Countdown to JANUARY 15, 2010

By GottaLaff

I'm still feeling a little foggy from meds today (slipped disks, had them for a long time, but they act up now and then), so if I miss anything or make any obvious errors, feel free to correct me in comments. Consider that my Disclaimer-O'-The-Day.

That said, here is information I promised to share from this Facebook entry:

Description:

AMERICANS NEED TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON IN NUMBERS HERETOFORE UNSEEN TO DEMONSTRATE OUR SUPPORT FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES WE STILL BELIEVE IN AND WANT TO SEE OUR PRESIDENT & REPRESENTATIVES FIGHT FOR.

We're now on twitter: http://twitter.com/March4Change and, we have an email address for those who are so inclined:

March4Change@gmail.com
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IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE -THIS FRIDAY - PLEASE EMAIL THE FOLLOWING SHOWS/ORGS WITH THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT LINE

"March for Change We Still Believe In - Jan 15th, 2010"

and language to this effect:

On January 15th, 2010, Americans will gather, peacably, on the DC Mall to show our continued support for the progressive agenda our POTUS campaigned on. We voted for President Obama b/c we hoped for more from our government: more compassion, more diplomacy, more honesty, more protection, and more equality.

On January 15th, 2010, we will stand in opposition to the voices of fear, ignorance, and hate that have, thus far, garnered virtually all the attention of the main stream media and skewed the debate over issues that are far to important to ALL Americans. We've written and phoned our Representatives in the House and Senate. We've remained a diligent, anonymous, but silent majority. Now, is the time for America to see our faces and hear our voices.

info@rainbowpush.org

vfped@veteransforpeace.net

http://www.now.org/chapters/fl.html

rachel@msnbc.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30031533

Countdown@msnbc.com

firedoglake@gmail.com

--If you live in any State within a day's drive of DC - PLEASE DO YOUR UTMOST TO DISSEMINATE INFO & RALLY SUPPORT FOR THIS UNDERTAKING!

--LOCAL EFFORTS - If you'd like to participate by organizing something within your own community, PLEASE DO SO!!! Use the same techniques that have brought you to this group - only on a local level. Once you numbers grow, contact the local media with a press release a week or two prior to Jan 15th. We'd rather see you in DC but we understand if it's too far or costly for some to travel. BTW - organize carpools or pool resources to charter buses, rent minivans, pay for gas.

--A member suggested that those of us who will be in DC wear something to represent those who are unable to attend (e.g. a pin or flower or what have you). GREAT IDEA!

I suggest we ALSO wear something that demonstrates our solidarity with the POTUS and with one another so . . . . break out and dust off your "old" Obama gear to show support for him BUT ALSO wear an armband (any suggestions besides an armband?) to signify our solidarity with one another.

Midge Hough [Laffy Note: My posts about her can be found here, here and here] lost her daughter-in-law, Jenny, and unborn grandson due, in part, to lack of health care insurance. Midge contacted me yesterday and expressed her support for our effort. [...] Please watch the grievous inhumanity she suffered at the hands of those who oppose the health care reform our country so desperately needs.
____________________________________

I understand that letters to congress and phone calls work. Been there, am doing that. But in today's political environment, perception and image (TV to be precise) are everything. When's the last time you tuned into your nightly news of choice to see a story about the millions of letters Americans have sent to our reps demanding serious healthcare reform? But I'll bet a months salary that you've seen stories re groups of sorely, uninformed, Tea Baggers in the last couple of weeks. And, whether we like it or not, these images drive the news stories and the national discourse on issues like Healthcare, the Environment, Energy, Education, and so on.

We need to show our numbers, our vigor, and our commitment to REAL, SUBSTANTIVE, AND FUNDAMENTAL (not incremental) CHANGE in a way that will capture the national media's attention and call attention to our discontent. This astroturf, right-wing, TeaBag movement has been successful in creating the misperception that "Millions" of Americans are fed up with Gov't (specifically Obama). THE REALITY, however, is that many more of us voted for our President because we hoped for more from our government. More compassion, more diplomacy, more honesty, more protection, and more equality.

