Hellhound on His Trail

"It seemed like he reached down and pulled everything out of his heart." ..."I was full of joy and determination. Wherever King was, I wanted to be there. It seemed to me from where I was sitting, his eyes glowed." -- Witnesses to MLK's last speech, featured above.

I very much enjoyed reading Hellhound on His Trail, by Hampton Sides. The book details seemingly every fact known about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The clip I embedded above is footage of a speech Dr. King gave less than 24 hours before he was murdered. He gave this speech without notes during a heavy storm. His mood had been depressed and he was searching for a second wind. The prospect of assassination seemed ever present.

Hampton Sides explores first the stalking of Dr. King by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, then the stalking of Dr. King by James Earl Ray and, finally, the stalking of James Earl Ray by the FBI. The story is one of intrigue, and is written in a novel-style. The hunt for James Earl Ray is a lesson in police investigation and in evasion.

The following elements (among others) led authorities to Ray: Dry cleaning tags, fingerprints, receipts, eye-witness accounts, an oil-change sticker, a bar tending school photo, Royal Mounted Police, Scotland Yard, hair samples and more man hours than you can imagine considering all this was done without computers.

Some highlights from the book:

-- Dr. King: "Each of us is two selves. The great burden of life is to always try to keep that higher self in command." This quote just rocks.

-- Dr. King (again): "We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools."

-- Jesse Jackson embellished his involvement at the moment King was shot. He hired a public relations agent and was on the Today Show the next day. To be polite, I'll just say other Civil Rights leaders "disagreed" with his story. I'll let James Bevel tell the other side of the story:

"To prostitute and lie about the crucifixion of a prophet within a race for the sake of one's own self-aggrandizement is the most gruesome crime a man can commit." James Bevel. Lets just say Rev. Jackson isn't a hero in the book.

-- From President Lyndon B. Johnson on the rioting in response to the murder: "What did you expect? I don't know why we're so surprised. When you put your foot on a man's neck and hold him down for three hundred years, and they you let him up, what's he going to do? He's going to knock your block off."

-- James Earl Ray: "I should have pulled a holdup in Canada. That's where I made my mistake. I let myself get on that plane to London without enough money to get where I intended to go."

-- James Earl Ray, who was an escapee from prison before he killed King, told other inmates that killing Dr. King was his "retirement plan." If I ever get to the streets, I'm going to kill him." This statement didn't do a thing to stop conspiracy talk.

-- James Earl Ray made some very foolish mistakes. Those include these two gems: 1) While trying to rob a jewelry store in London to supplement his dwindling cash supply, the owner's wife, a lady in her late fifties, jumped on his back. Her husband then wrestled him to the ground and struck him several times. Ray fled. 2) He robbed a bank in London only to trade a perfect thumb-print matching the one found at the crime scene and on the weapon for 95 pounds cash. Oops.

-- Wait, that isn't close to the dumbest thing Ray did. While in custody awaiting extradition to the US, "Ramon George Sneyd" ranted about how he never met "this guy Ray" and how they absolutely had the wrong guy. After Ray calmed down and the British officer asked if they could do anything for him while he awaited extradition, he asked that his brother be notified. The agent said he would do that and asked for contact information. Ray's response?

"Oh, he lives in Chicago. His name is Jerry Ray."

D'oh!

Conspiracies

Obviously, people don't need much help concocting conspiracies. But, if you read this book and care about evidence, you really would have a hard time concluding anything other than that Ray worked alone. Conspiracy theories ranged from the FBI to militant black groups to communists to the mafia and to Southern racists.

My theory? People just don't like it that one nut can do so much damage by doing something rash. Based on the physical evidence presented in this book, you'd have to be looking for a conspiracy and determined to find one to conclude otherwise.

Overall, this book reads like a crime thriller, but it also maintains credibility as a legitimate work of non-fiction. The PBS documentary "American Experience: Roads to Memphis" is featured below and follows much of the book. I recommend this book highly.

