Pallas Athena wrote:

Speaking of DoD, I work on base at Ft. Bragg, and let me tell you....everyone (well the ones who didn't vote for him) are in complete denial and it's starting to become rather disturbing, still seeing these random Democrats=Communist flyers decorating cubicle walls, Anti-Obama emails explaining how he isn't "American".

Sigh.  I know the military is sort of thought of as a Republican institution, but this isn't the first time they've had to serve a Democrat; they should be more disciplined.  I expect that once Obama is commander-in-chief, they'll fall in line.  I understand that the Joint Chiefs, anyway, are fiercely loyal to whoever the president happens to be.

Oh yeah, has anyone heard the latest about Mr. Gov who decided to try his hand at "play for pay" politics, he needs to resign immediately and let the Lt. Gov take charge.

Ha ha, yeah, I posted the children's-story version of that in Politics   He won't resign, though, because he's a lunatic who doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

Secretary of Agriculture -- Tom Vilsack, former governor (D-IA)
The last Secretary of Agriculture from Iowa was Henry Wallace, who went on to become Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president.  Vilsack has even higher ambitions.  He was among the first to declare his presidential candidacy in this past cycle (and also among the first to drop out when it became clear the money wasn't there).  Vilsack is usually considered a moderate, and he was a vocal Hillary Clinton supporter after dropping out of the primaries, so he continues Obama's fence-mending with the Hillary camp.  Unfortunately (to my mind), he's been a big advocate of corn-based ethanol, a fuel that is inefficient to burn, dirty to produce, and expensive to manufacture -- and drives up worldwide food prices because we're using our corn for fuel instead of food.  But there's no doubt he's knowledgeable about agriculture.  If Obama's Cabinet picks communicate nothing else, they communicate his regard for expertise.  There are just a couple posts -- Daschle comes to mind -- where Obama didn't pick a subject expert as secretary, and for Daschle he has an excuse, as I discussed above.

Pallas, totally do!  I'd love to hear a firsthand report of the inauguration!   

Obama just announced his final two Cabinet members!  They are:

Secretary of Labor -- U.S. Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Solis is both the third Latino and the third woman to be named to Obama's Cabinet.  She's served four terms in the House, where she is known as a vocal liberal, especially on behalf of unions.  The AFL-CIO, the biggest affiliation of labor unions in the United States, is just thrilled with her; businesses not so much.  Now, I don't mind sticking it to Big Business on occasion, but my first impression is that this is the kind of pick the netroots have been clamoring for and that I've been hoping Obama would avoid.  Unions are not much different from businesses: good for everyone if they are disciplined, bad for everyone but their own leaders if they overreach.  I hope both Solis and Obama prove moderate on labor issues.

Secretary of Transportation -- U.S. Representative Ray LaHood (R-IL)
Yes, that's an R; Ray LaHood is the most influential of Illinois's Republican Housemembers.  LaHood, who'd planned to retire in 2009, is probably best known for presiding over President Clinton's impeachment proceedings.  It is, of course, sort of cool that Obama's appointing another Republican to his Cabinet (in addition to Robert Gates), but LaHood doesn't seem to have a lot of hands-on experience with transportation issues.  Is it enough that he's a generally bipartisan kind of guy from Illinois?  Apparently he's worked some on mass transit and was once on the House Transportation Committee, so that's something.  I was expecting someone who'd worked with the auto industry, or on clean cars, or on some notable issue of the day.  Obama's judgment has been good enough on his other nominees, though, that I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

This completes Obama's Cabinet selection!  In succession order, America's next top bureaucrats are Obama, Biden, Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker), Robert Byrd (Senate President Pro-Tempore), Hillary Clinton (State), Timothy Geithner (Treasury), Robert Gates (Defense), Eric Holder (Justice), Ken Salazar (Interior), Tom Vilsack (Agriculture), Bill Richardson (Commerce), Hilda Solis (Labor), Tom Daschle (Health and Human Services), Shaun Donovan (Housing and Urban Development), Ray LaHood (Transportation), Stephen Chu (Energy), Arne Duncan (Education), Eric Shinseki (Veterans' Affairs), and Janet Napolitano (Homeland Security).  IRG welcomes our new mostly Democratic overlords.

Last edited by satyreyes (12-19-2008 01:13:36 PM)

that is too cool......

Unfortunately I will not be attending the event, I was the victim of a robbery and nearly a good chunk of my D.C. money was stolen.
I wish I could go but I will still be a witness by watching it on TV. It doesn't matter either way as long as I can tell my grandchildren (in the future yall) that I was there to witness history and that yes it is possible to have the audacity to hope. It's amazing to be a part of history in the making and it really opened my eyes to the truth that obviously racism isn't dead, but it's possible to be defeated every time it rises. Change is going to come!

I'm very glad that my class gets out at 10:50, the inauguration begins at 11:00 here, so I have just enough time to get down to my office before it starts.

Oh man, did anyone just listen to Feinstein's opening address? It was so partisan, but so wonderful.

"No triumph, tainted by brutality, can match the sweet victory of this hour."

Fantastic.  What a great ceremony.  Feinstein's speech, the opening invocation from the controversial Rick Warren, the music -- thank God for John Philip Sousa -- the swearing in, the benediction.  But especially the inaugural address.

It was a harsh speech in some ways.  America is great, but we must earn our greatness.  Our government has too many bad habits and must learn to do business in the light of day.  Our people have unmatched resourcefulness, but only when they respond to crisis by picking themselves up and dusting themselves off.  Hardship and hope were masterfully blended, and hope came out on top.  My favorite passage:

The President of the United States wrote:

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.

Second-favorite:

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.

I asked my dog Molly afterwards if she enjoyed the President's speech.  She didn't have an opinion.  But she sang along with the National Anthem later in the program, so I know she's on our side.

Stormcrow wrote:

I like yours better actually. The one of Obama is ridiculous and pretentious and pisses me off.

THANK YOU.

I get sick of seeing that picture EVERYWHERE. It's as though Obama is becoming a religious icon instead of the remarkable, but flawed, human being that he is.

And I missed the inauguration speech? Balls. I bet it will be on YouTube, though.

It's so hilarious being on Facebook with people posting outlandish rumors about Obama, but they are in the minority thank god.
I loved the speech and the poem Praise Song. In fact I'm going to put that one thing she said "What is the mightiest word...Love?" as my Myspace Header.

I enjoyed how it wasn't just a sea of Black Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Italian Americans (Hey Nancy Pelosi I like that outfit...but don't be afraid to outdo Hillary just cause she is Secretary of State ), Irish Americans (Wow Teddy looks pretty good), Native Americans, English-Americans....it was just Americans....united...indivisble...as a unified force for what America is supposed to stand for. Peace...Prosperity in times of Adversity....Harmony. It was just beautiful and I am glad to have been a witness to one of the finer moments of American History. Everyone had a Flag.  EVERYONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I think it was pretty damn fantastic for him to be sworn in on the same bible used by President Lincoln, such symbolism.
I had to admit me and some friends sort of giggled during certain parts like the way that Rick Warren said SSssssasha...or when Obama was trying to repeat the lines (He was nervous, it was so cute the way he was trying to look all serious though) and that guy who said the benediction at the end, which was crazy and totally unexpected.

I had mixed feelings on Michelle's outfit...but I liked the blue one that the oldest daughter wore. That was totally beautiful with the right color blue.

I loved that John Williams piece "Air and Simple Gifts" I'm trying to find it now so I can listen to it on my Instinct. Me and a friend (a fellow Star Wars fan) couldn't help but notice that the final notes from that song sounded awfully similar to the final notes from Anakin's Theme from The Phantom Menance, which in turn is the beginning notes of The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) But I loved that Dueling Strings sequence in the middle though it was awesome.

Anyways I hope that everyone took something out of the speech, it was to make people start believing in themselves, each other, the need for alliance and understanding, instead of division and fear....hope instead of doubt....respect and love instead of hate and condemnation. You get the idea

My name is Pallas Athena and I wholeheartedly approve this message.

Last edited by Pallas Athena (01-20-2009 04:33:46 PM)

I'm just not a fan of the gloves...I don't know why but oh well.

Trench Kamen wrote:

It worries me that people are treating Obama like some sort of God--he's human. He's flawed and fallible. He will make mistakes. I agree with one of my friends: even if he keeps a fourth of his campaign promises, he will be one of the greatest presidents we have ever had. But he will not be the God people are expecting. They're holding him to an unrealistic standard no human can uphold--and I wonder if anything he does will ever be Good Enough after all of this mania.

On one end, I agree that some of the cultishness is a little creepy. On the other end I don't think people (at least those who voted for him) will be disappointed at all, and I think that has more to do with the way people viewed Bush than anything else. I feel like there are a lot of people in the country who figure if Obama can restrain himself from making a list of all his campaign promises and doing the exact opposite he'll manage to be ten times the president Bush was.

Then again, part of me is just happy to see people less apathetic and cynical about the way this country is being run. That in itself may he the thing to turn us around.

And has anyone posted this yet?

Last edited by Hinotori (01-22-2009 12:11:46 PM)

satyreyes wrote:

Today Obama signed an executive order that begins the process of closing Guantanamo Bay and all secret CIA detention facilities overseas.  He's also already logged an executive order banning gifts from lobbyists to executive personnel and requiring transparency in the keeping of presidential records, including those of previous presidents.  I couldn't be happier with his first 48 hours in office.

Word.

It's kind of weird to hear about things that the president is doing and thinking "right on!" But I like it.