It's a Matter of Honor - the 8/28 Rally at the Lincoln Memorial

[Foxfyre]

This rally was not about Glenn Beck no more than the rally so many years ago was about Martin Luther King. Beck and King are just men with strong views that have or had the ability to speak these views. If it were about Beck and King then Beck now owns the Lincoln Memorial every 8/28 as his crowd was much larger than King's was so many years ago. Much of what Beck and King say is the same.

Something that I feel has been ignored is the reason for the low turnout for Al Sharpton. I
feel it is because for the most part King's wish has come true. Blacks obviously have the same equal rights as whites in America today. There are still many that are held back, not by whites but by themselves. Confidence, hard work, and education is sometimes difficult to achieve when you have someone like Sharpton telling you that you can't make it in America. Depressed Al should encourage instead of discourage. I apologize for getting off topic.

Of course it wasn't.

Maybe that's why the left are struggling with the whole 'date' thing.... Is it because they see MLK instead of his dream? See, conservatives heard his words.... nothing else matters... not the color of his skin, his religion, or anything else.... it was his words. I suggest you go read them. Then ask yourself which rally represented King's words.... Sharpton's message of division or Beck's of unity?

I think the left is struggling with this because it is so galling to them to think that somebody they despise as much as Glenn Beck helped organize such a successful event. They're struggling because they do not want to accept that most of America doesn't support their agenda and point of view, and frankly I think they're terrified that most of America might be right. They're struggling because it is so damn hard for folks to admit they have been wrong about something they have denounced and opposed and ridiculed for so long.

Al Sharpton could have been a hero by telling his group that it is time for unity and cooperation and let's join the folks at the mall and celebrate together. He didn't do that. Somebody pointed out there was a lot of whining about the Restore Honor rally with Sharpton quipping: “They want to disgrace this day.” (Linked from NYT on Samson’s thread.)

I don’t think anybody at the Restore Honor Rally even mentioned Sharpton’s counter rally, which is what it was despite his pretty lame denial of that.

The only thing that even remotely suggested ‘bashing’ was one comment Beck made about Olbermann who had been even more hateful, rude, and offensive than usual when describing the Restore Honor rally.

Beck said: “There are thousands and thousands of people that are [web] streaming this right now, and it makes me so happy to know that Keith Olbermann is one of them,” he said, to laughter and applause. “Because while you-all got in here for free, Keith had to pay $6.95 a month.”
Then Beck blew a kiss to the camera.
Read more: Glenn Beck taunts Keith Olbermann, calls rally 'end of darkness' - Mike Allen - POLITICO.com

 

[AmericanFirst]

Posts #99, #123, and #143.

FreedomWorks and Fox News can bus over all the teabaggers they want....but they sure as hell can't stand up to simple fact based analysis.

Now, care to enlighten us all as to exactly what was the point of all the flag waving, pseudo-evangelism? I'll wait.

If you are a true American you know is up with the flag waving, idiot.

 

[Foxfyre]

This is interesting:

Collected here are a series of updates from Washington Post reporters who were on the ground at the Rev. Al Sharpton's "Reclaim the Dream" rally as the event was unfolding. Read our formal report here. (linked below)


The intersection of Independence Avenue and 17th street was a crossroads of expressions and participants from both events came together.

As one group of black women chanted "Yes we did and get over it," those part of the Glenn Beck rally clapped and passed out Restore the Honor bottles of water.

But Brett Cummings of Gordon Ga wasn't happy. "Look at the statement if we had all come together as one." Katheryn Travis who came to Beck Rally from Knoxville Tenn was almost in
tears. "Dr King wanted all of us to come together. We have to believe that."

- Robert Pierre

- - -


When the Sharpton rally reached the mall, most of the crowd from Beck's rally had begun to disperse. Those remaining, mostly smiled politely. "We love Obama! We like Obama!" those in Sharpton's rally yelled.

"Glen Beck, we're going to show you. We ain't going to let Glenn Beck turn us around," one man shouted into a mega phone. The crowd followed him. A few people took photos as they chanted and walked down Constitution Avenue. "We need to be shouting 'we are America,'" said one woman in Sharpton's rally. "See all those tea baggers." The two crowds mostly gawked at each other and smiled.

