Hard To Say Goodbye

This has been one of the toughest weeks I've ever had to deal with, but it's nothing compared to what Michele and her family have faced.

Last Friday evening, we said our final goodbyes to Michael, Michele's brother. He'd been diagnosed with brain cancer last September, and depending on how you look at it, we got a good 9 months to spend time with him and prepare for what doctors said was inevitable. Lucky for us, the initial diagnosis of "2 weeks to live" was premature.

Initially, Michael was handling the treatments well. After moving in with the parents to be near the cancer treatment facility, he was his usual self for a couple months. Then, as more and more steroids were being pumped into his body, he started to get swollen. Within a couple months, he was practically unrecognizable. Michael had always been a very skinny guy.

After the holidays, Michael was still doing well. His memory was a liiiiiiiiiittle sketchy, but mostly normal. He'd had a couple seizures, though, and that was worrisome, some that even left scars on his face. As things tolled into May, though, it got much worse.

While hanging with some friends, Michael had a third seizure. The seizure not only left him in bad shape, but it messed up his back quite a bit. He was in agony. His dad took him to the hospital after he had come to pick him up for a doctor's appointment one day. Michael was in extreme pain, and the hospital did what they could do to stabilize the back -- namely, inject stuff in it -- which gave him relief.

But, after that, Michael began the final phase of this horrible cancer ordeal. He had to be placed in a hospice because there was no way to provide him round-the-clock care to satisfy his needs for a lot of medication and sore bones and muscle everywhere. This was a depressing decision, as no one wants to BE in a hospice nor put someone there.

But, it was the only choice.

To his credit, Michael made the most of it. It was hard seeing him there, and his health was declining. His memory was also racing downhill. When Michele and I visited on Father's Day, it was notably awful. Michael was confusing the names of inanimate objects, calling Father's Day his dad's Birthday, etc. His health seemed OK, and he was working on a lot of art, but the memory issues were worrisome. The tumors were growing and affecting his brain considerably.

None of us had any idea he only had a week to go.

Michele and I visited Michael Friday, Saturday, and then finally Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, he was having a good deal of pain and uncomfortability. I was only there Saturday, and we didn't get to chat much as he spent most of the time sleeping and feeling miserable. On Sunday, though, we arrived at about 1:30 and weren't allowed entrance right away.

To put the rest of the day in perspective, when we arrived, the Mets-Rockies game was in the 2nd inning. We waited in the lobby with Michele's parents for a time when we could go in. First, an aide was busy with him, then two, then three. We actually sat there watching the ENTIRE GAME before we could go in -- by then, Michele's brother had arrived as well.

Michael was doing terribly. Specifically, he was having problems with his bladder, and when we went to his room he was lying on a mattress, on the floor, in terrible pain. It was hard to watch. Within minutes, the aides were letting on that this was a very familiar phase that patients go through before the end.

The end?

By then it was about 4:30 I believe. Leaving Michele and her family to be with Michael, I called up her brothers Chris and Kevin. I left a message for Chris, but I reached Kevin and I choked up having to tell him he needed to come to the hospice -- quickly. I didn't know what was going to happen, and I didn't know clearly how much time Michael had left, but it was hard to tell his brother to get here quickly if he wanted to be with his brother. I also had to get in touch with Michele's dad, who had gone back home for a bit.

For the next few hours, while an aide was massaging Michael's bladder, we held his hands (and feet) and talked to him the best we could. He was in agony, and only barely conscience of what was going on around him. He was speaking, but saying the same things over and over again (he kept insisting on getting up to use the bathroom, but he had a catheter already). I was by his head, brushing his hair and holding his hand. His mom and Michele and Andy were doing the same.

A bit after, his dad arrived, and he sat with us as well. Kevin, his brother, also came, and held his foot. We were unable to reach Chris for quite a while, but after a few hours, he too arrived. With the whole family in the room, it was an emotional time. Chris was telling Michael he'd arrived, and it was OK to let go. By now, I should say, Michael's kidneys had failed and his heart was racing 20% faster than usual. It was a death watch.

