Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary. I am pleased. He defeated Hillary at a margin of 2 to 1 almost nearly 3 to 1. Anyway I am happy. Not much is going, just a touch of the stomach flu. I have been taking things slow. Well I have decided I am going to hit you up with some music because my microphones aren't working therefore negating my chances of starting my own blog radio show so this will have to do for now.
The Toadies- "Possum Kingdom"
Spacehog- "In the Meantime"
William Shatner- "Common People"
Seven Mary Three- "Cumbersome"
Say Hi to Your Mom- "Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks"
The Refreshments- "Down Together"
Queen- "Don't Stop Me Now"
Queen- "I Want to Break Free"
Presidents of the United States of America- "Back Porch"
Manu Chao- "Me Gustas Tu"
Cornershop- "Brimful of Asha"
Bloodhound Gang- "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo"
Butthole Surfers- "Pepper"
Chicago- "25 or 6 to 4"
Ernie Marrs and the Marrs Family- "Plastic Jesus"
In case you were wondering here is Barack Obama's speech. I was really moved and by the way Hillary, suck it.
Over two weeks ago, we saw the people of Iowa proclaim
that our time for change has come. But there were those who doubted
this country’s desire for something new – who said Iowa was a fluke not
to be repeated again.
Well,
tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa
was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of
South Carolina.
After four great contests in every
corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and
the most diverse coalition of Americans we’ve seen in a long, long
time.
They are young and old; rich and poor. They are
black and white; Latino and Asian. They are Democrats from Des Moines
and Independents from Concord; Republicans from rural Nevada and young
people across this country who’ve never had a reason to participate
until now. And in nine days, nearly half the nation will have the
chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in
Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again.
But
if there’s anything we’ve been reminded of since Iowa, it’s that the
kind of change we seek will not come easy. Partly because we have fine
candidates in the field – fierce competitors, worthy of respect. And as
contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is
a contest for the Democratic nomination, and that all of us share an
abiding desire to end the disastrous policies of the current
administration.
But there are real differences
between the candidates. We are looking for more than just a change of
party in the White House. We’re looking to fundamentally change the
status quo in Washington – a status quo that extends beyond any
particular party. And right now, that status quo is fighting back with
everything it’s got; with the same old tactics that divide and distract
us from solving the problems people face, whether those problems are
health care they can’t afford or a mortgage they cannot pay.
So this will not be easy. Make no mistake about what we’re up against.
We
are up against the belief that it’s ok for lobbyists to dominate our
government – that they are just part of the system in Washington. But
we know that the undue influence of lobbyists is part of the problem,
and this election is our chance to say that we’re not going to let them
stand in our way anymore.
We are up against the
conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as President comes
from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House. But we
know that real leadership is about candor, and judgment, and the
ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common
purpose – a higher purpose.
We are up against decades
of bitter partisanship that cause politicians to demonize their
opponents instead of coming together to make college affordable or
energy cleaner; it’s the kind of partisanship where you’re not even
allowed to say that a Republican had an idea – even if it’s one you
never agreed with. That kind of politics is bad for our party, it’s bad
for our country, and this is our chance to end it once and for all.
We
are up against the idea that it’s acceptable to say anything and do
anything to win an election. We know that this is exactly what’s wrong
with our politics; this is why people don’t believe what their leaders
say anymore; this is why they tune out. And this election is our chance
to give the American people a reason to believe again.
And
what we’ve seen in these last weeks is that we’re also up against
forces that are not the fault of any one campaign, but feed the habits
that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation. It’s the
politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon. A
politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within
the confines of the categories that supposedly define us. The
assumption that young people are apathetic. The assumption that
Republicans won’t cross over. The assumption that the wealthy care
nothing for the poor, and that the poor don’t vote. The assumption that
African-Americans can’t support the white candidate; whites can’t
support the African-American candidate; blacks and Latinos can’t come
together.
But we are here tonight to say that this is
not the America we believe in. I did not travel around this state over
the last year and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina.
I saw South Carolina. I saw crumbling schools that are stealing the
future of black children and white children. I saw shuttered mills and
homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from all walks of life,
and men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and
fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. I saw
what America is, and I believe in what this country can be.
That
is the country I see. That is the country you see. But now it is up to
us to help the entire nation embrace this vision. Because in the end,
we are not just up against the ingrained and destructive habits of
Washington, we are also struggling against our own doubts, our own
fears, and our own cynicism. The change we seek has always required
great struggle and sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts
and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing
to work for it.
So let me remind you tonight that
change will not be easy. That change will take time. There will be
setbacks, and false starts, and sometimes we will make mistakes. But as
hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope. Because there are people all
across this country who are counting us; who can’t afford another four
years without health care or good schools or decent wages because our
leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.
Theirs are the stories and voices we carry on from South Carolina.
The
mother who can’t get Medicaid to cover all the needs of her sick child
– she needs us to pass a health care plan that cuts costs and makes
health care available and affordable for every single American.
The
teacher who works another shift at Dunkin Donuts after school just to
make ends meet – she needs us to reform our education system so that
she gets better pay, and more support, and her students get the
resources they need to achieve their dreams.
The
Maytag worker who is now competing with his own teenager for a
$7-an-hour job at Wal-Mart because the factory he gave his life to shut
its doors – he needs us to stop giving tax breaks to companies that
ship our jobs overseas and start putting them in the pockets of working
Americans who deserve it. And struggling homeowners. And seniors who
should retire with dignity and respect.
The woman who
told me that she hasn’t been able to breathe since the day her nephew
left for Iraq, or the soldier who doesn’t know his child because he’s
on his third or fourth tour of duty – they need us to come together and
put an end to a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been
waged.
The choice in this election is not between
regions or religions or genders. It’s not about rich versus poor; young
versus old; and it is not about black versus white.
It’s about the past versus the future.
It’s
about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and
drama that passes for politics today, or whether we reach for a
politics of common sense, and innovation – a shared sacrifice and
shared prosperity.
There are those who will continue
to tell us we cannot do this. That we cannot have what we long for.
That we are peddling false hopes.
But here’s what I
know. I know that when people say we can’t overcome all the big money
and influence in Washington, I think of the elderly woman who sent me a
contribution the other day – an envelope that had a money order for
$3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside. So don’t tell us
change isn’t possible.
When I hear the cynical talk
that blacks and whites and Latinos can’t join together and work
together, I’m reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized
with, and stood with, and fought with side by side for jobs and justice
on the streets of Chicago. So don’t tell us change can’t happen.
When
I hear that we’ll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I
think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond,
who’s now devoted to educating inner-city children and who went out
onto the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this
campaign. Don’t tell me we can’t change.
Yes we can change.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can seize our future.
And
as we leave this state with a new wind at our backs, and take this
journey across the country we love with the message we’ve carried from
the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire; from the Nevada
desert to the South Carolina coast; the same message we had when we
were up and when we were down – that out of many, we are one; that
while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism, and
doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that
timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people in three simple
words:
Yes. We. Can.
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