- Krissah Thompson

- - -


The march has started and is moving slowly.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Martin Luther King III will speak at the King memorial. Code Pink is also at the rally, along with other anti-war protesters. The crowd showcases a mixture of progressive/liberal causes.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

"Let the line stretch. They're already going to say there were only 2,000 or 3,000 of you here," Sharpton said. "If people start heckling, smile at them. This ain't about you, it's about Dr. King."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the ralliers gathered at Dunbar High School that education is the civil rights issue of this generation. "Parents: Turn off the television. Educators: We have to stop making excuses," he said. "The dividing line in our country today is less around white and black and more about educational opportunity. We've been too satisfied with second-class schools."

He made no mention of the large rally Glenn Beck organized on the Mall.

-- Krissah Thompson
- - -

"Shame on them. We still have a dream. We are here to let those folks on the Mall know that they don't represent the dream," said Jaime Contreras, president of SEIU-32BJ. "They sure as hell don't represent me. They represent hate-mongering and angry white people. The happy white people are here today. We will not let them stand in the way of the change we voted for!"

On the racial divisions evident in the rallies today: "We can either remain complacent under the guise of a post-racial society," said Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. "We came today to say that is a lie and the truth is not in it."

"I'll say what Dr. King once said: 'We may have come here on different ships but right now we're in the same boat,' " said radio host Warren Ballentine.

-- Krissah Thompson

"This is America. All groups ought to have the opportunity to speak and give their point of view. We've been at the Mall," said the Rev. W. Franklin Richardson, president of Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, N.Y. "It's all right with me that they are at the Mall today because we are at the White House."

"They were told not to bring signs. Can you imagine Martin Luther King telling his marchers not to bring signs?" said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "First on the list was don't bring signs. The second was don't bring your guns."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in an interview before he spoke to thousands at his rally in Northwest Washington that "people are clear in what Dr. King's dream was about and we will not react to those who try to distort that dream."

Sharpton was one of a number of prominent leaders who condemned Glenn Beck's rally despite the tone that has been struck.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who was an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. and was at the 1963 march, said, "When I look at my television, I don't see the King crowd of blacks and whites together."

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said: "We are not sure what the message of the Beck rally is since he told them to leave their signs at home. We have revitalize jobs and schools and reclaim Dr. King's dream."

-- Hamil R. Harris

- - -

"Don't let anyone tell you that they have the right to take their country back," Avis Jones DeWeever, executive director of the National Council of Negro Women told the crowd at the Rev. Al Sharpton's rally. "It's our country, too. We will reclaim the dream. It was ours from the beginning." The crowd roared.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Representatives are here from various District political campaigns, labor unions and churches, as well as radio listeners to Joe Madison and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

They will have speakers at the rally until 1 p.m., after which the five-mile march will begin, reducing the chance for a conflict. Radio host Joe Madison says the line at Dunbar High School is still wrapped around the block because of a bottleneck through the field door.

A good portion of the football field and all of the bleachers are filled. The dozens of speakers here each have three minutes on the mike and will touch on everything from ending gun violence and gay rights to voting privileges for the District.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

A gospel choir took the stage after a fervent prayer by Barbara Williams-Skinner. The crowd quietly sang along. "What do you do when you've given your all? Child, you just stand." Williams-Skinner made strong ties between the 1963 rally where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his "dream" and the rally that drew hundreds of people to Dunbar High School in Northwest Washington. "Like Dr. King, we believe that the bank of justice is not bankrupt," she said. "We thank you God for raising up President Barack Obama as a small down payment on that dream."

Bianca Farmer, a senior at Dunbar High School, received big applause when she told the crowd not to stop at celebrating Obama. "We must be fearful of stopping there," she said. "The fight is not in the same arena as it was 47 years ago but the fight lives on."

"Part of the dream has come a reality but other parts have not," said Larry Handfield, president of Bethune Cookman College. "In this country still today there are cities where far less than 30 percent of black males are graduating to high school, therefore the dream is not yet complete."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The bleachers still weren't filled 10 minutes before the "Reclaim the Dream" rally organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to start. Charles "Horse" Dobson had just arrived and looked around at the crowd, which was rocking to a live band playing old rhythm-and-blues tunes.