We were all quite emotional, but it felt good that we were all there. We stayed an hour longer, but then Michele and I had a gut-wrenching decision you should never have to make. Cedric had been out and about for 8 hours by this point, and he was so patient, but by this time he really needed to sleep. So, Michele would have to go. My choice was to either stay with Michael and family, or stay with Michele. I chose to stay with Michele, since she couldn't be home alone during this time. So, at about 8:30, we both left.

Michele went to bed with Cedric and a heavy heart. I had to stay up to get some work done for my crazy Qwest project and do some errands, including running to King Soopers. I got to bed around midnight.

At 12:45, the phone rang. It was Michele's brother. Michael had passed.

Michele and I stayed up for a couple hours talking about Michael and trying to work through our shock. We cried. We lamented not being there for him. Luckily, Andy and Kevin stayed with Michael's parents and so all four were there when he passed. Also, his best friend showed up an hour before, and so he got to say goodbye as well.

...

This week has been filled with preparing for the funeral. Michele has done an outstanding job. She organized both events, and contributed her artwork and time to make them happen as splendidly as possible. She's a hero in my eyes and her family should be proud.

Michele and I also put together a DVD photo montage of Michael that we played at the Wake and Memorial. People seemed to like it, and it made us happy. We did the best we could do, and it came out well. Michele also did a book reading and the Open Mic session was wonderful. If only all brothers were so lucky to have a sister like Michele.

The most emotional part of this week came after the Memorial, after everyone had left. With just the family present: 2 parents, 3 brothers, 1 sister, 2 in-laws, and 2 nephews, we all closed the casket together. It was a tough thing to do, but it brought some closure for the family. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Michele can be seen quite torn up in the picture in her blog.

On Tuesday, the body will be cremated, and in the future we will spread his ashes on a large hill in Morrisson. (If you're driving on 285 and see the large lit-up cross on the hillside, that's where. And at the very top of the cross is where Michael's memorial will be.)

It'll take some time to heal, but for now, I'm there for Michele and the family has grown closer in this terrible ordeal.

Rest in peace, Michael.

Memorial Services for Michael Ross

Some of you have inquired about services for Michele's brother, Michael. Here they are, and of course, all are invited to attend:

The Wake is on Thursday, from 7 to 9 PM. No formal services, come and go at any time during the 2-hour period to say your goodbyes.

Memorial Service is on Friday, 7 to 8 PM. Service by Father Al, a special presentation by Michele Blanco, and open microphone to share personal stories.

Both services will be held at Aspen Mortuaries, 1350 Simms St., Lakewood, CO. If taking 6th Ave., get off at Union/Simms going north (Simms). It's a block or two up on your right.

Michael Ross, 1970-2008

Michele's brother, Michael, died early this morning of brain cancer. He was just 38 years old. Nothing I can say compares to what Michele wrote in the wee hours this morning, so I'm replicating it here:

Michael with my brothers Andy and Kevin and my dad at my wedding.

This picture is from a week ago, Father's Day. My brother had been progressively getting worse over the last couple of weeks. He was still coherent and talking at this point but on Friday, June 20th Michael was put on 72 hour watch. He was in a lot of pain when my mom and I showed up to see Michael Friday morning. His head was really bothering him, and he was all sweaty and clammy because of it. Cedric and I stayed for awhile, but it's hard when you have an active toddler.

John, Cedric, and I came back the next day, Saturday, to visit. My parents were there. They nurses at the Hospice had given Michael a diuretic to help with the swelling on his brain and all the fluid retention he was having. It made him very uncomfortable, and he wouldn't eat. He eventually went to sleep...although he was still restless.

Sunday...John, Cedric, and I arrived around 1:30pm. We couldn't go in, because they were working on him. John and I wandered about the halls, and we saw my parents. They had just come back from eating lunch. They filled us in on Michael's condition. He was having trouble going to the bathroom, and he was in a lot of pain. We waited to see him...Andy showed up about an hour later. We watched the Rockies/Mets game in the lobby while we waited. We finally got to see Michael around 4:00pm. He had really taken a turn for the worse. They had him laying on his matress on the floor of his room. He was suffering and very incoherent. They had a cathater in him, and he kept wanting to take it out. They kept giving him pain medication and medication to help relax him. It would always work for a little while then he would get agitated again. So they would give him more....this process went on for hours. He was suffering and he kept having sleep apnea...I just want the pain to stop for him.

