giving humor a bad name

Why is it that when someone in politics - or just in the public eye - says something offensive, they back peddle and claim they were trying to tell a joke or be funny?

Read the following article from Politico.com and you tell me, was the comment by Michael Barone of U.S. News and World Report funny in any way at all:

Barone: Media wanted Palin abortion
By MIKE ALLEN & ANDY BARR | 11/11/08 5:58 PM EST

A roomful of academics erupted in angry boos Tuesday morning after political analyst Michael Barone said journalists trashed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republicans' vice presidential nominee, because "she did not abort her Down syndrome baby."

Barone said in an e-mail that he "was attempting to be humorous and ... went over the line."

Barone was speaking at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, to the 121st annual meeting of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, which calls itself the nation’s oldest higher-education association.

“The liberal media attacked Sarah Palin because she did not abort her Down syndrome baby," Barone said, according to accounts by attendees. "They wanted her to kill that child. ... I'm talking about my media colleagues with whom I've worked for 35 years.”

Barone, a popular speaker on the paid lecture circuit, is a senior writer for U.S. News & World Report and principal coauthor of “The Almanac of American Politics."

About 500 people were in the room, and some walked out.

Barone did not dispute the accounts of his remarks. Asked about the comments, Barone said in an e-mail that he "was attempting to be humorous and, as many in public do, went over the line."

"Sorry for that," Barone said. "I was trying to focus on press hostility to Palin. I agree with [Washington Post media reporter and CNN 'Reliable Sources' host] Howard Kurtz that the press was much more interested in tracking down negative information on Palin than Obama."

Palin’s youngest child, her son Trig, was born in April. Televised shots of him during her convention speech helped endear her to conservatives. During the campaign, she said she would use the vice presidency to help families with special-needs children.

Barone was speaking at a general session of a conference titled "National Implications of the 2008 Presidential Election.”

At the start of his talk, Barone also did an informal, show-of-hands poll about cable news preferences. Attendees said the results were roughly MSNBC, 35 percent; CNN, 55 percent; and Fox News, 10 percent.

"I often do that," Barone explained by e-mail. "It's fun."

The education group's vice president of public affairs, Paul F. Hassen, confirmed the gist of the remarks. Barone said the quotes, which were from notes and not from a tape, were "not too far off."

What part of that was funny? Seriously, leave a comment and tell me because - for the life of me - I can't figure out what part of “The liberal media attacked Sarah Palin because she did not abort her Down syndrome baby...They wanted her to kill that child. ... I'm talking about my media colleagues with whom I've worked for 35 years" is funny.

Gerald Ford is right (again)

I was with my best girl at my best friend's place with some of the best people I've ever known...and I had the best time.



so THAT'S what it's like to enjoy an election night party. Now I see why the republicans lie, cheat, steal, smear, intimidate, and soar to new heights of fear-mongering and hypocrisy to win an election. It's a hell of a good feeling.

I think this shows that America has come out of its 9/11 shock. Took a while, but we're healing. We still have more to go, but damn if this isn't a huge step in the right direction.

Good job, America! Keep it up!

"My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over." - Gerald Ford

R.I.P. Cynic the Infotainer...? (insert Ming the Merciless's echoed laughter, some drums and "The Hero" from Flash Gordon)

Open Letter From John Cleese to America

Source: Correspondent Email
[Mar 14, 2005]


To the citizens of the United States of America, in the light of your failure to elect a competent President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up revocation in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour', skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation.

Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up vocabulary. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up interspersed. There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.

2. There is no such thing as "US English". We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.

3. You should learn to distinguish the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney,upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as Taggart will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is Devon. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become shires e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire.

4. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as Men Behaving Badly or Red Dwarf will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American football. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American football is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays American football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American "football", but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US Rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the 'World Series' for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders,your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls' game called rounders, which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.

7. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called Indecisive Day.

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time,you will go metric with immediate effect and conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. As a sign of penance 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.

12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer,and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. The substances formerly known as American Beer will henceforth be referred to as Near-Frozen Knat's Urine,with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser company whose product will be referred to as Weak Near-Frozen Knat's Urine. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen,Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From November 10th the UK will harmonise petrol (or Gasoline, as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the Former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon- get used to it).

14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.

16. Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).

