Forty years ago today a young man had just begun to ask us to consider him as our next President. Just a few weeks into his run he was gunned down in The Ambassador Hotel kitchen in Los Angeles. My mom was sitting on my bed when I was called into the house. She was CRYING. “They did it again”. I hope I live long enough to find out who “They” are. Rest in Peace Bobby. I’ve always wondered what America would look like if your WAR ON POVERTY and your struggle to achieve JUSTICE FOR ALL was ever waged.

In 2008 Bobby’s murder was offered up by Hillary as a reason to stay in a race that mathematically she could not win. Assassination was on our lips once again, and still is. The fear is back and who do we have to thank for that notion?

Senator Clinton will not end, but merely suspend her campaign on Saturday not Friday as the Congressional Leadership had urged and as was breathlessly reported last night. Saturday.

Parse those words please. She will not END but merely SUSPEND her campaign. She will suspend it because there could be another “catastrophic event”.

While I do respect how hard running for President in the 21st Century is, I do expect and require that running for President have something to do with making this country better, safer, richer, and healthier. Unfortunately, now we can see that her primary race had nothing to do with YOU and everything to do with HER. Her needs, her wants.

Hillary has shown you how well she talks the talk but in the end it was all just the means she used to get to the end she desired. Money and POWER.

On any June 5th in America ANY post 1968 June 5th, America should remember what real heartbreak is and suspend all belief that Hillary has broken your heart. She has kicked you in the shins maybe but your heart is just fine.

Today should be a day when murderous history is answered with success at last over evildoers who deprived us of the best hope we had for ending a war, beating back poverty in America, ridding ourselves of a political justice department and smearing people’s patriotism with charges of Communist loyalties. That was the landscape in 1968 and it is the landscape today if you simply substitute the words “terrorist appeasers” for communist loyalties”.

Today should have been a full circle kind of celebration because we do have a shot at ending a war, beating back poverty in America and ending the smears on decent Americans who know they love America but don’t respect what our government does to us and our reputations..

But June 5th 2008 brings with it the notion of another “catastrophic event” and you have to ask, “Who put that on the table?”

Angry Hillary supporters will forget what she said about “catastrophic events” because they were completely invested in her. They currently can not see her for what she is and what she is not.

I’ve been exactly there. I’ve been a Clinton loyalist. I invested all my hopes and energies into the Clintons. I believed and advocated for them. I defended them against all enemies for almost a decade.. So I know how hard it is to open your eyes and see the cold calculating dirty tricks that the Clintons play. I know how much it hurts to know them.

When her most committed Congressional loyalists have become pragmatic then surely it is time for us. Her Congressional delegation have told her “it’s time” and still she keeps silent. That is not leadership.

Believe me I wanted Hillary to unify this Party Tuesday night. I know that only she can truly heal her supporters who fully devoted themselves to her. I didn’t think it would fall to me to heal her minions. But I can see now that any attempt by her to unify all of us so that we can take back our country wiill be half hearted.

So let the healing of our party begin without her.

First lesson:

When someone shows you who they are BELIEVE them. IF Barack Obama has to pay her to go away, hopefully they will SEE that as a sure sign that she is not who you hoped she would have been and could have been.

I know what you wanted. I wanted it too. But I see and my eyes do not lie.

Today I wonder how many of you would still vote for her knowing what you know? How do we get past this? What do YOU want?


HOMEWORK

40 YEARS AGO TODAY WE HAD OUR HEARTS BROKEN INTO TINY LITTLE PIECES
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8060403483.html

HILLARY WILL FINALLY CONGRATULATE THE WINNER – FRIDAY!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24955238#24976302

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24955238#24971200

Um – SATURDAY!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24974674/

She is SUSPENDING NOT ENDING her campaign
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/worl...icle4070859.ece

YESTERDAY - WHAT A DAY!
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington...ce-Rundown.html

WHAT DOES SHE WANT? MONEY OF COURSE! And a spot at the Convention in Denver, and the VP job
http://www.politico.com/playbook/

Obama camp continues to consider paying back Clinton's $20 campaign debt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

Obama sat down with Brian Williams – On VP “We’re not going to be rushed into it”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24974834#24981621

The Clinton Campaign from start TO FINISH (well maybe this Friday)
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...inton_campaign/

WHO IS BARACK OBAMA?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/us/politics/04obama.html

And what has HE ever done – Library of Congress
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english...d0.8910791.html

http://obama.senate.gov/press/060908-senate_passes_c/

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/271/

TRUE, MOSTLY TRUE, FALSE OR PANTS ON FIRE
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/pe...es/chain-email/

LOOKING FOR A VP
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4999582

RACISTS IN AMERICA

How many are there?
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_con...sure_of_friends

GRANPA MCCAIN

McCain can't even impress FOX NEWS!!!!

