Congratulations, America!

CQ Transcripts Wire Wednesday, November 5, 2008; 12:02 AM

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.
I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they've achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton...

... and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years...

... the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady...

... Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia...

... I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us...

... to the new White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother's watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe...

... the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best -- the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod...

... who's been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics...

... you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy...

... who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.
It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn't do this just to win an election. And I know you didn't do it for me.
You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage or pay their doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education.

There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That's the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we've already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight's about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

From The Washington Post

An 'Idiot Wind'
John McCain's latest attempt to link Barack Obama to extremism
Friday, October 31, 2008; Page A18

WITH THE presidential campaign clock ticking down, Sen. John McCain has suddenly discovered a new boogeyman to link to Sen. Barack Obama: a sometimes controversial but widely respected Middle East scholar named Rashid Khalidi. In the past couple of days, Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, have likened Mr. Khalidi, the director of a Middle East institute at Columbia University, to neo-Nazis; called him "a PLO spokesman"; and suggested that the Los Angeles Times is hiding something sinister by refusing to release a videotape of a 2003 dinner in honor of Mr. Khalidi at which Mr. Obama spoke. Mr. McCain even threw former Weatherman Bill Ayers into the mix, suggesting that the tape might reveal that Mr. Ayers -- a terrorist-turned-professor who also has been an Obama acquaintance -- was at the dinner.

For the record, Mr. Khalidi is an American born in New York who graduated from Yale a couple of years after George W. Bush. For much of his long academic career, he taught at the University of Chicago, where he and his wife became friends with Barack and Michelle Obama. In the early 1990s, he worked as an adviser to the Palestinian delegation at peace talks in Madrid and Washington sponsored by the first Bush administration. We don't agree with a lot of what Mr. Khalidi has had to say about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years, and Mr. Obama has made clear that he doesn't, either. But to compare the professor to neo-Nazis -- or even to Mr. Ayers -- is a vile smear.

Perhaps unsurprising for a member of academia, Mr. Khalidi holds complex views. In an article published this year in the Nation magazine, he scathingly denounced Israeli practices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and U.S. Middle East policy but also condemned Palestinians for failing to embrace a nonviolent strategy. He said that the two-state solution favored by the Bush administration (and Mr. Obama) was "deeply flawed" but conceded there were also "flaws in the alternatives." Listening to Mr. Khalidi can be challenging -- as Mr. Obama put it in the dinner toast recorded on the 2003 tape and reported by the Times in a detailed account of the event last April, he "offers constant reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases."

It's fair to question why Mr. Obama felt as comfortable as he apparently did during his Chicago days in the company of men whose views diverge sharply from what the presidential candidate espouses. Our sense is that Mr. Obama is a man of considerable intellectual curiosity who can hear out a smart, if militant, advocate for the Palestinians without compromising his own position. To suggest, as Mr. McCain has, that there is something reprehensible about associating with Mr. Khalidi is itself condemnable -- especially during a campaign in which Arab ancestry has been the subject of insults. To further argue that the Times, which obtained the tape from a source in exchange for a promise not to publicly release it, is trying to hide something is simply ludicrous, as Mr. McCain surely knows.

Which reminds us: We did ask Mr. Khalidi whether he wanted to respond to the campaign charges against him. He answered, via e-mail, that "I will stick to my policy of letting this idiot wind blow over." That's good advice for anyone still listening to the McCain campaign's increasingly reckless ad hominem attacks. Sadly, that wind is likely to keep blowing for four more days.

From Financial Times online

Shock: Drudge loses his grip on US media!

By John Gapper
Published: October 29 2008 19:39 Last updated: October 29 2008 19:39

Last Thursday afternoon, Matt Drudge broke out the red capital letters for the lead headline on his internet site, the Drudge Report.
“SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH,” the headline read, with a strapline: “ ‘B’ CARVED INTO 20-YEAR-OLD WOMAN’S FACE . . . DEVELOPING.”

It was a shocker in the tradition of Mr Drudge’s scare stories and hyped-up trivia about Democratic candidates in US presidential campaigns, to go with past items about John Edwards’ $400 haircut and John Kerry’s windsurfing. This time, however, it was not merely tendentious but false.

