Sunday, November 15, 2015

Lacking the eloquence of Dr. King, he was the perfect storm. He was deeply moral, proud of his heritage and he loved life. He grew up with parents that raised him to be educated and vital to the outcomes of others and their lives. 

As a minister he sought happiness that would bring his people to enjoy life regardless of any oppressive reality. 

He had a keen sense of justice. That was somewhat facilitated by the community he grew up in and the power of educational institutions he enjoyed. 

There was a path clearly set for him. It was never suppose to be brought to a violent end, but, considering the volatile nature of the USA at that time one asks if he not only knew he would be robbed of his longevity but when, too. 

He was a man with mug shots and prison numbers for the civil disobedience he carried out as a leader and the accolades of scholars and people with government influence.  

His death came along side two of the greatest civil rights leaders in USA history next to President Lincoln, John and Bobby Kennedy. He would know of the death of Malcolm X on February 21, 1965, one week after his home was firebombed, Malcolm X was shot to death by Nation of Islam members while speaking at a rally of his organization in New York City.

Martin Luther King, Jr. would die in assassination by a white man just more than three years later. It was a very difficult in the USA. The country at war in Vietnam that would last for another decade. There was a cultural shift of young Americans in the world of the educated with visions far different than their parents and grandparents. Martin Luther King, Jr. was as much a contemporary of that generation reaching for justice and opportunity. 

Pope Francis stated he was an example of a great, moral and just American. It sure looks that way. Now, if our society can just live up to his expectations, we would have recaptured that fervor and racism will evaporate into thin air across the USA. 
 
Martin Luther King, Jr., (click here) (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964 (click here)

...This problem of spiritual and moral lag, which constitutes modern man's chief dilemma, expresses itself in three larger problems which grow out of man's ethical infantilism. Each of these problems, while appearing to be separate and isolated, is inextricably bound to the other. I refer to racial injustice, poverty, and war.
The first problem that I would like to mention is racial injustice. The struggle to eliminate the evil of racial injustice constitutes one of the major struggles of our time. The present upsurge of the Negro people of the United States grows out of a deep and passionate determination to make freedom and equality a reality "here" and "now". In one sense the civil rights movement in the United States is a special American phenomenon which must be understood in the light of American history and dealt with in terms of the American situation. But on another and more important level, what is happening in the United States today is a relatively small part of a world development.
We live in a day, says the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead2,"when civilization is shifting its basic outlook: a major turning point in history where the presuppositions on which society is structured are being analyzed, sharply challenged, and profoundly changed."...

He married a beautiful woman named Coretta Scott.

In her youth, Coretta Scott King was well known for her singing and violin playing. The young soprano won a fellowship to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA – the city in which she met future husband, Martin Luther King Jr.

Coretta, about meeting Martin: "...he was looking for a wife. I wasn't looking for a husband, but he was a wonderful human being...I still resisted his overtures, but after he persisted, I had to pray about it...I had a dream, and in that dream, I was made to feel that I should allow myself to be open and stop fighting the relationship. That's what I did, and of course the rest...

Martin and Coretta were married on June 18, 1953 on the lawn of her parents' home in Marion, Alabama. Martin's father, the Reverend King, Sr., performed the wedding ceremony. Mrs. Edythe Bagley, Coretta's sister, was maid of honor. Reverend A.D. King, Martin's brother, was best man.

...Born and raised in Marion, Alabama, (click here) Coretta Scott graduated valedictorian from Lincoln High School. She received a B.A. in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then went on to study concert singing at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned a degree in voice and violin. While in Boston she met Martin Luther King, Jr. who was then studying for his doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University. They were married on June 18, 1953, and in September 1954 took up residence in Montgomery, Alabama, with Coretta Scott King assuming the many responsibilities of pastor’s wife at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church....

There were four children: 

Yolanda "Yoki" Denise King: Born November 17, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. Yolanda was a motivational speaker, actress, producer, and author. She died on May 15, 2007 at the age of 51 in Santa Monica, California.