John, Cedric, and I stayed for as long as we could...we eventually left around 8:30pm. I kissed my brother goodbye and told him I loved him. Cedric waved goodbye to his Uncle Michael...it was so cute and sad at the same time. All my brothers were there....we had some trouble getting a hold of Chris, but he eventually was contacted and he came. (I have to mention when we were all in the room surrounding Michael there was an energy that is just indescribable...I guess you can say it was an outpouring of love.)

As we were leaving, my brothers were outside. They each took turns holding Cedric. When Kevin had a hold of Cedric, Cedric kept pointing up and saying up as he did it. Cedric knew...it's amazing how baby just know. We didn't want to leave, but Cedric needed to sleep and he wouldn't fall asleep where we were at...too much was going on.

Monday morning, June 23, 2008 at 12:45am, Michael stopped suffering and he is now at peace. Andy called me around 12:50am to tell me that Michael had passed. I feel bad that I wasn't there...John and I both wanted to be. We just didn't want him to suffer anymore. My parents, Andy, and Kevin were there so at least he wasn't alone. Andy went outside and told me how when people die you see an animal, and he saw a skunk. I find very comforting, because that was John and I's connection at the beginning of our relationship. He use to tease me that he could see skunks through his back window at the Windsor...I was jealous cause I wanted to see cute, wild animals, too. Our first bike trip downtown, we found a stuffed animal skunk at the Tattered Cover and John bought him for me. We named him Manhattan. John also has a necklace I bought him with a skunk on it. I also found out from the nurses that Michael would talked to them at night at the nurses station. He talked a lot about me and how much he liked me. It makes me feel good that he could still remember us even at the end.

It hurts so much to see someone you love leave this world at such a young age. He was only 38, and I can't believe he's gone. I feel like a part of me has died along with him. I'm glad I got to spend a lot of time with him over the last year...I only wish I had more time. Despite our differences over the years, he was one of my brothers I felt closer to...we shared a common bond of attending the same junior high and high school, but we were also only 2 and a half years apart. Right now the pain is too real to feel anything but numbness. I have to help bury my brother this week...I don't know how you get past this moment. I guess time will eventually heal. Goodbye Michael...Please know that I have always loved you and my heart is breaking because you are no longer in this world. I will forever miss you...I wish Cedric could had the time to get to know you, but your memory will have to live on in videos and pictures. Godspeed....sweet dreams. :(

Goodbye...

One of my Heroes is Gone

George Carlin has just passed away. :-(

One of the greatest comedians of our time. I love him dearly. He'll be missed, but I know he's happy to be with his wife again after so many years apart.

Love you, man. You'll be sorely missed.

On Gay Marriage

An interesting article on gay marriage on Towleroad here.

"This change in position is not because Rothman had a Jim McGreevey moment; Rothman had a Dick Cheney one. One of Rothman's stepdaughters is lesbian. As a former mayor of Englewood, Rothman performed many marriage ceremonies. In a phone interview Wednesday, he said the 'issue of gay marriage has been on my mind' ever since those days. Yet despite his two biological children often telling him that "of course, gay people should be able to be married," he still would respond, 'I'm not there yet.' What got him there was a new marriage, and with it, the addition of three stepchildren to his family. His evolution on same-sex marriage is not unusual. When someone knows an openly gay or lesbian person, his or her views on equality broaden. Rothman is embracing a brave, new lavender world because like any parent, he wants his children to live happy, productive lives. 'Life can be short and hurtful for some,' he said. 'Anytime anyone in the community speaks out against discrimination, it advances the cause of ending discrimination.'"

Rocky Day

Today was a bit of a rocky day.

This morning was tough for getting out of bed. Was at the Rockies-Mets game til late last night, so it was hard to open the eyes. Cedric helped, though. :-)

A lazy morning, but highlighted by Michele's famous chocolate-covered strawberries, which we couldn't get to last night. After some dorking around and uploading to YouTube, we went to our friends' Aaron and Adri's housewarming BBQ.

