HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM FLORIDA'S USCITY.NET TEAM

Happy Thanksgiving from the uscity.net employees from Florida!

HAVE A SAFE & HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

This sweet little bumble bee is Breanna, daughter of our very own Brenda!
We here at uscity.net wish all of you a very Happy Halloween. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday night, which means more traffic and more adult parties, so drivers, be on the lookout for kids darting in and out of the streets and parents, please keep an eye on your children, especially the middle and high schoolers who often stay out later.

Here are some other tips for making tonight a treat for all of us:

If you are driving:
1. Watch for children darting out from between parked cars.
2. Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs.
3. Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.
4. At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing.
5. Remember to have a designated driver if you will be drinking.

If you are a parent or guardian:
1. Make sure that an adult or an older responsible youth will be supervising the outing for children under age 12.
2. Plan and discuss the route trick-or-treaters intend to follow. Know the names of older children's companions.
3. Instruct your children to travel only in familiar areas and along an established route.
4. Teach your children to stop only at houses or apartment buildings that are well-lit and never to enter a anyone’s home.
5. Establish a return time.
6. Tell your youngsters not to eat any treat until they return home.
7. Review all appropriate trick-or-treat safety precautions, including pedestrian/traffic safety rules.
8. Pin a slip of paper with the child's name, address and phone number inside a pocket in case the youngster gets separated from the group.

The Costume:
1. Costumes should be loose so warm clothes can be worn underneath.
2. Costumes should not be so long that they are a tripping hazard. (Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries on Halloween.)
3. If children are allowed out after dark, outfits should be made with light colored materials. Strips of reflective tape should be used to make children visible.
4. Since masks can limit or completely remove vision, most safety experts agree that face paint is safer than masks.
5. When buying special Halloween makeup, check for packages containing ingredients that are labeled "Made with U.S. Approved Color Additives," "Laboratory Tested," Meets Federal Standards for Cosmetics," or "Non-Toxic." Follow manufacturer's instruction for application. Remember that some children may be allergic to ingredients in face paint - "non-toxic" does not mean it is safe for skin or FDA approved. Also, washable refers to fabric, not skin.
6. If masks are worn, they should have nose and mouth openings and large eye holes.
7. Accessories Knives, swords and other accessories should be made from cardboard or flexible materials. Do not allow children to carry sharp objects.
8. Bags or sacks carried by youngsters should be light-colored or trimmed with retro-reflective tape if children are allowed out after dark.
9. Carrying flashlights will help children see better and be seen more clearly.


What the kids should know:
1. Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.
2. Walk, do not run, from house to house. Do not cross yards and lawns where unseen objects or the uneven terrain can present tripping hazards.
3. Walk on sidewalks, not in the street.
4. Walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic if there are no sidewalks.

Before and After:
1. Give children an early meal before going out.
2. Insist that treats be brought home for inspection before anything is eaten.
3. Wash fruit and slice into small pieces.
4. When in doubt, throw it out.

HAVE FUN!

The Lion King

I am going to see the Lion King in Orlando! I can't wait. It is coming to Orlando next spring and I am taking my neice, who is a dancer!

For those of you not in the know, The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with Elton John's music and Tim Rice's lyrics, along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. and directed by Julie Taymor. It is an extravaganza of actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets.

First performed in July of 1997 in Minnesota, it was truly an overnight success! After moving to New York on Broadway, it is now Broadway's seventh longest-running show in history.

Going on the road to cities across America, like Orlando, Baltimore, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Richmond and more. Click here to see the cities and buy tickets.

USCITY.NET LOVES SMALL BUSINESSES!

One of our goals here at uscity.net is to sign up as many small, local businesses as possible. Along with our usual goal of becoming the best family friendly directory in the USA, our focus this year is on the small businesses that are the backbone of the US economy.

I believe that small businesses as a whole will help lead the US out of the current economic climate. As President Obama has said: “America needed to "out-build, out-innovate and out-educate the rest of the world" to win the future. Small businesses can make it and one way we want to help is by making those marketing dollars count.

We hope that if you are a business owner, or know of a great small business in your area, you will sign up with us or suggest us to that business.

Just click anywhere on this post and it will take you to our sign up page!

Happy 30th Anniversary Studio 404

Studio 404 of Bend, Oregon is celebrating 30 years in business with some "30 Years In Business Special Discounts"

including a Senior Portrait Package, Family Portrait Package, Wedding Special and the popular Full Coverage Plus ($500 off on this one!)

