Happy Inauguration!

[Zerbie]

Happy Inauguration Day, everyone!

[christa08]

I was lucky enough to watch the inauguration on tv and it was amazing. I was a little emotional but very happy and hopeful overall

[dsdrane]

I definitely got weepy.

Then I toasted his "So help me God" with a shot of ice-cold akvavit.

[sjbouza]

Within minutes of President Obama being swarn in as our 44th President, the Official White House website was updated. This update includes "Support for the LGBT Community".

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.

* Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.

* Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

* Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.

* Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.

* Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

We shall see. The speech was great. Still not happy about the little so called "error" with Rev Gene. But we shall see. I think everyone needs to judge him by HIS actions. The proof will be in the pudding so to speak.

Peace,
Scott

[nmwolfboy]

Originally Posted by sjbouza

Within minutes of President Obama being sworn in as our 44th President, the Official White House website was updated.

i noted that on the new whitehouse.gov blog, there were immediately five posts dated at 12:01pm.

[nmwolfboy]

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, POET

Praise Song For the Day

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other,
catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble,
thorn and din,
each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in a uniform,
patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky;
A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
whispered or declaimed;
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways
that mark the will of someone and then others who said,
“I need to see what’s on the other side;
I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe;
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle;
praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign;
The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

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.

In today’s sharp sparkle,
this winter air,
anything can be made,
any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim,
on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

[Rick336]

It's a great day for sure!!


Rick

[u-dog]

Finally we have a president who can speak English and use it to raise up a vision and call forth our best national self again. I was in a large group at a theater watching on a huge screen with a largely African-American audience. What a thrilling moment!

What a relief to be able to be proud to be American again. I missed my country and I'm happy to have it back! Eight years is a long time to be an expatriot in one's own country.

[dsdrane]

Originally Posted by u-dog

What a relief to be able to be proud to be American again. I missed my country and I'm happy to have it back! Eight years is a long time to be an expatriot in one's own country.

I hear ya barkin', big dog.

And I couldn't agree more.

[Emproph]

In the words of MLK:

FREE AT LAST!!!!!!!!!

[u-dog]

a GLBT marching band invited to participate in the inaugural parade. That's new.

[Emproph]

Obama, Africa & The American System.

...married to a daughter of the daughter of slaves. This is the promise of America, spelled out for real. This is the tangible proof of the effectiveness of the American constitution and way.

It's a reeelly short article, but I really enjoyed it.

[antiochian]

I missed the ceremony as I was in class. By the time I got to my apartment, the inaugural parade had begun. May Obama's leadership be a healing balm on this sick nation. May he prove to be more than providing lip-service to the lgbt community. God/goddess/pick-your-deity bless our 44th President, Barack Obama!!

[BruceChris]

Everyone was glad that we now have Obama as our president. But the biggest single topic of conversation was definitely Michele's dress.

Peace, Love, and good-by George, Bruce Chris

[BruceChris]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_159370.html

Bruce Chris

[u-dog]

Or did Dick Cheney remind any of you of the Mr. Potter character (the villain) from "Its a Wonderful Life" Getting pushed around in his wheel chair and waving his cane at people. I just laughed and laughed. It had to be a "God-thing" to have his last public appearance be so telling of his actual character and legacy.

[Matt Algren]

DEFINITELY not just you. That was the first thing I thought of. It's actually a pretty darn close likeness.

P.S. That poem was the suckiest suck that ever sucked. Brought the entire ceremony to a screeching halt. Thank God for Joseph Lowery.

[Zerbie]

I was disappointed by that poem. Unacquainted with the poet, and with that first impression, I'm not interested in more. While the sentiment was positive, the poem had no rhythm, no music in it. Most phrases way too long.

I favor free verse. But this read like prose, not poetry, and it came across as labored.

Yes, I agree about Lowry. His comments, not intended to be poetry, were far more musical and poetic. I did not know that the final lines came from a song, but it was clear to me that they had an origin somewhere, and I thought they either came from an old rhyme, or that he had made them up based on an rhyme.

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by u-dog

Or did Dick Cheney remind any of you of the Mr. Potter character (the villain) from "Its a Wonderful Life" Getting pushed around in his wheel chair and waving his cane at people. I just laughed and laughed. It had to be a "God-thing" to have his last public appearance be so telling of his actual character and legacy.

HELP ME CLARENCE! I WANT TO LIVE!

I kept expecting Cheney to jump up and say "Uncle Billy (Clinton) is short on your campaign contributions. Stop the inauguration!"

[tdogg]

Yeah, Cheney looked pathetic. For me, almost as uplifting as Obama's speech was Bush's departure via helicopter. I brought my little teeny tiny TV in to work and although we had the streaming video on the large office TV, I was glad to have my TV. The streaming video was ruined by constant stops and starts and missing pieces. Interestingly, the problems began during Warren's prayer.

It was a great day all in all. I can't believe the # of balls the Obama's attended! Michelle is so beautiful, she is really in super shape. I like having a first lady that is in such excellent physical condition. For many reasons.