By Saturday, the Drudge Report carried a smaller headline reading: “SHE MADE IT ALL UP!” beside a photograph of Ashley Todd, the Texan student in question. Far from being attacked by a tall black man and told she ought to vote for Barack Obama, she had injured herself.
The Ashley Todd affair was the latest in a series of failures by Mr Drudge to recapture the magic of the past, when the Drudge Report had an unrivalled grip on the media agenda. He has spent the past month blatantly cherry-picking poll results that favour John McCain, to the loud derision of Obama-supporting blogs.

Although there has been some narrowing in the national polls this week, Mr Drudge has cried wolf so often in recent weeks that he can hardly claim credit when the wolf finally shows up.
The decline of Drudge is part of a broader shift in the US media, both old and new, towards the Democratic party. Unlike in the last two elections, when Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s strategist, expertly exploited the media’s short attention span and love of sensation, the Republican candidate has lost their affection and respect.

Mr McCain bears a lot of the blame for that, since he has run a chaotic and unpleasant campaign, insinuating that Mr Obama is not to be trusted because of his vague link to Bill Ayres, a former member of the Weather Underground 1960s terrorist group; suggesting that he is less of a patriot than Mr McCain himself; and generally losing his temper.

It still infuriates Republicans, who are convinced that the media have it in for them. Umpteen newspapers (including the Financial Times) have declared their support for Mr Obama and Slate, the online magazine, this week disclosed that 55 of its staff and contributors intend to vote for Mr Obama and one for Mr McCain.

In fact, I think they are correct that the media currently tilt leftward in the US, but not for the obvious reason. It says less about the bias of “liberal elite” journalists and more about a breakdown of the established media order, from The New York Times to Mr Drudge.
Mr Drudge’s dominance has been undermined by competition. His sensibility infuriated so many people that left-leaning sites such as the Daily Kos sprung up to challenge him. Lately, his thunder has been stolen by the Huffington Post, an unlikely blend of leftwing blogging, reporting and aggregation founded by Arianna Huffington, the media gadfly.

The Huffington Post has leapt past the Drudge Report in traffic, attracting 4.5m unique users in September, compared with 2.1m for Drudge and 2.4m for Politico, a political news site. While Mr Drudge picks out stories that could hurt Mr Obama, the Huffington Post does the opposite, highlighting anything that makes Mr McCain look bad.

This shift leftwards online has been matched on cable television, where Fox News, the rightwing news channel, has increasingly faced its mirror image at MSNBC. The latter’s leftish talk-show hosts, Keith Olbermann and now Rachel Maddow, a chirpy gay liberal, dish out scorn about Republicans in opposition to Bill O’Reilly and others at Fox.

The effect is not just to balance out Mr Drudge and Mr O’Reilly but to place old-school media objectivity, as practised by US newspapers, under pressure. Obama-supporting blogs have ridiculed stories in outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post that fail to dismiss distortions by Mr McCain.

All this, and falls in advertising and circulation, is pushing newspapers back to a scrappier, more plain-spoken and partisan “yellow press” past. Instead of soberly trying to filter all information with a careful “on the one hand, on the other hand” balance, they are becoming more colourful in tone and politics.

Some old hacks are shocked. Michael Malone, a columnist and “one of those people who truly bleeds ink when I’m cut”, wrote on ABC News online that the bias to Mr Obama on television and in newspapers was “not just bewildering but appalling”.

Well, maybe, but it looks familiar enough to a British journalist: this is Fleet Street. It is what happens when you get intense competition among different media outlets, all seeking to play on (and pander to) the audience’s sympathies and biases.

The centre is no longer holding. “Having many voices is the natural state of the media. There was just a three-decade long exception in the US when city papers and networks dominated,” says Jeff Jarvis, a blogger and lecturer in journalism at City University of New York.

Just as Fleet Street swings left and right politically, depending on where it sees its commercial advantage, the US media have shifted left for a time, to mimic what they judge to be the country’s mood. When that mood swings back, so will the media.

In principle, the Republicans should appreciate this, for it is a triumph of the market over monopoly control. Or, as the Drudge Report might put it: “MEDIA ATTACK THEMSELVES! . . . DEVELOPING.”

john.gapper@ft.com
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

From my inbox

Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:
- She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1
- Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
- She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
- Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
- She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
- She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
- How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7

This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.
We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.
In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.
In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.

Thanks for all you do.
–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team

urces:
1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=1
3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=2
4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=3
5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=4
6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=5
"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=6
"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=7
7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-9737814-Agor8hx&t=8

Article's title says it all

http://www.mccainvminnesota.com/cribs.html

Time for a serious change ...