If a conservative, Dick Armey lead and Glenn Beck fueled, astro-turf, movement can conjure up 50,000 to "protest" in DC, how many more democrats, could a true grassroots movement deliver to DC in a show of support for the policies our candidate campaigned on?

I KNOW WE HAVE IT IN US AND THE APPARATUS FOR ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING SUCH AN EVENT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE. IF YOU FEEL THIS A WORTHY CAUSE LET IT BE KNOWN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY ACROSS THE COUNTRY - THAT ON JANUARY 15, 2010, THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S INAUGURATION, AMERICANS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WILL DESCEND ON WASHINGTON DC IN THE STRONGEST SHOW OF SUPPORT EVER FOR A SITTING PRESIDENT & THE POLICIES WE SENT HIM TO FIGHT FOR.

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WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR & WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN

I'm urging everyone (and I'm doing it here in SWFL) to contact friends, organizations (e.g. democrat clubs - those at local Institutions of higher learning, local federal congressional reps, local chapter of ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA, MOVEON, NOW, GLAAD, AFL-CIO, NAACP, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK, VETERANS FOR PEACE, THE ED SHOW, OLBERMAN, MADDOW, Air America, etc) locally, regionally, or even nationally, please feel free to share the idea of the March for Change We Still Believe In.

We are, all of us individually, sparks in this and together we can create bonfires all over the country. Take the baton, run with it, pass it on, and keep us all posted!

Feel free to go to the Facebook page and add any input you may have.

Baracko Still Bigger Than Jacko

I stole Greg's headline because it was so good. Take that!

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Newspaper Web sites had some hiccups Tuesday because of a crush of traffic related to Michael Jackson's memorial service. The Internet as a whole, though, didn't seem to suffer.

(snip)

Keynote says it took up to 18 seconds to load the home pages of some of the 16 major news sites it tracks. The average time increased to 5.5 seconds from 4.25 seconds. Keynote didn't identify which sites were hit hardest.

The company says overall Internet performance wasn't seriously affected by Jackson-related traffic.

That's unlike the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January. Live streaming of that larger event brought the performance of many sites to a crawl.

U.S. Capitol Police Officers' Ties Scrutinized Before Inauguration

Jeebus, this country has a huge capacity for hate. Go read the whole thing, but here's the nut-

In the days leading up to President Obama's inauguration, U.S. law enforcement agencies huddled regularly in an effort to minimize any possible security risk to an event that promised record crowds for the country's first black president. But one agenda item led authorities to a target close to home: the ranks of the U.S. Capitol Police.
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An FBI investigation that included taped surveillance had placed two off-duty veteran Capitol Police officers in the company of individuals whose racial views and capacity for violence were under scrutiny. Although the recorded discussion did not center on Obama, federal law enforcement officials wanted to ensure that the officers were not on duty covering the Capitol, where the president took the oath of office, according to two sources involved in the matter.

h/t Greg

People: Smithsonian requests Aretha's hat

By GottaLaff

Jason Reed/Reuters/Landov

The Smithsonian wants Aretha's inauguration hat:

Aretha, however, is still undecided about parting with her Luke Song-designed hat. “I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history,” says the Queen of Soul.

"What you want, baby I got."

VIP Donors Alarmed At "Porous" Obama Security

By GottaLaff

This kind of negligence is disconcerting. You'd think that, especially with this president, security would be tight as a drum, and then some:

Downtown Washington resembled a militarized zone last week for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, but some major contributors who had direct contact with Obama said they were surprised to find what they viewed as porous security surrounding the president-elect and vice president-elect.

Three contributors who raised $300,000 or more for the inauguration said they were never asked to show identification to retrieve dozens of tickets, including VIP passes that allowed them and their guests to meet privately with Obama. One of the three said ticket checks were so lax that no one noticed when, after a breakfast for contributors, a friend whose name hadn't been submitted for a background check tagged along into a VIP room to take pictures with Vice President-elect Joseph Biden.

