45 years ago tonight, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was shot and killed as he stood on a motel balcony, aged just 39. Here is the leader from the following week’s Spectator: The agony of America, The Spectator, 12 April 1968 The assassination of Dr Martin Luther King at Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday 4 April
It is a glorious morning, suitable weather to mark this joyous day in the Christian calendar. The leading column in this week’s issue of the magazine considers the Easter story in humanity’s past, present and future, from perspective of non-believers as well as believers. Here’s a short excerpt: ‘Unlike Christmas, it’s a story that doesn’t
‘Everything seems to be bursting out; it must be spring.’
‘Watch him, Atkins. Remember, it takes only one bad apple.’
‘We’re just agreeing the terms of your rescue.’
‘I was talking to the wretched woman for at least ten minutes until I realised she was quite an unsuitable postcode.’
‘I want my child to grow up in a typical family unit — that’s why I divorced his father.’
Mirage
‘I don’t necessarily want to break up. I just want to stop seeing you.’
Tourist
‘Not a good sign...’
Political playground
‘Shall I turn you in your grave now, sir?’
‘A place of our own at last!’
Snowdome
‘Oh my God! I can get Test Match Special.’
Needle
‘You’ve been prescribed placebos — do you prefer capsules, or the liquid?’
Right to say NO Sir: Three cheers for the Spectator NO! (‘Why we aren’t signing’, 23 March). I would rather be informed by the slimiest of Fleet Street’s journalists or the rudest blogger than any one of Westminster’s incompetents. Dr A.E. Hanwell York Sir: Perhaps our newsagents should split the papers they sell into
Economic migrants David Cameron announced that the government would make it harder for migrants to claim benefits, NHS treatment and social housing. Do migrants make a positive contribution to the public coffers? — A Home Office study using data from 1999-2000 concluded that migrants paid £31.2bn in taxes and used £28.8bn in public services, for