Martin Luther III: Born on October 23, 1957 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Dexter Scott King: Born on January 30, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bernice Albertine King: Born on March 28, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Born and raised in Marion, Alabama, Coretta Scott graduated valedictorian from Lincoln High School. She received a B.A. in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then went on to study concert singing at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned a degree in voice and violin. While in Boston she met Martin Luther King, Jr. who was then studying for his doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University. They were married on June 18, 1953, and in September 1954 took up residence in Montgomery, Alabama, with Coretta Scott King assuming the many responsibilities of pastor’s wife at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  - See more at: http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-mrs-king#sthash.iisDu3xc.dpuf

Dr. King is described as a happy child that loved to learn and read.

An exhibition of John W. Mosley's photographs will include this shot of a young Martin Luther King Jr. (left) on "Chicken Bone Beach" in Atlantic City. (John Mosley / Courtesy Charles L. Blockson Afro American Collection)

As a young man and adult he obviously loved life and had many friends as well as peers in religious practice.

May 12, 2014
By Tirdad Derakhshani and John Timpane, Inquirer Staff Writers

...At the center is "Chicken Bone Beach," (click here) an exhibition of images by Philly photographer John W. Mosley (1907-1969). That stretch of shoreline in Atlantic City, between Mississippi Avenue and Missouri Avenue, was "designated" for people of color from 1900 to 1964. It's now a designated historic landmark.
Gay selected the photos from the massive Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple. "It's just a great chance for people to see this little-known part of history," she says, "and also a great teaching tool, to see life as lived in another time."
The images are cheerful, happy - children and families on the beach, ladies in swimwear. And some famous folks walk the sand - Joe Louis, Sammy Davis Jr., and a young Martin Luther King Jr....

This picture turns up often when reading about Dr. King. It is believed he enjoyed billiards and played well. As a minister, his hobby brought him closer to the average person in the community.

In many ways, Dr. King, while exceptional was an average Americans seeking health, wealth and happiness. He drank up life and while violence shortened his life he lived it full and with enthusiasm.

The history of African American progress is pivotal during the life of Dr. King and his family.

Kindly add this to the perspective of the time when Dr. King was growing up and becoming a great leader. The Civil War ended by proclamation on April 9, 1865.  Dr. King's father would be born in 1899 and his mother in 1904. The USA had lost a beloved President through violence and racism in 1865. The deaths of President by violent means lasts with the USA people. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Now more than fifty years since his death the country still remembers where they were when the news came.

...The Auburn Avenue (click here) community developed against a backdrop of increasingly rigid, legally enforced racial segregation and the effective disfranchisement of blacks throughout the American South in the 1 890s and 1900s. Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, inconsistency and flux characterized southern race relations. Before 1900, few southern states required segregation in public places. Separation in public activities was common, but local racial protocol varied considerably. In urban areas, limited racial mixing on public carriers, in common areas, and even in work places testified to the fragile foothold that blacks had established in municipalities. The political participation of southern blacks also varied considerably in this period. Beginning in the 1890s, however, southern whites fashioned a strictly segregated public realm and eliminated blacks' civil and political rights.  In Atlanta, a 1906 race riot accelerated the development of separate spheres for blacks and whites in the city.

The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited the denial of the franchise "by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." However, when the protection of federal troops was withdrawn, blacks' voting rights increasingly were restricted through intimidation, restrictive legislation, and discriminatory practices. Whites employed numerous devices to disfranchise blacks without openly flouting the Fifteenth Amendment. Southern governments created all-white primaries, poll taxes, literacy tests, and complicated voting procedures to exclude black voters. Many of these measures also limited the franchise of less affluent whites, in spite of mitigating efforts like "grandfather clauses." Grandfather clauses sheltered illiterate whites by exempting from literacy requirements individuals whose ancestors had voted prior to emancipation. By 1910, nearly all southern states had enacted suffrage laws that prevented blacks from voting....

Historic buliding significant to Dr. King's life.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Birth Home, 501 Auburn Avenue

Significance (click here)
The Birth Home is nationally significant under Criterion B (persons) as the birthplace and boyhood home of Martin Luther King, Jr., a nationally recognized civil rights leader. King's own autobiographical writings as well as the written and taped recollections of his father and sister document his childhood in this house. King's national significance as an adult civil rights leader is documented below in chapter 2. The Birth Home is also locally significant under Criterion A (events) as a component of the larger Auburn Avenue black community.
Ebenezer Baptist Church is nationally significant under Criterion B (persons) as a place where King spent much of his youth and where his mature beliefs and values began to take shape. Ebenezer Baptist Church is an extremely significant link to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s formative years....