Thank you for your co-operation and have a great day.

John Cleese

I just wanted to save this on my blog

cuz I wanted to. shut-up.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Sarah Palin: Country First

I think when she says "country first" she drops the 'o' from the word country

Ode to Sean Hannity by John Cleese

found this through Huffingtonpost.com

Aping urbanity
Oozing with vanity
Plump as a manatee
Faking humanity
Journalistic calamity
Intellectual inanity
Fox Noise insanity
You're a profanity
Hannity

Palin calls for "new, alternative energy sources"

This cracked me up. She's giving a stump speech about the only thing she can talk about: energy. Listen to the crowd after she says we need to develop new alternative energy sources and an "all of the above" approach.



Palin supporters respond to her calling for "new alternative energy resources" by chanting "DRILL BABY DRILL!!!"

Fuckin' idiots. HOW IS THAT NEW? HOW IS THAT ALTERNATIVE? (I know how it's energy and a resource).

I guess her supporters really are like her.

Sarah Palin is so smart...

she doesn't even understand what an interview is:



Next time, she should submit the questions she wants asked to Katie Couric. Between this and the debate, she's proven she'll never answer a straight question is she doesn't feel like it. BTW, Mrs. Palin, it wasn't that you were getting clobbered for answering or evading a question, YOU COULDN'T ANSWER SIMPLE QUESTIONS!!! If I would have been conducting that interview, it would have been very difficult for me not to laugh in her face.

Did I scare you with the title?

a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations

This is what I feel like when I try to follow what John McCain and his campaign are up to...

Every day, there's something else. There are so many to choose from, I'm not sure where to start.

Actually, I'll go this way: I'll sum it up like this...

There is only one thing republicans do not care about:
NOUNS.

NOUNS?!

Yes, NOUNS (why am I shouting? watch below, then read on...)




Now that you've had a refresher on grammar, let me explain:

People (other than uber-rich white people who make so much money, they don't have to care about what they spend it on, unless it's taxes)
Places (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Darfur, New Orleans, Wall Street, other peoples' houses to name a few)
Things (honor, honesty, experience, integrity, the environment, recording equipment)

This farce of a campaign season is really showing us what the 2 parties are like. The conventions were the perfect examples. The Democratic Convention had speeches filled with the notion that, if we work on helping out the middle-class and the poor, then we can all rise up and take pride in ourselves and our country. The republican convention was filled with speeches filled with platitudes, mockery and an obliviousness I have not witnessed in my lifetime (Well, Bush's press conference right after Katrina comes in a distant 2nd place in that contest).

I wrote a blog before about John McCain called Senile, stupid or just plain sad? I believe I have my answer: YES.

I believe the choice of Sarah Palin proves the answer is yes.

Senile: Why would he be led by the failed neo-cunts unless his PTSD-addled mind couldn't stand up for himself?

Stupid: He didn't bother to let the vetting process happen when it should, so now he blames the media for picking on her. SHE'S RUNNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE! THE 2ND HIGHEST IN THE WORLD!! WE CAN'T ASK HER A QUESTION?!?!?!?!

Just plain sad: He's allowed her and the neo-cunts to change him from War Veteran to Welcome mat, by changing his views on everything he had stood for these past 26 years.


Ok, also, how DARE he try to blame Obama for the financial catastrophe that's going on right now. It's the ultimate example of hypocrisy. How about the KEATING 5!

How about McCain's financial advisor PHIL GRAMM

(who's whining now, Phil?)

I just can't fathom how McCain can sleep at night. He attacks Obama for things he himself had done. He's lied about MAJOR things (His campaign manager was taking money from Freddie Mac and Fannie May until August). Hell, he lies about the little things too. He cancelled an appearance on Letterman, telling Dave he couldn't do the show because he had to get to Washington and work on the financial crisis, then during the taping of Letterman's show, he's on with Katie Couric (same network).

