#Selma 50 years later

From @jeffmason1: The Obama family and Bush family join marchers to cross Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge. pic.twitter.com/NuMMx4F3XS
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) March 7, 2015

Over the weekend there was a lot of news out of Selma, Alabama commemorating a famous civil rights march that started in that town (which also spawned a major motion picture based on those events 50 years ago). The bridge that was largely a symbolic epicenter of that event was host to a 50 year anniversary march which featured two Presidents of the United States.

I got to find out why former President George W. Bush decided to make his way to Selma with his wife Laura Bush. It certainly was a cool gesture as I truly believe the fight for civil rights back in the 1960s or even today is a just bipartisan cause.

Partisanship with civil rights in my mind has no standing in the demonstrations of 50 to 60 years ago. A segment of the population back then were being denied their rights and it was unacceptable. Most people who saw how civil rights activists were treated on their TV screens back then realized the same thing, hopefully.

So I've been seeing complaints that President Bush had been cropped out of the pic with President Obama. The uncropped pic you see above and the cropped pic you may have seen via the NY Times.

Now I'm not going to add onto the speculation to why this occurred. The question is was it partisan. If it was then I would say petty because I truly believe civil rights was right regardless of any political leanings. So if this was merely partisan then the cropping was certainly petty. Although the photograph claims this hadn't been intentional at all.

I recognize that many may not like President Bush whose administration lasted from 2001 to 2009 mainly because of his execution of the War on Terror. At the same time a Republican former president and a sitting Democrat president - who also happens to be Black - marching at a commemoration of a 50 year old event should be good press. It only shows that no one party or ideology can say they are the party of civil rights.

President Obama speaks to the Morehouse College class of 2013

[VIDEO] Here is the President's address to the class of 2013 at Morehouse College. All 32 minutes and while I'm aware of how the President is portrayed by those who oppose him it's certainly great to have the leader of the free world speak at a graduation especially if it just so happens to be my own alma mater. I'm looking forward to seeing the full ceremonies as it's not the President who's important here, it's the graduates as they worked very hard to see this day come!

Alas, the past week haven't been very good to the President. We have the story regarding the IRS targeting Tea Party groups come out. Also the Benghazi is still in the news, that was where an US Ambassador was killed in Libya by insurgents.

I also found that someone threw politics into the momentousness of President Obama coming to Morehouse to speak to the graduates. Here's the title to an article from the New York Daily News: "As President Obama tells Morehouse grads he strives to be ‘a better man,’ Republican critics suggest he ought to". Although the article itself mentions some of the commencement address it says very little about Republican critics connecting some of what he said which some of the bad press he's been receiving as of late.

I do believe, however, that most of this criticism you may have seen in a variety of quotes seen on TV. Perhaps even FOX News it seems although I would have to corroborate this will actual videos. That's something I'm not prepared to do at the moment.

All the same, I still view the President coming to Morehouse as a positive. It causes me to cringe when anyone event the President himself referring to himself in the same vein as Dr. Martin Luther King because Obama is more of a political leader than Dr. King. King himself was certainly more of a religious or moral leader than Obama can ever hope to be. Although perhaps King's vision of a Black person or anyone becoming President of the United State by the content of his character but not because of the color of his skin is something that we could get out of this comparison.

In spite of his current problems, it was great to see Morehouse College get some international attention and hopefully this could mean that more people will see the primary mission of Morehouse in a good light. Especially to see the positivity of mostly Black males completing their college education!

My weekend at the movies: "Star Trek Into Darkness"

This past weekend I finally had the opportunity to see the latest entry in the Star Trek franchise entitled Star Trek Into Darkess at the Chatham 14 theaters. There were some unexpected surprised in this movie some plot points that were inserted into the story that's as much part of this universe even if this is an alternate reality. The antagonists of this film are muddled but still clear and as always our heroes win the day. The ending could've easily resembled Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan but thankfully they didn't stay that course and of course it's an action packed film.

As seen in the trailer or even in some promotional materials the USS Enterprise takes a serious beating in this movie. We already saw Spock in a volcano and jumping from a skyscraper in addition to him running around. Also the Klingons make a brief appearance and they look much more menacing than usual. I could see them as the universe's answer to biker gangs!

Overall a great movie, it has me thinking about seeing it again because usually once I see it at the show it's not likely to be viewed again until it's on sale as a DVD.

I noted not long ago on Twitter that when Star Trek was released in 2009 I was graduating from Star Trek. My graduation occurred on May 17, 2009 and it had premiered on May 8, 2009. And looking at my stubs that I've been collecting for years it appears I went to a show on May 10, 2009, a Sunday.

Finally a shoutout to the Morehouse College class of 2013 who had President Obama as a commencement speaker. It's something I hope to share with you as soon as I see any video of it in the next few days although I see it has been politicized already. That will be shared here as well.

Sorry for veering a bit off topic, however, the Star Trek franchise remains in good hands and hopefully we will see more Klingons in the next movie! Also even more better, now I have possession of two posters for this movie and certainly something you'd expect to have seen before this film was released. A wonderful treat for myself that excites me even more! :)

ALSO, in a recent post in showing a new trailer for Into Darkness, I referred to this film as Star Trek 13. That was incorrect as the current installment is in fact the 12TH Star Trek film. I would correct it in that post but then I figured just let it be. When the next movie is released and this blog continues that will certainly be correct! :P

Was a commencement speaker at Morehouse College disinvited?

While it's great that my alma mater was able to get the President of the United States to speak at this year's commencement ceremonies it's unfortunate that it's hit the press that there's some controversies around one of the other speakers.

A prominent pastor was allegedly disinvited from speaking at Morehouse College’s baccalaureate service this week after he criticized President Barack Obama, who will deliver the school’s commencement address.