Dr. King grew up in a very interesting part of Atlanta, Georgia.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on 15 January 1929 in his maternal grandparents' large Victorian house on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the second of three children, and was first named Michael, after his father. Both changed their names to Martin when the boy was still young.

Butler St. YMCA (click here)
The Black City Hall of Atlanta
20-24 Butler Street (now Jesse Hill Street)
Sweet Auburn Historic District
Atlanta, Georgia

Founded: 1894 Built: 1920 Architect: Hentz, Reid and Adler Builder: Alexander Hamilton Architectural Style: Although the façade has been slightly altered, the building still retains many elements of the elegant Georgian Revival style.

Original Use: This building became a center of social life on the Avenue by providing recreation and supervised activity space for younger blacks and a meeting place for older blacks. Many of Atlanta's young black men belonged to the Y and used it as a recreation center. Vernon Jordon and Martin Luther King, Jr. are leaders influenced as youths by their membership here.The building contains over 10,000 square feet and houses 48 dormatory rooms, 7 class rooms, a small auditorium, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, shower baths, a café and restrooms. It is the only minority YMCA in America that has been allowed to operate independently without being a branch.

Readaptive Use: Continues functioning as a YMCA.

Christine King Farris is the married older sister of Dr. King.

Dr. King's sister is alive and well.

Christine King Farris, sister of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., smiles as President Barack Obama is sworn in on her brother's bible (Reuters)

...Christine King Farris (click here) discusses the Klu Klux Klan presence in Georgia and major issues affecting the African American community, which included desegregation and voting rights. Her father, Martin, Sr., was an outspoken man who was very active in the community, working with voters' registration and to get equal pay for black educators in Atlanta. These issues were discussed extensively over dinner, and the children were encouraged to participate, which made them socially conscious at a young age. Farris' first experience with tragedy came with the death of her maternal grandmother, who died of a stroke while visiting another church. She describes the family's sorrow and her brother Alfred's guilt caused by his decision not to attend church. Farris talks about her parents' colleges and the assumption that the children in the family would attend Morehouse College and Spelman College like their parents.

Christine King Farris discusses her parents' home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, and her father's purchase of a home at 193 Boulevard after her grandmother's death. The neighborhood in which her family lived was an African American community with its own banks, shops and restaurants. Farris describes her father's sermons and her brother's decision to pursue ministry during his freshman year at Morehouse College. Farris and Martin, Jr. attended Atlanta University Laboratory School until it closed, after which they attended Booker T. Washington High School. After graduating from Spelman, Farris attended Columbia University for graduate school and Martin, Jr. attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania. She discusses her family's relationship with Dr. Benjamin Mays, who encouraged her brother to continue pursuing activism, and describes the dangers her brother faced while traveling through the South during the Civil Rights Movement....

...Christine King Farris discusses her family's pets, including a monkey and a deer. She talks about her grandmother's death and her brother Martin, Jr.'s grief and guilt. Farris describes the various scarves that women wore when she was a child, and tells the story of her brothers taking her grandmother's fox head stole, and using it to frighten neighbors. Farris talks about the facilities built in honor of her brother, Martin Luther King, Jr., and her work to properly entomb him after his assassination. This required three separate moves due to hateful vandalism and violence against his grave site. Martin's body was permanently placed on the grounds of the Martin Luther King Center. Farris discusses her brother's achievements, and believes that he would be humbled by the number of monuments and facilities built in his honor.



The King children were raised to be leaders.
 
Martin, Jr. (a graduating senior at Morehouse) and sister Christine (a graduating senior at Spelman) in 1948. (click here)
In reading about Dr. King it became very obvious his entire family were celebrities and celebrated in the African American community.

Cover Jet Magazine July 18, 1974 - Courtesy: The Mike Glenn Collection

Dr. King had a younger brother and a sister. His brother was as committed to obtain civil rights as his older brother was. He was an activist and a target.

