Kevin Dukes-Sunset August 4, 2005

A special young man died a week ago. It is so strange how I came to "know" him because I never really met him. But I work with someone whom he graciously entertained in Seattle on their vacation a little less than a month before he died. His last words to this person was to go back and spread the story that he was enjoying the good life. And he wasn't bragging-he was just telling about the joy he felt about what he was doing. I was fortunate enough to see pictures taken on this trip and had an opportunity to see pictures of this marvelous sunset that he loved to show off. From everything that I have heard and read about him, he would not have changed anything, not even the way he died. He loved flying. He had a dream and he went for it. Can you imagine it? A 26 year old African American man from the South who was a test pilot for Boeing? And who was co-owner of his own company? And who had even bigger plans on a worldwide scale.

What a great young man.

So Kevin, I pay tribute to you today and I hope I have helped to spread your good news. And thanks, Stanley, for sharing him with me.

Walking the Walk

Isn't it strange how our national and state leaders who have run away from their national responsibility (their words-not mine) to serve in the military are trying to convince us that they know how to win this "war" in Iraq? Take a look at the list below and observe how many/how few of our so called leaders and other buffoons actually took up arms and fought for their country. And isn't it also strange that most of the warmongers are Republicans who have not served. Lastly, take a look at the radio and TV pundits military record. I guess they are doing what they do best-talk. Since that is the case, I would rather listen to Cindy Sheehan anyday over Rush or Sean. She at least gave the ultimate sacrifice-her son.

Democrats

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of
Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-'47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V Purple Hearts.
* John Edwards: did not serve.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-1953.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII, receiving the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Bomber pilot, many missions. Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Avoided service. with student deferments. Entered draft but received 311.
* Jimmy Carter: Annapolis grad. Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Said to have served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.
* Wesley Clark: U.S. Army, 1966-2000, West Point, Vietnam, Purple Heart, Silver Star. Retired 4-star general.
* John Dingell: WWII vet
* John Conyers: Army 1950-57, Korea



Republicans

* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* House Whiip Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Had "other priorities." Several deferments, the last for wife's pregnancy.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Donald Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as aviator and flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: six-year Nat'l Guard commitment (in four). Issues of desertion and unfitness.
* Ronald Reagan: made war propaganda movies.
* Gerald Ford: Navy, WWII
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Bob Dole: Army officer WWII.
* Chuck Hagel: two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, Vietnam.
* Duke Cunningham: nominated for Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Silver Stars, Air Medals, Purple Hearts.
* Jeff Sessions: Army Reserves, 1973-1986
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* G.H.W. Bush: Pilot in WWII. Shot down by the Japanese.
* Tom Ridge: Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve


Pundits & Preachers

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.

Give Us Free

The United States of America is the best example of what the word oxymoron means. It is anything but "united" and it was misnamed "America" by some fools who were trying to get to one place, got lost, and "discovered" a place that had been inhabited by people who they called Indians. As Don King says, only in America. The story of America for people of African descent is remarkably the story of survival. While the unfortunate truth is that more of us die than should, the good news is that many more of us survive and thrive. That is good news. We have the will to live within us that is so strong that no other people would be able to process the terrorism that we go through on a daily basis. We have adapted to our circumstances and our situations. Our challenge,however, at the very beginning of the 21st century is to not allow those adaptations to turn us on us. It is not too late to turn some of the BOB, i.e. Black on Black crimes around. It is very disheartening to continually hear what we are doing to us.

I have lived long enough to remember being a frightened child when my parents and their friends were talking about what "they" did to Emmitt Till. I also remember my personal sadness when Medgar was killed, and the 4 little Girls were killed, and Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney were killed, and Martin, and Malcolm. And let's not even mention the despair I felt when a President of the United States of America was killed-either by some who did not like his so called progressive domestic policy proposals or his foreign policy.

But the hope was that I also was captured by the poetry of strong sisters like Nikki Giovanni. And Sonia Sanchez. And the poems/rap of The Last Poets. And Gil Scott Heron. And strong sisters like Angela Davis who decided to commit class suicide and make decisions for the greater good. And Stokely. And Rap. And books by people like Alex Haley who illustrated and documented that we might have had our start in the United States as slaves, but in the motherland some of us truly did come from Kings and Queens.

So, despite what they want us to believe about ourselves, we truly are strong men and women and just have to keep telling the stories to ourselves about who and what we are.