GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

THE METHUSELAH PICKS A "STRIPPER"?

Technically, that is! A beauty contestant second runner-up for Miss Alaska 1984 for vice president? How about that for politics? Grandpa Senator John McCain is evidently manifesting early stages of age-related infirmities of both the mind and the brains. Grandpa's recent actions and words are highly suggestive of his near senility! Where is the republican conservative values when a woman who had "stripped and walked the podium half naked, partly clad in bikini was selected to run for an office as high as the vice presidency? Tell Icheoku it is a joke! The very ancient Senator John McCain is a free-radical with this choice and we hope the Republican Party gets whacked for this atrocious choice. Or when was her conversion/repentance from the worldly to the Godly? When did this "Saul" of Palin become a Paul Palin? Why all of a sudden has the high holier than thou pedestal of the Republican Party been lowered just to accommodate Mrs Sarah Palin? All the shouts of inexperience hitherto fanned at Barack Obama has now been shown to be just an empty war-cry; meant to rally the racist bigoted base of right wing conservative fundamentalists. Grandpa Senator from Arizona John McCain has by this choice confirmed that his series of double-speak is ingrained in him and that he does not have the sound mind to be entrusted with the fate of over 300 million Americans including the most awesome fighting machine in the world - the United States Armed Forces. Grandpa near-centurion John McCain does not appear to be a person of a sound mind, coupled with his rabid temperament begs the question, are we going to entrust the nuclear ball briefcase in his hands? Americans please this time is too serious for such a folly and let every voting man and woman go behind the closed curtain with a clear head and not just a benumbed racists' ideologue. So all these rantings about longevity in Washington! means nothing to the Republican Party, otherwise why a honky mom from God-forsaken Alaska? And she kills animals for food? Where is PETA and all the animal rights groups?
At 72 plus years very old, the best John McCain could choose as his running mate is a former "stripper" turned evangelical governor of uninhabited former Russian territory of Alaska? Where lies her experience? Where is her economic expertise or who is going to manage the economy since McCain had admitted to his lack of economic knowledge? Where is her gravitas or is pretty face all that is now needed. Something is pathologically awry with the Republican Party and the gods are rallying around to finish them off? Sarah Who? Sarah no name! In 1984, Sarah Palin was second-place finisher in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant after winning the Miss Wasilla contest earlier that year. In the Wasilla pageant, she played the flute and also won Miss Congeniality. And now she's Grandpa John McCain's running mate? Is it possible that Grandpa is planning to dump wife No2 for Palin? After-all this is a man who dumped his first wife who faithfully waited for him and raising their kids while he was in prison in Vietnam only for him to return and rewarded her by marrying his current alien-looking wife, Cindy.


According to presently available information to Icheoku.com, Sarah Palin won her governorship election with a gross total votes of just 114,000 and you begin to wonder, if all it takes to win the governorship of Alaska is fewer than a typical city block; is this bimbo then suited for a very tasking and challenging high office as the vice presidency? What if ancient John McCain were to suddenly go to sleep and decides to sleep on, can this Bambie doll effectively command the American Armed Forces? If all her management prowess has been just Alaska, how then will she begin to grasp a 300 million people in America with very extensive bureaucracy? In summation, as Icheoku continues to dig into this beauty contestant background especially our high-geared effort to secure some lacy pictures as we strongly suspect that some must exists somewhere, knowing what beauty pageants are like, we will keep you posted on the latest political suicide of Grandpa John McCain. Please whatever you do, do not vote for this duo as the top ticket is too old and the bottom of the ticket is just a bimbo beauty contestant who brings nothing to the ticket. This shows that John McCain is very unforgiving otherwise why did he not pick the economic "guru" Mitt Romney or the exorcist governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal - may be because the latter is of Indian extraction amidst a bigoted racist Republican party! What about the pretty evangelist Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota or the American Taliban fundamentalist Mike Huckabee? Grandpa Senator John McCain owes America a more solid explanation for his choice of this pretty face!

If Grandpa Senator John McCain wanted a woman vice presidential candidate, Icheoku would expect him to choose a woman with gravitas and not just a feather weight beauty contestant from remote far away Alaska! If the Republican Party are not hypocrites and the embodiment of biblical Pharisees our lord Jesus warned us against, why did they not strong-arm Grandpa John McCain to pick from the pool of well qualified women of substance bountiful in America? Why did Grandpa John McCain pick a honky mom he barely knew, having met her only once before as his vice president? There are a lot that has not meet the eyes and the whole America awaits his candid explanation. Did John McCain seek counselling from his lizardly-wife Cindy McCain before choosing a bimbo as a vice presidential candidate? Icheoku hopes Grandpa John McCain will not elope with Miss Alaska runner-up?

