Martin Luther King's Dream and the Declaration of Independence

My colleague Michael Coulter penned an op-ed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. It has been picked up by several newspapers; here is an excerpt with link to the Maysville (KY) Ledger Independent:

Aug. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at that great rally is rightly honored as one of the greatest speeches in American history.
All Americans recognize the soaring rhetoric of the final portion of the speech, where King speaks of a dream of an America without legal discrimination or racial prejudice. But the first part of that speech, wherein King speaks of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, is not as well-known but deserves to be. That portion demonstrates King’s commitment to the conception of justice held at the American founding.
In the third paragraph of King’s text, he says that “when the architects of our Great Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.” With this reference to the declaration, there is a clear echo of that other great American speech from 100 years before King’s March on Washington speech: Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, which speaks of America as “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Read the rest here…
 

Free at Last – DC Talk

The 50th anniversary of the March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom is being commemorated this weekend through August 28. The march took place on August 28, 1963. Free At Last by DC Talk (from one my favorite all-time CDs) samples Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream Speech (which I will post on Wednesday).

DC Talk members Toby Mac, Kevin Max and Michael Tait attended Liberty University. How sad it is that Liberty University is hosting the Institute on the Constitution’s course on their television network.

Institute on the Constitution: Ted Cruz Can't Be President Because He is Not a Natural Born Citizen

Yesterday, the Institute on the Constitution reprinted an Orange County Register op-ed which declares Ted Cruz ineligible for the presidency because his father is Cuban. The article was posted by MD League of the South chaplain David Whitney.
Defining the “natural born citizen” clause of the Constitution in terms of parentage, the op-ed writer, Steve Jackson, comes to the the conclusion that Cruz’s father disqualifies the Texas Senator from eligibility.
Jackson writes that the founders got the term “natural born citizen” from a 1787 book by Emmerich de Vattel’s titled The Law of Nations – the Principles of Natural Law Applied to the Conduct and to the Affairs of Nations and of Sovereigns. He cites Book I, Chapter XIX, Section 212 which states: “…The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens…”
Will Obama birthers come out in opposition to Cruz? Will those opposed to a Hispanic president use this as a means to trip up his chances? I don’t know whether the op-ed writer is accurate in his claims but it will be fascinating to see this play out.
For more on the Institute on the Constitution read here.

League of the South Hopes to Create Friendly First Impression at Immigration Rally

Or perhaps they should call it, the Anti-Demographic Displacement Rally. Or the Rally to Prevent White Genocide.
According to the League of the South, white nationalists of various sorts will be in Uvalda, GA on Saturday to “rally against our displacement as a people.” League president Michael Hill told white nationalist radio host Rodney Martin that illegal immigration will lead to “anti- white genocide” if it remains unchecked. Uvalda is the home of Paul Bridges, mayor of the town and defender of immigrants who provide much farm related work in the region. Called a “scalawag” by the Georgia League president, Bridges has become a focal point of League anger.Thus, the League heads to the little George town of Uvalda to make their stand.
They want their stand in Uvalda to be inviting to those who might be attracted to their cause. To present a “friendly first impression” of white nationalism, the League has promoted some guidelines for protesters, including a dress code:

No t-shirts. Shirts must be tucked in. Belt needed. No belt buckles with pictures, flags or messages. The same goes for hats. No old or holey jeans. No re-enactment paraphernalia. Do not bring flags or signs – we will provide these. Please be ready to smile and make a positive, friendly first impression of the League of the South and Southern nationalism!

Instead of the Confederate battle flag, the group will sport the Georgia secession flag and a new flag which is a black cross on white background.
LoSprotestflags
 
Creative.
The new black cross flag is designed to be the antithesis of the American colors. Watch:

Very European. Opposition to forced equality.
See especially the conversation where John describes the differences between their black cross and the colors of the American flag.  At 4:19, he says:

John: It’s a complete rejection of course of the red, white, and blue which was borrowed from the French revolution. You know, equality, democracy, fraternity, you know, liberty
Michael Cushman: Propositional nation.
John; Right, it was a nation built upon a philosophy, or something of that nature, and this is a complete rejection of that, obviously.

By proposition nation, Cushman is referring to the League of the South rejection of Lincoln’s Gettysburg statement that the United States was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
So when the Michael Peroutka’s League of the South displays this new rejection of the red, white and blue, the group’s protesters will not be advocating for the American view, but rather the Confederate view.

Wake Up America! Profiting from Politics

Looking for something else, I came across Wake Up America, a method to profit from tea party politics.
Essentially, WUA wants people to buy media kits filled with tea party talking points, and then the new owners of a media kit try to get other like-minded people to buy the kits and start selling them too. The compensation plan is here. The more people selling kits on behalf of the “wakers” (as in those waking up a sleepy nation), the more money the wakers are supposed to make. Sounds all multi-level marketing to me. Some might call it a pyramid scheme. However, I am not qualified to make that assessment, but I suspect they are in compliance with the law.
Wake Up America features some big name conservative expertsLt. Gen. Boykin is there; Tim Johnson, Frank Gaffney, etc., and then League of the South board member Michael Peroutka on the list as well. I’m not sure what they do but they are there lending their reputation to WUA.  Clearly, IOTC is a player in the tea party world and should be taken seriously.
Apparently, WUA isn’t CEO William Head’s first rodeo. He started a similar plan in 2006 called Purge Congress. Apparently, that effort didn’t work out well.
Over the years, I have been approached by various people to enroll in plans to sell soap, vitamins, and once motivational videos. I never got involved because it seemed like a lot of work for very little payoff, at least since I was getting in way down the downline. In this case,  WUA sells ideology and apparently hopes that lots of people want to buy and sell it too.