Read Obama's Speech

I was just sitting here working and remembered his words. Too hard to concentrate. I'm still a bit messed up about it.

Shell, Fernando, Cat Chew

Thanks for the Birthday wishes.

Shell, you really outdid yourself for me. Thanks. Took me awhile to go through all of that with the links.

And Fernando! From one Dino to another

And thanks CC for the cute kittie and the cup cake.

: )

My brother came over for awhile so I missed most of the Maron v Seder hour. But I did hear all of Obama's speech.

Dow up over 300 right now. We'll see what happens. When the Fed lowers the rate later, be prepared to pay more for things because the dollar will tank more. And the bonds will go up so mortgages will cost more. Remember every action has a reaction!

to get your name on the side of that cake toniD.

The n kept falling off.

Happy Birthday Again,Toni ! :)
The Beatles-Birthday

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://www.theroot.com/id/45302

Is Obama Wrong About Wright?

By Michael C. Dawson | TheRoot.com

Among black Americans, Jeremiah Wright may not be that far out of the mainstream.

March 17, 2008 -- Senator Obama is mistaken. The problem with Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the Chicago minister who is the Obama family's pastor and the subject of recent fierce attacks in the media, is not, as Obama has stated, that "he has a lot of the…baggage of those times," (those times being the 1960s).

The problem is also not, as one paper characterized Obama's position on his minister, that Wright is stuck in a "time warp," in a period defined by racial division.

No, the problem is that Wright's opinions are well within the mainstream of those of black America. As public opinion researchers know, the problem is that despite all the oratory about racial unity and transcending race, this country remains deeply racially divided, especially in the realm of politics.

Most white people and the mainstream media tend to be horrified (in a titillating voyeuristic type of way), when they 'look under the hood' to see what's really on blacks folks' mind. Two thirds of whites believe that blacks have achieved or will soon achieve racial equality. Nearly eighty percent of blacks believe that racial justice for blacks will not be achieved either in their lifetime or at all in the U.S. In March 2003, when polls were showing strong support among whites for an invasion of Iraq, a large majority of blacks were shown to oppose military intervention.

In a survey I took during the week that the U.S. went to war, blacks not only opposed the war in large numbers, but a very large majority also thought that protest against the war was one's patriotic duty. A majority of whites thought protesting the war was unpatriotic.

The same type of divides, as I noted in an earlier essay, have appeared in evaluations of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, of evaluations of President Bush during the first six years of his administration, during most of the Clinton administration, and for the entire Reagan presidency.
Click Here!

More specifically, Reverend Wright's blend of leftism and Afro-Centrism remains one of the classic patterns of black political ideology. His philosophy is very similar to a number of honored black theologians, including the esteemed Reverend James Cone of Union Theological Seminary.

Indeed, one could argue that Reverend Wright's criticism of racial dynamics in the U.S. and American foreign policy is milder than the biting criticism of American capitalism and imperialism found in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the last years of his life. During the 1990s, seventy percent of black Americans believed the country was racially, economically, and socially unfair toward blacks and the poor (See my 2001 book Black Visions for statistical details and the question wording for these three separate questions).

The black community is angry about race relations in this country. The black community is angry about the bankrupt foreign policy that this nation has pursued since before 9/11. Blacks are angry about what is perceived as the political and moral blindness of white Americans. This anger is spread across the black ideological spectrum (with the exception, perhaps, of within the ranks of black conservatives).

Black nationalists, black leftists, black feminists and black liberals may differ on their solutions for what America's ills, but they all generally agree on the overarching problems Not surprisingly, the last time a scientific survey of black political ideologies was conducted, a large segment of the black population fell into the category of those who believed in the principles of liberalism, yet they held no hope, the survey indicated, that this country would ever live up to its democratic and liberal creed.

So Barack Obama is wrong. Reverend Wright does not represent outdated thinking. The critical views he expresses are all too rooted in the present. The racial divisions that Obama seeks to transcend with his message of hope and unity are not a feature of the past, but a deep structural fixture in this nation's present.

Obama will be continually called upon by the mainstream media to prove that he's not a nationalist like Minister Farrakhan, or an Afrocentric leftist like Reverend Wright. The suspicion will always be that he holds opinions closer to those expressed by Rev. Wright than those he is voicing in the campaign.

Consequently, if the Obama campaign wishes to bring this campaign to a successful conclusion, it will have to realize that it cannot run away from the issue of race and racial division, but will have to find a language that both addresses our hopes for the future while recognizing the difficulties and divisions of the present. The nation's in real trouble if its politicians and pundits continue to believe that that the only road to racial harmony is through denying the past and refusing to discuss the injustices of the present.

Michael C. Dawson is the John D. MacArthur professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

I'm sorry to have to remind you--another year went by. :)

EB, more years than I want to think about. 64 years today!
Ouch!!! Where'd the years go?

Im one of those people who keeps a fery few close friends. I have a lot of people I consider freinds, but few that I feel I can call at 3 am if I need to .

This was one of those few.

It wouldn't be so painful if she wasn't so young, with so much left to do.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Well Toni, happy birthday! We still need you and we'll feed you if you want us to.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

i turn on cspan 3 and see hillary on the floor begging for us to go to war against the bad bad sadam, turn back to msnbc, and she is today at an event in philly called "bring the troops home" what the fart is this?

That's weird..
Toni,Did you post that New Thread link on The Oasis Part Deux ?

It showed up there..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Al-Hajj's Guantanamo cartoon banned
Reprieve reproduced Scream for Freedom from a description provided by al-Hajj

The US army has banned the publication of four cartoons drawn by Sami al-Hajj, the Al Jazeera camera held in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, according to his lawyer.