And a half-dozen said that after a screening to sit in a ticketed area near Obama for his swearing-in, they mingled with public crowds but were never again checked for firearms or explosives.

"I was surprised," said online retail executive Alfred Lin, who attended most of the events for major donors in the days leading up to the swearing-in. "It was less strict than going through airport security." [...]

Two donors expressed concern about security screenings that preceded a meeting they and about 100 others had with Obama in a tent behind the Lincoln Memorial before the Sunday concert.

One said he was waved through with a camera that had no batteries despite warnings that it would have to be operational. The two said they later walked unattended by the president's motorcade and watched other donors lean on Obama's limousine, posing for pictures.

By the next morning, when Biden spoke to donors at a Northwest hotel, one said it had become clear that ticket checks had become "a joke." He said he flashed a handful of coveted gray passes to gain access to the VIP room with Biden but brought in an extra guest.

Many more details here.

Up close and personal: President Obama's Inauguration from an 18-Year-Old's P.O.V.

By GottaLaff

One of my absolutely favorite theatre students went to the inauguration and just sent me the following e-mail, including photos. It was worth the wait. Verbatim (bold emphasis mine):

Attending the inauguration was a chance of lifetime and an experience that I will never forget. Waking up at 3:30 AM and pushing my way onto an already overstuffed, sweaty metro is just the beginning to a story that I will be able to tell my grandchildren. Not only was it my first time voting, but it was the first time this country had elected a black president. No one knew how many millions of people to expect on January 20th, but we were prepared for more than the 400,000 that attended Bush’s inauguration in 2005.

When we finally made it off the metro, there was a mad rush to claim a spot in the Mall. Throughout the morning, many people were either dehydrated or relieving themselves into water bottles since there was no way to get to the 5,000 port-a-potties that lined the Mall. Even if they were only 30 feet away, once you left your spot it was impossible to squeeze back through the crowd.

There was a feeling of hope for change in the air as about 2.5 million people from different corners of the world huddled together in the Mall for warmth and watched the sun rise over the capital building. Everywhere I looked, people held signs that read “MLK IS SMILING” or “YES WE DID!”

When the ceremony finally began at 11:30, the energy from the crowd was insane. People cheered and chanted when the huge screens showed the face of another famous person. When Barack Obama stepped out, I never thought the millions of people crammed into the Mall would stop cheering. But when the new president began his inaugural address, I was amazed by how silent 2.5 million people could be.

President Obama’s speech was definitely a contrast to his previous speeches where he would stir the crowds into “Yes, we can!” chants. This speech represented the current challenges our country is facing. It was a transition from the celebratory hope of the election into the plain truth that it is now time to rescue and rebuild the nation after eight years of the Bush administration. He called upon the initiative and creativity of the American people, making us aware of the power and responsibility we each have “in the midst of a crisis.”

Despite the fact that Obama is the first black President of the U.S., he said little on the subject of race, never using the word black. He made only one direct reference to his own background, stating that it was a triumph of American ideals that "a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

After the ceremony, the city was chaotic! People were frantically trying to get out of the mall and to the metro station. Security had set up barricades all over the Mall and along several streets. Eveyone began to jump the walls and squeeze under the fences despite the yelling security gaurds. Once my friends and I got out of the Mall we headed towards the Smithsonian because we heard they were letting people in to warm up. When we finally made it inside, the floor was covered with sleeping people! It looked like a homeless shelter.

It was definitely a life-changing day. Not only did I get to see the first black president sworn into office, but I was able to see people from all over the world come together. Everywhere I looked people were helping each other out by sharing blankets and cheering each other on when hopping the barricades. I have never been crammed into a small area with millions of people and I felt a strange connection with every single person as we were all blessed to be able to attend such a historic event.

Life-changing, indeed.

Late Show - Brian Williams on Obama's Botched Oath of Office

Jeff had never seen Williams like this before and kept on being amazed at how funny he was.

