Entries Tagged 'News' ↓
November 3rd, 2004 — News
Dear Mike,
Earlier today I spoke to President Bush, and offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation, and we talked about the danger of division in our country and the need, the desperate need, for unity for finding the common ground, coming together. Today, I hope that we can begin the healing.
In America, it is vital that every vote counts, and that every vote be counted. But the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal process. I would not give up this fight if there was a chance that we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted, which they will be, there won’t be enough outstanding votes for our campaign to be able to win Ohio. And therefore, we cannot win this election.
It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this country, coming to know so many of you. I wish I could just wrap you in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.
To all of you, my volunteers and online supporters, all across this country who gave so much of themselves, thank you. Thanks to William Field, a six-year-old who collected $680, a quarter and a dollar at a time selling bracelets during the summer to help change America. Thanks to Michael Benson from Florida who I spied in a rope line holding a container of money. It turned out he raided his piggy bank and wanted to contribute. And thanks to Alana Wexler, who at 11 years old and started Kids for Kerry.
I thank all of you, who took time to travel, time off from work, and their own vacation time to work in states far and wide. You braved the hot days of summer and the cold days of the fall and the winter to knock on doors because you were determined to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans. You worked your hearts out, and I say, don’t lose faith. What you did made a difference, and building on itself, we will go on to make a difference another day. I promise you, that time will come — the election will come when your work and your ballots will change the world, and it’s worth fighting for.
I’m proud of what we stood for in this campaign, and of what we accomplished. When we began, no one thought it was possible to even make this a close race, but we stood for real change, change that would make a real difference in the life of our nation, the lives of our families, and we defined that choice to America. I’ll never forget the wonderful people who came to our rallies, who stood in our rope lines, who put their hopes in our hands, who invested in each and every one of us. I saw in them the truth that America is not only great, but it is good.
So here — with a grateful heart, I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that I’ve come to know our vast country so much better and that prayer is very simple: God bless America.
Thank you,
John Kerry
November 2nd, 2004 — News
September 30th, 2004 — News
Tonight is the first of three Presidential debates between encumbent President George W. Bush, and challenger Senator John Kerry.
Regardless of your political affiliation, I urge all of you to be sure to watch or listen to tonight’s debate, as well as the remaining two. Do not rely on the news media to help form your opinions after the fact. These debates are the rare times when we can hear answers straight from the candidates themselves, and not filtered through any one media outlet’s bias.
August 28th, 2004 — News
From CNN
Police: Bomb plot suspects scouted many sites
Two men charged with conspiring to blow up subway station
Saturday, August 28, 2004 Posted: 7:46 PM EDT (2346 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) — Two men arrested Friday on suspicion of plotting to blow up a New York City subway station had also scouted other locations in the city, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Saturday.
“It is important to stress that to the best of our knowledge, they had no ties to international terrorist organizations,” Kelly told reporters. He also said there is “no indication” their activities were related in any way to the Republication National Convention, which begins Monday in Manhattan.
The men believed a confidential police informant would provide them with explosives, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. The informant never did so.
The men were arraigned Saturday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, on charges of conspiring to blow up the 34th Street subway station at Herald Square.
Herald Square is a shopping area in Midtown Manhattan near Macy’s and several other retail stores, at the intersection of Broadway and 34th Street. Eight of New York’s 25 subway routes run through Herald Square.
The men were identified as Shahawar Matin Siraj, 21, a native of Pakistan who lives in Jackson Heights in Queens, and James el-Shafay, 19, a U.S. citizen from the city’s Staten Island borough.
If convicted, Siraj and el-Shafay would face a prison sentence of from five to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
Both men indicated they understood the charges. They were ordered held without bail, and another hearing date was not set.
El-Shafay’s mother wept during the court proceeding, and he blew kisses at her. She then passed prescription drugs to her son via his attorney, Tom Dunn, but was denied a chance to visit with him after court.
Outside the courthouse, a relative of el-Shafay said “We think that these charges are false.”
The men’s motive appeared to be “basically hatred for the system,” Kelly said. He said they talked about the commercial shops at the subway station, and also talked in general terms about explosives being placed at the 42nd Street station and the station at 59th Street and Lexington.
Kelly said the police department’s intelligence division had been investigating them for about a year. At one time, one of the men scouted three police stations and a bridge, and drew a map of the locations, he said. Last Saturday, they were seen visiting the Herald Square station, Kelly said.
CNN’s Jamie McShane, Jeanne Meserve and Deborah Feyerick contributed to this report.
July 22nd, 2004 — News
Taken from Delaware Online:
Bomb scare stops ship in Delaware Bay
Associated Press
7/22/2004
BIG STONE BEACH — The Coast Guard forced a Turkish merchant ship heading into Philadelphia harbor to turn around today after being told that a bomb might be on board, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
A Coast Guard boarding team stopped the ship in the Delaware Bay shortly before noon for what was described as a “routine search,” the spokesman said.
But when a member of the ship’s crew told the boarding team there was a bomb on board, the boarding crew called for backup.
The ship, which was carrying coal, was ordered to head to a safe anchorage point near Big Stone Beach in the Delaware Bay where another boarding crew can conduct a more thorough search.
In the meanwhile, the crewman recanted his story.
A spokesman said that there was “no evidence whatsoever” that there actually is a bomb on board the vessel.
March 21st, 2004 — News
A moment thirty-three years in the making
.The Philadelphia eye-sore known as Veterans Stadium is no more. The decrepit landmark to the idiocy of the early 1970s was imploded this morning to make room for parking. The Vet had outlived it’s usefulness many years ago, but it was only within the last few years that the city decided to stop alienating it’s sports franchises and help do something about it.
The new Eagles stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, is a monument to how stadiums should be built. The seats are comfortable, the bathrooms plenty, and the sightlines are phenomenal.
As for the new Phillies stadium, Citizens Bank Park? Well, it looks nice from the outside. The first game doesn’t take place for another two weeks, so the verdict is still out. However, from the artists depictions, it looks as if it too will be a fans paradise.
Anything is an improvement over the Vet, but I must salute both the Eagles and the Phillies, as well as the city of Philadelphia, on two new beautiful facilities. After going to the Vet for thirty three years, the long-suffering Philadelphia fans deserve them.