...Alfred Daniel Williams King (click here) was born on 30 July 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia. A. D., was the third child of Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King, Sr. In contrast to his peacemaking brother, Martin, A. D. was, according to his father, “a little rough at times” and “let his toughness build a reputation throughout our neighborhood” (King, Sr.,126). Less interested in academics than his siblings, A. D. started a family of his own while still a teenager. He was married on 17 June 1950, to Naomi Barber, with whom he had five children. Although as a youth he strongly resisted his father’s ministerial urgings, King eventually began assisting his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. In 1959, King graduated from Morehouse College, and that same year he left Ebenezer to become pastor of Mount Vernon First Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia.

A. D. King was arrested with King, Jr., and 70 others while participating in an October 1960 lunch counter sit-in in Atlanta. In 1963, A. D. King became a leader of the Birmingham Campaign while pastoring at First Street Baptist Church in nearby Ensley, Alabama. On 11 May 1963, King’s house was bombed. In August, after a bomb exploded at the home of a prominent black lawyer in downtown Birmingham, thousands of outraged citizens poured into the city streets intent on revenge. As rocks were thrown at gathering policemen and the situation escalated. A. D. King climbed on top of a parked car and shouted to the rioters in an attempt to quell their fury: “My friends, we have had enough problems tonight. If you’re going to kill someone, then kill me. . . Stand up for your rights, but with nonviolence.” (“Bomb Hits Home in Birmingham”)...


There are few pictures of Alberta Christine Williams. The one to the left is her family and husband with Michael King.

Alberta Christine Williams (click here) was born on September 13, 1904, the only daughter of Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, who was then the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Jenny Celeste Parks. Williams attended high school at Spelman Seminary and obtained a teaching certificate at the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute (now Hampton University) in 1924.

Alberta Williams met Martin L. King (then known as Michael), whose sister Woodie was boarding with her parents, shortly before leaving for Hampton. After returning from college, she announced her engagement to King at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She worked for a short period as a teacher before the marriage on Thanksgiving Day in 1926. As female teachers were then not allowed to work while they were married, she had to give up her job as a teacher.

After the wedding, the Kings moved in with her parents. Their first child, a daughter Willie Christine King, was born on September 11, 1927. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 while their third child Alfred Daniel Williams King was born on July 30, 1930 and named after his Grandfather. During this period, Michael King changed his name to Martin Luther King, Sr.
Alberta King worked hard to instill self-respect into her three children. In an essay written at Crozer Seminary, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that his mother "was behind the scenes setting forth those motherly cares, the lack of which leaves a missing link in life." Martin Luther King Jr. was close to his mother throughout his life.

This photo is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father, mother and wife.

Alberta King's mother Jennie Williams died on May 18, 1941 of a heart attack. Martin Luther King, Jr. was so upset over his grandmother's death that he jumped from the second floor of the house. The Kings later moved to a larger yellow brick house three blocks away. Alberta King would also serve as the organizer and president of the Ebenezer Women's Committee between 1950 and 1962. By the end of this period, Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. were joint pastors of the church.

Christmas with the Kings in 1961. Daddy King and Alberta King pose with their children, in-laws and grandchilden. Standing behind them are A.D. and Naomi King; Christine and Issac Farris; and Martin and Coretta King. Alveda King, the first grandchild and A.D. King's daughter, hugs her grandparents.

I never knew Dr. King's mother was killed as she served in her church. It is somewhat unnerving to realize African Americans face this issue within their churches all the time. The burning of church buildings is equally as troubling. I am not used to thinking about deaths in a church or having it burned to the group or defaced by fire. That is a sincere reality of the African American community in the USA. It is troubling and I want to apologize to the community that know what it is to be a victim within their own faithful lives. 

I guess they do readily forgive. This really needs to stop. I have never experienced any emotional trauma or otherwise in a church. It is suppose to be a sanctuary. 

