Hillary Clinton Slamed Both Martin Luther King & Gandhi

Hey, I'm not kidding here, folks. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has managed to insult the two most important leaders of peace in our time during her presidential run.

You're aware of her terrible comments basically de-valuing the impact of Martin Luther King in an effort to make the role of the President seem even more important than what Dr. King did, knowing full well that Presidents almost never act until they have the will of the people, and in this case that was caused by Dr. King's work and suffering.

But did you know Senator Clinton also said this:

During an event here for Senate candidate Nancy Farmer, Clinton introduced a quote from Gandhi by saying, "He ran a gas station down in St. Louis."

After laughter from many in the crowd of at least 200 subsided, the former first lady continued, "No, Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader of the 20th century." In a nod to Farmer's underdog status against Republican Sen. Kit Bond, Clinton quoted the Indian independence leader as saying: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

The director of a U.S. center devoted to Gandhi's teachings said the remarks amounted to stereotyping and were insensitive.

The point is that Senator Clinton has a habit of slamming leaders that are important to people outside her circle of interest, either racially or from a gender perspective. Take how she recently referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin; she called him "Souless." Why?

Her judgement is more than questionable. It's nuts.

For those who have not seen my video on Hillary and MLK, it's here:

Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush Are Engaged?

Well, that's what this online tabloid is reporting. Wow. It seems the sex tape lady's got former USC and now New Orleans Saints Running Back Bush so smitten they're all over the place. Here's an account from http://www.hollyscoop.com :

Is socialite Kim Kardashian ready to tie the knot with boyfriend Reggie Bush?

OK! magazine is claiming that the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, 22, and the NFL great, 27, are engaged.

The two partied together in Miami for New Year's Eve, where she hosted a bash at club Mansion, but she wasn't wearing a ring. And today a source close to Kim denies a report she's engaged.

That was as of January 2nd and Bush's in the gallery section of her website, too. Stay tuned for a Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush sex tape that I'm not watching!

Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush Are Engaged?

Well, that's what this online tabloid is reporting. Wow. It seems the sex tape lady's got former USC and now New Orleans Saints Running Back Bush so smitten they're all over the place. Here's an account from http://www.hollyscoop.com :

Is socialite Kim Kardashian ready to tie the knot with boyfriend Reggie Bush?

OK! magazine is claiming that the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star, 22, and the NFL great, 27, are engaged.

The two partied together in Miami for New Year's Eve, where she hosted a bash at club Mansion, but she wasn't wearing a ring. And today a source close to Kim denies a report she's engaged.

That was as of January 2nd and Bush's in the gallery section of her website, too. Stay tuned for a Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush sex tape that I'm not watching!

Heath Ledger - No Cause Of Death Reported Yet

There's more news regarding the shocking death of actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead, naked in his bed with pills around him (just how many is not known). The pills were over-the-counter sleeping medications and its said in reports that Ledger had a terrible sleeping problem -- he didn't get any sleep. ( And to that, I add a clarification that he had no illegal drugs near him, and according to the NYTimes , he was found on the floor, not the bed. )

The news of the sudden passing of one who became an indelible part of the World Cultural landscape comes as a massive jolt to everyone regardless of the business they're in.

It hits me hard because I was looking forward to seeing this great artist's rendition of one of the greatest comic book character villians in history, The Joker.



But it seems, from what I'm hearing, that his separation from his wife really hit him hard. He wasn't happy, and was reportedly "into partying" a lot in New York City, and it's too bad he didn't have -- it seems -- God as his guide to keep him sane during a hard time.

And one wonders where his friends were. These are the statements of other actors who knew him:

Everyone, celebrity or not, is shocked at the horrible news of Heath Ledger's death. Some stars have already made statements about the tragedy.

"What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family." — Nicole Kidman

"I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family." — Mel Gibson

"He is one of my favorite actors. His abilities are rare…it's a tremendous loss. It's hard to be here celebrating Australia under these circumstances." — John Travolta

"It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger. It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation's finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger's diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor." — Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends." — Statement by Alan Horn, President and COO of Warner Bros. and Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group

Lindsay Lohan was also seen leaving Le Pain Quotidien visibly crying after hearing the news. The two were linked together in December.

Chicago Tribune Says Clintons Tell Lies

The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn tears a new one into the Clintons regarding their lies and mistatements, which are, well, lies. Check out this from Zorn:

Originally posted: January 22, 2008
Why stop short? The Clintons are lying about Obama's remarks on Reagan
(Barack) Obama stopped just short of calling (Hillary) Clinton and her husband liars... from the Swamp's live blog of last night's Democratic debate.

Hmm. I see no reason to stop short. Bill and Hillary Clinton have lied brazenly about Obama's recent statement about Ronald Reagan.

Let's look at the transcripts (emphasis added):


Hillary Clinton, Jan 18:

My leading opponent the other day said that he thought the Republicans had better ideas than Democrats the last 10 to 15 years.

Bill Clinton, Jan 18:

(My wife's) principal opponent said that since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas....I'm not making this up, folks.

Well, yes he is. The key, inflammatory words in the Clintons' quotes are better and good, and I invite you, reader, to find it in these transcripts of what Obama has actually said:

I don’t want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what’s different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980's were different.

I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.

I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.

I think Kennedy, twenty years earlier, moved the country in a fundamentally different direction. So I think a lot of it just has to do with the times.

I think we’re in one of those times right now. Where people feel like things as they are going aren’t working. We’re bogged down in the same arguments that we’ve been having, and they’re not useful.