"King was about bringing us together, not just black people but all people," Dobson said.
The scene brought back memories for him. He was a second-grader living in a neighborhood nearby when the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. School was out early. The neighborhood was on fire with riots that blazed.

"Things have changed a lot," he said. But some things had not changed -- to some extent racial divisions were still on display. The crowd at Dunbar was mostly black. The crowd at a rally organized by Glenn Beck near the Lincoln Memorial was mostly white. "King's dream was to bring us together," he said. "There's still a division. It's all wrong."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The crowd at the Sharpton rally, which has the feel of a concert right now, is small -- with a few hundred people and a long line around Dunbar High School. It's predominantly black -- though not exclusively.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Joyce White arrived at a what she called a counter-march to Fox News host Glenn Beck's rally. She came to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech but also to show her opposition to Beck.

"If we hadn't elected a black president, do you think they would be doing this today?" she asked.
She recently retired and brought her grandson Troy to witness what she said would be a historic event. "Reclaim the Dream" T-shirts with black and white pictures of King were available for $10 near vendors selling wooden statues and Kinte cloth.

Tehuti Imhotep came from Baltimore with posters depicting black history from the middle passage through King's 1968 march in support of trash haulers in Memphis. Imhotep shouted at passersby: "This is our real history. [Beck's] trying to redefine the civil rights movement," he said. "How insensitive! King was about bringing people together. This man Beck is pulling people apart."

-- Krissah Thompson

10:22 a.m.

Several hundred people gathered at Dunbar High School as a band sang Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" at a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton is calling the "Reclaim the Dream" march.

-- Krissah Thompson
44 - Inside Al Sharpton's 'Reclaim the Dream' march

 

[Intense]

 

[AmericanFirst]

And remember Glen Beck's favorite disclaimer: " ‘if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.’ ”

So all the tea baggers bussed in on FreedomWork's dime, had a grand old time...and Sarah Palin is still living the fantasy while raking in the cash with Beck, who's taken Andy Griffiths "Face in the Crowd" role and made it a wet dream come true.

How Pathetic.

What is pathetic is what is in the white house. A pathetic excuse for a president. Glenn Beck is more honest and has more character than those idiots.

 

[Samson]

And remember Glen Beck's favorite disclaimer: " ‘if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.’ ”

So all the tea baggers bussed in on FreedomWork's dime, had a grand old time...and Sarah Palin is still living the fantasy while raking in the cash with Beck, who's taken Andy Griffiths "Face in the Crowd" role and made it a wet dream come true.

How Pathetic.

What is pathetic is what is in the white house. A pathetic excuse for a president. Glenn Beck is more honest and has more character than those idiots.

That's not really sayin' much, now is it

 

[AmericanFirst]

I wonder if it is possible for somebody who is a self professed liberal to be able to discuss any concept on its own merit? I mean a concept like discussing restoring honor by restoring American virtue and values? So far everybody is focusing on the evils of Glenn Beck AND/OR disparaging Alveda King AND/OR disparaging Sarah Palin,

Admittedly, some of the conservatives, including myself, have waded into personality defense or bashing, so I am also guilty.

But why is nobody able to comment on the concept of the rally itself without respect to its date, location, or personalities involved? I would really like to discuss that.

Because a phony is holding the rally. It would be like Hitler or Stalin holding a rally to restore honor.

It's bullshit.

No, a phony is currently in the white house and has hired a bunch of phonies to work for him.

 

[geauxtohell]

It's a matter of honor...

And a formally drug/alcohol addicted, emotionally unstable, partisan-hack, demagogue shall lead them.

Thank you for your unbiased and thoughtful psychological evaluation. Glenn Beck readily admits he is a recovering alcoholic. In your opinion, does that disqualify him from being a spokesperson for restoring honor to America? (If so, I hope you flunk out of medical school very quickly because you would not deserve to have M.D. beside your name.)

Emotionally unstable? I haven't seen it. Please give me a specific verifiable example of what would qualify as his emotional instability.

Partisan-hack? Partisan for whom? He is every bit as critical, if not more so, of the Republicans than he is of the Democrats. What basis do you use to accuse him of partisan hackery?

Demagogue? You'll have to give specific verifiable examples in context to back this one up. I once thought the same until I made the effort to actually hear what he is teaching. And I don't find any demagoguery there.

