Michael J. Fox hopeful on Obama’s commitment to stem cell research
At an inauguration event at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., actor Michael J. Fox spoke with Reuters reporter John McCrank about his hopes for the Obama administration.
Fox, afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease, expects a very productive “four-to-eight years”, saying Obama “is a fan of science and intellectual curiosity” and is committed to moving forward with research.
The First Draft: The first day
The inauguration celebrations are over and the clean up begins as Barack Obama prepares for his first full day of work.
It’s a big job. The recession shows no signs of easing and Wall Street ushered in the new presidency with a record Inauguration Day slide. Obama’s choice for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, will likely be asked at his Senate nomination hearing about the state of the economy and the new administration’s plans to shore up banks sagging under the burden of bad investment decisions.
Obama’s first day in the Oval Office is expected to be busy. He begins with the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral and plans an open house for the public at the White House in the afternoon. He will also meet with economic advisers to discuss his proposed economic stimulus plan and proposals for dealing with bad bank assets.
Obama will also meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military advisers.
Major newspapers and morning talk shows full of stories about the inauguration and the record crowd that braved the cold to witness history. A lot of discussion about Michelle Obama’s wardrobe as well.
Photo credit: Reuters\Jason Reed (First Lady Michelle Obama pulls up the train of her dress dancing with her husband on inauguration night)
from Ask...:
Judging “The Speech” — what did you think?
Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States on Tuesday. In his much-anticipated inaugural speech, he said the “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.”
But the new president also said the United States remained “the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth,” and that “we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
What did you think of the speech? Did it meet the hype? Were you moved, or dismayed?
Rhyming reverend gets last word at Obama inaugural
WASHINGTON – Rev. Joseph Lowery was back on stage with a president, but on Tuesday the civil-rights pioneer used his wry rhymes to welcome the U.S. leader, not skewer him as he did three years ago.
Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr., delivered the benediction at Barack Obama’s inauguration as first black U.S. president.
Lowery prayed for healing from a era of “greed and corruption,” and asked, in verse, for divine help toward a new beginning of racial harmony:
“We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right,” Lowery said to laughter from the vast audience.
In 2006, speaking before then-president George W. Bush and three former presidents at the funeral of King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, Lowery delivered a stern rebuke to Bush’s conduct of the Iraq war and domestic policy.
“We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew, and we know, that there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance. Poverty abounds. For war billions more, but no more for the poor,” he said then.
Critics charged that the remarks were out of place at a funeral. Lowery defended them as relevant to Mrs. King’s life.
My Country
For those who are angry about the Inaugural prayer Rev. Lowery prayed, please forgive him. He’s an old warrior, and it may be quite difficult for him to let go of the hurt from the past. One must understand the struggles of a people from so long ago. I would like to thank; whites, reds, yellows and browns, who have stood by us as African Americans to finally make it to some point in history were we can finally say maybe, just maybe we have almost arrived at the “mountain top”. It’s been a long hard struggle! I don’t want to say only if you’re “black” you understood what he prayed the HURT and the HUMOR. I do believe others who aren’t African American understood as well. I do believe he didn’t mean any harm.
If I may share some of my family’s history to help some understand why some of our elders speak the way they do. My father and mother were married for almost 60 years, raised 10 children in the ghetto and helped 7 of those children through college. My father fought in 3 wars: WWII, Korean, and the beginning of Vietnam. He was always trying to prove himself as an American. While on leave he would go home to visit his mother in Mississippi and some would spit on him in his uniform, shouting at him to take off that uniform you black (n word). Yet he jumped ships when being bombed, watched his buddies killed in war, hide in fox holes fighting the enemy, kicked by some white officers and called the (n word)when he thought he had found a quiet place to kneel and pray on ship(only 17, he said he was scared the first time they were attacked by the Japanese and all had to jump ship)…..and being left to walk alone on a dark rode after a car drives up and pick up all the soldiers, he reaches for the door to get in and the car drive off. He heard the driver say, “ I don’t drive no ( n word) “, so he continued walking alone. He told me that hurt, and that driver didn’t see me as an American! With tears at times he would tell us this is “OUR COUNTRY” treat others with respect and “IT DIDN’T MATTER THE COLOR.”
