Watch 'Hope For Haiti' Telethon Live | Fancast News

The live event is on tonight. Watch and give generously....these people need your help.


Watch 'Hope For Haiti' Telethon Live | Fancast News

Martin Luther King Jr; His Legacy and His Work Goes On

There is irony abound in this Martin Luther King Day. One year ago Dr. King's birthday was a celebration, with this nation about to inaugurate its first African American president. We gave ourselves a collective pat on the back; we felt that we may have at last gotten to "The Promised Land" that Dr. King talked about the night before he was assassinated. We thought that, indeed, we have were really there- that the content of ones's character should be all that matters.

But we're not quite there yet, as the events of the past year have told us. We have a president how has been attacked by some on the lunatic fringe as being racist, or a man who was not even legally the president because (they claim) he was foreign born. There have been some, even in the hall's of Congress, who have treated this President with disrespect....Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina even called President Obama a liar on the House floor.

We are closer to the goal of Dr. King's dream, but aren't quite there yet.

And this past week Haiti, a nation of descendants of former slaves and the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake. The de facto head of the conservative movement in the United States told his radio listeners not to help the hundreds of thousands of those affected. And the nations most popular tele-evangelist had his viewers believing the Haitian people got what they deserved because 200 years ago Haiti's leaders made a pact with the devil.

Racism is dying in America....but it ain't dead yet. Americans of all backgrounds have given from their hearts during this crisis, even while we are recovering from the worst economic downturn since the 1930's. As I've said before, the United States is a good, benevolent.....but very human and flawed....giant.

This morning I watched the two hour documentary King on The History Channel. It was hosted by Tom Brokaw, and covered the life and career of Dr. King, and was a warts and all portrait. Something that has been forgotten with the passage of time (and this film was a reminder) were the problems endured by King in his last years. Yes, King leadership helped bring about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act. But when Dr. King brought his movement north to Chicago and the the inner cities north of the Mason-Dixon Line, and started to focus on the poverty of America's underclass, he met resistance from America's white middle class, and even from some former liberal allies. Dr. King's opposition to the Vietnam War alienated him from his ally President Lyndon Johnson, as well as from white Middle America. J. Edgar Hoover led the charge to label King as a communist, and many in the United States started to believe this smear. Some younger African Americans felt King's non violent approach was too soft; some started following more miltant leaders in black American like Stokley Carmichael.

But Dr. King stood by his principles, and never abandoned his tactic of non violent confrontation. His way was that of Mahatma Gandhi.

And it was like Gandhi, that he died- a nonviolent man cut down by a gunshot.

The best, the brightest, and the greatest. What is it in our nature that leads us to try to extinguish our own guiding lights?

60 MINUTES -The Tragedy in Haiti (Sunday January 17, 2010)

Byron Pitts reports from Haiti about the ongoing struggle to save lives in the earthquake devastated island nation.

Some of the images presented are disturbing, but the report shows the reality of what is going on as of this time.

For more information, visit the 60 Minutes website.

Be sure to MUTE the Music Playlist in the middle/left hand margin to listen to the audio of the report.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Orlando Sentinel - The TV Guy – George W. Bush on Rush Limbaugh’s Haiti comments: Now’s not the time to focus on politics

On this morning's FACE THE NATION Bob Schieffer asked former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about Rush Limbaugh's comments about contributing to Haitian relief

READ MORE....from Hal Boedeker and THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

Haiti- Human Tragedy In The Millions

Commentary

As I type this I'm caught between reveling at what a great and generous country the United States can be when it wants to be, and of the depths of human misery going on in Haiti days after the earthquake that literally reduced that tiny nation to a level close to that of the Stone Age.

As I type this about 40,000 of the dead have been buried, but an estimated 100,000 more are either dead or assumed to be dead and unaccounted for. Bodies are piled in the streets, and some reports indicate that desperate survivors have piled corpses one on top of another to form roadblocks to slow down any passing vehicle that might have food or water.

Survivors appear to be on the brink, with no food or water for days, no government, and hospitals coping as best as they can while makeshift hospitals are set up in hotel lobbies and in tents by relief agencies and volunteers. This afternoon I saw CNN's Elizabeth Cohen tell the audience that she was seeing "Civil War medicine"- amputations that have to be performed on crushed limbs without general anesthesia. There was CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta giving an update as one could hear gunshots in the distance, while it appears that lawlessness and riots might break out at any given second. One could sense his fear that the Haitian people, who have shown patience for days, might be at their breaking point and could resort to violence.

This afternoon CNN showed a relief truck swamped by the humanity around them- young men pushed women and children aside as the workers passed out nutritional biscuits. One man mistook the packaging date (2008) as the expiration date, and told those in the crowd not to eat the food. Some threw the biscuits on the ground, others clutched the truck as it pulled away.

The largest problem seems to be that of security. Supplies, food, water, and medical personnel cannot be deployed because of the risk of being overwhelmed by either the starving masses, or possibly being hijacked by profiteers and thieves.

Its been said the next 48 hours are critical- some semblance of order has to be restored, roads and rubble must be cleared, and food, water, and medical aid has to be set up through distribution points. The United States military has the facility to accomplish this, and hopefully this can be done as quickly as possible.

