Reading Today's Beacon...

 

 Still Not Accurate to Claim ‘Both Sides are Doing It’
AP ran a story describing a house divided, where one party chose to decline their invitations to the official ceremonies commemorating King’s speech and organized their own events in isolation. 

“Fifty years ago, Democrats and Republicans stood shoulder to shoulder, demanding equal rights for blacks. But during the past week of commemorations of this formative American moment, the two parties barely interacted, each organizing its own events and delivering its own interpretations of King’s dream.”

Sadly, AP framed the story as if both sides were equally culpable.  According to AP the Democrats, who hold the White House so hold the power to convene the official ceremonies, contributed by inviting the NAACP, Urban League, and the MLK Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change, because (according to a Republican quoted in the AP story) these groups are fighting against voter ID laws that target blacks, fighting to restore the Voting Rights Act, and oppose both ‘stop and frisk’ and ‘stand your ground’ laws.

I am reminded of Coates comment that Republicans do not have an image problem with minority communities…they have a problem problem.  If these are the issues made salient by the leaders of minority communities it does not seem inappropriate for these to be front and center on this day.  Nor does it seem inappropriate for these to be framed as nonviolent ‘fights’ on a day commemorating Dr. King.

To claim that inviting these groups and highlighting these issues is the reason Republicans declined their invitations is to suggest there is no value in hearing from the other side of the aisle.  This is a fundamentally anti-democratic position, consistent with the Republican leadership position for the past six years, and it is unfortunate that AP feels compelled to frame this one-sided abrogation of leadership responsibility as ‘both sides are doing it.’ 

Unfortunate and inaccurate…with a (however unintentional) partisan edge threatening both the possibility and desirability of democratic decision making.

One side declines their invitation to join the official ceremonies because they are unwilling to hear about the issues that concern leaders in minority communities and holds their own event instead, safely insulated from pesky disagreement.  It is time to call this what it is and vote accordingly.

Do Not Strike Syria
President Obama is seeking Congressional approval.  Good idea, as far as it goes.  But I am deeply concerned about our willingness to violate international law in order to send a symbolic message about the need to respect international law. 

 

I am not sure what I would do, were I in the president’s shoes, since innocent lives are being lost.  Is this Kosovo or Iraq?  But my gut tells me that if our goals is merely to send a symbolic message…better to boost respect for the law by respecting the law.

Support Value Creators
Workers on the ground, in the classroom, on the beat put in the sweat equity that creates value.  Unions are far from perfect instruments, suffering many of the same flaws we see in other large bureaucratic organizations (like insurance companies, government agencies, the military—waste, corruption, tin ear), but they did move us substantially closer to recognizing and rewarding those who create value in our systems that distribute the social profit that results.