Letterman handled the situation with honesty and class:


Anyway, as for Palin, she's a joke you tell at a dinner party when someone farts during a quiet moment. A distraction. A farce. Dick Cheney in lipstick (oops, I used the word lipstick. Obviously, that makes me a sexist). If she's so qualified, let her talk to the press. So far, it's been Charles Gibson of ABC (Bush Doctrine question was unfair WAAAA WAAAA WAAAAAA!!! HOW DARE A NEW ANCHOR ASK A POSSIBLE VICE PRESIDENT A QUESTION ABOUT POLITICS!!), Sean "I-LOVE-THE-TASTE-OF-NEO-CON-COCK!) Hannity of Fucked Ruse (would you expect anything less than softballs and praise of her lack of qualifications?) and Katie Couric of CBS (Again, you ask Palin real questions, you get talking points and tap-dancing answers because she doesn't know what she's doing).

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on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and...well, you get the point...about Sarah Palin and why you should not even know who she is and how unqualified and ridiculous she is IN HER POLITICAL/PROFESSIONAL LIFE (her personal life is weird to me, but I'm willing to not add that on because it's what the republicans do and her professional activities are grounds enough to be stunned by such a poor choice by McCain, but there's not much need. Just read/watch the news. Even some at Fucked Ruse people are questioning her abitilies and beliefs.

Like I said, this campaign has become a farce. It's an insult to the American people, our founding fathers and what our country used to stand for before the neo-cunts took over.

Saturday, July 12 2008 - My night went a little something like this:

* before you get into the post below, just know that I've been up for hours working on it and for some reason, there were problems with almost every video I tried to embed. Some I could change to a link, some wouldn't. I will try editing later, but for now, here's what I have:

First, I pick up my wonderful girlfriend, Jenny and we head over to the Pauley Pavillion at UCLA. We got to see VH1 Rock Honors The WHO.



We arrived around 7:30 for an 8pm show. We found our seats (which were up high, but it's a smaller venue and I couldn't really shell out $300/ticket) and soon after, the announcement came over the P.A.: "Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats. The show will begin in 3 minutes. Sure enough, three minutes later, The video montage starts up on the monitors. Quick shots of a myriad of Who fans describing why The Who is the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. Dave Navarro, Slash, Joan Jett, Cameron Crowe, Harry Shearer, Billy Bob Thornton (with 2 guys flanking him; maybe his band mates?), Conan O'Brien, 2 guys from Coldplay, Gordon "Sting" Sumner, Billy Idol, Michael J. Fox (without the J.) and Noel Gallagher. Then, our first presenter appeared.

*Now a side note: My girlfriend is a HUGE X-Files fan. She has the entire run of the series on DVD, books about the show, and we're going to see the new movie in Milwaukee because we're going to be there opening weekend and we HAVE to se it as soon as we can.

Why the side note? Because our first presenter was none other than David Duchovny. She quietly freaks and asks, "Did you know about this?" I didn't. She then tries to figure out just what exactly she would need to do to get us backstage. One of the many reasons I love her is she immediately thinks "us backstage" instead of just her. May seem small, but I'm sure we've all dated people that would've thought, "too bad for you, I'm going backstage". Not Jenny.

Anyway, by now, she's all giddy and Mulder introduces the Foo Fighters. Since they can't help but kick serious ass...they kick ass opening with "Young Man Blues

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",
as mean and chunky as it should be. Next, they bring out special guest Gaz Coombes - the lead singer from Supergrass - to launch into "Bargain"

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The music was better than the vocals, but what the hell. Even Roger Daltrey has said "I'm a huge fan of Dave Grohl. He's got the mentality of a rock God", and, as I said before, they kick serious ass.

Next up, clips from "Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who" documentary (which VH1 has aired a few times already). First, about the early years (Marquee Club; how they "became" Mods) then about Tommy. Included are more interview clips from list of the names above about why Tommy is so incredible. We then see a pinball machine stage right and there's someone playing it. Someone with a brown ski hat with a silver ball on the top, large yellow sunglasses, and giant boots. No it wasn't Elton John, but Rainn Wilson wearing that outfit. Slightly modifying the lyrics to "Pinball Wizard"
he recites how, "From Scranton down to Pittsburgh, I've played the silver ball" and introduces The Flaming Lips. Wayne Coyne began inside a giant plastic bubble that which traveled over the first few rows of the audience. It was a bit awkward and he didn't get more than 3 0r 4 rows away from the stage before he was pushed onto it so he could emerge to perform a medley of songs from "Tommy".

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Good stuff; good job.

We go back to the monitor to see more from the Amazing Journey doc, this time about Keith Moon and various interview clips about how Keith Moon was "The Jimi Hendrix of Drums", according to Noel Gallagher.

