SURE, MAKES SENSE TO ME

Bradley Edward Manning is the United States Army soldier who disclosed nearly three-quarters of a million classified and sensitive military and diplomatic documents. A significant portion of the material was disclosed directly to WikiLeaks and was published by them and its media partners between April and November 2010. In July of 2013 Manning was convicted by court-martial of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses. He could have received a death sentence, but was sentenced to serve a 35-year sentence at the maximum-security U.S Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth.

The former intelligence analyst's prison sentence has now been shortened to expire on May 17, 2017, according to a statement from the White House. This commutation was issued along with 208 others.

So, let’s see…President Obama, who has justifiably questioned the possible interference of Russia with our most recent election through WikiLeaks, as one of his last acts as Commander in Chief, has now commuted the sentence of Manning. Convicted of a total of 21charges of espionage and leaking secret material to WikiLeaks, he will now go free after serving 7 years of his 35-year sentence. Sure…makes sense to me.

A BEAUTIFUL DREAM

On August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech that helped transform a nation. On April 4, 1968 Dr. King paid the ultimate price for his peaceful war on hatred and segregation, being killed by a single shot from an assassin. But his vision of a different and better America for all its citizens resonated with both supporters and antagonists alike. Unmitigated truth has a way of cutting through the darkness of deception and giving strength and resolve to do what is right. The words “I have a dream” were not in his written speech, they were an ad-libbed addition from the heart. Those words rattled preconceived notions and authorized dreaming of a better nation, a better world. His poignant words ring as true today as they did that day on the Washington Mall: "It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment...And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.''' I too, have a dream…and a commitment to the its full manifestation. Thank you Dr. King for your inspiration, your example, your words and your sacrifice. This nation and this world owe you a great debt.