Big Brother Barack And His Watchful Eye

Excerpts from Obama's inaugural speech with commentary from yours truly:

Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some...

I assume you're talking about the greed of power-hungry politicians. Good for you.

...but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Was the decision to spend $170 million on an inauguration party a hard one?

Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly...

...because of meddlesome government.

Our schools fail too many.

Because of your friends in the teachers unions.

We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.

Only if you stay out of the way.

And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

This is not your job, Mr. President.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions...

...and they should. "It is the first responsibility of every citizen to Question Authority." —Benjamin Franklin

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.

Obama, your stale political arguments are straight from 1933.

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.

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."

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.

I'm going to hold you to this promise.

..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...

Big brother, with his watchful eye, is just as big a problem as any other.

...and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

Our nation cannot prosper long when it becomes a parasite of the prosperous.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers.

In that order?

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.

Obama, you are SO naive.

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.

America can best help the world's poor by leading a global economic boom, as it did from 1982 to 2007, the greatest period of worldwide prosperity in the history of the planet.

More

Read this: Seven reasons for healthy skepticism

Oprah's insane video: “I pledge to be a servant to our President…”

Freedom isn't good for fools. Are we becoming a nation of fools?

You gotta go straight to 3:54.

Via The Agitator, Via Will Wilkinson

Rev. Eugene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, offered this reality check in his opening prayer at pre-inaugural ceremonies. "Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah." Amen.

Excellent points from north of the border: From my present vantage point in Canada, The Globe and Mail’s John Ibbitson gave it away when he declared at the weekend in a leading news piece that “a bond has formed between Barack Obama and Americans unlike any we have seen between a new president and the people”. It seems churlish to ask for evidence of that proposition, and none was given. The media can feel the vibe and that is enough for them. In fact, the real bond is between Obama and the media.

Poll

RightKlik has been getting about 300 unique hits per day lately. That's about one out of every million people in the U.S. Thanks for visiting, you're one in a million—literally.

Obama's Coronation

For Obama worshipers, Obama's coronation will be the most exciting moment of their lives.  It's a simple thing really: Obama swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, then he promptly sets out to execute his personal agenda.  To me it seems quite bureaucratic and not at all interesting.  But inauguration history is interesting, so for those who need a break from the Obama hype, here are some interesting tidbits:

• In 1793, George Washington gave the shortest inaugural address: 135 words.

• 1801: First inaugural speech to be reported in full in a newspaper was Thomas Jefferson's.  An extra edition of the National Intelligencer was printed minutes after the speech ended.

• In 1829, Andrew Jackson, "the People's President," held an open house. About 20,000 people trampled mud and horse manure into the White House, destroyed rugs, broke satin-covered chairs, smashed crystal and china, and spilled liquor. Fights broke out, women fainted and Jackson had to escape through a window. Order was restored when barrels of whiskey were placed on the South Lawn, drawing the crowd outside.

• In 1841, William Henry Harrison defied a driving ice storm for 90 minutes to deliver the longest inauguration speech in history (8,445 words).  He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day.

• 1873: Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration was so cold - a low of 4 degrees and a high of 16 - that trumpet valves froze and violin strings snapped. One hundred and fifty canaries, whose chirping was to amuse guests, froze to death in their cages.

• Theodore Roosevelt's 1901 oath was the only one not sworn in on a Bible.

• 1913: West Point cadet and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower marched at Woodrow Wilson's inauguration.

• President Wilson did not have any parties at his 1917 inaugural, saying that such festivities would be undignified.
  

• President Roosevelt held his 1945 inaugural at the White House, making a short speech and serving guests cold chicken salad and plain pound cake.
  

• Dwight Eisenhower’s 1953 parade was covered by a 24-year-old reporter from the Washington Times-Herald known as the “Inquiring Camera Girl”. Her name was Jacqueline Bouvier, eventually to become Jackie Kennedy.

• In 1961, John F. Kennedy was the last president to wear traditional stovepipe hat to the inauguration.

• January 20, 1969 Richard M. Nixon took the oath of office on two Bibles; both family heirlooms.

• Apropos comments from Reagan's inauguration in 1981: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem." 

• Ronald Reagan's second inaugural had to compete with Super Bowl Sunday.

• Clinton's 1997 inauguration was the first ceremony to be broadcast live on the Internet.
  

• In 2001, George W. Bush's inauguration was the first to be interrupted by naked protesters.

• The oath is taken with a hand upon a Bible, opened to a passage of the president-elect's choice. For his first inauguration, Bill Clintion chose Galatians 5:8. "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

• Barack Obama will be using Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural Bible to take his oath of office.
  

More

What Recession? The $170 Million Inauguration.  Obama's Inauguration Has Been Financed by Bailed-Out Wall Street Executives.

William Ayers turned back at Canadian border: To me it seems quite bureaucratic and not at all interesting ... If it were me I would have let me in. I couldn't possibly be a threat to Canada."  Great response by a reader: "Who among us hasn't tried to blow up the Pentagon? Give the guy a break. While he has never expressed regret for his terrorist activities, I'm sure one day he might. Maybe."  Hat tip: American Thinker

Biden tries to shush wife after state-VP slip

We need a timetable for withdrawal from the Obama agenda! Bring my tax dollars back home!  A Times/CBS News Poll, conducted last week, offered at least some guidance for the Obama Expectations Clock. Most respondents said they thought it would take Mr. Obama two years or more to deliver on campaign promises to improve the economy, expand health care coverage and end the war in Iraq. 

Hitler’s Mom Speaks Out, Defies Court Order; father is hospitalized.

To heck with Champagne, break out the Botox. It's inauguration party time.

Every network from BET to Disney Chanel to QVC will have wall-to-wall coverage of the inauguration.  

Your King has been Crowned!

For more than two hundred years, America’s citizens have witnessed the Inauguration ceremonies of the President and Vice President of the United States.

An exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at Obama's inauguration

1993 All Over Again

Obama's Coronation: Behind The Scenes

An exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at Obama's coronation.

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