The pieces, called Sketches of My Nightmare, include a drawing depicting al-Hajj, who has been on hunger strike for eight months, as a skeleton being force fed by US guards.

The drawings were submitted to the military censor but they would not permit their release.

However, detailed descriptions of the sketches were allowed through the censorship process and Lewis Peake, a political cartoonist, was able to recreate one entitled Scream for Freedom.

Al Hajj described the way he sees himself being force fed in the so-called "Torture Chair" - the restraint chair into which they are strapped twice a day to have a 110cm tube forcibly inserted into one nostril so that liquid food can be administered.

The tube is pulled out after each feeding and the prisoner is left in the chair for up to two hours so he can be force fed again if he vomits.

'Torture chair'

"The first sketch is just a skeleton in the torture chair," he explained.

"My picture reflects my nightmares of what I must look like, with my head double-strapped down, a tube in my nose, a black mask over my mouth, with no eyes and only giant cheekbones, my teeth jutting out – my bones showing in every detail, every rib, every joint.

Sami al-Hajj was seized as covered
the Afghan war for Al Jazeera
"The tube goes up to a bag at the top of the drawing. On the right there is another skeleton sitting shackled to another chair.

"They are sitting like we do in interrogations, with hands shackled, feet shackled to the floor, just waiting. In between I draw the flag of Guantanamo – JTF-GTMO – but instead of the normal insignia, there is a skull and crossbones, the real symbol of what is happening here," he said.

Cori Crider, one of the Al Jazeera cameraman's lawyers, said that he first showed her the "very gruesome and incredibly detailed sketches" when she visited him on February 1.

"He explained he felt compelled to express the nightmare that he and the rest of the hunger strikers in Guantánamo have been suffering. Sami's sketches spoke volumes about what he goes through every time they strap him into that chair for forcefeeding," Crider said.

Free speech

The cartoonist is also reproducing the other three sketches which show other aspects of the prisoners' treatment in US custody, Reprieve, a British charity which provides legal representation to Guantanamo detainees, said.

"You have to question, I have to question as an American, why the US government thinks that free speech in the form of this picture is a somehow a threat to US national security," Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, said.

He suggested that the US military was censoring the images to keep details of the treatment of Guantanamo detainees out of the media.

"I have seen plenty of evidence that is extremely embarrassing to the American government, and that's because this sort of picture gives you a visual image of what poor Sami goes through twice a day.

"I think a picture sometimes paints a thousand words, and I think that is what the US government is afraid of," he told Al Jazeera.

Al-Hajj was seized by the US military while he was covering the war in Afghanistan for Al Jazeera's Arabic channel and has been held as an "enemy combatant" without trial or charge since 2001.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DDAA8ED2-368A-4029-9408-7DC978472...

I thought I was going to the last thread and went there instead. I can fix it though.

Lucille,

I think that a leader can change their mind. Even make mistakes. They are not perfect people. I blame Bush and Cheney for the war, not Hillary. It would have happened whether she voted for it or not.

That is not my issue with her. But I have other issues with her. I'm an Obama supporter. My concern is her "moderate" views on some important issues, and her throwing in with people like Gingrich. That concerns me more than the war vote.

Though I do wish she'd admit her war vote was a mistake.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

im sorry, so young man, that shit dont make no sense...does she have a family?

No kids. No husband.

brother, sister, mom, dad, many uncles, an aunt, and many cousins.
________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

I lost another friend back in Sept. Though I hadn't been in touch for a few years. She was also 34.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

It just freaked me out abit..
This blog has been known to do some weird things,every once and a while..
I just thought it was a blog clitch..
Like I said,no biggie..Leave it if you like..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Well Toni, happy birthday!
Submitted by Meg on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 1:54pm.
Well Toni, happy birthday! We still need you and we'll feed you if you want us to.

Did you get my message post on the last thread? If not, I'll repost here.

that would have melted me a lot a while back, but since than my feelings for her have escalated---i dont feel like going into detail but right about now i cannot even stand her voice period! that is just me i have been told that i am an extremist on occasion----

She also has a 16 year old niece, who is very close to her and is going to be crushed.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Already fixed on the music thread.

all so young though? non of it makes sense---damn!

damn that was sum funny shiznit. Smelly farts you found.

Meg. You can call us up on the blog at 3am every night of the week. Someone will be here.

I understand.

She just pisses some people off.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

gw & co in going to war....but then again lives dont mean shit to her and her hubby too, he also had his happy chance of going on a bombing sprees too, what can i tell you!

Kathi, the one that died in September, had breast cancer. It's a lot more aggressive if you get it when you are younger.

Sheila had ongoing health problems. I honestly didn't expect that she'd live to be really old, but I didn't expect her to go this soon.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Barack, "...speaking form beneath the soles of his feet."

And guess why my friend didn't go to the doctor earlier in the week?

You gots it! She's one of the 40 million with NO GODDAMN HEALTH INSURANCE!
________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

will holler once i get there...if i tell you this weather man....it is mad mad brick out there, i just had to put tights on and thick socks

Former AUSA: Disbanding LA Public Corruption Unit Sends Message
While the closing of the LA public corruption unit may not derail ongoing investigations -- such as the Jerry Lewis (R-CA) probe -- a former prosecutor expresses concern with "the message it sends."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/former_prosecutor_disb...

