V Wire

BET Talks to Prez Hopefuls in New Show, "What's in it for US?"

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:27:44 -0500

This is pretty excellent news: BET interviews the 2008 Presidential Hopefuls in series of programs called "What's in it for Us?" The first show debuts January 8 at 10 pm EST, and will feature Barack Obama in conversation with BET News Correspondent Jeff Johnson, talking about his life and views on important topics like education, the prison complex, and immigration. In the program, he tells Johnson, "I did not run for the presidency to fulfill some long-held ambition or because I believed it was somehow owed to me. I chose to run in this election - at this moment - because of what Dr. King called 'the fierce urgency of now.' Because we are at a defining moment in our history. Our time is now." Obama is kind of a head - he told VIBE he listens to and admires his Chi-city cohort Common - so he of course had some things to say about hip hop: "The thing about hip hop today is it's smart, it's insightful, and the way that they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable...I understand people want to be rooted in the community, they want to be down, but what I always say is that hip hop is not just a mirror of what is. It should also be a reflection of what can be." BET is talking to Hillary Clinton, as well, in the separate program, "What's in it for Us? Hillary Clinton and the Black Vote," which airs January 15, at 10 pm. According to a press release, "The Obama and Clinton WHAT'S IN IT FOR US? specials are the first in a series of BET News specials that will explore how life in Black America would change if a particular candidate wins in 2008." BET, make America proud.

Iowa Caucus Run-up: Obama Leads Poll

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:31:17 -0500

The Iowa Caucuses begin tomorrow - and the Des Moines Register's influential poll put Obama on top for the Democrats, and Huckabee for the Republicans. The numbers between Hillary Clinton, Obama and John Edwards are close in every state, generally with Obama or Clinton leading each poll. Today the New York Times runs a very good, very disturbing article about those Iowans who cannot caucus: soldiers stationed in Iraq, parents who work night shifts or have to stay home to care for their children - the working voters who are often hit hardest by presidential decisions. -JSHEP

Police Pepperspray NOLA Protesters Opposing Demolition of Housing Projects

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:52:23 -0500

If the government's non-handling of Hurricane Katrina's immediate aftermath is the most despicable event in modern American history, the storm's epilogue - the displacement, the diaspora, the high-end development - continues to bring shame. Most recently, cops tased and sprayed chemicals on protestors seeking to stop the demolition of low-income housing projects in the New Orleans area. The protestors had gathered in the chambers of the mostly-white city council, where the council was expected to vote to tear down the projects. Demolition of projects the city calls damaged is a hot button issue, especially with a displaced, largely African American population that still hasn't been able to return home. On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senator Barack Obama beseeched George W Bush to stop the demolition; the presidential candidate wrote a letter to the President, noting, "There is no question that most displaced residents want to come back to their homes and apartments, but that is hardly possible if they return to a city with fewer affordable housing options available than it had before... No public housing should be demolished until HUD can point to an equivalent number of replacement units in the near vicinity." Kali Akuno, an organizer with the group Coalition to Stop the Demolition, told the AP the housing projects demolition "is beyond callous, and can only be seen as malicious discrimination. It is an unabashed attempt to eliminate the black population of New Orleans." -Julianne Shepherd

CLINTON'S SISTER SOULJAH GUFF, REDUX

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:21:28 -0500

Kembrew McLeod, a former music writer-turned-professor at the University of Iowa, apparently has some serious free time on his hands - and a fierce (possibly crazy) love for Sister Souljah. Yesterday, when former Prez Bill Clinton visited Des Moines, McLeod dressed up as a robot and interrupted a speech by yelling, in a robot voice, "ROBOTS OF THE WORLD WANT YOU TO APOLOGIZE TO SISTER SOULJAH." (Watch video here.) Word to dude for his righteousness - his website explains why he did it, dating back to Clinton's self-serving mischaracterization of Souljah's comments on the Rodney King case in 1992. But we can't help but wondering if all the time spent sewing the tinfoil robot suit might have been better directed to, say, writing books or letters or activism? Apparently, Clinton thought the same thing. Watch below for his response:
- JSHEP

MORE OBAMA LOVE FROM CHI-CITY RAPPERS

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:34:11 -0500

Common dropped his name in a track; Oprah may hate rap but has been stumping for her fellow Chicagoan Barack; Twista publicly rides for the man. And now? Two more Chi-town rap groups get set to Barack & roll. Kidz in the Hall cut prObama track for B-Rock (click here to listen); Cool Kids lamp with the Senator in Chi-town.

