Martin Luther King Jr.

One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come he to justify
One man to overthrow

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love

Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

         - U2, "Pride (In The Name of Love)"

By now I'd hope that everyone has seen Gus Van Sant's magnificent film Milk, about the life and death of gay rights activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in American history. And if you have seen the film then you know what a truly brilliant piece of filmmaking it is. I finally saw it the other day, after it had been released on DVD, and I found both the film and Sean Penn's performance in it to be absolutely enthralling.

Tears of Joy

Do you really need to hear one more person tell you that last night was a historic night? I think not. But I'm going to say it anyway, because how else can you describe such a monumental event as seeing a black man elected as president of the United States just 40 short years after civil rights workers were being beaten, tortured and murdered down in the Deep South.

I can tell you right now that I've never before shed tears while watching an election result. I did, most certainly, cry tears of joy when Nelson Mandela was finally freed from prison back in 1990, but I've never cried for some regular event like an election. Not until last night. But this, obviously, wasn't an ordinary election.

Is it just me or is this whole Rev. Jeremiah Wright Scandal a bit of a farce? I mean, besides the fact that it's simply ridiculous to try and smear Obama with the words of his former pastor, the bigger issue, if you ask me, is that Wright is right. The man is telling it like it is. He may be saying some things that certain people don't want to hear, but, hell, I'd say that's a good thing. The man's not crazy. Nor is he the raving lunatic the media is trying to make him out to be. He's simply a guy speaking some truth.