Talk of women of substance, what about the likes of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas who could easily supply all the necessary experience for the administration?


Also since Grandpa Senator John McCain does not know anything about economics - this much he admitted on national television, why did he not pick a seasoned corporate feline like Carly Fiorina of the Hewlett Packard (HP) fame!

What about the other compatriot of Fiorian in the corporate world like the Margret Thatcher of E-bay woman CEO Meg Whitman?

There is such a trove of highly qualified eves from which Grandpa Senator John McCain would have picked a woman vice presidential candidate but instead he chose to once again manifest his fabled maverick streak. If this run-away train syndrome is what a Senator John McCain's administration is going to look like, please Dear God, spare America and the world this old man's dream. May he not win and if elected may he not be sworn in and if sworn in, may he not serve! Grandpa Senator John McCain is not what America needs now especially after the eight years of uninspiring Bush administration. America needs a breath of fresh air and the whole world is waiting to exhale with a fresh dynamic inspiring administration in Washington DC in January 2009. Away with McBush - it is toxic!
A thousand and one questions beg for answers but Grandpa Senator John McCain is too sleepy even to contemplate their answers. How can a 70 years plus old man who has been drawing on social security these past seven years be our president? Something is not right and please help put an end to htis madness - DO NOT VOTE FOR McCAIN or McBUSH or McPALIN or the REPUBLICAN ticket - it is suicidal!

THE HIT LIST - our incredible but true story series:- Serie 7

1. Awesome art of mother-nature:


Is there any artist like mother nature? Is it when it chooses to make the sky the canvass or the seas or some mountain side. In this story the object of adore of mother nature is a tree which it had sculptured into a very delicate piece of fine art. Can you imagine the intricate weaving that went into this and the beautiful thing about the art is that it was done with a living tree - so it is all organic! Were this piece of art to be in Soethbys', Icheoku bets it will be a collector's item ranging in the millions of dollars but unfortunately a tree grows where-ever it pleases or better still in the yard or farm of whoever plants it. Going back to the first allusion that a tree grows wherever it pleases, this blogger have witnessed a tree-grower who could not grow a tree in a particular location despite the desire to so do. Anyway this piece of art is not in any gallery or private collector's home, so enjoy the sight - Happy viewing!

2. A werewolf in London?


This time it is for real! All the musical and movie adaptions are now out the window with this 11-year-old Pruthviraj Patil of where else but the land of perplexities India. He was born in Sangli a sleepy town near Bambay now Mumbai. His very ape like hairy condition called hypertrichosis is also known as Werewolf Syndrome - all his body including face and back with the exception of the soles of his feet and palms of his hands is entirely carpeted by thick dark hair.



3. Count yourself lucky!

Meet Mr. No Face! What would you do if you are faceless or wakes up one
morning to see that your face is gone -
hidden behind an over-sized tumour without any immediate palliative cure by medical science. Would you jump the bridge or pull the trigger or drink an overdose prescription drugs? What would you do yet you cry everyday because of some economic hardship or love misfortune. My friends, please wake up and count your blessings if only Mr. Jose Mestre of Lisbon Portugal is one tenth lucky to have a face just like you.

4. What a paradise on earth!

When last did you spend a night in a hotel? Have you ever had the privilege
of indulging yourself just once? Will you ever get the opportunity to so do during your lifetime. Now get ready and get going to the middle east city of Dubai. There you will see the only 7 star rated hotel of unparalleled luxury in the world. Hotel Burj Al Arab is one of a kind both in design, height and pure luxury. It is one of the pecks of well healed men and women of this world who like to indulge themselves. At $2000 per night for junior suites, now you understand?


5. Do you have a WC?


Where do you do your privates? Do you have a toilet in your house or do you go the old fashioned way - take it to mother nature in a little shrub coverings or behind a tree? If you have a contraption for a toilet seat is it comfortable? Does it sing, warm up your behind or massage it while you do your business? DO you have a state of the art loo which you proudly show-off to your visitors at the slightest whiff? Now meet what Icheoku would consider the mother of all that sees our private parts unhindered. This is what Icheoku calls, state of the art and if you have one, advertise it!


