Obama's Victory Speech

Hello, Chicago.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference. It's the answers spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.


It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.


A little bit earlier this evening, I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCaine fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.


And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama.


Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.


To my campaign manager, David Plouffe -- the unsung hero of this campaign who built the best, the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America. To my chief strategist, David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.


But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to -- it belongs to you. It belongs to you.


I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy - who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It grew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; and from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.


Now, I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education.


There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created, new schools to build and threats to meet, alliances to repair.The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.


There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek -- it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you. Without a spirit of service, without a spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people. Let 's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House -- a party founded on the values of self-reliance, and individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends ... though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -- I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President, too.


And all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world -- our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.


To those, to those who would tear this world down -- we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security -- we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright -- tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. That's the true genius of America -- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.


This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She' is a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing -- Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She 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. And 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.


At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.


When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.


When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.


She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.


A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.


America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace. To reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- 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: Yes We Can.


Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Medical Ethics III

I found the video!

Judge for yourself:




Thanks to hayenz for reposting the video.

Who Should be Suspended? Medical Ethics II

An investigation was called on the surgical controversy in Cebu, according to a Sun.Star Cebu report.

The fact that the operating room was made into a "carnival" was violation enough of hospital laws. Even if the people who went in the room complied with sanitation procedure, the fact that they were not part of the operating staff is a violation of hospital rules.

I wish the medical association should dig deeper into this mess, but the video was the evidence. However, it was deleted from YouTube.

Beauty Pageant Controversy

Just read this news on the Web today. Christina Silva, who was crowned the winner of Miss California 2008, has sued the Miss Universe Organization for negligence among other complaints. Apparently, Silva wasn't the real winner. It turned out that a half-Filipino lass, 21-year-old Racquel Beezley, garnered enough points to win the crown. The report say there was a miscount. The organization told Silva to inform Beezley about it.

Now, is the suit justified? In my opinion it is. It is humiliating. I thought these big beauty pageants hire qualified personnel to do the math. It is a sad fact. It is like being given a pair of panties for a gift and then the give says to take it off because apparently it wasn't for you. Would you take it off and give it back?

The pageant will aired live today at NBC, 9 p.m. Host city is Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be held in Planet Hollywood Hotel.

Hollywood producer in Brockport Wed.

Wednesday, March 26

2-3:30 pm

Seymour 119

Brockport graduate Joel Klein (not to be mistaken with the chancellor of New York), executive producer for ABC, Nickelodeon, Fox Sports, Bravo and VH1, will be on campus to share his experiences working on nearly three dozen network and cable programs such as Scream Play, Fear Factor, Family Feud and American Family Showdown. Whether it's stunts, art, music, casting or location scouting Joel's been a part of the action for more than 12 years.

A Coincidence?

I was huffing and puffing one day, excited to show David a book I've picked up at school; a book I have read few years ago. It was Agnes of God. And David surprised me with a story - the book was based on a real event that happened... tada!... in front of his house!


He said what is now a school of theology (and where Fr. Fulton Sheen's personal library is housed) was a convent. I did a wiki research which proved to be quite disappointing. It showed that the event happened in Brighton. David's house is in Pittsford. However, David said it just a location system indicated by the zip code. Whatever.

The wiki entry says:

"This drama is widely believed to be based on an actual incident, which occurred in a convent in Brighton, New York, just outside the city line of Rochester.

However, Sister Maureen, the nun who killed her baby, was thirty-six years old, Irish, and well-educated. She was a Montessori teacher in New York state, which required teachers to obtain bachelor's degrees and to be certified. In order to obtain permanent certification, teachers also required a Master's degree in education.

Sister Maureen denied she had given birth; when examined by medical staff, she said she couldn't remember being pregnant. She had covered up the pregnancy by wearing the traditional nun's habit. The baby was found dead in her small convent room in a waste basket, asphyxiated.

The police found ticket stubs and other information in the nun's convent room indicating that precisely nine months earlier she had traveled out of state to an educational conference. While during the trial, the father of the baby was never named, it was never suggested that the nun had been raped by a priest.

At her trial, Sister Maureen waived her right to a jury, and Judge Hyman Maas, a Jew, presided. There was a great deal of controversy about whether a Jewish judge would give a Catholic nun a fair trial. The trial was over in ten days, and Maas found the nun innocent of all charges by reason of insanity in March 1977.

The convent where the murder occurred is adjacent to the still-functioning suburban parish and school. The girl's high school, St. Agnes, where some of the nuns taught, is closed."

English Professor wins Story Prize '08

An English professor at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts won this year's Story Prize.

Jim Shepard, 49, won $20,000 for his collection, "Like You'd Understand, Anyway."

Unexpected Responses

About a week ago my article about a mediaman from Asia who visited in SUNY Brockport was published on-line. It took me awhile to submit the article because I was adamant that its content might spur several reaction. The school newspaper has published a portion of it, minus the name. Later, I decided to e-mail my interview with Mr. Khan Sophirom from Cambodia to Sun.Star Bacolod for publication as I want to share his experience as an Asian journalist and media practitioner. Also, I find his country's system of governance quite the same as the Philippines. I mean, some government officials in the Philippines were told by the President not to issue statements to the press nor appear in front of an investigative committee to answer questions. Such actions taken by the highest official of the country is of course pathetic and suspicious.