June 30, 1974
By Rebecca Burns

On Sunday June 30 1974, (click here) Alberta Christine Williams King played “The Lord’s Prayer” on the organ of Ebenezer Baptist, the church where her father, A.D. Williams, her husband, Martin Luther King Sr., and son, Martin Luther King Jr., all had served as pastors.
The song finished, and most of the congregation had their eyes closed and heads bowed in preparation for prayer when they heard a shout: “I’m taking over here!”...
...The man—Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. (click here)—fired every round in his gun, hitting Alberta King, church deacon, Edward Boykin, and congregation member Jimmie Mitchell. As the gunman sprinted out the side door leading to Jackson Street, the sanctuary was chaotic.
Farris eventually made her way outside. As she later described the scene:
There were people everywhere. There was a throng of onlookers. When I looked in their eyes I saw what is often described as  “the thousand-yard stare.” It was a kind of blankness I’d never seen before. There were bewildered and in shock. Many were crying; most had their hands pressed to their mouths in disbelief.
Farris and other family members made it to Grady hospital, where they learned that dean Boykin and Mrs. King had died....

The King family loved God. Church and learning was at the center of their lives.

This picture of Martin Luther King, Sr. He was born Michael King and lived from December 19, 1899 to November 11, 1984. He was 84 when he died. There is every reason to believe Martin Luther King, Jr. would have lived at least as long as his father if he had not been assassinated on April 4, 1968.

In a speech (click here) expressing his views on ‘‘the true mission of the Church’’ Martin Luther King, Sr. told his fellow clergymen that they must not forget the words of God: ‘‘The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.… In this we find we are to do something about the brokenhearted, poor, unemployed, the captive, the blind, and the bruised’’ (King, Sr., 17 October 1940). Martin Luther King, Jr. credited his father with influencing his decision to join the ministry, saying: ‘‘He set forth a noble example that I didn’t [mind] following’’ (Papers 1:363).

King, Sr. was born Michael King on 19 December 1897, in Stockbridge, Georgia. The eldest son of James and Delia King, King, Sr. attended school from three to five months a year at the Stockbridge Colored School. ‘‘We had no books, no materials to write with, and no blackboard,’’ he wrote, ‘‘But I loved going’’ (King, Sr., 37).



King experienced a number of brutal incidents while growing up in the rural South, including witnessing the lynching of a black man. On another occasion he had to subdue his drunken father who was assaulting his mother. His mother took the children to Floyd Chapel Baptist Church to ‘‘ease the harsh tone of farm life’’ according to King (King, Sr., 26). Michael grew to respect the few black preachers who were willing to speak out against racial injustices, despite the risk of violent white retaliation. He gradually developed an interest in preaching, initially practicing eulogies on the family’s chickens. By the end of 1917, he had decided to become a minister.

In the spring of 1918, King left Stockbridge to join his sister, Woodie, in Atlanta.

The following year, Woodie in Atlanta. The following year, Woodie King boarded at the home of A. D. Williams, minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church. King seized the opportunity to introduce himself to the minister’s daughter, Alberta Williams. Her parents welcomed King into the family circle, eventually treating him as a son and encouraging the young minister to overcome his educational limitations.... 

From Public Boardcasting: (click here for audio)

Not unlike many Americans in the late 1800 and early 1900s their birth dates are not necessarily accurate.

Martin Luther King, SENIOR faced Jim Crow and racism early in his life. He was born in 1897 one year after the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Fergusson decision that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine.
As a young man during the early 1900s, King “known by many today as Daddy King” was inspired by local ministers who risked speaking out against racial injustice. He decided to become a minister and -eventually — a civil rights activist.
King headed Atlanta’s Civic and Political League and NAACP. He organized voting rights rallies and worked to initiate equal pay for Atlanta black teachers.
A supporter of former governor Jimmy Carter, King was instrumental in garnering the support of civil rights activists for Carter’s bid for the Presidency. Carter asked King to deliver invocations at both the 1976 and 1980, Democratic National Conventions.
But perhaps King, Sr.’s most significant contribution to Atlanta and the civil rights movement was the influence he had on the development of Martin Luther King, Jr. WHO once said of his father, “He set forth a noble example that I didn’t mind following.”



Violent culture has followed African Americans into their churches.