FYI: Until next Sunday when we come your way again, always remember what you pray for? The notorious American Taliban Fundamentalist James Dobson's Focus on the Family group prayed to their "god" to send down rain to mar Barack Obama's open-air acceptance speech at Invesco Stadium in Denver. However their "god" was sleeping and could only wake up after the beautiful convention speech was long over. Now it is answering their prayers late with Hurricane Gustav to stop their own evil Republican Convention slated for Monday, September 1, 2008 at Minneapolis! Who says "gods" do not answer prayers? The way to go, James Dobson and crew!

Friday, August 29, 2008

MICHEAL JACKSON TURNS 50, HURRAY!



The young ABC song singer fame, Michael Jackson - a little boy of yesterday who turned a super star at age 9 has grown into a matured adult. Michael Jackson turned 50 years old on Friday, August 29th, 2008. What a presence in the world stage spanning over four decades. Icheoku says, Happy Birthday, King of Pop Jacko Wacko! Your melodies will live forever and will always be a party-shaker till the end of time! Congratulations on turning half a century, it is a wonderful milestone indeed!

BARACK OBAMA SAYS ....ENOUGH!

What a classic that is? The acceptance speech of the Democratic Party's Presidential Nominee Senator Barack Obama! It was as riveting as it was very hopeful and change-themed. Watched by over 30million Americans during prime-time television with a yet to be determined world wide audience, with over 80 thousand people in attendance at Invesco Stadium in Denver; the United States of America is now bonded over and anything short of a total and complete thumping of Senator John McCain in November can only be interpreted one way and one way only - CRASS RACISM!

Are we as Americans going to settle for mediocre this time again? GW's presidency has shown what happens when a country settles for a below-average Joe! George W. Bush eight years of failed governance typifies what happens when a quack is allowed to preside over the affairs of a nation as great as United States of America. The question now is, will America allow this once in a lifetime opportunity which the nomination of Senator Barack Obama teamed with Senator Joseph Biden presents just evaporate because of mere bigotry? Icheoku says not this time and America must reject mediocrity and shoot for the stars. Ancient Grandpa Senator John McCain is so yesterday and we must throw our hat in the ring with the future, Senator Barack Obama! Democratic Party's Presidential Nominee Barack Obama is the answer to the question, how does America move forward from GW's squandered eight years?. America, an opportunity calls for America to soar and is determinedly knocking on the door, so America, open the door and let us begin to hope again. Keep hope alive visit www.barackobama.com!

Senator Barack Obama as expected delivered a TKO and literally speaking extracted a bucketful of tears of joy from so many admirers including this blogger. It is only a nay-sayer, the pessimist and/or a racist bigot who would fault the stellar speech delivered in a venue which decor was heavenly with a perfect weather condition which could only have been approved by a higher being. This blogger now believes that there is a hand of the almighty behind the phenom called BARACK OBAMA!

Without any further introduction or ado please let yourself into the fabled speech of the century of which like there has never been any. Now the full text of Senator Barack Obama's acceptance speech titled “The American Promise” of the Democratic Party's Presidential Nomination in Invesco Field, Denver Colorado on Thursday, August 28th, 2008. Happy reading!

"To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation; With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest — a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours — Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night. To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia — I love you so much, and I’m so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story — of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. It is that promise that has always set this country apart — that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. That’s why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women — students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive. We meet at one of those defining moments — a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more. Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this. This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work. This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news. We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land — enough! This moment — this election — is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”
Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need. But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change. The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives — on health care and education and the economy — Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made “great progress” under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors — the man who wrote his economic plan — was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a “mental recession,” and that we’ve become, and I quote, “a nation of whiners.” A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don’t believe that Senator McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement? It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it. For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy — give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is — you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps — even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own. Well it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America. You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President — when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job — an economy that honors the dignity of work. The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great — a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight. Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton’s Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships. When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed. And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.
What is that promise? It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect. It’s a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves — protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work. That’s the promise of America — the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper. That’s the promise we need to keep. That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it. Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America. I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow. I will cut taxes — cut taxes — for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class. And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East. Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office. Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close. As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy — wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans. Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American — if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most. Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent. Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.
And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons. Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime — by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less — because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that’s the essence of America’s promise. And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.
For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just “muddle through” in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell — but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.
And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we’re wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war. That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past. You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don’t protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can’t truly stand up for Georgia when you’ve strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice — but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans — have built, and we are here to restore that legacy. As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.


