There is the old bit of advice which is often credited to Mother's, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all".
This is advice which I have not made much use of. So, it is seldom that, after doing some research on a candidate, I have nothing, nice or otherwise, to say. However, in the case of this story which appeared on the Baltimore Sun's website I am simply speechless.
Paging Dr. Death: Kevorkian planning House run
by Matthew Hay Brown
Now that he’s agreed to not assist in any more suicides, Jack Kevorkian has hit on a new way to get attention: He’s running for Congress.
“We need some honesty and sincerity instead of corrupt government in Washington,” the 79-year-old pathologist, on parole after serving eight years in the death of one of his subjects, told the Oakland (Mich.) Press.
The right-to-die advocate, released from prison last year after serving the minimum sentence for second-degree murder, told the newspaper he is planning to run as an independent in the Michigan’s Ninth District.
The seat is now held by Rep. Joe Knollenberg, an eight-term Republican who is running for re-election. A spokesman for Knollenberg said the congressman had no immediate comment.
If he follows through, Kevorkian is likely to bring more attention to a race already being closely watched. Once considered reliably Republican, the Ninth is being targetted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this year after Knollenberg’s margin of victory fell from 18 percent in 2004 to 6 percent in 2006.
Several Democrats have emerged as possible challengers; the primary is scheduled for August.
Kevorkian says he assisted in the suicides of at least 130 people from 1990 to 1998, when he was charged in the assisted suicide of a 52-year-old man with Lou Gehrig’s disease that was filmed and broadcast on 60 Minutes. As a condition of his release, he agreed not to assist in any more suicides.
Oakland County Prosecutor Dave Gorcyca, whose office prosecuted Kevorkian, compared his candidacy to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
“It's probably more of a publicity stunt,” Gorcyca told the Press. “To call attention to himself is standard protocol for Jack when he doesn't have the limelight focused on him.”
Kevorkian said he would have more to say next week. “Everything’s in a formative stage,” he said.
Posted by Matthew Hay Brown on March 12, 2008 1:15 PM | Permalink
chless.
Source:http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/03/paging_dr_death_kevorkian_plan.html
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
OBAMA, REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT JR., AND WHA!T IT MEANS TO BE "UNASHAMEDLY BLACK"!
The opening line of the Trinity United Church of Christ’s website reads, “We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian…” So, the fact the Barack Obama has not only attended this church but has maintained a close relationship with the Church’s Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. since 1980 has come under some heavy scrutiny
Hannity (Fox News) in an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton asked if it would not be taken as prejudiced were the church to announce that they are “Unashamedly White,” Shouldn’t a “Black Church be held to same standard?” (Similar questions have been printed in articles and interviews in the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.) Clearly, it is a question, which deserves some attention.
John J. Dilulio Jr. (Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives) in an article entitled “Defending Black Churches” writes, “Under what, if any conditions can the life prospects of today’s black inner-city poor be improved, and how, if at all, can we foster those conditions? My argument in this essay is that supporting black churches and other faith-based grassroots organizations that perform youth and community outreach functions in poor inner-city neighborhoods is a necessary and vital although insufficient condition for repairing the social fabric and economic vitality in true disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.”
Hannity’s question seems to suppose that the purpose of the Trinity United Church is to exclude Caucasians, Hispanics, or any ethnicity or race, which is not Black. This is not the case”. The church is in a neighborhood, which is populated mostly by African Americans and therefore caters largely to African Americans. Again, this is not to say that the entire congregation is Black, it is not, or that the messages preached in this church are prejudice.
Having looked at some of what the church stands for, let us take a closer look at Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Over the last year, a lot has been written about the prejudice of Rev. Wright. Rather then, directly respond to these accusations I am going to take some lines from an interview Rev. Wright Jr. gave on March 13th, 2007 which paints a different picture.
When asked whether Democrats as a party and Obama in particular planned to reach out to religious voters he said, “…The new movement is toward not being afraid to talk about your faith. But you should also stop thinking you have absolute truth -- that your faith is the only one.”
SPIEGEL: Isn't that the nature of faith, though? Believing strongly in your faith to the exclusion of others?
