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Inauguration Notes for Attendees

The team that is planning Barack Obama’s inauguration just put out an advisory for anyone with tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, and here’s the bottom line: This won’t be a picnic.

The swearing-in isn’t just a 60-minute ceremony but a day-long commitment, requiring planning ahead and looking at a map to design your exit strategy.

The advisory says that ticket-holders should arrive at least three hours before the ceremony begins at 11:30. The place will be jammed. Streets will be closed and so probably will the bridges and major roadways into the district, unless you’re on a special bus. If you’re already staying within two miles of the Capitol, you should walk to the swearing-in. If you have special needs (like, you can’t walk), you’ll still have to walk, or use a wheelchair.

There will be “drop-off” points for people with disabilities, but “traffic conditions and restrictions may make reaching these drop-off locations extremely difficult.”

More bad news for these folks: “There will be designated areas for people with disabilities in each of the ticketed seating areas on the Capitol grounds, however these areas are limited in size and available on a first-come first-served basis. Persons in wheelchairs or utilizing walkers should be aware that they will need to move across bumpy surfaces, grassy areas, and possible icy areas (depending on the weather).”

If you’re coming by Metro: “Be prepared to wait for space on a train for long periods of time, during which you will have to stand in close proximity to several thousand people. Many Metro escalators will be closed due to crowding and individuals will need to climb Metro stairs or wait to utilize the small number of elevators at Metro stations.”

If it’s raining? You can’t get through security with an umbrella. Bring a hat or poncho.

And if you’re on medication, like insulin, that you need to take at regular intervals, bring it with you. You’ll be there for many hours.

The advisory paints such a grim scenario that you might think the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which issued the advisory, is trying to discourage people from coming.

Not so, says Carole Florman, a spokeswoman for the committee. They just want people to have a realistic sense of what to expect.

“We want people to understand that if they try to come, these are the obstacles that will unfortunately exist and they should plan accordingly and use their judgment about whether it’s something they want to do,” Ms. Florman said.

“If someone is going to spend the day in traffic or stuck on the subway or on the wrong side of a bridge, they’ll have a worse time than if they stay home and watch on TV,” she added. “We’re trying to be honest and realistic about the difficulties we anticipate.”

This advisory is just for the 240,000 people who have tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, but many of the same precautions apply to those without tickets who are going to the Mall, where more than a million people are expected, or along the parade route, where hundreds of thousands of early birds will gather.

The weather in Washington in January is usually quite cold and often rainy or snowy, the advisory cautions. “Please think carefully about whether you can stand outside in cold weather in a large crowd for up to six hours, and whether you are ready for long delays getting home afterwards.”

And finally, there’s this, for anyone who thinks they will be able to instantly share their experience with friends and family via cell phone: “Be aware that it may be difficult to talk or send pictures from your cell phone, according to wireless companies. Please use text messaging to send critical messages.”

Barack Obama Criticized The Appointment of Roland Burris

President-elect Barack Obama criticized the appointment of Roland Burris to replace him in the Senate, and backed Senate Democrats' opposition to the move, in a statement emailed to reporters.

"Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat," he said. "I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it."

Obama's statement, and the fact of his election as the first black president, may defuse the core of Blagojevich's strategy, which is to build support for himself and the appointment by making the conflict about race.

Obama reiterated his call on Blagojevich to resign.

"I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy," he said.

Blagojevich Picks Roland Burris to Replace Obama

Opinions??? Barack Obama The Magic Negro

Dad charged in snow death

Jena 6 Member Attempts Suicide

Mychal Bell -- who also was arrested last week after allegedly stealing clothes worth $370 from a department store -- told investigators he shot himself "because he was tired of all the media attention" following the arrest, the report says.

Bell, 18, suffered a wound to the upper right chest, the report says.

