Obama's inauguration speech

[John Simkin]

The Guardian today asked the question: "What paragraph would you like to sneak into Obama's inauguration speech today?"

Here are some examples. What would you like him to say?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...ma-inauguration

Hans Blix: No more arms races

The cold war ended nearly 20 years ago. We and our adversaries no longer target each other. More and more we need to join hands to tackle threats facing the whole world: financial disarray, climate change, diseases, nuclear proliferation, and terrorists or governments acting erratically. The US must remain militarily strong but will gain in security and save sorely needed resources by avoiding new arms races and reaching global agreements on arms control.

Patricia Williams: Let science inform faith

It is my profound hope that in the years to come, we may find ourselves united in love of our shared home, not only defence of the homeland; in reverence for the constitution, not merely obeisance to the nation-state; in collaborative debate as well as decisive action; and in peace, not only pacification. Let us also ensure that science informs our faith, and that our faith not be blind to the rich diversity of community and human need.

Benjamin Barber: Creating opportunity in crisis

In the midst of crisis, we can prime the credit pump and push consumers back into the mall. Or we can turn the fiscal disaster into an opportunity to change habits and attitudes and create a new and green sustainable economy; encourage saving not spending; invest in education and culture; lower energy consumption and slow growth; give government help to homeowners and job-holders, rather than banks and corporations. We should put our pain to the purposes of birthing a new democratic civil society in which the economy serves us, not the other way round.

Pankaj Mishra: Influence trumps force

In international affairs, I will always bear in mind the words of George Kennan, neglected prophet of cold war America, who believed our nation would exercise its greatest influence by manifesting civilised values rather than by trying to impose them on others through military force: any message we try to bring to others will be effective only if it is in accord with what we are to ourselves, and if this is something sufficiently impressive to compel the respect and confidence of a world which, despite all its material difficulties, is still more ready to recognise and respect spiritual distinction than material opulence.

Jayati Ghosh: A commitment to peaceful multilateralism

I commit my administration to peaceful multilateralism. Politically, the US will not resort to military intervention until all other solutions have been explored. I will work for lasting and just peace in the Middle East, beginning with quick action to stop the carnage in Gaza. Economically, we will strongly back international moves to regulate finance, to make trade less unequal and to allow greater policy autonomy for developing countries. My government's fiscal stimulus package will be oriented to making production and consumption patterns within the US more sustainable and will address problems of excessive resource use and climate change.

John Pilger: Redress for criminal wars

My fellow human beings, I pledge on this historic day that the US will cease its multiple acts of aggression against humanity and withdraw immediately from Iraq, Afghanistan and 770 military bases around the world. I will instruct the international criminal court that the US no longer shuns its authority and have instructed that 30 names from the Bush administration be submitted for immediate prosecution.

Saffron Burrows: Just treatment for prisoners

Much can be known about a country by the way it treats its prisoners. If there is a disparity between the values that we say we stand for and our actions internationally then we have become a dissonant society that does not practise what it preaches. We must stand for what we believe in: a society that cares about all people. There can be no reconciliation with and redemption for those we have inhumanely incarcerated, wrongfully imprisoned and tortured without truth-telling and justice. Only then will we have the energy to go forward and, by example, work to shift the world in real ways because we have clean hands.

Joe Queenan: We all have to accept blame for the financial crisis

Right here and now I'd like you all to stop placing all the blame for the current mess on my predecessor. Every last one of you who bought a house in the past 10 years knew that the whole thing was a scam, that the inflated value of your house was the result of the subprime con-job. Every single one of you who invested in the stockmarket knew the whole thing was a house of cards, that when stocks are trading at 40 times current earnings the market is rigged. Every last one of you tolerated George Bush when he made you rich, just as our British friends tolerated Maggie Thatcher and Tony Blair and only turned against them when things started to go south. The fault lies not in the stars nor in the yellow rose of Texas, dear Brutus. It lies in us.

Eric Hobsbawm: A Middle East resolution

Although it will be difficult to make a decisive break with the policies of the past administration in the Middle East, I intend to do so. Without a solution to the Palestinian problem, no stable or promising future in this region will be possible, including long-term security for Israel. I hope my Jewish fellow Americans recognise that the major obstacle to such a solution is the unwillingness of Israel to accept a viable Palestinian state. Since Israel is largely dependent on the US, I propose to exercise pressure to change Israel's policies.

