So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 - Top 20

Rayven and Jamie - Hip Hop - Napoleon and Tabitha - "American Boy" by Estelle f Kanye West
Personality - I like that she's 28 and owns it and she seems nice. I don't understand the jacket he bought and he seems young.
Song - Eh
Choreography - Its a strange blend of hip hop and Broadway that doesn't fully realize the best of either. I didn't like that she pulled his pants down. What was that about? Was there something in the lyrics I missed? Strange - and a little too revealing for my taste, given the dance style.
Costumes - added to the mismash of styles. updated 30's newsboy? 80's Miami Vice? 90's boy band? I don't see how any of that worked well with the hip hop.
Dancing - Both dancers executed the positions well, yet there wasn't anything behind it. I felt no funk and I felt no hip and I felt no hop.
Overall - Neither of the dancers made the choreography mean more than the steps. Are the dancers a victim of the choreography? Or can great dancers make choreography transcend the steps? Did the choreographers see the dance they envisioned, or were they hoping for more?
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Susie and Marquise - Smooth Waltz - Hunter Johnson - "Dark Waltz" by Hayley Westenra
Personality - During auditions I was put off by Susie because of the clothes she was wearing (too obviously going for the 'sexy trashy' look) and I was irritated by her constant head rolls to swing her hair around. Ugh! After her interview on this show, I decided to let it go. She said she's 'bringing the Miami' by tossing her hair around. Its still not my taste (and if she starts flinging her hair around again it'll bug me) but its her style and she's got the courage to be on the show - so, who am I to judge? This is what she likes and I'll live with it. Dance on! Marquise - I hope his mother doesn't mind that he said 'it seemed like she had no heart'.
Song - I liked it.
Choreography - Seems nice. I liked it fine. It was definitely smooth.
Costumes - A flowing dress and a nice tux is always nice for a smooth waltz
Dancing - Neither of them were 100% controlled and steady, most noticeably on the lift at the end, but also on some of the turns during the dance. Otherwise, they did a good job.
Overall - I wasn't wow'ed.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Kourtni and Matt - Jazz - Mandy Moore - "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell
Personality - I like Kourtni based on the auditions. I liked her solo when she threw herself on the floor - very emotional dance. I don't remember Matt from the auditions, but I liked him in tonight's segment. He seemed like a nice guy. Both Tall.
Song - familiar 80's song - getting a bit overused these days, I'd say. Mandy must like the 80's - she did Eurythmic's 'Sweet Dreams' last season. Anyway - in this case, the familiarity of the song helps me enjoy the dance more.
Choreography - I think the choreography was better than the camera angles made it look. It seemed like there were some lines they were creating that I didn't get to see because the camera was out of position. I didn't like the parts where they had to go back to walking and she hooked her arm into his. That repeat broke up the dancing and didn't help the story. Again, this dance was marred by the camera movements.
Costumes - I liked the black leather; made them look criminal and Matrix like.
Dancing - I think these are two talented dancers. They hit all the beats in the music (other dancers in the show didn't end with the music), there were crisp movements. Excellent.
Overall - I'd like to see the dance again with the camera in the front. Otherwise, I thought this was a good dance.
Verdict - Keep 'em. These two should be in the top of the pack and I hope they are. I think Matt got short changed by Nigel asking for more personality. Matt did a good job and showed the exact amount of personality for the dance.

