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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32
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Author:  Jim Kouri
Bio: Jim Kouri
Date:  February 9, 2006
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Truth Scarce at Coretta Scott King Funeral Service

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), when speaking during Monday's funeral service and memorial for the late civil-rights icon, Coretta Scott King, only told half the story when he spoke of his two brothers, John and Robert, and their relationship with Mrs. King's husband.

Sen. Ted Kennedy drew roars of approval when he invoked the 1960 phone call placed by his brother, then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, to Coretta King to pledge his help in freeing her husband from jail. Kennedy also mentioned the call placed by another brother, Robert F. Kennedy, JFK's campaign manager, to a local judge to inquire why Martin Luther King, Jr., not post bond. King was freed the next morning, according to Kennedy

The sanctuary burst into applause when Sen. Kennedy said, "Robert called the judge!"

He omitted the "Robert called J. Edgar!" part of the story.

More than a few observers of the politically charged, partisan funeral service noted that Kennedy failed to tell the whole story about the relationship between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

It was the Kennedy brothers who authorized the wiretaps and surveillance of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time, according to historians, King was meeting with members of the American Communist Party, which greatly distressed the Kennedy brothers.

While the Democrat Party continues to claim it was the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover who conducted the eavesdropping on Dr. King, Justice Department records released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that Hoover was ordered by Robert Kennedy to conduct the surveillance operation.

The records indicate that Robert found wiretaps and electronic listen devices or "bugs" useful in Justice Department operations against the Teamsters Union, organized crime and suspected communists. Prior to assisting his brother, John, Robert worked as an aide to Senator Joe McCarthy during the notorious hunt for communists within the US Government. He was also a close associate of the demonized Roy Cohn.

According to conversations this writer has had with a top FBI agent from the Kennedy era, Robert Kennedy took an active role in covert operations which angered Hoover. The late Special Agent Bill Roemer told this writer of the times that agents listened to King's trysts in disgust, some of them even voicing objections to the intrusive "bugging" of King's hotel rooms.

Then we have President Bill Clinton who received the loudest applause and adulation during the six hour service. Not one major piece of legislation was passed during his administration that benefited African-Americans, according to a review of Clinton's eight years in the Oval Office. In fact, the so-called civil-rights establishment stood by in silence when Clinton reformed the welfare system and cut thousands of African-Americans from the welfare rolls.

It was no secret that most of the civil-rights groups were -- and continue to be -- in league with the Democrat Party. This allowed Clinton to ignore the issues that Jackson, Sharpton and -- yes -- Rev. Joseph Lowery believed were important to blacks. Paradoxically, Clinton is heralded as the "first black president."

Clinton's mentor, whom he continues to invoke, Senator William Fullbright was a segregationist who fought the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965. He is quoted as saying to an audience at Stanford University that "the [US] Constitution is outmoded." In fact, Democrat senators such as Fullbright and Robert Byrd of West Virginia attempted to filibuster the civil-rights legislation. It was the Republicans who gave President Lyndon Johnson the votes he needed to pass the legislation.

Former President Jimmy Carter, always ready to take a swipe at President Bush, uttered a mouthful of untruths during the ceremony. He spoke of illegal wiretaps on Martin Luther King and Coretta King, but failed to note who conducted those wiretaps - Democrats.

He mentioned that such abuse continues, implying Bush's terrorism surveillance was illegal. However, Carter was not being factual. He has repeatedly called the NSA program "domestic wiretaps." First, according to those in the know and stories in the mainstream media, the surveillance is neither domestic nor is it being done through physical wiretaps. There are no wires and there are no taps.

Second, Bush's NSA program is a version of President Clinton's top secret NSA spy program, code named "Echelon." Echelon was a high-tech fishing expedition which intercepted conversations and other communications that contained certain keywords which were contained in the so-called Echelon Dictionary. Bush's version, however, is less intrusive in that it targets known or suspected terrorists who communicate with anyone in the United States.

Then we have the Reverend Joseph Lowery who used a canard quite often spouted by Democrat politicians: there were no weapons of mass destruction. The fact is that none of the official reports make that statement. The congressional report stated that weapons of mass destruction have not been found. There is mounting evidence that the chemical and biological weapons were secreted into Syria.

Rev. Lowery is portrayed as a civil-rights activist but he's far more than that. He's been an outspoken opponent of the Bush Administration for the radical left Democracy Now. His attempt at poetry was well received by the audience because they would have cheered anyone speaking who pandered to their hatred. And beneath the applause and cheers lay just that: hatred.

When they shouted "Hillary for President," I suddenly saw the 16 percent who told the Gallup Poll people they would definitely vote for Hillary.

This was a politically-motivated memorial service similar to the memorial service for Senator Wellstone (D-MN) in 2004. If you'll recall, the crowd actually booed Republican senators who came to pay their respects. It became a campaign rally instead of a solemn event.

Imagine the outrage if during the Ronald Reagan funeral services members of the GOP stood up and pointed fingers at Democrats and others who opposed him. For instance, Senator John Kerry, who tried everything to hamper Reagan's tough (and correct) Cold War policies. Kerry who supported unilateral reductions in weapons.

But that seems to be the difference. Some people can hold their tongues and some cannot. Some are quite stable and in control and some are not. What we saw on Monday was "the some are not" crowd.    

Jim Kouri
Chief of Police Magazine (Contributing Editor)

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Biography - Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.


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