From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
MLK Joins Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and FDR
It's not very often (1885, 1922, 1943, 1997) that a memorial dedicated to an individual American opens on the National Mall in Washington. Today is one of those rare days, and the person it honors could not be more deserving, as far as we're concerned: Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Nestled next to the Tidal Basin and situated directly between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the MLK National Memorial was first proposed in 1984, and in 1996 President Clinton signed Congressional legislation---back when Congress was still functional---giving it the green light. Today visitors will, for the first time, experience one helluva grand entrance:
At the entry portal, two stones are parted and a single stone wedge is pushed forward toward the horizon; the missing piece of what was once a single boulder. The smooth insides of the portal contrast the rough outer surfaces of the boulder. Beyond this portal, the stone appears to have been thrust into the plaza, wrested from the boulder and pushed forward---it bears signs of a great monolithic struggle. […]
The boulder is the Mountain of Despair, through which every visitor will enter, moving through the struggle as Dr. King did during his life, and then be released into the open freedom of the plaza. The solitary stone is the Stone of Hope, from which Dr. King’s image emerges, gazing over the Tidal Basin toward the horizon, seeing a future society of justice and equality for which he encouraged all citizens to strive.
A boulder that was broken through, we're reminded via USA Today, with nary a stick of dynamite:
Deane Bonner, president of the NAACP chapter in Cobb County, Ga., says she was inspired to activism after hearing King speak at a church in Columbus, Ohio, in 1961. "Dr. King's place is so paramount to us because he was a man of non-violence," she says. "In spite of everything that was going on in the country, Dr. King turned the other cheek. A man of peace certainly should have a place on the Mall."
And Lord a'mighty, look at this: Americans actually agree on something:
A huge majority of Americans---91%---approve of the memorial, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. The poll, conducted Aug. 4-7, found that 99% of black adults and 89% of white adults approve.
Joseph Lowery, 89, a King associate sometimes now called "the dean of the civil rights movement," traces a direct line from King's soaring oratory at the Lincoln Memorial to the inauguration of the nation's first African American president in 2009, and this month's opening of the King Memorial.
"Martin issued the challenge in 1963, and to the nation's credit, it responded in November 2008," says Lowery, who gave the benediction at President Obama's inauguration. "That election represented a new birth of freedom. This monument says the same thing that the election says. The election didn't usher us into a post-racial period, but it did signify change. And that began with the movement."
You can take a virtual tour of the MLK Memorial here. The official dedication is Sunday, the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have Dream" speech, and among the speakers will be the president. (Dedication FAQs are here.)
I was three years-old when King was gunned down in 1968, not quite old enough to have any memory of him, unfortunately. But his words and deeds have echoed in my ears and taken root in my heart ever since I can remember. King (and Gandhi and Mandela and the other titans of non-violence) stands in such stark contrast to the haters and shoot-first-ask-questions-later types. We need more of them---lots more.
Since we don’t get to say this very often lately, I'm leaping at the chance: this is a great day for America. Visitors will officially start passing through the mountain at 11, and I'll be adding a future visit to my bucket list.
Meanwhile, Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Monday, August 22, 2011
Note: Whoa, this is freaky. I just saw an image of the Virgin Mary in my Illustrated History of The Bible. eBay, here I come!
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the next new moon on Monday: 7
(Source: Duran Duran)
Days 'til the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off in Sparks, Nevada: 9
Median wealth of white U.S. households in 2009: 113,149
Median wealth of Hispanic households: $6,325
Median wealth of black households: $5,677
(Source: Census data via AP)
Number of heliostats at Spain's PS20, the worlds largest solar thermal Power Tower electrical generating plant, which came online last week: 1,255
(Source: HoundDog)
Estimated number of hot dogs consumed per second by Americans this summer: 818
(Source: Time)
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Cute story, but I think a human is feeding him the answers through an earpiece…
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CHEERS to clogging the pipe. The Maine Sunday Telegram is the most widely-read paper in our fair and awesome state. Readers flock to the editorial section like teabaggers to a misspelled protest sign, and yesterday they were treated to this excellent letter by Greg Kimber of Temple:
At the end of this month, I will be taking a trip down to Washington, D.C., to participate, along with probably at least 1,000 others, in a civil disobedience action to protest the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. If built, the pipeline would carry oil from the tar sands of Alberta down to the Gulf of Mexico. This is a project with massive site-specific environmental impacts (due to pipeline oil spills and the destructive, energy-intensive extraction process itself) but, more than that, it is a climate nightmare. […] For those interested in learning more about the action or signing up, the website is tarsandsaction.org
It reads like a Daily Kos Tar Sands blogathon diary---woo hoo! Also mentioned is Bill McKibben, who spent the weekend with others in a D.C. jail after kicking off the White House sit-in that continues this week---a peaceful protest that dovetails nicely with the opening of the MLK Memorial. Keep your eyes on the diaries this week---it's gonna get interesting.