I was going to blog about how absolutely ignorant my younger sibling is with regards to choosing a president (well, many MANY other things as well, but that'll be for later), and using her blog to disseminate information taken out of context to the few pathetic people who actually tune in to her blog daily ... but I decided to do my OWN campaigning.

I fully and aggressively support the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama. I've done THOROUGH research on both candidates (although I researched many others, McCain and Obama are our only real choices), and I know from my head to my toes that Obama is the only one willing to try ANYTHING different and turn his head from the status quo.

I understand, and also support, our Constitutional right to our own opinions and free speech. I get it ... I want it to be this way. My blood pressure, however, rises 100 notches when others speak about issues in which they have NO basis of fact. I would be angry if someone posted or wrote about something taken out of context for McCain even though I do not, and never will, support his candidacy. This is why I do not use my blog to post misinformation about John McCain ... I'm responsible not to. Because I have a very diverse group of friends, many of us differ when it comes to choosing a candidate. My "job" as a US citizen and as an educator is to promote the need to vote and to encourage others to research to discover which candidate they believe is best to lead our country.

So ... get out and vote when November comes around ... and most importantly, BE INFORMED.

Hair!!!

My sister D.D. reads my blog, so I am posting this photo of the back of my HUGE head (I thought I'd go ahead and put that since I know Will intends to anyway) to show her how much my hair has grown. I decided to grow it out since I've been married nearly 20 years and my husband has never seen my hair long. All of my women friends who have grown their hair out KNOWS how hard this can be!! Ugh! And let me not fail to mention I took on this task during the summer ... what the heck was I thinking?

From USA Today

I know I haven't blogged in a while. I have good intentions, but priorities prevail. I am posting today two different letters that were published in USA Today - one in last Monday's paper, and the other, a retort from the weekend edition. They both concern stewardship ... two different women and two different lives. The first letter reminds of someone I know who judges everyone without looking outside her own little box; the second letter reminds me how we should never assume we know the whole story. See for yourself ...

LETTER #1: Where is reward for good stewards?
Sarah Kapcar - Cincinnati
For some reason, I feel like an American anomaly. No, I am not perfect, just confused. My husband and I own our beautiful three-bedroom home in a great suburban neighborhood. We could have moved into a big two-story home with a three-car garage. We could have sent our kids to private school, but we thought better ("How rising home values placed your finances at risk," Cover story, News, Wednesday).
I work only part-time, and raising our two sons, ages 20 and 17, has been my real career. We have no credit card debt. Yes, we use our credit, but we pay off our balances monthly. I could have used those credit cards for a pair of Manolo Blahniks but thought better.
My Chevy is a lease, but my husband's older car is paid for. He could have purchased that new Audi but thought better.
We could be just like all the other Americans who are in trouble, but we thought better. We have been lucky in terms of maintaining good health and jobs, and I can understand how some families today need financial help.
Where is my government thank-you for being responsible and not going into debt and facing foreclosure?
How can some people spend so freely and not think better?

LETTER #2: Hard times hit even good stewards
I laughed when I read the letter "Where is reward for good stewards?" from USA TODAY reader Sarah Kapcar (Monday).
She has two sons. I had one who died of cancer three years ago. He was 8 years old. The hospital bills drove us to bankruptcy. My husband went back and forth from work to the hospital so much that he lost his job. It took him more than a year to get another one, which paid less.
Now we have a mortgage we can't afford, and no bank will refinance us because of the bankruptcy.
I forgot to mention that on Sept. 28, my mom passed away. She had been very ill for more than six months. I spent a lot of gas going between my house and the nursing home to visit her.
All this time I thought we were having a run of really bad luck. Now I understand it. If only we were better stewards, all of this would not have happened.
The good news is we own one vehicle, so when we are evicted from our house we can live in it.
Thank goodness for small miracles, and my husband and I will keep working on that stewardship stuff.
Tracy Grady
Mesa, Ariz.

When is it enough?

I know I haven't taken the time to blog lately. Will reminded me that I still haven't posted pics of my trip to New York, and I have good intentions to do that in the very near future ... however, I had to post a link to a story that illuminates (yet again) how poorly Bush's administration has bungled the fiasco in Iraq. I mean, after you read this story you have to ask yourself if ANYTHING positive will come out of the American efforts in Iraq. If this is our best effort .... well, then it's REALLY time to pack up and get the hell outta Dodge ..

