Sometimes Democrats do the right thing.
As a general rule, tickets to attend the Inauguration of Presidents have been free to those who could access them… problem is, they’re not usually on par with the popularity of a U2 concert. (it’s not every day we elect a rock star)
Entry to the event is obtained through a request to the office of your congressman… if they return the request with the offer of a ticket. Problem is, demand to attend has gotten so high, ticket scalpers are now selling their tickets for prices exceeding $20,000.
Enter Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)…
Senator Feinstein has asked her Judiciary committee staff to draft legislation that would make selling of tickets to inaugural events illegal.
“This inauguration will be the major civic event of our time, and these tickets are supposed to be free for the people. Nobody should have to pay for their tickets. To guard against scalpers, we are encouraging Congressional offices to establish a protocol for ticket distribution that requires people to show a photo ID in order to pick up their tickets. In addition, I am writing a letter to sites like eBay and Craigslist that requests their help in making sure that scalpers do not use their sites to sell inaugural tickets”
I don’t agree with Feinstein’s politics about 99.99% of the time but this time I have to say… she’s got the right idea.
Veterans Day 2008 - Thank You!
I had the opportunity of attending a Veterans Day church service at a small Native American chapel my in-laws attend. I was playing taps at the close of the service in remembrance of those who have fallen for this great country.
The greatest moment of the entire service came when several surviving WWII veterans spoke about their service to their country as Native Americans. It was a very real reminder of how much some people give for their country and how much we sometimes take for granted.
If you see someone in your daily routines today that you know has served or is serving this great country in our armed forces, please stop and thank them.
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.
A National Holiday for Barry? No thank you!
There was a time in this country when we celebrated greatness… things great people had done for others, or our country. We have a tradition in this country of honoring these great men/women with days of recognition, or sometimes even months of lessons and television specials.
Apparently some feel those days of celebrating accomplishments are a thing of the past.
A group dubbed “Yes We Can” in Kansas has made its goal to initiate a National Holiday on November 4th to commemorate the election of Barack Obama. The group points to national holidays having been established for past Presidents such as Washington, Lincoln etc. as reason enough to celebrate Obama’s election.
One HUGE problem with that argument folks. Washington, Lincoln, MLK etc are all DEAD for one, and another thing… they all ACCOMPLISHED monumental achievements for their country. Barack Obama has yet to do a single thing aside from becoming our 44th President.
If we exit an Obama Presidency having seen monumental achievements accomplished by this man, I could see there being a sound argument for a possible commemoration of his success but, to quote friends “he hasn’t even been inaugurated yet!
People keep talking about this historic event that has happened… the first black man to rise to the highest office in our country and that’s excellent! The only problem with that is, to commemorate that with a national holiday is to celebrate an accomplishment with race as a motivating factor.
Let the man do something, and let the history books decide if he deserves a national holiday.
Loading ...“He’s not MY President!”
I listen to several AM talk stations throughout the day and I’ve heard a lot of callers getting the boot from hosts for uttering the following line:
“I didn’t vote for Obama… He is NOT my President”
I have a short message to anyone who wants to throw a hissy fit for not getting the result they were hoping for from Tuesday’s election.
GROW UP
Every four years we hold an election to either re-elect our sitting President or vote in a new one… there is always a loser and we will never satisfy 100% of the citizens of this country but one thing always stays the same. No matter who we elect, they are to become the President of the United States of America. We don’t elect a President of the Democrats, or a President of the Republicans/Libertarians/Socialists.
We’ve had 8 years of “he’s not MY President from the left after Bush was elected and re-elected, why must we carry that torch through another term. Bitching and moaning about something like this does nothing to advance our country it just drags us through the mud and increases hostilities between the parties.
You do not have to buy into the political platform of the figurehead of this country but the office deserves respect no matter who is holding the title.
I will respect the President of the United States and he will be getting plenty of correspondence from me. I urge everyone out there to do the same. The least you can do is let it be known where YOU stand on the issues. Contact your Senators and State Representatives as well. You never know when your words might make a difference.
Election 2008 and my reaction
It was clear last night, fairly early on, that Barrack Obama would become the 44th President of this great country. There is nothing to be argued here, the people spoke and the election is over.
Say what you will about possible double votes etc, in the states that counted there was a large enough victory by the Obama campaign that there is no point in digging into the details as it would have no difference in the final counts. The nation wanted change and that will be what they get.
I would like to congratulate President-Elect Barrack Obama on a well run campaign, the man was made of Teflon and had the finances to buy a small country… and with that it was a battle to try and stop him.
That being said I would like to move on to comments from people I know and people I have seen on TV. I’ve heard a repeated mantra over the past hours and it goes a little something like this:
“It can’t get any worse than it is right now”
We are one negative financial quarter away from an official recession, we have congressmen who are drooling over the prospects of repressing free speech in this country, we still have enemies in this world that wish the very country we live in wiped from the map… my friends, it can get MUCH worse than it is right now.
Another comment I keep hearing is that Obama will be a moderate President and I just have to ask, when… in the history of this nation has a President taken office and made a radical shift in their political values? There are numerous rankings out there that place Obama amongst the most liberal in Washington. What makes you think that those core values will suddenly change when he is sworn into office?
I am cautiously optimistic that the experience and access to more information will allow President-Elect Obama the ability to see beyond his politics and do what is best for this country and only time will tell at this point, but I hope for all of us that this election was not a huge mistake.
A closing note to all Conservatives out there reading this. You may be feeling slighted and torn down but please, do not stoop to name calling or fighting with people… it makes you look stupid and it only ads to the troubles we as a party are facing. Direct your energy towards rebuilding the values we have strayed from and strengthening the Conservative base. We have 4 years until we get to have another shot at the Presidency.
I will always respect the office of President of the United States… but it does not mean I have to agree with the decisions made by the person holding that title.
— I received some emails asking for county maps from the election so here is last night vs. 2004