Owned by Bend photographer and videographer Alan Huestis, Studio 404 was started in 1981. Studio 404 also offers its clients broadcast quality video production and post production services, graphic design services and stock photography and stock video clips.

Alan Huestis, chief photographer, has shot for clients around the world and is a well-known portrait and landscape photographer in the West.

With over 30 years of photographic experience, he is known for his ability to capture a variety of moods. His experience includes location, environmental, product, aerial, landscape, and portrait photography.

If you are looking for a Bend Oregon photographer, need video production services, now is the time time to call Studio 404 and ask about the 30 Years In Business Specials. If you are in the Bend area, call 541-389-6829 or if out of the area call toll free at 1-866-788-3404.




Here's to 30 more years in business, Studio 404!

Check out some more of Studio 404's excellent photography:

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July

With droughts and wildfires all over the place, we are urging everyone to be extra careful with their fireworks, sparklers, etc. Did you know that more fires are reported on that day than on any other day of the year in the United States?

Here are a few safety tips from the National Council on Fireworks Safety:

Use fireworks outdoors only.

Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them. And check to see if they have been recently banned because of drought.

Always have water handy. (A hose or bucket).

Only use fireworks as intended. Don't try to alter them or combine them.
Never relight a "dud" firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.

Use common sense. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter and the shooter should wear safety glasses.

Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a "designated shooter."

Only persons over the age of 12 should be allowed to handle sparklers of any type.

Do not ever use homemade fireworks of illegal explosives: They can kill you! Report illegal explosives to the fire or police department in your community.

USCITY.NET wishes everyone a very happy and SAFE Fourth of July!

Some interesting facts about the 4th of July

On July 2, 1776 the 2nd Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. This occurred during the American Revolution. After voting for independence, a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author prepared the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4.

I came across an interesting part of a letter at the Adams Family Papers Electronic Archives, via the Massachusetts Historical Society. This is part of a letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 3 July 1776 regarding our Independence Day celebrations:

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. -- I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. -- Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

We know that Adams' forecast was off by two days. Americans celebrate their independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.

Another interesting fact and a notable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the Fifth President of the United States, died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, the Thirtieth President, was born on July 4, 1872, and thus was the only President to be born on Independence Day.

If you wish to see what all the fireworks and partying is about, here is a copy of the document that started it all:

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Two New Additions

We are doubly blessed here at uscity.net - Two babies in two months! This first picture is the son of Delanie (one of our submission queens) and the second is the grandson of our affiliate manager, Sue.

We wish them both health, happiness and a life of love and laughter!

Uscity.net down due to power outage – Our apologies

We apologize to anyone who received a 403 forbidden error message (or had any problems) while trying to access our site recently. A power outage at Altantic.net caused damage to our servers and we were down for a while. We are online and accessible now (YAY!). We are working hard behind to the scenes to make sure we stay that way.

We are also taking precautions to make sure this does not happen again in the future.

Again we apologize and trust me, we are working as hard as we can to make things right. My boss has lost the few strands of hair he had left!
Please accept our sincere apologies.

Pam, Rusty, Mary and the entire uscity.net team

Happy Father's Day

To anyone who has been like a Father to someone in their lives. We wish you a very special day!

Kid Rock Plays His Hometown

Kid Rock has made a not particularly well-kept secret official, announcing a hometown concert for Aug. 12 at Detroit's Comerica Park.

Sammy Hagar & the Wabos will open the show, with tickets being sold here. Tickets will not be sold via TicketMaster. There will be a VIP package that includes a limited edition Kid Rock Detroit Tigers jersey.

Rock played two sold-out shows at Comerica Park in July 2009. This marks his second area stadium show of the year, having celebrated his 40th birthday in January at Ford Field.

Rock teased the Comerica show on his official website last week, writing that he was "looking forward to spending some time at Comerica Park this summer!!...and I'm not just talking about watchin' the Tigers play!!"

The Comerica stand was expected to coincide with the taping of a Comedy Central roast at the Fox Theatre, but sources say that's been called off due to logistical reasons.

Wicked the Musical Coming to Alabama

Winner of 35 major awards, including the Grammy and Tony, WICKED, THE MUSICAL is the untold story of the witches of OZ before Dorothy drops in – the story of the Glenda the Good Witch and Wicked Witch of the West.