Obama luv da Cool Kids. (Read VIBE's interview with the Chicago rappers from back in October.)
Watch Kidz' Naledge talk about the Obama track.

-JSHEP

Supreme Court Cuts Down on Crack Sentences

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:51:37 -0500

The Supreme Court voted today to reduce prison terms for crimes related to crack cocaine, ending a decade-long, blind disparity between crack and cocaine prison sentence terms that have disproportionately affected African American communities for much of the drug war. According to the New York Times, SEVENTY PERCENT of crack defendants get hit with mandatory prison sentences, disproportionately affecting black men. As Larry Schwartztol wrote last year in Slate.com:

In federal court, crack offenses generate sentences 100 times greater than comparable powder-cocaine crimes.... Federal judges have long blasted the 100-to-1 ratio for punishing street-corner crack peddlers more harshly than major powder traffickers. But the biggest judicial gripe has been that the disproportionate penalties treat African-Americans unfairly. Blacks account for 80 to 90 percent of defendants convicted of crack offenses; whites and Hispanics for more than 70 percent of powder offenders. In 1992, one federal appellate judge said that the 100-to-1 ratio "makes the war on drugs look like a 'war on minorities.' "

This paves the way for a plan by the US Sentencing Commision to retroactively reduce crack-related sentences to November 1, affecting thousands of inmates across the US. For more info, the Drug Policy Alliance is a great resource. -Julianne Shepherd

SCARY SOUTH CAROLINAN LADY SPITS B-WORD TO SEN. MCCAIN

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:45:33 -0500

At a Republican forum in South Carolina, a woman from Hilton Head posed the following question to Senator John McCain regarding Democratic nominee, Senator Hilary Clinton: "How do we beat the bitch?" The Senator laughs, turns red and asks, "That's an excellent question." In the words of Keyshia Cole - who, in an interview with VWIRE months ago, declined to say who she was voting for, but expressed interest in Ms. Clinton - I JUST WANT IT TO BE OVER. -JSHEP Watch:

Rap Star T.I. (or was it T.I.P.?) Arrested (UPDATE)

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:08:29 -0500

Linda Hobbs reports. Rapper T.I. has been charged with possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, after being arrested Saturday by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives law enforcement agency right before he was to take the stage at the BET Awards. According to the AP, T.I., real name Clifford Harris Jr., was in the process of picking up silencers and machine guns purchased by his bodyguard in the parking lot of a shopping center, when he was busted by law enforcement. Later that day, federal agents found three firearms, one loaded, in the rapper's vehicle. They also found six guns in his East Point home. An investigation of the rapper started this month, where the rapper was accused of attempting to buy weapons from an ATF undercover agent. The AP reports, that T.I.'s bodyguard admitted to purchasing nine weapons on behalf of the rapper, since T.I., a convicted felon, couldn't purchase them on his own. Doing such is against federal law. The rapper was caught and arrested outside a Walgreens store on Piedmont Ave., down the street from Atlanta’s Civic Center in a busy section of Midtown. The manager of the Walgreen’s confirmed that there was an arrest that occurred, but had no details concerning the arrest. According to Atlanta’s hip hop and R&B station, Hot 107.9, where callers called in the day of the arrest with suspicions, it was reported that the rapper was allegedly arrested alongside his long-time girlfriend and baby’s mother Tiny, real name Tameka Cottle, from the former 90s R&B girl group Xscape. T.I. released his fifth album, T.I. vs. T.I.P. this year, and is set to appear in the Ridley Scott film "American Gangster" out this November. He was nominated this year for nine BET Awards. Currently, the rapper remains in federal custody. VIBE will continue to follow the story as it develops. -Linda Hobbs

FOX'S JOHN GIBSON: GAS FACE AND A PINK SLIP

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:24:34 -0500

On Wednesday, a Fox News radio commentator made racist comments about the teen killer at a Cleveland high school, saying he presumed the shooter was African American until he learned the shooter killed himself. He went on to justify his twisted logic by - what else - stereotyping hip hop. "Hip-hoppers do not kill themselves," he said. "They walk away. Now, I didn't need to hear the kid was white with blond hair. Once he'd shot himself in the head, no hip-hopper." Gibson then tried to pull the victimized reverse-racism card on a caller who identified himself as black. Seriously?! Disgusting like Imus. Boycott Fox (if you weren't already) until they serve him his walking papers. (Thanks to Huny for the link.) -JSHEP

NOW LET'S GO CHANGE THE WORLD. Obama Rally, NYC, 9.27.07.