Now, here's where the show - for me - took a downward slide:
We see Mila Kunis spotlighted, and with microphone, off to the side in the audience. She begins an introduction for the next act by sleep-talking her way through a pre-written paragraph about how it's appropriate to have her there because she was on a show set in the 70s. Get it? Well, she didn't, because she had to stop and start over with about as much enthusiasm as beige. Anyway, she introduces Incubus (ps. Now, I hate them more because their "official" website has an ad for Days Inn at the top. eesh). They get to perform, "I Can See For Miles

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and "I Can't Explain"

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Now if I could see for miles, I could have easily picked a better group to perform and for the life of me, I Can't Explain why they were there, except for maybe...MAYBE VH1 thought they'd "bring in the kids" or something. Personally, I could have skipped that whole segment of the concert and not batted an eye about it.

and now, the show begins its upward turn:
Back to the monitor for more doc clips. This time it's all about The Who's sound and performance.
Entwistle's blistering finger work on the Bass, Moon's almost maniacal antithetical-to-the-beat drumming, Pete Townshend's cacophonous power-chords and pick-screeching , Roger Daltrey's vocal power...and a lot of instrument smashing.
Then, the clips focus on John Entwistle, his brilliance and a lead bass guitarist and his role in the band. This leads into our next act: Tenacious D.
KG grins as Jables extols The Who as "the greatest band of all time" (he's correct, btw) and they jump into an acoustic Squeeze Box

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,

which was great. Perfect song for them, I think.

When we "come back from commercial", Sean Penn enters the stage. "We know that we're all here tonight because The Who never did sell out, unlike certain music channels," Penn told the crowd, which got a bit of an "oooooh" from the audience. Maybe because it was a dig on VH1. Maybe because - let's face it - play most people "Who Are You" today and they'll say, "Oh yeah. I love CSI!" (Not for nothing, but they did create an album in 1967 called...The Who Sell Out). Anyway, Sean Penn introduces Pearl Jam. Now, for those of you that are unaware, Pearl Jam - Eddie Vedder in particular - are GIANT Who fans. Eddie's performed with Pete at Chicago's House of Blues in 99. Well, easily, the best performance NOT by The Who this evening. We get 2 tracks from Quadrophenia:
"Love, Reign O'er Me"

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and "The Real Me"

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(personally, I would have switched the order they played them). They had their full band with a string quintet and a small horn section, which worked perfectly for both songs. For me, Pearl Jam wins "Best Covers" of the night (although, Tenacious D is a sentimental fave).

Next, a new set of clips discussing, mainly, Squeeze Box. How it's kinda silly, but still rocks and all. Why they didn't use these clips as an intro to Tenacious D performing "Squeeze Box", I have no idea, but I'm sure they'll fix it in post.

After another "We'll be back in 2 and 2!", we get more Doc clips. This time, about the more recent history of The Who. Basically, how Pete and Roger can still work together. What it's like without Keith and John on stage with them, new music, etc...

Suddenly, a lone electric guitar begins chug-chugging an A chord Bo Diddley style. Yes, it's Magic Bus, but it's Adam Sandler performing it, with newly adapted lyrics for the event.

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Mainly, each couple of lines is about each of the band members. The audience joins in until Happy Gilmore say, "Here's they are...THE WHO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

OK, the band comes out to huge applause and immediately dive in.

Here's the setlist:
Baba O'Riley - from Who's Next - 1971
(somebody snuck a camera in so this is actually from the concert).
This one's better quality:

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The Seeker - from 1970 (released as a single)

Who Are You - from Who Are You - 1978

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Behind Blue Eyes - from Who's Next - 1971

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2000 Years - from Endless Wire - 2006

You Better You Bet - from Face Dances - 1981
Now, this one, they had to start over after getting thru about 1/2 of it when Pete called it off after experiencing technical problems. I think a monitor went out.


My Generation - from My Generation - 1964

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...that went into a riff from
Old Red Wine - from Then & Now - 2004

Won't Get Fooled Again - from Who's Next - 1971



Tea & Theatre - from Endless Wire - 2006

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The entire show lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Apart from The Milincubus (or InKunis, if you like) portion, it was a great show. A once in a lifetime concert. The 1st time My girlfriend got to see The Who Live (although, they just announced Nov. 8-9 at the Nokia Theater so maybe she'll get a chance to see a full Who's Left show after all!).