Katrina's Hidden Race War

Jessie Lee Peterson Thanks White People for Slavery

12/20/08 President-elect Obama's Weekly Address

Why RICK WARREN???: Analysis of Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell

Rick Warren is a bigot. He is prepared to use the power of the American government to strip American citizens of basic civil rights and human dignities. His advocacy of Proposition 8 reflects a clear, appalling, and aggressive attack on gay men and lesbians. As a person of faith and as a citizen in a representative democracy I am utterly disgusted by Obama's choice of Rick Warren for the inauguration. Obama has chosen a man who willfully deploys the Bible as a weapon against those with whom he disagrees. He opposes women's right to reproductive choice and same-sex couples right to marital choice. By bowing his head under Warren's words, Obama is tacitly consenting to this distressing religious and political world view.

My assessment of Warren does not mean I think he should be silenced, which is how many on the Right treated Reverend Jeremiah Wright. I believe Rick Warren has a right to speak publicly and to shepherd his own church and followers as he sees fit. I believe in religious diversity and religious dissent. I believe in these things for both sacred and secular reasons.

I believe God is ineffable, unknowable, and universal, so no one person, church, or faith tradition has monopoly on understanding the divine. Our inter-religious dialogue is part of how we grapple with the Mystery. I welcome Rick Warren to sit at any table where people of various faiths and beliefs can exchange ideas. Active dissent in religious communities is part of a vibrant civil society that generates a healthy democracy.

My opposition to Warren is specific. I believe a man who opposed same-sex marriage with the vehemence and public organizing of Warren should not offer the prayer at the inauguration. The inauguration belongs to all Americans. It is a moment of national unity. It is a symbolic rendering of our peaceful, democratic transitions of leadership. It is an assertion of our collective identity rising above our partisan disagreements. It is not a time for division.

http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/

Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell

WHERE ARE THE STIMULUS CHECKS?!?!?!?!?!!??!

Is A 2nd Stimulus Check Coming in January? With the latest layoff figures showing massive job losses in November, and almost 2 million jobs lost in 2008, Barron's Weekly says a huge stimulus after Inaugeration Day is "almost certain."

It would include money for new jobs, highway and bridge repairs, loans to homeowners, and tax cuts or checks to consumers. We don't know yet if taxpayers will receive another round of checks in the mail, however.

We will know more as January 20th approaches. Congressional leaders want to have a plan ready by mid January, so the new President can sign it on inaugeration day.

Michael Steele: A New Era of Ethics

Discrimination and Racism in Sports

Alma Mata--Belle Chasse High School: Class 4A LHSAA State Championship game

Journalist Disrespects the President!!!

Tim Tebow of Florida University

I'M A FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLE FOR LIFE, BUT TIM TEBOW IS A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

Jackson identified as "Senate Candidate 5"

President Elect- 12/13/08

I DON'T BELIEVE OBAMA...

President-elect Barack Obama said that "no representatives of mine" engaged in any deal making with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich over who would fill the state's U.S. Senate vacancy. However, I DO NOT BELIEVE that he had no knowledge of the systematic corruption.

FBI agents arrested Gov. Blagojevich on Tuesday on federal corruption charges related in part to the selection of a replacement for Obama's Senate seat, which became vacant after the presidential election.

A Little Black Girl

A stranger was seated next to a little black girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said, "Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.

"The little girl, who had just opened her coloring book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, "What would you like to talk about??"

"Oh, I don't know," said the stranger, "Since you are a Negro, do you think that So-called President Elect Barak Obama is qualified for the job??" And he smiles.

"OK" , she said, "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass -. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is??

"The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss President Barak Obama...when you don't know sh**??"

Obama Worker Beatin!!!

Kaylon Johnson, 32, an employee of Southern University of Shreveport, was allegedly beaten by two white males on 12/6/2008 between 11:45 p.m. CST and 12:45 a.m. CST on 12/7/2008 at a Shreveport gas station for wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt.

After yelling racial slurs and obscenities including “fuck Obama” and “fuck that Nigger”, Mr. Johnson was attacked and savagely beaten before he could even react. He was punched in the face and knocked out. Mr. Johnson suffered serious injuries to his eye socket and a broken nose, both which will require surgery to repair.

Currently the case is being investigated by the Shreveport Police Department detective below:

Shreveport Police Department

Detective Craig Ivey

318-673-6992

President-Elect's Middle Name

Military COMMISSIONS

Disgraced Governor

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in federal custody on corruption charges, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois.

