On the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. this week, members of the House and Senate took time to remember his impact in American history.
Lawmakers featured in this video include: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; and Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.
The “Yes, we can” motto of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been immortalized and satirized in online music videos over the past week.
This video instead salutes Ronald Reagan for his can-do faith in Americans to succeed without their government. I found the video on YouTube and convinced it’s creator to also upload a similar version to Eyeblast.tv, a video-sharing site for young conservatives where I now serve as the executive producer.
National Public Radio marks the occasion with a weeklong series that so far includes a timeline and an essay by Andy Carvin, who is with NPR’s digital team and writes the Waste Of Bandwidth blog. There’s also an introductory audio segment.
President Bush dedicated his post-Thanksgiving weekly radio address to remembering patriots both past and present — the Pilgrims who discovered America and modern-day military men like Navy SEAL Michael Murphy, who died in Afghanistan in 2005 to save his fellow-countrymen.
Bush also praised emergency responders and “faith-based and community volunteers.” He ended the address with what some Americans would consider politically incorrect thanks to God. “We are grateful to the Author of Life who blessed our nation’s first days, who strengthened America in times of trial and war, and who watches over us today.”
Democrats chose retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, at one time the top U.S. commander of troops in Iraq, to speak for them this week, once again attacking the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq.
“Although we cannot withdraw precipitously from Iraq,” Sanchez said, “we must move rapidly to minimize our force presence. Shifting the primary mission of our troops away from combat will lead to a smaller U.S. military presence, and a greater obligation on the part of the Iraqis to take the lead in solving their country’s problems.”
The House voted unanimously today to condemn last month’s act of vandalism against the Vietnam War Memorial last month. Here’s what Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, had to say about the vandals who tossed an oily substance on the memorial:
I find this vandalism unconsionable and un-American. Why on earth would someone want to reignite the pains of the past? Defacing the wall was the ultimate act of cowardice. … It breaks my heart to think that someone would senselessly harm and deface the names, the honor, the legacies of great patriots” whose names are listed on the memorial.
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