Rumor has it a new president is being sworn in. I believe his name is Donald Trump.
Here’s some space for you to opine, praise, vent, or otherwise comment on this solemn tradition of our great nation.
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A Gambit
How about that president over in Gambia, I think it is? His successor got elected a few months ago & now is when he’s supposed to be inaugurated, but the current fellow refuses to leave office.
Back home
I think ours decided to step aside for the new one here.
It's A Good Life
Does anyone remember this Twilight Zone Episode?
Anthony Fremont is a six-year-old with extraordinary powers to control the little town where he lives by simply wishing away people and things that anger or bore him. He has isolated the town by banishing electricity and cars. Other than his powerful wishing, Anthony has the mind and imagination of a typical little boy. He amuses himself with his special ability by giving a gopher three heads and then wishing the animal dead when the game becomes boring. The people in Peaksville have to smile all the time, think happy thoughts, and say happy things, because that’s what Anthony commands and, if they disobey, he can wish them into a cornfield or change them into grotesque versions of themselves. Anthony dislikes singing and punished Aunt Amy for thoughtlessly singing in his presence. Anthony asks his father why no children come to play with him. Mr. Fremont reminds Anthony that when the Fredericks boy came over, Anthony had wished the other boy away into the cornfield after they’d finished playing. He wishes a dog into the cornfield for barking.
Anthony’s parents have invited several people to their house for a surprise birthday party for one of their friends, Dan Hollis. Anthony makes everyone watch what he, like lots of other little boys, wishes to see on television — dinosaurs fighting. Dan Hollis’s wife gives him a record for his birthday, but Anthony won’t permit him to play it. Dan grumbles angrily and then begins singing “Happy Birthday.” Anthony tries to intimidate Dan by staring at him. Dan suggests that Anthony should be distracted and then killed, but nobody moves to help Dan. Anthony points his finger at Dan and screams “You’re a bad man! You’re a very bad man!” and turns Dan into a jack-in-the-box and then sends him to the cornfield. Everyone turns away in horror except Anthony’s father, who begs Anthony to wish him into the cornfield. Anthony complies. A few minutes later, Anthony wishes for snow, though this will kill half the crops, not to mention those he’s banished to the cornfield. The adults smile nervously and tell him that he’s a good boy, hoping that Anthony’s terrible power won’t be turned upon themselves.
He's the president we deserve
I don’t blame the racists/homophobes/stupid/etc., they had a candidate and they voted for him.
I blame everyone who didn’t vote for Hillary. I don’t give a sh*t about your reasons.
Between the Derp and the Deep blue Sea
I think something damn fishy is going down. Either Obama has an ace up his sleeve, or he really doesn’t care about the legacy he purportedly cares so much about.
As to archetypes, precedents, this is in our common subconscious. Alfred Jarry wrote it out over a century ago in Ubu Roi.
Fasten your seat belts it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
D-Day
The Donald has big plans, great plans, the best plans, just ask him. If he is the same guy he was in ’70s NYC, most will never happen, and he’ll quit and walk away. If not, gird your loins.
the mall
Ahh, Inauguration Day!
Have you ever been to one? I was there when Reagan said goodbye and flew off in his helicopter to be replaced with Bush I, and then again when he flew off in his helicopter and Clinton was sworn in.
If you’ve never been to one, here are a few things to keep in mind.
– It’s cold and cruddy out there for the most part, and to get a good spot you have to be in place now. That’s hours of standing, doing almost nothing, in the DC cold.
– The stage you see at the Capitol is built especially for the occasion. It adds a bunch of space and extends the porch out over a fountain. (The oath of office basically takes place over a closed down fountain).
– The area closest to the stage is usually somewhat reserved seating. Surrounding the Capitol lawn are fences and guards and entry points with metal detectors. Getting around by typical routes is difficult. Advantage goes to locals who know not to follow the mobs.
– When they show a view from the Capitol looking out at the crowd, with the Washington Monument straight ahead, you can see:
— the Capitol’s reflecting pool with statues of guys on horses straight ahead, just beyond the lawn. The pool’s about 1 foot deep, btw.