We brought them what every new homeowners should have, a garden gnome. :-) Then, we went out back to meet up with some friends. Cedric enjoyed walking around the area. He's getting better and better at walking, it's amazing to see. I swear it was just yesterday when we were wondering when he was gonna finally let go of the furniture!

But, we were there with heavy hearts. We had to leave sooner than we liked to go see Michele's brother. His condition is worsening, and sadly, it's expected he might be falling into a coma soon. We were there about an hour and a half, and didn't have a chance to talk to him. He was sleeping mostly, his breathing is exaggerated and choppy, and last night he had episodes of non-responsiveness. He doesn't seem too aware of his surroundings, he hadn't eaten anything all day, and it's a scary situation for both of us.

We're still wishing for the best, but we're seeing his worst. Hopefully, he can make it through tonight and we'll give it another swing tomorrow to see what happens. Maybe he'll be feeling better.

Hang in there, Mike. Keep fightin'.

As for the rest of the very hot afternoon, the Mets lost, and there was simply nothing on TV. And, as it's 10:29 right now, I have some household chores to do before bed.

Well, better get to em. Off I go.

The Incredularity of Race as Advantage

I've heard people give it a mention, but mostly just on Fox News and from Geraldine Ferraro sticking her foot in her mouth. But my own dad?

Yes, it's true.

Some background, my dad listens to WCBS AM in New York. This is the station with Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, and so on...he's not racist. He's just a little brainwashed by what he hears all day long.

Having said that, he insists that Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee because, simply, "all the black people voted for him." I laughed in the phone.

I did a some research and the results shocked me. The following is a chart showing the percentage of African Americans in each state, and which Democratic nominee won the state:

0.3% - Montana - OBAMA
0.4% - Idaho - OBAMA
0.5% - Maine - OBAMA
0.5% - Vermont - OBAMA
0.6% - North Dakota - OBAMA
0.6% - South Dakota - CLINTON
0.7% - New Hampshire - CLINTON
0.8% - Wyoming - OBAMA
0.8% - Utah - OBAMA
1.6% - Oregon - OBAMA
1.8% - Hawaii - OBAMA
1.9% - New Mexico - CLINTON
2.1% - Iowa - OBAMA
3.0% Arizona - CLINTON
3.1% - Washington - OBAMA
3.2% - West Virginia - CLINTON
3.4% - Minnesota - OBAMA
3.4% Alaska - OBAMA
3.7% - Colorado - OBAMA
4.0% - Nebraska - OBAMA
4.4% - Rhode Island - CLINTON
5.3% - Massachusetts - CLINTON
5.6% - Wisconsin - OBAMA
5.7% - Kansas - OBAMA
6.2% - Nevada - CLINTON
6.7% California - CLINTON
7.2% - Kentucky - CLINTON
7.5% - Oklahoma - CLINTON
8.3% - Indiana - CLINTON
9.0% - Connecticut - OBAMA
9.9% - Pennsylvania - CLINTON
11.0% - Texas - CLINTON
11.1% - Missouri - OBAMA
11.4% - Ohio - CLINTON
13.3% - New Jersey - CLINTON
14.0% - Florida - CLINTON
14.1% - Michigan - CLINTON
15.0% - Illinois - OBAMA
15.5% Arkansas - CLINTON
15.7% - New York - CLINTON
16.1% - Tennessee - CLINTON
19.1% - Virginia - OBAMA
20.0% - North Carolina - OBAMA
20.0% - Delaware - OBAMA
27.1% - Maryland - OBAMA
27.5% - Georgia - OBAMA
28.9% - South Carolina - OBAMA
29.2% Alabama - OBAMA
32.4% - Louisiana - OBAMA
36.0% - Mississippi - OBAMA
60.1% - Washington DC - OBAMA

Barack Obama, in fact, won 15 of the 20 most white states in the country! And many of those states he won by biiiiiig margins, including Montana and Idaho.

Surely, this won't change my dad's mind. But, it doesn't matter much. There's the facts. :-) No big surprise.

Back to reality.