.75 Federal Funds rate 2.25%

When Gov. Cuomo gave his epic Keynote Speech in 1984, he said that, while it is good to give speeches that bring people to their feet, it is even better to give speeches that bring people to their senses. Sen. Obama clearly gave a speech today that should bring people to their senses. If this speech does not achieve that goal, it may be time to accept the proposition that our 220 year old experiment has run its course.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/18/125610/396/836/479190

Im sure her parents will be hit with horrific bills

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

down now!

Now it's up, now it's down. Roller coaster ride.

talking about the economy again.

His speeches don't put people to sleep.

Time to get behind the ONLY Candidate that can help the insomniacs of the GREAT USA.

You Loony Libs will no longer need your drugs to sleep.

President McCain will be playing his speeches 24/7 for all your sleep needs.

Wolf, Celticman, Part of the 97, and I are like crazy rabid dogs.

Our Rightness stands out like a white beacon of light on the Sun.

The Rightness Squad is monitoring you Loony Libs

Arf - Arf - Arf

Kettle Speaks
Key neoconservative and AEI scholar Michael Rubin accuses Nancy Pelosi of trying to engineer "Rwanda-like genocide" in Iraq.

--Josh Marshall

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200803/PO...

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm
Something I should have looked into after My Wife passed away..She was only 37 years old..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Obama had to cut The Rev loose. That done, Obama now needs to put some distance between himself and any other 3%ers.

It was a big lapse of judgement for Obama to hang around The Rev for so long.

I am sure a great deal of damage has already been done.

Million will view those videos over and over and over..

And Obama will have to condemn that kind of radical thinking, but he still has work to do to explain why he waited until he was caught to take action.

ToniD
march 18

1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.

1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which had been very unpopular in the British colonies.

1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.

1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.

1909 - Einar Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster.

1938 - Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders.

1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

1968 - Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.

2005 - The first-ever Muslim Friday prayer led by a woman in a mixed-gender congregation is held in New York City, marking a break with a 1426-year Islamic tradition.

births
1496 - Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533)

1782 - John C. Calhoun, 7th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)

1837 - Grover Cleveland, President of the United States (d. 1908)

1858 - Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (d. 1913)

1869 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)

1877 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (d. 1945)

1909 - Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007)

1928 - Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Philippines

1932 - John Updike, American author

1941 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006)

wow sure a popular day... : )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_18

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

Judge Presses White House on Emails
By Paul Kiel - March 18, 2008, 1:59PM
From Justin at ABC:

The White House has three days to explain why it shouldn't be required to copy its computer hard drives to ensure no further e-mails are lost, a federal judge ordered Tuesday....
The order, issued Tuesday morning by a federal magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., comes in a case brought against the Bush administration by the National Security Archive, a nonpartisan group affiliated with George Washington University....

Judge Facciola rejected as "draconian" a proposal by the Archive that would have forced the White House to quarantine every computer workstation it had. Instead, Facciola proposed the White House make a "forensic copy" of all preservable data on every computer that could have been used by an employee between 2003 and 2005, the period in question....

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the White House "fully intends to comply" with the order, which is currently being reviewed.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/judge_presses_white_ho...

This mess is going to allow Hillary to come back a bit now. But she is still behind. The Dems are headed into grid-lock.

The idea of "whoever wins it will be fine is over".

There are already hard feeling.

But the Hillary Haters should beware!

Hillary could still come out ahead!

the White House "fully intends to comply" with the order, which is currently being reviewed..(Emails)

But,first we have a whole lot more deleting to do !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

hospice was just here, where I am.

(not for profit in eastern Idaho)

I don't know your situation or if it's an option (or if your in a situation where this is applicable?)

Just trying to help. They are good nonjudgmental people to open up to.

The not for profit is good - there are four other hospice orgs. here that are for profit - and therefore have an agenda ... profit.

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

Today we saw and heard a preview of our brightest possible American future in Senator Barack Obama's glorious speech. This, then, is what it means to be presidential. To be moral. To have a real center. To speak honestly, from the heart, for the benefit of all. If there was any doubt about what we have missed in the anti-intellectual, ruthlessly incurious Bush years, and even the slippery Clinton ones (the years of "what is is"), those doubts were laid to rest by Barack Obama's magisterial speech today. A speech in which he distanced himself from a flawed father figure, Reverend Wright, and did so with almost Shakespearian dignity and honor.

http://www.alternet.org/election08/80101/

i heard that the shredders get paid a pretty penny---

I agree with that writer, Michael Dawson. Of course, Obama had to refute the remark as it's now a terrorist thought crime to think, much less speak ill of fascist U.S. policies.

Thanks for posting it.

(Still and all, it was a good speech.)

Obama denounces preacher, urges race healing

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday criticized his preacher's racially charged sermons but said he could not disown him in a speech urging Americans to move past their "racial stalemate."

Obama sought to quell a political firestorm ignited when news outlets called attention to sermons by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, which the Illinois senator attended for two decades.

"We have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism," he said. "Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, 'Not this time.'"

Wright, who retired recently, has railed that the September 11 attacks were retribution for U.S. foreign policy, called the U.S. government the source of the AIDS virus and expressed anger over what he called racist America.

Shredding by the truck loads..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

distancing himself from his pastor....yup! i dont if they want obama to bleed for wight now or what?

George Bush has been tied to a prostitution ring involving as many as 50,000 women and girls. The prostitutes, some as young as 13, are among the 1.2 million desperate Iraqis who fled to Syria after Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to the U.K. Independent.

According to the Times, "inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourists from wealthier countries in the Middle East. In the club's parking lot, nearly half of the cars had Saudi license plates."
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/79770/

Oscar-Winning Director Anthony Minghella Dies At 54
LONDON — Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, died Tuesday of a hemorrhage following surgery. He was 54.

