It was an awe-inspiring day all around, and I have to say this is an amazing day for the United States of America. Barack Obama was officially inaugurated as the 44th President. He is the first black president, one of the youngest presidents elected, and a heck of a guy.
This is one of those days where you should forever remember where you were, when President Obama was sworn in at 12:00 pm EST.
Some things you may have noticed:
Rick Warren
What a guy. Seriously! He’s pretty notorious and controversial, but he gave a pretty solid prayer. I think he did a decent job, even though he went way too long. I’m pretty sure he was to get in around 2 minutes, but ended up closer to 5.
Aretha Franklin
She had the chance to sing “My Country tis of thee” and did a fantastic job of it. She definitely took some creative license with it, but considering how long this Queen has been around for, she still sounds amazing.
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill had a chance to play a new piece composed by John Williams (yeah he did do the scores for Indiana Jones and Star Wars) specifically for this. Pretty awesome.
The Oath
Many people are saying Obama flubbed the oath. You can see from the video below (providing that it’s still online) how it went down.
However, it should be noted that this is Chief Justice Roberts’ error. The cats over at caught this and are making it known.
Obama smiled slightly when he realized that Roberts, a fellow Harvard Law School graduate, misplaced the word “faithfully” during the oath. but the new president joined in the fun and repeated it the way Roberts initially administered it. (Lest we forget, in the Senate Obama voted against confirming Roberts to the high court. Last week Obama met with him and the other Supreme Court justices during a courtesy call.)
Here is how the oath is supposed to be administered: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
And here’s how it went:
ROBERTS: I, Barack Hussein Obama…
OBAMA: I, Barack…
ROBERTS: … do solemnly swear…
OBAMA: I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear…
ROBERTS: … that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully…
OBAMA: … that I will execute…
ROBERTS: … faithfully the office of president of the United States…
OBAMA: … the office of president of the United States faithfully…
ROBERTS: … and will to the best of my ability…
OBAMA: … and will to the best of my ability…
ROBERTS: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
OBAMA: … preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help you God?
OBAMA: So help me God.
The Speech
Finally, we get to Obama’s inaugural speech, seen below.
A tremendous start to an already ambitious presidency.
Here is the transcript thanks to the .
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.
At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
Serious challenges
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Nation of ‘risk-takers’
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
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.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
‘Remaking America’
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Restoring trust
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them – that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works – whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account – to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day – because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control – that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart – not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
‘Ready to lead’
As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that 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.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort – even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
‘Era of peace’
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.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
‘Duties’
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment – a moment that will define a generation – it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – honesty and hard work, 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.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
‘Gift of freedom’
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
“Let it be told to the future world… that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive… that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].”
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
His speech was touching and reassuring. It was a ncie mix of practicality with optimism. It was significantly less hokey than many previous speeches (less talk of change, more talk of sacrifice and determination). Overall I was impressed.
The daughter of slain former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto decided the best way to honour her memory was by releasing a YouTube rap video.
It’s getting some airplay over in Pakistan, and is actually kind of touching. has a pretty detailed report about the whole video.
“Shot in the back of your ear, so young in 54th year, murdered with three kids left behind, a hopeless nation without you, you are in all their hearts,”
Some prettyintense lyrics, but fully worth a listen and the production value isn’t that terrible (at least in terms of the beat), though someone seriously needs to remaster the whole thing.
President Bush is hilarious in this scene. An Iraqi tv journalist literally threw two shoes at him during a press conference and called him a dog. A pretty major insult from muslims (dogs are considered unclean and you shouldn’t show the sole of the foot to anyone, let alone throwing a shoe).
In case you remember way back when, Iraqis were throwing their shoes at the big statute of Saddam that was being pulled down shortly after the invasion.
One thing you gotta say is that he handled it with remarkable aplomb. And, he’s got wicked fast reflexes.
If you’ve been following the news at all lately, you’ve heard about the .
Details are still sketchy, but the latest news seems to indicate a group of terrorist gunmen came ashore on rubber boats and attacked six different locations in Mumbai.
The Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi-Trident Hotel, Leopold Cafe, a train terminus, an orthodox Jewish outreach center, and the Cama hospital.