These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain. But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America — they have served the United States of America. So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first. America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose — our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore.
We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise — the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort. I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things. And you know what — it’s worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn’t work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it’s best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don’t fit the typical pedigree, and I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you. For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us — that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it — because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
America, this is one of those moments. I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I’ve seen it. Because I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I’ve seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands. And I’ve seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they’d pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I’ve seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores. Instead, it is that American spirit — that American promise — that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend. That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours — a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot. And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream. The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred. But what the people heard instead — people of every creed and color, from every walk of life — is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one. “We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise — that American promise — and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America".

Thursday, August 28, 2008

ICHEOKU'S OTHER VOICES OF THE CONVENTION!

1. Senator Ted Kennedy:
This American adorable teddy bear Senator from Massachusetts braved it to the convention to reassure America that Barack Obama is the one and told America that they don't have to have John McCain and the Republican Party again. Ted Kennedy spoke for this blogger as well as million other Americans. If you feel shortchanged with GW's eight years of abysmal performance, then do something about it - do not vote for Senator John McCain as he is the twin of George Bush and you will fare worse under his administration. It does not make sense to just vote out of your hatred but ask yourself, is your hatred enough reason to suffer four more years of sloppy governance? Listen to the wise counselling of Senator Ted Kennedy that you don't have to have Senator John McCain! Vote for Barack Obama in November 2008 for president - he is what the doctor ordered! For a complete read of what Uncle Ted said to the American people click this link Full Text: Senator Ted Kennedy Remarks to Democratic National Convention
2. President Bill Clinton: The "boy" from Hope Arkansas declared unequivocally that Barack Obama is ready to be president and who else is more qualified to give such testimony than a former president himself. America you must listen to a man of authority who has been there and done that. President Bill Clinton has spoken and so shall it be. Barack Obama is the preferred candidate for the presidency in November 2008! Now you may read the full text of Bill Clinton's Speech at Denver
3. Vice president Al Gore:


The face of global warming, former vice president Al Gore said that he believes in recycling but another Bush/Cheney recycled as John McCain is ludicrous! Let all that have ear listen as this great American Nobel Laureate has foresight and is a recycling authority so when he says do not recycle, please do not recycle! For additional reading of Al Gore's speech at Denver's Democratic Party's convention, click Full text of Al Gore's speech

4. Monica Early from Ohio: this "ordinary" American made a case for Americans not to allow themselves to be seen as a country of lunatics. According to this insurance agent from Cuyahoga Ohio, doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the classical definition of lunacy. Americans elected George Bush once, then again and if they should elect John McCain in November then it will be a testament to their lunacy as both men are two sides of the same coin and nothing different can come out of John McCain's governance but the same pain and suffering. She said that Americans will be held responsible it they elect John McCain as insane people. Her remarks now click 2008 Democratic National Convention Remarks by Monica Early
5. Vice presidential candidate, Senator Joseph Biden:


Quoting Abraham Lincoln this affable Scranton-Pennsylvania born lawyer and Delaware senator extolled Americans to be sure to put their feet in the right place and then stand firm. America there is no greater time for this call than the present. OBAMADEN (Obama+Biden) is the right place, so cast your lot with the duo and stand firm despite all the republicans unfounded besmirching campaigns of calumny. The Obama+Biden team is the only way and true way if you want to emerge out of the sink-hole where GW has sunk America! So in November 2008, vote for ObamaBiden ticket! Visit www.barackobama.com to and help make this effort a success! Here now is the full text of Joe Biden's speech:- Full text of Joe Biden's speech in Denver

DOBSON, WHO DOES HE WORSHIP?

What manner of a man of God is Pastor Dobson and his group of fanatical "Christians" aka 'American Talibans' that they "pray" for ills on imaginary enemies and supposed opponents, yet they pretend to worship God? Whatever happened to the creeds that Jesus Christ gave about loving your "enemy" and being a good Samaritan? Whatever happened to leadership by example? What about forgiveness and love? Where is the symbolism of 70 x 70 or was Jesus mincing words when he preached that gospel? Pastor Dobson's Focus on the Family "notoriety" prayed that Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Invesco stadium Denver be washed away by a deluge! That the heavens should open up and mar the open-air celebration of his acceptance speech and yet these demagogues profess Christianity. That rain should fall and soak all the beautiful preparations made for the historic acceptance speech? Using their exact same words, that "evangelical Christians have been asked to pray for “rain of biblical proportions” to fall on Senator Barack Obama as he accepts the Democratic nomination. (Stuart Shepard of James Dobson's Focus on the Family evangelical movement, one of America’s leading evangelical groups, was shown in a video filmed at Denver’s Invesco Field, asking Christians to pray for “torrential” rain).


