Our 44th president, Barack Obama

[mshray]

Just figured we need to move on.  (pun intended)

[urth]

Apparently Ted Kennedy had a seizure during the Senate luncheon, and has been taken away in an ambulance. Think good thoughts--if he were to succumb today that'd throw a bit of an ominous damper on the jubilance of the day.

[mshray]

Apparently Ted Kennedy had a seizure during the Senate luncheon, and has been taken away in an ambulance. Think good thoughts--if he were to succumb today that'd throw a bit of an ominous damper on the jubilance of the day.

And apparently so was Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), who iirc is the oldest man in the Senate.

I got this much so far:

Kennedy suffered a seizure at the end of the lunch, and it lasted a while. He had been sitting with Vice President Biden and second lady Jill Biden during the lunch portion of the program when he began convulsing.

He was taken out on a wheelchair and had to have his legs lifted up to get him out of the room. He was loaded onto an ambulance and removed.

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Sen. John Kerry, helped Kennedy get into the reclining chair in which he was wheeled out.

Byrd is 91, and his condition was unknown in this article, but he was wheeled out ahead of Kenenedy.  Both were conscious.

[urth]

Apparently Ted Kennedy had a seizure during the Senate luncheon, and has been taken away in an ambulance. Think good thoughts--if he were to succumb today that'd throw a bit of an ominous damper on the jubilance of the day.

And apparently so was Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), who iirc is the oldest man in the Senate.

I got this much so far:

Kennedy suffered a seizure at the end of the lunch, and it lasted a while. He had been sitting with Vice President Biden and second lady Jill Biden during the lunch portion of the program when he began convulsing.

He was taken out on a wheelchair and had to have his legs lifted up to get him out of the room. He was loaded onto an ambulance and removed.

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Sen. John Kerry, helped Kennedy get into the reclining chair in which he was wheeled out.

Byrd is 91, and his condition was unknown in this article, but he was wheeled out ahead of Kenenedy.  Both were conscious.

SFGate had an longer account that said he'd been sitting at a table with Walter Mondale among others, and quoted another senator (Patrick Leahy perhaps scratch that, it was Orrin Hatch) who said that he had been swapping stories with his tablemates, but suddenly just stopped.  That story has since been taken down and replaced with a shorter AP story that summarized what happened at the banquet, and saying he'd been taken to the hospital, but he was conscious and answering questions.

I haven't seen anything that talks about Byrd's condition beyond his having to leave in a wheelchair as well.

[mshray]

Now they're saying Byrd is fine, though he did leave early and because of his frail health he was using a wheelchair.

[mshray]

Getting off to a nice start:

_A freeze on salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more — about 100 people in all.

_New Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

_Tighter ethics rules governing lobbying and lobbyists, including banning officials from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.

That first point is largely symbolic, but it's a worthy message to send.  And it won't make a bunch of headlines, but I can guarantee you that FIA revision is going to eventually lead to an even worse historical judgment of Bush/Rove/CheneyRumsfeld, et al.

[RGMike]

It's being suggested that O re-take the oath "just to be safe"...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/21/MNAF15E20I.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

[SFGuy]

Obama retakes oath of office after Roberts' mistake

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama retook his oath of office Wednesday after Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed while delivering it at Tuesday's inauguration.

The second oath -- also administered by Roberts -- took place at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday in the White House's Map Room. Roberts asked Obama whether he was ready.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html

[ggould]

HBO has added Bishop Gene Robinson to its archive of the Sunday concert:

http://www.hbo.com/weareone/webcast/index.html

[mshray]

All those Republicans who were crying that Obama was being mean to them better get used to it, methinks.  Today Obama unveiled some environmental policies, and in the soundbite I heard he said,

"The days of Washingon dragging its feet are over!"

Sounds like a rebuke to me.

[urth]

Possibly the coolest pic ever of the inauguration. Read this article:
http://bit.ly/ZHyN

Then click the link at the bottom to see the pic. Or to see the pic without the explanation, go here:
http://gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374

[mshray]

Possibly the coolest pic ever of the inauguration. Read this article:
http://bit.ly/ZHyN

Then click the link at the bottom to see the pic. Or to see the pic without the explanation, go here:
http://gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374

That's cool!  I gotta send this to my cousin & see if he can tell me where he was.

[RGMike]

speaking of the Inauguration, EVERYBODY wants Ree-Ree's hat:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_blog/2009/01/thousands-of-or.html

[mshray]

speaking of the Inauguration, EVERYBODY wants Ree-Ree's hat:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_blog/2009/01/thousands-of-or.html

My wife, who is relatively clueless about pop culture, asked me who that was when she came on stage, and I said, "That's 'Retha Franklin" (had to bite my tongue not to begin that sentence with "Hey Nineteen..."

Then Christina said, "What happened to her hair!?"

I told her it was a hat.  So you can be sure she's not trying to buy one.

[princessofcairo]

speaking of the Inauguration, EVERYBODY wants Ree-Ree's hat:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_blog/2009/01/thousands-of-or.html

Nothing, and I mean nothing, can eclipse that woman's bosom. I don't care how many rhinestones you put on it.