ATTENTION: I have asked a number of our liberal friends here to back up their condemnation of Glenn Beck so that I don't have to assume that they are engaging in ideological prejudice and parroting unsupportable assumptions.

I continue to ask why the 8/28 rally should be discredited and condemned by those on the Left. So far not a soul who disdains it has been able to come up with a single specific for why it is not a good thing.

The success of my medical career will depend entirely on me, and not on your wishes.

Beck is everything I have said he is. Just because you are a fan doesn't change the reality of the matter.

In regards to the above two statements, the truth hurts. Doesn't it?

 

[geauxtohell]

It's a matter of honor...

And a formally drug/alcohol addicted, emotionally unstable, partisan-hack, demagogue shall lead them.

There's a bit of spittle coming out your mouth...

Try to calm down... Deep breaths...

Want a pill to help?

What medication do you suggest?

 

[Intense]

And a formally drug/alcohol addicted, emotionally unstable, partisan-hack, demagogue shall lead them.

Thank you for your unbiased and thoughtful psychological evaluation. Glenn Beck readily admits he is a recovering alcoholic. In your opinion, does that disqualify him from being a spokesperson for restoring honor to America? (If so, I hope you flunk out of medical school very quickly because you would not deserve to have M.D. beside your name.)

Emotionally unstable? I haven't seen it. Please give me a specific verifiable example of what would qualify as his emotional instability.

Partisan-hack? Partisan for whom? He is every bit as critical, if not more so, of the Republicans than he is of the Democrats. What basis do you use to accuse him of partisan hackery?

Demagogue? You'll have to give specific verifiable examples in context to back this one up. I once thought the same until I made the effort to actually hear what he is teaching. And I don't find any demagoguery there.

ATTENTION: I have asked a number of our liberal friends here to back up their condemnation of Glenn Beck so that I don't have to assume that they are engaging in ideological prejudice and parroting unsupportable assumptions.

I continue to ask why the 8/28 rally should be discredited and condemned by those on the Left. So far not a soul who disdains it has been able to come up with a single specific for why it is not a good thing.

The success of my medical career will depend entirely on me, and not on your wishes.

Beck is everything I have said he is. Just because you are a fan doesn't change the reality of the matter.

In regards to the above two statements, the truth hurts. Doesn't it?

The only thing that even comes to mind here is malpractice. Take the hint.

 

[geauxtohell]

Thank you for your unbiased and thoughtful psychological evaluation. Glenn Beck readily admits he is a recovering alcoholic. In your opinion, does that disqualify him from being a spokesperson for restoring honor to America? (If so, I hope you flunk out of medical school very quickly because you would not deserve to have M.D. beside your name.)

Emotionally unstable? I haven't seen it. Please give me a specific verifiable example of what would qualify as his emotional instability.

Partisan-hack? Partisan for whom? He is every bit as critical, if not more so, of the Republicans than he is of the Democrats. What basis do you use to accuse him of partisan hackery?

Demagogue? You'll have to give specific verifiable examples in context to back this one up. I once thought the same until I made the effort to actually hear what he is teaching. And I don't find any demagoguery there.

ATTENTION: I have asked a number of our liberal friends here to back up their condemnation of Glenn Beck so that I don't have to assume that they are engaging in ideological prejudice and parroting unsupportable assumptions.

I continue to ask why the 8/28 rally should be discredited and condemned by those on the Left. So far not a soul who disdains it has been able to come up with a single specific for why it is not a good thing.

The success of my medical career will depend entirely on me, and not on your wishes.

Beck is everything I have said he is. Just because you are a fan doesn't change the reality of the matter.

In regards to the above two statements, the truth hurts. Doesn't it?

The only thing that even comes to mind here is malpractice. Take the hint.

Heh?

 

[Intense]

The success of my medical career will depend entirely on me, and not on your wishes.

Beck is everything I have said he is. Just because you are a fan doesn't change the reality of the matter.

In regards to the above two statements, the truth hurts. Doesn't it?

The only thing that even comes to mind here is malpractice. Take the hint.

Heh?

Your unsolicited on line prognosis Doctor.

 

[geauxtohell]

The only thing that even comes to mind here is malpractice. Take the hint.

Heh?

Your unsolicited on line prognosis Doctor.

A.) I am not a Doctor.