— to the right is a big avenue – Pennsylvania Ave – that heads over the White House. That’s where the parade route goes. It’s also been combed by security, manhole covers have been sealed, and secret service are hidden all about. Sometimes they have snipers on the roofs, too.
— looking down the mall on the right you have the art and history museums, on the left you have Air & Space, Smithsonian, African Heritage, etc. Straight ahead are Washington monument, then the WWII memorial, then the reflecting pool, then the Lincoln memorial. It’s really an impressive sight. I used to like to go to the Capitol’s porch and stand in the center, looking out over all of it on a nice, hot summer day. It was fun to watch planes come in behind the memorials to land at National.
…
The parade starts at the Capitol and heads down to the White House. Presidents usually ride in their bulletproof cars most of the way, though some are daring and freak out Secret Service officers by hopping out and walking for a block or two. The braver and more comfy the president, the sooner they will get out. If they are fearful types, they stay in until the parade passes Freedom Plaza. Freedom Plaza is a nice open space used for hanging out, lunch breaks, events and concerts. It has some gorgeous fountains in the summer, too – a really long, simple waterfall. It also is where protestors are usually corralled, and if there’s going to be some sort of interruption, it is usually here.
If you see the president wait until the final turn off 15th Street to the White House property (which has grown – previously public roads are now closed to the public and you can’t drive as close as you could 15 years ago.) before getting out, someone was very concerned for their safety.
Over at the White House, they’ll typically set up a special viewing area for the President and his guests to ignore the parade. It’s heated and closed off.
After that, they’ll go a ball or two and this president will likely fly away to NYC later in the evening.
…
Things I’m looking at:
Will anyone protest at the actual event, or will everyone be polite and wait until it is over before showing their ‘outrage’?
Will the Clintons join the protest on Saturday to show allegiance to their supporters?
Get over it!
You need to get over it. Your anger shouldn’t be at Trump but at Bernie and Hillary that clearly let you down. They even get a freepass in defeat. The adults are in charge now, breaking things or whinning will not be tolorated any longer! The solution is, get a job and get on with your life.
A brand new day
…the way Republicans “got over” Obama… yeah. Maybe that will happen. America is great again now, or should be soon, so possibly.
Of course, Trump said to get along with everyone in his speech, so you are sort of going against what he’d like, right out of the gate. No more fighting. We’re all getting along now. Time for greatness, not bickering. Not tolerated any longer. Grown ups. Good!
He said we’re all Americans, and regardless of color, we all bleed red. And also that he wasn’t in charge, the American people were.
Everyone can “grow up” a bit, perhaps.
The fact that you consider
The fact that you consider that ignorant, inarticulate, sexual predator an ‘adult” is really pathetic. Bernie did nothing to let me down. He should have been President and would have been if the election process was run in a democratic manner. The people that will need to be looking for jobs are those misguided individuals who believed Trump’s pathological lies and cons. They are all in for a very rude and sad awakening.
I’m biding my time – he won’t make it through his first term.Then, of course, we’re stuck with the homophobe but he won’t last long either.
I'll bide my time
Very well, bide your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnXAl1ntt_4
We already have the 2017
We already have the 2017 equivalent of the Wicked Witch ( and I don’t mean that sad wife) along with the power hungry wizard who hides behind a curtain of deceit and lies. Now,the town folk all need sparkly red shoes to send them on their way along with a brave scarecrow or two.
Your head has ruptured!
Spoken like a real American or what America has come to be. No wonder we are taking a different path.
What America has come to be
What America has come to be is a million plus women and men taking to the streets to speak out loudly against the atrocity that now is the alleged leader of the country. ( not that he is capable of leading anything or anyone). What America has come to be is a million plus people using their right to assemble and their freedom of speech to demand equality and reproductive rights and a planet that won’t die off before our children and grandchildren are adults and that people of different colors, religions and cultures be treated as fairly and equally as anyone whose skin is white. We started on a path yesterday that we’ve been on before and will no doubt be on again- the path where those who disagree rise up and work diligently to change the things that are wrong. My head is fine – intact and proud as Hell to be part of this battle against a conservative idiot.