Mets win, 7-2! Find me on TV

I finally got to see a Met win at Coors Field! Been a while. :-) During the Trot Nixon home run, you can see me on TV. Here's your hint, this is what I'm wearing:

Now, can you see me in the clip? ;-) (Michele is too my left.)

Also, I did take the liberty to film one pitch of the game. Ironically, and much to my luck, it was the Jeff Baker home run pitch. :-)

Yep, that's, top middle of the photo. On TV, it's fun to see, though. Not clear in a still. So, I'm practically famous. You'll understand if I start acting snooty from here on out.

And now, you are done with the priviledge of reading this blog post!

This is the Leader of the Free World

Even Laura looks uncomfortable. Bush's tone is that of a 3rd grader caught stealing gumballs. My favorite part is, "Hey, this is a law Congress passed! I mean, I worked with them."

The man is unglued. This is how people sound when they are not honest people.

Your Liberal Media Bias

Yesterday, John McCain called for expanding oil drilling along our coastlines. In an AP story, it was described by H. JOSEF HEBERT, an AP writer, as such:

McCain called for reform of the laws governing the oil futures trading market, and drew a standing ovation from his audience Wednesday when he repeated his day-old support for an end to the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling. He favors allowing states to decide whether to explore offshore waters.

That struck me as odd. An AP story noting a standing ovation to an issue so controversial and, in my opinion, an obvious pander to Big Oil. Gosh, even voters would be suspicious of this, especially, I don't know, voters in Florida and other COASTAL states.

So, doing some investigation, I wanted to find out just exactly who McCain was speaking to. Who was his audience. I found it in non-AP stories:

The message of the McCain campaign for the day is on energy, as today McCain announced that in his speech before oil executives in Texas tomorrow

Oil Executives. In Texas.

So, here's a clue. WHY would oil executives be cheering? Do you think it's because they can't afford $4 a gallon gas? Or do you think...maybe...CHA-CHING?!

Town Hall Question for John McCain...

Mr. McCain, are levees "pork?"

Obama on Father's Day

Beautiful.

Al Gore Endorses Barack Obama

What I thought was a well-versed part of Al's speech tonight:

Take it from me, elections matter.

If you think the next appointments to our Supreme Court are important, you know that elections matter. If you live in the city of New Orleans, you know that elections matter. If you or a member of your family are serving in the active military, the National Guard or Reserves, you know that elections matter.

If you are a wounded veteran, you know that elections matter. If you've lost your job; if you're struggling with a mortgage, you know that elections matter.

After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter. After eight years of lost jobs and lower wages, we need change. After eight years of incompetence, negligence and failure, we need change.

Inspirational words. Then, of course, we have John McCain and the GOP, who quite possibly unleashed the most silly rebuttal I've seen this year:

GOP spokesman Alex Conant reacted to Gore's criticism of President Bush. "This election isn't about changing the past, it's about changing the future," he told The Associated Press on Monday evening.

Calling attention to the fact that Gore's 2000 running mate, Sen. Joe Lieberman, has since left the Democratic Party to become an independent and is backing Sen. John McCain, he said, "It's telling that half of the 2000 Democratic ticket endorsed John McCain early in the campaign, while the other half waited until Barack Obama had been the presumptive nominee for weeks."

Yeah, John, it's so telling. It's also telling the man who wanted to switch to the Democratic Party in 2001 and 2004 is now the Republican nominee, too.

Solved Elebits

Almost a couple years after buying it, I just solved it. Didn't take long, we just didn't like it too much until I made it a goal to beat it a couple weeks ago.

It sucks.

Don't bother.

They did try to make a new concept, and they did. But, the game just didn't flow very well. It also made me motion sick and the framerate tanks towards the end. The boss's have no character to them. The ending is abrupt. (Stage 29?)

Monkey Nuts

So here's a little invite to any of my blog readers to check out an extremely early peek at my pet project, Monkey Nuts. :-) I won't go into too much detail of what it's going to be, but you can play with it as of now:

Monkey Nuts!