VIDEO-- Inauguration Of Barack Obama - A New Day by Will.i.am

By GottaLaff

CNN just launched this video. It's beautiful:

Nancy Pelosi on her thoughts at Obama's inauguration

Frank Rich: No time for poetry

By GottaLaff

Your Sunday dose of Rich:

The great orator was mainly at his best [in his Inaugural Address] when taking shots at Bush and Cheney, who, in black hat and wheelchair, looked like the misbegotten spawn of the evil Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the Wicked Witch of the West. [...]

Obama wasn’t just rebuking the outgoing administration. He was delicately but unmistakably calling out the rest of us who went along for the ride as America swerved into the dangerous place we find ourselves now. [...]

We can’t keep blaming 43 for everything, especially now that we don’t have him to kick around anymore. On Tuesday the new president pointedly widened his indictment beyond the sins of his predecessor. He spoke of those at the economic pinnacle who embraced greed and irresponsibility as well as the rest of us who collaborated in our “collective failure to make hard choices.” He branded as sub-American those who “prefer leisure over work or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.” And he wasn’t just asking Paris Hilton “to set aside childish things.” As Linda Hirshman astutely pointed out on The New Republic’s Web site, even Obama’s opening salutation — “My fellow citizens,” not “fellow Americans” — invoked the civic responsibilities we’ve misplaced en masse. [...]

Yet the values of the bubble remain entrenched even as Obama takes office. In the upper echelons, we can find fresh examples of greed and irresponsibility daily even without dipping into the growing pool of those money “managers” who spirited victims to Bernie Madoff. [...]

The nearly $1 trillion in unpaid credit-card balances is now on deck to be the next big crash. [...]

The austerity of Obama’s Inaugural Address seemed a tonal corrective to the glitz and the glut. The speech was, as my friend Jack Viertel, a theater producer, put it, “stoic, stern, crafted in slabs of granite, a slimmed-down sinewy thing entirely evolved away from the kind of Pre-Raphaelite style of his earlier oration.” Some of the same critics who once accused Obama of sounding too much like a wimpy purveyor of Kumbaya now faulted him for not rebooting those golden oldies of the campaign trail as he took his oath. But he is no longer campaigning, and the moment for stadium cheers has passed.

If we’ve learned anything since the election, it is this: We have not remotely seen the bottom of this economy, and no one has a silver bullet to arrest the plunge, the hyped brains in the new White House included. [...]

There will be — there must be — far larger sacrifices in that vein yet to come. No one truly listening to the Inaugural Address could doubt that this former community organizer intends to demand plenty from us as we face down what he calls “raging storms.” [...]

But what have we learned from our huge mistakes during the Bush years? While it’s become a Beltway cliché that America’s new young president has yet to be tested, it is past time for us to realize that our own test is also about to begin.

Kenyan choir signed after inauguration

Barely in the office and he's already helping out his ancestral home.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The artistic director for the Boys Choir of Kenya that performed at inaugural events for U.S. President Ba rack ABM says the group has signed a record deal.

Joseph Male said the choir, which has male singers between the ages of 13 and 24, was signed by Universal Music following its performances this week, the BBC reported Friday.

"We began from humble beginnings and to be recognized by a large recording company is so humbling and quite an honor," the choir's artistic director said. "We just thank God."

(snip)

Universal Classics artists and repertoire representative Tom Lewis told the BBC he was determined to sign the choir, which has toured the United States several times, after only seeing them once.

"I went onto You Tube and I saw their CNN performance and I thought, 'Wow -- I do not want anyone else working with them,'" Lewis said.

Did a UFO fly past President Barack Obama's inauguration?

I was going to chortle that "only the Daily Mail" but as I read on, well, it's not only the Daily Mail. Lurve the crazies.

Here is the astonishing picture from a video of an unidentified object flying over President Barack Obama's inauguration this week in Washington, D.C.

The video, titled 'Filmed by CNN News – UFO at Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama' has created a buzz since it appeared on the internet.

The video shows CNN anchors Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper discussing President Obama’s historic speech before cutting to a shot of the Washington D.C.'s Capitol.

I report, you deride.

Palate Cleanser

Oh my oh my. Poor Anderson. Via Greg. (PS- Greg has a new book over there --->, check it out)

Queen of Soul gives dad’s sermons to Obama

She kept them under the hat...