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/11/iraq

I'm outta here!!

I leave in a few hours for New York City ... and I can't begin to describe how excited I am. It has been a tough two semesters, and I need a HUGE break. Karli, my friend I am going to see, has e-mailed me the link to the restaurant we are going on Friday night to celebrate her graduation (http://www.nybarolo.com/events.cfm). She lives in SoHo, so it's one of the many fabulous restaurants that surrounds her digs.

I will take TONS of pics and I am bringing my video camera ... that may motivate me to learn how to attach video on this thing.

I will miss Ron and my kids terribly, but I think leaving for a few days will illuminate just how much I do around here!!

See y'all on the flip side ...

J

Absolutely amazing ...

I cannot control my fingers at this moment in time. I just read the-hands-down-more-stupid-than-I-could-ever-imagine statement ... something to the effect of "don't vote emotionally." The reason this is soooooooooooooooo freakin' stupid is because it is coming from someone who is SUCH a hypocrite who wouldn't know how to make a decision based on critical thinking if her life depended upon it. This person makes seemingly EVERY decision based on emotion. She is critical of others (daily, I might add), she is judgmental, she has lost the power of thinking on her own, and she hides under the veil of being a "Christian" so her comments and actions should be forgiven. This person ceases to understand that sitting in church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car.

Noooooow, this person is giving her opinion on who we should vote for by "researching the candidates" when CLEARLY she has not done her own!!!! She is upset because someone she has respect for has made the decision to vote for a candidate she is against. The nerve!!! Oh, she tries the cover-up by writing, "I respect that everyone has their own opinion." Oh, really? Who does she think she's fooling? Such a crime ... someone is actually thinking on their own without falling into the line on the right. Such a pity ...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. WTF?

Honey, if you dare read this ... make sure to leave this page with this one thought -

STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD. You're embarrassing your family ...

Gobble ... gobble ... BOOM!!!

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World

Okay ... so maybe not in the WHOLE world, but at least in MY world. This is his school picture. The first in a very long time that didn't end up in the bottom of the drawer. Ain't he handsome?

3000 K's!!!!!!!!

Tonight John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves pitcher, made major league history. He is now #16 on the all-time strikeout list by hitting # 3,000 strikeout against the Washington Nationals.

Smoltzy has always, and will always remain, my favorite sports figure. I am so proud of him ... I cried when he struck Lopez out. I truly did!

I know some may think this is stupid and silly ... and I don't care if you're one of them. This feat is incredible ... he has shown strength, perseverance, and fight-to-the-end attitude to reach this milestone.

Hats off to you, John ... congratulations!!!!

From Sports Illustrated:

ATLANTA -- At this stage in his long career, being a strikeout pitcher is not what John Smoltz really needs to be. He'll be 41 next month, you know. He's closing in on 3,500 innings of hard, sometimes painful work. He's been through four elbow operations and, as of this moment, his right shoulder is being particularly bothersome. It wouldn't be such a bad idea, once in a while, to sacrifice a few strikeouts for a couple more quick, groundball outs.
But you can't change what you are -- well, Smoltz can, but it's getting a little late to do that again -- so a strikeout pitcher is what he'll remain, right up to the time he decides to hit the golf course for good. And when he makes his trek to the Hall of Fame sometime in the next decade, which he surely will do, he'll be feted as a great strikeout artist then, too. One of the best ever.
Tuesday, with the sun dropping behind the stands on the third-base side of Turner Field on a beautiful spring evening, Smoltz muscled his way past the most important milestone of his wonderfully quirky career, strikeout No. 3,000. Only 15 other pitchers in history have done that -- it's a feat that's been accomplished less often than a perfect game (17), 300 career wins (23), 500 home runs (23) or 3,000 hits (27) -- and of those who have, Bert Blyleven is the only one eligible for induction into the Hall who isn't in yet. Only five members of the fraternity of 3,000 -- Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan and Curt Schilling -- have done it in fewer innings.
This was a career-defining moment for Smoltz, a Cy Young Award winner as a starter in '96, the National League's most dominant closer for the better part of three years in the early part of this decade and, all along, one of the toughest postseason pitchers of his or many other generations. You could tell it was important to him, too. The normally steady Smoltz had to step off the mound on a couple of occasions to compose himself with a small but screaming crowd of 23,482 egging him on. He said later he was as nervous as he was in his first pennant race, 17 years ago. "They caused me to do something I'm really not wanting to do, which is rev up ... with two strikes," he said. "I've never been that anxious with two strikes."
When he fooled the Nationals' Felipe Lopez into swinging over a splitter in the dirt for No. 3,000 -- after shaking off a couple of signs -- a grim-faced Smoltz pumped his fist quietly and allowed himself a long, slow exhale. He walked forward to hug his catcher, Brian McCann. He embraced third baseman Chipper Jones and worked clockwise around the rest of the infield. He wandered behind the mound to tip his hat to the crowd.
"He was awfully strong. He couldn't have been any stronger," said Braves manager Bobby Cox.
"He was awesome, man. Smoltzie was Smoltzie tonight," said McCann.
This was, in many ways, the final frontier for Smoltz to cross. It was a whiff that can't be ignored, a strikeout to shut up the skeptics.
"They normally don't ...," Smoltz, searching for the right words, said of his strikeouts, "... it's no big deal. But today, for one single moment, it certainly was an incredible moment. I think the course of my career has made this very special."
Smoltz is, and always has been, a different kind of a pitcher, hard to categorize, hard to figure. Packed with talent but with no idea of how to pitch when he came up in 1988, he worked and willed himself into being one of the best starters in baseball. In 1992 he added a split-fingered fastball to a high-90s fastball and a devastating slider, perfected the pitch in his Cy Young year (when he went 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA) and became, not too arguably, the most naturally gifted pitcher in maybe the best rotation ever assembled. With Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, Smoltz was the mainstay of the Braves' streak of 14 straight division titles, the only of the three around for the entire run.

Teenager in the House!

Yep ... my little boy is now a teenager. It seems completely unreal. I mean, it doesn't surprise me that in a few months Hannah will be 17. THAT, I can handle. But wow ... my little Eli ... is losing his innocence. Well, perhaps that's overstepping it a bit. He is still VERY innocent, but now he is ever closer to becoming ... a brat. UGH.

His birthday was just as he likes it ... uneventful and nearly unmarked. We didn't have a cake ... we had Skittles. We didn't wrap presents ... he opened them as they arrived in the mail. He wanted four DVD's: "The Day After Tomorrow" ... "School of Rock" ... "Wayne's World II" ... and "2007 World Series - Red Sox v. Rockies." With Skittles and DVD's in hand, he was on top of the world.

I am thankful that his birthday fell on spring break. Otherwise, his teachers might make mention that it was his birthday ... and that would send him under the table. It makes no difference how much I tell them NOT to bring attention to him ... they do it anyway. I am considering getting a t-shirt designed to read: PLEASE IGNORE ME. I DO NOT LIKE TO BE NOTICED. Thanks, my mom :)

Anway .. it will only be a little while before Ron will have to teach Eli how to shave. The boy is sprouting hair like nobody's business :-)

The BIG Apple

In less than two months, I will be traveling back to NYC to see my friend, Karli. This time I won't be going alone. Karli's mom, Linda, and her brother, Danny, will also be going. Oh yeah, and Karli's uncles Micky and Lavaughn will be headed there, too. Um ... two more are going, too. Natasha and Kristin will be headed to NY also. I can't even imagine how much fun we're going to have. we're all flying out on the same flight ... it leaves on a Thursday morning at 6:45 a.m. We're all trying to decide what kind of hats we'll be wearing on the plane.

Yeah ... hats. We are an entourage, so we must do something to let everyone know we're all together. Also, the motivation of seeing Karli's face when she meets us at JFK is pushing this idea. She'll be mortified ... we will have succeeded.

Karli is graduating from Marymount College in Manhattan. I believe her degree is international business ... I can't really remember. She's going to stay in Manhattan for a few years and work before she heads to graduate school. Scary thought --> she called me and asked for advice as to what to do after graduation. Yikes. The pressure. She works for some big law firm in Manhattan and they, of course, love her. She's doing everything a paralegal does, so she can either stay at the law firm where she is now, or go to another one who's offered her a job and become a certified paralegal. Either way, she'll make enough to live in the city and work for a year or two. She needs to have fun and sew some oats before she begins grad school. Life is over then (cough) ...

While in NYC we'll go and see "Wicked" on Broadway, and go to the Yankees/Mets game. Oh yeah, and I'll spend an entire day in Chinatown - CAN'T WAIT !!!

