On the brink of the inauguration that few believed would ever happen
[Scroll down for UPDATES.]
Here we are. What a long strange trip it’s been.
I’m cautiously optimistic. What about you?
UPDATE noon:
Done.
I’m watching the show on TV. Trump has a red tie, Melania a blue coat (but more robin’s-egg blue than the usual blue of the red-white-and-blue) and Ivanka a white coat.
Now, the speech.
UPDATE 12:15 PM
Big populist message. “Power to the people.” Boy, that phase takes me back.
UPDATE 12:20 PM
Well, that was short. The populist message held throughout.
UPDATE 12:30 PM
I just heard a commentator say the speech was 16 minutes and 14 seconds. Now, that’s short.
Notably, Trump used the phrase “Islamic extremism” in his speech. That is a purposeful and pointed change.
UPDATE 12:47 PM
The Obama take off in the helicopter. For me, a sigh of relief.
UPATE 4:00 PM:
The parade begins. The police presence is enormous—a thick blue line, rather close together. And I’m sure that’s just the tip of the security iceberg.
UPDATE 4:13 PM
I also notice that the motorcade vehicles (the president’s being very heavily armored) are surrounded by lines and lines of Secret Service guards. And now Trump gets out to walk (opposite the FBI building, apparently), with his son and Melania. This makes me very nervous indeed. It always does, ever since a certain day long ago.
It’s just a few minutes; now they’re back in the car.
I also noticed how extraordinarily tall Barron Trump is for a 10-year old. He’s almost as tall as his father, and my guess is that he’ll be considerably taller when he grows up. He’s got the tall genes from both sides.
It seems to me that the president’s party gets out of the limo at an unpredictable and unannounced time because that way someone who wants to do them harm would have no idea where to position him/herself.
If they manage to kill the “individual shared responsibility mandate” and its left-fascist predicate, as a step in the restoration of the rule of law and limited governance, and they will have done everything I would have hoped for and more.
Imagine living in a country where the government was not your cultural and ideological enemy; a country where the principle of limited government and the rule of law held sway; a country wherein your fellow citizens recognized some absolute limits on what they could in justice demand of you, appropriate from you, or command you to do.
If Trump, in his populism manages to even sideswipe some of that, I will consider it a victory worth having.
The address did all it had to do. At 16 minutes it is still too long, but if memory serves, Obama’s was only about 20 minutes in 2009.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
To use a Brit concept, the ‘loyal’ opposition disagrees and seeks a compromise with which both sides can live. I’m waiting to see how Trump handles disloyal opposition to the Constitution. The protestors who engage in violence are disloyal. The congressional boycotters have declared themselves to be disloyal to their oaths having demonstrated that compromise is an anathema. Many of the appointed Federal bureaucrat leadership have demonstrated disloyalty.
Drain the swamp. Consolidate and disband. Prosecute and imprison.
It was hard to follow some of the proceedings, through the tears in my eyes, but I did see the new First Lady singing along to the National Anthem. Since I doubt that she learned it for propaganda purposes, although it would be very effective, for anyone who thought of doing so, I have to assume that her patriotism is unfeigned. I strongly suspect that her husband’s is similarly genuine. Imagine, having a President who loves our country, and, whatever mistakes he makes, they will never be actions taken with the intent of harming us.
One of the clergy who spoke after the Oath noted that rain is a sign of God’s blessing, and that rain began to fall as soon as President Trump walked out onto the platform. I have told people for seven years that, if they wanted to understand the drought that hit the Western States, they needed to read their Bibles: an evil ruler experiences drought, as a sign of God’s disfavor.
So, after the Oath, while the band was still playing Hail to the Chief, I put our flag out on the porch pillar, and read the Blessing on the President of the United States from the Prayer Book, (BCP) in a loud voice, from my front steps to God’s ear.
And rainbows appeared among the loud crowd beyond the fences.
In the Progressive Mind Control Room a few switches have been flipped from “Racist” to “Meritorious”. They include:
Disagreement with POTUS
States’ Rights
Reduction of Executive Branch power
This was the first inauguration I have watched since 2001. I actually enjoyed Trump’s speech. Now he needs to repeal all of bho’s destructive EOs using his YUGE pen and BIGLY. phone. 😉
I also enjoyed the irony of the BLM thugs chaining themselves to harass people trying to get to the ceremony. And then there is the vandalism by Soro’s thugs. Trashing a Starbucks certainly sends an important message to all Americans.
Michael Adams, I had tears in my eyes too.
And I totally lost it when President Trump ( oh my how I love to type that! ) was taking his oath of office.
It really never gets old to watch this American tradition re-enacted. (I thought Senator Blount did a fine job of setting the tone, and providing perspective.)
Well, it begins. He reiterated some rather grandiose goals. I hope he can deliver.
On a rather sour note; it pained me to see Schumer given a microphone on this occasion. There is no doubt that he will do all in his power to disrupt.
Another comment about the speech…. Trump referred to himself only 3 times. What a refreshing change from bho’s I, me, or my every 10 seconds.