Chelsea and Thayne - Cha Cha - Tony Meredith and Melanie - "Oye Como Va (Latin/Trance Mix)" by Celia Cruz
Personality - In the interviews Chelsea and Thayne seem like regular dance folk. Nothing outrageous or overly silly about their personalities. That's fine for me. Why does Thayne like to dance with one pant leg shorter than the other?
Song - Great song. Classic.
Choreography - The first time I saw the dance I was irritated by how many times Chelsea raised her right (or left) arm behind her head and swooped it over to come down the left (or right) side of her face (if that makes sense). I blamed her and it reminded me of Lacey Schwimmer last year. But after watching again, I think its the choreography. I think she was told to do it - eight times. Eight times! Ugh. I didn't like that. Also, in this dance (a lot of latin dances?) the male doesn't get to do much dancing.
Costumes - appropriate
Dancing - They did a good job. Although I think they could have been tighter and moved more quickly. Thayne was a good partner. Even though they know what their moves are going to be, Thayne was still leading - which is important in partnership dances.
Overall - I would give them a good score. Nothing about it stood out for me.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Chelsie and Mark - Contemporary - Mia Michaels - "Beautiful" by Me'shell Ndegeocello
Personality - I like that Chelsie is working everyday to be the person she wants to be. Good for her. I like that Mark is a little off center. That's cool. His solo at the auditions was among my favorites. I'm a fan.
Song - Pretty song.
Choreography - I like the levels that Mia Michaels puts into her routines, they are interesting and unexpected. She also varies the tempo of the dance (with or without the music) which gives it variety and texture. Enjoyable dance; one of my favorites.
Costumes - I wish her dress hadn't been quite as poofy. It was great for the dance except it didn't show the lifts off. I think there were some great lifts in the dance but you couldn't really tell. Otherwise I thought the costumes worked well.
Dancing - Mark had a lot to prove with Mia Michaels saying before hand that she thought he'd be better than he was and he wasn't getting it, etc. Maybe she's frustrated with him at that moment? I appreciate her frankness but it can't have been easy for him to hear that. And the audience, who will be voting for him, heard it as well. Nevertheless, Mark did a fantastic job. Both of them danced well and gave the dance the emotion it deserved - and the quirkiness.
Overall - One of my favorite dances of the night.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Kherrington and Twitch - Broadway - Tyce Diorio - "Too Darn Hot" from 'Kiss Me Kate'
Personality - Kherrington - good smile. Nice girl. Dedictated. Twitch - I have a lot of respect for someone who comes back after not getting the final spot last year. Good for him. He seems like a fine upstanding young man.
Song - Fun song. I liked it.
Choreogrpahy - I liked the dance and I don't think it lived up to the potential of the song at the same time. I'm not sure why...the transitions? the closeness? I liked it as a Broadway show tune. I just think it could have been more. How was she 'too darn hot'? I didn't get that.
Costumes - Fun and appropriate. Hmmm...upon further review I notice she didn't have heels on. I wonder why? Not that I blame her, but it would have been expected considering the rest of the costume.
Dancing - They followed the steps. They put personality into the dance. Their technique was there. I wonder, though, if Kherrington was not using her full potential, and Twitch was. On the other hand, he did a better job than I would have expected because he hasn't had a lot of formal training, right? Maybe I'm mistaken. I thought he was a little more heavy footed than she was.
Overall - Good dance, fun dance. I still would have liked to know why she is 'too darn hot'.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Comfort and Chris - Jive - Tony Meredith and Melanie - "Boom Boom" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Personality - I don't relate to Comfort right now. I have a feeling she's less different from me than it might appear. I imagine she's very genuine and a hard worker. Chris seems nice
Song - Like it.
Choreography - I liked the beginning. Good choreography.
Costumes - Perfect.
Dancing - He did great. She was a bit awkward, but considering her experience with partnering - she did a good job as well.
Overall - Her awkwardness was the only issue I had.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Katee and Joshua - Hip Hop - Napoleon and Tabitha - "No Air" by Jordan Sparks & Chris Brown
Personality - Regular hard, working, dancer folk. I like 'em. I didn't hold last week's problem with the judges against Katee at all. I think she was scared. It may be indicative of other issues, but I'm willing to let it go for now.
Song - Fine. Nothing that sparked my interest about it, but it was good for the dance.
Choreography - Excellent choreography. Captured the mood of the story.
Costumes - Regular clothes, appropriate.
Dancing - Each of them did a fantastic job. They were in synch. Neither one upstaged the other.
Overall - This is the best dance of the evening - owing a great deal to the choreography and that the dancers lived up to it.
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Jessica and Will - Tango - Hunter Johnson - Tango from Cirque du Soleil
Personality - Here's my problem with Jessica - she looks like Katee's roommate and it bugs me because I always think she IS Katee's roommate. I like that she says dance is her art; her voice. Will is Debbie Allen's protege. He seems like a nice guy.
Song - what I'd expect of a Tango
Choreography - again, what I'd expect of the Tango.
Costumes - and one more time, what I'd expect of the Tango.
Dancing - Their facial expressions didn't say Tango - she shouldn't have smiled. And then he got a bit of a grin on him. It takes away from the power of the dance. His technique was superb, but there wasn't any tango passion in it. Her technique was a bit less than superb. She also didn't have the tango passion in her. That made the difference for me.
Overall - It was a tango. What am I gonna say?
Verdict - Keep 'em.

Courtney and Gev - Disco - Doriana Sanchez - "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire
Personality - I like both of the dancers. I think both of them are victims of being the 10th couple. Song - Earth, Wind, and Fire classic. Good song.
Choreography - I've always thought the disco style was a little goofy. And yet, they keep doing it. I wonder if Doriana Sanchez has a story that would explain that? I guess the part that bothers me about disco style is that the only thing that makes it 'disco' are certain moves that get done over and over. John Travolta Saturday Night Fever moves. Ah - that must be disco style. Does that mean there's a Flashdance style? Anyway - this was a perfectly good disco dance. I thought some of the moves, however, didn't follow the beat of the music - they looked like they were just thrown in.
Costumes - appropriate
Dancing - They gave it their all. They weren't tight enough, but what are ya gonna do - they didn't have a lot of time to practice.
Overall - I liked it fine
Verdict - Keep 'em.

So, my verdict on everyone is 'keep 'em'. Every week the dancers switch partners. There are 10 dances every week. The public votes for the one they like the best. At the end of 10 weeks, whoever has the most votes, wins. That would be fun.

I tried to decide who I would put in the bottom three and vote out, but I haven't the guts. I wouldn't be a good judge. We'll see what happens tonight.

Happy Birthday

Waiting
Alone
Content
Still trying to be...wise, peaceful, motivated, free, creative

Internet Cruelty

I have no context in my life experience that helps me understand people who go out of their way to write cruel things on the Internet about other people. I can't see the benefit in any way - personally or societally. I understand being in a bad mood and ranting or being angry and blowing things out of proportion. I don't understand writing that a person is ugly (et al) as proof that what they say, think, or do, is not worthy of respect. There's an abundance of evidence for it so I know people are like that, but why? What does it gain for them?

Hillary Clinton's Saturday speech

June 7, 2008
I'm so very proud of Hillary. Everything I'd hoped about her is true in these words. She expressed them with strength and grace. I had some frustration with her in the primary season of 2008, but I'll chalk it up to bad advice and believe this speech identifies the real Hillary Clinton.

Here are some excerpts I found particularly meaningul:

"I've told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota who was 88 years old and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot.
She passed away soon after and, under state law, her ballot didn't count, but her daughter later told a reporter, "My dad's an ornery, old cowboy, and he didn't like it when he heard mom's vote wouldn't be counted. I don't think he had voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom."

Love, politics, life/death, that story has everything...

"You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives."

I like the phrase "...the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives."

"I've had every opportunity and blessing in my own life, and I want the same for all Americans.
And until that day comes, you'll always find me on the front lines of democracy, fighting for the future."