You can see this fantastic play while in NY and now in Birmingham, Alabama! Click Here For Tickets


If WICKED isn’t your cup of tea, check out these other Broadway offerings:

Anything Goes
Arcadia
Baby It's You!
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Billy Elliot
Catch Me If You Can
Chicago - The Musical
Full Monty
Ghetto Klown
Hair
Jersey Boys
Les Miserables
Lion King
Love, Loss and What I Wore
Mamma Mia!
Mary Poppins
Master Class
Memphis - The Musical
Million Dollar Quartet
Phantom of the Opera
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
Rain - A Tribute To The Beatles
Ring Of Fire
Rock Of Ages
Sister Act
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Steel Magnolias - The Play
The Addams Family
The Book Of Mormon
The Importance Of Being Earnest
The Mother****** With The Hat
The Mountaintop
War Horse

Thank You To Our Military

Let us not forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice... and their families today. Remember that because of them, we can enjoy today and every day. Please take a few moments today to reflect on what it means to be free and what has been sacrificed so that we may remain free. Thank you to all of the military from the uscity.net family.

NFL Football Tickets Here Now!!!

Who will it be in Super Bowl XLVI. My friend, Carol, assures me that the Philadelphia Eagles are going to be there. But it looks like the Eagles have a tough schedule in 2011.

As a matter of fact, the entire NFC East looks like it will be providing lots of entertainment when the 2011 season comes around.

For a list of the NFL schedules, click here.

To get your NFL tickets now, click here.

Rod Stewart in Vegas!

I first heard Rod Stewart when he was singing for with Jeff Beck - two absolutely fantastic musicians. (Rumor has it that he and Beck are going to do a blues album which makes me ecstatic!) I am a big fan of this raspy voiced singer.

For those of you on the west coast or heading to Las Vegas -- the good news is that the man James Brown dubbed 'the best White Soul Singer', Rod Stewart will have a standing 2-year gig at the Caesars Palace’s Colosseum starting Aug. 24.

Stewart says “I get to fly in, do a great 90-minute show, and get home,” he says. “It’s a tremendous way to make a shilling.” Although I thought he had moved back to England for good, it seems maybe the US will get lucky and have a couple of more years with Rod on our soil.

Click here for ticket info! Sure wish I was going....

My Mother Kept a Garden

My Mother kept a garden,
a garden of the heart,
She planted all the good things
that gave my life it's start.
She turned me to the sunshine
and encouraged me to dream,
Fostering and nurturing
the seeds of self-esteem...
And when the winds and rain came,
she protected me enough-
But not too much because she knew
I'd need to stand up strong and tough.
Her constant good example
always taught me right from wrong-
Markers for my pathway
that will last a lifetime long.
I am my Mother's garden.
I am her legacy-
And I hope today she feels the love
reflected back from me

HAPPY EASTER FROM ALL OF HERE AT USCITY.NET

Elton John is Coming Back to the Palace!

Click here for tickets.
After wrapping his US tour this month and spending the summer overseas, Elton John is returning to the Las Vegas Strip for a three-year run at Caesars Palace. The five-time Grammy winner announced Monday he'll return with his "Million Dollar Piano" show to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas starting in September.

Elton and the band will return to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with an all-new show, The Million Dollar Piano, beginning on September 28, for sixteen shows. Elton's September return will mark the beginning of a three-year residency at The Colosseum, and his second as a Caesars Palace headliner.

He completed his first run at Caesars Palace in April 2009. "The Red Piano" was originally slated to run for three years, but was extended to a five-year run because of audience demand. John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

"Caesars Palace is just a perfect, idyllic place to play, and the show will be a gargantuan feast of music and imagery," said Elton. "I'm going to have a fabulous piano that Yamaha has been working on for four years, and that's the reason why the show is called 'The Million Dollar Piano.'"

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter... E E. Cummings

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL!!

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Aid for Japan - Links on Front Pages

Most of the people directly affected by Japan's earthquake and tsunami are not as concerned as we are with the nuclear fallout. After seeing and living through the earthquake and/or tsunami, with no home, no medicine and little or no water and/or food, they need aid and they need it quick. Most recently freezing wind, snow and hail storms are coming down and the need for fuel, blankets, food and water are urgent.