B.) I didn't give a prognosis.

 

[Intense]

And a formally drug/alcohol addicted, emotionally unstable, partisan-hack, demagogue shall lead them.

Thank you for your unbiased and thoughtful psychological evaluation. Glenn Beck readily admits he is a recovering alcoholic. In your opinion, does that disqualify him from being a spokesperson for restoring honor to America? (If so, I hope you flunk out of medical school very quickly because you would not deserve to have M.D. beside your name.)

Emotionally unstable? I haven't seen it. Please give me a specific verifiable example of what would qualify as his emotional instability.

Partisan-hack? Partisan for whom? He is every bit as critical, if not more so, of the Republicans than he is of the Democrats. What basis do you use to accuse him of partisan hackery?

Demagogue? You'll have to give specific verifiable examples in context to back this one up. I once thought the same until I made the effort to actually hear what he is teaching. And I don't find any demagoguery there.

ATTENTION: I have asked a number of our liberal friends here to back up their condemnation of Glenn Beck so that I don't have to assume that they are engaging in ideological prejudice and parroting unsupportable assumptions.

I continue to ask why the 8/28 rally should be discredited and condemned by those on the Left. So far not a soul who disdains it has been able to come up with a single specific for why it is not a good thing.

The success of my medical career will depend entirely on me, and not on your wishes.

Beck is everything I have said he is. Just because you are a fan doesn't change the reality of the matter.

In regards to the above two statements, the truth hurts. Doesn't it?

I stand corrected

 

[taichiliberal]

Wait. Fox was bussing people over? for free? Dang it.

Who said it was for free? Small wonder why Beck calls these people "idiots".

Here, FYI


Updated Bus List for the March on DC

Updated Bus List for the March on DC | FreedomWorks


Locals get on the bus for Beck's patriot rally
Updated Bus List for the March on DC

FreedomWorks has a history with the teabaggers for organizing these little jaunts...and Fox News does the same with it's punditry puppet shows a'la Hannity.

Now, care to enlighten us all as to exactly what was the point of all the flag waving, pseudo-evangelism? I'll wait.

Maybe patriots wave flags, oh but that pisses commies off, if you don't like flag waving, leave my country please. Oh by the way I am wearing my flag with the ten commandments on it t-shirt, that probably pisses you off to.

And yet with all your childish retort, you have NOT answered the question.....WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE BECK RALLY? WHAT EXACT POINT WAS ALL THE FLAG WAVING AND PSEUDO-EVANGELISM ABOUT?

I mean, if you want to pay money and take time to travel across the country to wave a flag for the hell of it, that's your business. You want to wear the Ten Commandments on a T-shirt, I really could care less if you did or didn't. But if some self-promoting yahoo along with a politician's front organization organize and promote a nationwide rally, WHAT EXACTLY ARE THEY RALLYING ABOUT, AND DID THE RALLY FOLLOW THE STATED THEME/TITLE?

To date, a lot of jingoistic noise and excuses, but no answers from Beck's idiot (his description, not mine) supporters.

 

[taichiliberal]

Posts #99, #123, and #143.

FreedomWorks and Fox News can bus over all the teabaggers they want....but they sure as hell can't stand up to simple fact based analysis.

Now, care to enlighten us all as to exactly what was the point of all the flag waving, pseudo-evangelism? I'll wait.

If you are a true American you know is up with the flag waving, idiot.

In other words, you haven't got a decent answer....which many of Beck's idiots (his description, not mine) don't.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel".....as "Amercian First" so aptly proves with each post.

 

[taichiliberal]

This is interesting:

Collected here are a series of updates from Washington Post reporters who were on the ground at the Rev. Al Sharpton's "Reclaim the Dream" rally as the event was unfolding. Read our formal report here. (linked below)


The intersection of Independence Avenue and 17th street was a crossroads of expressions and participants from both events came together.

As one group of black women chanted "Yes we did and get over it," those part of the Glenn Beck rally clapped and passed out Restore the Honor bottles of water.

But Brett Cummings of Gordon Ga wasn't happy. "Look at the statement if we had all come together as one." Katheryn Travis who came to Beck Rally from Knoxville Tenn was almost in
tears. "Dr King wanted all of us to come together. We have to believe that."