I watched as much as I could,
I watched as much as I could, from about the time they left the White House through to the luncheon, and then some of the parade, and some of the balls. It’s kind of a bad habit, to see all the inaugurations. I like watching presidents swear to do a proper job.
First up, the crowd was small despite Trump’s claims. (Deal with it, grown-up.)
I found his speech to be typical of him but pretty poor from a “remember me throughout history” point of view. No big thoughts, other than America is crap and we’re going to be isolationist. Okay. And?
I get the sense he has very little idea of what a president does. He seems to be winging it while relying on a staff that barely knows how things are done. (Other presidents wing it, but have teams that make sure things go perfectly.. Trump’s team seems to be making it up as they go along.) This isn’t a problem, necessarily, but shows amateur-ness at this stage. I think that’s worrying the GOP folks like McCain. I think the GOP would like a bit more tradition than they are getting from Trump.
I like watching the former president depart. (I saw Reagan and Bush take off in their helicopters back in the day). I was surprised Obama took the helicopter (he’s moving a few blocks away, to Kalorama). I was expecting more of what Biden did… a car ride to the Metro station to hop a train.
During the parade, Trump, Melania, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and other family hopped out for a short walk in a safe zone. They were in the cars when going by the bigger crowds of people holding signs. I read that as “afraid for safety” – not confident and secure.
The parade itself was during dinner, so I missed it. (I heard there were some weird floats at times.. should probably go watch).
Late in the evening I tuned in once again, and saw Trump at a ball at the National Building Museum. Typically president’s show up, wave, dance a bit, say hi to big donors, and move on.
Oddly, Trump was holding a “press conference” from a podium, taking super-softball questions from the military. Questions such as “Congratulations, sir!” to which Trump responded that it was wonderful to get such good questions. He hoped reporters would follow suit.
He then rambled a bit about making America “even greater” and told the military that they would win the fight. (Against…?)
Melania, meanwhile, was doing her best to stand straight for the 14th hour of the day, and trying to look happy to be there and interested in the speech. She was caught off guard when Trump told her to say a few words. “I’m honored to be your First Lady. We will make America great again. Fight and win!” she mumbled, doing the best she could to remember a few things that Trump has been saying.
That was all odd enough, but then the two of them walked over to a stage and stood on a giant presidential seal, surrounded by flags. They began to dance, but not like people who knew how to dance. It looked like a 6th grade slow dance – step right, step left, step right, step left.. – done to Sinatra’s “My Way”. Another couple (the Pences) came out with a touch of a flourish, then did the same boring thing. This went on for quite a while, and my primary thought was “my, this is the worst episode of Lawrence Welk I’ve ever seen! Where’s Bobby? Or Myron Florin and his accordion?”
The next day – Trump went to the CIA and told them he’s always liked them and had no problems (a demonstrable lie) then exaggerated the size of the crowd at the Inauguration. Kind of a weird way to begin, considering he had promised a long list of first-day actions and this wasn’t one of them.
Trump seems to be thinking he’s still campaigning, and that there’s something here to “win”. There isn’t. Just work to do, and the way one gets things done in politics is to build alliances. He seems to be doing the opposite – making enemies.
He will have trouble getting his agenda accomplished.
Trump, one should remember, has been a Democrat, a Republican, and Independent, and Libertarian at various points. I caution Trump supporters to watch out… he will do things that make ME very happy and you upset just as much as he will piss ME off and make you happy. My guess is that in four years, we will be more united as people as a result of Trump breaking promises to his supporters.
I think Trump has the ability to do good things, but almost by mistake or chance rather than by plan. Just as likely are dumb errors that are costly or dangerous. I think he’ll need all of us to help keep him focused.
But, also know that we’re going to have some fun mocking him, because he makes it so easy and we always mock our presidents. Other presidents didn’t care and could take a joke. Not sure Trump has this ability.
And many will do everything it takes to stop him from doing bad things, just as citizens always rise up and try to stop leaders from doing bad things.