CHEERS to the end of the end. Wow---what a difference a weekend makes. In Libya, rebels who were on the outskirts of Tripoli Friday were smack dab in the middle of the capital by Sunday, virtually bringing to an end the 42-year reign of Muammar Gaddafi. (TPM has the latest headlines at a glance.) Who'da thunk it? I always considered him untouchable---but I'm happy to be wrong! The images on TV ranged from awe-inspiring (flag-waving rebels giving the peace sign, crowds gathering in celebration), the suspenseful (reporters trapped in a hotel trying to figure out what the hell to do), and the ridiculous (rebels firing their machine guns in the air---in one case burning a nearby rebel as the hot shell casings were ejected in his direction). And while Saddam Hussein's kids ended up on a slab in a morgue, Gaddafi's spawn are ending up in custody and likely bound for The Hague. No word on where their deranged daddy is at the moment, but the rebels are laying out some pretty tempting bait in the middle of Green Square: an invitation to give another three-day speech at the U.N. stuck to the end of a fishhook. Irresistable.
JEERS to tropical storm Hurricane Irene. It's late August and, right on schedule, hurricane season is ramping up. Says meteorological guru weatherdude on the latest spinner-of-mayhem:
There are three scenarios. The first is the most likely, where the ridge slowly erodes and allows Irene to hit Florida. The second is also very possible, where the ridge erodes quickly and allows Irene to stay over water longer and hit Georgia or South Carolina (this would be bad). The third and least likely (again let me emphasize LEAST likely) scenario is that the ridge holds strong and allows Irene to bypass the bulk of Florida and head into the Gulf of Mexico to post a threat to Louisiana, Alabama or the FL Panhandle.
As always, the best advice is to keep an eye on the National Hurricane Center, and be prepared for the triple threat: torrential rains, fierce winds, and Republicans in Congress holding FEMA hostage until their spending-cut demands are met. (Not necessarily listed in order of severity.)
CHEERS to a tea and bragging rights. A hundred and sixty years ago today, in 1851, the schooner America outraced a small fleet of British ships belonging to the Royal Yacht Squadron off the English coast to win the trophy that came to be known as the America’s Cup. And I believe I speak for all Americans today when I say: [Pulls down pants] "Kiss mah bum, blokes!" (With, of course, all due respect.)
CHEERS to friends in high places. If there's a place called Freedom Field in a town called Harmony, Maine, you'd think there'd be a good chance that an event called Hampstick would take place there. And you'd be right:
This year's edition of Hempstock featured speeches by marijuana activists as well as more than 30 bands, including Gent Treadly, Big Rhythm Wine, Supernaut, Holy Smoke, Skyfoot, 220s and Between the Lines. The event was drawing to a close today, the fourth day of events at Freedom Field in Harmony.
Among this year's highlights: pin the bud on the bong, musical beanbag chairs, and bobbing for brownies.
CHEERS to the Martian chronicler. More proof that the good don’t always die young (in yer FACE, Billy Joel): Author extraordinaire Ray Bradbury turns 91 today. And he's very happy, now that Dandelion Wine has been green-lighted for the silver screen:
"This is the best birthday gift I could ask for," Bradbury said. "Today, I have been reborn! 'Dandelion Wine' is my most deeply personal work and brings back memories of sheer joy as well as terror. This is the story of me as a young boy and the magic of an unforgettable summer which still holds a mystical power over me."
[The] Story, published in 1957, takes place in the 1928 summer in Green Town, Ill. -- which closely resembles Bradbury's home of Waukegan, Ill. The protagonist is 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding.
More on the book here. Hey, anything with the word wine in it, I'm there.
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Five years ago in C&J: August 22, 2006
JEERS to the Commander Decider Buck-passer in Chief. Hey kids, guess what? President Bush says we get to stay in Iraq until at least 2009! He also said we'd all lose our soul if we pulled out. That's right---the president just played the "We Won't Go To Heaven Because Of You" card. Stick a (pitch)fork in him, he's done.
CHEERS to provocative predictions. Lawrence O'Donnell on The McLaughlin Group Sunday:
"Connecticut's liberal Republican, former Senator Lowell Weicker, who was defeated by Joe Lieberman, will bring enough liberal and moderate Republicans to [Ned] Lamont, so it will be Lamont's win."
I can see the headline on November 8th: WEICKER BEATS WANKER! [8/22/11 Update: Lawrence also predicted that Tim Pawlenty would win the GOP POTUS nomination. Remind me to not pack my bags if he says anything about an upcoming Rapture.]
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And just one more…
CHEERS to brevity. Letters to the Editor---they can be entertaining, maddening, ignorant, preachy, funny, touching, insightful, looney and poignant. I read 'em every day in The Portland Press Herald to get the PULSE…of the CITIZENRY! But when Kossack Mayim sent us this one from a small-town Maine paper called the Advertiser Democrat, we knew we had to share it. Every word is chosen with great care and precision, resulting in an opinion that leaves no ambiguity in its wake. Behold the Faberge egg, the Waterford crystal, the Chateau d' Yquem of published public opinion:
To the Editor:
I am sick to death of bumpy crappy roads.
Kim Waite
South Paris
Dear Treasury Secretary Geithner: I believe we've finally found a worthy replacement for "In God We Trust" on our money. Call me.
Yes, it's eff'ing Monday. But on the bright side: if you close your eyes and sit real still for fifteen hours, it won't be!!! Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"Bill in Portland Maine's an idiot, and I don't think anyone would disagree with that."
---Bruce Bartlett
8/19/11
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