The Second Coming 2.0

Cartoon by Ben Jennings in the Guardian nails it:

Click to enlarge.

The new gospel:

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Sunday Drive: This Land Is Your Land/America

As performed by Jennifer Lopez at the inauguration of President Biden last year.

 

By the way, M.P. and I early-voted last week, and I'm happy to report that where we live, the elections office is really on the ball.  Voting was quick and easy, and all the ladies minding the place were super helpful and friendly.  With no lines or crowds, we were in and out in less than 10 minutes.  I'm totally sold on this early vote thing.

If you haven't already voted, please plan to vote on Tuesday. 

The country you save may be your own.

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Sunday Drive: This Land Is Your Land

Just in case you missed it - Jennifer Lopez sang this at the inauguration:

FYI:  What she says in Spanish is, "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

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Sunday Drive: Undivided

Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard beamed this performance in from Nashville to Biden's Celebrating America inaugural concert last Wednesday evening - and wow, what a powerful song.  Made your Head Trucker get a little misty-eyed.  Whether you're a fan of country music or not, I think you'll be moved too, if you listen to the words.

 

For the record, country megastar McGraw identified himself as a Democrat years ago.

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Three Presidents Agree

NBC recorded an informal meeting of the three ex-Presidents - Obama, Bush, and Clinton - at Arlington National Cemetery on the afternoon of Inauguration Day, and you'll like what they said:

 

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Biting the Hand That Protects You

 

For a whole day it seemed that the world was really becoming a better place.  But how silly of me.  It's just the same old world with the same mixed-up people in it after all, as an egg flipped over is still the same old egg in the same old skillet.  Here is ingratitude, defined:

Politico reports (emphasis mine):

Thousands of National Guardsmen were forced to vacate congressional grounds on Thursday and are now taking their rest breaks outside and in nearby parking garages, after two weeks of sleepless nights protecting the nation’s capital in the wake of the violent Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

One unit, which had been resting in the Dirksen Senate Office building, was abruptly told to vacate the facility on Thursday, according to one Guardsman. The group was forced to rest in a nearby parking garage without internet reception, with just one electrical outlet, and one bathroom with two stalls for 5,000 troops, the person said. . . .

Guard leadership did not make the decision and are “doing their best to provide rest shelter for troops who are still on 12-hour shifts protecting the Capitol and congressional grounds,” the second Guardsman said.

“There really may be an important reason for us to vacate and it just hasn’t been well communicated yet,” the second Guardsman said.

I suppose some prissy bitch, of either gender, decided they were offended by all those smelly troops sleeping on the floors of Congress.  So send them to sit in a garage, they're only soldiers.  How fucking stupid - and ungrateful.  Makes me furious.  But I'll stop right there.

Update, 1/22/21, 8:30 a.m.:

Apparently, lawmakers in Congress were as outraged last night as your Head Trucker was, and according to this report the troops have now been allowed back into the Capitol.  

 

However, other reports say some outraged state governors have already ordered their troops to return home. Your Head Trucker says the leadership of the Capitol Police needs to be shaken up and tossed out if they don't have any more damn sense than to pull a stunt like this. Police leaders also dropped the ball big fucking time by allowing the attackers to even get close to the doors of the Capitol on January 6. Some heads have rolled already, and this incident indicates to me that others need to follow.

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"This Is Democracy's Day": Joe Biden Inaugurated as 46th President

In keeping with the Constitution and the votes of the American people, duly certified according to law, Joe Biden was peacefully inaugurated on the steps of the Capitol shortly before noon today in Washington, where as is customary he delivered his inaugural address, the sun shining brightly:

Text of the address is here.

Your Head Trucker wept to see Joe sworn in, finally, dispelling the dark clouds that have hung over the nation for the last four years. Many problems remain to be faced, but now I feel I can breathe again, hope again. This is the song in my heart today:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below,

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer: 

Prayer For the President of the United States 

and all in Civil Authority

O Lord our Governor, whose glory is in all the world: We commend this nation to thy merciful care, that, being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to the President of the United States and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in thy fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

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The President's Second Inaugural Address

Lord have mercy, I have lived to see this day:

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall . . . .

Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.

Thank you for that, Mr. President. Full text here.




See also gay Latino poet Richard Blanco reading his inaugural poem over at Reluctant Rebel.

Zoooooom This

These are not three photos, but one - showing you the zoomability of the incredible Inaugural photo over at Gigapan.org. Nice to see that Texas was represented . . . even if it was waaaay back there in the crowd.

