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[Detonator]

I was going to post this in the Prop 8 thread, but decided to start a new topic focusing on the Inauguration.  There are plenty of stories in the Post about how poorly prepared DC is for this event, but I'll kick things off with a different story.

Pro-Life, Pro Prop 8 pastor Rick Warren to perform Invocation at Obama's inauguration.

Of course, Obama points to Warren's generosity in other social issues, such as poverty and AIDS in Africa.  Still, this plays right into the narrative that liberals are upset with Obama's choices being too moderate.  To this point it's been mostly overblown, since most liberals recognize the need to put competent people in charge regardless of political leanings.  Ironically, this is a case where liberals are genuinely pissed off at a choice that is entirely ceremonial.

Now that the choice is out, it may be too late for Obama to backpedal.  This may put a damper on the inauguration for some, sort of like how Prop 8 itself put a damper on Obama's landslide victory.

[Thad]

...seems to me that we already went over all this shit with McClurkin a fucking year ago.  There's a difference between making political compromises and pretty much telling the left to go fuck itself.

[Brentai]

I suppose the first warning sign should have been the fact that he actually won.

[Kashan]

I'm going to save my feelings of betrayal for when he actually does something I don't agree with after actually becoming president. There seems to be a lot of shock going around that Obama is actually a politician, which is kind of 

Rick Warren has done a lot of good, even if I disagree with him on some things. I'm sure his choice was, in part, political. It's a method for Obama to build political capital by reaching out to a certain kind of evangelical Christian.

The message resonates with me as a Christian in a way that may not be intended. My denomination has within it people who approach the religion from very different places, and come to very different conclusions, so much so that is has caused a schism in the church. For me it is important that one be able to practice religion with those one disagrees with. And given that Rev. Joe Lowery is also participating, I'd say Obama has pretty wide spectrum.

Still, this is a total kick in the teeth for the LGBT community, which is already is a pretty bad place right now.

[Brentai]

Mmm, it's fair to say that these decisions now may have as much or greater impact on the next four years as any he makes during that time.  We are talking about the main task of a leader, here: choosing the correct people to delegate authority to.  They're going to be doing the larger portion of the work once he's sworn in, and it's fair to sweat if they're people you can't trust, no matter how much you like the guy who put them there.

[Kashan]

Mmm, it's fair to say that these decisions now may have as much or greater impact on the next four years as any he makes during that time.  We are talking about the main task of a leader, here: choosing the correct people to delegate authority to.  They're going to be doing the larger portion of the work once he's sworn in, and it's fair to sweat if they're people you can't trust, no matter how much you like the guy who put them there.

His cabinet choices yes. The religious officials present at his inauguration?

[Brentai]

Well, no, that's bullshit.  That's why I assumed we weren't still talking about it.

[Romosome]

I was going to post this in the Prop 8 thread, but decided to start a new topic focusing on the Inauguration.  There are plenty of stories in the Post about how poorly prepared DC is for this event, but I'll kick things off with a different story.

Pro-Life, Pro Prop 8 pastor Rick Warren to perform Invocation at Obama's inauguration.

Of course, Obama points to Warren's generosity in other social issues, such as poverty and AIDS in Africa.  Still, this plays right into the narrative that liberals are upset with Obama's choices being too moderate.  To this point it's been mostly overblown, since most liberals recognize the need to put competent people in charge regardless of political leanings.  Ironically, this is a case where liberals are genuinely pissed off at a choice that is entirely ceremonial.

Now that the choice is out, it may be too late for Obama to backpedal.  This may put a damper on the inauguration for some, sort of like how Prop 8 itself put a damper on Obama's landslide victory.

I think there needs to be MULTIPLE dampers on the Inauguration, actually, because about half the fucking country is going to try to go see it and I would like our next presidency to kick off without people being trampled to death in a massive stampeding crush.

The fact that everyone would then act totally shocked and surprised that such a thing could happen just makes it worse.  I'm not even really joking.  They need to figure out SOMETHING to keep at least a third of the planned throng from going.  It's a disaster waiting to happen.

[Detonator]

I think there needs to be MULTIPLE dampers on the Inauguration, actually, because about half the fucking country is going to try to go see it and I would like our next presidency to kick off without people being trampled to death in a massive stampeding crush.

The fact that everyone would then act totally shocked and surprised that such a thing could happen just makes it worse.  I'm not even really joking.  They need to figure out SOMETHING to keep at least a third of the planned throng from going.  It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Ironically enough, Obama will be the safest one there

[Romosome]

yeah, if too many people pile on him he'll probably just fly away

[Kashan]

Well, no, that's bullshit.  That's why I assumed we weren't still talking about it.

So should I make clear that I don't feel betrayed by any of Obama's cabinet picks?

[Arc]

36 hours until the most important countdown of our lives ends.

[Mongrel]

 

You guys do remember the whole "... and keep your enemies closer." thing (O-dawg <3 Lincoln) that Obama's got going on, right?

[Saturn]

So apparently NASA is gonna show off their new moon car during the parade.

[PhilosopherDirtbike]

As far as people getting trampled, I am not worried. This isn't some Walmart, it is the Inaugeration. I'll bet it is gonna be tight security, like one step below martial law tight. I am optimistic.

So apparently NASA is gonna show off their new moon car during the parade.

I wonder if anyone will use the presence of NASA in the parade to rail against NASA being a big waste of money. This seems like it could be a real PR mistake. Then again, is it the guys on the left or right who think going to Mars is a bad idea? I don't really keep up with the Space Manifest Destiny and what Conervatives and Liberals think about it news.

[Thad]

It's not really as clearly-cut as that.  I'd say there are people across party lines saying there are better things to be spending that money on in this economy, and people across party lines saying fuck it, space is cool, and on a more pragmatic level, space exploration always indirectly leads to other important scientific discoveries.

There's merit for both viewpoints.  On the one hand, we need to look at core economic issues like job creation right now.  On the other, the best job I've ever had was working for the USGS Astrogeology Team.

[Mongrel]

Say, what's a good website to secretly watch the inaguration on at the office, while pretending to work?

[Brentai]

NASA is kind of a misnomer; it's always been sort of a government R&D branch with a good sense of the power of goal-setting.

It's too important to scrub, but I don't think we need to be throwing money at it right this second.  We're technologically far enough ahead that we can worry about all the problems we have that technology is not going to solve, assuming it didn't cause it them the first place.

What I'm saying is, the moon car is neat, but please do not fucking shove it in our faces on a day when everybody's going to be asking where their money went and is going to go from here.

[Mongrel]

Bonus points if you play either of these songs tomorrow:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Si8p2NSfrSo

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=BqITJFGyq4s

(Sorry for the quality on the first, it was only video I could find on CopyrightTube with the ORIGINAL vocal track).

[Arc]

So apparently NASA is gonna show off their new moon car during the parade.

!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtdVxI0M9K0