Today, I will begin the 600-mile bike Ride For Peace. You can read all about the Ride and join me in the Ride--or support it by signing the petition or making a contribution--by clicking on the cool icon to the right on this page (and we have really neat T-shirts to sell with the logo!)

Here is the prepared text of my statement to the press which I will give at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in New York City at 2 p.m.:

We stand before the Vietnam Memorial to remember the cost of war.

We remember PFC Louis E. Willett who served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. He was killed during a firefight in Kontum province on 15 February 1967. He was 21 when he was killed.

Jonathan's 600-mile bike tour of upstate NY launches tomorrow from the NY Vietnam Veterans Memorial (50 Water St. - near the Staten Island ferry terminal) in Manhattan. The press conference for the event begins at
2:00PM. Following the event, Jonathan will start riding to New Rochelle, the first stop on the tour. Come join us at the press conference and, if you want, bring your bike and ride with Jonathan up the West Side Highway bike path.

The Ride For Peace will cover 600 miles from New York City to Buffalo, and make stops in 16 cities during its three-week journey. In each location Tasini will highlight the human and economic cost of the Iraq war for that community. Tasini will be asking people to sign a petition that mirrors legislation proposed by Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts to end the war in Iraq.

It's hard to find a media outlet that has done more damage than FOX to our country and to the principles that make us proud to be Democrats. FOX has been a willing mouthpiece for the Administration, especially on the issue of the war in Iraq. It has carried on a consistent assault on basic progressive ideas, attacking social security, fair treatment of workers, immigrants, gays and lesbian rights...the list goes on.

So, it must be disturbing for New York voters to hear about this reported in today's issue of the Financial Times: "Rupert Murdoch, the conservative media mogul whose New York Post tabloid savaged Hillary Clinton's initial aspirations to become a US senator for New York, has agreed to host a political fundraiser for her re-election campaign."

If you are visiting our campaign website for the first time because of today's column by The New York Times' Bob Herbert, welcome!

First, before you go any further--we believe we can rock the political establishment. Sure, Herbert quoted me saying this race is an uphill effort--but we have always believed that if we shift the race from my opponent's celebrity to a debate on the issues, we will surprise the pundits, political insiders and Democratic machine.

This race has already attracted hundreds of volunteers. On the issues, the majority of Democratic primary voters stand with us, not with the incumbent.

We need your help. If you want there to be a debate about the war, if you want to have a voice speaking for the 2,400 American men and women who have been killed in this immoral war, if you want pro-war Democrats to be held accountable for the death and destruction in Iraq, consider making a generous contribution to our campaign right now, right here.

Herbert is right when he writes that my opponent "...in terms of overall policy, she seems to be right there with Bush, Cheney, Condi et al. She does not regret her vote to authorize the invasion, and still believes the war can be won."

Is there any better reason to cast a vote against the incumbent?

The question for New York voters is simple: should we allow the celebrity status of my opponent to erase the reality of thousands of unnecccesary deaths, the life-altering wounds inflicted on American and Iraqis and the hundreds of billions of wasted dollars?

If your answer is "no," join our campaign today.

A New York Times article today says that Senator Clinton accepted over $150,000 in campaign contributions from executives at International Profit Associates (I.P.A.), a consulting company owned by disbarred New York lawyer James R. Burgess.

Not only does Burgess have a criminal record for attempted larceny and patronizing a 16-year-old prostitute, the company itself has a sordid reputation. Sexual harassment charges are being pressed by the EEOC against I.P.A. on behalf of 113 female employees of the company. I.P.A. has also received 470 complaints from the Better Business Bureau and is being investigated by the Illinois attorney general for deceptive marketing tactics.