Tired Girl

Here is the video of the actual swearing in!



Here is an excerpt from his speech and the full text version!



January 20, 2009, 12:07 pm
President Obama’s Inaugural Address
As prepared for delivery.

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 cooperation 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.

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 labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled 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 plowed 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. And 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 - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors 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 our 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 defense, 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 that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with 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 specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, 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 today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor 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 - hard work and honesty, 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 sixty 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 traveled. 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.

Well what a miracle! A plane going down in the Hudson River in NY City and no one died. If you take a look at the picture above....on a wing and a prayer...really gives you a different meaning of that phrase...

Well I just thought that it would be important to have some kind of mention in my blog about this.. They are calling it the "Miracle on the Hudson."

Here is a video as well: AMAZING!



God Bless them all....and the pilots and crew, Wow...

Today is Monday...and the middle of January almost already. I swear I don't know where the time goes. Had a quiet weekend went to some friends house this weekend and played some board games...they were so funny. Came home and played the games with the kids... Scattagories it is called. Such a funny game, and it makes your head think.

So there is this "so-called" dice that has letters on it. You roll the die, and what ever letter it comes upon that is the letter that all of your answers must have in it. Then you have a card that has 12 different phrases.

So if you rolled an S all answers must be an S. So an example:

1. Fictional Characters --- Simon Says
2. Menu Items --- Spaghetti
3. Magazines --- Shape
4. Capitals --- St. Louis
5. Kinds of Candy --- Snickers
6. Items you save up to buy--- Shoes
7. Footwear --- Socks
8. Something you keep hidden--- Secrets
9. Items in a suitcase --- Shirts
10. Things with Tails --- shrew
11. Sports equipment --- Softball
12. Crimes --- Serial Robber

You only have 3 minutes and if your answer matches another persons both do not get the point! It was so fun... we laughed and laughed.. Berto came up with the most crazy answers, and challenged us to find him not right... but we would let him get away with some of them.... One of his answers was for a capital- Shazakistan... we were like NO WAY...but he was so adimant... funny!

Anyway that was it... just relaxed did all the normal daily grind...wanted to get to the movies...but that didn't happen..

Take it easy..... Stacy

Hi just a quick note...

I was started a new medicine, called amitryptyline it is for nerve pain.
I like it better than the neurontin. The neurontin made my taste horrible. Made everything taste horrible.

Sean is on it as well, for his nerve pain. So both me and Sean are on the same meds...funny his for the nerve pain from his back surgery, me for my breast cancer surgery.

Oh I'm not in such a writing mood.. so I will rest now..

Stacy

You must Love your neighbor as you love yourself.....

My father sent this email to me..along with a prayer..

My instructions were to pick people that I wanted God to bless, and I picked you. Please pass this prayer because....Prayer is one of the Best Gifts we Receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

Here is the prayer :

I ask You to bless my Relatives, Friends, and everyone reading this right now. Where there is Pain, give them Peace and Mercy. Where there is Self-doubt, release a Renewed Confidence through Your grace. Bless their Homes, Families, Finances, their Goings and their Comings. Amen.

Sweet and simple and I loved it.

My dad is a great guy, and I couldn't have asked God for a better man to raise me as his daughter, and love me the way he does. He is always there...and I love him so very much. I don't know what I would do without his level head, and listening spirit. He is always listening. He waits until I am done talking, even if I am going on and on about nothing.. he just patiently waits and listens...and his responses are always something that I eagerly await. He is kind, and caring, and loving, and most of all Funny as all get out! He makes me laugh all of the time with his sense of humor. I am so lucky to have him as my father. I know God blessed me with him...he saw my life even when I was 5 years old and he became my new dad..he saw my road in this life long before I did. He knew what I would be and where my journey would take me.. and I'm happy to have my father with me... So God thank you for my Dad...thank you for the vision that you had to choose such an amazing man for me.

Stacy

Well everyone....

I'm in the clear... results back..and its all good!

WHEW...feels like I dodged a bullet...nope more like a Rocket Launcher...

LOL...

Just so you all know... I'm soooo Happy!

Here is a great video...amazing singers...



Stacy

SO...I wrote a letter to President Elect Obama... I wanted to post it here..it is about survival, not only as a breast cancer survivor, but as a nation.

What does this inauguration mean to me?

By Stacy

In today's economic turmoil it is important, no, it is imperative that American's know that our Leaders of this great nation are in touch with the people. As we all well know, history repeats itself. Today, as I sit here in my home, I reflect on the situations that many people here in Nevada and throughout this great nation are enduring. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer 9 months ago, and because of that I have learned a great deal about surviving, not only to live your life, but the actual realization of the innate ability to survive and your survival instinct.

Due to my health, I have not been able to do as much as I used to do. While staying at home recovering I started a non profit organization, to help Breast cancer survivors, co-survivors and anyone interested in learning about Breast Cancer. I have met many amazing people across this great nation, including other survivors, husbands of victims, and physicians who are helping Fight Pink with our vision, by sharing their books, stories of survival, heartache, and faith. I have had so many tough challenges to overcome in the last 9 months, but never gave up, never stopped being a survivor, I choose to survive.

To survive in the economic turmoil of today, not only within our borders, but on the Global stage is and will continue to be the up most important task of your administration. What has caused this economic downfall? There is certainly more than one cause. We can blame the mortgage industry, we can blame the War on Terror, we can blame oil prices, free trade, and we can blame each other until we are blue in the face, but what we need now is action.

