Not only is today the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination; as both news stories and commenters have pointed out, it's the 41st anniversary of his historic speech opposing the Vietnam War. That speech was groundbreaking in the truest sense; there was bitter division within the civil rights movement over whether King should take on the war at all. Many felt it would distract from his core goal of racial equality. "And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened," King said. "For such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live." Below, you can listen to his entire speech. It's long. But there's nobody alive in modern day America who can make such a plea with equivalent effect, despite our need for one now. And that's the end of the serious items for the week.

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