Zoom in on the VIP stand to see Clarence Thomas snoozing through Obama's address. Figures.

(Honk to Andrew Sullivan)

The Inaugural Poem

Your Head Trucker will admit to liking a good poem - or pome, as we say here in Texas. So I thought I'd reproduce for y'all here the one that Elizabeth Alexander delivered at the Inauguration. She seems like a nice person, and there's nothing wrong with the poem when you read it on the page:

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each other’s 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 some one 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 thyself, 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 pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, any thing can be made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp, praise song for walking forward in that light.

Nice thoughts, nice poem. Problem is, it simply doesn't sound so great when read aloud; not the kind of thing that works well when declaimed upon a great national occasion.

I agree with the title of the Guardian's review of it: "Elizabeth Alexander's praise poem was way too prosy."

I hear tell that prose poems are all the rage these days; but as with modern art and modern music, so too with modern poetry: it's all well and good to innovate, but when you get too far from the oh-so-last-century traditional forms that people expect, too far into the ordinary (or the bizarre, in some cases), then you can't blame people for not being terribly impressed.

Still, I believe I understand what Ms. Alexander was trying to say here, and I applaud her sentiments. I don't know that I could have done any better if the onus were put on me. I've put it on my to-do list to go read some of her other poems when I get a chance.

Mama always said, when slipping some suspicious vegetable onto my plate, At least try three bites; then if you don't like it, you don't have to eat any more of it.

You Rock, Daddy!

I totally missed this moment during the Inauguration, but the roommate told me about it last night so I had to go find a pic of it. Love that Sasha. Here's a video replay, in slow motion:

Why Is This Man Laughing?

Caption this.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong. More great BIG Inaugural pics at the Denver Post photoblog here.)

In Today's News

Also online, a wonderful family picture from First Sister Maya's 2003 wedding.

On Day 2 in the ObamaNation, as reported by the New York Times:

* At the White House, the President was sworn in again by the Chief Justice "out of an abundance of caution" following yesterday's tongue-twister on the steps of the Capitol. White House legal counsel thought the re-do was unneccesary, but this should silence the mad-dog rightwing nuts, who've been foaming at the mouth about it.

* Ted Kennedy was released from hospital with apparently no ill effects from the seizure he suffered yesterday at the Capitol during the Inaugural luncheon.

* His niece, Caroline Kennedy, announced she was withdrawing herself from consideration for being appointed to Hillary Clinton's vacated Senate seat, citing concerns about her uncle's health.

* Hillary was confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State, and resigned her Senate seat (D-NY), which she has held for the past 8 years.

* The President ordered a halt to prosecutions at Gitmo while the new administration reviews the system of war-crimes trials held there.

* The stock market bounced back up after about a 4 percent dip on Inauguration Day.

* The Obamas, Bidens, and Clintons maintained post-Inaugural tradition by attending a morning prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, with 20 interfaith ministers, including women leaders of the Muslim and Hindu faiths, and featuring a sermon by a woman, the president of the Disciples of Christ church. "The service featured a gospel choir of African-American children in crisp white shirts and black pants and dresses, many of whom broke into smiles as they glimpsed the new president when they filed in. They sang a rocking rendition of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” as if giving a commentary not only on the Almighty, but on the new president’s job description. Mr. Obama sang along, and the First Lady clapped. "

* And the NYT had a feature article on the extended First Family:

For well over two centuries, the United States has been vastly more diverse than its ruling families. Now the Obama family has flipped that around, with a Technicolor cast that looks almost nothing like their overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly Protestant predecessors in the role. The family that produced Barack and Michelle Obama is black and white and Asian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish. They speak English; Indonesian; French; Cantonese; German; Hebrew; African languages including Swahili, Luo and Igbo; and even a few phrases of Gullah, the Creole dialect of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Very few are wealthy, and some — like Sarah Obama, the stepgrandmother who only recently got electricity and running water in her metal-roofed shack — are quite poor.

“Our family is new in terms of the White House, but I don’t think it’s new in terms of the country,” Maya Soetoro-Ng, the president’s younger half-sister, said last week. “I don’t think the White House has always reflected the textures and flavors of this country.”

It does now. All in all, a very good day in America. I'm so glad we finally got here.

Rev. Lowry's Benediction

Totally cool, and totally holy. I loved it.