Weekend Musings

I have no excuse beyond laziness. I haven't been posting much, which is obvious, but summer is my favorite time and I tend to find things to do.

... I'm on a good book pace (for me anyway), but once again I keep being taken away to do things during the best season of the year. I've read 21 so far, but Book is running away with the title this year. See, I told you an e-reader would speed things up!

... I am also currently not working on my short story because there's just too many options. Oh well. That's what cold months are made for.

... World Cup was amazing. I love the World Cup and root hard for the USA. But, the US is usually out fairly early and I eventually get 100% behind Germany. This led to one of the most gut-wrenching sports losses I've had in 2006. The US choked in 2006, and Germany was the host, so I was all in. I had not been roped into sports in a deep emotional way for a long time, but that 2006 German team roped me in. After a brief career in sports journalism, I had become detached from sports. I thought that would protect me and foolishly let my guard down.

That's when this happened:



My friends who were there with me when this happened will attest that this loss hit me like a ton of bricks. So much for being able to leave the emotion out. I think the circumstances made it the worst possible sports storm because I truly didn't see this stomach punch coming. (Although it is possible I have blocked out much of the 3 horrible Bronco Super Bowl losses for fear of heart failure were I to access those memories).

So, in 2010, I was all in for the US team and loved embarrassing the Brits with a tie, and lost my mind when this happened:



As great as a moment as that goal was, the Ghana game in the knockout round was crushing. Not a stomach punch because they really didn't play well, but a jolt nonetheless. I was bummed, but I don't think I knew exactly how bummed I was. I hated that the US lost like they did, but I was ready to let Germany fill the void.

I took a few hours from work and watched as Spain took Germany down and the combination of the two losses gave me thoughts of 2006 and the pain as that Italian goal went in in extra time. I now know it was the combination because I was not as sold that this 2010 Germany team was as good as the 2006 team. These last two world cups have been brutal to me, but I still love the event and can't wait until 2014!

... Once again into music. Thanks to my bro, I've been introduced to a bunch of new bands with potential. My complete lack of connection to whatever a person needs to connect to for band information renders me completely dependent on others. Between friends and family, I tend to find just enough to keep my I-pod full.

Current bands I'm listening to include Muse, Metric and the White Stripes. Just learned about a few new ones from Jon, too (like "She Wants Revenge"). I continue to go through a grunge phase, too, though. A couple of videos (both new school and old school) for your consideration:

Our Blame Society

I know that BP sucks, I really do. Just bear with me.

I'm just not yet ready to start the crucifixion. Don't worry, they'll have to pay. I know this horrific spill will lead to them paying a steep price and may render BP bankrupt. I'm fine with all that.

There's just one problem: None of that will help the legitimate disaster unfolding as oil continues to gush into the ocean. I mean, oil is gushing into the ocean like a fire hose and has been for more than a month.

I am literally only concerned/hopeful/desperately-anxious for the spout to be plugged. I don't care who fixes the problem. If BP is the best positioned entity to make that happen, so be it. I will never understand how so many can say we should keep the perpetrator from being involved with the cleanup. The message appears to be that if you screw up, your punishment is to let others clean up the mess.

So, why all the attention on vengeance? Why are we SO concerned about seizing assets NOW of all times?

Maybe I'm too jaded right now, but we seem to wash down outrage with pounds of flesh and goblets of blood. It seems to make people feel better that 50 million gallons of oil just became part of our ocean by demanding the immediate surrender of ... well... MONEY. Money and humiliation, really. Many people yelled at BP executives who probably couldn't patch a leak unless it involved accounting practices. Yeah, they took advantage of lax regulations, but do we really think this was done on purpose?

Some are blaming environmentalists for "causing" this to prove a point. That's so dumb it needs no comment. Some accuse the President of inaction (apparently they think he's Aqua Man... or that he cut the pipe with his fake birth-certificate... birthers are idiots.). Both sides blame the other and the scoreboard moves only with podium appearances on oil-soaked beaches.