Minghella's publicist, Jonathan Rutter, said the filmmaker died at London's Charing Cross Hospital. He said Minghella was operated on last week for a growth in his neck, "and the operation seemed to have gone well. At 5 a.m. today he had a fatal hemorrhage."

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who became friends with Minghella after the filmmaker directed a Labour Party election ad in 2005, said he was "really shocked and very sad."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/oscarwinning-director-an_n_9207...

Obama brought this mess on himself. Attending that church was a minor league move. Obama has moved up from the hood to the Major Leagues in a hell of a hurry. What worked back home ain't gonna fly with the 97%.

Black liberation theology isn't required if you have the power of the Presidency.

But you can't get there by hangin with the 3%! Obama needs to move the Center with Hillary, find the 97% and make that his new home. It won't be easy now, those videos are always one click away.

US Headlines

In a terrible twist of fate, Arid Zona Senator, John "Son of Cain" McCain on a campaign trip to Iraq has been captured by insurgents and imprisoned in the cruelest hellhole next to US POW camp, Abu Graib.

Everyone knows the sad story of Vietnam War Navy Pilot McCain and the horrendous five years he spent suffering unthinkable tortures in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Who could have dreamt that now that the Hilton family actually runs a Hilton Hotel in Hanoi, McCain would undergo these same indignities in a low-priced dive in Baghdad?

Al Qaida in Iraq, a franchise of the multi-national corporation that has brought us terrorist attacks all over the world announced its responsibility in the capture.

Al Qaida in Iraq spokesperson, Al Qaida claimed that McCain's declaration of an One Hundred Years War on anti-American Iraq is the reason for his incarceration: "Honestly, we received orders from unnamed persons in the USA who could not bear the thought of a 171 year old President McCain."

Free Democracy

'State secrets' privilege fuels surveillance bill battle

Washington - House Democrats are hunkering down for a long siege with President Bush over his administration's terrorist surveillance program.

Democrats are aiming to rein in the White House's power to wiretap without a warrant and assert "state secrecy" in key court battles.

As Congress broke for a two-week recess last Friday, President Bush warned that the latest House version of the surveillance bill would "undermine America's security."

"This bill is unwise. The House leaders know that the Senate will not pass it. And even if the Senate did pass it, they know I will veto it," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080318/ts_csm/afisa

http://www.samsedershow.com/vod/sammaron/20080318

Sunnis boycott Iraq reconciliation event

Sunnis Boycott As Iraqi Prime Minister Opens National Reconciliation Conference

Iraq's main Sunni bloc boycotted a Tuesday conference aimed at reconciling the nation's sectarian groups, a sign of the deep schisms still facing this country.

The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front said they will not participate in the conference until Shiite lawmakers address their political demands. They say Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has failed to release detainees not charged with specific crimes, has not disbanded Shiite militias and has not sufficiently included Sunni lawmakers in decision-making on security issues.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/03/sunnis_boycott_iraq_reconcilia...

top of the hour news on cnbc says bush came out after the fomc cut to talk about taking decisive action. you would think he had been at the meeting and told the fed what to do the way he was talking.

thats today right? dang that was fast...thanks bus did not catch the beginning....

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

IRS Refuses Dollars, Demands Tax Payments in Euros, Gold and Swiss Francs

WASHINGTON (FMLiveWire) - The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun refusing payment of taxes by American taxpayers in US dollars, and now insists on payment in Euros, gold or Swiss francs.

"We are alarmed by the steady erosion in the value of the US dollar under the Administration of George Bush," stated the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Linda Lunchbucket.

"Thus we no longer accept that greenback toilet paper and insist that taxpayers give us real money like gold coins and bars, or Euros and Swiss Francs."

The abrupt IRS refusal of US dollars has caused confusion and consternation among taxpayers, who rushed to buy gold and foreign currencies in order to pay their tax obligations.

The IRS is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury and in 2004 the IRS collected more than $2 trillion in revenue and processed more than 224 million tax returns.

Lunchbucket explained how the IRS carries out the responsibilities of the secretary of the Treasury under section 7801 of the Internal Revenue Code.

"The IRS collects fantastic taxes from the impoverished middle class and gives tax breaks as passed by Congress to rich Republicans and their corporations," she stated.

"We still have a helluva lotta almost worthless US dollars though so we shall continue to pay taxpayers dollars in their refunds," she added.

Russia, U.S. fail to agree on missile shield

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russia and the United States failed on Tuesday to agree on U.S. plans to deploy parts of a missile defence shield in eastern Europe, one of several issues that have driven their relations to a new post-Cold War low.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had also produced no agreement on how to replace a cornerstone pact on long-range nuclear weapons when it expires.

Announcing the failure to agree, Lavrov told a news conference: "...I mean first and foremost on the missile shield plan and the future of the START treaty after it expires next year."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/03/russia_us_fail_to_agree_on_mis...

if that's not an SNL skit, it should be. Talk about terrorizing the public....

When is McCain going to distance himself from Hagee? And that other guy.... Oh crap I forget his name.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{meg}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Oh hon, I just stopped in to see what I missed on S & M today, and I am so sorry to read about your loss of your friend so quickly and so soon. I know that there are no words that can suffice to help with the surprise timing, and that words can only barely express how deeply sorry I am for the pain you and her family are going to feel and go through as this loss begins to become more and more real. But for right now, please know that you are in my and everyone's thoughts and prayers- in any and all forms that one might practice, and that we are here for you as best we can be...you are being heard and will be heard and are being held gently in all of our collective arms in a most global of hugs for as long as you need.
Sending gentle peaceful thoughts your way, and my furrie kitties send whisker kisses too.
N-kitti and her fur kitties

Reality. TV. Two more reasons to read.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
---Ray Bradbury

Republicans: Only our preachers can say crazy ass shit.