John this is way to long to put on the air…but there are GREAT PARTS…LIKE McCain saying over and over “That’s not change we can believe in” If you wanted to edit those together.
http://www.veracifier.com/episode/TPM_20080604

and screws up another speech
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/04/m...l_n_105283.html

and another....
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmem...o_of_my_key.php

BUSH/CHENEY

Waxman seeks FBI papers that may implicate Bush/Cheney
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8060301627.html

Bush "Obama? never heard of him"
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/200...04/1111026.aspx

SIDEBAR

Khalid Sheik Mohammed Mastermind of 9/11 goes on trial BEFORE ONE OF THOSE BUSH MILITARY TRIBUNALS IN GITMO. Say, didn’t the Supreme Court say they were UNCONSTITUTIONAL? Well yeah, but they’re NEW AND IMPROVED.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24980555/

REZKO TRIAL OVER

Obama NOT implicated in any of this
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=n...&id=6185320

RIP Bobby, you are missed.

Is it ironic, that when I finally awakened today the word appeasement was on my mind ? In order to survive oppression and repression, highly adaptable species of earth, human beings, have had to incorporate appeasement into everyday life. Citizens of Nazi Germany learned to appease the Third Reich or else. Just as during Crusades all were to required to practice Christianity in order to appease empire builders. In minor ways we appease our own government today by accepting high gasolene prices, tax breaks to the wealthy and long term occupation of Iraq. And then there are those who threaten the rulers through actions which state, "Appease this you fools, I am in fact a free man".

Marvin Gaye -- "Abraham, Martin & John"

i wouldn't vote for her now and it all revolves around her lack of an apology for the assignation remark. i am unable to get past it.

i see her as a good choice for vp because i see no other that could bring in those kind of numbers.

well unless caroline kennedy would accept the vp spot.

BroD-- I read your post and thought of the Johny Cash song The one on the right...

And the one in the middle...is a Methodist...

I really liked this guy. I knew him and read about him, because I had a lot of 12 yr. old summertime hours on my hands then. This time my mother consoled me when Bobby was shot, instead of me consoling her when I was much younger in '63 - when John was shot.

The one thing about Bobby was that he had a rep for ruthlessness, especially when it came to justice.

But, on the other hand, he was such a soft-spoken man. And he cared for all the right things. One could easily see what he cared about in those few months of his campaign.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Okay.

Peace Bobby


Aretha and Mary J- Never Gonna Break my Faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWJTJB6Kloo

Does whether Clinton suspends as opposed to ends her campaign have an impact on her being able to continue to collect campaign donations to ease her deficit?

Randi, Please start driving people over to DNC.org The Democratic National Committee now. Obama's tech people have re-worked it to function like BarackObama.com does. To have done so this quickly means that his programmers have been ready and waiting with that code to upload. Obama is ahead of the game again!!! I LOVE this guy!!!!!!!

Get well Ted, we will see John and Bobby again, this I know first hand.

Randi, I have never thanked you for being there on Air America. I listened to other talk show hosts, to finally get soooo turned off to the propaganda, my Ipod listened to music for 6 months. The billboard brought me to your show, you blew me away. You were the first in a long time to actually tell the truth.

You risked everything to stand your ground, you are in inspiration to all that have to stand up to people in charge. We are Americans, we are formidable in force. It takes someone like you to stand their ground, when everyone else is worried about their jobs. You have been a breath of fresh air, your insight is impeccable.

Thank you from someone that appreciates the truth.

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived, and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic". -- John F. Kennedy.

What we could have been is a question I'm too young to answer, but this I do know....

What can we be?

I was born in 1968, not long after Bobby died. Born in fact, on what my mom referred to as, "the first positive day after the assassination", not just because of the pride of having just given birth, but because that was when Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center, and the first time there'd ever been a live television broadcast from a space capsule.

It represented a courageous comeback, because prior to that launch, Chafee, Grisom, and White had been tragically killed a year earlier in the Apollo 1 fire. Mission Commander Wally Schirra wanted to call the space capsule the "Phoenix" for that reason. Apollo 7 was a conscious decision to try again, to overcome fear, and work together to create the future we hoped to live in despite the risks -- all the things Bobby stood for.

People talk a lot about RFK, but few actually know about the things he said. In my humble opinion, the two most important things he ever said are this:

"The future is not a gift, it is an achievement. Every generation helps to make its own future. This is the essential challenge of the present."

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current, that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Both statements remain vitally true today.

And to use the tragic memory of the loss this country faced when that man died, as a means to advance one's own drive to power, is in my personal opinion, one of the lowest things I've ever seen in politics. And believe me, thanks to the Republicans, that bar is pretty damn low.

This would have been a VASTLY different country, and much BETTER country, had Bobby lived and become President.

And I will not turn away from another opportunity to build that better country, simply because someone callously raised the spectre of fear once again.