Rebecca Solnit: Change must come from all

And to the people who brought me to the presidency: remember that it was your power that gave me mine and that it is now your task not to surrender that power, either by believing that I will do the work of forming a more perfect union and a more just society for you, or by believing that your goal has been accomplished. I will be your president, but you must be my civil society, pushing me onward to the radical changes we need to make. Hope in me, but do not trust me; make me.

Robin Morgan: Without justice for women, there is justice for none

I would like to affirm the words of my new secretary of state at her confirmation hearings: of particular concern to me is the plight of women – the majority of the world's unhealthy, unschooled, unfed and unpaid. Violence against women, within their families and from the outside: this is not culture. This is not custom. This is criminal. If half the world's population remains vulnerable to economic, political, legal, and social marginalisation, our hope of advancing democracy and prosperity is in serious jeopardy. The US must be an unequivocal, unwavering voice in support of women's rights in every country on every continent.

David Landau: Impose a two-state solution

After 1967, the Arab mainstream said: no peace, no recognition, no negotiations. The Israeli mainstream said: no PLO state, no "internationalisation of the conflict", no imposed solution.

Five of those noes have gone. They've become the province of extremists, enemies of peace. These very days, Israel urges the return of PLO rule to Gaza, and of international forces to its border. My administration, committed to Israel's security and to Palestinian independence, will use its best endeavours to impose a solution – the two-state solution that all sane people want – on the two nations. And I will expect and assist both to impose it on their respective enemies of peace.

Michael Tomasky: Leading by moral example

To the rest of the world, I say that we are your friend. The US has been most successful when it has led by moral example, not by coercion or force. In the coming years we will hew to this standard. I am as resolved to isolate and defeat our enemies as any American could be - no one should misunderstand that - we will do that best when we adhere to our highest principles; that's when the people of the world will see most clearly that our way - freedom of speech and worship, equality for women, the rule of law - is the best way, and the people of America will see those striving people across the world as brothers and sisters in the fight for liberty and dignity.

Bonnie Greer: The lesson of Lassie

A joke the late, great Lenny Bruce used to tell is: "What's the difference - in a movie - between Lassie and a black man? At the end of the movie, Lassie lives." In other words, the dog who didn't talk got a chance to serve another day. That's the way it was, and there are many of you in this audience today who know the deep meaning of Bruce's joke, and who know what I mean. Now I can't say that that movie is quite over yet... but the credits are well and truly rolling!

Bethany McLean: Seek economic development, not fraud and fiction

The conventional wisdom is that more regulation and better ethics would have prevented this economic apocalypse. But it's a mistake to believe that either one offers perfect protection. In the wake of Enron, Congress enacted new rules. Sarbanes Oxley did nothing to prevent the current crisis, because regulation tends to be a modern Maginot line. As for the oxymoron of corporate ethics, put faith in that at your peril. What might work? Change the incentives. Reward our business leaders when they build companies that are successful over the long term. Make it more difficult for fortunes to be made on the backs of short-term profits that turn out to be totally illusory. Then you might get real economic development, not fraud and fiction.

Jonathan Farley: It is time to re-imagine America

America is today something the Founding Fathers could never imagine. It is not enough to say we will torture no more. We won't. It is not enough to say Guantánamo must close. It will. It is not enough to say no more wars based on lies. Those wars will end. But these are things we stand against. What do we stand for? Free healthcare, for all. Free education, for all. A living wage for honest work. The development of wind and solar power. The shoring-up of our infrastructure. It is time to re-imagine America.

[John Simkin]

A fantastic speech. No doubt, one of the greatest in history. It was also more radical then I expected.

[Pat Speer]

A fantastic speech. No doubt, one of the greatest in history. It was also more radical then I expected.

I also thought the speech was a strong and important one. To state that the United States will be the friend of anyone who wants to be her friend, and will talk to anyone who wants to talk, etc., represents a clean break from Bush. Obama's saying that the United States is a nation of Christians AND Muslims, etc. was also interesting, particularly in that he said "AND non-believers." I don't recall ANY American politician EVER acknowledging that 20% or more of the American public--people who pay taxes and fight wars etc.--are non-believers. For many years, the attitude has been that you must be a believer to be a good American. Not after today.

[John Simkin]

His speech:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

[John Dolva]

A fantastic speech. No doubt, one of the greatest in history. It was also more radical then I expected.