He never wanted us to deal with what he had gone through. He was always trying to prove himself as an American always! All my life because of my father it’s been God, family and county. My country, my America. When Rev. Lowery gave the prayer, when he said “Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest.”, I thought of my father, who would have loved to see this day. I shared my father’s history not to lay blame or point fingers.. But to say thank you America ( whites, reds, yellows, browns, and yes African Americans) for coming together this day and saying we are ONE COUNTRY, and we can stand together as ONE RACE OF PEOPLE.. As the Apostle John would say, “let us love one another little children.” My father taught all of his children and grandchildren to “LOVE ALL PEOPLE”.. He never past on the hate to us that others pushed at him for years!! He would only cry his pain to my mother the hurt he suffered… She finally let us know this intimate moment between the two of them after his death. In memory of my beloved father (I miss you daddy) he died Veteran’s Day 2005.
Activists “shoe” Bush out the White House door
Critics of outgoing President George W. Bush turned a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House into a rowdy street theater on the eve of his handover of power to Barack Obama.
An activist coalition calling itself ShoeBush.org piled a motley collection of dozens of old shoes, including tan combat boots said to have been worn by U.S. troops in Iraq and children’s bright yellow flip-flops, at what amounted to Bush’s doorstep.
“We wanted to shoo and boo Bush on his last day in office,” said Ann Wilcox of Washington D.C., who marched with the group of about 500 peace activists.
The footwear was tossed between Inaugural parade reviewing stands under watchful eyes of uniformed Secret Service officers. It was a reminder of an Iraqi journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who hurled his two shoes at Bush during a news conference marking the outgoing president’s farewell visit to Iraq.
A hooded, black-clad man posing as the Grim Reaper stood nearby with a sign saying “Death thanks Bush and Cheney.” The reaper, in an interview, added: “They’ve been very good for business.” A giant Bush bobblehead in prisoner’s stripes paraded nearby, his hands in chains as if being led away under arrest.
Others handed out black and white postcard-sized signs urging “Arrest Bush” to the hundreds of onlookers, many who had come from afar to celebrate Obama’s swearing-in at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue at noon on Tuesday.
“You voted for change now use your voice to demand justice,” the group’s handout urged. “Tell the new U.S. attorney general to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate the crimes of the Bush administration.”
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Wall Street ponies up for Obama inauguration
It’s been a brutal year for Wall Street, but the high rollers apparently still love a big, expensive party.
People who work in the finance industry have given at least $4.8 million to underwrite Barack Obama’s inauguration party, more than any other business sector, according to an analysis by the watchdog Center for Responsive Politics.
Obama’s team appears to have reached the $40 million goal it set to pay for the festivities. Roughly $6.8 million has come from those giving less than $200, according to the committee. But large donors have given at least $35 million.
While U.S. citizens can only give a maximum of $4,600 to help a candidate win office, there’s no legal limit to contributions for inaugural parties.
Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee has set a donor limit of $50,000, and has placed the names of large donors online in what the committee says is an unprecedented display of transparency.
Among those who gave the maximum: actresses Sharon Stone and Halle Barry (pictured); Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife; filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas; Motown founder Berry Gordy and music mogul Antonio “LA” Reid.
Financier George Soros, a prominent underwriter of liberal causes, and extended family contributed at least $250,000.
Let’s jump in the way back machine and see who paid for Bush’s inauguration?
The tab for the 2005 inauguration was paid by ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Cinergy Corp, Ford Motor Co, Occidental Petroleum, Pfizer, TimeWarner, UPS and Wachovia
In addition, more than 60 wealthy individuals have donated at least $25,000 of their personal money to the inauguration committee. And more ten of these rich contributors have given the $250,000 limit.
Notice that oil companies top the list, oil companies that until this fall steadily jacked the price of gas and home heating. Now that’s “pay for play” right there baby!
Second thoughts about attending the inauguration? Try the TV
If the prospect of walking for miles in icy temperatures and heavy security is giving you second thoughts about attending the inauguration, Barack Obama has a suggestion.
Watch it on TV.
Or the Internet.
Or better yet, organize an inaugural ball in your neighborhood.
“You’ve probably heard the reports that unprecedented numbers of Americans are planning to join us in Washington,” Obama said Wednesday in a statement released by Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009.
“That will mean long lines, a tough time getting around, and most of all, a lot of walking on what could be a very cold winter day,” Obama warned.
“Fortunately, you don’t have to brave the crowds and commotion in order to participate in this celebration — because we’ve made this inauguration open and accessible to communities across our nation.”
you are correct tc there is so much hypocrisy around it has reached such a crescendo perhaps we should invent a new word to celebrate the levels the dems are achieving.how about,obamacracy.their greatest achievement is to express their concern about the economy, when they have spent two years trying to talk it down to help their political cause.