I have not made a political donation yet, this election season. But when I do contribute to Obama's campaign, I would not want that money to go toward Hillary's campaign debt. Nobody owes her because she lost a long shot bet.

"she'll show up in a bridal gown"

True, RE what she's owed (though Ms. Pillory Entitlement would dispute that point), is frankly nothing. As far as giving money to the campaign, my reply is the same as when my alma mater asks for donations- I'm still paying for the education college apparently "lent" me, and that's how I feel about campaign donations. I can't afford in any fiscal way to help foot the bill to clean up after the government that I was "lent" for the last 8 years. I do give my time. It's not that hard, and I know posters have a lotta free time, so you know, go to your local COC (Chamber of Commerce) if nothing else and see what volunteering needs they have. Then you're contributing in a real way without going yet more broke still.

Yep. That's the best suggestion I've got. If anyone actually wanted one. If not, aces.
Peace in Policy-ladyanjen

I see her as the worst choice for VP. She has so much baggage. She's done. We can get the numbers we need through hard work - without her help. She's up to something. She's going to pull a stunt at the convention with her delegates. She will never give up. She'll nominate herself as the VP at the convention even if Obama has chosen someone else. She doesn't understand we don't want politics as usual any more. ...especially this year, this election.

Just FYI, all,

From DailyKos.com:

Hillary's email to her supporters today:

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Turns out the Marvin Gaye cut has been removed.

Here's Dion's version.

Abraham, Martin and John

FINALLY.
So will she suspend, or end??

Is the healing beginning?

Debbie Wasserman Shultz has switched to Obama. Wow!



From: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmem...s_of_congre.php

Four Florida Members Of Congress Who Backed Hillary Come Out For Obama

By Greg Sargent - June 5, 2008, 5:16PM

More Dem elected officials continue to coalesce behind Obama: A bloc of four Members of Congress from Florida who previously backed Hillary -- including one of Hillary's most loyal supporters -- is coming out for Obama, one of their spokespeople confirms to me.

The four are Alcee L. Hastings, Corrine Brown, Kendrick B. Meek, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a very committed Hillary loyalist.

While its hardly surprising that Dem elected officials are coming out for Obama right now -- the entire New York Congressional delegation endorsed him today -- the support of these Florida Reps. is key, because they might be able to help soothe voters in this crucial state that are still upset about the failure to seat the full Florida delegation. The Obama camp advocated for a half-seating.

"It is with enthusiasm and excitement that we endorse Barack Obama for President," the four will say in a statement soon to go out to reporters that will also ask Obama to "do everything in his power" to seat the full delegations at the convention.

"All of us standing on one stage, hand-in-hand will send a clear message to Florida voters that regardless of who we previously supported, we stand united and as one from this day forward," the statement says.

The memories I have are embedded in my soul forever. I was only four years old, not quite yet five. I remember my mother arguing with my father because she wanted to go see Robert Kennedy and he didn't.

Kennedy was visiting San Francisco's Mission District, a heavily Hispanic community just before (a few days?...a week?...) the California Primary.

My mother ended up saying something to the effect of "I'm going with you or without you!" and she left. Not long after that my father did end up taking me to catch up with her to go see Kennedy.

Even though I was only four, I'll never forget the image of this man standing on top of a car and this mob of humanity reaching out to him just to shake his hand. I remember seeing his face from where I stood. He was like a rock star before I even knew what a rock star was!

My mother did get to shake his hand. But a few days, or a week later, I remember her doing nothing but cry and cry for what seemed like an eternity. She's never recovered from that tragedy and, in a way, neither have I.

Every day of my life I dream things that never were, or never will be, and cry out "WHY NOT?!?"

--------

Love you Randi!!! Glad to be part of the Message Board!!!

I have a small problem with the rant Randi is on at this point - that the Neocons are gonna have to do better than guilt by association. One of the things that troubled me the most about George W. Bush is the people he chose to surround himself with - i. e., the people he ASSOCIATES with.

Granted, Dick Cheney is probably worse than 50 Tony Rezkos, and I'd far prefer to associate myself with Jeremiah Wright than with John Hagee. But who you hang out with DOES tell us something about who you ARE, don't'cha think??

Can we legitimately use the words "sincerely" and "Hillary Rodham Clinton" in the same sentence?

Hey, what is happening with the subpoenas for Rove and the gang? Do they have the butterfly net out yet?

I'm somewhat older - I was in High School in '68. What a MISERABLE year - First Dr. King, then Bobby. I heard the news on my clock radio as I woke up, and simply could not drag my sorry butt to school that day. It was too much for me to deal with.

But Bobby's most famous quote, stated partially above by mrod63, might even be more appropriate today than it was in '68 -

"Some see things as they are, and ask "WHY?" I see things as they could be, and ask "WHY NOT?"

The difference is that Obama has more than distanced himself from Rezko.
And he even disowned his former pastor.
That doesn't sound like the George W Bush I know.