For war billions more, but no more for the poor

I just got home a little while ago, and had my first opporunity to see the video of Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery speaking at Coretta Scott King's funeral. You can see the video at Crooks and Liars. He said, in part (via Atrios):

"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there [standing ovation]... but Coretta kew and we know that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more but no more for the poor."

Apparently there are already complaints that Lowery was "politicizing" the event. Bull puckey. I watched the whole speech/eulogy and on balance, not that much of it was political. Granted, a lot more rhyming than I personally can appreciate, but it's a style.

What a family reunion
Rosa and Martin reminiscing, they'd just begun to talk
when Martin seemed not to listen. He started to walk.
The wind had whispered in his ear
"I believe somebody is almost here!"
"Excuse me, Rosa," Martin said as he did depart.
His soul was on fire, he just couldn't wait
His spirit leaped with joy as he moved toward the Pearly Gate.
Glory, glory, halleluia, after 40 years, almost 40 years...
Together at last, together at last,
thank God almighty, together at last!

That was followed by a standing ovation. What struck me when watching the speech is how completely it struck a chord with the audience. Rev. Lowery's words were *exactly* right for the majority of the people in attendance. Not that much of the speech was political, but the part that was was entirely appropriate. From an article at MSNBC:

She pushed and goaded politicians for more than a decade to have her husband's birthday observed as a national holiday, achieving success in 1986. In 1969 she founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta and used it to confront hunger, unemployment, voting rights and racism.

"The center enables us to go out and struggle against the evils in our society," she often said.

Two points here. First, Coretta Scott King clearly was an activist in her own right, and Rev. Lowery, as a long time friend of hers, was right to address issues he knew to be close to her heart. How do you think she would have felt about this?

President Bush on Monday sent Congress a proposed $2.77 trillion budget for fiscal 2007 that favors tax cuts and national security and squeezes domestic programs.

The proposal would eliminate 141 government programs, cut spending not related to defense and homeland security, and scale back the rate of growth for Medicare and other so-called entitlement programs. Even with those savings, federal spending would exceed anticipated tax revenue by $354 billion next year, down from this year's record $423 billion deficit.

Do you think she approved of her friend, Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery chiding the powers that be for a budget giving "for war, billions more, but no more for the poor"?

Rhetorical question. Damn right, she approved.

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