Meg, Meg, Meg....dont you understand McCain did not have Hagee as his spiritual advisor, he was not married by Hagee, his kids were not baptised by Hagee...geez dont you get it...there is a difference there!!

Going to the hospital to say goodbye in a few minutes.

Im quite worried about the niece. I think the one thing I can do for her is try to mentor her as much as possible. That's what she would have wanted.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

You must not have listened to the speech. Or, if you did, you have a comprehension deficit.

Republicans: Only Our Pastors Are Allowed To Say Crazy Shit
By: Blue Texan Tuesday March 18, 2008 10:30 am

14956476_f653291433_m.jpgAs the wingnut chorus predictably disses Obama's eloquent speech, it's important to remember how completely ridiculous and manufactured this whole Wright "controversy" is:

...the idea that America deserves terrorist attacks and other horrendous disasters has long been a frequently expressed view among the faction of white evangelical ministers to whom the Republican Party is most inextricably linked. Neither Jerry Falwell nor Pat Robertson ever retracted or denounced their view that America provoked the 9/11 attacks by doing things to anger God. John Hagee continues to believe that the City of New Orleans got what it deserved when Katrina drowned its residents and devastated the lives of thousands of Americans. And James Inhofe -- who happens to still be a Republican U.S. Senator -- blamed America for the 9/11 attacks by arguing in a 2002 Senate floor speech that "the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America" because we pressured Israel to give away parts of the West Bank. The phrases "anti-American" and "America-haters" are among the most barren and manipulative in our entire political lexicon, but whatever they happen to mean on any given day, they easily encompass people who believe that the U.S. deserved the 9/11 attacks, devastating hurricanes and the like. Yet when are people like Falwell, Robertson, Hagee, Inhofe and other white Christian radicals ever described as anti-American or America-hating extremists? Never -- because white Christian evangelicals who tie themselves to the political Right are intrinsically patriotic.

http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/18/republicans-only-our-pastors-are-allow...

No, I don't see any difference between McCain's French kissing Hagee and Obama's genuine disagreement with his pastor.

________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

Conyers: “If Bush Goes Into Iran, He Should Be Impeached”
By: Jane Hamsher Tuesday March 18, 2008 9:09 am

christy-conyers.jpgJohn Conyers just finshed up a panel with John Cole and Christy Hardin Smith at Take Back America with words that were heartening to everyone made just a wee bit uneasy by the recent retirement of Admiral Fallon and the implications it might have for war with Iran:

"If Bush Goes Into Iran, He Should Be Impeached," said Conyers.

Conyers also said that with regard to FISA, the House was going into conference with the Senate. That the Senate wanted to give retroactive immunity to the telecoms, and that the House is saying "let a judge decide." But he also made the point that it wasn't just the Republicans who were the problem:

"There were about seventeen Democratic senators that bought into that business. We need to straighten them out," he said.

Christy also noted that if the White House said the telecoms did nothing wrong, they certainly issued some indemnification letters -- and that the legal departments at the telecoms would never have signed off without them.

So where are they?

Update: I forgot to mention -- Conyers publicly chewed Christy out for the thousands of phone calls she regularly unleashes on his office. So everyone who feels entitled to share responsibility for that -- take a bow.

http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/18/conyers-if-bush-goes-into-iran-he-shou...

Reuters

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's activities while U.S. first lady will be made public on Wednesday, the National Archives said on Tuesday, in response to legal pressure by a watchdog group.

The records, some 11,000 pages in all, document nearly all of the meetings, trips, speaking engagements and social activities Clinton engaged in while her husband, Bill Clinton, served as president between 1993 and 2001, the National Archives said.

The records are being released in response to a lawsuit by Judicial Watch, a conservative legal watchdog group.

As first lady, Clinton led a failed effort to overhaul the nation's health-care system and traveled to 80 countries.

On the campaign trail, Clinton argues that her time in the White House gave her the experience needed to lead the country at a time of war and economic uncertainty.

Clinton, who would be the first female president, is locked in a tight battle with Barack Obama to be the Democrat who will take on Republican John McCain in the November presidential election.

Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black president, has questioned the depth of Clinton's involvement in issues like bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

For months, Obama has challenged Clinton to release her White House records, tax returns and other material.

The records, which are kept at the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas, will be released on Wednesday.........

you gotta be a terrorist Meg if you cannot tell the diffs....boo on you boo---

I think that is a wonderful thing to do - carrying forward a part of Shelia for the future. I know she would be pleased to know that YOU knew what would be the best way for YOU to do something so proactive and long term.
Please remember while going thru all this to take care of yourself. Shelia and all of us would want you to not wear yourself out during this most difficult time. And trust me, after having gone thru all I have in the last few years, I know of what I speak. make sure to take care of yourself as you take care of everyone around you...that is the best way to honor your true close friendship.

Thank you kitty
Submitted by Meg on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 3:20pm.
Going to the hospital to say goodbye in a few minutes.

Im quite worried about the niece. I think the one thing I can do for her is try to mentor her as much as possible. That's what she would have wanted.

Reality. TV. Two more reasons to read.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
---Ray Bradbury

War Dog did not listen to the speech.

He can't. If he did, some kind of logic might seep in. No, it's better to watch Faux News coverage, with race relations expert Bill Kristol* and the unnamed Blonde News model. It's far more convenient to have your thoughts prepared for you and inserted into your brain.

*I am not joking about this.
________________________________

Move forward, not backward, upward not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!