Also, if you see this and think you might have an idea of where this might be headed and you might be interested in joining the effort, the plan is to make money on this venture, so just send me an email and let me know. :-)

There's Always Gonna Be Somebody

And in There's-Always-Going-To-Be-One-Fucking-Idiot news, this lady, a Clinton delegate to the DNC, has decided she will vote for John McCain rather than Barack Obama:

In an interview, Bartoshevich expressed lingering unhappiness over the Democratic nominating process, said Clinton was treated unfairly by the party, and said she has deep reservations about Obama's lack of experience and his judgment.

"I'm kind of disenfranchised," she said.

She said she planned to vote for Clinton at the convention, but in an Obama-McCain match-up in November, "I will not be voting for Obama. I will cast my vote for John McCain.

Said Bartoshevich: "I just feel you need to have somebody who has experience with foreign matters."

Now, remember, this vote means nothing. It just means it's a vote for John McCain to be the Democratic nominee. Barring bizarro world, he'll likely not out-delegate Barack.

And, she certainly has a right to vote for McCain in the general. It's her American-born right to vote against everything she believes in. But, still, I find her reasoning hilarious.

Here. John McCain. Experience with foreign matters. The man who voted to bomb Iraq. The man who said we'd be greeted as liberators. The man who said it would be a cakewalk. The man who said anyone who thought this was going to be a cakewalk was silly. The man who sang, "Bomb Iran." The man who said he has no problem being in Iraq for 100 years. The man who says "it's not too important" when we bring our soldiers home. (Apparently, the families don't care, nor do the taxpayers paying 2 billion a week for this war.)

But, damn. He's got the experience! I guess old age means qualifications to this lady. Good good. Go change your voter registration now. Off you go. Bye bye. Thanks for fighting these last 8 years.

Update: The newer, bolder Democratic party kicked her out:

The Wisconsin Democratic Party moved Friday to strip a woman of her position as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention after she told a newspaper she would vote for Republican Sen. John McCain for president in November.

State party members voted at their convention Friday night to challenge Debra Bartoshevich's status as a delegate to the Denver convention in late August

...

Those comments prompted Democrats to support a complaint asking the national party's credentials committee to refuse to seat her at the convention. The resolution said Bartoshevich violated a Democratic National Committee rule requiring delegates to support the party's nominee and not any other candidate.

She was replaced by an alternate Hillary delegate, so all's fair. Jeez, lady, if you can't even support the party, don't be a delegate. It's called a PARTY. Join or get out.

Tim Russert

Wow, Tim Russert just died. This is quite shocking. He's been very close with the Presidential race, I see him just about every day. Wow.

Life is short. This is pretty rattling. Condolences to his family. Terrible.

You Don't Mess With The Michelle

Hey, right-wing, it's about time you leave Michelle Obama alone. First, you said she wasn't proud of her country. We saw through you. Then, you said she made a "terrorist fist jab" with her husband. We laughed at you. Now, you call her "Barack's Baby Mama"

I guess you aren't gonna win by talking policy, right? Sure, go ahead, piss off over 50% of the voters. Can't wait for Novemeber! HAHAHA

Feeling the Love From Amazin' Avenue

One of my biggest gripes with the Mets has been the lack of clutch performance from our $19 million dollar man, Carlos Beltran. Don't get me wrong, I love Carlos, but he has never shown himself to step up when the Mets need him late in games.

Tonight, he did it. He hit a 13th-inning, 2-run homer to win an agonizing game the Mets shoulda have closed out a lot sooner. As expected, I got some love from Amazin' Avenue after the blast:

Love ya, fellas. :-) He done proved me wrong for a night.

John McCain Definitely Senile

John McCain has had a lot of problems with "misremembering" during this campaign season. Many times, he's insisted he didn't say things that he did say. But, this one takes the cake:

On Friday, McCain attacked Obama's record on the environment during a campaign stop in the Florida Everglades.

"Sen. Obama has no record of being involved in this issue that I know of," he said. "I will stick by my record and my commitment of many years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

McCain seems to have forgotten the *cough* The Obama-McCain Climate Change Reduction Bill.

Dear God.