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:09:24 -0500

The Obama campaign is reporting that close to 25,000 supporters showed up for the rally in NYC's Washington Square Park last Thursday. Who knows about 25,000 - a throng of people couldn't make it in to the fenced-off, giant city block park for its full perimeter - but it was certainly packed, with enraptured folk holding a sea of blue placards bearing the sunrise "O" that's become the Senator's logo. Some held up the September issue of VIBE, with B-Rock on the cover - a few dudes near the press box chanted, "VIBE with Obama!" Take note, at least some of the hip hop generation supports. Washington Square Park is smack dab in the middle of New York University, and the kind of place you can cop schwag from crusty fellas [not that we do] or listen to dudes busk jazz on saxes, or watch freshman alternately smoke and make out - in other words, a historic congregation spot, and a perfect place for the Obama rally. The college kids, or kids who look collegiate with backpacks and fresh faces, are out in droves. Older folks too. Press are interviewing cheeky young Democrats about their organizational skills, while live flamenco guitar tears through the speakers. Secret service stand atop buildings all around. Jeffrey Wright, the actor we love to love, intros Obama. He describes the first time he met B-Rock: "You could see a new future was coming. The change was coming... something necessary and needed in America could be embodied by this man." That Senator Obama's supporters are prone to passion speaks both to the man's star power and the dearth of leadership our country has felt for so long. Next, freestyle champ Jin, aka "Obama's top friend on myspace," takes the stage to rap his Obama joint. He's wearing grey AF1 hightops and the same shirt he's wearing in his myspace profile pic. Kids are chanting, "Take it to the polls" and it's aigghhht. I text my friend, VIBE scribe and supergenius Chris, that "JIN IS HERE!" Chris texts back, "He's gonna serve Barack. Wonder if he'll 'go there' and big up goat farming." I have no idea what this means. Jin is done, the sun is setting and it's time for B-Rock to come on. His chosen grand entrance song: "Touch the Sky" by fellow Chi-city killa Kanye West. It's a hot look. The crowd is bananas, the horn section echoes across the Westsiiiiidddde, 'Ye's yelling "We on top of the world baby! WE ON TOP OF THE WORLD" and Obama is beaming, his shirtsleeves rolled up, shaking hands with audiences, before commanding the mic like a hip hop legend. He began by thanking the volunteers and talking about kicking it in Washington Square Park when he was in college - "I know some of the bars around here," he quipped. Someone shouted "I love you" from the crowd and he shouted, "I love you back," R&B man style, and acknowledged that his supporters that day came from "Every walk of life: young and old; poor and not so poor; black, white, Hispanic, Asian; gay and straight; Democrats, independents and Republicans. It tells me that the American people are not the problem; the American people are the answer." Even if you're not voting for him, you can't deny he's a compelling, passionate speaker with the know-how to motivate and unite a crowd. At the same time, his presence is real regular - laidback, a joke here and there, even self-deprecating jokes. He name checks the important issues: Katrina first, then Iraq, followed by an indictment of Bush and Cheney: "The system is not working for us. The game is rigged. The stakes are too high to play the same partisan games over and over again." He shouts out the White Sox, talks nationalizing health care - says that health care industry is run by drug companies and insurance companies, and it's time we "end that kinda business in Washington." He goes at Cheney again for his entanglements with big oil and says, "Power doesn't always have to trump principle." He talks curbing global warming, fixing public education, making college affordable and accessible, raising the minimum wage to a "living wage," stopping the corporate / rich people tax breaks, reducing mandatory minimum sentences - never in all my life have i heard a mainstream political candidate utter the words "prison industrial complex" - and bringing all combat troops home by March 30 of next year, to end the war in Iraq. About the only thing he doesn't hit on is immigration, presumably because it's not a hot-button issue in NYC (which is untrue, as anyone who came out to the immigration protests last spring can attest to). As a second-generation Mexican-American, and a fierce supporter of immigrant rights, this was disappointing. Essentially, his speech was the kind of thing you can hear on any of 10,000 Democratic debates every night, said in an inspirational format, and funny (the other candidates, as far as I can tell, are not funny, except when they are being unintentionally so). But the difference was the end, the note he left on: "Change happens from the bottom up.... Now let's go change the world." Whether you support him or not, the man has a point. As the Jena protests proved - with Mychael Bell finally, belatedly freed. (Read Obama's Jena 6 comments here.) Glad I went, amped and ready to go. -Julianne Shepherd

AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE, THE PEOPLE: Highlights from the march in Jena

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:16:43 -0500

words and photos by VIBE.com guest blogger Cecilia A. West
Hi Everyone- I wanted to share some of the highlights of my trip. I cannot find my camera bag so I can't get to my cords right now but I took a ton of REALLY good pictures. I am still in a state of bliss that leaves me speechless. At the age of 24 to have participated and witnessed such an event; I am both humble and thankful for the experience and I want to share some highlights with you all.
Well I left from Atlanta, GA by bus in my black ready for whatever!! (I was in my Ride or Die mode.) The parking lot was filled with a plethora of beautiful rich black skin. When I linked up with my sorors that were going- we got on the bus and as we were loading up, “Family Reunion” by Gerald Levert was playing - that set the tone for our trip - and we are all fellowshipping, moving to the beat, and ready to make our mark in history.
--> Random Highlights<-- 1. Yesterday the radio was playing while we were getting ourselves together for the march and beginning of the movement. We were listening to the Tony somebody Show and he said that Mychael Bell was listening to the radio and could hear u,s so of course we got a little moved but silent, so we could hear everything and the impact we were making. So the radio DJ was talking and so forth and why did he play “Life” by KC & JoJo!! (Uhh, No!!) And after that he played the O’Jays “We Cry Together” (no break at all) I was just waiting for him to play Sam Cooke so I could flood out the bus with my tears.
2. Once we rode into Jena we could sense the city’s vibe. It was abandoned like no one lived there… we expected that much since on the radio they referred to this as “The Black Out.” On store doors there were signs that read “Gone Fishing” and things like that of course we didn’t mind bc they DIDN’T getting a cent out of us (period point blank comma)!!! At one point we were told our buses couldn't move, so we decided to walk to Jena. After about 15 minutes into our walk, they tried to issue tickets if we didn’t get back on our bus. We just kept walking to Jena.
3. CNN was on the bus with us for the first part of our trip interviewing people, asking why they wanted to go to Jena. During this older woman’s interview on my bus, she simply answered with “These are my children,” and that was it. (touching)
4. A male and female DJ was standing on top of a truck with microphones doing a city roll call and then the man said to the black men: turn and face a black woman in the crowd and they did so. Then he said tell her we need you and they did that and repeated it some odd # of times. Then the woman got on the microphone and told us to look at our black brothers and do the same. That was one of the unforgettable moments for me.
5. OK, one of the really random stories was, we stopped at this gas station to fill-her-up and the store looked open but it wasn't. But we saw these trucks, so we pulled up at the station to find out if we could pump gas and our driver walked over and asked if they closed or open… and the guy replied, “Well, we are closed! Cause of all this b*ll s*it that’s going on today.” (That was verbatim and no comment.)
6. There was this couple I met there with their children that had traveled from Chicago. Their three kids were just screaming their little heads off and jumping up and down waving signs in the air in their Free Jena 6 shirts, and they had on little black power pins, and it was the cutest thing. 7. We found out as we were leaving that the Po-Po set out speed traps. It was a little questionable about it since we were moving inch by inch but let's just say they found a way to meet their quota for the year. 8. I also got a picture of where the tree was - we all know they dug the tree up (roots and all) but we all know that the tree wasn’t the problem… 9. I forget his name (baxter?) but the young boy that was beaten up and then pressed charges - yesterday, he wanted to speak to us and the media and tell his side of the story - that we were looking at it one way. “I’m the one that got beaten up.” (Interesting; again, no comment.)
I wish you all could have been there; it was beautiful. As far as the eye could see, there was The People. I was overjoyed beyond mere words!! A lot of organizations that have impacted our society’s history was in attendance - NAACP, Greek orgs, SCLC, The New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, HBCUs, and so many more - I’d better stop before I leave someone out - marching together, chanting No Justice No Peace, or Free Jena 6 or singing an old Negro spiritual (Ricky Smiley led the song.) The creativity level was off the chart. The shirts said it all- black power shirts, Huey Newton, flags, hero shirts - a couple that caught my eye were of Marcus Garvey and of Fred Hampton. I saw a shirt that said “reNew Orleans” and another that said “Make Levees Not War." Being there just felt right.

Our bus had one of the best conversations I’ve been in on the way back… we just let it all out, and it came from different perspectives and that’s what opens our eyes to what we think we could deal with and what we couldn’t and our mentality and judgment towards each other. It was really in-depth, from slave trade, Willie Lynch letters, integration to immigration, the black family’s role, field/house just to name a few. I can’t help but think about the 300 people that have to deal with it everyday- we went, we saw, we conquered, but they see and live it. I am just thinking about the tension they face now after yesterday’s events. There was an estimated 50k in attendance- no accidents, no violence, no arrests. Thank God!!
OH!! A quick one for my sorors- On our trip there was this older lady telling stories about when they marched for miles back in the day and they marched in heels (ummm... impressive). She had these long corn rolls and she was a really soft-spoken woman so how about I noticed that she had a little p&g charm necklace (along with about four other necklaces lol) and to anyone greek you know after a couple of years in the sorority you can feel "that vibe" so I asked her did she pledge anything while in school and she smiled and said "Yes. Talladega College- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority- Chi Chapter. And you?" so I was like speechless so I gave her my info and she winked at me and said she already knew I was a soror. :) How special is that. *tear*
Young, Gifted & Black, Cecilia

Mike check, one-two

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:21:12 -0500

Photo of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by uberzombie under Creative Commons license All eyes may have eased away from New York City's mayor after he told reporters today that he'll stay in office through 2009, but yesterday's announcement that he's left the Republican Party and registered as an independent (not to mention the post-partisan stance in this week's University of Southern California speech) still changes the game for 2008 and beyond. Running wouldn't be easy. It's a strange, twisted media landscape that doesn't guarantee a spot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a man with at least $500 million to burn, but that's where things stand now. Consider Tom Raum's take in the Associated Press: "A recent nationwide survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that, while the New York mayor is relatively well-known, his appeal is very modest. While almost two-thirds of American voters know who Bloomberg is, only 9 percent of those who have heard of him said there's a good chance they'd vote for him. Another 23 percent said there was some chance, but more than half of American voters said there's no chance Bloomberg would get their vote." Of course, New Yorkers probably know him best right now. What say you, Empire Staters? Based on what you've seen, would you like him to stay put or start to steppin'?

No liberty for Libby

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:06:57 -0500

A federal judge's order for a former vice presidential chief of staff has just made life a little bit more complicated for the Bush administration, which up to now has been having it pretty easy. *wink* The Washington Post's got the gist: ex-Cheney aide I. Lewis Libby, sentenced earlier this month for perjury in the CIA-agent identity leak case, gets to appeal his conviction all he wants -- just not walking around like a free man. In six to eight weeks, Libby should begin to find bars materializing outside his windows and locks not under his control affecting the doors where he lives. It'll be just like a college dorm, except, you know, not. So maybe it's pardon time? "By ordering Libby to begin serving his term as soon as federal authorities select a prison, Walton added to pressure on President Bush to consider whether to pardon Libby--a delicate decision that White House aides had hoped to avoid as long as possible," the Post says. "Unless (Judge Reggie B.) Walton's decision is overturned swiftly by a higher court, Bush will have to choose between allowing a key architect of his administration to go to prison and the political consequences of pardoning a convicted felon. The decision is further complicated by the Libby case's roots in the Iraq war, the issue that has badly eroded Bush's standing with the public." The Hill, which notes that any appeal would not have been heard before December, adds this chilly bit: "Last week, the court released more than 100 letters of support for Libby, including pleas for leniency from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. Peter Pace and outgoing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. Notably absent from the long list of impressively credentialed supporters was Cheney, who issued a statement last week expressing sorrow for Libby and his family." Flickr photo by Andrew Mason under Creative Commons license

