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Watching the inauguration

Like millions all over the globe, I spent the morning watching the inauguration of Barack H. Obama:

Loved President Obama's speech:
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. 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.

Loved Elisabeth Alexander's poem:
Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.


Loved the benediction by Rev. Lowery:
"God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land...

What I didn't love: The prayer (Invocation) by Rev. Rick Warren:
I have never met a fundamentalist minister that could resist the urge to preach when they pray... that just chaps my hide. A prayer is to God, a sermon is to the people, and (in my opinion) never the twain shall meet.
Do we really need to quote scripture to God? No, once you start quoting the bible you've gone from heavenward to outward. That must be for all the idiots out there that don't know as much as you know. Perhaps on the off chance they will come to the Lord because of your sermon, I mean prayer, I mean sermon.... what were you doing again?
Do we really need to tell God everything belongs to him and exist for his glory? Being God I figure he knows that, so why does Warren say it? Because he is not praying... he is preaching with his head bowed.
P.S. Don't you think someone should have told him to get a haircut? Doesn't he have a wife?

The dumbest thing said:
A statement by Katie Couric, after Biden was sworn in and while Yo-Yo Ma along with the others performed "Air and Simple Gifts" she said that Obama had not yet been sworn in, but Biden had been, therefore VP Joe Biden was actually the President.
What the fuck Chuck???
Could Katie have had a blonder moment?

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