As sick as I feel watching the carnage, the salve we seek is almost as putrid.

Dolphins, birds, fish, and every kind of living thing in a very large chunk of the ocean is being wiped out. A lot of that sea life helps feed us, by the way.

Like everyone, I feel helpless because there is a pipe injecting tons of oil into our oceans and I can't do one thing about it. The same dynamic happens in our everyday lives.

I'm beginning to think it's that we use blame to make ourselves feel in control. After all, we blame the media, we blame a car mechanic, a teacher, other people's parents and even bystanders for the misfortunes that are a part of life.

Maybe that's why I'm now reading almost exclusively basketball books. Of course, even a basketball coach made more sense than all the indignant talking heads lecturing those actually trying to solve a problem.

"And life," said Phil Jackson to his bench players, "just isn't meant to be fair."

We're all on the bench, and life isn't fair. So, no more talk of who or what to blame. It's time for us all to just deal with life head-on.

We can start with the little things in our own lives. I just wish that would help plug this hole in the earth.

Update and pictures

It's been a busy time, so here's a brief update and some pictures.

... I went to the Nuggets' playoff game five last week and sat three rows from the court with Book. We watched the Nuggets scrap for a victory, but unfortunately they succumbed to the Jazz in game 6. I hate early ends to an NBA playoff run.

I was not, however, surprised that they lost game 6. That's because I got to see up close just how banged up that team was. Birdman could barely walk up and down the court and K-Mart was favoring a knee pretty significantly. We also got to watch Nene go down with a sprain.

We also got to watch acting-zombie-coach Adrian Dantley prove you can actually sleepwalk through a playoff series. It's true!

So bitter.

... My cousin Anna's wedding was a lot of fun, and Jacob danced like a kid possessed in front of everyone. He was even sliding on his knees like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Of course, he had just come from a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses, so he had sugar to burn.

... I've read 16 books so far and have 8 more to go. My pace will slow because I'm going to tackle some really long ones.

... I've been sick with a cough for about two weeks, meaning no exercycle for me, which stinks. I can't hardly go up stairs without coughing and I'm tired of it.

... I hit a bit of a lag on my short story, but I have gotten feedback from several folks, so I have no excuse. I will try hard to get that draft done soon.

... Mad Men is an awesome show and I'm tearing through it.

... I was reminded tonight just how many people love to rain on parades. The trick is to not let them ruin it. I think a show of joy in spite of rain is the perfect way to get back at them.


Pictures!

Lost Cause and Hitler signs

Sometimes I think history has already changed.

I don't know when it may have happened officially, but there must have been a meeting (probably several), and some of us were left out.

Tomorrow marks tax day as well as the middle of Confederate History Month in Virginia, my former home. Tomorrow I will have to drive past people angry about doing their share, ignore their Hitler signs and continue to hold the line on the history I was taught.

Maybe I was too busy to notice, but somehow history has become debatable. Somewhere along the line, the notion that slavery was the central issue of the Civil War now inspires eye rolling. It's become bleeding heart to mention it. Somehow, FDR's New Deal now apparently made the Depression worse. To suggest otherwise is apparently "socialist."

I don't mean to sound elite (and I do like an occasional latte), but such notions are foolish. And, if anyone wants to wave the stars and bars (and it has nothing to do with the Dukes of Hazard), I cannot take that person seriously.

I understand that facts create dissonance and that the natural human response is to create consonance through rationalization, but this is getting ridiculous. Rationalization isn't supposed to take the form of revisionist history.

The Civil War was absolutely about states rights... to own slaves. The second part of the sentence matters. There were other states rights issues to be sure, but the slavery issue more than any other inspired war. It was one of the few actual manifestations of a domino effect. The Dred Scott case, debate about whether new states could allow slavery, the drawing of a line in the sand and the threat of the destruction of Southern economies without free labor all piled up. Loss of slavery meant loss of their way of life and economy and they chose to fight for that and not for morality.