The concert ended around 10:30, so Jenny and I headed over to our friend Jennifer's place for her Big Lebowski Housewarming Party. Luckily, I was wearing My "ABIDE" t-shirt:

(No, that's not me in the picture)









This next video contains adult language and intended for mature...well, it's not for kids:



We stayed for an hour or so, which was good. A very fun party!

Next, onto Canter's for a bissel nosh, nu?

After that, I took Jenny back to her place, yadda yadda yadda, I got home somewhere around 5am, which is ok for me as I work 9pm-6am, Sunday-Thursday.

So, that's it. Great show; great party; great food and great yadda.

Thanks for reading!

Later
ME

Senile, stupid, or just plain sad?

I'm starting to get the feeling that the problem John McCain has regarding his run for the Presidency is that he's oblivious to what the American people want. Poll after poll (I realize polls are skewed - particularly push-polls - and are really no way to truly gauge information or opinion) shows that the American people want change. An overwhelming majority in this country are fed up with Bush, Cheney, the war in Iraq, the economy, etc... ad nauseum. McCain seems to be clinging onto the Bush administration tighter than John Goodman wearing size 30 jeans (sorry for the visual). I just don't get it. 8 years ago, Bush, Rove et al. used dirty, slimy scurrilous tactics to discredit McCain as a legitimate worthy candidate/opponent. In case you don't know, the big one was canvas calling people in South Carolina saying something to the effect of "Did you know John McCain has an illegitimate black child?!", refering to the Somalian girl he and his 2nd wife, Cindy adopted. 8 years ago, McCain was an honorable man. He stood by his beliefs in the face of his own party. He called out political problems with Washington's politics-over-people policies (how's that for alliteration!). He co-wrote bills with members of the Democratic party (McCain-Feingold to name one). Now, he's sold his soul to please the right-wing lunatic fringe of the republican party. How sad.

This morning, he stated - on the Today Show - that getting our troops out of Iraq was "not too important".

WHAT?!?!?!?! How could those words come out of ANY candidate in this race, let alone a Vietnam Veteran? We're months away from the election and as of right now, I feel like every time I see him give a speech (with that patronizing phrase "My friends" strewn about the speech, which makes me gag whenever I hear it, particularly for it's disingenuous tone, like the entirety of his speeches have been) that he's getting farther and farther away from the man he was 2 years ago, let alone beyond that.

John McCain WAS an honorable man. Yes, we all value his service to our country in another war that shouldn't have been fought by U.S. soldiers (Yes, Gretchen Carlson, there is a 'D' in soldier),
airmen and marines. I do not diminish that in any way, shape of form. It's just that when I see him talk, then immediately see a clip of him saying the exact opposite years, months or even days before,

it makes me sad to see a war hero sell out to the kakistocracy [(ka-ki-stahk-ruh-see) - Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens] as often as he has. Is this what it takes to be a republican leader? Compare that to the Democratic side of the race. Need I go on?

So, is it that John McCain is old/senile and not able to keep his thoughts together? How many times has he mixed up Sunni and Shia, Iraq and Afghanistan? Well, he does have lapdog LIE-berman to feed him info on the spot. But still, this man is running for the President of the United States - a job that everyone refers to the most important job on the planet - and he claims he doesn't know about economics, doesn't seem to really know about the goings-on in the Middle East and doesn't seem to make any effort to fix any of that. Day after day, he gets in front of the media (who have RECORDING EQUIPMENT with them) and makes these pandering speeches with no sense of honesty, realism or sincerity and we're supposed to get behind that? After 8 years of the Bush junta, isn't even McCain sick of all the lies and rhino-shit that's plagued this country? I'd like to ask him one question: Knowing what you know now, if you , Senator, were of proper age, would you enlist today? I don't think I'd get a real answer because he's either senile, stupid or I don't know what.

Just sad.

Let's see something funny regarding John McCain's run in this election:


ah...I needed that.

Keith just keeps nailing it

Just watch this:



This makes me happy and proud to be more of an American that George W. Bush will ever be. GOLF?!?!?!?!

Why do so many people suck?

