America's Song

President Barack Hussein Obama

At the age of 47, Barack Hussein Obama has become the 44th President of the United States. He took the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a crowd of more than one million people who had gathered in frigid temperatures to see the first African American become president. It is, indeed, a great day for all Americans. A chance for new beginnings...change....and restored faith in our government.

Below is the video of Barack Obama taking the oath of office. Was he just overcome with the magnitude of the crowd or did his mind just wander to other things? Clearly, something caused him to not concentrate on what he was to 'repeat' after The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr. who administered the Presidential Oath of Office. It's kind of funny really. Shows he's human ... just like the rest of us.

Update:

For a couple of smooth-talking constitutional experts, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and President Barack Obama had a difficult time getting through the constitutional oath of office.

There was a false start by Mr. Obama, who started to respond before Chief Justice Roberts had completed the first phrase. Mr. Obama ended up saying the first two words — “I, Barack” — twice.

Then there was an extremely awkward pause after Chief Justice Roberts prompted Mr. Obama with these words: “That I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully.” The chief justice seemed to say “to” rather than “of,” but that was not the main problem. The main problem was that the word “faithfully” had floated upstream in the constitutional text, which actually says this: “That I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States.”

Mr. Obama seemed to realize this, pausing quizzically after saying, “that I will execute.”

Chief Justice Roberts gave it another try, getting closer but still not quite right with this: “Faithfully the office of president of the United States.” He omitted the word “execute.”

Mr. Obama now repeated the chief justice’s error of putting “faithfully” at the end and said, “The office of president of the United States faithfully.”

From there, smooth sailing.

It is academic to argue about what the failure to utter the words in the precise order required by the Constitution means. Could it be argued that Mr. Obama had not become president as a consequence? I think not.

There is, in any event, no rule against a do-over. When questions were raised about whether Calvin Coolidge, in 1923 after Warren G. Harding died, should have been sworn in by his father, a notary public, he took the oath again from a federal judge.

Rosie Talks....About Not Blogging, Ann Coulter and Drinking

Rosie O'Donnell visited Sirius satellite radio show, 'Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer' and made quite a stir.... addressing her embarrassments of 2008. The comedian bluntly talked about why she's no longer blogging, how her variety show reviews almost turned her into an alcoholic and why Ann Coulter has passionate, "deep-seeded" rage.

Excepts from Rosie's Radio Interview
(In Her Own Words)

Why she quit blogging: "I started the blog four years ago... See, I was a kid from Long Island, who said I was going to be rich and retire at 40. Now I'm 40. So I started to do a blog. It was a wonderful way for me to have an outlet to express myself. It got bigger and bigger to the point where whatever I would say or do would end up as one of the soundbites on one of the entertainment shows in the evening. It became more of a drain than an inspiration."

What she misses about having a blog: "Fame robs you of being able to talk to people one on one like at the mall. The blog gave me that outlet. There are people I've been e-mailing for four years and become friendly with. That part I miss - the people. But I don't miss the public part of it. It got a little bit draining."

Why she decided to quit drinking alcohol: "My little daughter, Vivi, came to me on her birthday and said, 'I wish that you would not drink beer.' And I was like, 'Oh my god!'... I stopped drinking beer. I'm off the beer. I haven't [had beer] for about a month and a half... Anyway, beer gets to be so fattening when you get older."

How her drinking has fluctuated throughout her life: "I didn't drink one time in my 20s for about nine years. From 20 to 29, I didn't drink at all. I was dating a woman at the time who was a shrink, and she told me, 'I think you have a drinking problem.' I went to an [Alcoholics Anonymous] meeting and heard all these people's stories about leaving their kids in the car... so I quit."

About her bad variety show reviews: "I wanted to hit the sauce after I read the reviews. What was disconcerting was in the room, it was great. Everyone, even reporter Liz Smith was like, 'What are you going to do?' Smith thought it was fantastic. Everyone at the party said it was genius. Then, I got home and turned on the blog. My blog people - the devoted ones - didn't like it. It was 'too dark.' I was like, 'Oh my. Half the people didn't like it.' Then I knew. Until that point, I had no idea. I was like, 'I could totally hit up a six-pack of Sam Adams right now.'"

Rosie's thoughts about Ann Coulter: "She's angry if you ask me. She's full of rage. When you see someone like that, you have to go back to what happened in their childhood ... You don't know what went on in their household. Sometimes, people with very controversial views, there is some part of their humanity that you can relate to. Even though they think differently than you do, you can still reach them as a human being, but she's not one of them for me."

On whether Coulter really has extremist views: "Yeah, I really do. I don't think it is a show. The passion from which she spews it... It's deep-seeded. It's bizarre."

So, there you have it. There will be no more blogging. I could 'almost' see it coming when she quit blogging for the entire month of August 2008. However, she would occasionally slip in a new header image or a few lines of 'her wisdom'... just enough to keep her fans coming back to check on her blog. And, we did....daily. She acknowledges, in the above interview, that her fans are Devoted to her. Never has anyone captured such a diverse following as Rosie O'Donnell.

We will miss you and your blog, Rosie....especially your 'talkie' blogs. For a few minutes each day, we could connect with you. I really hate that the media has contributed to taking that away from us/her. She's right though....no matter what she talked or wrote about on her blog, you could damn sure count on hearing about it on one of the entertainment shows.

Enjoy your family, Rosie. You will be missed...and I think you know that!

Disabled Man Sues Businesses for a Living

The man....Tom Mundy. What he does for a living is a disgrace to humanity and to all disabled people. After watching the video, I was outraged. This is extortion..plain and simple.

Mundy, who lives in California, documents and photographs every time a restaurant or business in the state doesn't have wheelchair-friendly tables, bathrooms or other features required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. His lawyer them files the papers to sue the businesses. Usually, the businesses pay Mundy a settlement of a few thousand dollars to avoid trial.

Okay, so he's in a wheelchair (for whatever reason) and has been for 20 years. He has been 'technically' unemployed for the past two years. He goes around from business to business to LOOK FOR a reason to sue and is reported to be bringing in a comfortable six figure income by legal extortion. There is one example in the video where he says he can't reach the seat covers for the toilet. I have serious doubts as to whether he would actually USE to seat covers to protect his ass from touching the toilet seat.

He tells the people who want to criticize him for what he's doing..."All you have to do is go out with me in my other wheel chair and I can show you how hard it is to get around." Hey Tom...you have two wheel chairs? A spare? Wow! There are people who need a wheel chair but can't afford one.

I can understand giving a business a warning and a chance to correct the situation. I do NOT agree with what this 'advocate for the disabled' is doing. Most people would like to say to him....Keep Your Ass At Home.