Wright: We’re not on this planet alone. Right now, the average American or the average German or the average Brit couldn’t tell you the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. I mean, you got Christians who lynch people in the name of Jesus, and you got Muslims who fly planes into buildings. But you got some Muslims who don’t do that. You got some Christians who ain't got time to lynch people. We need to stop lumping folks together and start living together. Otherwise, we’re going to kill each other off because you don’t believe what I believe. That’s crazy. Before Democrats were quiet because they didn’t want people to think they were fanatics. Barack has broken that ice.
This is a powerful message and one well worth taking to heart.
Does this mean that Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. has never said anything prejudice or that might misrepresent the mission of his church? No, Rev Wright Jr. was a Pastor for thirty years and so over that period it is inevitable that he said things, which may have misrepresented even his own beliefs. Taken over that long a period we all contradict ourselves or say something, which could later be misconstrued to mean something else. However, it is important that we not judge a man (or woman) based solely on the sound bytes and accusations that appear in the media but also on our own analysis and research. Only then can we say we are voting, in good conscience, for the candidate with the strongest foundation and truest beliefs needed to run our country.
Links and Sources:
The Church’s Mission Statement: http://www.tucc.org/mission.htm
Spiegel’s interview with Rev. Wright Jr.: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,471221,00.html
John J. Dilulio article on Defending Black Churches:
http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/4525066.html
Hannity (Fox News) in an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton asked if it would not be taken as prejudiced were the church to announce that they are “Unashamedly White,” Shouldn’t a “Black Church be held to same standard?” (Similar questions have been printed in articles and interviews in the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.) Clearly, it is a question, which deserves some attention.
John J. Dilulio Jr. (Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives) in an article entitled “Defending Black Churches” writes, “Under what, if any conditions can the life prospects of today’s black inner-city poor be improved, and how, if at all, can we foster those conditions? My argument in this essay is that supporting black churches and other faith-based grassroots organizations that perform youth and community outreach functions in poor inner-city neighborhoods is a necessary and vital although insufficient condition for repairing the social fabric and economic vitality in true disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.”
Hannity’s question seems to suppose that the purpose of the Trinity United Church is to exclude Caucasians, Hispanics, or any ethnicity or race, which is not Black. This is not the case”. The church is in a neighborhood, which is populated mostly by African Americans and therefore caters largely to African Americans. Again, this is not to say that the entire congregation is Black, it is not, or that the messages preached in this church are prejudice.
Having looked at some of what the church stands for, let us take a closer look at Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Over the last year, a lot has been written about the prejudice of Rev. Wright. Rather then, directly respond to these accusations I am going to take some lines from an interview Rev. Wright Jr. gave on March 13th, 2007 which paints a different picture.
When asked whether Democrats as a party and Obama in particular planned to reach out to religious voters he said, “…The new movement is toward not being afraid to talk about your faith. But you should also stop thinking you have absolute truth -- that your faith is the only one.”
SPIEGEL: Isn't that the nature of faith, though? Believing strongly in your faith to the exclusion of others?
Wright: We’re not on this planet alone. Right now, the average American or the average German or the average Brit couldn’t tell you the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite. I mean, you got Christians who lynch people in the name of Jesus, and you got Muslims who fly planes into buildings. But you got some Muslims who don’t do that. You got some Christians who ain't got time to lynch people. We need to stop lumping folks together and start living together. Otherwise, we’re going to kill each other off because you don’t believe what I believe. That’s crazy. Before Democrats were quiet because they didn’t want people to think they were fanatics. Barack has broken that ice.
This is a powerful message and one well worth taking to heart.
Does this mean that Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. has never said anything prejudice or that might misrepresent the mission of his church? No, Rev Wright Jr. was a Pastor for thirty years and so over that period it is inevitable that he said things, which may have misrepresented even his own beliefs. Taken over that long a period we all contradict ourselves or say something, which could later be misconstrued to mean something else. However, it is important that we not judge a man (or woman) based solely on the sound bytes and accusations that appear in the media but also on our own analysis and research. Only then can we say we are voting, in good conscience, for the candidate with the strongest foundation and truest beliefs needed to run our country.
Links and Sources:
The Church’s Mission Statement: http://www.tucc.org/mission.htm
Spiegel’s interview with Rev. Wright Jr.: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,471221,00.html
John J. Dilulio article on Defending Black Churches:
http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/4525066.html
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