I know. I'm delving into deep, deep philosophical tenets after a hiatus, but I really wanna know!

Here's the situation (as far as I know):
I work Sunday through Thursday; 9pm-6am. I know, eesh, but the job is good and solid and I am finally getting paid pretty well. This co-worker works night shifts too, but on the weekends as well. Personally, I would just tell them that the schedule does not work for me and to try spreading the crap shifts around so everyone can rotate so no one feels like they have to take all the crap shifts (she's been bitching about - so she tells me - for 5 months). Last Thursday was a crazy day at work. Lots of calls from theaters with problems.
- BTW, My position is International Digital Coordinator. When a movie theater is screening a film digitally, I am one of the people that makes sure the theater has the hard drive with the film and the "keys" to open the film so it can be projected. There's a lot of minutiae involved regarding a lot of XML and matching server numbers to screen numbers, to name a couple of many, many different things I/we deal with on a daily basis.

So, last Thursday, we we having a lot of problems with a movie that was opening the next day; again, lots of calls. I was slammed with incoming calls from the moment I logged into my phone. Well, as the night rolled along, the calls didn't diminish until 11pm (I had come in at 6pm, so 5 hours of calls). When this co-worker took their lunch, I was on the phone with a theater in New York. The manager of the theater was taking a looooooooooooooooooooooooong asssssssssssssssssss time getting anything done. My job is to talk them through the process of whatever is happening. SO...the co-worker came back 20 minutes later; I was still on the phone with the theater in NY. The co-worker asked if I needed help. I told them no and I was frustrated that I was on the phone for so long. Apparently, this was taken as me "snapping" at them. So, did this co-worker turn to me and say, "you know, you don't have to speak to me in that tone of voice" or "excuse me, what did you just say?" or, for that matter, ANYTHING? No. Nothing. Not a word about it.
Cut to last night. We, along with a 3rd co-worker, had a nice little chat about work and whatever and everything seemed fine.
Cut to today. I came in early (Around 6pm) and my supervisor wanted to have a talk. He started by asking if anything unusual happened last week. I wasn't sure what he meant, so I offered one idea that wasn't what he was talking about (and wasn't a problem - I always worry I'm going to say something that would have a reaction of "Well no, but now that I know about that, you're fired". After 2 or 3 guesses, he fessed up and told me that this co-worker reported me to him saying I snapped at them. Since I had no memory of this, I denied it. He then proceeded to tell me that the co-worker in question has a habit of complaining and reporting others for all sorts of things. He also said that we're OK, but I should know that I should be hyper-sensitive (his word) in regards to co-workers and this happens fairly often.
For me, OK, lesson learned. I know I have a temper, but I try to control it as much as I can. Considering this was something happening at my job, my NEW job, in which I am still learning, I am extra careful what I say and don't say. A good guideline for anyone that works with others, particularly in an office setting.
Now today, when another co-worker arrived for their shift, Co-worker 1 starts talking about all sorts of things that have gone on when they weren't even here, causing Co-worker 2 to be taken aback at being called out for something which was pretty harmless anyway.
OK, lesson number 2: Co-worker is a shit-stirrer for no reason other than they are unhappy with their job. You know, I told my dad I wasn't thrilled with the hours I am working. His response was to say, "there are people who never like their job". I told him I thought those were people that stopped looking for the right job and settled (Invisible something in the sky knows I've done that in the past).

So I just had a talk with another co-worker (#4) and we talked about how CO-worker #1 is really bitter about their job - particularly their hours - and that's probably why this all happened, but really...WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE SUCK?!

Like this guy:

Bill O'Reilly goes nuts!
by shibbolethed

And he's been sucking for over 20 years!!
Glad I don't work with/for him...DOUCHEBAG!!!

My first demo

OK, here's my first try at adding an MP3 file to my blog.  I felt it appropriate to use the first demo I ever made as the test.  It's me doing Peace, Love & Understanding.  Again, this is my very first demo, so be kind

"A More Perfect Union"

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
Constitution Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tuesday 18 March 2008

I can't wait to see how Fucked Ruse* spins this!

*(Fucked Ruse is what I call Fox "News")


TEXT OF SPEECH:
As prepared for delivery.

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way

But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.

Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans - the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old - is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know - what we have seen - is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.