But, we often forget that the Civil War clearly proved that the whole is greater than separate parts. Union trumps bickering factions every time. Any Civil War book will explain how keeping Southern "independent" states marching together was like herding cats. As a result, they lost the war, and, yes, that is a good thing.

All that aside, the South was against morality by attempting to preserve bondage for an entire race. Whatever conservative ideology people today may wish to bestow upon that part of history, it cannot be separated from slavery. It just can't.

Slavery is our nation's original sin. It is forever marked on our country by a scar that even appears on our Constitution, which specifically forbade any discussion of the slavery question until 1808.

The scar is still so fresh that there are people still active in the workforce today who went to segregated schools. A speaker at the March on Washington, where MLK described his dream, still serves in Congress. His name is John Lewis and he was beaten to within an inch of his life in Selma, Alabama. He still serves in Congress and the man who beat him still lives.

Here is a taste of Mr. Lewis at the DNC in 2008 (I was there).





The scar is still so fresh that a regional section of a generation still in the workforce went to segregated schools and drank from segregated water fountains. Its time to stop trying to minimize race when we talk about our nation.

The same rationalization of ideology led to the denigration of the New Deal even though my great-grandfather and great-grandmother praised FDR for saving their family until the day each died. Now that they aren't here anymore, people convince themselves of whatever is convenient.

The same rationalization caused Texas to change its school history books to exclude Thomas Jefferson from "enlightened thinkers" (!!!) and to flip-flop the amount of coverage given to FDR and Ronald Reagan despite the obvious difference in level of influence.

Never more has the following phrase seemed more timely: "You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts."

Birthday Present

On what would have been my father's 61st birthday, health care reform (by all appearances) plunged past the tipping point on its journey to reality.

Let the complaining begin, but I'll be too busy celebrating to notice.

I started thinking about the magic number 61 last night, and it was my short break from obsessing over the health care vote tally. And, just as I was starting to get tired of being sad on March 18, the yes votes started to trickle home. Some might take such timing as a sign, but I'll be glad to accept it as a happy coincidence.

I will also begin preparations to halt worry that my high blood pressure will always prevent me from obtaining any kind of meaningful insurance. But, alas, I will always have to check the box about a parent who died on or before the age of 55. Just one more year would have been nice.

Dad talked about health care reform in his typical far-ranging ways back in the day. By that, I mean I had heard him at times concern himself with the fear of "socialized medicine," but I also heard him absolutely fume over insurance companies that found ways to not cover his patients.

As usual, I really couldn't pin his position down. But, I know my position, and I will celebrate when the vote comes down on Sunday. I can't prove it, but I think dad would be happy about this as well.

Dad would have liked it that children could remain on their parents' insurance until the age 26. I know this because of how intensely he worried about any of us going a single day without coverage. When I transitioned from his insurance to my own as a student, he was adament that I not even risk one day of non-coverage. He said something to the effect of, "what if that's the day you learn the wrong thing and it becomes pre-existing?So, he knew the insurance game.

Obviously, he would like that pre-existing conditions will no longer stop people from being covered. The prohibition against removing coverage when a patient is sick? Only a jackass would be against that. Or someone in the video below:



I think dad would have frowned on anyone who would treat one of his patients like the man in this video was treated. I know that because he cared about his patients. And because he was not an asshole.

I could never imagine dad being against providing coverage to 30 million more people.

Despite clear signs that the Democratic Party strongly considered making a back-breaking, goal-line fumble in its march to the end game, health care reform (appears) a done deal. Apparently, the powers that be realized that failure to bring this bill home for want of a better one would lead to either never having reform or having the kind of free-market based reform that leads to the exact problems plaguing the whole industry today.

Somehow, cats managed to march in unison behind what I can only imagine to be otherworldly forces... or political catnip, I guess. Really, this is a two-pronged miracle. First, it's a miracle the vote was this close a call considering the huge numerical advantage held by the Democratic party. Second, it was a major miracle that they still didn't screw this up.