(Honk to Sebastian at sufferthearrows, who found it first)

Get to Know Us First

A great new collection of Public Service Announcements, featuring gay and lesbian families, ran in California before, during, and after the Inauguration yesterday, created by gettoknowusfirst.org. Now this is what we should have been running last year, folks, instead of those mealy-mouthed, invisible-gay ads that Equality California had going.

However, Joe.My.God. reports that the Los Angeles ABC station, KABC-TV, refused to air the ads, claiming they were "too controversial to air during the Inauguration, since 'many families will be watching.'"

Right. And what about our families, huh? Better wake up and smell the coffee, KABC: change has come to America. Like the Man said, "all are equal."

BTW: Joe also has a link today to a very cool site with many images of headlines around the world about Obama's inauguration, check it out.

Update: The Advocate reports that KABC's general manager, after meeting with reps from GetToKnowUsFirst and GLAAD, has apologized and said he will be glad to run the spots.

The Inaugural Address

Have to say I was a little disappointed; Obama is a brilliant man with a polished style - steeped in Lincoln's words - who knows how to move an audience, but although it was a good speech, I was not nearly as moved by it as I was by, say, his speech to the Democratic convention in Denver last August. I was hoping for something as ringing and memorable as Kennedy's ("the torch has been passed to a new generation . . . ask not what your country can do for you . . . ), but strangely, it seemed more like a standard campaign speech to my ears than an Inaugural Address.

However, it improves upon a second reading. Marc Ambinder has neatly annotized the speech here and here. A few of my favorite passages:

My fellow citizens:

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 forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. . . .

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. . . .

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

The Inauguration: From Space

Major wow: A bird's-eye view of the 2 million or so on the Mall yesterday, clumped around the Jumbotrons. Amazing. I remember when Telstar went up, providing the first grainy, jerky, black & white TV pictures via satellite, and everybody thought that was really something; what a long way we've come since then.

(Honk to Andrew Sullivan)

Last Dance

The Obamas strike me as being realists, not romantics. You know, the early-to-bed, early-to-rise type, putting nose to the grindstone and homework before playtime. And for goodness' sake, they've been married for years and have two school-age children. Hardly a fairytale prince and princess; but tonight they gave a good-enough imitation as the President danced "with the one who brung me" at each of the nine inaugural balls they visited briefly, each time to the tune of "At Last."

Said Barack about Michelle: "She does everything I do, only backwards and in high heels." A gallant compliment, a lovely evening; a wonderful beginning.

In time, our romance with the new President will wear off too and be replaced by something less illusory and more practical, workable, clear-sighted, grounded. As with every successful marriage. I know that, and maybe you do too.

But this is a night for dancing - and dreaming. So let us enjoy love's ardours while they last. How often do we get the chance?

And your Head Trucker is turning in uncharacteristically early here, at the end of this long, joyous, historic day. I'm whipped boys, all wrung out; got to hit the hay now. Tomorrow, like the man said, we go to work to change America, and the world. So from away out on the Texas prairie, good night and God bless.

Update, 1/22: Found a video of Beyonce channeling Etta James and serenading the Obamas - who look as sweetly lovey-dovey as any young couple at the senior prom - at the Neighborhood Ball, their first dance of the evening. What a memory they made for us there.

And despite the Vice-President's protest that he can't dance, the Bidens didn't look too shabby, either.

Just One More

By an artist in Puri, India, way over yonder on the other side of the world. Guess just about everybody is happy with the CHANGE in this country, huh? (AP photo)

Inaugural Parade Album 5

Well somehow in the uploading to blogger, these last sets got out of order, but I'm too tired now to try to fix it. Guess it don't matter too much anyway. The first two up there are actually the last two. I had another really great shot, the last one, of them walking up the steps to the door of the White House, hand in hand, but fumblefingers here accidently deleted it, damn.

The parade had already started by 2:45 my time, and the announcer declared it officially ended at 5:57, at which point the Obamas promptly turned and headed for the house. They dutifully stood there the whole three hours and smiled/saluted/danced/waved to every contingent, long after all the other VIP's had snuck out to go change into evening gowns and tuxes. I'm sure the Obamas must have been dead tired by then, but they've got all those inaugural balls to go to tonight as well. God bless 'em.

It was a grand parade and a grand day. And I am so very glad I am here to see it. One of my favorite moments: when the Obamas first entered the reviewing stand, as Michelle paused to hug a friend, she could be clearly heard saying "We're here, we're home!"

WELCOME HOME.