About John McCain's *First* Wife

Honey, I'm Leaving You and Our Three Children After Being Gone 5 Years -- But I'm a Character Guy

What a dick move. Clearly, he cheated on his wife. But, to leave your three kids? Sorta takes the Great American out of Great American Hero. Than again, the Republicans don't like Vietnam heroes, right? Right?

Barack's Speech to his Staff

It just makes me so proud that Barack is representing our party. The last 5 minutes of this video are powerful ones.

Fox News Is Scared Of Us

Here it is, just a couple hours after Hillary's historic speech in Washington DC, and here's Fox News' front page:

I fully agree cardboard's ability to effect flight is far more important, don't you? Bkkkkttttttt....splat! (Fox News' ratings.)

Hillary Set To Speak

It's running a little late...like a good TV drama. :-) Very, very interested to hear this. I think she'll give a goodie! It's already looking good, no McCain green screen back there. :-)

The MSNBC guys keep mentioning the Gore concession speech in 2000 as the model. Apparently, he gave a great one. I never saw it. I'll need to YouTube it or something.

...

OK, here it is. Even though it's 8 years ago, it's to painful to watch. But if yer interested:

Maybe later I'll take a look.

Update: A beautiful speech that couldn't have been done even better. Very graceful. I wish we could have two Presidents. I don't know, sorta like a Vice-President (hint, hint). Here's my favorite part of the speech:

You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. And during those … 40 years, our country has voted 10 times for president. Democrats won only three of those times, and the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

We made tremendous progress during the ’90s under a Democratic president, with a flourishing economy and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world.

Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we’d had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court.

Imagine how far … we could have come, how much we could have achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now, the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it, that it’s too hard, we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject can’t-do claims and to choose, instead, to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism that Sen. Obama and I share and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. So today I am standing with Sen. Obama to say: Yes, we can!

John McCain. Get ready. The party is unifying and here...we...come.

Some Barry White?

Dear "Wah, Wah, Disenfranchisement!" Hillary Supporters,

To those of you who are now supporting our Democratic nominee, welcome aboard! We are glad to continue the fight for Democratic principles as one now! However, there are some of you who are confused about Michigan and Florida. For those of you, this note:

Dear Lunatics,

It has come to my attention that some of you are so angry that you lost the Democratic primary, you are vowing to vote for McCain. Your decision to subvert your core principles and vote completely against everything you have been fighting for is alarming.

You say you were robbed of the nomination. How is this so? You say 18 million people have been ignored. However, what about the 18 million (plus a lot more) that voted for Barack Obama? Did they not have anything to say about this? You are as offensive as you claim to be offended.

Secondly, why are you lunatic supporters convinced that Barack Obama is trying to disenfranchise you -- as the poor soul in the movie below claims. Children, Florida and Michigan broke the party rules. Neither Barack nor Hillary made the case that the votes shouldn't count. You're quite mad. The *DNC* made the decision. And guess what, political primaries are run by -- you guessed it -- the party!

Barack *and* Hillary both signed the agreement to not recognize the two states. Hillary is an equal partner. And Chris Dodd. And Joe Biden. And so on and so forth. They showed party unity in enforcing the rules for what order the states vote. Is the system perfect? No. But, are those the rules?

Yes, they are.

And THEY DID THE EXACT SAME THING, Barack and Hillary. But, something funny happened: Hillary won both states and still fell dreadfully behind Barack in the primary process. So what did she do?

She has convinced you that Barack is disenfranchising you.

It's sad, really. She's fooling you. And now acid-boy is pissed and spent a good portion of his summer vacation from school making a dramatic video saying as much. But, little does he know, HILLARY CLINTON disenfranchised him.

It's OK now. The Democrats reached an agreement and still let you guys seat your delegates. So, all of you that voted anyway, got rewarded. Hell, Barack wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, and he STILL signed off on the deal to count his vote as the "Uncommitted." How excited do you think his voters were to come in and vote for -- uh -- not him.

Markos Moulitsas had even used the "fake vote" to push for Democrats to vote for Mitt Romney. You see, this vote was never supposed to count. But you can count your lucky stars Hillary won both in the end, and had them counted.

And ya know what, you still lost by over two hundred delegates. So stop your bitching, stop your crying, and wake up and stand up for your Democratic principles!