The Rev Martin Luther King Sr and his wife Alberta Williams King at the funeral of their son, Martin Luther King Jr, Ebenezer Church Atlanta, 9 April 1968. Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 

1 July 2014
By Simon Winchester
 
The 70-year-old mother (click here) of the late Rev Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader who was assassinated six years ago, was herself shot and killed today as she played the organ for morning service in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in the centre of Atlanta, Georgia.
Her assailant, a young black man, who eye-witnesses said "went berserk," and who was later reported to have said that "all Christians" were his enemies, was held by members of the church choir after he had wounded two other members of the congregation, one of them fatally.
Aware of the potential consequences of this latest tragedy, the Mayor of Atlanta, Mr Maynard Jackson, issued a statement beseeching the community to remain calm.
Mr Jackson, elected last year as the first black mayor of a major southern city, had returned abruptly to Atlanta from a West Coast conference last Wednesday after ominous civil disturbances had erupted in the streets following the police shooting of a young black man who had violated his parole. The mood in the city had been calming after the tense and uneasy week when this morning's tragic shootings took place.
Atlanta said later that a 21-year-old black man, Marcus Wayne Chenault, of Dayton, Ohio, had been charged with two counts of murder, one of assault, and one of carrying a concealed weapon.
According to witnesses Mrs Alberta King, whose husband, the Rev Martin Luther King Snr, is pastor of the church on Auburn Avenue, was playing the organ for the Lord's Prayer near the start of the service when the attack began. A young black man jumped and screamed: "You must stop this! I am tired of all this! I'm taking over this morning."...
It's Sunday Night
While looking for an authentic rendition of "Welcoeme Table," I ran across a group of singers in the UK.

Fisk Jubilee Singers (click here)

"Welcome Table" by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers (click here for archive of collection)

I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table some of these days, oh hallelujah.

I'm gonna feast on milk and honey
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey some of these days, oh hallelujah

I am gonna sing and never get tired,
I am gonna sing and never get tired, some of these days, hallelujah now
I am gonna sing and never get tired,
I am gonna sing and never get tired, some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna to tell God all of my service
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me, some of these days, oh hallelujah

Oh, I'm gonna set this world on fire
I'm gonna set this world on fire, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna set this world on fire
I'm gonna set this world on fire, some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table, some of these days.

"Meet the new Commander and Chief" of the USA military.

Amazing. Leave it to the American media to finesse war thought INCOMPLETE information.

Here it is, "The Russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb. There is no information to contradict that."

Right Sure.

In other words, let's get on with a war on incomplete information. Where have I witnessed that before? Oh, yeah, Iraq and "W." 

"And stay tuned folks for an exclusive interview with JEB!"

Now, that sounds right. 

In case the truth matters:

November 6, 2015
By The Associated Press

Sharm - el - Sheikh, Egypt (AP) — The latest on the crash (click here) of a Russian plane in Egypt that killed all 224 people onboard last Saturday. (All times local.)
10:25 p.m.
The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi spoke by telephone a few hours after Putin called for Russia to suspend passenger flights to Egypt.
A Kremlin statement late Friday said the leaders agreed to further cooperation in order to "confirm the overall effectiveness of the security measures taken by Egyptian authorities at the airports of the country."
Russian carrier Metrojet's Airbus A321-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier Friday said Russian flights will be suspended for as long as it takes Egyptian authorities to put "a proper level of security" into place. The move is expected to devastate Egyptian tourism....
...9:30 p.m.
Business owners who cater to tourists in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh say the Russian decision to suspend flights to the country may be catastrophic for them.
For 17 years, Ayman Aweiss has been running a cafe on a main drag in the city. On Friday, his cafe was empty. He says every business owner in Sharm el-Sheikh will be forced to leave after a month if there aren't any Russian tourists....
He says that if the situation remains like this "we can't live."...

The fact there is a lower expectation of security in Egypt the Russian government has made it clear the flights cannot continue until better measures are issued in Egypt.

This not an unusual situation in the world. There have been terrorist threats on jets to the USA because extremists could work their way through a country without secure systems.

In my opinion, for whatever it is worth theses days, Russia was correct in demanding better security with or without a potential terrorist attack. Every country in the world is compromised by countries that do not invest in upholding the security measures found in cities of origination of flights. There should be no doubt security in global airports should be seamless. I don't know that I would get on a flight if there wasn't good security. Why fly to a country that has extremists within the society and do little to nothing to insure tourists' safety.

By the way, reporting half truths as 'the truth' is unethical. 

And what did JEB! say? The exact same words as "W." Except, he adds, "We should be focused on the future and not the past." Doesn't everyone wish he would.

