President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech: Pt. 1
President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech:
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 cooperation 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 forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
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.
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 shortcuts 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 labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled 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 plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
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. And all this we will do.
President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush Welcomes The Obamas
President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush welcomed President-Elect Barack Obama and soon to be First Lady, Michelle Obama, to the White House after prayer services at St. John Episcopal Church.
Michelle Obama greeted First Lady Laura Bush with a present in a white box with red trim.
The Obamas and the Bidens are enjoying coffee and conversation hosted by President Bush. The coffee should last around forty-five minutes. Then President-Elect Barack Obama and party will head to the Capital Building.
First Pics Of President-Elect Barack Obama On Historical Day!!
President-Elect Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
At approximately 8:48am, President-Elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, left The Blair House, where they have been temporarily residing, to attend private prayer services at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
After the prayer services, the inaugural ceremonies will begin:
The Swearing-In Ceremony: United States Capital, West Front, 11:30am.
Inaugural Luncheon: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, with family members, will attend inaugural luncheon hosted by Joint Congressional Commission on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Bush To Obama: Sugar Coat And Stretch The Truth
Larry King & The Bushes
Out-going President George W. Bush has been making farewell media rounds this week in an obvious attempt to salvage his eight year Presidential legacy for posterity. What good that’s going to do, only time will tell.
“That’s not a good idea to say?” King asked the outgoing president.
“I don’t think so. I think he can say it’s going to be a tough period but to predict what the economy is going to do … it is going to be bad, but how bad, how long?” Bush responded.
“What he ought to be saying, and I know he feels this way, is he’s going to take the steps he thinks are necessary to get us back on the road to recovery and we will recover.”
Okay. Isn’t this the very exact way the Bush administration has handled everything since 9/11:
1. Ignore the truth.
2. Sugar coat the truth.
3. Make light of the truth.
4. Hide the truth.
5. Deny the truth.
Yep. America can only hope that Obama turns a deaf ear to that advice! It is kinda refreshing to hear the truth. Especially since we’ve been handed a boat-load of lies covered by a “mission accomplished” sign for eight years.
Baltimore Mayor Indicted!!! Pleads Innocence!!
Mayor Sheila Dixon
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was charged Friday with a twelve count indictment. The indictment charges include perjury, fraudulent misappropriation and misconduct which are allegedly related to gifts, monies and lavish trips received from former boyfriend, developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, who was indicted earlier this week.
In a press conference, Mayor Dixon told the City of Baltimore:
“For the past two years, I have done my best to serve the City of Baltimore as Mayor, and I will continue to do so. I will not let these charges deter me from keeping Baltimore on the path that we have set, or from carrying forward the significant progress we have made thus far.
“I am being unfairly accused. Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges. But, for the moment, I cannot comment further on the allegations that have been made against me. Instead, my attorneys will address these matters on my behalf.
“I want to make it clear, though, that I will continue to put all of my energies into running the City of Baltimore during these perilous economic times. And with God’s grace, I am confident that the city, my family and I will weather this storm.”
It’s sad isn’t it? Another sista going down because she got twisted up in a toxic relationship. Guess she didn’t get my memo about Detroit former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty.
Divorce Atlanta Housewife Style!!
Real Housewives of Atlanta's Sheree Whitfield
It would seem that Sheree Whitfield, Bravo TV’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta” matron, is very unhappy right about now. But she plans on doing something about it. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, next week Whitfield plans to have her unsatisfactory divorce case and subsequent settlement heard by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Insisting that the divorce settlement is no where near the seven figures that she has so strongly stated that she deserves, Sheree Whitfield’s lawyers have argued that the $2,142.87 a month in child support, the lump sum of $775, 000, NFL pension shares from former husband ex Atlanta Falcon’s Bob Whitfield, half the marital property totalling $1.1 Mil, and $113,422 a year is frankly not enough cash for an uneducated thirty-eight year old woman to live on.
