Life Comes To Washington
Washington, DC
In the aftermath of the Inauguration, in fact the very next day a wonderful blessing took over the city of Washington and the National Mall.
Beginning with a massive rally at the Verizon Center, the March for Life made its presence known.
A local Police Officer attending the new crowd said `they couldn’t be more different. It is a joy to watch over this group.
With estimates up to 150,000 and a march that went over a half mile long the March For life took over downtown Washington with a cheerful, upbeat group.
They came in all sizes, shapes and groups. Priests and nuns, kids from just about everywhere, babies that had been saved from abortion, the March for Life memorialized the 36th anniversary of the passing of the life altering passage of Roe vs. Wade.
As if to personally insult the group within hours of the end of the march, one of the first executive orders of the new administration was to roll back the anti-abortion provisions that had been in place for the past eight years.
`We are very concerned that all the accomplishments of the past years will be overturned` said one participant `we face a new administration that is hostile to life`.
Within hours, she was proved right.
Nonetheless, with signs like `We Choose Life`, `I Love Babies` and `Stop Abortion Now` the joyful crowd assembled at noon on the National Mall on the same site that hours earlier proponents of limitless abortion had gathered for the inauguration.
The irony was not lost on the many that interacted with the group from hotel staff to police officers who all commented on the dramatic difference between the crowd that had assembled for the inauguration the day before and the March For Life Participants.
In a show of cross denominational cooperation Catholic, Protestant and just about every denomination in the middle gathered around the single theme of protecting life.
`In a sense it is good that for the first time in a long while we face a Washington that now wants to restore Abortion. It forces us to work harder to protect life` commented one participant.
Abortion Rights and Homosexual rights were two of the rallying cries of the election and one group – the pro-life organizations has a new battle ahead.
The swiftness with which – on the very second day of the new administration – restrictions on Abortion were removed surprised many, but the old-timers in the movement had seen it before.
The battle ahead may be hard with a new administration and Congress hostile to the pro-life movement, but for just one day, Life took over the National Mall and downtown Washington DC, culminating in a rally in front of the Supreme Court where so many years ago Life had been dealt a near fatal blow.
The concern on many faces as the rally wound down was how different the situation would be a year from now when they meet again.
Ken Joseph. Jr.
www.kenjoseph.com
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Other Inauguration
The Other Inauguration
Washington DC
The much vaunted, post-racial, `come together` campaign culmination was neither.
I for one waited and waited and then waited some more for someone to tell the truth.
After watching enough fawning to make me nauseous, I had to say something.
I was there from the very beginning in the middle of the National Mall, on the day before as well as the whole inauguration.
The crowd was overwhelmingly african american. That is a simple fact that anyone there knows and should be honest enough to say so.
It was a mess. There was no `coming together`. The atmosphere was extremely racist and if you didn’t look right, they let you know.
It took hours to get into the mall and in spite of being the `peoples inauguration` was far from it.
All the `big people` had special passes that got them into their special area while all of the `regular people` had to go under a nearly quarter mile tunnel under the mall, where it was difficult to breathe just to get into the National Mall.
The event itself though was far from what it was described.
I felt very, very uncomfortable. Regular glances and snide remarks sent the message very clearly `what are you doing here – this is our event`!
Further, the booing and dancing and hate filled comments when President Bush and Vice President Cheney came out were unacceptable.
The speech insulted President Bush over and over and honestly was neither profound nor well written.
The extremely racist `prayer` by an out of date Joseph Lowry would have caused a major scandal. Instead, it brought loud guffaws from the crowd who didn’t seem to know or really care what a `prayer` actually was. No heads were bowed during any of the prayers.
For whatever it means the much vaunted crowd that filled the mall was a mean, hateful, rough crowd.
Not only the mall but all of Washington was taken over by this whole group. From hawking everything from t-shirts to all kinds of buttons bordering on `buy something or you don’t pass`, the atmosphere was a far cry from the disgusting descriptions that I have had to watch nonstop on TV and read in the paper.
Frankly, I was completely sickened by it all and exhausted entered the lobby of a hotel in on Capitol Hill bracing myself for another flood of the angry, mean crowd.
I came upon the strangest of situations. There were two distinct groups of people who were mobbing the hotel lobby, the restaurants and up the escalators.
One group was clearly leaving. This was the same mean, nasty grown from the National Mall.
Another huge group was on their way in, lined up at the Check In counter and the two groups were mingling going in their different directions.
The two groups though were dramatically different.
In contrast to the first group, the new group was dramatically different. They were bright, cheerful, smiling and brightened the otherwise mean atmosphere.
I was curious. Who could they be?
A quick question to a small group waiting in the lobby..
`Oh, were here for The March of Life`.
Now it all made sense!
What a difference. One group with a leader promising one of his first acts would be to rescind the restrictions on abortion wholesale.
In contrast the leaders of the other group, dedicated to saving life..
`Look over there` the lady said `it is a baby that was saved from an abortion`.
There lay a little child in the arm of a nun.
Then I suddenly focused and there seemed to be Priests, Nuns and bright cheerful kids, seniors and just about everything in between.
What a contrast!
Somehow, I found the tears coming. It had been a tough and miserable two days with the `thugs` having taken over the city.
How refreshing to have some brightness, faith and above all, hope – the real kind!
Ken Joseph Jr.
Washington DC
The much vaunted, post-racial, `come together` campaign culmination was neither.
I for one waited and waited and then waited some more for someone to tell the truth.
After watching enough fawning to make me nauseous, I had to say something.
I was there from the very beginning in the middle of the National Mall, on the day before as well as the whole inauguration.
The crowd was overwhelmingly african american. That is a simple fact that anyone there knows and should be honest enough to say so.