:)

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7020979&ch=4...

Not so ready for that phone call after all.

Note from Jacki: I don't want to open the door to allegations of age discrimination (or to allegations of defending McCain in some way, for that matter), but it did cross my mind that these mistakes could also be products of age. The travel and time schedules of a presidential campaign are brutally taxing even for the sprightliest of contenders. McCain's 71. They don't call them senior moments for nothing. I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying it's possible he misspoke rather than really didn't know. I do, however, think the juxtaposition of age is going to be BIG come the general election - especially if Obama wins the democratic nomination. In case you missed SNL this weekend, even they hit on the issue in a skit that declared McCain officially "crazy old." (If you can find a clip online, I will be happy to post it. Haven't had luck unearthing it yet.)

http://www.americablog.com/2008/03/mccain-makes-major-mistake-about-very...

Oh, so the black guy "mugged" Bill Clinton, now I get it
by John Aravosis (DC) · 3/18/2008 09:54:00 AM ET · Link
Discuss this post here: Comment (0) · reddit · FARK ·· Digg It!

And they wonder why they're losing:

Former President Clinton on Monday called the notion that he unfairly criticized his wife's rival, Barack Obama, "a total myth and a mugging."

One might even call it a "fairy tale."

Early on Tuesday, before it posted results, the cost of protecting debt at Lehman Brothers was 443 basis points, or $443,000 a year for five years, to protect $10 million of debt with credit default swaps.

After Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) announced a fall in revenue but beat fearful expectations, its credit default swaps traded at 330 basis points according to Phoenix Partners.

One analyst said the bank's position appeared "survivable" -- but protecting its debt is pricier than protecting that of Turkey or Nigeria, traders say.

"You could say Lehman is riskier than Nigeria," one trader said, asking not to be named. "But it's not a trade or a comparison people often try to make."

Turkish credit derivatives swaps were trading at 290/298 despite worries over a wide current account deficit and volatile politics. Nigeria's are relatively illiquid but usually priced in the mid-200s, a trader said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080318/bs_nm/emerging_wallstreet_dc;_ylt=Ao...

whow racist and anti American Barry Soerero's mentor/inspiration is now that Barry has given such an eloquent and great speech. We will focus on everything except his involvement with Wright and his poor JUDGEMENT, in subjecting his children to such hate speech for their entire lives

We will forget the money that Barry donated to this church and the fact that Obama himself admitted to the closeness of the relationship between he and Mr. Wright

why...

simply cause he asked us to

ummmmmm....WRONG!!!!!

lol...Martin Luther King Jr preached against defining oneself by colr...Barry gave a speech to deflect the fact that his mentor and his church,believe the exact opposite

sorry folks...This was no "I have a dream " moment

try again Barry

Who Doesn't Wanna Blow Him Now?

Pre-Show: No, major news media, for the most part, most voters don't give a fuck about Rev. Jeremiah Wright's occasional rhetorical flourishes when he's preaching. Most voters are actually smart enough to separate Obama from that. But you got 24 hours to fill and you're afraid of Fox "news" getting viewers, so there ya go.

Right now, the Rude Pundit's listening to some fucktard on MSNBC, Jonathan Capeheart of the Washington Post, say that when the Wright story broke, he had "friends" who supported Obama who were "worried" that other people would be upset about Obama's church. You got that? These people, who, if they are friends of Capeheart, must be smart, 'cause he's a black guy who wears poindexter glasses, weren't worried about their support of Obama. No, they're smart enough, because they are friends of Capeheart, who, it should be pointed out, is a black guy who wears poindexter glasses and looks not unlike Raj on What's Happening. It's all the other people who Capeheart's friends are worried about. Why should they be worried? Because it's fuckers like Capeheart who have made this into a story that would worry their oh-so-smarter-than-the-rubes friends.

'Cause, like, the Rude Pundit wants every candidate's advisors and allies vetted for every time one of them said something potentially offensive that's YouTube-ready. And then he wants the candidates to have to have to make a statement about it.

(Note: the Rude Pundit thought the uproar over Ferraro was nonsensical, but what Ferraro said was a directly offensive remark about the candidate.)

The show:
10:53: Fuck the black part of Obama. Someone's fuckin' Dumbo ears need to get pinned.

10:54: Throws mad props to Philadelphia for the Declaration of Independence, oh, but, snap, says how the Founders bailed on slavery.

10:57: Says flat out what his racial background is and ties it to the Greatest Generation. His wife's to slavery. No denial of the multiracial nature of his life.

10:58: Nice line about how his story is only possible is in America.

10:59: Damn. We're not used to this sort of honesty from a candidate. Can't compute. Cynicism circuit shorting out.

11:00: Talking about Wright, he's gonna hang the Reverend out to dry, says Wright's comments present a "distorted" view of America. Whew. Thank god, the cynicism circuit can work again.

11:02: Oh, shit, now he's getting Wright's back. Saying that Wright's a Marine who has credibility, intelligence, compassion. Shorting out again.

11:03: Reading from his own book. Amazon braces for Oprah-like surge in sales.

11:05: Goes to bat for black churches in general. Talks about how services go, the raucousness and embodiment of the black community within them. Even addresses how this scares many white people, who prefer to pray looking at their groins.

11:06: Wright is "like family...I could no more disown him than disown the black community. I could no more disown him than I could disown my white grandmother" who said she was afraid of black men who passed her on the street. Clinton's people write a speech about how her grandfather slapped Mexicans, yet she still loves him.

11:07: "These people are part of me" and are part of America, he says.

11:09: Calls bullshit on those who want to emphasize Wright over real issues.

