Equal Time With Martha Burk

In January we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest icons of the 20th century, known by all as the strongest advocate for equal rights for African Americans using non-violence.  King was a great man indeed, but we should also be celebrating the January birthday of a female civil rights hero who pioneered non-violence, and preceded King by half a century.

This week rings in a brand new year.  Will you whoop it up with a wee bit too much champagne, or be a good kid and celebrate at church? Chances are you won’t stray far from U.S. tradition – fireworks, the countdown, popping bubbly, or lighting a candle for good luck. Take a tour around the globe to see how other countries mark the changing of the calendar:

December is a time for celebrations, including the eight days of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, and Kwanzaa.  While Americans usually shop till they drop and exchange gifts , traditions around the world, old and new, bring a different twist to the season.

Times are tough all over, but some people are more deserving than others. Here's one that's really in a bind -- and it's someone you may know about, but if not a big surprise. Open your heart and pocketbook. 

In less than two months Joe Biden leaves the presidential stage for good.  He could go out a hero for the majority of the population with a stroke of the pen and make history in the bargain. Will he do it?

Thanksgiving is here, and once again food banks will be helping the poor with the meagerist of meals. Some of our tax money also helps out with  food stamps. But there's a surprise hidden in the rules.

November has been the month for politics in the US since 1845, when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day. But maybe there’s something mystic (or sinister) about the politics of November, judging from notable political events going WAY before 1845.  

The Civil War was hard fought on both sides. But some of the combatants were special -- in a way you wouldn't guess.

We've been inundated with words, words, and more words for months from Trump and Harris. Whose the most convincing? You decide -- your future depends on it.

It’s almost Halloween, when the creepy crawlers come out, along with ghosts, goblins, candy, tricks and treats.  Did it really start as a pagan ritual?  Yes and No.

Unless you live in a cave or under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard of Project 2025, a conservative manifesto from the Heritage Foundation outlining an ambitious agenda for a second Trump administration.  Trump claims he never heard of it, even though many of its authors came straight out of his administration when he was Prez. It’s got something for everyone. 

The U.S. has been celebrating Columbus Day since 1792, after the explorer who sailed from Spain in 1492 and supposedly "discovered America." But he never actually touched land in what is now the United States, landing in Cuba and Hispaniola, mistaking them for China and Japan.

Hispanics are being demonized and terrorized by grandstanding candidates looking to stir up trouble. But their contribution to U.S. history is robust .  (And by the way, we stole Texas from Mexico).

Women no longer have to worry about reproductive freedom -- or anything else. The problems have been solved and females are now protected.

It’s September, and school’s in in most of the U.S. Readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic as usual, but in some places a new topic will be added to the curriculum: the Bible, with all its gore and mayhem. Parents -- even some Christian ones -- are pushing back.

Abortion access has always been viewed as a woman’s problem. Men rarely talked about it, and it didn’t seem high on their political priorities. Not any more – since Trump proudly took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade with his anti-woman, anti-choice Supreme Court picks, men are paying attention – particularly in red states with the most restrictive abortion policies.  

The first (and probably only) Prez candidate debate is this week. Will both parties go by the rules? More importantly, will we learn anything we don't already know?

Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a day off for workers. Labor unions had campaigned for years to gain recognition of both the contributions and the mistreatment of workers. History is littered dirty tricks to keep unions out with bullets and billy clubs. Now it’s more genteel, but some so called "good guy companies" are still quietly (and illegally) union busting. 

Women have made steady gains in many areas since they got the right to vote in August of 1920, but there is still work to do. When elected officials refuse to back pro-woman policies, today's females should borrow a page from the suffragists and use their votes to hold them accountable.

We all know about taxes – income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, entertainment taxes – it seems like the list is endless. But there’s one tax that’s a new one on me, even though I’ve been paying it for most of my life.  If you’re a female, chances are you’ve been paying it too.