I admire her dedication and wish I had more of it for myself.

"The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United States."

"I endorse him and throw my full support behind him."

"Now, when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and progress. And that's exactly what we're going to do, by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the dorrs of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

She's disappointed, tired, discouraged, and receiving pressure from all sides, but in the end she unequivocally comes out for Barack Obama.

"Now, I understand — I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight, but the Democratic Party is a family. And now it's time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.
We may have started on separate journeys, but today our paths have merged. And we're all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around, because so much is at stake.
It is this belief, this optimism that Senator Obama and I share and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. So today I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can!"

She acknowledges that her supporters may not be disposed to vote for or support Barack Obama, but she reminds them that this is about a greater purpose than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. I like that she uses his campaign slogan - 'we' becomes Hillary supporters and Barack supporters.

Now that it's over, I'm sad that Hillary Clinton wasn't my choice and that her campaign is ended. I supported the idea of her running in 2004, but I guess "they" didn't think she'd been in the Senate long enough for it to be a realistic goal; that it would be better if she waited until 2008. She made the mistake of listening to "them" then, and she listened to "them" again this time when they told her she was a shoo-in, that caucuses don't matter, and it would be over at the beginning of February.
But, I'm proud of her. She really is a fighter. In 2004 I would have supported her 100% over John Kerry. In 2008, I want more - I want vision that's bigger than what we're used to. I don't pretend that Barack Obama will have a magical presidency, but he's shooting for something bigger than just policy changes. He'll have to work in the old-style bureaucracy, so there's a limit to what he can do.
I guess the fact that I can't get away from discussing why Barack Obama is better even though I'm trying to make this about Hillary is telling. I'm proud of her, I like her, I would have happily voted for her if she'd won the nomination. But, I really like Barack Obama. I have hope.

Barack Obama's speech on June 3

Prepared remarks of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), as delivered in St. Paul, Minn., June 3, 2008.Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end. Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said — because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another — a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign — through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President. At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come. That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she’s a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she’s a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight. We’ve certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who’s shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning — even in the face of tough odds — is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children’s Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as first lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency — an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton. There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn’t just about the party in charge of Washington, it’s about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation. All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren’t the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn’t do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say — let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.
In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign. Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign. It’s not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year. It’s not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college — policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt. And it’s not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians — a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn’t making the American people any safer. So I’ll say this — there are many words to describe John McCain’s attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush’s policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them. Change is a foreign policy that doesn’t begin and end with a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged. I won’t stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what’s not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years — especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored. We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in — but start leaving we must. It’s time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It’s time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It’s time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda’s leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century — terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That’s what change is. Change is realizing that meeting today’s threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy — tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn’t afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That’s what the American people want. That’s what change is. Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. It’s understanding that the struggles facing working families can’t be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It’s understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President. John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy — cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota — he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for. Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can’t pay the medical bills for a sister who’s ill, he’d understand that she can’t afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That’s the change we need. Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can’t even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he’d understand that we can’t afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future — an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. That’s the change we need.
And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he’d understand that we can’t afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind; that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That’s the change we need in America. That’s why I’m running for President. The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don’t deserve is another election that’s governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon — that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first. Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself. I’ve walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I’ve sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I’ve worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington. In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again. So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union. So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity. So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom’s cause. So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that’s better, and kinder, and more just. And so it must be for us. America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love. The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Hillary Clinton's June 3 speech

HILLARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you all so much. Thank you, and thanks so much to South Dakota. You had the last word in this primary season, and it was worth the wait.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to start tonight by congratulating Senator Obama and his supporters on the extraordinary race that they have run.
Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics and empowered so many more to get involved. And our party and our democracy is stronger and more vibrant as a result. So we are grateful.
(APPLAUSE)
And it has been an honor to contest these primaries with him, just as it is an honor to call him my friend. And, tonight, I would like all of us to take a moment to recognize him and his supporters for all they have accomplished.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, 16 months ago, you and I began a journey to make history and to remake America. And from the hills of New Hampshire to the hollows of West Virginia and Kentucky, from the fields of California to the factories of Ohio, from the Alleghenies to the Ozarks to the Everglades, to right here in the great state of New York, we…
(APPLAUSE)
We saw millions of Americans registering to vote for the first time, raising money for the first time, knocking on doors, making calls, talking to their friends and neighbors, mothers and fathers lifting their little girls and their little boys onto their shoulders and whispering, “See, you can be anything you want to be.”
AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: And I think, too, of all those…
AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!
CLINTON: … all those wonderful women in their 90s who came out to see me, because they were born before women could vote, and they wanted to be part of making history, and the people who drove for miles, who waved their handmade signs, who went to all the events that we held, who came to HillaryClinton.com and showed the tangible support that they felt in their hearts.
And I am just enormously grateful, because, in the millions of quiet moments, in thousands of places, you asked yourself a simple question: Who will be the strongest candidate and the strongest…
(APPLAUSE)
Who will be ready to take back the White House and take charge as commander-in-chief and lead our country to better tomorrows?
People in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the territories, all had a chance to make your voices heard. And on election day after election day, you came out in record numbers to cast your ballots. Nearly 18 million of you cast your votes…
(APPLAUSE)
… for our campaign, carrying the popular vote with more votes than any primary candidate in history.
(APPLAUSE)
Even when the pundits and the naysayers proclaimed week after week that this race was over, you kept on voting. You’re the nurse on the second shift, the worker on the line, the waitress on her feet, the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the miner, the trucker, the soldier, the veteran, the student, the hard-working men and women who don’t always make the headlines, but have always written America’s story.
You have voted because you wanted to take back the White House. And because of you…
(APPLAUSE)
… we won, together, the swing states necessary to get to 270 electoral votes.
(APPLAUSE)
And you know…
AUDIENCE: Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will! Yes, she will!
CLINTON: In all of the states, you voted because you wanted a leader who will stand up for the deepest values of our party, a party that believes everyone should have a fair shot at the American dream, a party that cherishes every child, values every family, and counts every single vote.
(APPLAUSE)
I often felt that each of your votes was a prayer for our nation, a declaration of your dreams for your children, a reflection of your desire to chart a new course in this new century. And, in the end, while this primary was long, I am so proud we stayed the course together.
(APPLAUSE)
Because we stood our ground, it meant that every single United States citizen had a chance to make his or her voice heard. A record 35 million people voted in this primary…
(APPLAUSE)
… from every state, red, blue, purple, people of every age, faith, color, and walk of life. And we have brought so many people into the Democratic Party and created enthusiasm among those we seek to serve.
And I am committed to uniting our party so we move forward stronger and more ready than ever to take back the White House this November.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, for the past seven years, so many people in this country have felt invisible, like your president didn’t even really see you. I have seen the shuttered factories, the jobs shipped overseas, the families struggling to afford gas and groceries.
But I’ve also seen unions re-training workers to build energy- efficient buildings, innovators designing cars that run on fuel cells and biofuels and electricity, cars that get more miles per gallon than ever before, cars that will cut the cost of driving, reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and fight global warming.
(APPLAUSE)
I have met too many people without health care, just a diagnosis away from financial ruin. But I’ve also seen the scientists and researchers solving the medical mysteries and finding the treatments and cures that are transforming lives.
I’ve seen the struggling schools with the crumbling classrooms and the unfair burdens imposed by No Child Left Behind. But I have also met dedicated and caring teachers who use their own savings to buy supplies and students passionately engaged in the issues of our time, from ending the genocide in Darfur to once again making the environment a central issue of our day.
(APPLAUSE)
None of you, none of you is invisible to me. You never have been.
(APPLAUSE)
I see you, and I know how hard-working you are. I’ve been fighting for you my whole adult life, and I will keep standing for you and working for you every single day.
Because in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, your compassion and faith, I see the promise of America every day. The challenges we face are great, but our determination is greater.
You know, I understand that that a lot of people are asking, “What does Hillary want? What does she want?”