A spokeswoman for Aretha Franklin says the Queen of Soul did more than serenade Barack Obama with “My Country ’Tis of Thee” at his inauguration.
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She also came bearing gifts.

Franklin spokeswoman Gwendolyn Quinn says Franklin gave the president a collection of 17 sermons by her late father, prominent Detroit minister the Rev. C.L. Franklin.

Quinn says Franklin also gave Obama a biography of her father and a Bible “engraved with a personal message.”

Glenn Beck: We've never had a president not sworn in on the Bible.

It never ceases to amaze me that big media yapping heads can pull "facts" out of their butts, yet bloggers are the ones that get smeared with the "unsubstantiated" meme. Try making a mistake on a blog and see how long you get away with it! (at least a blog that has comments) Wonder if Beck got a big raise when he moved to Fox?

Looks like the reporters at WaPo understand how to use teh google. Think Progress for vid.

Obama Isn't the First President to Retake Oath -- or Forgo Bible

Kids listening to inauguration got Limbaugh

By GottaLaff

Speaking of Rash LimpDong, how would you parents out there feel if, during a broadcast of President Obama taking his (first) oath of office, your child were exposed to the guy who brought us wholesome little mental visuals of hiney maneuvers ?

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Edison Middle School spokeswoman Amanda Brooker said the radio played for the school Tuesday was tuned to a station carrying the [inauguration] via the conservative pundit’s show. She said in a written statement the station was changed once officials realized “the form of the commentary.”

Teacher Amanda Griggs complained in an e-mail to the local station, WTAQ, and Limbaugh quoted from it on his show Wednesday, including the statement that the students were “shocked, angered and saddened by the interruption.” He also played parts of her critical phone call to the station.

Always thinking of the kids, that LimpDong. But being the noble, repentant guy that he is, Rash not only offered to teach the kiddies lessons in civics, but threw in a ride on his private jet (and its big, fatass carbon footprint) and said he'd "give economics to them".

Gee.... Who could resist a visit to the classroom by "No Vulgarity Left Behind" Limbaugh? That would be quite an education.

5 Hottest Inauguration Day Google Searches in the U.S.

You gotta love the google.

Looking at the U.S. Google searches that soared most in popularity on January 20

1. Inaugural Website
2. Inaugural Luncheon Menu
3. Inauguration Day 2009 Streaming
4. Left - Handed Presidents
5. Senator Kennedy

Poll-itics: Watching history edition

By GottaLaff

According to the poll below, 20% didn't read or watch anything inauguration-y. Hmmm, that number... think, think... that sounds so familiar. Oh yeah:

[...] a new CBS News/New York Times poll showing Mr. Bush's final approval rating at 22 percent.

Yep, that was it:

A new Gallup poll found that 60% of Americans tuned in live to see Barack Obama sworn in as president on Tuesday. Another 20% heard or read news reports of the event while 20% caught none of it.

Obama's speech was also well received: 46% said it was excellent, 35% said it was good, while only 15% considered it "just okay" or worse.

15%. Hmmm, another familiar number. Pondering... pondering... Aha! Got it:

A New York Times/CBS News poll gave Bush a final 22% favorability rating, which was nearly twice that of his Vice President, whose approval rating stood at an anemic 13%.

It all makes sense now.

Donna Brazile Swipes Obama's Blanket

Fangirl alert. I wonder if it was a Slanket?

Former Al Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile acknowledged on ABC News that she took the fleece blanket that President Obama left on the platform after giving his inaugural address yesterday.

Said Brazile: "Barack Obama had this fleece. You know, we were all given this blue fleece and someone took it. When it was over with, I went over to the president's chair and I took it... If he wants it back, I'll give it back, but I have that. This is the blanket that was at his chair in case he got cold. He left it, I took it."

Blogger is having "scheduled maintenance" so posting is dicey.

VIDEO-- Biden: "My memory isn't as good as Chief Justice Roberts'"

By GottaLaff


Here is the video that I referred to earlier. Priceless.