Four days of fun, fun, fun .... I'll need it after this semester. I've wanted to quit twice already ....

... sometimes I hate being an overachiever ... it can really suck.

NYC here I come ...

My latest project

Meet Jason. He's my latest project at work. He is attending college at my institution ... well, NOW he is. He's from England ... came here on a soccer scholarship ... and soon after arriving decided not to go to class. Oh, with that decision came the idea that none of his assignments had to be completed as well. He failed his first semester flat. He didn't even have a GPA. It was 0.

But now ... he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. He goes to class ... he writes his papers ... he completes his assignments ... earns grades that reflect his continued efforts ... and continues to drive the soccer coach insane (which, in my mind, is pretty awesome).

This pic is Jason holding my UGA cup ... a slight at his girlfriend's college (she's a Gator, poor girl). I like this picture of him because it reminds me why I get up every morning and leave my family ... it's to work with kids like Jason. He, like everyone in the world, has enormous potential.

He says he "fancies me."

I fancy him, too. Keep it up, Jason.

Kite flying

Do you remember when you first flew a kite as a child? I don't remember my first experience ... I wish I could. I wish so I could compare it to how much fun it was watching Eli fly a kite for the first time. We tried a few years ago, but E-man would have none of it.

This past weekend Hannah had her friend, Caroline (in one of the pics), over for the weekend. That meant 3 kites ... and lots and lots of trees ...

THE lawnmower

I had intentions of giving a title of RON'S NEW TOY ... but I soon realized I've actually used that title before. It is apparent that Ron really likes his toys ...

Allow me to introduce everyone to THE lawnmower. I've been told that it "will last over 20 years" and our three acres can be mowed "in only 45 minutes."

Oh yeah, and one other tidbit about the greatest lawnmower ever sold ...

It costs $6000.

Yeah.

I know.

Yeah.

Me, too.

Yeah, it mows grass.

Um ... yeah.

A bad day

No, not today ... today was pretty normal. LAST WEEK ... I had a bad day. It's not important why ... I'm not attempting to have my friends feel sorry for me. Unlike others, I prefer to draw people to me for my positive outlook, not pity me.

Anywho ... I wanted to post the picture of the flowers my friend Karli sent me. She spoke with me the morning I was sad ... and four hours later, my friend Kristen is delivering flowers for Karli. The card read, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising everytime we fall."

A lovely thought from a lovely friend ... and apologies to Karli for such a fuzzy photo. Even if the photo was clearer, a photo will not do justice to the beauty of these flowers.

Thanks Karli ... I'll always be there for you, too.

J

Insurance companies

Grrrr. I had a fender bender yesterday. At first, the policeman told me it was my fault ... and after it was over I called one of my former students (who happens to be the assistant chief of police) to investigate. He did ... and lo and behold ... I wasn't at fault. The woman driving the car I hit was crossing a double yellow line to make a u-turn. There was no way I could have seen her ... so the re-written police report reflects that it was not my fault.

Well ... the woman's insurance company is going to fight me about it. What does that mean? You know, besides taking precious time out of my life to deal with this crap? It means I'll have to pay my $1000 deductible to get my vehicle fixed, and then wait for court so I can get my money back. I give everyone my solemn promise here ... if the other insurance company wants to fight, they're going to have to pay a WHOLE bunch more than what it costs to get it fixed.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!

Oh. My. God.

How long has it been? 4 months? Are all of you wondering where the hell I've been? Missing me, right? Awww, come on Will ... you've missed me. Admit it.

Well, I've just been too busy with other crap in my life to detail all the crap here. I'm sure you all understand. There has been waaaaaay too much that has happened in the last 4 months to go back and fill in the blanks ... so I won't attempt to do that. I also can't promise I will be as good as I'd like to be in keeping up with this blog. This semester I am working (of course) with the addition of teaching two classes and taking two classes (Research Methods & Models II and Advanced Grammar & Syntax). My brain is mush ... Will may argue it has ALWAYS been mush, but it is really, really mush now.

Family is doing well. No change there.

Ahh, but tomorrow is D.D.'s birthday ... I must document in print this historic occasion! What is it ... 50th yet? Hmmm, I must give a quick call to mi madre ... I wouldn't want to give her any more of any less years in my posting.

Be on the lookout ...

J