Well, I want what I have always fought for in this whole campaign. I want to end the war in Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
I want to turn this economy around. I want health care for every American. I want every child to live up to his or her God-given potential. And I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard, and no longer to be invisible.
(APPLAUSE)
You see, I have an old-fashioned notion, one that’s been the basis of my candidacy and my life’s work, that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their own dreams. This nation has given me every opportunity, and that’s what I want for every single American.
(APPLAUSE)
That’s why I want universal health care. It is wrong…
(APPLAUSE)
… that Americans pay 50 percent more for health care than the people of any other wealthy nation, with costs doubling this decade, and nearly 50 million people without any health insurance at all.
It is wrong for parents to have to choose between care for themselves or their children, to be stuck in dead-end jobs just to keep their insurance, or to give up working altogether so their kids will qualify for Medicaid.
I’ve been working on this issue not just for the past 16 months, but for 16 years. And it is a fight…
(APPLAUSE)
It is a fight I will continue until every single American has health insurance, no exceptions and no excuses.
I want an economy that works for all families. That’s why I’ve been fighting to create millions of new jobs in clean energy and rebuilding our infrastructure, jobs to come to all of our states, and urban and rural areas, and suburban communities and small towns.
And that’s why I sounded the alarm on the home mortgage crisis well over a year ago…
(APPLAUSE)
… because these are the issues that will determine whether we will once again grow together as a nation or continue to grow apart.
And I want to restore America’s leadership in the world. I want us to be led once again by the power of our values, to have a foreign policy that is both strong and smart, to join with our allies and confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to global terrorism and global warming.
These are the issues that brought me into this race. They are the lifeblood of my campaign. And they have been and will continue to be the causes of my life. And your spirit…
(APPLAUSE)
… your spirit has inspired me every day in this race. While I traveled our country, talking about how I wanted to help you, time and again you reached out to help me, to grab my hand or grip my arm, to look into my eyes and tell me, “Don’t quit. Keep fighting. Stay in this race.”
(APPLAUSE)
Now, there were days…
(APPLAUSE)
… when I had the strength — there were the days when I had the strength enough to fight for all of us. And on the days that I didn’t, I leaned on you, the soldier on his third tour of duty in Iraq who told his wife, an Iraqi veteran herself, to take his spending money and donate it to our campaign instead…
(APPLAUSE)
… the 11-year-old boy in Kentucky, who sold his bike and video games to raise money for our campaign, the woman who came to a rally hours early, waited and waited to give me a rosary, and all those who whispered to me, simply to say, “I am praying for you.”
So many people said this race was over five months ago in Iowa, but we had faith in each other. And you brought me back in New Hampshire, and on Super Tuesday, and in Ohio, and in Pennsylvania, and Texas, and Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota.
(APPLAUSE)
I will carry your stories and your dreams with me every day for the rest of my life.
Now, the question is: Where do we go from here? And given how far we’ve come and where we need to go as a party, it’s a question I don’t take lightly. This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
But this has always been your campaign. So, to the 18 million people who voted for me, and to our many other supporters out there of all ages, I want to hear from you. I hope you’ll go to my Web site at HillaryClinton.com and share your thoughts with me and help in any way that you can.
And in the coming days, I’ll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding my way.
And I want…
(APPLAUSE)
I want to conclude tonight by saying, “Thank you.” Thank you to the people across America for welcoming me and my family into your homes and your hearts.
Thanks to all of you in every corner of this country who cast your votes for our campaign. I am honored and humbled by your support and your trust.
Thanks to my staff and volunteers for all those long hours and late nights.
(APPLAUSE)
And I thank your families and your loved ones, as well, because your sacrifice was theirs.
And I especially want to thank all of the leadership of my campaign, our chairman, Terry McAuliffe, and everyone who worked so hard.
(APPLAUSE)
And, of course, my family, for their incredible love, support, and work, Bill and Chelsea…
(APPLAUSE)
… Hugh and Maria, Tony and Megan, Zach and Fiona, and my mother, who turns 89 tomorrow.
(APPLAUSE)
And, finally, I want to thank all of the people who had the courage to share your stories with me out on the campaign trail.
Tonight, I am thinking of a woman I met just yesterday in Rapid City, South Dakota. We were outside Tally’s Restaurant. There was a crowd there as I was walking into the restaurant, and she was standing right up against the barrier.
She grabbed my hand, and she said, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?” And as she was talking, she began to cry. She told me she works three jobs; she has suffered from seizures since childhood; she hasn’t been able to afford insurance ever since she left her parents’ home.
It is shameful that anyone in this country could tell that story to me.
(APPLAUSE)
And whatever path I travel next, I promise I will keep faith with her and with everyone I met across this great and good country.
You know, tonight, we stand just a few miles from the Statue of Liberty and from the site where the Twin Towers fell and where America rose again.
Lady Liberty’s presence and the towers’ absence are a constant reminder that here in America we are resilient, we are courageous, we embrace all of our people, and that, when we face our challenges together, there is no barrier we can’t overcome, no dream we can’t realize, nothing we can’t do if we just start acting like Americans again.
Thank you all very much. God bless you, and God bless America.