And, you know, the Republican approach, I think, has played itself out.

I think it’s fair to say the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last ten, fifteen years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom.

Read it all again if you want, you won't find "better" or "good" in there, or synonyms or implications along those lines.

When the Clintons used "better" and "good" in alluding the Obama's remarks, they weren't paraphrasing, they weren't misremembering, they weren't distorting. They were simply lying.

Heath Ledger Reported Dead In New York - Stars As "The Joker" In "The Dark Knight"

This is a developing story and we all hope it's not true. But according to TMZ.com and other sources, materful actor Heath Ledger was reportedly found dead in his New York residence by his housekeeper.

Leadger had completed what appears to be a materful performance in "The Dark Knight" as "The Joker."

Heath also started in the critically aclaimed "Brokeback Mountain". UPDATE on Ledger here.

Need a Lawyer? Robert G. Schock is a great personal injury lawyer.

Clintons First Dis Then Sleep On Martin Luther King

Wow. What can I say except that we're seeing the real Clintons and not the 1990s political version. First, Hillary Clinton's caught giving what sounds like a total dis of the legacy of Martin Luther King about two weeks ago, then on Monday, Martin Luther King's birthday, we have former President Bill Clinton falling to sleep during a rousing speech at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem!

And all of this as Barack Obama gives a bring-the-house-down speech on that Sunday!

I can't help but think there's a small problem there, other than the fact that Bill's sleepy. But man, on MLK day?

The Davos Question - My Video Call To End Racism Around The World

YouTube in partnership with The Davos Forum has established a great "contest" although I don't think of it like that. YouTubers are asked to submit a video answering the question "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?"

I thought a long time about the question, and then, after approaching Mayor Gavin Newsom to be in the video, then getting caught up against deadlines, I had the answer: to end racism around the World.

I got the video into the YouTube Davos system at the last minute, litterally, before the day of the 21st ended. Then I got the confirmation email, so I guess and hope it makes it.

Here's the video:

Barack Obama Triumphs Over Hillary Clinton In Tonight's Debate

Tonight's contentious and combative debate between a cold and calculated Hillary Clinton and a confident and genuine Barack Obama, will serve as a true indicator of where South Carolinian's and voters nationwide stand on candidate preference.

Clinton regularly harps on the concentrated point that she has been their for ''16 years'' and has the distinct ability to perform on day one in the White House. Reality check, the leadership in Washington has failed miserably and as an individual immersed in that rampant failure, her assertion will resonate negatively with voters across America.

The longer she speaks in partisan terms, the longer she'll witness her poll numbers fall drastically.

Unfortunately, both Clinton and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards ruthlessly attacked Obama on several substantive issues to no avail. As the debate persisted, it became blatantly obvious that Obama's message strongly resonated with South Carolina primary voters. Do you think this can catapult him to victory Saturday? I do.

Hillary Clinton Gets BOOED! Clinton Is Nasty In Behavior

I'm watching the CNN Debate in South Carolina with Senator Obama, Senator Edwards and Senator Clinton. I place Hillary Clinton last because in this debate she came off as a mean and calculating person who does not deserve to be President. She was so nasty toward Senator Obama, that the crowd just booed her.

Hillary Clinton was terrible, and it looked like her entire approach was to bring out any dirt she could think of, but it made her look like the worst person in the World.

For his part, Senator Obama looked presidential, but also really focused on showing the "real Hillary" and he did; she played right along.

U.S. Economy Headed For Depression? Record Consumer Debt Level Points The Way

I've said this for years: the United States Credit System is the shock-absorber to economic fluxuations and when healthy guarantees constant growth in the economy and guards against a long-term recession or worse, a Depression.

But that party's coming to an end, rapidly. Take a look at these indicators presented by MarketOracle.uk: US Recession in 2007 - Third Leg of the Bear Market Likely

In 2004 I told Gary Hart, who was considering a presidential run, about this. All he could talk about was changing the tax system. Geez!

MLK: Barack Obama Gives What TIME's Joe Klein Calls "A Great Speech"

Senator Barack Obama just gave what TIME Magazine's Joe Klein called a "Great Speech", so much so that he shared the entire text of it. Here's that speech in video:



And in text:

The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.
But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.
There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.
Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yolk of oppression.
And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:
“Unity is the great need of the hour” is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.
What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Unity is the great need of the hour – the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it’s the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.
I’m not talking about a budget deficit. I’m not talking about a trade deficit. I’m not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.
I’m talking about a moral deficit. I’m talking about an empathy deficit. I’m taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother’s keeper; we are our sister’s keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.
We have an empathy deficit when we’re still sending our children down corridors of shame – schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.
We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can’t afford a doctor when their children get sick.
We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.
We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.
And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.
So we have a deficit to close. We have walls – barriers to justice and equality – that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.
Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we’ve come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We’ve come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily – that it’s just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.
All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.
But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes – a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.
It’s not easy to stand in somebody else’s shoes. It’s not easy to see past our differences. We’ve all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart – that puts up walls between us.
We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don’t think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.
For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.
We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.
So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others – all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face – war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.
But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.
The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country’s ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.
And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.
That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words – words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.
He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.
That is the unity – the hard-earned unity – that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope – the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.
The stories that give me such hope don’t happen in the spotlight. They don’t happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.
There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She’s been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.
And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.
She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.
She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.
So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”
By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.
But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.
And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.
And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.
And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope – but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.
So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America.