Now, this settlement is not enough to keep Sheree in the lifestyle her former NFL husband’s wallet afforded. It doesn’t make sense that Sheree should be forced to sell the only home her children has known. Any real lawyer worth his weight in salt should have represented Sheree Whitfield better than this.
But for lawyers to say that Sheree should be given far more financial support than what was allocated on the grounds that she is uneducated, and can’t do better is ridiculous at best and a personal affront on the millions of single parents in this country that support families on less than $50,000 a year!
Was Sheree thinking about getting an education during the seven years of marriage she endured with Bob Whitfield? Atlanta is full of colleges and universities. I am willing to bet that a secondary education never crossed Sheree’s mind. Why should it have? Especially if she was counting on a serious pay day from a wealthy husband to sustain her for the rest of her life!
It would seem that Sheree and women like her are waking up to a fool’s paradise. Perhaps all of that money Sheree spent on that trashy fashion line of hers could have been set aside for something useful. All of those shopping sprees that Sheree enjoyed on the “Housewives” in the privacy of her own home, the over the top fashion show bust that cost a mint, all of this reveals a callous materialistic attitude that Sheree has cultivated.
I hope that in the final analysis, Sheree Whitfield gets what she deserves, not what she desires.
Oprah’s Weight Opera: Enough Is Enough Already!
Oprah Winfrey
In the past few weeks, the media has experienced the whining musings of my personal icon maven, Oprah Winfrey. Yes, she is my shero. Yes, she is an icon to me and to a lot of other women. But what we have been subjected to as loyalists, is definitely unwarranted and borders on the line of pitiful.
For about two decades, loyalists of Oprah have followed her meteroic rise from local Chicago stardom, to the international mega star status she has worked hard for and enjoyed. The Oprah Winfrey Show is seen all over the world and people every where, majority of these women, love her. O Magazine is top-notch and is a great extension of the television experience at your finger tips. We applaud her good heart, giving spirit, warm laughter and life-changing fortitude.
The weight loss issue has been just that for years. An issue. An Oprah issue. We fell in love with Oprah back in 1986, not because she was 200 plus pounds, but because she was cool! She was fun! She represented the woman we all associated with and loved every single day. Oprah looked like us. We were overly excited when she lost the weight and I cried when she came onto the stage in her skinny jeans, dragging a wagon of meat fat.
This moment inspired me and a whole nation of folks to get fit. But right before our eyes, Oprah blew up again, and it was discouraging for a lot of us, but we still loved her and watched the show. Years have gone by and Oprah is preoccupied with an issue that hardly anyone cares about. This is Oprah’s issue and because she brought the public into a private place, she is making Oprah loyalists suffer right alongside her, and giving the press legitimate gossip to feed its’ celebrity-fueled engine.
Oprah once said that it is not what you are eating, but what is eating you. Oprah is still, at 50 something, not happy with herself. She says she’s happy as a clam. Obviously, that isn’t true. Oprah is not who she is based on her looks. Oprah is an icon simply because she took a dream she had for herself and implemented it. She took sistafriend conversations public. Then over the years, she developed her medium into a platform to really help her viewers orchestrate change in their lives.
However, instead of helping her viewers, maybe Oprah needs to tune into her true self. It is obvious that she has a lot irons in the fire and it can be difficult tyring to juggle a multitude of ventures. Yet, she is Oprah. She has the resources and the fortititude to, instead of micromanaging, allow her talented team to do what she pays them handsomely for.
And Oprah, please stop making excuses for your weight gain. We already know and understand. America has had this weight discussion for years now and though we’re not sympathetic, we are able to be empathetic. We as in America ‘we.’
The true moral of this column is simply that it is okay, Oprah. You re-gained some weight and unhappy and ashamed about it. So am I. I’m going through the exact same thing. So are a lot of those who have lost weight only to put the pounds back on. The key is to not dwell on the obvious but create an alternate outcome.
Perhaps this time around, Oprah, you will recognize that the journey to weight loss country is never ending. It is a lifelong quest. There is no need to be apolegetic about it. It is okay to be in the trenches with the rest of us. We don’t eat each other. We’re just human.
So are you.
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