June 9, 2010
'rhl jJortlanh (Observer
O pinion
Page 15
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A small distance/travel charge
may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Woolf.
$40.00 Minimum
On the Wrong Side of History
Tea Party Republican lost moral authority
"I am, therefore, asking the Congress to enact legislation giving all Americans the right
to be served in facilities which are open to the public — hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail
stores, and similar establishments. This seems to me to be an elementary right," - President
John F. Kennedy, June 11, 1963
by
M arc H. M orial
This past Memorial
D ay, th e n a tio n
paused to remember
the hundreds o f thou­
sands o f A m erican
so ld iers w ho have
fought and died in
wars so that all o f us could live free.
One o f the saddest ironies o f
Am erican history is the fact that
in spite o f slavery and racism ,
African A m ericans have given the
last full m easure o f their devotion
in every arm ed conflict since the
Revolutionary War. That extraor­
dinary patriotism , coupled with
the civil rights leadership o f Dr.
King and others, was a m ajor force
in the m ovem ent to abolish legal­
ized segregation culm inating in
the passage o f the Civil Rights
Act o f 1964. Since its passage,
hardly anyone, much less a
candidate for the United States
Senate has questioned the le­
gal and moral soundness o f
that law, until now.
Rand Paul, the Tea Party
Republican Senate nom inee
from K entucky recently m ade
it clear in a series o f m edia inter­
views that he disagrees with the
public accom m odations provision
in the Civil Rights Act on the
grounds that it intrudes on the
rights o f private business ow n­
ers.
In other words, if he had been
around to vote for the Act, he
would have joined openly racist
southern conservatives in argu­
ing that hotel, restaurant and re­
tail store owners should have the
right to bar African Am ericans
from their establishm ents. That is
protections and voting rights to
form er slaves. It took decades o f
struggle and sacrifice as well as
the Civil Rights Act o f 1964 and
the V oting Rights Act o f 1965 to
guarantee enforcem ent o f those
am endm ents. No right thinking
Am erican can seriously argue that
our nation is not better because o f
those actions.
Rand Paul can claim that his
position is rooted not in racism ,
but in the worship o f individual
rights and the free m arket. But,
society's role has alw ays been to
protect against abuses from the
free market. W hat other atrocities
w ould he allow in the name o f
private enterprise? And how does
Paul's disdain for governm ent in­
terference square with his sup­
port for a C onstitutional ban on a
w om an's right to choose?
Rand Paul may have won a pri­
m ary a few w eeks ago, but in my
view he has lost his m oral author­
ity. Clearly, he is on the wrong
side o f history.
a bizarre and retrogressive view,
m ore suited to a political cam ­
paign in 1910 than in 2010. It
reveals Paul's constitutional illit­
eracy, but even m ore troubling,
com ing on the heels o f the A ri­
zona im m igration law, it is the lat­
est exam ple o f an insidious rise in
racist thought pervading much o f
today's right-w ing politics.
I am quite frankly shocked to
hear o f anyone openly endorsing
racial discrim ination - w hether
directly or indirectly - in this day
and age. Paul's view is rooted in
his libertarian philosophy which
holds that individuals and the free
m arket should be virtually free o f
governm ent interference, regard­
less o f the consequences. That
view flies in the face o f the 14th
Marc H. Morial is president
and 15th am endm ents to the C on­ and chief executive officer o f the
stitution which extended equal National Urban League.
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109-$139
Chair or Recliner
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
%
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