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Greetings BP Family !!! I decided to create this page to pay tribute to our new President of the United States of America, and to thank everyone that participated in this monumental & historical election. To see the turn out of our youths taking a stand and excercising thier rights with care and concern for the future of our nation was remarkable. I am so proud of the UNITY displayed in the RIGHT CHOICE for our Country. The slogan has been "CHANGE" Change-To make different, To give a different direction, course, or position to, To make a shift from one to another, To undergo a modification, To make radically different. (Merriam Webster) Electing the proper candidate was just the beginning to making a positive change. We now have an opportunity to make more positive strides in our communities, families, and lives. We are now at a time when we should want to see results, benefits and progression fruits of our labor. We as a country can maintain and be strong and proud with the proper leadership. I am confident that is exactly what we will get. It's a wonderful thing when people decide to be "sick and tired of being sick and tiredof the same old thing" We as a race need to become more unified. We have got to learn to stick together. We have entirely too much black on black crime. Our children are being lost to the streets, Mothers are tired of raising thier kids (alone or just period), Men are not taking responsibility for thier children, People are abusing drugs and alchohol, and the Unemployment rate is in the toilet. Our youths need us, they are expected to one day lead our country and we have a buch of young women with poor body images, low self esteem, suffering from being abused, feeling insignificant to thier mothers boyfriends or husbands. These young ladies need to be validated at home, with people they trust, people they know ACTUALLY care about them and not what they can do for them. It is time for us to rise up and change our way of thinking and acting, because for many of us it is not OK, cute or proper. Our young men are growing up without fathers, looking for any man to identify with, and in many cases ends up finding that in a gang, a drug dealer, or a blatant negative influence. Men are going to have to set aside differences, squash excuses and be a FATHER to your sons & daughters. Show your men how to be men by setting that example. If you yourself grew up without a father figure ..then you can identify with the feeling of rejection therefore you should be man enough to not desire to impose that on your child. If you grew up with a strong male role model in your home or were fortunate to have your father in your home throughout your life..then SHAME ON YOU for NOT feeling like your child deserves the same. Shame on your selfishness, regardless to the circumstance..you have a moral obligation. As parents we should always want our children to have better, do better, be better, and live better than we did. I speak to all parents when I say ...your life is no longer about YOU..but about your CHILDREN. We have allowed our family values to rapidly diminish, when these should be core values. I pray that we ALL can do a better job ..for a better future...and Change Will Continue To Come
President Barack Obama 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 first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference. It's the answer 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 individuals or 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've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about 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 received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country that 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, I congratulate Governor Palin for all they've 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 the 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, the 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 Auma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given to me. I am grateful to them. And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign who built 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 drew 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 the 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 doctors' bills or save enough for their child's college education. There's new energy to harness, 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 in 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 the 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 to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot 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 can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new 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 tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too. And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear the 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 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's 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, 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. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there's 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 !
Still I Rise By Dr. Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ' Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise! I rise! I rise!
History In The Making
(Nov. 5) -- In mid-October, Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old African American woman from Atlanta, proudly cast an early ballot for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. It was a milestone in her life. She was born nearly two decades before women had the right to vote, and more than six decades before blacks could vote freely in the South. In an pre-election interview with CNN, Cooper she said she happy to see Obama's name on the ballot, "even if he didn't win." A Century of ChangeCNN10 photos Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old African American voter from Atlanta, cast her vote for Barack Obama and got a mention in his victory speech Tuesday night. "The first black president -- isn't that something, at 106 years old?" Cooper marveled in a pre-election interview with CNN. Click through the gallery for a glimpse at key events that have shaped the nation during Cooper's life
And These Women Lived... ndes
LOS ANGELES — Gertrude Baines' 114-year-old fingers wrapped lightly around the ballpoint pen as she bubbled in No. 18 on her ballot Tuesday. Her mouth curled up in a smile. A laugh escaped. The deed was done. A daughter of former slaves, Baines had just voted for a black man to be president of the United States. "What's his name? I can't say it," she said shyly afterward. Those who helped her fill out the absentee ballot at a convalescent facility west of the University of Southern California chimed in: "Barack Obama." Baines is the world's oldest person of black descent, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which validates claims of extreme old age. She is the third-oldest person in the world, and the second-oldest in the United States after Edna Parker of Indiana, who is 115. When Baines was born, Grover Cleveland was president and the U.S. flag had 44 stars. She grew up in Georgia during a time when black people were prevented from voting and subject to violent racism. In her lifetime, she has seen women gain the right to vote, drastic changes to federal voting laws — and now, this. "No, I didn't never think I'd live this long." she said.
Lived to Witness IT !!
114-Year-Old Chicago Woman Registers To Vote CHICAGO (CBS) The chairman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners visited a 114-year-old woman who registered to vote on Thursday. It was also her birthday, according to her family, who cite a family Bible as evidence of her birth date. Virginia Call had voted up until about 20 years ago, when she moved in with her grandson, and did not update her voter registration, family members said. Call, who sat in a wheelchair wearing a blue sweater and white cap on her head, said little at the news conference, except to ask for more birthday cake and reassure herself that her 82-year-old grandson was nearby. |