Missing Yolanda

Wed, 16 May 2007 19:06:37 -0500

Though the first-born child of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King has passed, her ideas and ideals live on. Beyond the obituary and other news accounts, I'm finding it useful and productive to look around the Web and acquaint myself more closely with Yolanda King's journey -- the ways in which she distinguished herself, distinctly different from her famous father as well as her mother, Coretta Scott King, whom ovarian cancer claimed a year ago. One story that caught my eye was Ernie Suggs' Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, which says her passing "presumably breaks a stalemate among the four children over whether the King Center on Auburn Avenue should be sold to the the National Park Service. The Park Service operates the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which includes King's birth home and virtually surrounds the King Center. In 2005, Yolanda King and brother Dexter voted in favor of pursuing the sale. Martin Luther King III and Bernice King vowed to fight the sale. Martin Luther King III said at the time that he had been removed as chief executive officer and Bernice removed as secretary of the board of directors by a board he says was appointed by Dexter King, the board chairman." Pam Spaulding, one of the baddest bloggers around of any color, has an interesting link about King's non-traditional spiritual journey. (You'll have to look for it below the not-so-surprising news that followers of Rev. Fred Phelps -- more about him here -- are reportedly planning to picket the funeral of Rev. Jerry Falwell.) [...] “I understand that people would look to me to pick up the torch and run with it,” King says. “And to some extent I have done that, but in my own way.” Photo by tyreseus under Creative Commons license

Falwell's farewell

Tue, 15 May 2007 19:10:37 -0500

One of the more controversial Christian evangelists of his time died just before noon today in Lynchburg, Virginia. Aides at Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University campus found him unconscious in his office and rushed him to a hospital, but were unable to resuscitate him. Below is a clip of Roland S. Martin, former Chicago Defender editor and current blogger and spokesperson for CNN and TV One, talking early last month with Falwell on CNN during its "What Would Jesus Really Do" special. FALWELL: Well, I -- I researched that, by the way. I was, when I first saw it in the press, taken aback. Dr. Dobson is a great man of God, and I thought there had to be two sides to it. That was taken out of context. And he did not question the realness of Fred Thompson's faith. I happen to know Fred Thompson. And I have met him. And I do believe he's a man of faith. And, as far as Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani, both of whom have been through two divorces, we certainly preach for and reach out for the -- that which is the ideal. But this is not an ideal world, and we're not going to elect a Sunday school teacher to run the presidency. (CROSSTALK) MARTIN: Well, actually, we did. We did at one time, Jimmy Carter. FALWELL: Well, yes, and he was the worst we have had in 40 years. But... (LAUGHTER) FALWELL: Go ahead. MARTIN: Let me ask you this. Is there a Christian litmus test for a presidential candidate? Should we be basing our choice on where they stand on faith? FALWELL: Well, I can -- yes, I think that the ideal is that we would have a man or a woman of faith who also is right on the moral issues. But I have known many women of faith who didn't have a clue regarding national security, didn't have a clue about how to deal with terrorism, had no idea about how to change the federal courts and to defend the unborn. And, so, it's like this. I would rather have an atheist who is a neurosurgeon of excellent talents operating on me if I ever need a brain surgery, than to have the best Sunday school teacher in the world who doesn't know a thing about it. I would much rather have the atheist, if that is his specialty. We have got to elect a president who, whether he or she goes to church, or which church, or whatever, understands the issues. And the top issue today in our culture is survival. Right now, the war against terror and Islamic terrorism, it is the most dangerous time I have known in my 73 years. I have lived through Hitler, Nazism, communism. This is the most dangerous time America has faced. And the next president has got to have a grip on this gravity of terrorism and the survival of the people, and has got to be willing to take the battle, whether it's to Iraq or Afghanistan, or wherever, to defend our children and children's children. MARTIN: I got to agree. If I'm on the emergency table, you're right. If it's an atheist who is cutting me, that's fine, as long as you're good. (LAUGHTER) MARTIN: Reverend Jerry Falwell, I certainly appreciate it. Thanks for joining us. FALWELL: Thank you.