CamObamalot Day 1

Eventually I'll dispense with the bullet points, but there are a lot of things going on that I feel like talking about and I just don't have enough faith in my writing abilities to put them into paragraph form.

- First off, I learned a lot from the inauguration festivities yesterday. For example, in his speech, President Obama said we were going to restore science to its rightful place. What a relief that is. Finally, people will stop going to faith healers to have their humors balanced and will start going to hospitals. Our shipping industry will no longer have to fear sailing off the edge of the world; and we can stop executing people for saying that the earth isn't the center of the universe. It's days like this that make me truly proud to be an American.

I also learned -- or rather, had it confirmed -- that modern poetry is absolute garbage. The poem that was read was hands-down the worst poem I've ever heard that wasn't written by a hormonal adolescent girl.

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.

Buh? Preempt grievance? What does that even mean? Don't think about it too hard, lest you get a nosebleed.

Personally, I thought the benediction given by Rev. Lowery was much more poetic.

...we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right.

That's something else I learned. I had no idea that, as a white person, I hadn't been embracing what was right. All these years I thought my respect for the rule of law, my judgment of people by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, my desire for justice, etc., were all good things to embrace. Apparently I was mistaken. I aim to improve that. And really, what better way to kick off a supposedly post-racial era than by playing the race card in a benediction? Color me hopeful.

Also, why did Rev. Lowery stop there? There are plenty of colors that he left out. Thus, my friends and I came up with some on our own. We also plan to work for the day when:

Taupe will have hope. When lilac gets its groove back. When tan will be the man. When gray will show us the way. When beige will no longer rage. When buff will be the stuff. When burnt sienna will be a winna. When pink will be in sync. When brick red will no longer be a dickhead. When jade will have it made. When onyx won't go into histrionics. When indigo will be in the know. When aquamarine won't be obscene. When smalt we will exalt. When teal keeps it real. When azure will be pure. When wheat can't be beat. When bronze will be like the Fonz. When fallow won't be shallow. When ocher won't be mediocre, and when rust will be just.

- I was pleasantly surprised by the Daily Show's handling of the whole thing. I actually laughed quite a bit at their self-depricating humor. At least they admit being completely in the tank.

- It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of sheer hatred directed at now-former President Bush. The response he got when he walked out for the inauguration -- the boo's, the people chanting "na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye" and whatnot -- was completely classless and unworthy of a man who has spent the last eight years as the leader of our country. I hate to beat a dead horse or give the impression that it's just sour grapes, but seriously. I suspect that liberals would be howling just as loud if Barack Obama were to be subjected to a fraction of the personal animosity that President Bush endured for the better part of the last decade.

- When I predicted that the Dow was drop below 8,000, I really didn't expect that to happen as soon as Inauguration Day.

- It's Obama's first full day in office, and here are the highlights of his actions so far:

*Postponed the trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees for 120 days.

*Loosened FOIA regulations on the Bush administration.

*Instituted a pay freeze on his top staff.

*Instituted new rules for lobbyists and transparency in government.

Strictly item by item, I'm in favor of about half of those things. But given a weighted score (the pay freeze isn't equal in gravity, I believe, to the postponement of the trials) I'm probably in favor of about 20 percent of it. Just for what it's worth. I'm curious to see if he sticks by his promise for openness in government. I don't see it ending well. Granted, that supposes that the media in this country will actually do its job, which it hasn't in two years. So nevermind.

- I wonder if Peggy Joseph has heard from President Obama regarding her gas tank and mortgage payments.

Pre-inauguration thoughts

- On the subject of Senate appointments: Roland Burris has every right to be seated as the Senator from Illinois. When he was appointed, Gov. Rod Blagojevich had not been impeached and still had all legal authority as governor. The fact that he was a sleazeball arrested on charges of corruption are legally irrelevant. That said, Senate Democrats totally wussed out of their ultimatum. Originally they had said that they would not seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich, apparently hoping it would deter him from making an appointment. Well, it turns out Blago has bigger, uh, hair, than Harry Reid. Not terribly surprising.

As for Caroline Kennedy, much has been made of her qualifications -- or lack thereof -- to be Senator of New York. Personally, I think Caroline Kennedy has exactly the same qualifications to be a New York Senator as Hillary Clinton did. Which is to say, well, none whatsoever. Hillary Clinton was born in Illinois, served as First Lady of Arkansas and then First Lady of the U.S. She didn't even live in New York until a little more than a year before the election. What part of that qualifies her to be Senator of New York? Caroline Kennedy at least has the advantage of being born in the state she wants to represent. Granted, given the whole Elliot Spitzer debacle, Charlie Rangel's tax problems, and Chuck Schumer's general douchebaggery, it doesn't seem the voters of New York particularly care about the qualifications of their representatives. They get what they deserve, as far as I'm concerned.

There's also the whole idea that Barack Obama's seat must be filled by a black man, and that Clinton's seat must be filled by a woman. Now, I know that identity politics is a staple of liberal ideology, but come on. Isn't that a little silly? When the voters of Illinois elected Barack Obama, were they voting for Barack Obama or "the black guy?" Likewise, with Hillary Clinton, were voters voting for Hillary Clinton, or the white woman with the last name of a former president?

- I wonder what the Daily Show is going to be like Post-Bush. They've spent the last eight years doing Bush-is-dumb, Cheney-is-evil jokes. I'm curious to see what angle they take on Obama, and if they can stop fellating him long enough to crack a joke.

- Why is it that when President Bush has a $40 million inauguration, the media decries it as a tasteless indulgence during wartime; but when Barack Obama has a $170 inauguration during an economic recession, they're so giddy because, OMG Beyonce!!!!1!11!

- I hope Republicans/conservatives give more respect to Barack Obama than liberals gave to President Bush. I didn't vote for Barack Obama, but I'm not going to claim he's not my president. I'll support him when I agree with him, and I want his administration to be a successful one. Unfortunately, my definition of success includes lower taxes, smaller government, a strong national defense, sound fiscal policy and in general a more responsible government. Given that Obama's talking of trillion-dollar deficits, having diplomatic talks with Iran and Venezuela, bailing out the auto industry, etc., he's not off to a good start.

- Speaking of the auto bailout, the idea of it infuriates me. If I wanted GM and Chrysler to have my money, I would've bought a car from GM or Chrysler. To have the government take my tax dollars and give it to a failing business is mind-boggling.

- On a totally unrelated note, I'm looking forward to Conan being on an hour earlier in a couple of months. I just hope he doesn't screw with the show too much. I also have to wonder if he'll keep the Max Weinberg 7. And if he does, what will Kevin Eubanks do with his band?

- I'm already counting down to the next football season. Luckily, spring training starts soon. That'll give me something to do to pass the time.

- So apparently there's a possibility that there's life on Mars. I've never understood the belief that Earth is the only planet in the universe that supports life. If the entire universe is subject to the same laws of physics, it doesn't make sense to me that there WOULDN'T be life on other planets. That's like life existing in California, and then being surprised to find that there is also life in New York. But that's just my non-scientist opinion.

- Is it too early to start campaigning for Bobby Jindal in 2012?