- Robert Pierre

- - -


When the Sharpton rally reached the mall, most of the crowd from Beck's rally had begun to disperse. Those remaining, mostly smiled politely. "We love Obama! We like Obama!" those in Sharpton's rally yelled.

"Glen Beck, we're going to show you. We ain't going to let Glenn Beck turn us around," one man shouted into a mega phone. The crowd followed him. A few people took photos as they chanted and walked down Constitution Avenue. "We need to be shouting 'we are America,'" said one woman in Sharpton's rally. "See all those tea baggers." The two crowds mostly gawked at each other and smiled.

- Krissah Thompson

- - -


The march has started and is moving slowly.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Martin Luther King III will speak at the King memorial. Code Pink is also at the rally, along with other anti-war protesters. The crowd showcases a mixture of progressive/liberal causes.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

"Let the line stretch. They're already going to say there were only 2,000 or 3,000 of you here," Sharpton said. "If people start heckling, smile at them. This ain't about you, it's about Dr. King."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the ralliers gathered at Dunbar High School that education is the civil rights issue of this generation. "Parents: Turn off the television. Educators: We have to stop making excuses," he said. "The dividing line in our country today is less around white and black and more about educational opportunity. We've been too satisfied with second-class schools."

He made no mention of the large rally Glenn Beck organized on the Mall.

-- Krissah Thompson
- - -

"Shame on them. We still have a dream. We are here to let those folks on the Mall know that they don't represent the dream," said Jaime Contreras, president of SEIU-32BJ. "They sure as hell don't represent me. They represent hate-mongering and angry white people. The happy white people are here today. We will not let them stand in the way of the change we voted for!"

On the racial divisions evident in the rallies today: "We can either remain complacent under the guise of a post-racial society," said Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. "We came today to say that is a lie and the truth is not in it."

"I'll say what Dr. King once said: 'We may have come here on different ships but right now we're in the same boat,' " said radio host Warren Ballentine.

-- Krissah Thompson

"This is America. All groups ought to have the opportunity to speak and give their point of view. We've been at the Mall," said the Rev. W. Franklin Richardson, president of Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, N.Y. "It's all right with me that they are at the Mall today because we are at the White House."

"They were told not to bring signs. Can you imagine Martin Luther King telling his marchers not to bring signs?" said Benjamin Jealous, president of the NAACP. "First on the list was don't bring signs. The second was don't bring your guns."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The Rev. Al Sharpton said in an interview before he spoke to thousands at his rally in Northwest Washington that "people are clear in what Dr. King's dream was about and we will not react to those who try to distort that dream."

Sharpton was one of a number of prominent leaders who condemned Glenn Beck's rally despite the tone that has been struck.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who was an aide to Martin Luther King Jr. and was at the 1963 march, said, "When I look at my television, I don't see the King crowd of blacks and whites together."

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said: "We are not sure what the message of the Beck rally is since he told them to leave their signs at home. We have revitalize jobs and schools and reclaim Dr. King's dream."

-- Hamil R. Harris

- - -

"Don't let anyone tell you that they have the right to take their country back," Avis Jones DeWeever, executive director of the National Council of Negro Women told the crowd at the Rev. Al Sharpton's rally. "It's our country, too. We will reclaim the dream. It was ours from the beginning." The crowd roared.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Representatives are here from various District political campaigns, labor unions and churches, as well as radio listeners to Joe Madison and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

They will have speakers at the rally until 1 p.m., after which the five-mile march will begin, reducing the chance for a conflict. Radio host Joe Madison says the line at Dunbar High School is still wrapped around the block because of a bottleneck through the field door.

A good portion of the football field and all of the bleachers are filled. The dozens of speakers here each have three minutes on the mike and will touch on everything from ending gun violence and gay rights to voting privileges for the District.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

A gospel choir took the stage after a fervent prayer by Barbara Williams-Skinner. The crowd quietly sang along. "What do you do when you've given your all? Child, you just stand." Williams-Skinner made strong ties between the 1963 rally where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his "dream" and the rally that drew hundreds of people to Dunbar High School in Northwest Washington. "Like Dr. King, we believe that the bank of justice is not bankrupt," she said. "We thank you God for raising up President Barack Obama as a small down payment on that dream."

Bianca Farmer, a senior at Dunbar High School, received big applause when she told the crowd not to stop at celebrating Obama. "We must be fearful of stopping there," she said. "The fight is not in the same arena as it was 47 years ago but the fight lives on."

"Part of the dream has come a reality but other parts have not," said Larry Handfield, president of Bethune Cookman College. "In this country still today there are cities where far less than 30 percent of black males are graduating to high school, therefore the dream is not yet complete."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The bleachers still weren't filled 10 minutes before the "Reclaim the Dream" rally organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to start. Charles "Horse" Dobson had just arrived and looked around at the crowd, which was rocking to a live band playing old rhythm-and-blues tunes.

"King was about bringing us together, not just black people but all people," Dobson said.
The scene brought back memories for him. He was a second-grader living in a neighborhood nearby when the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. School was out early. The neighborhood was on fire with riots that blazed.

"Things have changed a lot," he said. But some things had not changed -- to some extent racial divisions were still on display. The crowd at Dunbar was mostly black. The crowd at a rally organized by Glenn Beck near the Lincoln Memorial was mostly white. "King's dream was to bring us together," he said. "There's still a division. It's all wrong."

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

The crowd at the Sharpton rally, which has the feel of a concert right now, is small -- with a few hundred people and a long line around Dunbar High School. It's predominantly black -- though not exclusively.

-- Krissah Thompson

- - -

Joyce White arrived at a what she called a counter-march to Fox News host Glenn Beck's rally. She came to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech but also to show her opposition to Beck.

"If we hadn't elected a black president, do you think they would be doing this today?" she asked.
She recently retired and brought her grandson Troy to witness what she said would be a historic event. "Reclaim the Dream" T-shirts with black and white pictures of King were available for $10 near vendors selling wooden statues and Kinte cloth.

Tehuti Imhotep came from Baltimore with posters depicting black history from the middle passage through King's 1968 march in support of trash haulers in Memphis. Imhotep shouted at passersby: "This is our real history. [Beck's] trying to redefine the civil rights movement," he said. "How insensitive! King was about bringing people together. This man Beck is pulling people apart."

-- Krissah Thompson

10:22 a.m.

Several hundred people gathered at Dunbar High School as a band sang Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" at a rally that the Rev. Al Sharpton is calling the "Reclaim the Dream" march.

-- Krissah Thompson
44 - Inside Al Sharpton's 'Reclaim the Dream' march

And your point?

 

[Samson]

It's a matter of honor...

And a formally drug/alcohol addicted, emotionally unstable, partisan-hack, demagogue shall lead them.

These "credentials" only makes the enormity of "dishonerable" conduct more poignant.

For 2011, I expect Heidi Fleiss to have reserved the Lincoln Memorial on August 28 to have a "Restore Morality in Congress" Rally.

 

[taichiliberal]

And remember Glen Beck's favorite disclaimer: " ‘if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.’ ”

So all the tea baggers bussed in on FreedomWork's dime, had a grand old time...and Sarah Palin is still living the fantasy while raking in the cash with Beck, who's taken Andy Griffiths "Face in the Crowd" role and made it a wet dream come true.

How Pathetic.

What is pathetic is what is in the white house. A pathetic excuse for a president. Glenn Beck is more honest and has more character than those idiots.

Beck is calling YOU an idiot, don't cha know? He's just taking cues from "Elmer Gantry" and "Lonesome Rhodes"...and idiots like you (Beck's words, not mine) are lapping it up and putting bucks in his pocket. BECK DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU OR YOUR POLITICS, AND HE'S STATED JUST THAT. DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK HONESTLY AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.....STOP BEING A CHUMP FOR BECK. WAKE UP!

 

[taichiliberal]

And remember Glen Beck's favorite disclaimer: " ‘if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.’ ”

So all the tea baggers bussed in on FreedomWork's dime, had a grand old time...and Sarah Palin is still living the fantasy while raking in the cash with Beck, who's taken Andy Griffiths "Face in the Crowd" role and made it a wet dream come true.

How Pathetic.

What is pathetic is what is in the white house. A pathetic excuse for a president. Glenn Beck is more honest and has more character than those idiots.

That's not really sayin' much, now is it

It's really pathetic....Beck spits on jokers like American First, and they just drape themselves over a chair back and say, "Please sir, may I have another!"