The Rev. Kevin Johnson, a Morehouse alumnus and the senior pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia, Pa., wrote an opinion column earlier this month in the Philadelphia Tribune accusing Obama of neglecting the black community in his cabinet picks–they’re overwhelmingly white–and broader political agenda.

The day after the article ran, Johnson said, Morehouse President John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. phoned to express reservations about his “untimely” comments regarding President Obama. Johnson asked administrators to honor their invitation, but learned days later he had been replaced by three alternate speakers.

Now, a group of two dozen pastors who lead churches across the country are demanding Morehouse re-invite Johnson.

As always, I realize there are always two sides to every story and the current President of Morehouse denies that Rev. Johnson had been disinvited:

That being said, I pause to write to you now regarding a related matter that is germane to our educational mission, but one that has regretfully generated quite a bit of distraction in recent days. In brief, I extended an invitation to a distinguished alumnus to speak at our upcoming Baccalaureate service. I subsequently made a decision to adjust the format of the Baccalaureate program and opted for a more creative, multi-speaker approach that is used by many leading institutions.  This sharing of the stage comports with the spirit of upholding democratic ideals, including freedom of speech and expression, and is entirely consistent with the spirit of camaraderie that Morehouse holds dear.

As president, I believe this is in the best interest of the college. In this instance, I decided to ask this invited speaker to share the Baccalaureate stage with two other speakers so as to reflect a broader and more inclusive range of viewpoints.

To my chagrin, my decision has been wrongly construed by some as an effort to “disinvite” this individual. He was not disinvited, but rather declined to participate in the format. Worse yet, this decision has led to allegations of censorship, which of course has no place in any viable academic institution. These allegations are fundamentally deleterious and are undeserved.

I first got wind of this story via Instapundit earlier this week. Just to note it's considered a right-wing blog!

What if Big Bird was a right winger?

[VIDEO] This video had to have come from Conan O'Brien's tenure as host of Tonight on NBC. This clip seems like a hilarious counterpoint to the debate on Wednesday where Mitt Romney indicated that he would like to cut funding for public broadcasting. Even mentioned that he loved Big Bird.

With this video and mind, I'm sure Big Bird is rethinking what he said to the First Lady and even his right winged beliefs. LOL

Box office update: Anti-Obama doc '2016: Obama's America' headed for mainstream success

[VIDEO] What you see is a trailer for 2016: Obama's America billed as an anti-Obama documentary directed by conservative writer Dinesh D'Souza. You can read more about this film over at Wikipedia.

In any case over at Newsalert, there is an article about how well it's doing so far:

A politically charged documentary called 2016: Obama’s America turned heads last weekend when it grossed a whopping $1.24 million out of just 169 theaters.

The $2.5 million independent film, which is being distributed by Utah-based Rocky Mountain Pictures, premiered in Houston six weeks ago and has recently enjoyed some extremely uncharacteristic box office behavior.

You see, normally, when a film’s theater count increases, the amount of money it’s earning in each theater decreases. This is the standard performance pattern for a limited release and follows common supply/demand logic.

Here’s how things have gone for 2016: Obama’s America, though: Three weekends ago, 2016 earned $34,133 out of 10 theaters, which gave it a per theater average of $3,413 — not all that remarkable for a limited release. When it expanded into 61 theaters the next weekend, its per theater average did a funny thing: it jumped up to $5,202. Last weekend, the film experienced an even bigger expansion, into 169 theaters, and again, its per theater average substantially leapt up to $7,365.

Let’s be clear: this almost never happens.

You know I would be curious about this movie now. Though many surely would reject this film because obviously this maligns President Obama. Then again this movie asks questions that were already asked about him by many conservatives. Although to me sure, hopefully they don't touch the issues of whether or not he was actually born in the US or if he's a Muslim. As for who influenced the President in his more formative years, that's as much fair game as any!

American Crossroads: "Cool"

[VIDEO] I've searched for this ad and am elated to have found it! People were genuinely excited about Barack Obama in 2008. The then junior Senator from Illinois was a young fresh face and people were tired of political insiders who spent years in Washington. He could be described as a celebrity politician but with perhaps not a whole lot accomplished in his political career starting in the Illinois State Senate.

This ad shows how cool he is and then asks if he's accomplished anything as President of the United States. Well has he?

This ad was produced by Karl Rove's Super PAC. Do you think it's effective?

It appears I'm not the only one tracking these signs...

Well other than me or John Ruberry @ Marathon Pundit. There's Tom Mannis @ Chicago News Bench who was in the Loop outside of the Harold Washington Library took a picture of this American Recovery Act sign yesterday. It's right in the median on State Street. He says that there appeared to be no work done at this location

American Recovery Act sign on the South Side

I'm pretty sure Marathon Pundit is still tracking these Recovery Act signs around the nation if not only in the Chicago area. This sign was on a trailer near 95th & Michigan on Tuesday morning and I believe the work there involved the utilities. Didn't exactly get all the information for what was being done here.

Another Recovery Act sign

Near 111th/Ashland in Morgan Park. The bridge across I-57 was out of service and being fixed up. Another Obama stimulus "campaign sign" located on Chicago's south side. A little more background from Marathon Pundit, he's been keeping an eye on these.

American Recovery Act sign

Located off the Dan Ryan at 75th St. This is what Marathon Pundit would refer to as Obama campaign signs.

Photos of the day!!!

These are for the Marathon Pundit, John Ruberry. He's still tracking all the Obama stimulus signs in the Chicago area. Last summer I took pictures of signs along the Dearborn subway stations. This year Obama stimulus in Federal Plaza near Dearborn & Adams.

Looking at that sign, the plaza won't look much different that what it currently looks like. Ironically this was thought to be the site of last week's tea party rally which was held instead at Daley Plaza just up the street at Dearborn & Washington.