11:10: Goes to town on how racial discrimination still affects America, in schools, in business, how there's a lack of educational and economic opportunity, contributing to the erosion of families and communities. He even brings up busing. Shit. He's really fuckin' good.

11:12: Explains how Wright comes out of the days of segregation. And how racism still controls how the black community reacts. He's actually saying, in a major speech, the shit we've been saying out here in the hinterlands of power for years.

11:13: The fact that people are surprised at Wright's angry sermons points to how divided people really are.

11:15: Most middle class white Americans feel anger, too. Because of jobs going overseas and other shit that Republicans (and Democrats) have done.

11:16: Addresses affirmative action and welfare anger and how politicians and the media have exploited those things. How the Reagan Revolution was based on it. The Rude Pundit gets an erection.

11:17: Talks about "A racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years...I've never been so naive as to think one election" can erase the racial divide.

11:19: We must "take full responsibility for our own lives" by families being stronger. Teach our children "never to succumb to despair or cynicism."

11:20: Brings it back to Wright. Mistake was that Wright "spoke as if our society was stagnant." Mentions the "audacity to hope," thus plugging his second book. Amazon braces for more.

11:21: White community needs to acknowledge that racism the black community perceives is not just in the minds of black people. He's really laying it all on the line.

11:22: Says we should live by the golden rule. And other biblical mumbo-jumbo and let "our politics reflect that."

11:23: Brings up OJ, Katrina, Wright, says we can keep race as a divisive issue and "nothing will change." This is the straightest talk this blogger has heard from a major presidential candidate in a very, very long time, maybe, truly, without hyperbole, in his lifetime.

11:24: Or, he says, we can actually do something "this time." Brings it back to education, health care, economics.

11:26: Oh, and did I mention that the war "shouldn't have been authorized or waged."

11:27: "This unions may not be perfect, but... it can always be perfected." That'll be the line that's quoted endlessly. Like here.

In some hotel room, maybe in Pennsylvania, who knows, Hillary Clinton is shitting blood. Mark Penn is on his Blackberry, furiously commanding that a commercial be made that shows Obama saying that Wright "is family" while showing the Reverend shouting all black and scary.

Somewhere in the Middle East, John McCain wonders if there's a small cage he can crawl into until it's all over.

Bottom line: that was a motherfuckin' speech by a motherfuckin' President of the United States. You remember what that's like? No, not here either.

HERE

Of Course I watched the speech. An Obama speech is always top notch, but it did not answer all the questions.

It was to good first step in the long march Obama must make to the Center. I hope he can find a way to leave all of the 3% behind.

Obama knows what he must do.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Dow closes up 400 points!!!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha..

The 3% will be broken hearted!!!!!

wow i wonder what did she have for lunch---soldiers?

Is Lindsey Graham auditioning for VP?

WASHINGTON — John McCain's trip to Europe and the Middle East was intended to make him look presidential. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., went with him.

Was he auditioning for a prominent post in a McCain administration?

Perish the thought, Graham said before leaving the country.

"This will be the 19th (foreign) trip I've taken with Senator McCain since (2003)," said Graham, who has represented S.C. in the U.S. Senate since 2002. "He's one of my closest friends in the Senate. I think I am someone who is a sounding board for him.

"I've been intricately involved in his campaign — a confidant, if you will. I very much admire him. He's got a lot of courage. My relationship with John is not dependent on a position."

McCain's trip to Iraq, France and England is officially billed as a "CODEL" — a congressional delegation of lawmakers traveling abroad on fact-finding missions.

But the trip is far from routine.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/30709.html

you dumb fuck. if the market can climb 300 pts in 2 hours don't you think it can drop 300 pts in the same amount of time? (up 200 down 100 up 300)

Clinton says voters can count on Hillary

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. -- Touting her as "the best prepared to lead this country," Bill Clinton this afternoon kicked of his wife's presidential campaign in Indiana.

Former President Bill Clinton tells Indiana voters that his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, is the candidate best equipped to win the presidency. - Matt Detrich / The Star

The former president said his argument for why Sen. Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for president is three-fold: She is better prepared to turn around the economy, best-qualified to serve as commander in chief and the most likely to defeat Sen. John McCain the November election.
"We don't go to all this trouble to lose the election," Clinton said. "All of us who know the country needs to change, and she is the person most likely to win because of her national security credentials, her platform and here economic record."

Clinton dubbed himself as the "rural hitman" of his wife's campaign, and said he enjoys taking his wife's campaign to places like Lawrenceburg, a small blue-collar town just across the state line from Cincinnati.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/LOCAL19/8031...

It could drop, but it didn't!

And that's the point...

The 3% prays for the crash!

Goddamn the Stock Market!

The 3% hates Capitalism.!!!!

Detroit City Council asks Kilpatrick to quit; Conyers is sole dissenter
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- The City Council voted 7-1 on Tuesday afternoon in favor of a resolution asking Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to resign.

Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers was the only dissenting vote and Councilwoman Martha Reeves was absent due to illness.

Kilpatrick dismissed the resolution Tuesday afternoon.

Advertisement

"It's not a binding resolution ... they spent a whole day on it," Kilpatrick said. "There are more important things."

Kilpatrick also suggested text messages that appear to contradict his sworn testimony that he did not have an affair with his former chief of staff may not be authentic.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/METRO/8031804...

There were a number of factors that made the speech work. First of all, he didn’t just devote a couple paragraphs to Pastor Wright. He wove him throughout the entire speech. It came across as a masterful stroke because he didn’t minimize the controversy and yet at the same time was able to explain how Wright’s comments fit into the larger “anger” issue within the black community.

