Eulogies for Coretta Scott King turn heat on Bush - World - smh.com.au

Eulogies for Coretta Scott King turn heat on Bush - World - smh.com.au:

"'This commemorative ceremony this morning and this afternoon is not only to acknowledge the great contributions of Coretta and Martin, but to remind us that the struggle for equal rights is not over,' said Jimmy Carter, the former Georgia governor and former president, to rising applause. 'We only have to recall the colour of the faces of those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, those who were most devastated by Katrina, to know that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.'

Mr Carter also referred to the recent debate over whether Mr Bush violated civil liberties protections when he ordered warrantless surveillance of some domestic phone calls and emails.

Noting that the Kings' work was 'not appreciated even at the highest level of the government', Mr Carter said: 'It was difficult for them personally - with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and as you know, harassment from the FBI.'

The Reverend Joseph Lowery, a King protege and longtime Bush critic, noted Coretta King's opposition to the war in Iraq.

'She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions way afar,' he said. 'We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew and we knew that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war, billions more, but no more for the poor.'"