I gave a note to my good friend Acting Ed in Chief, Ambo, who is by the way getting married next year (Congrats, Bo!) not to send it to the webmaster for online publication. The print edition is enough, I indicated.

I thought my request would be honored. I was wrong. It appeared online. I didn't mind it. This happens all the time.


Few days after it came out I found a match of my name from a blog, quoting the article I wrote. Now, it generated a multitude of comments (20 as of last count). Even more disturbing are the documents attached to the comments. But the ultimate is a threat to have those who posted comments, though anonymous, killed (I will order Hun Sen kill all of you. From Viet Man).

I value some attention, too. However, this is a bit too much.

I gave my professor a copy of my article and a copy of the article posted on the blog, the comments included. She said, "Oh, I have to inform the UN about this." She is yet to read the comments. I don't know if she'll be glad about it. David is getting worried.

Sigh.

Writing the mediamen

This year's fellows to the Reham Al Farra Memorial Journalists’ Fellowship Programme, formerly known as the United Nations Department of Public Information Training Programme, visited Rochester, New York on Monday, Oct. 8 to interact with journalists and journalism students. SUNY Brockport was one of the places they visited. We had a discussion about their profession in my class, History of American Journalism under Dr. Kate Madden (the KMaddenNews.com). I interviewed Khan Sophirom who is from Cambodia.

Two of the fellows with Laura Luettger, right, editor in chief of The Stylus, Brockport's student publication.

The editors of The Stylus, SUNY Brockport's student paper.

Gisella Bayona Ponce, center, a TV journalist from Ecuador, explains how and why she turned down offers to host music television shows. She opted to host TV news instead and do investigative reports.

No, Nicole is not sleeping on the job (she's one of the writers of The Stylus). It's my fault why her picture came out this way. Dr. Madden, on the other hand, pays attention to the discussion.

The fellows were Khan Sophirom of Cambodia, a senior reporter of Rasmei Kampuchea Daily; Bay Okakeng Tsimane, Botswana, GABZ FM Radio; Augustin Zuzanne, Chad, N’Djamena Bi-Hebdo; Loulou Said, Comoros, Office de radio et télévision des Comoros (ORTC); Carol Mariela Croussett, Dominican Republic, Clave & Clave Digital; Gisella Bayona Ponce, Ecuador, Teleamazonas; Meerim Sultangazievna, Kyrgyzstan, Radio Azattyk; Mariyam Shuhana Maldives, Miadhu Daily; Claudia David, [Federated States of] Micronesia, V6AH Radio; Vlatko Otasevic, Montenegro, PBS – TV of Montenegro TVCG; Eleutério Dos Santos Neto, Sao Tome and Principe, Rádio Nacional de São Tomé e Príncipe; Miloš Šteric, Serbia, Blic; Maria Zevonia Vieria, Timor-Leste, TLMDC – RTL.

The Programme was renamed for a United Nations Radio journalist, Reham Al Farra, who lost her life along with 21 colleagues in the bombing of the UN Office in Baghdad in August 2003, a press release from the UN said.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 11)

It doesn't matter if you can't dance. What mattered was that you're wearing a bow tie.

I never thought there were Indian transvestites, too.

Cover your eyes guys. I know you hate to see the real thing.

A train for gay men only?

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 10)

I guess candidates for beauty pageants can learn from this. If you want to stand out in the national costume competition, wear these:





University queers:

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 9)

The gayiest Wizard of Oz cast ever. And the most creative, too.

Would you rather walk in those clogs or take the machine?

Even gay witches came out in the open.

I don't know if they're from House of Lords or House of Lube.

University queers.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 8)

The "gal" on the left is wearing the dress "she" wore in a beauty pageant. That was 30 years ago.

Made in China?

Actually, the garmet is part of the covering for the float. The organizers just let the "gal" wear it because she's a big giver to the association. You don't want to lose her, do you?

This is what you'll look like if you win a special award in a gay beauty pageant and the other candidates were not satisfied with the decision. You know, back stage drama.

"She" actually lifts cargoes for a shipping company.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 7)

Yellow is just too bright (but nice), don't you think?

Oh, there are gay men too in sports.

Yeah, yellow is just too bright (and wonderful).

Imagine wearing those clothes on top of a real polar ice.

Modern day gladiators - no workout needed, just stick up your ass.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 6)

The winner of Mr. Priape 2007.

With some distractions.

There he is with his sash.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 5)

No caption needed.

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 4)

The Village People rewind.

Members of the police force supporting the event.

Fishnet is a favorite "fabric."

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 3)

The event's International Grand Marshall.

Blow it! Blow eeet!!!

Is it because they're noisy?

Toronto Pride 2007 (Encore 2)

Ooops, needs parental guidance. I mean, those guys with their buns exposed. They need to be spanked.

Now you have an idea how a gay angle looks like.

It's just a poster I took a snap of from a bookstore at Church St.

I don't know the history of his picture.