President-Elect: December 6, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama talks economy, foreign policy on ‘Meet the Press’

Republicans Best Chance in 2012

As Republican leaders sift through the ruins of the 2008 election and debate the party's future, is Mitt Romney the answer???

Obama speechwriter Favreau learns the perils of Facebook

Jon Favreau, future White House director of speechwriting, has so far been at a loss for words over Facebook pictures of him at a recent party.

Pictures of Favreau, 27, at a recent party appeared on Facebook Friday. In one of the photos, Favreau, who served as President-elect Barack Obama’s chief speechwriter during the campaign season, was dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of future secretary of state Hillary Clinton. In a second photo, a friend was offering the cutout a bottle of beer while Favreau stood beside the likeness with his hand on the cardboard New York senator’s chest.

The picture was reportedly up for a scant two hours or so before Favreau removed it, along with every other picture of himself beyond his profile photo — but there’s no getting the Facebook genie back in the bottle.

Favreau wasn’t talking to reporters about the incident, but transition officials said he had offered an apology to Clinton.

The Clinton camp reaction? "Sen. Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application," Clinton aide Philippe Reines told the Washington Post.

Mom Scratched B-Word Onto Son's Forehead

A Delaware County woman was arrested after her 9-year-old son told police she held him down and scratched a derogatory word onto his forehead before sending him to school. Selma Elementary School officials called police when the fourth-grader showed up with the b-word written on his forehead.

The boy's mother -- Sherri A. Feuston, 30 -- when questioned about the incident, told police she was just playing around with her son. She said she sat on the boy's chest and wrote the word as they were roughhousing.

WHAT HAPPEN TO YOU!?!?!?!?!?

O.J. Simpson is headed to prison for at least nine years, but a prosecutor says the former football star could have spent less time behind bars if he had accepted a plea deal before he was convicted.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Simpson was offered a deal for less prison time than the nine- to 33-year prison terms the graying former football star was sentenced to on Friday for kidnapping and assaulting two sports memorabilia dealers with a deadly weapon.

"Mr. Simpson wanted something just short of a public apology," Roger said. "We didn't think that was appropriate."

Words from OJ, "I didn't want to steal anything from anyone. ... I'm sorry, sorry. I just wanted my personal things. I was stupid. I'm sorry. I didn't know I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was confronting friends. I thought I was retrieving my things. I didn't mean to hurt anybody and I didn't mean to steal anything."

Is OBAMA a citizen???

533,000 Jobs Lost in November

The economy lost 533,000 jobs in November, according to a government report -- bringing the year's total job losses to 1.9 million. November had the largest monthly job loss total since December 1974, CNNMoney reports. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent from 6.5 percent in October. It is the highest unemployment rate since October 1993.

THE LOST OF JOBS

So far this year, the economy has lost nearly 1.2 million jobs so far this year, including 240,000 in October. The unemployment rate rose to 6.5%, a 14-year high, last month. That rate is expected to rise to 7.6% in 2009, according to a report released last week from the Federal Reserve.

President-Elect Barack Obama's National Security Team

Is Obama Confident or Keeping Foes Close???

Black Folks...

Remarks from Senator John McCain

Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural tonight to feel some disappointment, but tomorrow we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again. We fought as hard as we could.

And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.

I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honor of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends. The road was a difficult one from the outset. But your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.

I am especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother and all my family and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign. I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.

You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign. All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude, and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.

I am also, of course, very thankful to Governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I have ever seen and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength. Her husband Todd and their five beautiful children with their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign. We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican Party and our country.

To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly month after month in what at times seemed to be the most challenged campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.

I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life. And my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

Tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.

And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history, we make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

Presidential Inauguration

The presidential inauguration is the official day that the President of the United States is sworn into office. The purpose of this inauguration is to honor the incoming president with formal ceremonies, including: a Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony, an Inaugural Address, and an Inaugural Parade.