The global community, yes including Russia and China, have an opportunity. They should not ignore or dismiss it.

I think the USA needs to be cautious in entering foreign wars and sparking more instability. The USA military is viewed as the do all and end all problem solver. Whenever there are problems with any ally or otherwise the USA is suppose to be tapped to bring weapons and soldiers to solve the problem. I remind Daesh exists because the USA entered into an illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

Everyone accepts that reality, right? France was attacked by people acting in proxy for Daesh. The attackers were recruited to carry out this attack by a charismatic leader in Syria. There are citizens of Australia that have acted on the behalf and also migrated to Syria. These are all facts. No one believes there is no charismatic movement, do they? Where are the facts?

No one wants Europe to be the next war for freedom in the global community. There has been security in Europe and while killing is the enemies domain, it may only serve to increase that capacity if the USA military is involved when there is no solution at the end of that knee jerk reaction.

Seven heavily armed men killed over one hundred people in France and wounded over three hundred. That is nearly 500 people with a new and different reality today. What is going to be the reaction of society if these problems continue?

We all witnessed the attacks of September 11, 2001 and Americans began to stand in lines at airports to secure their flights. Did anyone ever think that would become a reality in a country with infrastructure that is to keep them safe? People value life and if surrendering to a maniacal leader will insure their lives they will live to fight another day. Civilization is in question and how it uses it's power. ie: Iraq post invasion when facing a real security issue.

I think NATO has a responsibility to all it's members. It is up to France to identify where NATO can add to greater security. There is an influx of unknown people. That has to be addressed. We know at least one person was involved in the Paris killings in a way that manifested due to open borders in Europe.

Daesh has stated openly that France is to be a target again. That has to be addressed and if soldiers from NATO in the streets in France brings about greater stability then that is where NATO should be concentrated. What good are soldiers in Syria when it does nothing to end the violence among the people of France?

I think Europe and NATO need to come to the understanding about war and what is EFFECTIVE. The USA in Iraq turned loose the old Saddam Ba'athists to organize and bring about a feared militia in Syria. That was a horrible idea. It was a war of convenience and not necessity. Is Iraq going to be the 51st state of the USA ahead of Puerto Rico? If this lame military effort goes on much longer, the USA will need an income from Iraq's oil to maintain a war of decades.

NATO and the European Union have to come to terms of what caused this instability in their country and deal with it. There is no answer in Syria if all a military operation means is increased dangers in Europe. I remind this attack in Paris was planned by cells of terrorists in the community. The one person from Syria that migrated to Greece could not wait to kill in France and took up weapons without question among strangers. Would that person have been killed by the USA military in Syria? Not necessarily.

The migration of terrorists into Europe is now known. The attacks happened when a member of Daesh was killed for assassinating others. Syria has a dynamic in this as does Iraq, however, currently there are two fronts to this attack in France. There is the war front in Syria and Iraq and now there is a terrorist front in France to the killing of innocent people. Russia has ended it's flights into Sharm el-Sheikh before any conclusion of the investigation of the jet crash.

There cannot be a simple answer for political expediency. If a multi-front war proves to be overwhelming and the violence spreads in Europe as Daesh is planning, the war will get worse and the decisions will be focused on control and causing death and the real question will become, "Will a mulit-front war lead to the use of nukes?"

The reason the USA used nuclear weapons in WWII was because the danger to the USA increased beyond it's military reach and expertise.

If the G20 meeting is successful the entire membership would have decided to act together to end terrorism. It would have identified where each country fits into security on their continent. It would have welcomed a war pact among countries to end the dangers of Daesh. I hope that was at least put into the agenda to meet again for national security measures.

To coin a popular phrase, "The USA is not all that." Sure, the USA has a strong military, but, there are limits. What happens if Venezuela breaks open and there is a near border war in the Gulf of Mexico? I think the global organizations such as the G20 have an opportunity to bring a realistic picture to national and international security. If they miss that opportunity, the civilized world is in trouble. I am convinced of that.

Russia's national security is based in stable governments as allies. That is an interesting concept.

If the downing of a jet is due to terrorists then the reality of Egypt has changed and there are over 200 people dead. Add that to France's deaths known to be caused by terrorism and the totals begin to add up. One hundred here, 200 there and what is the total amount of deaths from terrorism leading to a war without end.