I also thought the speech was a strong and important one. To state that the United States will be the friend of anyone who wants to be her friend, and will talk to anyone who wants to talk, etc., represents a clean break from Bush. Obama's saying that the United States is a nation of Christians AND Muslims, etc. was also interesting, particularly in that he said "AND non-believers." I don't recall ANY American politician EVER acknowledging that 20% or more of the American public--people who pay taxes and fight wars etc.--are non-believers. For many years, the attitude has been that you must be a believer to be a good American. Not after today.

I agree. Top notch. What a delivery.

One could argue Kennedy opened the door when in discussing the west-communist relations amd that 'we all breathe the same air, we all love ur children'. There's a christian calling for a recognition of the atheist as human. Already years previously he had won the hearts from the Algerian freedom fighters, (and a grudging respect from the French).

[John Simkin]

Naomi Wolf's view on the speech:

I know that Barack Obama is incredibly smart, and it's not that I'm surprised that he gave a fantastic speech. But I've been following American politics for a long time, and sometimes you see something that works on so many levels that you kind of have to gasp at its sophistication.

This speech marked a sharp line in the sand, breaking overtly with the past administration. That message was clear and intentional. It is a much more confrontational approach than ­inauguration speeches have typically been in America. I am overjoyed.

I thought Obama did three things impressively. Firstly, he sounded a note of our dire circumstances that was in line with a reality that many have been in denial about. That is technically ­brilliant, because he's inheriting a mess, and he's telling people, "We're not going to dig ourselves out of this easily." But also, "Don't blame me for it all."

The second was that he reasserted the primacy of the constitution and the rule of law. With Bush sitting behind him, that was like showtime at the OK Corral. I have written in the past that it is going to take a grassroots movement to support him in reasserting the rule of law, because there are so many vested interests that stand opposed to it. But that was a shot across the bows.

Thirdly, most amazingly, I feel that he dialled down the threat level of the US with just a few sentences. He reached out a hand to the Muslim world. For Obama to say, "I'm not going to demonise you" – that is extraordinarily stabilising.

[Robert Howard]

His speech:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

President Obama's speech in many way's was evocative of President Kennedy's inaugural speech. With an added moral imperative based to a great degree on the current era of conflict that began on September 11, 2001. The similarities to the Kennedy era will also be manifested in the respect that the Obama administration followed eight years of a previous Republican administration, another parallel to President Kennedy who entered office after eight years of a Republican administration, yet the difference between the two Republican administrations is as different as night and day, whereas Eisenhower's was almost tranquil domestically speaking, the Bush administration will be judges by historians to have been one of the most morally bankrupt in the history of the United States, that fact will become more apparent as those members of the government who were in essence, unable to speak freely due to obvious restrictions, part of any administration's code of ethics of national security, come forward.

A key area likely to be profiled one would think would be in regards to the NSA's wiretap scandal. Sadly, one dynamic that will be evocative of any Democratic administration, but particularly reminiscent of the Kennedy administration with regards to President Obama is the desire to seek peace through strength and a lessening of the financial mechanisms and policy that have resulted in more damage to American families, of whom many are currently faced with an economic situation reminiscent to some degree with the Depression-era of the 1930's.

Resistance to the reform inherently normal by the Obama administration will be the traditional forces opposed to change.

A mindset that lies not only on the other side of the aisle, but in an increasingly hostile corporate structure that sees the American people not a part of a collective cultural whole but merely as a tool for economic exploitation. The former is best represented by Senator John Cornyn of Texas who has already stood up the Obama administration through Hillary Clinton in a move that some would call political grandstanding, while others would say it is pure politics. Other's might say it is the ugly face of Texas politics, which makes the outgoing President's return to Texas a little more than ironic.

Perhaps the new contrast to the dark side of the forces inimical to an Obama administration, and which also reared their ugly head in the early 1960's with bumper stickers like Kan the Kennedy Klan, can be best summarized by a bumper sticker seen, more often than not in the deep South from time to time.

I will keep my freedom, my guns and my money... You can keep your "change."

