I am continually amazed by people’s gullibility, as evidenced by the emails that get forwarded to me, as if it’s information the “liberal press” doesn’t want you to know.

Today, I got one about Ollie North’s testimony in the Iran-Contra hearings, in which he talked about Osama bin Laden as a terrorist and the most evil person he knew. I remember watching his testimony. The terrorist was Abu Nidal. Back then, during the years Russia occupied Afghanistan, Osama was our friend. Ollie probably even sent him some Stinger missiles.

The email said that the senator questioning North disagreed with North’s solution–that bin Laden should be assassinated. That senator, the email said, was Al Gore. Well, Gore wasn’t part of that committee.

Then there was an email saying Mohammed Atta blew up an Israeli bus in the 1980s, was captured by the Israelis, but was released after pressure from the Clinton administration. And he then flew a plane into the Twin Towers. Well, the bomber was another guy with the same name.

Hey, my fellow conservatives: quit making stuff up. If you hate Democrats, that’s okay. But at least tell the truth.

Very interesting article in the Washington Post, Answering to No One, by Walter Mondale (Jimmy Carter’s VP). He gives a history of the role of the vice president, and then comes to Dick Cheney. His words affirm what I’ve felt for a long time.

Cheney set out to create a largely independent power center in the office of the vice president. His was an unprecedented attempt not only to shape administration policy but, alarmingly, to limit the policy options sent to the president. It is essential that a president know all the relevant facts and viable options before making decisions, yet Cheney has discarded the “honest broker” role he played as President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff….

Through his vast government experience, through the friends he had been able to place in key positions and through his considerable political skills, he has been increasingly able to determine the answers to questions put to the president – because he has been able to determine the questions….

I’ve never seen a former member of the House of Representatives demonstrate such contempt for Congress — even when it was controlled by his own party. His insistence on invoking executive privilege to block virtually every congressional request for information has been stupefying – it’s almost as if he denies the legitimacy of an equal branch of government. Nor does he exhibit much respect for public opinion, which amounts to indifference toward being held accountable by the people who elected him.

Whatever authority a vice president has is derived from the president under whom he serves. There are no powers inherent in the office; they must be delegated by the president. Somehow, not only has Cheney been given vast authority by President Bush – including, apparently, the entire intelligence portfolio – but he also pursues his own agenda. The real question is why the president allows this to happen.

You need to read “Gordon MacDonald’s 2008 Questions,” a superb list of 11 questions he would ask of presidential candidates. He begins by referencing a secretive meeting some evangelical string-pullers held at a hotel in Florida, where Dobson and Falwell types (and probably Dobson and Falwell) were determing whom to annoint as the Christian candidate. MacDonald says, if he had been invited to that meeting, these are the questions he would want answered. It’s great stuff. I’m right there with him.

Sadly, the answers to these questions that would satisfy me most likely would not come from Republicans.

The third Monday in February is always Presidents Day. That means it must occur somewhere between February 15 and 21. We think of it as a combination of the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln.

But–this is interesting–their birthdays don’t fall in that span. Washington was born on either February 11 (according to the old-style Julian calendar, still being used) or February 22 (the newly-adopted Gregorian calendar). Lincoln’s birthday is February 12. Two other presidents were born in February: William Henry Harrison on February 6, and Ronald Reagan on February 9. So Presidents Day will never occur on an actual president’s birthday.

I just came across a really great post on the Internet Monk blog called, “Five Reasons I Don’t Like MLK Day.” The author, Michael Spencer, is actually a big fan of Martin Luther King, and you see his admiration throughout the post. But he makes some really good points. For instance, he doesn’t like the fact that it’s become an African-American holiday, instead of an American holiday (after all, President’s Day isn’t a caucasian holiday).

Anyway, it’s a great post. And it’s worth sticking around for the comments, too.

My brother Rick also wrote about MLK Day on his blog.

I’ve been rather indifferent about the holiday, perhaps because I know so few African-Americans. But after seeing the “I Have a Dream” speech on Sunday at church, and after reflecting on it this week, I’ve realized how worthy this holiday is.

I’ve also tried to analyze my tangled thoughts on race. I spent my first nine years in an all-white town with a racist reputation (Huntington, Ind.). Then we moved to Pennsylvania, where Dad taught in an all-black urban school (including during the riots following King’s assassination). Meanwhile, in my suburban elementary school, we had one black student in my fourth-grade class: Keemie Hampton. I remember her name, when I can’t remember the names of any other classmates, which is interesting. She was a nice girl who acted just like all of the white girls; she just had a different skin color. I have memories of some derogatory comments guys made about her because of her skin color, but not in her presence. Still, while I don’t recall any blatant racism among my classmates, I’m sure Keemie has different memories.

Then we moved to Arizona, to a minority-free town (Lake Havasu City). And then, as I entered my junior year of high school, we settled into our first pastorate in Pixley, Calif., a multi-racial town. What an eye-opener. My first day of school, upon leaving the bus at the end of the day, I found myself surrounded by a group of blacks as one of them (a skinny guy I actually might have been able to take) tried to pick a fight with me, and all the other blacks egged us on. I managed to escape unscathed, but it certainly implanted some enduring impressions in a mind which, until then, was pretty much a blank slate when it came to racial issues.

I quickly changed buses. I still rode with blacks and hispanics and Filipinos and Portuguese and other ethnics (including white Oakies and Arkies), but I never felt threatened again.

We had a full-court basketball court in back of the parsonage, and I regularly played with local blacks and Hispanics. Race was never an issue in those games; ability was what mattered, and I could hold my own just fine. Plus, they appreciated that we let them use the court, and they were generally respectful of our property.

Our church had a team in the summer basketball park league. One night I seriously outplayed Duane, partly because he was half-drunk (I could clearly smell the wine as he tried to guard me), and he took offense. After the game, he came at me with a crowbar, and none of my church friends were around. I looked to Duane’s brother, Alvin, for help (we played on the high school team together), but he just looked away, and I knew I was on my own against a bigger, stronger guy who was going psycho. I still don’t know what kept Duane from swinging the crowbar before I got in the Toyota and drove away. It scared the daylights out of me.

After two years in that town, I carried away a lot of negative thoughts regarding people of other races–not racist thoughts, per se (I’ve never considered myself racist), but some definite baggage. Maybe some of those “first impressions” are still with me. These thoughts have been on my mind this week.

But despite all of that, I can admire the necessary, late-coming changes which occurred in America as a result of Martin Luther King’s incredible leadership.