Politics
stoat | January 20, 2009Courtesy of A+S's Inaug party (great idea - thanks again), we watched the Inaug live on BBC, though I had to leave before the post-match analysis. I enjoyed it - it was a good show. His speech was well delivered, rousing even, if not great. It was interesting, very listenable, and said some good things. I guess you can get the text of the address from any number of places; wikisource has it, conveniently only two clicks away from El Shrubbo's. And there is the problem: GWB says many nice things too. Who said While many of our citizens prosper, others doubt the promise, even the justice, of…
terrasig | January 20, 2009Mike Dunford has a post about how some (ok, Fox News) are already stating the Obama isn't really president because of the flub in today's oath of office during the inauguration ceremonies - never mind that the former Senator actually became president at noon, about ten minutes before the actual oath (although Orin Kerr has an informative post on who was president from 12:00 to 12:10 as prompted by Howard Wasserman.).
I'm loving Twitter right now because Carl Zimmer brought my attention to a fantastic post earlier this afternoon by his brother, linguistics expert Benjamin Zimmer:
Early reports…
ddobbs | January 20, 2009Today's inaugural oath got bumpy, and I was among many who dropped the ball got confused about whether it was Roberts or Obama who originally dropped the ball. Benjamin Zimmer explains:
Chief Justice John Roberts' administration of the presidential oath to Barack Obama was far from smooth. ... the error that emerged from their momentary disfluency came down to a problem of adverbial placement.
Get the rest at the Language Log.
Hat tip to Carl.
oracknows | January 20, 2009I never thought I'd finally see the day, but George W. Bush is no longer President of the United States, and Barack Obama is. I have to say, I've paid attention to Presidential Inaugurations since 1981, and I can't recall one greeted with as much excitement, hope, and expectation. All around my university, in my medical center, and even in my cancer center, auditoriums were set up and the oath of office and inaugural speeches televised on the big screens there. At my cancer center, the auditorium was packed. Our cancer center director was there, as was most of the center leadership and many…
tqa | January 20, 2009
Some predictions:
1: Within the next week, at least one member of the tinfoil hat brigade will start to pitch a fit about how Obama's not really President, because he didn't really take the real oath.
2: It's more likely than not that someone (maybe the same person, maybe not) will claim that this is somehow or another tied to the whole "he's not a real American citizen" lunacy.
3: At least one of the nuts will try to file a lawsuit, and will probably try to demand that Roberts recuse himself due to his own involvement.
Anyone want to bet against any of those?
clock | January 20, 2009Do we really have a new President? After eight dreary years, it's hard to believe it's possible. But here is the video documentation - it seems to be true!
hrynyshyn | January 20, 2009Well, sort of. It went live a minute past noon ET. But there's no comment function, so it's not what most of us would call a blog. Still, it's nice to know Obama's hip to the blogosphere's significance.
Also nice to see climate change get a nod in the inaugural:
We will restore science to its rightful place.... We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.... With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.
drorzel | January 20, 2009Joseph Lowery wins the Inauguration.
Obama's speech was no slouch, either, but anybody who gets a hundred thousand people to yell "Amen!" wins.
I'm wearing a T-shirt today that says "I deeply resent the way this administration makes me feel like a nutbar conspiracy theorist." And I can't really express how happy I will be to retire it, at least as regards presidential politics, for the next several years. Much as I like the shirt, I hope it's gone for good.
Amen.
gregladen | January 20, 2009CHECK IT OUT!!! CLICK HERE!!!! CLICK HERE!!!!
I am rolling of the floor laughing (ROFL). If you didn't see it, watch the YouTube Video.
(He totally made up for it with the speech, of course.)
You may also note two precious moments earlier in the day:
1) When George Herbert Walker Bush was coming out to the stage and walking between the marine guards, he slapped one of the guards on the ass.
2) When George Bush (our newly formered president)'s image was first shown to the crowd before he came out, the crowd started singing that song ... "Hey hey hey, good bye..." (You know the song…
pontiff | January 20, 2009My favorite line from today's inauguration speech:
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.
The following…
sheril | January 20, 2009
"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
nonbelievers. 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…
grrlscientist | January 20, 2009tags: politics, President Obama
Presidential hopeful (Now President) Barack Obama
greets the packed house at Fogelman Arena at Tulane University
after he speaks.
Image: Michael DeMocker
FINALLY! After eight long, miserable, horrible years of unmitigated failure at the hands of GW and his goons, this nation has a real PRESIDENT that was voted into office by the PEOPLE instead of sneaking in through a series of criminal behind-the-scenes machinations that resulted in the first peace-time coup that this nation has ever experienced. I know that this nation will see more GWs in the future who…
tqa | January 20, 2009
MSNBC is reporting that, as of 7 am, over 200,000 people had taken the DC metro in to the city. The mall is so well filled that I'm having a hard time seeing any empty space between the capitol and the Washington Monument.
I'm going to do some very conservative crowd size estimates right now. I'm going to go to Google Earth, and look at the space available. I'm just going to include the grassy areas on the mall (not the paths), and I'm only going to measure as far back as the Washington monument.
Space available (in square feet):
3rd Street to 4th Street: 89,250
4th Street to 7th Street…
pharyngula | January 20, 2009Late last year, the New Humanist podcast was taking nominations for their Bad Faith award, given to the most "deluded fantasist" of the year. It was my honor as one of the Americans on the roster to nominate our very own Sarah Palin.
Either I was extremely persuasive or my nominee was so patently fit for the award that none could oppose her. Sarah Palin wins! I am very pleased to say that it is the only thing she has won, and that it is well deserved.
tqa | January 20, 2009
Keith Olbermann is describing the scene on the mall as a cross between Woodstock and a religious pilgrimage, and he's wondering out loud if there's a better way to describe what we're seeing.
Personally, I'd suggest "America".
pharyngula | January 20, 2009If you want to see the consequences of the recent wave of attempts to endorse "provider conscience rules", in which health care providers are permitted to freely exercise their whims and biases in providing clients and patients their services, read this story. As usual, it's all about controlling the reproductive choices of women: we've had politicians blocking access to Plan B contraception; laws that would allow doctors to deny care if it was against their religious beliefs; and pharmacists who refuse to fill birth control prescriptions. Beyond simply passive denial of giving a patient what…
revere | January 20, 2009I'm glad I lived to see today. I've been a citizen of the United States for 66 years and I've never felt anything like it. Not because of the politics, since I suspect I will disagree with much of what the new President plans to do (not progressive enough for me), and not solely because the country elected a black man as President (although turning that page in our history is cause for celebration and huzzahs). It is not because Democrats beat Republicans, although I am glad for that, but Democrats have beaten Republicans before and it hasn't been like this. Nor is it because we will at last…
pharyngula | January 19, 2009It's inauguration day, and in a fine old American tradition, every event must be associated with a commercial tie-in. Krispy Kreme dougnuts is offering a free choice of a doughnut in honor of the change in presidents.
Did you hear that? Free choice of a doughnut?
Get it? Choice?
Yeah, I know, most of you aren't obsessive lunatics, so it's not obvious. You need to see the press release sent out by the American Life League.
The unfortunate reality of a post Roe v. Wade America is that 'choice' is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of 'freedom of choice' is a tacit endorsement of…