I would like to thank the President for his leadership on this issue and his steely-resolve (almost Republican-like in its Machiavellian qualities). I would also like to thank Betsy Markey for her (announced) vote in favor of reform. If you remember, I blogged about my conversation with her about this. True to her word, she was there when it mattered.

Nothing is perfect, and neither is this bill. But time matters, and we just couldn't wait any longer. Afterall, with death as permanent as it is and all, why not act now?

Happy Birthday, dad. I hope you liked your present.

*** UPDATE TO THIS POST.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the coming of age of our President. Barack Obama has been in office for over a year, but this victory has cemented him as THE PRESIDENT. He's made the leap. The wide eyes have narrowed. The brow has furrowed. He's got this! Watch this video and see for yourself what leadership can look like.

Of Politics and Wrestling

I just finished reading Game Change about the 2008 Presidential election and I was struck by how similar the world of politics is to the world of professional wrestling. And soap operas. I loved every page of the book, but felt mildly dirty for enjoying it.

A majority of the book deals with the Democratic primaries for obvious reasons. The Democrats had a much longer and more intense fight for the party's nomination. The book focuses on the three top candidates: Obama, Clinton and John Edwards. It also breaks down the Republican primary and the general, but the Democratic primary took the majority.

The reason this book made me think of professional wrestling is not simply my recent reading of Hitman. I thought of wrestling because of how much of campaigning is BS and how both sides of a given story KNOW it's BS, yet turn the political knife anyway. For example, in the general election between Obama and McCain, the book stated unequivocally that the McCain campaign knew darn well that Obama's famous "lipstick on a pig" comment had nothing to do with Sarah Palin. They demanded an apology to court Hillary supporters and women in general and to put the Obama campaign on the defensive. I single this story out because of how explicitly the book stated that no one in the McCain camp actually thought Obama meant Palin. I must mention, that Republicans certainly were not alone in this tactic.

Each campaign would be both embarrassed and flattered by its portrayal in this book. There were tales of opportunism, brilliance and underhandedness everywhere and no campaign was spared. The Obama campaign looked the best, but was clearly not immune from playing in the mud.

Some observations:

-- I was shocked that the title of "craziest person" in any campaign was not won by the odds-on favorites (Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin in whatever order), but rather by Elizabeth Edwards. This shocked me because I never saw Mrs. Edwards as a candidate in the race for nut-job of the campaign season. Trust me when I say it took a cancer diagnosis for anyone associated with the Edwards campaign to feel a twinge of sympathy for her. Of course, it's not every day that a multi-millionaire angrily threatens to suspend the health insurance of all campaign workers until hers is secured. Even less predictable would be someone doing so on a national call attended by many of the lowest paid / hardest working organizers hitting the pavement. Multi-millionaires also do not often expose themselves while in an argument. Like I said, it wasn't even close.

(Just a few more Elizabeth stories because I can't resist: She called John a "hick" in front of other people and derided his parents as rednecks; and She laughed at the idea that John would read a book and claimed to be the smart one.)

-- Bill Clinton is a hothead, but he appreciates evil genius even when he's the victim. When the Obama campaign called him on his reference to Jesse Jackson winning South Carolina, clearly implying something, Clinton was now portrayed as a racist, at least by implication. The book says that "though it infuriated (Clinton), he could not help but respect the artfulness of the play... I wish our people were more like that, Bill said." He's an angry, bitter man, but he appreciates a good move. Of course Bill also said the Ted Kennedy: "the only reason you're endorsing him is because he's black. Let's just be clear." So, it's not like Bill didn't give the Obama camp any openings.

-- With whom did Clinton counsel about being essentially called a racist? George W. Bush. Clinton bitched to W about the betrayals he suffered for 15 minutes and W said "I know you aren't a racist." This was like seeing King Kong Bundy and Hulk Hogan laughing over a few beers at a local pub in the mid 80s or something. This is why wrestling is more like politics than we'd like to admit. They play up the hatred in public, but they're all just colleagues behind the scenes. W and Bill apparently talked "more often than almost anyone knew" during W's reign. THE CURTAIN HAS BEEN LIFTED! I mean... what can I possibly add? Talk about breaking the fourth wall. We are all being had.