Edited January 21, 2009 by Robert Howard

[John Dolva]

His speech:

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

President Obama's speech in many way's was evocative of President Kennedy's inaugural speech. With an added moral imperative based to a great degree on the current era of conflict that began on September 11, 2001. The similarities to the Kennedy era will also be manifested in the respect that the Obama administration followed eight years of a previous Republican administration, another parallel to President Kennedy who entered office after eight years of a Republican administration, yet the difference between the two Republican administrations is as different as night and day, whereas Eisenhower's was almost tranquil domestically speaking, the Bush administration will be judges by historians to have been one of the most morally bankrupt in the history of the United States, that fact will become more apparent as those members of the government who were in essence, unable to speak freely due to obvious restrictions, part of any administration's code of ethics of national security, come forward.

A key area likely to be profiled one would think would be in regards to the NSA's wiretap scandal. Sadly, one dynamic that will be evocative of any Democratic administration, but particularly reminiscent of the Kennedy administration with regards to President Obama is the desire to seek peace through strength and a lessening of the financial mechanisms and policy that have resulted in more damage to American families, of whom many are currently faced with an economic situation reminiscent to some degree with the Depression-era of the 1930's.

Resistance to the reform inherently normal by the Obama administration will be the traditional forces opposed to change.

A mindset that lies not only on the other side of the aisle, but in an increasingly hostile corporate structure that sees the American people not a part of a collective cultural whole but merely as a tool for economic exploitation. The former is best represented by Senator John Cornyn of Texas who has already stood up the Obama administration through Hillary Clinton in a move that some would call political grandstanding, while others would say it is pure politics. Other's might say it is the ugly face of Texas politics, which makes the outgoing President's return to Texas a little more than ironic.

Perhaps the new contrast to the dark side of the forces inimical to an Obama administration, and which also reared their ugly head in the early 1960's with bumper stickers like Kan the Kennedy Klan, can be best summarized by a bumper sticker seen, more often than not in the deep South from time to time.

I will keep my freedom, my guns and my money... You can keep your "change."

Robert, it's possibly cultural, or using, thinking in a different english or whatever, but I want to understand clearly what you mean when you say : " whereas Eisenhower's was almost tranquil domestically speaking, the Bush administration will be judges by historians to have been one of the most morally bankrupt in the history of the United States, that fact will become more apparent as those members of the government who were in essence, unable to speak freely due to obvious restrictions, part of any administration's code of ethics of national security, come forward. ".| Peace

btw that was KKK's : 'Kill the Kennedy Klan' 9on car up east north east of DP0. (Then there was the "Barry Kennedy" on the motorcade route, I don't know whos' that was, JBSs', Walkers?) Plus the students waving the Battle Flag of the Confederacy too, at Love Field }

It'll be interesting to read the pruned shrubberies goodbye speech. He's legitimised the Union, how's he gonna phrase that?Well done gardeners, it just took Being There. Now comes the true test. Stay there, or get out of the way. The times they are a'changin. live with it. Be forgiven. The second wave is near. Do him the honor and the honor due to the world, Look After Him. Please! He is more than a person, like Kennedy. Stand up and be counted. .. Ahh, we're in for an interesting ride. Watch the worms come crawling out. The Gauntlet is down....syl. gotta go pick some flowers. Gonna need them.

ps ...change hurts, own the pain.

Edited January 21, 2009 by John Dolva

[Steve Thomas]

John,

btw that was KKK's : 'Kill the Kennedy Klan' 9on car up east north east of DP0.

Can you tell me more about this car?

Steve Thomas

[Robert Howard]

Robert, it's possibly cultural, or using, thinking in a different english or whatever, but I want to understand clearly what you mean when you say : " whereas Eisenhower's was almost tranquil domestically speaking, the Bush administration will be judges by historians to have been one of the most morally bankrupt in the history of the United States, that fact will become more apparent as those members of the government who were in essence, unable to speak freely due to obvious restrictions, part of any administration's code of ethics of national security, come forward. ".| Peace

Steve's question is more important, but what I meant regarding Eisenhower and that era "almost tranquil domestically speaking," almost being the qualifier [no, it was not tranquil for African-American's or those on the left being smeared as communist's, when, in many cases they either weren't or were former Communists some ten or more years ago.]

Domestically tranquil, in the sense that the postwar economy had for the most part rebounded from the depression-era, with some exceptions......And there was a Cold War, but Korea had cooled down, especially in Eisenhower's second term, and Vietnam hadn't gotten started for the US.

Everything after that sentence regarding the Bush administration, I feel pretty much speaks for itself......

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John,

QUOTE(John Dolva @ Jan 21 2009, 01:03 PM) *

btw that was KKK's : 'Kill the Kennedy Klan' 9on car up east north east of DP0.