Daesh has presented a sincere concern for every nation because of it's SUCCESSFUL charismatic movement. The global community can bring about stability or it can act foolishly and bring about a world at war with it's own inability to see the best way forward.

Every country in the world have known stability problems. If war breaks out, as it did in France and citizens are forced to take up arms, the civilized world ends and anarchy reigns. Don't think for one minute terrorist organizations won't thrive if countries are at odds with each other; quite the contrary, terrorism will flourish.

How can a mad man in Afghanistan bring about a world at war with Islamists in every country on Earth? Who will win? What is the cost in lives, cultural survival and stability of governments? These blood thirsty Islamists don't care about how the deaths occur among the infidels, they are willing to find a way to turn a nuclear power facility in France to a weapon of death. They aren't messing around and political dogma to instill faux ideas of safety is a defeat in the face of enormous power and how it is best used. 

President Hollande has every asset that NATO has at his disposal. He needs to act in a way that will end the danger to his people, not simply accept a politically attractive act of muscle flexing and more danger.

I think anyone can ask religious leaders to help with fears.

Fear is a real thing. It can create dangerous behaviors in people. I think any American feeling fear or anxiety has the right to approach religious leaders to bring about an understanding within a community.

That is the beauty of a local political and economic environment. The population is known and there can be an understanding about hate and violence. I don't believe Americans conduct themselves in networking in a community enough.

An example of community organization is found in the minority communities in the USA. Frequently, leaders in the minority communities have their finger on the pulse of the people.

We hear about town hall meetings during years of elections, but, town halls can be an organizing event for a community as well. There are also community organizations that encourage involvement such as homeowners associations. They meet regularly and discuss the community. Homeowners associations set up rules for their community and they are legal requirements.

Democracy is a beautiful thing. Democracy is under attack. The freedoms people have in a democracy allows for an element of danger. People have to overcome that in their communities. When people sign leases for apartments there are community rules. Those rules allow for a more peaceful co-existence.

Leaders and religious leaders should be asked to attend meetings to talk about real fears of violence in a community or a building for that matter. That process of being aware of the activities within a community is called mitigation. I think Americans are smart enough to find ways of EFFECTIVELY dealing with fears; by treating fears as a real and palpable commodity.

When a community understands its environment, of course, police and law enforcement can be asked to interfere with reliable fears and what they are based in. Since, September 11, 2001 there has been this idea of 'free floating' fears. Who can we trust? Who will become violent? How can a person protect themselves from the unseen and unknown? I sincerely believe if a community cares about each other and has a central organization to mitigate these fears and ask the infrastructure to intervene in real fears, there can be more and better security of a person's day and their work and home environments.

Americans are very resourceful. They can do anything if they put their minds to it. Often we take our day for granted and don't recognize small ways of improving our quality of life. Fear interferes with quality of life. Such concerns are real in the American courts as well, too. Having a clear understanding of fear and what is causing such concerns in a community can also minimize dangers to freedom such as the over lay of authority of warrantless searches. If a community is secure and resource people know their community members well, it is far easier to dispute any government action within that community.

The American legal infrastructure values privacy, that right to privacy can be increased and vigilantism diminished if there is far less fear and more knowledge.

Have family elections for the one person a family can resource to attend meetings and carry their fears to the community meeting. An organization can be micromanaged to the point of any household. Orgnaization and mitigation is a good thing. Increase quality of life and end fear and anxiety.

November 15, 2015
By Benjamin Mueller and Michael S. Schmidt

They paused over their morning coffee (click here) and in the middle of Broadway shows, on subways and buses carrying people into some of the country’s most crowded areas, reckoning with how the spasm of terror that struck Paris on Friday, seemingly at random, might pierce American lives, too.

Teenagers’ cellphones blinked with warnings texted from parents to stay out of big crowds and heed feelings of foreboding. Families huddled over whether a Saturday outing still made sense. A young woman from South Carolina in a Manhattan hotel prayed over breakfast for scores of victims who, she said, were uncomfortably like her: concertgoers, diners at fashionable restaurants, soccer fans.

Khori Petinaud, an actress in the Broadway show “Aladdin,” said nerves had run high backstage on Friday night....