The inauguration will take place on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol. President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which states the following:

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will have already taken a similar oath.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is in charge of planning and executing the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. If you want to participate in inauguration day events, check back here often for more details.

Sarah Palin Pardons Turkey

WHY HILLARY???

It’s finally official: Barack Obama will appear with Hillary Clinton in Chicago on Monday as he names her secretary of state.

Thank you, Sarah Palin

My Godson (After the Christening)

Secret Service Steps Up Inauguration Security

WASHINGTON (AP) – Law enforcement officials bracing for the largest crowds in inaugural history are preparing far-reaching security — thousands of video cameras, sharpshooters, air patrols — to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in.

People attending the ceremony and parade on Jan. 20 can expect to be searched by machines, security personnel or both. Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to countersnipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols.

The Secret Service — the agency coordinating the security – also has assigned trained officials to identify and prevent cyber security risks. And, as it does at every inauguration, the service has mapped out escape routes for the 44th president.

In addition Washington's 5,265 surveillance cameras, spread around the city, are expected to be fed into a multi-agency command center.

"When you have an event like the inauguration, the more eyes we have in and around the city the better off we are," District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. Streets will be closed within seven-to-eight blocks on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, and two-to-three blocks around each inaugural ball site, she said.

The already-high security for inaugurations was intensified in January 2005, for the first swearing-in after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and this year's will follow that heightened model.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/22/inauguration-security-enlists-snipers/

Pastor Manning is Crazy (as Hell)!

Is Obama Going to Selected Clinton for "Secretary of State"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/us/politics/22obama.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Has The World Lost Respect For Bush???

YOUNG VOTERS IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION (SNIPPET 3) ---WILLIAM HOSTON

Al Qaeda Calls Obama a "House Negro"

Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader is heard in a Web posting Wednesday warning President-elect Barack Obama that "a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits" him.

The speaker also said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the fiery African-American Muslim activist from the 1950s and 1960s.

"You have reached the position of president, and a heavy legacy of failure and crimes awaits you. A failure in Iraq to which you have admitted and a failure in Afghanistan to which the commanders of your army have admitted," the message said.

The speaker also said Obama's plan to pull troops from Iraq and send them to Afghanistan "is a policy which was destined for failure before it was born."

"If you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of Bush and Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them," the message said. "And be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them."

The message said Obama appears "to be captive to the same criminal American mentality towards the world and towards the Muslims." The speaker cited Muslims' ire toward Obama's support of Israel.

The speaker also said Obama, former and current Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and "your likes" fit Malcolm X's description of "house slaves."

An English translation of the message used the term "house Negroes," Malcolm X's term for blacks who were subservient to whites.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/19/obama.alqaeda/index.html

Nebraska Safe Haven

Inaugural tickets hot hot hot

Obama Christmas Greeting

The "Red" South

The 2008 Presidential election showed that "race" is still a factor in the Southeastern region of the country. States such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas voted for McCain. Here are excerpts from a NY Times article that provides commentary as to why citizens from this region supported McCain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/opinion/l17south.html?_r=1

Obama on 60 Minutes

inSECURITY

Paint the White House Black: Part 2

Paint the White House Black: Part 1

WSU Obama Pep Rally

A GREAT DAY...---WILLIAM HOSTON

Nigga Please

N Please from Aram Farouq on Vimeo.

Obama Visits the White House

Palin Blames Bush

(CNN) – Sarah Palin told local reporters in Alaska that unhappiness with the Bush administration’s Iraq war policy and spending record were responsible for the GOP ticket’s defeat this year.

“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration?” Palin told the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska’s KTUU Channel 2.

“How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing. So people desiring change I think went as far from the administration that is presently seated as they could. It's amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Newspaper Ignores Obama Win

Obama Hate.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

FACEBOOK GROUP "IMPEACH OBAMA"

Barack Obama has yet to be sworn in as the 44th U.S. President, but various groups are already using the Internet to gather support for his impeachment.

On Facebook, an "Impeach Barack Obama" group has attracted more than 700 members and a lively debate about the Democrat's election victory on Tuesday over Republican John McCain, reports AFP.

