The National Concert at the Lincoln Memorial today is free to all. However, not everyone wants to brave the elements. Here is a mesage from Obama regarding the Inauguration.
The concert will be on HBO for free. HBO is unscrambling the signal for the event.
UPDATE: HBO will air today’s concert live. They will also show it online at http://www.hbo.com/
Good for HBO for putting this concert online for those that don’t subscribe to HBO.
Did the inauguration Campaign pay to have the concert unscrambled or did HBO do it out of the goodness of their hearts?
There is also a children’s concert tonight on disney. It is to honor military families and is sponsored by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any info on it yet. This is tv announced only.
42,000 peacekeepers at the Inauguration Ceremonies. Wow. 100 of them will be from Prince William County.
5000 porta-potties.
I drove into and out of DC this morning to Union Station via 395, and there was surprisingly very little traffic, like a regular Sunday morning.
Firedancer, do you think the crowds will be lighter than expected?
Maybe. I think they have done a great job of scaring people away. We’ll be attending several events (although not going to the concert today), so I’ll keep you posted. I’m still torn about going to the actual inauguration. I hate being crushed in the middle of a crowd, and after the Nov 3 PWFairgrounds rally, I said THAT’S IT for me. But the pull to witness history is tooooo great. I’ll just have to conquer my panic attacks again, I guess. Maybe. Probably.
Denzel Washington has given the We are One speech. Fabulous. Bruce Springsteen is singing Come on up for the Rising. His accompanying choir is dressed warmly.
Never thought I’d hear a President telling us to text message ‘open’ to some number. I did check the usaservice.org website though and there appears to be many things to choose from: blood drive, food drive, coat drive, book drive, etc… There even is a party hosted by someone in Haymarket. I’m actually very impressed with that website.
What a wonderful time in history. There is so much excitement in the air. I never thought I would witness the inaguration of a minority President in my lifetime, but Tuesday it will be. I am so excited.
I am impressed with the website as well and I am really impressed with how Obama is working to pull the country together. I haven’t felt this much energy, since John F. Kennedy was elected. His words ring true today “Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country” (hope I got that right) If we each do a small part then the plans Obama is outlining will work.
BTW HBO Paid 2.5 Million Dollars for exclusive airing right’s.
I was disappointed however to watch that the Cherub Obama did not descend from the clouds to bless the crowd, I guess He’s saving that for Tuesday.
Obama spoke after U2. Nice try though.
You know, I don’t understand why you felt the need to say that PWConservative. If he has done something you do not approve of, by all means address that issue but just a generic jab? I don’t think anyone wants to hear that. The more people work together, the better America will be. Additionally, Obama has been very gracious to his opponents and to President Bush. (and Pres. Bush has been gracious and helpful to him)
Let’s allow the atmosphere of good manners to go on as long as possible. It is like you feel you must be programmed to hate. That is too bad, what with you being so young and all.
PWC Conservative, I share Moonhowler’s puzzlement over your need to make that statement, especially when it was incorrect and oh so dead easy to disprove. Mind sharing your motivation?
Text of the President-elect’s comments:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/18/raw-data-obamas-speech-lincoln-memorial-concert/
OK, so PWConservative didn’t see the part where Obama showed up. Probably watching the Steelers/Ravens Game, which was better anyway (and it’s only the second football I’ve seen this season). Let’s not delude ourselves into thinking we caught PWConservative in a grave error that discredits all conservative principles. It was a minor thing at best. Or are we taking issue with the “cherub” thing, which brings lots of funny Photoshop opportunities to mind. Not sure why we care about Obama anyway, he’s just the tip of the iceberg. Nancy “Know Your Failure” Pelosi and Harry Reid are what’s under the water.
It’s not about the error, it’s about the desperate need to launch the jab even when it can’t land.
And Slowpoke, you really think this president is nobody to care about in terms of policymaking? I think that is a naive reading of the man and his history, both in politics and the academic world as a professor. You appear to want to belittle him, which is obviously your right, but you haven’t offered a single actual argument for what you state above…”not sure why we care…etc.”
Maybe my politics are showing, but PW’s comment made me chuckle. Disclosure: I voted for the other guy.
Nonetheless, this is, indeed, an exciting and significant time in our nation’s history. My pastor spoke about the King/Obama connection yesterday and was very, very fired up. It was a great service.
Hey, Leila,
Even I’m a little hopeful….heck if anything, I’m just looking forward to something other than Bush. Now seriously, Obama’s policy-making importance? I hope you’re joking about that. The man has accomplished NOTHING in policy-making, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be great, just means he’s accomplished nothing so far (except running for and winning office). Fortunately for me, being correct doesn’t require offering arguments. Hey, name 10, heck, even 5, solid examples of any of the following: landmark legislation Obama has sponsored and passed, or examples of executive leadership he’s displayed (head of a political campaign doesn’t count), name some academic works that he’s produced that do not fundamentally skew the ideas of the founding fathers (and no, Obama is not even in the same academic league as Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, etc). I hope Obama is a good President, and at least it’ll be different. But there’s only so much Obama can do without Congress (last I checked, they make the laws), and Congress is the body I fear the most. That’s where the real decay is, the real scandal, the real corruption. I’m looking forward to see if Obama can live up to even one quarter of the hype…I’ll be a big fan if he does. But what he’s done up till now other than win elections? Nope, nothing there. So it’s all about “hope” for the future. Fine with me… hope it’s a good one!
If we don’t have hope……then what do we have?
Last time there was a regime change, about half of America felt the election had been stolen from them. In fairness, had it gone the other way, to Al Gore, the other half would have felt it had been stolen. It set a bad tone for 8 years. This time the election was decisive. It would be nice to be able to start off on a good note at least. We all know it will not last but let’s enjoy it while we can.
If anyone’s interested in watching the HBO rebroadcast online, it can be found here –
http://www.hbo.com/weareone/webcast/index.html
Slowpoke, I assume then you think Congress was the only source of policy making or real power in the Bush Administration, the Clinton Administration, and so on. If you really need examples of how this wasn’t so, I can give them, but surely you do not. The point is you don’t know the future and it appears that because you want to belittle Obama, you want to pretend that he won’t be making policy, that he isn’t capable, that he is an empty suit, that he hasn’t articulated any plans, or that the executive office has little power. I don’t believe any of that is true.
I agree with you that Obama didn’t distinguish himself legislatively in his short time in the US Senate. However he sponsored quite a bit of legislation in the Illinois Senate (I can supply a list) that you probably wouldn’t agree with, but that I do, and it was what put him on the map for the U.S. Senate run. I also wouldn’t discount his earlier life as a community organizer. Frankly most people don’t come out of the Ivy League to do that sort of work in the inner city, he did and I applaud him for it.
On the academic side, you set up a standard that Obama is only worth something if he has written material that accords with your view of the Constitution (whatever that is). Obama was a respected law professor, but apparently people who teach and by all accounts are good at it do are of no value to you. I think your reference to the founding fathers is kind of irrelevant unless you can name other politicians who would fulfill that level of accomplishment. It would be nice if the classical education of a Jefferson were reproduced today, but it isn’t. In any case, Bush has made a name for himself trampling on the Constitution.
I am not starry-eyed about Obama. I think he is a very smart man who will likely surround himself with very smart people of contrasting views for advice. But I am already disappointed in some choices he has made in appointments and I also realize he is likely to disappoint me more. However, the notion that he is an empty suit makes about as much sense as all the other bizarre and often contradictory accusations made against him.