Is it a car, is it a tank? No, it’s the presidential limo
It’s one of the world’s most highly visible vehicles, but paradoxically also one of the most secret — the U.S. president’s armored Cadillac limousine.
The Secret Service said on Wednesday a new presidential limousine would make its debut at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The car will likely take the new president from the U.S. Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House after the swearing-in ceremony.
“Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world,” Nicholas Trotta, assistant director for the Office of Protective Operations, said in a statement.
Not surprisingly, a Secret Service spokeswoman would not be drawn on whether the vehicle was resistant to bomb or chemical attacks. But it would be a safe guess to say it is.
Cadillac, a division of General Motors Corp., issued its own statement on the new vehicle, saying it had taken steps to ensure no details of its design leaked out during its manufacture.
It said the vehicle, which is completely different to the one now being used by President George W. Bush, had been subjected to “an extreme testing regimen,” for which read: a lot of prototypes were blown up.
“The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features,” it added.
White House declares inauguration a D.C. emergency
WASHINGTON – It’s official. The inauguration is an emergency for the District of Columbia.
President George W. Bush declared the emergency Tuesday, a week before the Jan. 20 swearing-in of the 44th president, Barack Obama.
Millions of people are expected to swarm the streets of Washington on inauguration day. Streets will be closed, bridges open only to taxis and the like, and security will be tight.
“The president’s action makes federal funding available to the District of Colombia,” White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
The District will be eligible for federal funds for “emergency protective measures that are undertaken to save lives and protect public health and safety” during Jan. 17-21, she said.
It was a sign that inauguration-related costs for the district could be higher than the $15 million already appropriated by the federal government for emergency planning and security.
I wish to comment on Quark’s comment regarding the embarrassment he seems to feel at the inauguration expense. As a foreigner, what I see is the incredible NEED of Americans who under great financial stress see Mr. Obama as a kind of silver shining ELECTED knight who is about to dedicate his entire life to bringing America back to the bastion of democracy and freedom that the world used to look for in this nation. The past many years it has disappointed we foreigners and Americans alike at the ignorance and horrid arrogance of the Bush Years. This electoral change is truly a revolution in America and indirectly for the rest of the world as it will be proof that the small person, the voter, the minority brown person, the underprivileged can truly become as Obama has become..a leader, an intellect, a person that millions and maybe billions will remember for their lives as what we can hope to achieve in each of our societies. We have to await his Presidency to see if he can achieve a fraction of what people hope for him but I can see in his eyes that he will challenge all of us in each our own way to face up to what we need to do to make this a better world. He is already a historic figure. His inauguration is the glorious celebration of virtue over the entrenched power elilte. It ought to be a big blow out for the people of America…Congratulations to all of you! I am not embarrassed! I will celebrate across the continent along with another billion people.
Powell urges volunteering, says no role in Obama administration
Colin Powell wants you to help out more.
The former Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs chairman urged Americans on Friday to help out their country by volunteering, and pointed to a Web site set up by Barack Obama’s inaugural committee where they can find opportunities in their communities.
Powell said ordinary Americans could help Obama dig the country out of its economic rut by helping out in nearby schools or nursing homes.
“I think there’s a fervor for the new administration coming in, and I think the new president can tap into this fervor through this program,” Powell said at a news conference.
Powell, 71, served as Secretary of State for Republican President George W. Bush but endorsed Obama, a Democrat, shortly before the Nov. 4 election.
He said he had no interest in taking on a formal role in the Obama administration.
“I have not been offered a job and I’ve kind of made it clear that I’m not looking for a position,” he said.
I have the utmost respect for Colin Powell’s choice and the courage it takes to choose conscience over party. I do not see his endorsement of Barack Obama as turning his back on his party. I see it as Colin Powell using his brain. We have to admit that while he has done a couple good things, George W. Bush has failed the American People with his performance as President. And I think that is being pretty generous. And John McCain, while perhaps being one of our greatest living Americans and an exceptional Senator, would have been a horrible president due to his temperament, lack of intellect and awareness of American culture and society. I hope and believe that we have entered a new era of Politics where fear-mongering, paranoia and jingoism are replaced with integrity, fairness and rationality. But I can see by the messages left by Gypsy that we still have a ways to go before those values take hold. To suggest that just because we support Obama we have not gotten all the facts is intellectually weak and sleazy. I think Gypsy has been surfing the internets too much. The one where all the conspiracy freaks hang out, on the fringe.
Wow. Wrong approach. I think Michael J. Fox is an amazing person. Maybe he did lie but why attack his integrity? Is there anyone that is better than him that can judge? He may be misguided and not seeing life for what it is but we should love him not attack him.