It was a mess. There was no `coming together`. The atmosphere was extremely racist and if you didn’t look right, they let you know.
It took hours to get into the mall and in spite of being the `peoples inauguration` was far from it.
All the `big people` had special passes that got them into their special area while all of the `regular people` had to go under a nearly quarter mile tunnel under the mall, where it was difficult to breathe just to get into the National Mall.
The event itself though was far from what it was described.
I felt very, very uncomfortable. Regular glances and snide remarks sent the message very clearly `what are you doing here – this is our event`!
Further, the booing and dancing and hate filled comments when President Bush and Vice President Cheney came out were unacceptable.
The speech insulted President Bush over and over and honestly was neither profound nor well written.
The extremely racist `prayer` by an out of date Joseph Lowry would have caused a major scandal. Instead, it brought loud guffaws from the crowd who didn’t seem to know or really care what a `prayer` actually was. No heads were bowed during any of the prayers.
For whatever it means the much vaunted crowd that filled the mall was a mean, hateful, rough crowd.
Not only the mall but all of Washington was taken over by this whole group. From hawking everything from t-shirts to all kinds of buttons bordering on `buy something or you don’t pass`, the atmosphere was a far cry from the disgusting descriptions that I have had to watch nonstop on TV and read in the paper.
Frankly, I was completely sickened by it all and exhausted entered the lobby of a hotel in on Capitol Hill bracing myself for another flood of the angry, mean crowd.
I came upon the strangest of situations. There were two distinct groups of people who were mobbing the hotel lobby, the restaurants and up the escalators.
One group was clearly leaving. This was the same mean, nasty grown from the National Mall.
Another huge group was on their way in, lined up at the Check In counter and the two groups were mingling going in their different directions.
The two groups though were dramatically different.
In contrast to the first group, the new group was dramatically different. They were bright, cheerful, smiling and brightened the otherwise mean atmosphere.
I was curious. Who could they be?
A quick question to a small group waiting in the lobby..
`Oh, were here for The March of Life`.
Now it all made sense!
What a difference. One group with a leader promising one of his first acts would be to rescind the restrictions on abortion wholesale.
In contrast the leaders of the other group, dedicated to saving life..
`Look over there` the lady said `it is a baby that was saved from an abortion`.
There lay a little child in the arm of a nun.
Then I suddenly focused and there seemed to be Priests, Nuns and bright cheerful kids, seniors and just about everything in between.
What a contrast!
Somehow, I found the tears coming. It had been a tough and miserable two days with the `thugs` having taken over the city.
How refreshing to have some brightness, faith and above all, hope – the real kind!
Ken Joseph Jr.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
God Bless You, George Bush!
God Bless you, George Bush
Washington, DC
Marine one flew once over the National Mall and then circled around for one last view of the city that has been his home for the past eight years.
That was George and Laura Bush`s goodbye to Washington.
While the attention was elsewhere, 25 million people quietly in their hearts expressed gratitude for their freedom.
They were the people of Iraq who had given up hope in 2003. When nobody cared, nobody had the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein, it was George W. Bush who did.
Another group of people, in particular the women and girls who had been banned from school and abused beyond measure under the terrible Taliban, cheered quietly in Afghanistan as well.
Another group of people should share that same gratitude. They are the 300 million people of the United States of America who owe their safety and freedom to the same George W. Bush.
Since September 11, 2001, America has been safe. No terrorist has succeeded in spite of many, many attempts to harm the homeland.
In maybe an even greater way, George W. Bush restored to America a love and respect for her birthright of faith.
It was George W. Bush, the recovered Alcoholic, the recovered `bad boy` who had experienced forgiveness and salvation.
For him, it meant something because he had come a long way.
If there is an even larger legacy to the eight years of President George Bush in addition to liberating Iraq and Afghanistan and keeping American safe, it is his taking American back to her spiritual roots.
For the first time in a long while, faith, prayer, God as the foundation of life and the rebirth of a new era of, based on the concept of Faith Based Initiative, God was back in the public square.
You can be proud of all you did, and in particular for your bringing the love that founded this great country – the love for Jesus Christ back.
God bless you, George W. Bush. He did and He will.
Ken Joseph Jr.
www.kenjoseph.com
Washington, DC
Marine one flew once over the National Mall and then circled around for one last view of the city that has been his home for the past eight years.
That was George and Laura Bush`s goodbye to Washington.
While the attention was elsewhere, 25 million people quietly in their hearts expressed gratitude for their freedom.
They were the people of Iraq who had given up hope in 2003. When nobody cared, nobody had the courage to stand up to Saddam Hussein, it was George W. Bush who did.
Another group of people, in particular the women and girls who had been banned from school and abused beyond measure under the terrible Taliban, cheered quietly in Afghanistan as well.
Another group of people should share that same gratitude. They are the 300 million people of the United States of America who owe their safety and freedom to the same George W. Bush.
Since September 11, 2001, America has been safe. No terrorist has succeeded in spite of many, many attempts to harm the homeland.
In maybe an even greater way, George W. Bush restored to America a love and respect for her birthright of faith.
It was George W. Bush, the recovered Alcoholic, the recovered `bad boy` who had experienced forgiveness and salvation.
For him, it meant something because he had come a long way.
If there is an even larger legacy to the eight years of President George Bush in addition to liberating Iraq and Afghanistan and keeping American safe, it is his taking American back to her spiritual roots.
For the first time in a long while, faith, prayer, God as the foundation of life and the rebirth of a new era of, based on the concept of Faith Based Initiative, God was back in the public square.
You can be proud of all you did, and in particular for your bringing the love that founded this great country – the love for Jesus Christ back.
God bless you, George W. Bush. He did and He will.
Ken Joseph Jr.
www.kenjoseph.com
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