-- Obama is absolutely as cool as the other side of the pillow, just as commonly perceived. His best quote was before his 2004 keynote address at the DNC nominating Kerry. "I'm LeBron, baby. I can play on this level. I got some game." Another was before his first debate with McCain when he calmed one nervous aid by putting his hand on her shoulder and saying calmly one-hour before go-time "Don't worry. I got this." Obama seemed to never let anger rattle him, but he was portrayed as whiny regarding the rigorous schedule and could be passive-aggressive. Still, he is the only one who seemed genuinely loved by his staff.

-- Hillary avoids conflict like the plague when dealing with individuals and yet is prone to fits of anger at her staff as a whole. She also does nothing to diffuse internal problems and tends to let them simmer. Her and Bill held a deep belief that the press was in the tank for Obama (which is probably true) and a never-ending suspicion of foul play. Even after it was all over they were both convinced Obama bused people into Iowa from Illinois.

-- The second-place finisher for crazy person of the campaign is actually Judi Giuliani, and she was only second because she was mentioned so infrequently. But, stories of her instability were potent, if brief. She had worked for a medical supply firm that exterminated puppies as part of its sales demonstration. That's right, she somehow was linked to puppy murder. You can't make this stuff up. Her only response was that it was a long time ago and she couldn't remember her involvement. I would think one would know if one was or was not involved in the murder of puppies. Had Rudy been a bigger threat to win, her stories would have been the highlight of the book.

(Giuliani had to answer her cell phone calls EVEN IF IN THE MIDDLE OF A SPEECH - and he did - because, in his words "it's a lot better that way." I am not kidding, she finishes second.)

-- Sarah Palin's lack of preparation, absence of mental curiosity and basic inability to grasp ground-level concepts actually and literally frightened McCain's staff. Preparing her for the debate took on the kind of prep work normally reserved for moon landings and her "success" at parroting the talking points they made her memorize (and calling Biden "Joe" because she could NOT stop calling him Obiden in rehearsal) was celebrated as a major accomplishment. The fact she may be third on the crazy chart is a testament to Elizabeth and Judi and should not be seen as a vindication of Sarahcuda. McCain advisers actually surreptitiously had her monitored by a doctor to see if she was "mentally unstable."

(It should be noted that Bill Clinton is easily the third-craziest spouse and gives Palin a run for her money. His clear edge in brain power puts him fourth behind Palin, but it's closer than one would think).

-- Huckabee actually questioned whether Romney had a soul. Coming from a former pastor, that made me chuckle.

-- Lindsay Graham, John McCain and Joe Lieberman could not stop watching the Youtube video of John Edwards fixing his hair. They watched it over and over and laughed until they had tears in their eyes. "Let's look at it again!" McCain would command. Again, this made me chuckle.

-- Obama's amazing ability to put the bitterness of the primary campaign was awe-inspiring. He was literally the only one of his entire staff (including Michelle) who was willing to give Hillary a position in the administration. His reasoning? "She's going to be really good at this job." He would not take "No" for an answer and made a compelling case to Hillary. He told her that the economy was going to command his focus and he would require someone to hold down the foreign policy part of things. He said she was the only one he could really trust to do this. After reading all the amazing battles their campaigns fought, this is nothing short of amazing and made me think of Team of Rivals and how Lincoln kept back-stabbing rival Soloman Chase around because he was such a good Treasury Secretary. All he cared is that she would be the best person for the job. Same with Biden for VP.

So, there you have it. Campaigning is a business, it is entertaining, it involves steel chairs upon the heads of unsuspecting victims and they all end up having beers together in the end. It's like I read the Hitman book all over again. And, just like a wrestling book, it feels like a guilty pleasure or like I got caught watching a soap opera. I loved this book, and that makes me feel dirty.