- Myrlie Evers Williams gave the invocation; the first woman ever to do so.
- Kelly Clarkson (2) and Beyonce (16) together tied Aretha Franklin (18) for artists with most Grammy wins singing at an inauguration.
- The first African-American president was inaugurated for the second time.
- Obama has now been sworn in four times, tying FDR's record.
- Richard Blanco wrote an original poem and read it yesterday; the first latino and openly gay person to be included in the inaugural ceremonies.
- The first ever gay and lesbian marching band marched in the inaugural parade.
And that doesn't even cover what President Obama said during the inaugural address:
- "We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit." Touching on healthcare and the deficit in an inaugural address is rare and incredibly specific. It really brings home what he feels is important to work on in the next term, though, something people on both sides of the aisle can agree on.
- "We will respond to the threat of climate change...Some may still deny the overwhelming judgement of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling doubt, and more powerful storms." Wow. First off, I didn't know people still didn't "believe in" global warming, but I guess Obama just told them to get over it and get with the program! Love it.
- "The path towards sustainable energy resources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it." Oil companies, take note. This is something that is huge for this generation. We must lead ourselves to taking this step of getting our country to the next level in terms of sustainable energy.
- "We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war...we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well." Well, this is good. Really good. We don't have to have war to have peace. Let's win the peace.
- "We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East..." Yep. We're going to talk to the whole world and support them. Get on board!
- "...our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts." Equal rights for women! Everyone saying that Obama doesn't like women because of his cabinet appointments, stop.
- "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law--for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well." WHAT?! Did anyone see this coming?? Not me, but this is AWESOME!!! Good for him. Marriage equality is on the horizon. FINALLY.
- "Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote." Voting rights? I'm on board. Keep talking.
- "Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country." Immigration reform, too?! My head is exploding!!! Obama's killing it!
- "Our journey is not complete until all our children...know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm." And a very subtle nod to gun control reform. This guy is good.
- "Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life...but it does require us to act in our time." Thank you. Someone has needed to say this for a long time. Just because we have these documents doesn't mean that we even can follow them word for word now. We need to change with the times and act accordingly.
- "You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country's course." Plug for "Organizing for Action": Organizing for America reformed!
I loved this speech. It was amazing. I have never heard a more progressive or direct speech at an inauguration. I am not super-emotional when it comes to other people that I don't know, but I have been really emotional over the last year with this president. First, I cried during Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC. Then I teared up at Barack's speech at the DNC. Next: election night. Cried. And then yesterday I teared up again. I think it's just that Obama does things other presidents would never do. He said in his speech that we should have marriage equality. No one else touched that. This is definitely one for the books.
I was watching the coverage on MSNBC for part of the day (my fiancé and I were switching around between ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC, for those of you who are going to attack me for being a close-minded liberal) and they asked "What do YOU want in the second term?" I tweeted, "I want women's rights, an assault weapon ban, marriage equality, environmental protection, reduction of the deficit, and more jobs. #msnbc." And it got put on air when Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews were talking! I was so excited!
Yesterday was an historic day for our country and I am sure that people on both sides of the aisle can agree on that. Using the word that President Obama used the most yesterday, let's move forward and work "together."
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi
Man-made global warming?! Please read:http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html: This is only ONE source. Please don't insult us with your arrogance and ignorance on this subject. I am a scientist and study this issue on a regular basis. 'Man-made Global Warming' has become a political agenda in order for governments across the globe to control their people. Fraudulent studies have been used to promote this agenda. We're learning more and more all the time; one cannot ignore scientific progress just because it doesn't conform to one's settled beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAlso, where was Obama on implementing this agenda during the 1st 2 years of his administration when he and his party had control of the House and the Senate? On immigration, for example-even Reagan implemented an amnesty plan.
None of the 'gun reforms' that Obama has proposed would have stopped the Sandy Hook shootings-this is a power grab.
When Bush said that we were going to support Democracy throughout the Middle East, Africa, etc. he was called Imperialistic and accused of shoving our American values down the throats of other countries.
Mr. Obama 'says' lots of things. If I were you I'd look at his actions, not just his words: Wall street and car co. bailouts, billions to environmental co's that have gone bankrupt, closing Gitmo never happened,giving arms to 'rebels' that end up killing innocents, 'Fast and Furious' on our border, more restrictive regulations on vehicles making them more dangerous to passengers (more die in cars than are killed by people with guns),same-sex marriage: he's done nothing except to say he's for it,drawing 'red lines' in the sand and then not following through, etc...Low information voters on both sides of the aisle need to do their due diligence before they vote. Voting is not only a right and privilage in the US, but a responsibility. I could go on and on (but I'm on a library computer!) about how our educational system has failed to teach our people how to think critically. Enough..thanks for letting me spout off.
No offense, but I don't believe you're a scientist if you're claiming that there is "only ONE source" for anything. That's an incredibly narrow minded view and not one that most scientists share.
DeleteWhere was Obama in his first 2 years? Making sure he didn't do anything too controversial to nix his re-election.
Not allowing semi-automatic weapons with magazines over 10 bullets would have stopped the Sandy Hook shooter from killing as many people as he did.
I have no idea what you're talking about with Bush.
I am looking at Obama's actions. I have healthcare right now because of Obamacare. As for saying that he's for same-sex marriage--that's more than any other president has done, and it looks to me like it's on his agenda.
I agree that voters need to be more informed. It's one of the biggest things we need to attack before 2016. Uninformed voters are one of the scariest things in my opinion.
I also agree that we need to amp up our education system.
..because apparently reloading isn't an option? Do you really think that simply restricting magazine capacity would have stopped the shooter from killing as many people as he did?
DeleteYes, I do think that it would have stopped him from killing AS MANY. He still would have killed some, but if he had had 10 bullet magazines instead of 30...he would have had to reload three times as much. That takes time.
DeleteHave you ever shot a semi-automatic rifle? It takes seconds to reload. Literally, less than 2 seconds.
DeleteNo, I've never shot a gun. I've never had the desire to do so. I'm pretty sure the magazine limitation would help, though, because if it didn't, why would the government include it?
DeleteWhy would the government include the magazine limitation if it wouldn't help? You trust the government that much? Are you kidding me?! In Chicago and Washington, DC, they have the most stringent gun laws yet they continue to have the most murders ever. This doesn't stop their governments from attempting to disarm their law-abiding citizens. You see, the law breakers don't follow the law; one way or another they will illegally acquire guns or use knives, cars, hammers, baseball bats, pushing into traffic, trains, etc....Tyranny always starts this way--with the ruling class disarming their citizens. This is much more serious than you think. Read history.
Deletehttp://www.newsmax.com/ThomasSowell/Gun-Control-Laws-NRA/2013/01/23/id/472607
DeleteYes, I do trust the government. No, I'm not kidding you. They are NOT trying to disarm you! There has never been anything said about the government "taking your guns." Ever. They want background checks. They want to eliminate semi-automatic weapons in the hands of civilians. You can still have your handguns, shotguns, rifles, and whatever other kinds of guns are allowed.
DeleteDon't you dare tell me to read history, like I'm the one that is being ignorant. Why don't you read the piece of history that is our Second Amendment, put that piece of history in a historical setting, and THEN tell me what you think it means?!
Gun control laws don't control guns or their use, only law abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteGlobal Climate change has been occurring in cycles since the earth began. Do your research.
President Obama talks a good game and says he's for all these progressive ideals--where were his actions during the 1st term when he had the Senate and House.
Look who he gave money to;the same people/institutions he criticizes so strongly-Republicans are for the rich? Guess they're not the only ones.
WAKE UP
Yes, gun control laws DO control which guns are available to law abiding citizens.
DeleteI have done my research. You should, too. Our earth has never been this hot or gotten this hot on its own during its "cycles since the earth began."
I'll give you the same answer I gave the person before you: Obama needed to make sure that he didn't do anything too radical in his first term to nix his chances for a second.
What are you talking about with the money?
Please stop being so rude. It's one thing to hide behind "Anonymous" and another to come out and actually give your opinions. I'm giving my opinions with my name on them and you're just being cowardly to be sarcastic and rude to me without holding yourself accountable. Have some class.
Read carefully: I said this was only ONE source, not the ONLY source. I didn't want to include a mind-boggling amount of info. as I think you can find the research on your own. I'm an educator and I don't spoon-feed.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised you don't know what I'm talking about with Bush.
Having security in the school with a gun may have prevented the entire episode. The law breakers and mentally ill are not going to worry whether or not they have an illegal gun. How do you get rid of them? the guns? It's illegal to sell certain drugs doesn't stop the sellers or buyers--they just go underground.
You could have healthcare for $19/mo. Many of my students are able to buy their own ins. by using the college program which follows them after they graduate. That's less money than most of us spend at Starbucks per mo. It was in effect BEFORE Obamacare. (Your profile, or one of your blogs said you recently graduated from college, I believe-I aplogize if I'm wrong)
Same sex marriage on his agenda-where, how-constitutional amendment? The states are actually acting on this.I've seen no proposal from Obama, even when he had both houses of gov't.
I enjoy the discourse; my New Year's resolution was to search the blogs and state opposing positons, when I have them, so that readers can see that we can have polite discourse. So little discussion occurs these days as people are afraid of stating their perhaps politically incorrect opinions or being ridiculed by the intolerant on both sides of the issues.I see it in my classroom all the time.
Sorry I misinterpreted what you said. I understand what you mean about only ONE vs ONLY one.
DeleteYou educate and don't spoon-feed, but expect me to comb through 8 years of Bush's interactions to find the exact thing you're talking about? I can tell you're a great educator.
Having security with a gun could have prevented it? How about the Lone Star shooting that just happened at a college with armed security guards? Yeah, I can tell that's a great way to prevent shootings.
No, I couldn't have healthcare for $19/month. I have fibromyalgia. I spend close to $400/month in copays for doctor visits alone. Yes, I did JUST graduate from college, which means I'm not a student anymore. I'm also not employed. I have healthcare through my parents since I'm 24.
Obama hasn't officially put same-sex marriage in his agenda, but I don't think he'd bring it up in his Inaugural Address if he didn't plan on doing something about it.
Opposing views are fine with me. I like it, too--but I don't like feeling belittled.
I think the anonymous is talking about the government bailout money that Bush promoted and Obama continued 2 other times. It went to big banks, insurance co's (AIG) and car co's(GM and Chrysler). Billions of $$ were spent and GM has yet to pay it back,but they give out bonuses.
ReplyDeleteOkay, say it is what Anon is talking about...GM is the jerk here, not Obama. They shouldn't give bonuses before they pay it back.
DeleteThe Eocene period was much warmer although not as warm as scientists originally thought.
ReplyDeletehttp://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html Okay.
DeleteI think Anon is saying that the US Government should not be in the business of picking and choosing which businesses it will bail out and thereby deciding which businesses will succeed or fail. The Quantitative Easing took place at the beginning of Mr. Obama's 1st administration. We all should know about this as it's our money they are giving away.We need to pay attention. The mainstream media just leaves out stories that show their agenda in a bad light.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has juvenile diabetes and is on a college plan-she's 25 and has had her condition since she was 8. She was able to continue her plan when she graduated with a $6.56/month increase, $10 co-pay. The reason I bring this up is that I think that for every hard luck insurance/healthcare story there is another story. We need reform, but not a gov't takeover with over 2500 pages of costly regluations that no one read before voting for it.(Even Ms. Pelosi said we'd have to pass it to find out what's in it!) By the way, that bill had some gun regs in it. Amazing! Horrible governing, and we're allowing these people to continue doing this to us.
How about Tort reform and interstate competition among ins. cos as just a start to bring down costs.
*note: someone left your blog up on the library computer or I never would have found it! Enjoyed it-thanks.
You make some really great points! I need to look more into the fine print of everything, definitely. Glad to have your input and glad someone left this up in the library! Thanks for sharing! :-)
DeleteThe Constitution is a framework for the government, not a framework for the people. It puts limits on the government, not us. We are not our government, although I think Obama views us as such. Our government is now the tail that wags the dog. We are neglecting to hold our government to its limits and allowing it to grow out of control and bankrupt us. Bit by bit our freedoms are being erroded. We are trillions in debt. For Shame
ReplyDeleteWe definitely see this from different sides of the coin. You say "For Shame," I say "Let's go further." Thanks for sharing.
DeleteLet's grow bigger government, go further into debt and let go of more of our freedoms as government officials ignore the Constitution? Is this what you mean by going further? I'm stunned and greatly saddened.
ReplyDeleteyou're not going to answer SamG? I'm very interested in your opinion as I'm trying to understand the current trend of discounting the Constitution in the name of short-term personal gain.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI'm getting to it. I don't sit by the computer waiting for comments and then spend my life answering them. Don't be a coward by hiding behind "anonymous" and then get on me about blogging courtesy. Shame on you.
DeleteThe Constitution says nothing about debt.
DeleteWhat I mean is this: Sam initially said, "The Constitution is a framework for our government, not our people." What do you think the government is made of? We have one of the most inclusive governments for all its country's citizens in the world, and if you don't see that, please do your research. That's not a liberally-biased view; it's fact. We need to allow our government to act in the way that its ELECTED leaders (the people of the country elected them: you and I) feel it is best.
Here's what people don't talk about; something that people on BOTH sides of the aisle do: When one party loses an election, they consistently refuse to get behind the president. Democrats didn't get behind Bush, and Republican's won't get behind Obama. If we want this democracy to REALLY work, we need to act appropriately: all of us (even those of us with MASSIVELY opposing views) working together to come to the MIDDLE (not the left, the middle) to COMPROMISE to keep our country running. We all get too defensive, saying that the government (that is run by someone with an opposing view) is working against Americans and not keeping us in their best interest.
Let's work together.
The NYT article on Global Warming contains several instances of studies that were proven to be falsefied and flawed in their data collection. The studies were proven to leave out info that didn't conform to the original hypothesis. I'm speaking specifically of The Global Carbon Project and Spencer Weart. It's so hard to find good, solid true data anymore as projects and individual scientists are hired by environmental groups, political groups, and businesses--making them beholden to the funding they receive. I have relatives on the Gulf who witnessed the BP oil disaster; media was all over the story when the area was an oily mess. Once it was cleaned up by man and mother nature, the media wasn't interested in reporting the miraculous regeneration. Just an observation.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm sorry they were proven to be falsified. You're right: it IS hard (obviously, since I got a crappy source) to find research that is not biased.
DeleteIn terms of the Gulf, what are you talking about? I've heard a LOT about the Gulf being on a better track.
You claim that you want everyone to get along and work together. Good idea, but very hard to put into practice. You illustrated it yourself by getting angry at Anon. When you do a blog, differences of opinion go along with the territory and you have to learn to deal. Don't let them know they get under your skin. They, through their criticism, will make you a better debator and better able to articulate your beliefs while leaving room for others to feel free to express theirs.
ReplyDeleteA very good reason that some remain Anon. on blogs--if they don't, they face reprecussions on the college campass, in the workplace, gov't workplaces, and schools.I'm absolutely serious as this has been my personal experience.
The constitution doesn't say anything about the debt, but it does say that the administration must present and pass through congress, a budget--they have not done that in 3 1/2 years.
:-) Thank you. This made me feel a lot better.
DeleteThe budget: RIGHT?! How nuts is that!? I am so confused as to how the Senate has been able to get away with that. I'm not okay with it at all, for the record. They've GOT to get it together and do their job.
We agree! :) Thanks for the discourse! I really must proof-read for misspellings!
ReplyDeleteOh, to live in a perfect world. I'm about 1000% certain (that's 10x 100% certain) that none of this is going to happen in the next four years, even though it would be great if it did. Sorry, but it's true. But by all means continue to swallow the lies and hope. That's what they want.
ReplyDeleteFace the reality. Nothing is ever going to change while we have the two-party system, and that's the Catch 22; the two party system will never change while it's in place.
Welcome to America, the land of stagnation.