Stand up for universal health care, for a sane foreign policy, for stem cell research which will be funded the moment Barack is in office. Stand up if you're pro-choice! John McCain has vowed to fill the Supreme Court with more Alitos and Clarence Thomas clones. How will you like that? Do you see how old these pro-choice justices are getting compared to their anti-choice mates?

What about Katrina? Do you want to see the further dismantling of our emergency response? Will the blood of the future dead be on your hands if disaster strikes again with a failed FEMA response?

What about the single mothers who need the support of their government? Will the destruction of our human services be enough to make you happy? All for your petty anger?

Get. Over. It. And. Vote. Democrat.

Why is this so difficult for you to understand? If you do not want to be part of the true Democratic Party rising -- the crashing of the gates if you will -- then, indeed, please leave our party.

Perhaps you were, in the end, simply the problem. Either get the hell out of the way...or...get your head back in the game and support Barack Obama for President.

Love, Me.

Fear the stupid!

The Cedric Sock Rebellion

Who?

Funny.

”Jan Schakowsky told me about a recent visit she had made to the White House with a congressional delegation. On her way out, she said, President Bush noticed her ‘Obama’ button. ‘He jumped back, almost literally,’ she said. ‘And I knew what he was thinking. So I reassured him it was Obama, with a ‘b.’ And I explained who he was. The President said, ‘Well, I don’t know him.’ So I just said, ‘You will.’ ” (New Yorker, 5/31/2004)

Obama in Action

News this morning:

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Stacie Paxton confirms to us that Obama strategist Paul Tewes will be joining the DNC, a sign that Obama is rapidly moving to re-shape the party apparatus in his own image.

Tewes -- who is in the DNC building right now and whose hiring was expected -- is being brought in to help manage the transition as the DNC swings into action on behalf of Obama's general election candidacy, and to help oversee fundraising and other political matters.

Separately, the DNC let it be known this morning that it will no longer be taking donations from federal lobbyists or PACs -- another sign that Obama is rapidly putting his stamp on what will be effectively be his party until November and perhaps beyond.

And then, my hero, someone finally told Joe Lieberman where to stick it:

Returning to the Senate after his securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama and Lieberman greeted each on the Senate floor in the Well as they were voting on the budget resolution.

They shook hands. But Obama didn’t let go, leading Lieberman - cordially - by the hand across the room into a corner on the Democratic side, where Democratic sources tell ABC News he delivered some tough words for the junior senator from Connecticut, who had just minutes before hammered Obama's speech before the pro-Israel group AIPAC in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign.

The two spoke intensely for approximately five minutes, with no one able to hear their conversation. Reporters watched as Obama leaned closely in to Lieberman, whose back was literally up against the wall.

This is the sort of campaign John Kerry should have ran. Hillary helped teach Barack how to play tough. Now, he's taking that experience to Novemeber for the Democratic Party!

I love this man. Obama I mean.

Fuck you, Lieberman. You won't make it past 2012.

YES WE CAN DID!!!

BARACK HAS WON THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION!!!!

And now, a most memorable speech to mark the occassion:

Meanderings

I've got my Adventure Club CD all done. This CD is supposed to represent my life. I made two versions. The first highlighted my musical taste by era. However, upon retrospection, I decided to make a second version which used music to map my life milestones.

The second is much better. I even like listening to it. :-)

...

Tonight are the last two primaries. From all the media hype I've seen today, Clinton will concede after they are over, but keep her campaign running, presumably while she tries to change superdelegate minds before the convention. Luckily, it sounds like that will be quieter, so Obama can focus on Enemy #1 -- John McCain.

Current polling shows Obama winning the Presidency. Some big states are in play, but the great news is that everyone expects the Hillary bump. That is, with her officially out, some of the hard feelings her supporters have in the Democratic primary fight will assuage to the reality that John McCain doesn't represent them. Once we get more unity in the Democratic Party after the long fight, the numbers will only rise for us.

LANDSLIDE?

All, minus our local nut job and all her hundreds of friends which feel the same way she does. haha.

...

Still addicted to Mario Kart.