It’s such a tragedy, and one of the most abhorrent things in a while. Beyond the mere barbarism of a suicide bomb, this was carefully and methodically planned. What makes it most terrifying is that it was done with almost sociopathic precision. The gunmen were prepared with tons of ammunition, bags of grenades, and some reports are even saying they carried bags of almonds because they knew they needed the energy. And, they were smart. They used to watch the horror they caused and get a sense of how the media was reporting it.
It’s almost like something out of a movie. They stormed in and opened fire. They lobbed a grendate into a crowded cafe. They fired mercilessly and aimlessly into a crowded train platform. So many people died, and for what?
No one knows what these idiots wanted. No one even knows what group they belong to. There were early reports that they were rounding up British and American expats, and that foreigners were being targeted. But most of the dead ended up being local Indian nationals. There’s no political agenda to be seen. No statement. Nothing. are being thrown around that accuse of being behind it. it’s Pakistani-based. .
The Boston Globe has (some of them extremely graphic), and there’s one (non-graphic one) which I’ll repost below.
That’s what one of the terrorists looked like. A young, well-dressed, man. This is one of the douchebags who opened fire into the crowd and killed many. But the on one of the gunmen. The mob overpowered one of them and until police arrived. He was the only one taken alive. It is through his interrogation that these allegations of Pakistani-based backing is emerging.
Could anyone have seen this coming? According to them, India was warned of the possibiltiy of an attack more than a month ago. That is a rather scary thought, and one I hope is not true. But I can only imagine how impossible it must seem to try and monitor a country of over a billion people. Mumbai alone has 12 million people in it. That’s bigger than some countries.
There are that are coming out of this. As always, ordinary people have been stepping up to try and save lives left and right. The announcer at the train terminus helped guide people to safety. Hotel employees helped hide guests and protect them, even as their own lives were threatened. The security forces did their best to stop these gunmen, storming the hotels and other locations.
The thing I think is most fascinating, and I think sends the strongest message of disapproval is the . Their statement? “”People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim,” said Hanif Nalkhande, a trustee. “Islam does not permit this sort of barbaric crime.”" According to Islam, even criminals must be accorded the right to be buried in a Muslim cemetary. The refusal simply means the cemetary does not believe they are actually Muslims. It may be mere semantics, but it does send a strong message. Further, since it is unlikely that anyone else will come forward to claim the bodies, they may lay in the morgue until they can find a place to bury them. Since this is outside the traditional burial period, and the place may not be a Muslim cemetary, I wonder how this will affect their progression. Assuming, of course, that they are truly Islamic militants in search of martyrdom, does this failure to be buried in accordance with the rules of Islam mean they do not achieve this martyrdom? I kind of hope so.
I think it is a powerful message for the Muslim community to send, to say that those who perpetrate heinous acts like this aren’t true Muslims and will not receive the blessings and salvation that they seek. This may actually have a bigger effect at deterring terrorism than many other initatives.
I guess, in summary, I hope these evil men pay for what they did. I’ll leave you with a paraphrase I find appropriate.
Feel however you want about the issue, but I personally have serious issues with proposition 8. We’ve already raised some issues with it in a previous post, but let me do a quick recap of the situation for you.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in California a few short months ago. Proposition 8 was a referendum designed to amend the state constitution to restrict marriage as being between a man and a woman, and therefore overturn the decision of the California Supreme Court.
This is an issue I’ve never understood, mainly because I don’t see how it affects anyone other than the people trying to get married. I understand completely that many people have religious objections to same-sex marriage and are therefore personally opposed to it. That’s fine, but the disconnect is how that needs to force others not to be married.
In Canada, for example, same-sex marriage is illegal. And yet, as part of the law, no religious organization (read: church, synagogue, temple, mosque, pagan flower circle or anything else) can be forced to perform the marriage. No one is forcing anyone to go “against” their religious beliefs. But same-sex couples are still allowed to marry. And yet in California, a right that was so recently granted to these couples has been abruptly taken away.
Keith Olbermann, the left-wing Bill O’Reilly, is not someone I generally pay much attention to. I hate demagoguery of any sort an have no patience for Olbermann’s arrogant style. But he does make a surprisingly erudite grasp of the situation and actually phrases his concerns in a way that mirror my own. Take a look.