Another Facebook group of the same name has 160 members and urges others to join because "we might as well get a head start on the impeachment of Obama."

"There are a lot of Americans out there that do not fully understand the concept of Socialism or Communism which is why they've elected Obama as president," it says.

Yet another Facebook group, "Impeach Barack Hussein Obama," has 160 members. It decries that Obama "has voiced support for various unconstitutional programs such as the assault weapons ban, universal healthcare, and various schemes for wealth distribution."

Obama still has some way to go, however, to equal the number of "Impeach George Bush" groups on Facebook, which lists at least 95 such groups with varying membership.

Obama is to be sworn into office on January 20, 2009. He will be the first African-American president of the United States.

Ann Nixon Cooper Witnessed History

ATLANTA -- At age 106, Ann Nixon Cooper doesn't usually stay awake past midnight. But on Election Night she had special reason to do so: She was waiting for Barack Obama to mention her name. Cooper, one of the oldest voters for the nation's first black president, had been tipped off by the Obama campaign that she would be mentioned in his acceptance speech. Toward the end, she got her moment.

"I was waiting for it," said Cooper. "I had heard that they would be calling my name at least."
Obama introduced the world to a woman who "was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin."

"Tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can," he said.

On Wednesday, Cooper beamed as she greeted reporters at her southwest Atlanta home, wearing a gold cross around her neck that proudly displayed her age.

Cooper first registered to vote on Sept. 1, 1941. Though she was friends with elite black Atlantans like W.E.B. Du Bois, John Hope Franklin and Benjamin E. Mays, because of her status as a black woman in a segregated and sexist society, she didn't exercise her right to vote for years.

Instead, she deferred to her husband - Dr. Albert B. Cooper, a prominent Atlanta dentist - who "voted for the house."

Her husband died in 1967. Cooper has outlived three of her four children and lived to see women gain the right to vote and the end of segregation. On Oct. 16, she voted early for the Illinois senator, who called to thank her after reading a news article about her.

Cooper said she believes Obama's win could finally signal the change she has been waiting for.
"I feel nothing but relief that things have changed as much as they have," she said. "After a while, we will all be one. That's what I look forward to."

Cooper turns 107 in January, just a few weeks before Obama's inauguration.

Beautiful Moments...

THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Obama Makes History!!!

'Change has come to America'

Barack Obama told supporters that "change has come to America," as he addressed the country for the first time as the president-elect. "The American people have spoken."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/election.president/index.html

"44"--AN ODE TO OBAMA ---WILLIAM HOSTON

Hoax voting e-mail targets George Mason University community

It appears someone hacked into George Mason University's e-mail system late last night and sent out a hoax message intending to deter the Northern Virginia school's voters from going to the polls today.

The short message, which looked as if it came from the office of Provost Peter N. Stearns, was addressed to the Mason Community at large: "Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."

George Mason officials said this morning that the message went to approximately 35,000 people at the school's three campuses in Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William County, including about 30,000 students and 5,000 employees. University officials do not know who is responsible for the hack but said GMU is working with University police and the FBI to determine the source.

"Somebody was able to access a closed list, and the question we're trying to answer is how was that person able to get in there and do that," said Daniel Walsch, a George Mason spokesman. "We are working with authorities to try to locate the source, and hopefully we can identify the source, as we are taking it seriously and will prosecute if we find the person."

Stearns, the provost, sent out a message to the University community shortly before 1 a.m. to try to debunk what he called "troubling rumors" about the election. He wrote that the election is on Nov. 4 for both political parties and that it is untrue that any student jeopardizes their financial aid package by voting, a reference to earlier hoax e-mails that have circulated.

Walsch said it is unclear what the motive of the hoax was, whether it was just a joke or whether it was aimed at preventing students from voting.

"It caused some disruption," Walsch said, adding that students and parents have been calling about the rumors. "We're trying to get out notices that this is not true and we are working with police authorities to find the source of this. And we're trying to be as open about it as we possibly can be."

J.KWEST

J.Kwest - I Am (Obama) from Endangered Peace on Vimeo.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING...