister and two of his children are scheduled to speak. The choir from King’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta will sing.

“Although our plans have been scaled back, I am confident Sunday’s event will be momentous,” said Harry Johnson, head of the foundation raising money for the memorial.

He referred to the dedication as a “long-awaited moment in our nation’s history.”

See photos of: Martin Luther King Jr.

*******

Readers: Were any of you at the memorial? I would love to hear. Blog me.

Zen Lill: Happy Birthday girl! I HOPE that you’re having a wonderful weekend celebrating!

Health Info:  A most apropos entry.

AH: And it is delightful to have you back. Me and my readers have missed your entries.  As always…wishing you and yours the best.

Wilma: So true and so well said.

Emily: Haha!

Rita: Thanks for saying what I would think is obvious, but evidently not to some, which I understand. But perhaps now my readers will heed your words, so that we can help protect Anonz so that he can continue to help protect others.

Nyika: I too HOPE that it doesn’t hurt Obama.  I HOPE this is a warning to us all to be very careful when we post such things that could have huge ramifications. As we all know there are people who read this blog HOPEing to read what is not necessarily publicly known, that they can use to their advantage, that can be very damaging to president Obama, Anonz…

Fairuza: It is possible for you to leave. Just say the word. You too, Zhi.

HOWIE: Thanks for bringing this up. I have been reading and watching much of this over the weekend.  And I am cheering them on. I have yet to participate but I want to. This is a global movement that has been a long time coming. I agree…we need to step on the gas and keep it going.

Peace & Love….

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Good morning!

Social Butterfly: No need to make such a promise. The article you posted was worth the length. Thank you for taking the time to include such an important women’s health issue.

Anita: I couldn’t have said it better. No one is going to be more concerned about women’s health than women.

That being said, we women, and concerned me who truly care about women, need to continue to fight for our rights, and not stand for this to happen. We can see where priorities lie when it comes to men and the women that follow their lead, lead us. Their priorities are not women’s health and well-being. Their priorities are playing politics with women’s health and privacy. 

And once again, the republican’s middle name is “hypocrite”. How can you call a bill ”Protect Life Act”, when this bill allows doctors and hospitals to “exercise their conscience” by letting pregnant women facing emergency medical conditions die? (!)

**********

Readers: Have anything to say? This is the place. Blog me.

Patricia: Welcome to my blog. Happy to hear your new view of FOX. I look forward to more of what you have to say.

Hello AH:  That story made me chuckle. How’s life?

Emily:  That was cute.

Tim: With respect to Human Events, my thoughts exactly.

Al: Thank you. Nice to see you back here. I HOPE all is well with you.

As always….I’ll check back in tomorrow.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2011

“ Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox“