C-SPAN recently broadcast Kasim Reed's (whose birthname is Mohammed) January 4 inaugural speech upon being sworn in as Atlanta's 59th mayor, defeating city councilwoman and Republican challenger Mary Norwood by less than 1% of the total vote.
In his address, Reed cited a story from the Old Testament book of Joshua by which he drew a comparison between Hotlanta and "the Promised Land." And from this, I have to remind myself once more that only Democrats (Jackson, Sharpton, etc.) are allowed to make such remarks. Right Wingers who dare even a hint from the Holy Scriptures are held in violation of the "Separation of Church and State" clause often referenced by the Left, even though the idiom is found neither in the Constitution, nor State or Federal law.
Moments later, I watched a CNN interview with University of Syracuse professor (of finance) Boyce Watkins regarding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's comments about then-Senator Barack Obama, referring to the young Illinois Senator as, "a 'light skinned' African-American with 'no Negro dialect' unless he wanted to have one,"* which comes on the heels of Reid likening the opponents of Obama's health care overhaul to those who resisted the emancipation of slaves.
Watkins never condemned Reid's statement; in fact he twice praised the Nevada Democrat. Undoubtedly such partisanship is to be expected if you've heard of Dr. Watkins before. As you may recall, Watkins made headlines about a year and a half ago when he called Bill O'Reilly a "borderline Klansman who graduated from the Rush Limbaugh School of Arrogant Self-Righteousness." Watkins concurrently labeled fellow Fox News and NPR contributor Juan Williams as "Bill O'Reilly's happy little Negro."
These statements speak for themselves, and although volumes could be written about the never-ending complexities upon which I have yet to even scratch the surface, I will defer instead to a distinguished voice from the past to sum it all up:
"Superstition, idolatry, and hypocrisy have ample wages, but truth goes a-begging."
-- Martin Luther (1483-1546), German priest and scholar who led the Protestant Reformation
* http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/the_juiciest_revelations_in_game_change.php
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