At least eight refineries have been damaged, as well as almost a dozen ports in the northern area. Fuel trucks, food trucks and trash collecting vehicles are there, but they have no fuel to run. The lack of supplies is rippling into the interior of Japan, especially in the north. Panic buying was widespread and that didn't help matters. Stores have run out of blankets, gas cans, fuel, milk, candles, lighters, flashlights and anything else that people preparing for disaster might need.

We, here at uscity.net, have placed a link on our front page (in the upper right corner) that will lead you to Google's Crisis Response Page, where the good people at Google have assembled tons of useful information on shelters, missing persons, phone numbers, warnings, message boards and other vital information about the Japanese disaster.

We are sending prayers, positive thoughts and energy to the people affected. But they need our financial help. Please think about posting a link to one of the agencies or to the Google Crisis Response Page (which from the sites I visited, was by far the most informative and helpful) on your website's front page too.

Here's is the link:
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

April is Jam-Packed

April is jam-packed with top-notch sporting, musical and theatrical events.

MLB is in full-swing this month. The NCAA Final Four will take place at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. April also brings The Masters Golf Tournament, Wrestlemania, UFC 129 and the beginning of the NBA Playoffs.

Musicians on tour in April include Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Bob Seger, George Strait, Harry Connick Jr, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Rush, and Robert Plant.

April also features musical festivals Stagecoach and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Broadway highlights in April include the Broadway opening of the London hit Sister Act.

What Happened to Two President's Days?

I remember Februarys of my school days fondly. Just back from Christmas break and usually a short January school month, we got 2 whole days off from school. We took February 12 off for Lincoln’s Birthday and February 22 for Washington’s. And we got to make Valentine ‘mailboxes’ from shoe boxes and pass out valentines at school – that was like another day off from schoolwork. Some years, I remember Mom going out to buy new sheets at the great “White Sales”.

And, to top it off, how cool it was to have a month go by with only 28 (or sometimes 29) days in it. I remember my Grandmother one February telling me it was her favorite month because she only had 28 days to spend her month’s money. (She and my Grandfather were retired) I guess we can look forward to Februarys in the future if our pensions and social security hold out...

So, how did we get around to only one holiday, always on a Monday and calling it “President’s Day”? I poked around and think I got it figured out.

Things changed in 1968 when Congress decided to create a system of federal holidays that would all fall on a Monday. The law took effect in 1971. Washington’s Birthday would now be celebrated on the third Monday in February. Congress also tried to change the public holiday to "Presidents' Day", but this never made it into law.

"It was the collective judgment of the Committee on the Judiciary," stated Mr. William Moore McCulloch (R-Ohio) "that this would be unwise.
Certainly, not all Presidents are held in the same high esteem as the Father of our Country. There are many who are not inclined to pay their respects to certain Presidents. Moreover, it is probable that the members of one political party would not relish honoring a President from the other political party whether he was in office, no matter how outstanding history may find his leadership."

Well, I gotta agree with that statement!

The term Presidents' Day is now more commonly used, I assume mostly for marketing purposes. Even though most states with individual holidays honoring Washington and Lincoln shifted their state recognition date of Washington's Birthday to correspond to the third Monday in February, some states, including California, Idaho, Tennessee, Texas and others, chose not to retain the federal holiday title and renamed their state holiday "President's Day”.

So whatever and whenever you celebrate have a Fantastic February!

What Makes Your Valentine's Day Happy?

Chocolates, flowers, romantic dinners, cards - what makes your Valentine's Day special?
There will be about 190 million exchanges of Valentines this year. The southern Maryland Loveville (yep, it's a real town) post office, a popular location for sending Valentines, gets over 100 extra pieces of mail a day in early February. Oops, forgot to buy a card until the last minute, just send an e-card - instant thoughtfulness...

Having a romantic dinner is one of my favorites, but my Valentine and I usually avoid the Februrary 14 crowds and just celebrate it on another night. Here are some great restaurants in California to choose from.

Personally, I like to unplug for a few hours with my husband - turn down the lights, turn off the TV, cell phones, and computers – and then just be with each other.

And I love getting chocolates -- so many to choose from.

A lot of roses go out on Valentine's Day, but all flowers are appreciated. And, you don't have to be someone's lover to send them a rose. Different colors mean different things:

Send someone red roses to say “I love you madly, passionately and deeply!!” The demand for red roses in February makes them more expensive in February.