If this is what every christian of the evangelical order looks like; if this Pastor Dobson and his flock is the true representative of the minds and hearts of all that profess evangelism, may this blogger die an heathen!

Why are you so evil, Pastor Dobson's group? What did your Jesus Christ preach regarding hate? It is despicable as it is horrifying that these charlatan devil-worshippers, racist bigots who mask themselves as men of God run amok in America today and you ask yourself what type of God do these decrepitude fellows worship? Icheoku says and emphatically too, that it cannot be the same biblical God of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac! Pastor Dobson's Focus on the Family group must be witch-doctors, voodoo priests and/or men whose heart reek with hatred and are as black from evil-doing as the darkest place on earth. At their current hate-driven madness and indiscriminate vitriolic utterances, the possibility exist that they especially their "leader", Dobson shall join Jerry Falwell in the hottest place in hell upon his demise! How can a supposed ambassadors of Christ be so hateful that it hurts.


Now Pastor Dobson's group, it would appear that your "god" has finally answered your "incantations" with hurricane Gustave as your Republican Party's convention may not hold at all. Is it possible that even the heavens disapproves of all the atrocities your party committed these past eight years of their being in power that immediately after a brilliant Democratic Party's convention, the heavens opened up with such a gift of hurricane for your party? Your hate-themed convention has been annulled from high above? How about that for prayers? Where was your golden rule? Icheoku says, please cease and desist from such hateful misbehaviour as it does not reflect a true man of God! All haters are hell-bound or would you rather dine with Lucifer? You may see the full report of the rain "prayer" by clicking this link Evangelicals asked to pray for rain at Barack Obama nomination

MARTIN LUTHER KING DREAMT OF OBAMA!

Today, August 28th 2008 as all men of goodwill, faith and hope commemorate the 40th anniversary of the etched in marble "I have a dream" speech, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr, delivered on the same date in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. may we see in Barack Obama a potential realisation of what Nostradamus MLK foretold then! Icheoku says never in recent times has a prophesy come this close to fruition within a lifetime; and wish to thank Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr for paving the way for a hopeful Barack Obama's presidency! MLK, we are ever grateful for your being such a worthy and revered fore-runner of every present day possibilities in America regarding race relations.
Now please enjoy the full text of the "I have a dream" speech and do some soul-searching as you read on the act of selfless service. Happy trails!
"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends - so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi - from every mountainside.
Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

NO WAY! NO HOW! NO McCAIN!

Finally she delivered! Mrs Hilary Rodham Clinton that is - she salvaged herself at the Democratic Party's convention in Denver on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008! Hilary wholeheartedly, no holds-bare and without any reservation whatsoever threw her weighty support behind our Presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama. Icheoku says thank you Senator Hilary Clinton for a job well done; your sins and misspeaks are forgiven and now together we shall ensure that Barack Obama becomes the next president of America come, November 2008!

Now enjoy the full text of Senator Hilary Clinton's speech at Denver Colorado in August 26th 2008 Democratic Party's convention.

