Pundit Country

“I don’t want a national healthcare system or a balanced budget. I’m a Democrat. I demand them!”

-James D. Langston, Highline substitute teacher and proud delegate for the WA State 33rd District Democrats

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

-Martin Luther King, Letters from a Birmingham Jail

While MLK was not talking to the issue of full health care rights for women (including abortion) or to the LGBT movement, his words hold resonance for both. Waiting patiently by the sidelines and allowing the political elites of this country to determine the timeline to do the right thing will only guarantee that it will never happen. Whether it be healthcare, DADT, DOMA, or a fair health care system for all, it’s constant, unyielding pressure from the grassroots that forces change. Just something to keep in mind as we enter the political season of 2010.

There seems to be some confusion in all the rants you’ve been giving since your dad left public office. Please allow me to explain things in a way in which I hope you will understand.

This man:

is not this man:

We have been assuming that you would have figured this out by now. I mean it’s been almost 10 years, but sadly, with all your pronouncements in TV that terrorists are some sort of super criminal that normal courts and jails were unable to contain, I thought some clarification was in order.

Your welcome,

mardod