A President Who Finally Gets it Right
From President Barack Obama's inaugural address:
"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."
Complete speech here.
I'm a little annoyed about Rev. Rick Warren (professed fundie homophobe) from the Saddleback Church giving the inaugural benediction, while Bishop Gene Robinson's (openly gay Episcopal clergy) remarks got cut by HBO from the broadcast of the pre-inaugural concert. (A friend of mine who happens to be gay joked that "Saddleback Church" sounds like a bunch of gay guys in leather on horseback.) In all seriousness, I think Obama is really trying to reach out to everyone. On the spiritual front, at last we have a President who seems to understand that the laws in this country are based on the Constitution, not the Bible, and that it is better for everyone that church and state do not meet.
And to All a Good Night: As a reporter from MSNBC remarked as Bush's helicopter hovered above the crowd (of 1-2 million!) on the mall and then flew away, "And to all a good night." And last night a Republican friend (who has told me Bush disappointed him) asked me what the Bush administration did that was really so bad. Does the word "everything" suffice? (Note: Bush was booed and also serenaded by choruses of "na-na-na-na, hey hey, goodbye!" at the inauguration. To the people who say such conduct is rude, perhaps it is uncalled for, but it is understood (and not undeserved). At least no one threw shoes at him. (In fact, MSNBC reported tonight that the D.C. police made NO arrests of people that were related to inaugural activities.) I think GWB leaves office at the lowest point in his presidency, with popularity/approval ratings lower than Nixon's when he resigned in disgrace over Watergate.
If you're really interested in what I would hold GWB's administration accountable for, see list below. Maybe I should send these links to my above-mentioned Republican friend. In reviewing my blog entries over the last few years (moved from Blogspot to Wordpress to Livejournal), I noticed that, as the time drew closer for GWB to exit stage left, I wrote less and less about him (probably a good thing). His legacy: Obama is cleaning up the poo he leaves behind.
Hope After Failure
Barack the Vote (You Betcha)
In Case You've Ever Wondered if He's Really a Moron...
What can you do in 18 hours?
"Fun with Dick and George!" or "Where'd my Cojones Git To?"
Rat Finks troisieme: We don't need no stinkin' warrants
Rat Finks V: Better Not Phone Home
For Everything Else There's Mastercard...
I'm Selene, and I approved this opinion.
Funny photo of my husband at Bill Clinton's 1992 inauguration (I call this one "Man With Bagel"). From flickr: I took this goofy photo of my husband eating a bagel. We were one of the 800,000 people who attended Bill Clinton's 1992 Presidential inauguration, stood around, and couldn't see anything but a sea of people. When I took the photo I neglected to notice the guy behind Tim standing under a light pole, who looks like he has a horn growing out of his head.