Yellow roses express friendship and freedom or congratulations to newlyweds, graduates, Texans, and new mothers.

Pink roses are for gratitude, joy, fun, happiness and the fight against breast cancer.

And here's a really good one - Lilac roses; they mean that you have fallen in love at first sight with the recipient and that you are captivated.

Pure white roses stand for truth and innocence. Send them to the heavenly someone you love.

Peach roses speak of appreciation and gratitude and coral roses express desire.

Whatever you do, whether it is with someone you love, a friend, a family member or yourself, we at uscity.net wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Free Trip Cancellation - GO CARDS

It's been a rough couple of weeks of winter weather to kick off 2011. It's been reported that the latest storm spanned 2,100 miles, 20 states and 200 million people. That's a lot of unexpected travel delays and trip cancellations!

To weather the storms for the remainder of the season, Smart Destinations is offering you the ability the travel worry-free--in the form of free Trip Protection. This month's affiliate-exclusive coupon code is good for up to four free Trip Protection vouchers with each purchase.

With Smart Destinations Trip Protection for your GO CARDS (one voucher per card), a customer may return their unused cards at any time and receive a refund (less shipping) with no questions asked! That's up to a $20 value. Customers simply add the vouchers to their cart purchase and enter coupon code WORRYFREEWINTER during the check-out process.

Smart Destinations Go-Cards are a great value, so many attractions to see at each destination are discounted, saving you lots of $$$.

From Seattle to Miami and from Toronto to Oahu, check out the city destinations and all the discounts you can rack up. Just click anywhere on this posting.

Hurry, the free trip cancellation ends March 1

Our First Winner

Congrats to Ed of Louisville! He won our first Amazon Gift Card in the Late January Sweepstakes! Our Sweetheart Sweepstakes is going on now - so sign up, no worries about selling or sharing emails - I can definitely vouch for that. Good luck and thanks to Ed for saying we made his day because that made ours!

Sweetheart Sweepstakes!

My Dad's Florsheim Shoes

This week I came across the Florsheim Shoes website in our uscity.net directory. When I saw it, I was flooded with memories of polishing my Dad's shoes. He had two pairs of Florsheims (one brown and one black), I think one had a brass buckle on it and those were his dress shoes. I remember them fondly, and he took great care of them. They were stored on those wooden shoe boots and were polished every Saturday night for Sunday at church. I was honored when he finally let me do it for him. I got his polishing kit out, cleaned them, polished them and then buffed them out (buffing was my favorite part).

Florsheim Shoes has been around since 1892, and is still a leading men’s dress and casual footwear brand.

So, if you're in the market for a good quality, long-lasting shoe, check this site out - Florshiem -

And, as an added plus, you can take $20 off orders over $100 using this code: Link20 and you also get free shipping with a $100 online purchase.

Wish my Dad was around -- I would love to buy him a new pair of Florsheims!

New Hair Loss Category

Since the Bible story of Samson and Delilah men seem to becoming more aware of losing hair. Long ago, people thought that the more hair a man had, the stronger and more attractive he was. Although we've come a long way, hair loss can be upsetting to some.

Not everyone feels this way, remember the Coneheads from Saturday Night Live? Beldaar's totally bald cone was a real turn-on to Prymaate!

I think most hair loss is hereditary, but other factors could be the environment, stress, genes, thyroid disease, poor diet, ponytails, braids and hair dyes. As you can see, thinning hair occurs for many reasons. It usually takes a complete and thorough examination by a physician to find out why you are losing your hair.

There are so many different treatments out there, that we decided to make a new category just for Hair Loss - and it's not just for men, but women too.

If you are looking for a way to grow that hair back, we hope our new category helps.

There's one in every state and if you know of any local businesses that treat hair loss, please let them know about our latest news here at uscity.net.

Win an Amazon Gift Card

We are starting a twice monthly sweepstakes, you don't have to do anything but sign up and you just might win!

Our late January sweepstake is good until January 31st, 2011 - http://contest.uscity.net/

And I know for a fact that your email will not be sold or given away. Only those who choose to hear from us by checking a box will receive any emails from us... unless you are the WINNER!

GOOD LUCK!

Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere

The following is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader. King wrote the letter from the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was confined after being arrested for his part in the Birmingham campaign, a planned non-violent protest conducted by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference against racial segregation by Birmingham's city government and downtown retailers.