Can you tell me more about this car?

Steve Thomas

Edited January 21, 2009 by Robert Howard

[John Dolva]

Robert, it's possibly cultural, or using, thinking in a different english or whatever, but I want to understand clearly what you mean when you say : " whereas Eisenhower's was almost tranquil domestically speaking, the Bush administration will be judges by historians to have been one of the most morally bankrupt in the history of the United States, that fact will become more apparent as those members of the government who were in essence, unable to speak freely due to obvious restrictions, part of any administration's code of ethics of national security, come forward. ".| Peace

Steve's question is more important, but what I meant regarding Eisenhower and that era "almost tranquil domestically speaking," almost being the qualifier [no, it was not tranquil for African-American's or those on the left being smeared as communist's, when, in many cases they either weren't or were former Communists some ten or more years ago.]

Domestically tranquil, in the sense that the postwar economy had for the most part rebounded from the depression-era, with some exceptions......And there was a Cold War, but Korea had cooled down, especially in Eisenhower's second term, and Vietnam hadn't gotten started for the US.

Everything after that sentence regarding the Bush administration, I feel pretty much speaks for itself......

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John,

QUOTE(John Dolva @ Jan 21 2009, 01:03 PM) *

btw that was KKK's : 'Kill the Kennedy Klan' 9on car up east north east of DP0.

Can you tell me more about this car?

Steve Thomas

No, but this doc might. http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...p;relPageId=214

Robert, to me the first part and your elaboration is clear, it's the following bit ,that is clear to you, that is not clear to me. Perhaps you could rephrase it?

[Steve Thomas]

John,

QUOTE(John Dolva @ Jan 21 2009, 01:03 PM) *

btw that was KKK's : 'Kill the Kennedy Klan' 9on car up east north east of DP0.

No, but this doc might. http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...p;relPageId=214

CD 913 is a March 30, 1964 Report of Robert Gemberling. Included in this Report is information relative to the "Kill the Kennedy Klan" bumper sticker and persons receiving mail at an address in Garland.

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...p;relPageId=174

However, Gemberling's report INCLUDES the names of the people. The mail being reported on dates from late December and early January, 1964.

Heitman's Report of April 29th is a copy of Gemberling's March 30th.

Among the people receiving mail at 806 E. Monica Dr. were Raul Castro and Juan Quintana.

The Rambler was owned by Raul Castro. (See Wallace Heitman’s interviews with Castro and Quintera.)

See here for a Heitman interview of Raul Castro Baile:

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/....do?docId=69112

See here for an interview of Juan Quintana Maya:

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/....do?docId=69111

FBI’s JFK Assassination File, Section 47 p. 66

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...bsPageId=761400

is a 2/26/64 order from Hoover to Shanklin to investigate Castro and Quintana

Among the Miscellaneous CIA Series, there is an unauthored FBI Report of the various anti-Castro groups in Dallas: JURE, 30th of November, Alpha 66-SNFE, etc.

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...amp;relPageId=4

On pages 4 and 5 of that Report, Manuel Rodriguez Orcarberro furnished the following list of the present officers of SNFE. Among that list of people were Raul Castro and Juan Quintana.

On May 25, 1964, Manuel Rodriguez voluntarily appeared at the Dallas FBI offices and spoke to Wallace Heitman. He told Heitman that the members of SNFE met at bi-weekly meetings at 3126 Harlandale. (Although in his Report, Heitman spelled it Hollandale.) (Where Oswald was said to have been seen)

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/...p;relPageId=222

Why did you say the car was parked east north east of DPO?

Steve Thomas

[Pamela Brown]

I would not want to have been W, sitting just below Obama's elbow, when that speech was given. Obama could not have been tougher on the failed policies of W's administration in regards to being able to lead without using torture, and our country being ready to lead 'again'.

The criticisms were well-deserved. The icing on the cake was the Obamas and Bidens' walking W and Laura out to the waiting chopper in a never-before-done gesture of graciousness, just to say "Buh-bye". Wonderful.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Pamela McElwain-Brown

[John Dolva]

Steve, (DP not DPO, my typo). Garland, unless my memory is totally loopy, certainly heading that way, up white rock lake way, ie east north east of Dealey Plaza.

Pam, that's so funny (IMO). He's really making a footfall. Ushering out the 'good ole' boys'. What a turn around.