• We should be reminded of what Dr. King was attempting to do when he was assassinated at 48 years [sic] of age. He was trying to put poverty on the American agenda. If he could speak to us today — and he will be speaking to us on Sunday — he would tell us that we should provide people with a living wage, end the wars, bring the troops home. He would say, ‘Do not forget the least of us.’
• Rep. John Lewis • Speaking about Martin Luther King Jr. before the hurricane-delayed dedication of the civil rights leader’s memorial. Lewis knows a thing or two about all this civil rights/poverty thing, due to the fact that he marched with King in Selma, Ala. — and notably got injured in the process. (Edit: As one of our readers noted, Lewis incorrectly stated King’s age. He was 39 when he died. He gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which the dedication was originally timed to celebrate, 48 years ago.)  source

• Inside this backpack was a bomb. Not just any kind of bomb. An incredibly sophisticated bomb the likes of which law enforcement officials haven’t seen, loaded with shrapnel that was designed to hurt people. Worse, the bomb was placed in a position that was designed to attack a parade route in Spokane, Wash. The bomb was designed to be remotely controlled. And wanna know what that parade route was for? That’s right, an MLK Day parade. So why is this story getting underplayed? By, well, everybody? A few examples:

Buried a little

• CNN: Buried in a listPerhaps it hasn’t caught the full attention of the network that this might perhaps have been a huge terror attack. Ricky Gervais is in the infamous features slot. Also, the story’s short.
• MSNBC: A video teaseNot a top news item, and further down the page than CNN. Considering the nature of the attack, doesn’t this seem like underplay? But at least they have a photo of the thing, right?

Further down the list …

• Washington Post: Also buriedEven lower on the page than MSNBC, the Post’s coverage of the incident is just a link to an AP story, rather than any unique coverage from a local angle.
• 
  Fox news: also buriedSo, according to this list here, domestic terrorism ranks at a similar level as “Drug-Smuggling Pigeon Caught in Colombia.” Check. Great job.

Basically nonexistent

• WSJ: Near the bottomBelow such stories as “Is the NFL Telegraphing Drug Tests” and “Pandas Can Stay in D.C. 5 More Years” is a story about the incident. It’s short, but written by WSJ staffers.
• 
  NY Times: Hah! Yeah, it’s not hereThe Times appears not to have given the story any play on its front page at all today. You have to go all the way to the bottom of the National page to even find it. It’s also from yesterday.

• » Why this might be: We think there are a few factors at play here. First of all, since the bomb was caught before anyone was hurt, it effectively dulled its “immediate danger” factor. But the firepower of the bomb suggests a much more sinister danger and motive that should increase the story’s play, but isn’t due to its lack of obvious eye-catching imagery and clear motive. There’s a motive suggested by the situation and the nature of the bomb, but few details to back this up. The lack of details make it hard to play it up. (Even the Spokane Spokesman-Review has played it down at this point.) Finally, there has simply been a lot of news in the last two days – the health care repeal, Giffords, Joe Lieberman, Steve Jobs, etc., and it’s the kind of thing that might get buried. None of these are excuses for underplaying it, but just a thought process as to why this happened. source

• 
  One way to think of it … Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a.k.a. the guy who ticks us off with his useless quips, claims the Massachusetts senate race is a “referendum” on health care. It might just be, but what we’d like to see is a referendum on stalling tactics like Mr. McConnell’s.
• 
  … and another way On the other side of the aisle, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, who we’ve seen thus far as kind of a left-leaning screen chewer in the vein of a Fox News host, said that he’d “try to vote ten times” to keep Scott Brown from winning. Sorry, friends, but this isn’t cool, either. (Hat tip @jessehines)
• 
  Blast from the past For a little perspective on the state of talk show chatter, here’s a clip from Martin Luther King Jr.’s last interview with Meet the Press back in 1967. We’ve devolved far from this sort of televised debate. We’ve gone from this to crap like Ed Schultz’s blabbering. We’ve fallen far.

• Certainly my presence is gonna reflect him, because if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing there.
• Barack Obama • on whether Martin Luther King, Jr., will affect his inauguration speech on Tuesday, one day after MLK Day. He says that King’s influence is ingrained in him. • source