"I am honoured to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama. My friends, it is time to take back the country we love. Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future. And it's a fight we must win.
I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal healthcare, helping parents balance work and family and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world ... to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people. And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership. No way. No how. No McCain.
Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president. Tonight we need to remember what a presidential election is really about. When the polls have closed, and the ads are finally off the air, it comes down to you - the American people, your lives and your children's futures. For me, it's been a privilege to meet you in your homes, your workplaces, and your communities. Your stories reminded me every day that America's greatness is bound up in the lives of the American people - your hard work, your devotion to duty, your love for your children and your determination to keep going, often in the face of enormous obstacles. You taught me so much, you made me laugh, and ... you even made me cry. You allowed me to become part of your lives. And you became part of mine.
I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn't have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for healthcare. I will always remember the young man in a Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said to me: "Take care of my buddies; a lot of them are still over there … and then will you please help take care of me?" I will always remember the boy who told me his mom worked for the minimum wage and that her employer had cut her hours. He said he just didn't know what his family was going to do. I will always be grateful to everyone from all 10 states, Puerto Rico and the territories, who joined our campaign on behalf of all those people left out and left behind by the Bush administration. To my supporters, my champions - my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits - from the bottom of my heart: thank you. You never gave in. You never gave up. And together we made history.
Along the way, America lost two great Democratic champions who would have been here with us tonight. One of our finest young leaders, Arkansas Democratic Party chair, Bill Gwatney, who believed with all his heart that America and the south could be and should be Democratic from top to bottom. And congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a dear friend to many of us, a loving mother and courageous leader who never gave up her quest to make America fairer and smarter, stronger and better. Steadfast in her beliefs, a fighter of uncommon grace, she was an inspiration to me and to us all.
Our heart goes out to Stephanie's son, Mervyn, Jr, and Bill's wife, Rebecca, who traveled to Denver to join us at our convention. Bill and Stephanie knew that after eight years of George Bush, people are hurting at home, and our standing has eroded around the world. We have a lot of work ahead. Jobs lost, houses gone, falling wages, rising prices. The supreme court in a right-wing headlock and our government in partisan gridlock. The biggest deficit in our nation's history. Money borrowed from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis. Putin and Georgia, Iraq and Iran.
I ran for president to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American dream, to provide the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford the gas and groceries and still have a little left over each month. To promote a clean energy economy that will create millions of green collar jobs. To create a healthcare system that is universal, high-quality and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance.
To create a world-class education system and make college affordable again. To fight for an America defined by deep and meaningful equality - from civil rights to labour rights, from women's rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionisation to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. To help every child live up to his or her God-given potential.
To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
To bring fiscal sanity back to Washington and make our government an instrument of the public good, not of private plunder. To restore America's standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home and honor their service by caring for our veterans. And to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges, from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.
Most of all, I ran to stand up for all those who have been invisible to their government for eight long years. Those are the reasons I ran for president. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too. I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?
We need leaders once again who can tap into that special blend of American confidence and optimism that has enabled generations before us to meet our toughest challenges. Leaders who can help us show ourselves and the world that with our ingenuity, creativity and innovative spirit, there are no limits to what is possible in America.
This won't be easy. Progress never is. But it will be impossible if we don't fight to put a Democrat in the White House. We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a president who understands that America can't compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators, while ignoring the workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas. We need a president who understands that we can't solve the problems of global warming by giving windfall profits to the oil companies while ignoring opportunities to invest in new technologies that will build a green economy.
We need a president who understands that the genius of America has always depended on the strength and vitality of the middle class. Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy. He built his campaign on a fundamental belief that change in this country must start from the ground up, not the top down. He knows government must be about "we the people" not "we the favored few". And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll revitalise our economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global challenges of our time. Democrats know how to do this. As I recall, President Clinton and the Democrats did it before. And President Obama and the Democrats will do it again.
He'll transform our energy agenda by creating millions of green jobs and building a new, clean energy future. He'll make sure that middle-class families get the tax relief they deserve. And I can't wait to watch Barack Obama sign a healthcare plan into law that covers every single American.
Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home - a first step to repairing our alliances around the world. And he will have with him a terrific partner in Michelle Obama. Anyone who saw Michelle's speech last night knows she will be a great first lady for America. Americans are also fortunate that Joe Biden will be at Barack Obama's side. He is a strong leader and a good man. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges abroad. He is pragmatic, tough and wise. And, of course, Joe will be supported by his wonderful wife, Jill. They will be a great team for our country. Now, John McCain is my colleague and my friend. He has served our country with honor and courage.But we don't need four more years ... of the last eight years.More economic stagnation … and less affordable healthcare. More high gas prices … and less alternative energy. More jobs getting shipped overseas … and fewer jobs created here. More skyrocketing debt ... home foreclosures … and mounting bills that are crushing our middle-class families. More war ... less diplomacy. More of a government where the privileged come first … and everyone else comes last. John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47m people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatise Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's okay when women don't earn equal pay for equal work.
With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart. America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to the challenge of every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good.
And I know what that can mean for every man, woman and child in America. I'm a United States senator because in 1848 a group of courageous women and a few brave men gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights, to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history. And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter - and a few sons and grandsons along the way. These women and men looked into their daughters' eyes, imagined a fairer and freer world, and found the strength to fight. To rally and picket. To endure ridicule and harassment. To brave violence and jail.
And after so many decades - 88 years ago on this very day - the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote would be forever enshrined in our Constitution. My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for president.
This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up. How do we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker , a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice. If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going. I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military - you always keep going.
We are Americans. We're not big on quitting.
But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare.Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance.I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come election day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a b
ig impact on your life and on the life of our nation.
We've got to ensure that the choice we
make in this election honours the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope. That is our duty, to build that bri
ght future, and to teach our children that in America there is no chasm too deep, no barrier too great - and no ceiling too high - for all who work hard, never back down, always keep going, have faith in God, in our country and in each other.
Thank you so much. God bless America and Godspeed to you all".