CBN (Christian broadcast network/700 club)

What a mess Howard made of Florida!!

I hope they give Hillary all the delegates!

Obama has knocked Hillary off track...

I hope Hillary can repay the favor.

Actually, I'm enjoying reading your description of your own personal crash.

Hahahahahahahahahaha

LOL

Up Down...daily doesn't matter to anyone except those who actually have positions in actual stocks or other marketplace products that their immediate livelyhood depends on.
To everyone else who does not hold a position in the markets - it means absolutely nothing day by day...and if you think it does then you do not know anything about the world of the markets.

And before you think about attacking me - I know more about the markets than probably most people on this blog having spent more time on trading and brokerage floors than you could imagine. So don't bother even trying.

Reality. TV. Two more reasons to read.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
---Ray Bradbury

We won't know for awhile how voters view Barack Obama's speech today on race relations but The Brody File saw it as a HUGE positive for Obama and a successful turning point for the future of his campaign. The Obama campaign tells me he told high level staffers on Saturday that he wanted to do this speech. He ended up writing it himself on Sunday and Monday and then finished it up this morning.

With all those American flags behind him, the background was very "State of the Union." It was very presidential and Obama looked like and sounded like a President in the speech.

There were a number of factors that made the speech work. First of all, he didn't just devote a couple paragraphs to Pastor Wright. He wove him throughout the entire speech. It came across as a masterful stroke because he didn't minimize the controversy and yet at the same time was able to explain how Wright's comments fit into the larger "anger" issue within the black community..........

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/341390.aspx

The Christian Broadcasting Network

Submitted by Part of the 97 ... on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:12pm.

not know how to handle it, no matter what he says or does they are going to find fault with him, as he so well stated---being black was the worst thing he could have happened to him, how dare he even think his young black behind could dare speak english and run for the highest seat in the land

Submitted by Nefferkitti on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:18pm.
Up Down...daily doesn't matter to anyone except those who actually have positions in actual stocks or other marketplace products that their immediate livelyhood depends on...
--------
I pee my pants on as many up days as down days.

To Dan what happens in the markets day to day matters - but that is because of his business and how it works...and he knows what he is doing.
Sorry about that Dan, didn't mean to forget about you.

Reality. TV. Two more reasons to read.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
---Ray Bradbury

I think I just heard Randi Rhodes say many of her ideas were in Barack's speech!

HA!!! yes she did..remember how she's been dogging him and the Rev since friday, oh well today is another day i guess...she said she has been one of the people saying the rev was wrong and obama agreed with her..she is too funny for real

NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD NEW THREAD

guess who is frist?

Submitted by Nefferkitti on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:18pm.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was at the stock market once and I wasn't impressed with the cattle. The guy next to me said a day will come when the bubble will burst. This was in 1971. So, the market bursts, and then fills itself up again, and bursts again-- indefinitely.

Now I understand what Obama says about the past hasn't past.

yes there is hope.

“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” it began.

Excellent. Location, symbols, opportunity. I hear him saying...
"I take your negative attacks, your weak, narrow frame and transmute your images into a larger inclusive canvas that includes all We People."

~`~`~`~`~`~
Jamesbennett

no problem. my partners always told me that my biggest shortcoming was that i don't suffer fools and sometimes i react instead of spitting.

i think whats happening in the markets right now is an extremely complex process that no one really understands. there are as many opinions on what the fed should do as there are opinators. to say that one day with a 400 pt gain means we're out of the woods shortly after spending billions of taxpayers dollars to prop up a bank and slash rates to where the banks are getting money for almost free is ludicrous.

on another note, i heard that fannie mae's current criteria for making a mortgage is a 740 credit score and a 60% ltv.

Hillary-Backer Rendell Asked Soros for Mich. Funds
Top Hillary supporter and Penn. Gov. Ed Rendell privately appealed to billionaire George Soros for cash to help fund a new primary in Michigan -- a request that Soros is declining.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/exclusive_top_hi...

Thanks for the Birthday wishes.

Been a busy day here

Words are meant to illuminate and inform. Senator Obama uses them to conceal and transform.

I have to say that when I listened to the reaction to his speech by the AAR staff I had to laugh.

I heard Randi Rhodes say, among other obscenely funny things, that this speech will be taught in every history book everywhere on every planet in every empire under every sun. Well maybe I'm exaggerating but her stupidity is pretty hilarious. I'm sure though that this speech will end up in history books-and it will have as much impact as every other speech taught in history books in the country-none.

I heard Rachel Maddow, with a quiver in her voice, talk about how unlike other speeches, Obama's was complex, evidently it was a nod to the Rhodes Scholars in Obama's audience and Rachel trembled with pleasure at the thought.

Personally I think it was just more of the same from a man who can and will say anything to advance himself. I think Obama is a remarkable liar, and that like the best liars he lies to himself first.He may believe for the time being every single thing he says-but he will believe the exact opposite tomorrow if he needs to. And he will switch again the day after. There are people like him in the gay community-so when I see him work his magic I'm not surprised or impressed.

And unfortunately for Obama, he took too long to respond to the Wright scandal. It has already crystallized in peoples minds-at this point this speech just sounds like an excuse.

Next step watch as people get annoyed at this holier than tho git.

And for all those hopeful Obama fans anxiously waiting to see the impact of his groundshaking speech-here is some honesty for you.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rIcWxFR4uh0

Submitted by wolf on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 8:39pm.
...I'm sure though that this speech will end up in history books-and it will have as much impact as every other speech taught in history books in the country-none.
----------
Ask not which speech has lasting impact. Ask what you can do to make speeches have lasting impact.