mlk day 2006
for the tenth year george and I marched in seattle's annual mlk day march. I think that the ritual of it is something that is both comforting and meditative, a chance to reflect on civil rights and the progress and lack thereof that has happened over the past year. a crowd of about 3,000 people walking from garfield high into the city, a camaraderie of like minded people protesting against but also cheering together against that which we all know is wrong and needs change. for the past few years the iraq war is a major theme, this year the blatant racism of the government response to hurricane katrina made it to the top of the list. this morning I heard two of mlk's speeches on kuow and I think that in many ways what would be the best thing for all of us to would be to spend some time listening to or reading his words, so much of what he said in the 50s and 60s is so relevant to what we face today. his words on viet nam are worth pondering now as iraq heads into another year of turmoil and violence paid for by our tax dollars:

"A time comes when silence is betrayal."

That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.
The truth of these words is beyond doubt but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.
.................
Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: Why are you speaking about war, Dr. King? Why are you joining the voices of dissent? Peace and civil rights don't mix, they say. Aren't you hurting the cause of your people, they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.

peace to all of you as we move into this new year.

Nic

alito scmalito

I don't know if the rest of you are as fascinated (okay obsessed) with the senate supreme court hearings as I am, but ever since the Clarence Thomas hearings I have hardly ever missed a minute of any of them. political theatre to be sure, but in so many ways the supremes have more influence over our society than just about anyone. alito represents a potential for the court to move significantly to the right for a long time if actuarial predictions are correct. sadly it looks as though he is in. I don't see the democrats pulling off a filibuster, alito was not as slick as john roberts, but still avoided answering any questions that would give any insight into anything that he believes and he seems to be a nice guy, which makes his opponents look like bad sports. surely the true measure of a supreme court justice should be the depth of their compassion and wisdom about how the law can positively influence the lives of people. I think that the scariest thing I heard about alito was the memo that he wrote about the case where a police officer caught up with a fleeing 14 year old burglary suspect who was unarmed and climbing a fence and shot him through the back of the head. alito argued that the officer used 'reasonable force'. police have a tough and dangerous job, to be sure, but this seems like as egregious a case of the abuse of power as I have ever heard of. I think that the most important role of the courts is to protect people against this sort of abuse. we can hope that alito ends up being one of those justices who changes and matures once on the court, john paul stevens was very conservative when he joined the court. I won't hold my breath though, alito has shown no signs of moderating while on the court of appeals, I think that we are probably moving into a phase in this country where we will need to be more vigilant about the courts than the presidency or congress. those we can change, the supreme court is much harder. I think that the aclu and other civil rights groups will need all the help they can get.

nic