Thanks for doing this, Neo. As a correspondent in Washington for more than 30 years I saw many inaugurations up close but this was one of the most satisfying and unusual. And I, too, felt tears well up as President Trump took the oath, and relief as Obama finally flew away. Finally! Whew! So many thoughts! But what keeps coming to mind is Melania, born in a country once under communist rule, 10 years an American citizen, now the First Lady. I keep thinking of people back in Slovakia right now, watching this on television and shaking their heads in wonder at their “home town girl.”
I was amazed at myself, as I watched the helicopter, which I knew the Obamas were in; I had my TV sound on mute. I was choked up and tearful. That rarely happens to me. I wondered why I had such strong emotion. I was never tempted to vote for Obama, and often flipped him the finger, when I privately saw him on TV.
I concluded that I was proud of our military (helicopter), proud of the democratic transfer of power, and grateful for the bounty of capitalism that could produce the extravagant show. I also admired the defeated Democrat leaders who proudly behaved in the ceremony. I also thought of the many well intentioned, but misguided Obama supporters who are motivated to achieve a greater good for the less fortunate.
At work, I happened to glance at the clock at one point, being frantic about getting certain things done right then, and noticed that it happened to be 11:57 am. Suddenly I remembered what was about to happen, and I somewhat gravely noted out loud to my coworkers “three minutes and counting”. There was no apparent reaction, which was fine as I wasn’t looking for one.
A few weeks ago, I had thought I’d give some sign of subtle jubilation or something at my desk once noon came around. But in the end, I resisted. I was too busy, anyway. I may hoist my little desk flag a bit higher on Monday, though.
Llwyddythlw, what does your name mean and how is it pronounced? And that poem is nice. I like the unusual rhyme scheme in it.
I’m still watching the parade. Quite a good show and — Trump was impressively resolute and passionate in his speech. Very populist, but it is important to remember it is an American populism, which will still include a downsizing of government to one degree or another. It was actually a fairly blistering speech, coming out so strong against “the establishment” who were sitting right there witnessing it. I was very impressed and I believe he is going to try and stand up for “the forgotten man”. The world is changing, globalization is on the rocks, it will be interesting to see where this goes.
I am feeling positive overall, even if he was not my first choice. I’m starting to like the guy even if he can be rough around the edges. Maybe that is what was needed, an “ankle biter” as Pamela Geller has called him — who is a fighter and who is determined to fight for the USA.
I loved his saying he would have us destroy Islamic extremism the world over. That is music to my ears. Easier said than done but it has never been said before.
An end of an error – TG – drain the swamp has a good start if the cabinet gets approved and they go and slash and burn the regulations.
Philip,
Thank you. As you may know, the poem is an excerpt from Tennyson’s “In Memoriam”. It established a sort of standard quatrain in ABBA form.
My “handle” is an invention of Anthony Trollope for one of his less well known characters in a less well known novel, Marion Fay. It looks Welsh, in which case, my guess is that it would be pronounced something like “Chloothuthloo”, the double dd sounding like “th” in brother.
parker Says:
January 20th, 2017 at 2:26 pm
Another comment about the speech…. Trump referred to himself only 3 times. What a refreshing change from bho’s I, me, or my every 10 seconds.
* * *
I wondered about the ex-prez so I checked: only 2 I’s in 2009, 4 in 2013 (all like Trump’s are rhetorically necessary). In fact, his speeches could almost have been given by Trump (with a little more direct phrasing), but we know O didn’t mean a word he said, and it looks like Trump does.
We caught a 6 a.m. train to DC. Really serious security, everywhere. Gravel trucks full of sand blocking roads. Up-armored HumVees. We didn’t have tickets, but wanted to watch from the Mall. “Demonstrators” were blocking the TSA-style security portals, so we walked a few extra miles to get there. There was a lot of rage among those losers. But all us Trump folks were having a glorious, wonderful time.
After the oath and his good speech, we made our way to Pennsylvania Avenue to find a spot for the parade. More security; very, very tight to get to the parade route; obviously the most dangerous place. And they were keeping all the demonstrators out.
We ducked into a fine little cafe on 10th & Pennsylvania. Placed was packed with happy, excited Trumpsters. TV sets throughout the cafe showing the Inauguration events. And then it happened.
The TV showed Barak and Michelle Obama walking down a carpet on the tarmac, going to board Air Force One. At that,the whole cafe spontaneously launched into
“Nah-nah
Nah nah nah-nah
Hey hey hey
Kiss him goodbye!
We went out and stood on the curb with all the Trumpsters and talked among ourselves and said all those things that Neo couldn’t say at her “friend’s” party. There was some apprehension, as the Avenue was lined on both sides with State Troopers and military. Helicopters constantly patrolled overhead. And on the rooftops, snipers.
But the grandest moment of all was when President & Mrs Trump, all the kids, and all the grandkids, came walking down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. That took tremendous courage. I believe it was President Trump’s way of honoring the police and military of our nation by showing his complete confidence in them.
Michael Adams, 1:15 pm — “One of the clergy who spoke after the Oath noted that rain is a sign of God’s blessing, and that rain began to fall as soon as President Trump walked out onto the platform.”
FYI, that was Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the well-known evangelist Rev. “Billy” Graham.