John McCain speech on June 3

I found John McCain's tone of voice during his speech condescending and inappropriate. At first I thought it sounded like someone on SNL doing a warped impression of Mister Rogers. That didn't seem quite right so I kept on thinking and it hit me...Gorgan (played by Melvin Belli) on the original Star Trek season 3 episode "And The Children Shall Lead". I can't say my recollection is accurate, but John McCains tone of voice was the same as Gorgan's when he was manipulating the children to get them to do bad things to the Enterprise crew. Creepity-eepity.

The words of the speech were offensive anyway. Coupled with his weird tone it was nearly unbearable. I was glad he got cut off.

For my own documentation, here is the speech.

JOHN MCCAIN: Good evening from the great city of New Orleans. Tonight, we can say with confidence the primary season is over, and the general election campaign has begun.
I commend both Senators Obama and Clinton for the long, hard race they have run. Senator Obama has impressed many Americans with his eloquence and his spirited campaign. Senator Clinton has earned great respect for her tenacity and courage.
The media often overlooked how compassionately she spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions of Americans, and she deserves a lot more appreciation than she sometimes received. As the father of three daughters, I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond their reach. I am proud to call her my friend. Pundits and party elders have declared that Senator Obama will be my opponent. He will be a formidable o ne. But I’m ready for the challenge, and determined to run this race in a way that does credit to our campaign and to the proud, decent and patriotic people I ask to lead.
The decision facing Americans in this election couldn’t be more important to the future security and prosperity of American families. This is, indeed, a change election. No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But, the choice is between the right change and the wrong change; between going forward and going backward.
America has seen tough times before. We’ve always known how to get through them. And we’ve always believed our best days are ahead of us. I believe that still. But we must rise to the occasion, as we always have; change what must be changed; and make the future better than the past.
The right change recognizes that many of the policies and institutions of our government have failed. They have failed to keep up with the challenges of our time because many of these policies were designed for the problems and opportunities of the mid to late 20th Century, before the end of the Cold War; before the revolution in information technology and rise of the global economy. The right kind of change will initiate widespread and innovative reforms in almost every area of government policy — health care, energy, the environment, the tax code, our public schools, our transportation system, disaster relief, government spending and regulation, diplomacy, the military and intelligence services. Serious and far- reaching reforms are needed in so many areas of government to meet our own challenges in our own time.
The irony is that Americans have been experiencing a lot of change in their lives attributable to these historic events, and some of those changes have distressed many American families — job loss, failing schools, prohibitively expensive health care, pensions at risk, entitlement programs approaching bankruptcy, rising gas and food prices, to name a few. But your government often acts as if it is completely unaware of the changes and hardships in your lives. And when government does take notice, often it only makes matters worse. For too long, we have let history outrun our government’s ability to keep up with it. The right change will stop impeding Americans from doing what they have always done: overcome every obstacle to our progress, turn challenges into opportunities, and by our own industry, imagination and courage make a better country and a safer world th an we inherited.
To keep our nation prosperous, strong and growing we have to rethink, reform and reinvent: the way we educate our children; train our workers; deliver health care services; support retirees; fuel our transportation network; stimulate research and development; and harness new technologies.
To keep us safe we must rebuild the structure and mission of our military; the capabilities of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies; the reach and scope of our diplomacy; the capacity of all branches of government to defend us. We need to strengthen our alliances, and preserve our moral credibility.
We must also prepare, far better than we have, to respond quickly and effectively to a natural calamity. When Americans confront a catastrophe they have a right to expect basic competence from their government. Firemen and policemen should be able to communicate with each other in an emergency. We should be able to deliver bottled water to dehydrated babies and rescue the infirm from a hospital with no electricity. Our disgraceful failure to do so here in New Orleans exposed the incompetence of government at all levels to meet even its most basic responsibilities.
The wrong change looks not to the future but to the past for solutions that have failed us before and will surely fail us again. I have a few years on my opponent, so I am surprised that a young man has bought in to so many failed ideas. Like others before him, he seems to think government is the answer to every problem; that government should take our resources and make our decisions for us. That type of change doesn’t trust Americans to know what is right or what is in their own best interests. It’s the attitude of politicians who are sure of themselves but have little faith in the wisdom, decency and common sense of free people. That attitude created the unresponsive bureaucracies of big government in the first place. And that’s not change we can believe in.
You will hear from my opponent’s campaign in every speech, every interview, every press release that I’m running for President Bush’s third term. You will hear every policy of the President described as the Bush-McCain policy. Why does Senator Obama believe it’s so important to repeat that idea over and over again? Because he knows it’s very difficult to get Americans to believe something they know is false. So he tries to drum it into your minds by constantly repeating it rather than debate honestly the very different directions he and I would take the country. But the American people didn’t get to know me yesterday, as they are just getting to know Senator Obama. They know I have a long record of bipartisan problem solving. They’ve seen me put our country before any President — before any party — before any special interest — before my own interest. They might think me an imperfect servant of our country, which I surely am. But I am her servant first, last and always.
I have worked with the President to keep our nation safe. But he and I have not seen eye to eye on many issues. We’ve disagreed over the conduct of the war in Iraq and the treatment of detainees; over out of control government spending and budget gimmicks; over energy policy and climate change; over defense spending that favored defense contractors over the public good.
I disagreed strongly with the Bush administration’s mismanagement of the war in Iraq. I called for the change in strategy that is now, at last, succeeding where the previous strategy had failed miserably. I was criticized for doing so by Republicans. I was criticized by Democrats. I was criticized by the press. But I don’t answer to them. I answer to you. And I would be ashamed to admit I knew what had to be done in Iraq to spare us from a defeat that would endanger us for years, but I kept quiet because it was too politically hard for me to do. No ambition is more important to me than the security of the country I have defended all my adult life.
Senator Obama opposed the new strategy, and, after promising not to, voted to deny funds to the soldiers who have done a brilliant and brave job of carrying it out. Yet in the last year we have seen the success of that plan as violence has fallen to a four year low; Sunni insurgents have joined us in the fight against al Qaeda; the Iraqi Army has taken the lead in places once lost to Sunni and Shia extremists; and the Iraqi Government has begun to make progress toward political reconciliation.
None of this progress would have happened had we not changed course over a year ago. And all of this progress would be lost if Senator Obama had his way and began to withdraw our forces from Iraq without concern for conditions on the ground and the advice of commanders in the field. Americans ought to be concerned about the judgment of a presidential candidate who says he’s ready to talk, in person and without conditions, with tyrants from Havana to Pyongyang, but hasn’t traveled to Iraq to meet with General Petraeus, and see for himself the progress he threatens to reverse.
I know Americans are tired of this war. I don’t oppose a reckless withdrawal from Iraq because I’m indifferent to the suffering war inflicts on too many American families. I hate war. And I know very personally how terrible its costs are. But I know, too, that the course Senator Obama advocates could draw us into a wider war with even greater sacrifices; put peace further out of reach, and Americans back in harm’s way.
