NPR: A Short Break from Politics

A Short Break from Politics

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses a crowd at Paris' Sport Palace in 1966.

Getty Images

First let me say Happy Birthday to you, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. We are standing on your shoulders, and we can't help but wonder what might have been...

Today is the Michigan presidential primary. Most Democrats didn't campaign in Michigan because the party objected to the state's decision to move its primary day to an earlier date -- only Hillary Clinton and Chris Dodd (who dropped out of the race) are on the ballot there. It's considered a big test for the Republicans -- John McCain and Mitt Romney are both on the ballot, as well as Mike Huckabee.

Anyway, if you're wondering why we didn't go with more political news today, it's because many news organizations shy away from reporting on campaigns (except for color commentary) on the days when actual voting is taking place. The thinking is: what if we make a mistake? We can't fix it. It's hanging out there. It's not fair, etc., etc.

All organizations don't take that position. In the Internet age, they figure you can always update ... the news is always happening. It's a close call, so today we're following the guidelines set by news management here.

Not that it's easy, because there's a lot to talk about ... Waaah

We're still interested in that whole debate over race and gender. There's interesting stuff brewing on the blogs and other programs. If we can get the guests we want, we'll revisit the subject.

Big news on the financial markets, too, which we happened to catch because of a previously scheduled visit with our regular contributor Alvin Hall. He watches the big picture for us, as well as our (puny) wallets.

When you hear that Citigroup is writing off $18.1 billion because of bad loans, do you think, OK, that's them? Or, do you think, holy smokes?...

I think it's holy smokes time. Although analysts say it could be worse, it's a very important story with ripple effects throughout the economy. We are determined to stay on top of it...

Switching gears a bit, a sad local story in Washington ...

which has made its way to cable news. It's was the topic for this week's Mocha Moms conversation. We debated this one; it's a local story, but we know that the cable outlets have also covered it. But sometimes in a mom's world, some things just stick with you, and you have to talk about it. We hope it was useful, if for no other reason than to give us all permission to persist if we think something is wrong.

And, Ayo. What can I say? You just have to listen. She's a charming young talent. We have to keep our eye on her.

Finally, not so charming...

We've been getting a lot of mail from Ron Paul supporters. I take your point if the picture on the blog suggested the whole posting was about him. It was not. We were not planning to cover the story because we just decided there were bigger fish to fry. But because we know Paul has been popular among some of our listeners, especially on college campuses, we wanted to know how folks were reacting to the issue of racist language in some of the newsletters published under his name. Simple enough. To those of you who answered civilly and rationally, we thank you. But, I do know that the ratio of borderline inappropriate to appropriate comments was a lot higher for this string than for most. So, please, make your points ... do it with class. Also, this might be a good time for a refresher of our blog discussion guidelines.

Michel Martin

4:44 PM ET | 01-15-2008 | permalink

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4:44 PM ET | 01-15-2008 | permalink

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There has been a changing of the guard in black leadership. The biggest example of this was the Jena Six case. This injustice was spearheaded by young bloggers. The day of the sixties methodology of blame the ???Whiteman,??? and beg the ???Whiteman??? to change is over. We no longer care if white people in power change anymore which was a staple of the slave mentality of some civil rights leaders. My generation knows that it is an unnecessary qualification for justice. There are plenty enough whites that do not agree with those that are in power. Those are the ones that people of color (black, brown, red, and yellow) will work with. We will demand justice because it is a God given right, not a right bequeathed to us from unjust law enforcement agents.

This is why leaders like Obama resonates with the youth because he doesn???t require whites to feel guilty like the old civil rights leaders; he requires that we as young people take what is rightfully ours. We don???t need permission???it is in the fabric of the American dream.

Civil rights leaders are disappointed in Obama because he hasn???t kissed their ???ring??? in order to be a political leader. Serves them right. If you are going to be a preacher then get your backside in a church and preach. If your going to be a politician run for office. These preachers without churches don't realize the subconscious hypocritical message the emit in their methodology and this is why we won???t follow them to the grocery store.

Obama is a politician. Yeah, I said it. But that is who we need in the political arena???politicians. Preachers have a place to be and that is not politics. I know this may sound ungrateful but I am very thankful for the leadership that has brought us to this point???but time to move over and allow a new generation of political leaders to emerge. Isn???t this what we wanted or do we want the Right Reverend from the Church of Zion Bibleway Baptist House of Deliverance African Methodist Episcopalian Church preaching political realities to us.

Old men for council???young men for war. Let???s roll???.~~~~~W

Sent by T. Winter Gibson | 10:27 AM ET | 01-16-2008

Inappripriate response is for inappropriate message (but what is inappropriate in accusing NPR of being biased against Ron Paul? its a fact).
""we know Paul has been popular among some of our listeners, especially on college campuses, we wanted to know how folks were reacting to the issue of racist language in some of the newsletters published under his name.""
why dont you then talk about the radical idea of Ron Paul of abolishing the IRS, instead of Andrea saebrook & Adam davidson attribute it to Huckabee? this will be a good subject to talk about among listener's who attend Collge campuses
After all I give you credit for postiong EVERY response.

Sent by resimc | 12:15 PM ET | 01-16-2008

If I'm not mistaken, Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, Mike Gravel and "uncommitted" were all choices on the Democratic ballot in Michigan, not just Clinton and Dodd.

I don't live in Michigan but I also have no voice in the Democratic primary since the DNC stripped my state of all its delegates to the national convention because, like Michigan, it moved ahead of Feb. 5 without permission.

In my opinion, this just adds to the state's already checkered history of voter fraud and disenfranchisement stretching back to Hayes-Tilden. I'm just trying to decide if it's even worth it to vote.

PS Kipling, the great nineteenth century British colonialist, famously capitalized "The White Man" in his poetry, however, "Whiteman" is a bandleader, who, incidentally, acknowledged the African roots of the music he played. Paul Whiteman begins his autobiography by declaring that "Jazz came to America three hundred years ago in chains," while adding that "Jazz is the spirit of a new country...the essence of America, of the common people."

Sent by michael | 1:43 PM ET | 01-16-2008

Thank you so much for talking about the reality of depression. The story of the Mocha Moms "breakdown" moment at PF Changs rang so true for me that I almost broke into tears at my desk. As a Black woman, I recognize that I have suffered from depression since the birth of my second child but I also feel tremendous guilt about being depressed. I have a wonderful husband (who travels alot), 2 darling, healthy children, loving friends, a supportive family and am in the position to work very part-time but there have been times when I could not get out of bed or stop crying. With medication and therapy I have begun to realize that I have set pretty ridiculus standards for myself but still sometimes I still feel very down. I sometimes feel as if my depression is "silly" because I am so blessed. I think, "my ancestors survived slavery and I am about to lose it after spending four days with my own chidren!?!" I just wanted you and the Mocha Moms to know that I appeciate them sharing their story. I am a Mocha Mom but have not yet felt comfortable talking to the other moms in my chapter about this topic.

Sent by depressed mocha mom | 1:57 PM ET | 01-16-2008

Are you aware that Bob Johnson WHO IS ACTUALLY IN THE CAMPAIGN OF HILLARY CLINTON, is a good friend of Min. Farrakhan? The Farrakhans were shown in the front seat of a BET affair (about 2002?) sitting right next to the Johnsons as their obvious guests. Jamie Foxx and India Arie among several others performed and the cameras often panned the audience showing them as clear as day. Bob Johnson was also a big supporter and promoter of the Million Man March (which I attended).

Sent by aa | 12:08 PM ET | 01-17-2008

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