I spoke of History repeating it self? Let's look at the great depression. It was caused by investors selling off 16 million shares of stock because they had lost faith in the American Economy. Can it happen again? I do believe so. It will not happen in one day that we call "Black Thursday", it will happen gradually as it is happening now, every day. Every day Americans thoughts are shifting, their minds are searching for an answer. Their minds are fearing the collapse of not only America's economy but a Global ripple that will be caused by the inability of our great Nation to rise above and become a survivor.

What became of America after the Great Depression? In 1932 we elected a new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He created the "New Deal." We need a "New Deal" Mr. President-elect Obama, one that will create closeness between the government and the people. It has been 76 years since the "New Deal" and we must create an America that will not continue to test each and every American life, doubt our abilities and our values and cause us to despair. We need to survive as a Nation, emerge stronger and give Americans that glimmer of hope, and renew our faith in America and its political and economic systems.

You are tasked to not only bring together the people of this United States of America, Mr. President-elect Obama, but what you do will impact the world on a Global Level. You will be looked at under the microscope, not because of the color of your skin, but because of the content of your character. The word Character, it defines who you are. Taking the words from the great Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. above, shows you how much we have already overcome. It shows you how amazing people of this great nation are, and how ONE person can make a difference. I am looking forward to your administration, to your NEW DEAL, we understand that it won't be done over night, but we know that it will be done.

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our school district is one of the worse in this great Nation. We have up to a 50% high school drop out rate. I am very concerned with the future of not only our state but of the state of education in general.

I touched upon Education because without education, we have nothing. You and Michelle were in Africa, you went inside the CDC's traveling HIV testing unit, and got tested for HIV. You showed the people of Africa not to fear, but to know. It's about educating our children, it's about re-educating the masses on your plan, your ability to assemble the best minds in the country in your Administration to advise you and lead this nation into the future. We need new economic programs, new "Alphabet Agencies," new hope and a new relationship of trust, not turmoil, patience, not persecution and a Federal Government that takes on these responsibilities for the welfare of the people of this great Nation, a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Study history, Mr. President-elect Obama, become a pioneer, not a maverick. Be humble as you are. Have faith in the great people of this Nation, the great people that started this nation. Within the Gettysburg address President Lincoln said it best: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."


He was talking about the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here in this great Nation on a battlefield, well today we have a different battlefield, and it is a different fight. He spoke of dedication to unfinished work, and great tasks remaining before us. He spoke of freedom, a new birth of freedom. You speak of a new birth of Change.

We look forward to your Administration. I will tell you this, I am concerned about this country, because I love this country. I am concerned about the lack of communication from our previous administration, and I look forward to your promise to communicate with us however painful. To educate us, enable us, and inform us on what the future America will be.

As I said, I am a survivor, a Breast Cancer survivor at only 42 years young. I started a non-profit organization Fightpink.org with my oldest daughter while recovering, and know that If I can overcome loosing many things this past nine months, along with my breast, my dignity as a woman and I am just ONE person in this great country, imagine all the people of this great nation with this innate ability to survive.

We are here, and we stand strong, and we believe in you and your ability to lead us.

Thank you for your time Mr. President-elect Obama, and my God Bless you and guide you on your Journey.

Well it is January 1st, and this is the start of a good year! The picture is of Ray, and I thought it was a good picture to end the year with! She is just crazy hair, with her hands up...I Love it.

I didn't write anything in the post yesterday, just made a place holder, so I will write when i feel more reflective.

I had a good night last night...just relaxed and kicked back.. Today is football, and pizza.

Everyone in the family is happy that it is a new year, since 2008 was pretty bad, and sometimes good. I look at myself in the mirror, and I'm like...Who are you? Really I look much different, more tired, and just not as bright as I used to...

I do feel a lot different as well, and It is funny because not many people understand. They just go on with their lives, as they should, and look at me the same, but if I could describe me inside..

I would say more centered, more sure of what is real in my life, what is good, and what I need to be in that centered place. I know this year kicked my butt, so bad, with 5 surgeries, and they were difficult. One of the side effects of being under anesthesia so much, I forget things...or repeat things... It is getting much better, but I do know I have to concentrate a bit harder on things.. It isn't noticeable to others as much, but to me I know it.

I also notice how people in general look at people. I really noticed that in this journey. Men tend to still look at women as being this "object" and I can't stand that. It never really bothered me at all, I would see a pretty girl, and be like "why would she dress like that?" Now, I may see that same pretty girl, and think that she is some what in the dark. A lot in the dark. Men then look at them like objects. And what this illness has taught me is that we are so much deeper than that as human beings, and probably a HUGE portion of the population, doesn't get it.

We are so concerned with our looks, and our hair, and our nails, and our clothes...all of our EGO behaviors that we forget what is essential to our being. I would go through life, worrying about the most mundane, ridiculous, things...and now none of that matters.

It really doesn't. I don't like to think about how men view women, or how women view men when it is all about the EGO. I wish for this year, people would get more in touch with themselves, and their families, their friends. Be in touch with the spiritual side of life.

Funny thing is....I guess if you haven't walked down the path, a path that makes you really contemplate your life, then I am not too sure you can even understand.

Life really is simple. You are born, you live and then you die. It's all that stuff in the middle, how you treat people, how you respect peoples wishes, not hurt people, be kind, help people if you can...and honestly get to know yourself..and learn..and share...that makes a difference.

Life is about learning. I feel that I have learned so much about people in my life so far. I have been abandoned many times, in many ways in my life, and I am a survivor. I am a survivor of life.

But this is just me...one story...one person in this world of Billions...

My New Years resolution: Be bright...shine...share...love with all that I have...keep coming out of the darkness...because there really is no such thing as darkness...it is just the absence of light. Darkness doesn't exist...according to Einstein!

Love you all...

Stacy