I take America’s economic security as seriously as I do her physical security. For eight years the federal government has been on a spending spree that added trillions to the national debt. It spends more and more of your money on programs that have failed again and again to keep up with the changes confronting American families. Extravagant spending on things that are not the business of government indebts us to other nations; fuels inflation; raises interest rates; and encourages irresponsibility. I have opposed wasteful spending by both parties and the Bush administration. Senator Obama has supported it and proposed more of his own. I want to freeze discretionary spending until we have completed top to bottom reviews of all federal programs to weed out failing ones. Senator Obama opposes that reform. I opposed subsidies that favor big business over small farmers and tariffs on imported products that have greatly increased the cost of food. Senator Obama supports these billions of dollars in corporate subsidies and the tariffs that have led to rising grocery bills for American families. That’s not change we can believe in.
No problem is more urgent today than America’s dependence on foreign oil. It threatens our security, our economy and our environment. The next President must be willing to break completely with the energy policies not just of the Bush Administration, but the administrations that preceded his, and lead a great national campaign to put us on a course to energy independence. We must unleash the creativity and genius of Americans, and encourage industries to pursue alternative, non-polluting and renewable energy sources, where demand will never exceed supply.
Senator Obama voted for the same policies that created the problem. In fact, he voted for the energy bill promoted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, which gave even more breaks to the oil industry. I opposed it because I know we won’t achieve energy independence by repeating the mistakes of the last half century. That’s not change we can believe in.
With forward thinking Democrats and Republicans, I proposed a climate change policy that would greatly reduce our dependence on oil. Our approach was opposed by President Bush, and by leading Democrats, and it was defeated by opposition from special interests that favor Republicans and those that favor Democrats. Senator Obama might criticize special interests that give more money to Republicans. But you won’t often see him take on those that favor him. If America is going to achieve energy independence, we need a President with a record of putting the nation’s interests before the special interests of either party. I have that record. Senator Obama does not.
Senator Obama proposes to keep spending money on programs that make our problems worse and create new ones that are modeled on big government programs that created much of the fiscal mess we are in. He plans to pay for these increases by raising taxes on seniors, parents, small business owners and every American with even a modest investment in the market. He doesn’t trust us to make decisions for ourselves and wants the government to make them for us. And that’s not change we can believe in.
Senator Obama thinks we can improve health care by driving Americans into a new system of government orders, regulations and mandates. I believe we can make health care more available, affordable and responsive to patients by breaking from inflationary practices, insurance regulations, and tax policies that were designed generations ago, and by giving families more choices over their care. His plan represents the old ways of government. Mine trusts in the common sense of the American people.
Senator Obama pretends we can address the loss of manufacturing jobs by repealing trade agreements and refusing to sign new ones; that we can build a stronger economy by limiting access to our markets and giving up access to foreign markets. The global economy exists and is not going away. We either compete in it or we lose more jobs, more businesses, more dreams. We lose the future. He’s an intelligent man, and he must know how foolish it is to think Americans can remain prosperous without opening new markets to our goods and services. But he feels he must defer to the special interests that support him. That’s not change we can believe in.
Lowering trade barriers to American goods and services creates more and better jobs; keeps inflation under control; keeps interest rates low; and makes more goods affordable to more Americans. We won’t compete successfully by using old technology to produce old goods. We’ll succeed by knowing what to produce and inventing new technologies to produce it.
We are not people who believe only in the survival of the fittest. Work in America is more than a paycheck; it a source of pride, self-reliance and identity. But making empty promises to bring back lost jobs gives nothing to the unemployed worker except false hope. That’s not change we can believe in. Reforming from top to bottom unemployment insurance and retraining programs that were designed for the 1950s, making use of our community colleges to train people for new opportunities will help workers who’ve lost a job that won’t come back, find a job that won’t go away.
My friends, we’re not a country that would rather go back than forward. We’re the world’s leader, and leaders don’t hide from history. They make history. But if we’re going to lead, we have to reform a government that has lost its ability to help us do so. The solution to our problems isn’t to reach back to the 1960s and 70s for answers. In just a few years in office, Senator Obama has accumulated the most liberal voting record in the Senate. But the old, tired, big government policies he seeks to dust off and call new won’t work in a world that has changed dramatically since they were last tried and failed. That’s not change we can believe in.
The sweeping reforms of government we need won’t occur unless we change the political habits of Washington that have locked us in an endless cycle of bickering and stalemate. Washington is consumed by a hyper-partisanship that treats every serious issue as an opportunity to trade insults; impugn each other’s motives; and fight about the next election. This is the game Washington plays. Both parties play it, as do the special interests that support each side. The American people know it’s not on the level. For all the problems we face, what frustrates them most about Washington is they don’t think we’re capable of serving the public interest before our personal ambitions; that we fight for ourselves and not for them. They are sick of the politics of selfishness, stalemate and delay, and they have every right to be. We have to change not only government policies that have failed them, but the political culture that produced them.
Both Senator Obama and I promise we will end Washington’s stagnant, unproductive partisanship. But one of us has a record of working to do that and one of us doesn’t. Americans have seen me put aside partisan and personal interests to move this country forward. They haven’t seen Senator Obama do the same. For all his fine words and all his promise, he has never taken the hard but right course of risking his own interests for yours; of standing against the partisan rancor on his side to stand up for our country. He is an impressive man, who makes a great first impression. But he hasn’t been willing to make the tough calls; to challenge his party; to risk criticism from his supporters to bring real change to Washington. I have.
When members of my party refused to compromise not on principle but for partisanship, I have sought to do so. When I fought corruption it didn’t matter to me if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. I exposed it and let the chips fall where they may. When I worked on campaign finance and ethics reform, I did so with Democrats and Republicans, even though we were criticized by other members of our parties, who preferred to keep things as they were. I have never refused to work with Democrats simply for the sake of partisanship. I’ve always known we belong to different parties, not different countries. We are Americans before we are anything else.
I don’t seek the presidency on the presumption I’m blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me. I’ll reach out my hand to anyone, Republican or Democrat, who will help me change what needs to be changed; fix what needs to be fixed; and give this country a government as capable and good as the people it is supposed to serve. There is a time to campaign, and a time to govern. If I’m elected President, the era of the permanent campaign of the last sixteen years will end. The era of reform and problem solving will begin. From my first day in office, I’ll work with anyone to make America safe, prosperous and proud. And I won’t care who gets the credit as long as America gets the benefit.
I have seen Republicans and Democrats achieve great things together. When the stakes were high and it mattered most, I’ve seen them work together in common purpose, as we did in the weeks after September 11th. This kind of cooperation has made all the difference at crucial turns in our history. It has given us hope in difficult times. It has moved America forward. And that, my friends, is the kind of change we need right now.
Thank you.

