Freedom Rider Rep. John Lewis gives commencement address at UMW

MoonHowler

The Richmond Times Dispatch:

 

FREDERICKSBURG —

U.S. Rep. John Lewis invoked the spirit of the Freedom Riders in an address Saturday to the class of 2011 at the University of Mary Washington.

Speaking to about 5,000 people, including nearly 1,300 graduates, the Georgia Democrat urged students Saturday to create a better world.

The 1961 Freedom Rider praised the university for its tribute to the civil-rights leaders who endured violence in their quest to end segregation.

I am an alumnus of Mary Washington College.  I came along a little later than 1961 and things were not that ‘advanced’ when I was there.  As I recall, we had 2 African American students.  Those young women were well received but I don’t recall a huge civil rights movement at all.  We were aware and we were politically correct.  I suppose that was a big step in those days.  I was surprised when I opened the college quarterly. 

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Four planets align in this week’s early morning skies

MoonHowler

Grab that coffee early and head outside. You will be in for a real treat this week.
Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus will be putting on quite a display for us earthlings.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__RLPmenKeo’]

The best time to look is about 45 minutes before dawn, or around 5:30 a.m., according to astronomy magazine www.skypub.com.

Look to the eastern horizon and find a brightly-glowing planet to begin the show. Mars will be the dimmest of the quartet, so a pair of binoculars wouldn’t hurt, NASA says.

 

 

Eulogy for Dad– Joe Scarborough

MoonHowler

Losing a parent is probably one of life’s worst kicks in the pants.  And there is little in life that prepares a person to deal with this inevitability.  Former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe has written a eulogy for his recently deceased father.  It was published in Politico this morning, May 10, 2011. 

It begins:

We measure success in many different ways. Some look to material wealth for the measure of a man, while others make their judgment based on a person’s political influence. Still others keep their focus on fame – even if that fame is gained for the wrong reasons. In the professions I have chosen – politics and media – winners and losers are sorted with a ruthless efficiency that has little tolerance for the kind of setbacks suffered by mere mortals.

My children have accomplished many things that would make any father proud. But none of those successes have made me as proud as when they’ve responded to failure with true grit and determination.

Joe continues to explain that his father’s greatest legacy was what he did when no one was looking. 

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