The letter below is in response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963, titled "A Call For Unity". The clergymen wrote in an open letter that although social injustices existed, the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts, not in the streets. King responded that without nonviolent forceful direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved. As he put it, "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'" He asserted that not only was civil disobedience justified in the face of unjust laws, but that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL:

16 April 1963
My Dear Fellow Clergymen:
While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an
organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Frequently we share staff, educational and financial resources with our affiliates. Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.

But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.



You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.

Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants--for example, to remove the stores' humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, briefly removed, returned; the others remained. As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. Mindful of the difficulties involved, we decided to undertake a process of self purification. We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: "Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?" "Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?" We decided to schedule our direct action program for the Easter season, realizing that except for Christmas, this is the main shopping period of the year. Knowing that a strong economic-withdrawal program would be the by product of direct action, we felt that this would be the best time to bring pressure to bear on the merchants for the needed change.

Then it occurred to us that Birmingham's mayoral election was coming up in March, and we speedily decided to postpone action until after election day. When we discovered that the Commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor, had piled up enough votes to be in the run off, we decided again to postpone action until the day after the run off so that the demonstrations could not be used to cloud the issues. Like many others, we waited to see Mr. Connor defeated, and to this end we endured postponement after postponement. Having aided in this community need, we felt that our direct action program could be delayed no longer.

You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. I therefore concur with you in your call for negotiation. Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.

One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. Some have asked: "Why didn't you give the new city administration time to act?" The only answer that I can give to this query is that the new Birmingham administration must be prodded about as much as the outgoing one, before it will act. We are sadly mistaken if we feel that the election of Albert Boutwell as mayor will bring the millennium to Birmingham. While Mr. Boutwell is a much more gentle person than Mr. Connor, they are both segregationists, dedicated to maintenance of the status quo. I have hope that Mr. Boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. But he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?

Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.

I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out. In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.

In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence. Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber. I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for freedom. I have just received a letter from a white brother in Texas. He writes: "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great a religious hurry. It has taken Christianity almost two thousand years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth." Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time, from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. At first I was rather disappointed that fellow clergymen would see my nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist. I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self respect and a sense of "somebodiness" that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro's frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible "devil."

I have tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of nonviolence became an integral part of our struggle. If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood. And I am further convinced that if our white brothers dismiss as "rabble rousers" and "outside agitators" those of us who employ nonviolent direct action, and if they refuse to support our nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and despair, seek solace and security in black nationalist ideologies--a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare.

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers in the South have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it. They are still all too few in quantity, but they are big in quality. Some -such as Ralph McGill, Lillian Smith, Harry Golden, James McBride Dabbs, Ann Braden and Sarah Patton Boyle--have written about our struggle in eloquent and prophetic terms. Others have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy, roach infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of policemen who view them as "dirty nigger-lovers." Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. Let me take note of my other major disappointment. I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. Of course, there are some notable exceptions. I am not unmindful of the fact that each of you has taken some significant stands on this issue. I commend you, Reverend Stallings, for your Christian stand on this past Sunday, in welcoming Negroes to your worship service on a nonsegregated basis. I commend the Catholic leaders of this state for integrating Spring Hill College several years ago.

But despite these notable exceptions, I must honestly reiterate that I have been disappointed with the church. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.

In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with the hope that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and, with deep moral concern, would serve as the channel through which our just grievances could reach the power structure. I had hoped that each of you would understand. But again I have been disappointed.

I have heard numerous southern religious leaders admonish their worshipers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers declare: "Follow this decree because integration is morally right and because the Negro is your brother." In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"

Yes, these questions are still in my mind. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "order" and "preventing violence." I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls; if you were to see them slap and kick old Negro men and young boys; if you were to observe them, as they did on two occasions, refuse to give us food because we wanted to sing our grace together. I cannot join you in your praise of the Birmingham police department.

It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather "nonviolently" in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Perhaps Mr. Connor and his policemen have been rather nonviolent in public, as was Chief Pritchett in Albany, Georgia, but they have used the moral means of nonviolence to maintain the immoral end of racial injustice. As T. S. Eliot has said: "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason."

I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?

If I have said anything in this letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates the truth and indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me.

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Published in:
King, Martin Luther Jr.