Michigan/Florida

Rules we all learned as young'uns growing up, and should remember now:
1. You can't change the rules after the game has started
2. You can't try to change the rules only because you're losing.
3. For every action, there is a REaction. Take responsibility.
4. Just because you say the sky is red, doesn't make it red.
5. Its not a true democracy if only one dictator is on the ballot.
6. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

I'm against counting the votes in Michigan and Florida.
I think this discussion should have ended before it even began. It has no credence by its facts.

Barack Obama's speech in PA

I didn't see Barack Obama deliver this speech; I read it. It brought tears to my eyes - tears of hope, possiblity, and an intense desire for a healthy United States.


Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'
Philadelphia, PA March 18, 2008

"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 our 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 if 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.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton

My current choice is Barack Obama.
1. I like that some moderate Republicans like him (David Brooks) and he has support from Democratic Senators in 'red' states.
2. I like what it would say about America if he is elected.
3. Barack Obama as president would completely change the conversation in Washington. It would be a paradigm shift.
4. He's grass roots. I hope the people won't be afraid to demand the best.
5. I like that he's willing to see and understand the other point of view.
6. He seems less corrupted than other candidates.

If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, I will vote for her. I like her and support her. However...
1. She's part of the establishment - she's old Washington DC. I want new Washington DC.
2. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton is NOT Democratic - it would be too wierd (even though it would be totally cool to have a woman president).
3. I don't like what I think the Republicans will do if she is President. I think we'll spend years in partisanship and slimy accusations. The Republicans hate her.
4. I don't think she and Bill Clinton are doing their best to keep the party united. She lost in Iowa. Since then, the rhetoric has been bad. Today, on Meet the Press they showed several clips of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton (and John Edwards) purposely misrepresenting the words of Barack Obama and twisting them around. I say 'purposely' because it was clear to anyone who paid attention what the point of his words were (he was talking about Reagan...he did NOT say Reagan was the best, he did not say he would be like Reagan, he DID say that Reagan's message and style helped to fundamentally change politics in the 80's and 90's - that is true change). The Clintons and Edwardses are not stupid people - they're using fear to manipulate the voters, just like George Bush has been doing to us for almost all of his 8 years in office. I'm quite sick of it.

Updates and the New Year

Since I last wrote, I took up crafting - paper crafts. I started with paste paper, moved on to collage, then altered books, followed by rubber stamps, an art journal, and finally, cardmaking.

I've spent lots and lots of money on supplies; I've purchased, rubber stamps, clear stamps, ink, magazines, punches, stickers, and all manner of accessories to store, clean, display, and design cards or collages.

For all the organizing and money I've spent on craft supplies, I've made two "journal" pages, a set of Christmas cards (for office and immediate family), and gift labels (immediate family).

Following from my excessive spending on craft supplies in 2007, I'm going to curb my excessive spending this year (except tonight where I spent a lot of money buying new corner punches which I enjoy a great deal). More to the point - before Christmas I foolishly purchased Scene It for TV. It was spur of the moment; on the way out the door. My justification was that I like TV - it'll be more fun than the movie version I bought last year, which was really slow and I hated. Waddya know? This one is slow too. Bore Ing. What a waste of my money. That's the kind of purchase I want to stop making.

The other items on my To Do List in 2008 are:
1. approach all people and tasks with a warm and open heart
2. read 50 pages a day
3. Listen and Observe.

I've noticed that although its commonplace and noticeable when I 'approach' people and tasks during the day, I almost always forget that's what I'm doing, so I forget to have a warm and open heart. I'm already in the moment before I notice that it is a moment, so I can't approach with the right attitude fast enough. Over the years my heart has become less naturally warm and open. Practice, practice, practice.

Also, I haven't read 50 pages on any day of the year so far. I did read Rosie O'Donnell's book 'Celebrity Detox', but that hardly counts because it had big print, lots of poem type prose, and I skipped pages. Practice, practice, practice.

As noted above, I spent excessively this evening, but I feel its justified because even though I'm not making a craft item right now, the paper and punches and embellishments will be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

I've been aware of the 'listen and observe' one - practicing.

David Edelstein comments on CBS Sunday Morning June 3, 2007

This is a link to David Edelstein's comments about The Sopranos; The Hero as Villain.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/03/sunday/main2878717.shtml

He makes the point at the end, in one small sentence, that America is Hero and Villain.

"It makes you think of the ways most of us compromise, in big and little ways, for the sake of self-interest — and how our own lives, as Americans, are unsustainable."

Of course. Yes. Excellent. Thank you.

Norman Podhoretz essay about Iran

This is a link to a May 30, 2007 essay by Norman Podhoretz found at OpinionJournal.com. The essay is called "The Case for Bombing Iran: I hope and pray President Bush will do it"
http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110010139

I read the first six paragraphs and the last two paragraphs. The position he takes is based on a premise I don't agree with, so I don't see value in reading more. The title alone is horrifying.

1. Mr. Podhoretz believes the September 11, 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center in New York was the opening salvo in World War IV (World War III was the Cold War). The war is between Islamofascists and 'us'.

He doesn't define 'us'. I may be against fascism, but I can't confirm I'm for Mr. Podhoretz' solution to fascism.

2. According to Mr. Podhoretz, Iran is the main center of Islamofascist ideology and the main sponsor of terrorism, which makes Iran an early front in World War IV.

I don't agree that Islamofascist ideology is centered on a specific country. All ideologies begin when groups of people feel they no longer have value, hope, opportunity, options, and a vision of the future. Even Christianity began with an oppressed people.
These conditions exist in many populations around the world. Even in countries rich in resources and opportunity there are isolated populations that don't benefit from the bounty.
That is where negative ideologies take root - anywhere.

3. To confirm that Iran is a dangerous nation bent on global domination, the essay references Ahmadinejad's quote that he'd like to wipe Israel off the face of the map.

I don't like Ahmadinejad, I think he's a provocateur and I think he has a religious agenda. In this case, though, I think his words are being taken out of context and misinterpreted. Most Arab Muslims (and later, most non-Arab Muslims) have always thought Israel should not have been created in the middle of Palestine. To wipe Israel off the face of the map, does not necessarily mean to kill all the Jewish people. I think it means to restore Palestine.
I don't disagree that anyone who is a Holocaust denier should not be trusted; their view of reality is warped. But, I don't think we should repeatedly use the same Ahmadinejad quote (that could be interpreted in different ways) as a justification for preemptive military action.

4. The final paragraph of the essay is a tribute to George Bush.

I think George Bush is the worst president in the history of the United States.


For those four reasons alone, I don't accept Norman Podhoretz' conclusions.

I'm still uneasy about Iran's aspirations, though.

How to remove a webpage from Google's index (cache)

This is the area that describes some of the options to keep webpages off the Google Index/Cache:
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=sitemaps&continue=https://www.google.com%2Fwebmasters%2Ftools%2Fremovals%3Fhl%3Den&ltmpl=urlremoval&hl=en

To request a URL removal, start here:
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=61062

And, here is a link to the Google Webmaster Blog that could be a good starting point:
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/04/requesting-removal-of-content-from-our.html