It is remarkable that when the call came out for financial contributions more than $8 million was contributed via texting....that, ladies and gentlemen, was money that came primarily from the young people of America, who often get a bad rap from oldsters like me. I salute them....and God bless them.

Keith Olbermann was just talking about some genius congressman from Iowa named Steve King, who thinks that the 100,000 Haitian nationals who are in the United States illegally should be sent back to Haiti to help clean up the island. And we wonder why our government is so lacking- send 100,000 people back to a country in chaos....100,000 more to feed and house where there is not enough food or water, and most housing is now a pile of rocks.

I'm sure the Obama administration will continue to do the best it can to alleviate the crisis, and the American people will continue to be generous with financial contributions. But we are a people with a notoriously short attention span. Will we still be caring six months from now? The quake is a tragedy of such enormous proportions that it may take years of American involvement and American money to help ease the pain. And it can't be about restoration of "normalcy"...there never has been a "normal" in Haiti. We have to help them recover, and then take that next step for long term stability.

If we're going to be in it for the long haul, I hope we don't take our eyes off the ball. Once again, the United States, a great but imperfect giant, is the best hope for a suffering people.

To contribute to relief efforts contact the American Red Cross, and be as generous as you can.

"Hugh Jee"

Rush Limbaugh enters race to the bottom on Haiti | DD Guttenplan | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

How are Rush Limbaugh's comments about Haiti playing out overseas? Here's one example from the UK's GUARDIAN.co.uk.

The author, D.D. Guttenplan, has more disdain for Limbaugh than Keith Olbermann, if you can believe that.

READ MORE....from guardian.co.uk

Gibbs: Limbaugh's Haiti comments 'really stupid' | Politics News | Comcast.net

Way back in the day, when Al Franken was still doing his comedy schtik on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, before his stint on AIR AMERICA radio, he wrote a book called Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot. It was pretty funny stuff....cruel at times, but a guy as divisive as Rush deserved the shots he took.

More than a decade has passed....and Rush is bigger, fatter, and dumber than ever.

Exhibit 151,712A....Rush told his radio audience on Wednesday that he thought money donated through the White House website for Haiti's earthquake relief wouldn't go to its target. Furthermore, Rush told his "Dittoheads" that its not necessary to contribute to the Haitian relief effort, because the Haiti already gets money via American's income taxes.

Today Presidential spokesmen Robert Gibbs called out Limbaugh....



READ MORE....From Comcast.net

Along with "big fat idiot"....I'll add "pathetic excuse for a human being" to Mr. Limbaugh's job description.

Olbermann On Limbaugh, Robertson, and The Haitian Earthquake

Keith Olbermann saying its stronger and more forcefully than I ever could.

Pat Robertson- Haiti Quake A "Blessing in Disguise"

Once again The Reverend Pat Robertson says something that makes your jaw drop; and then he compounds it and makes what he originally said even worse.

On his 700 Club TV ministry Robertson called the tragic earthquake in Haiti a possible "blessing in disguise" because of the potential to rebuild the structures that were downed. I'm sure the families of the estimated 100,000 dead or the possible 500,000 homeless appreciate his sunny optimism.

But The Reverend Pat doesn't stop there....he then told his audience that the Haitian people made a deal with the devil in order to get their independence during their revolt against "Napoleon III". Actually the Haitian people revolted against Napoleon III's uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte a half century before- but that's OK, Rev. Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Anyway, the source of Haiti's problems were because of this Faustian deal; according to Pat Robertson, this is why the Haitian people have been cursed.

Jewish people have a term for such nonsensical stuff....."Bubbemeises". Loosely translated it means "Grandma's (Tall) Tales".

When it comes from an aging evangelical minister, however, another term should be used...."BS".

Nightmare in Haiti

Its more than a little sobering when you consider the numbers involved- an earthquake that might have killed more than 100,000 people and effected 500,000 or more.

We're talking about a loss of life in a single day that may exceed that the US sustained in the 14 years of the Vietnam War times two. The injured and displaced might be enough to fill the University of Michigan's "Big House" stadium five times over. And these are just the early estimates- nobody will be sure for weeks what the actual toll will be.

Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, yet I would bet few Americans could find it on a map of the region. Its been deforested for years, and most of its people live in unimaginable poverty. Its safe to say that many Americans might have better backyard sheds or more comfortable garages than the structures that many on this western half of Hispaniola call "home".

This blog dabbles in politics, but is actually more of an entertainment for its readers. But in a situation like the one that exists in Haiti as I type this, there is little glibness. The only thoughts are for those in suffering and in pain, and and of prayers, and a modest offer to help in a small way.

Below, the raw video from CBS and YouTube of the tragedy. Sadly, some of the comments at the site where this was originally posted contain some of the ugliest racist garbage I've seen in years.

Thousands feared dead as major quake strikes Haiti | General News | Comcast.net

Above, the collapsed ruins of the Presidential Palace in Haiti


When you start reading the stories of the devastation in Haiti, and seeing the images of the destruction, you have to feel almost ashamed to be complaining about how cold and uncomfortable the weather has been here in the United States.

The story continues to unfold in what might be the greatest natural disaster to befall the Western Hemisphere in more than 200 years.

READ MORE....from COMCAST.net- General News | Comcast.net