To commemorate Barack Obama’s historic election on Tuesday, Common has released a track from his upcoming album Universal Mind Control. Called “Changes,” the song was written to “inspire the young world to believe that change can happen.” Common also it “as a great inaugural song for Barack Obama.”
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We all sort of had high hopes for this grand new day since Obama got elected. But as the results begin to trickle in, we see that it basically was one giant step forward, but two steps back at the same time.
The USA, or rather four states (Arizona, Florida, , and Arkansas) seemed to fan the flames of intolerance and ran away from more equality overall.
Those four states , a position I simply can’t wrap my head around. Arkansas, for their part, passed a measure that prohibited unmarried couples from adopting a child. This will especially prevent same-sex couples from ever adopting a child in the state (until the law is repealed). To be fair, this measure does also prevent unmarried opposite-sex couples from adopting as well, which is simply another form of discrimination as there are excellent single parents out there, and quite a few terrible married couples.
California’s is the most fascinating case study so far. Recently, California went ahead and legalized same-sex marriage. Now, just a few short months later, the voters have completely overturned it.
The ironic thing about this whole thing? It probably wouldn’t have passed if Obama wasn’t so successful at mobilizing black and latino voters. The major news sources seem to agree that blacks and latinos were in favour of Proposition 8. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
While Obama publicly backed the “No on Prop. 8″ effort, African American voters had no trouble voting overwhelmingly for the man who will be the nation’s first black president and then voting 70 percent in favor of Prop. 8, exit polls showed.
It’s tremendous how much of a contradiction exists in society. America is no different than many other places in the world, but I think it’s just remarkable how all of this happened in the same election.
In summary, three states “restricted” marriage to a man and a woman, one banned non-married couples from adopting. Two more states defeated restrictions on abortion rights, and nationally the first black president was elected.
Very much a mixed message. So don’t go celebrating yet, world. There’s a lot of work to do.
On the eve of what is perhaps the most important US presidential election in a generation, the blogosphere is buzzing with commentary and prognostication. At 4080Records we’ve been following the race since the primaries, when it seemed inevitable that Clinton and Giuliani would be the candidates on tomorrow’s ballot. It has been a long and, honestly, exhausting two years. Tomorrow, once the results are tabulated and Obama is (hopefully) declared the 44th President, we will be relieved not only because Americans will have redeemed themselves, but also because the campaign is finally over and the constant barrage of poll numbers and punditry will have mercifully ceased.
Until then, check out this powerful video, starring (what looks like) the dudes from Budweiser’s classic ‘Wassup!’ ads:
In what is basically breaking news, law enforcement officials in the US have “broken” a plot to kill Barack Obama.
The plot itself does lack some credibility, but I’m happy that the security officials took it so seriously. In essence, this is what transpired:
Two neonazi skinhead douchebags (one of them pictured on the left) met on the internet, decided they needed to kill some people. These idiots hatched a plan to murder 102 people by attacking a primarily black school. Then, they would drive at Obama really fast and try shooting at him from the windows of their car. Oh, and the whole time they’d be dressed in white suits with white tophats.
It sounds like something out of a movie, right? . This was actually their plan. In fact, they were aware of its flaws and intended on dying during the ‘mission.’ This was, in essentially, a suicide mission. The worry is that this really does highlight the underlying racial tension that is present during this electoral campaign.
Personally, I think that these two idiots are not representative of anyone. They’re extremists, plain and simple, and deserve punishment.
So Luda, like a lot of hip hop artists, supports Obama. Unfortunately, his efforts to produce a pro-Obama song haven’t really worked that well.
First of all, Obama rejected the song because it was too contraversial. That’s a smart move on his part because the right-wing has really capitalized on it.
The lyrics are typically bombastic, but there are some seriously bad judgment errors. For example, in the track Ludacris called Hillary Clinton a bitch. Not the best move to keep the party united, so it’s no wonder Obama had to distance himself really quickly.
If anything, he’s doing way more harm than good. He should live the political arena alone, or at least pull a Puffy and focus on trying to get youth out to vote. No one needs to hear Luda’s opinions, but he can still be a positive force.
If you’ve been following the news at all lately, you’ve heard about the .
We all sort of had high hopes for this grand new day since Obama got elected. But as the results begin to trickle in, we see that it basically was one giant step forward, but two steps back at the same time.
