Atheists pleased with Obama’s speech
Obama made several references to religion in his inaugural address Tuesday, and one of those references was for those who subscribe to no religion.
This was a good move, according to American Atheists Inc. Obama’s decision to mention them along with religious folks sent a message of inclusion.
Read Religion Editor Carla Hinton’s blog about the topic.
OKC geologist: “ready to witness history”
Bose’ Akadiri, a geological technician from Oklahoma City, went to the inauguration with some friends. Here’s her account of the trip:
“Katie and I woke up at 3:15am and gave each other HUGE hugs! We were ready. Ready to witness HISTORY! So we got dressed. Our layers consisted of tights, thermals (top and bottom), jeans, 2 pairs of socks, undershirt, turtleneck, norhtface fleece, and peacoat. Along with all that clothing we were armed with hot hands and toasty toes…multiple sets!
We arrived at the subway at 4am to realize we were not alone in waking up early. It was packed! There were already lines. So we bought a ton of copies of the Washington Post and kept trucking. We arrived at the lawn around 4:30am and there was a monstrous line. Luckily, we power walked it to the front and were able to snag spots on the front row. The front row of the non-ticket holders that is. It was FABULUOS! We were literally as close as one could get without having tickets. So then we had to wait it out — no bathroom breaks, no food, no water, nothing but the company of my good friend Katie and the people around us for the next 7 ½ hours. We were pumped! Luckily they began to play music for us to listen to and we had a blast singing and dancing. We also took pictures all throughout the morning b/c we were able to watch the sun rise behind the capital. Just before the ceremony begun they played the concert from Sunday. It was really amazing that they had so many screens so that people all the way down the mall could see what was going on.
Then it started!
They were announcing who was there and seating them and everyone began to get super pumped to see Obama! There were tons of people chanting, “woowing”, screaming, and just making a ton of noise in general. Then when Obama came out everyone cheered hysterically! The anticipation of the swearing in was so intense. When he fumbled his words as he was repeating the swearing in it was like it made him more human and his recovery was just so great and he remained perfectly poised. It was barely even noticeable. Then when he spoke there was complete silence among the crowd. In retrospect that seems so crazy because there were millions of people and we were all being quite to hear ONE man speak.
Then there was the aftermath.
Katie and I had a 6:30pm flight from the airport in Baltimore (23 miles outside of DC). We had to haul ourselves all the way to her cousin’s (2 miles from the capitol) to get our stuff then attempt public transportation back to the airport. We were so nervous about missing the flight. We didn’t want to do the metro because the lines were insane so we walked; however, we couldn’t walk to straight shoot because of the parade route. So then it turned into a 4 hour walk, which was only semi-miserable. Luckily we had already packed so all we had to do was grab and run. Then we made it to the airport and all was done.”
Beyonce serenades the Obamas
To watch any of the balls last night, you could see how much the Obamas love each other. One of the sweetest moments was when Beyonce sang the song “At Last” as the couple danced.
Read our Celebrity Gossip blog. There’s a video of the moment.
Obama team releases statment about Jill Biden’s slip
Apparently Oprah’s show is the place to fess up.
A few days ago, Jill Biden accidentally let slip that her husband was offered another position in Obama’s administration besides the VP job. He shushed her but the damage had been done.
Yikes.
The Obama team released a statement countering what Jill Biden had said. Read our Celebrity Gossip blog.
I’m predicting that will be her last time to go on Oprah.
The world watches, from Canada to Bosnia
Brazil
Canada
Colombia
Indonesia
The Netherlands
Poland
Puerto Rico
South Korea
Turkey
Clara Luper’s caretaker: “this was destined for the world”
Benetta Williams, Luper’s caretaker, on Barack Obama: “This man didn’t just step out of nowhere. I think this was destined for the world, to show us that black and white, all creeds and colors, anything is possible. All we’ve got to do is embrace each other.”
French celebrate Obama
My mom’s college roommate had a special bottle of champagne. And because she lives in France – which is home to the province Champagne – I’m guessing it’s the good stuff. She had plans to watch the inauguration after work. She was going to pop the cork and celebrate. She wasn’t the only one enjoying the show. Here are some photos from celebrations in France.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
Obama daughters bring grins to inauguration day
The Obama girls are ridiculously precious. (We already know they’re stylish. But then again, look at their mom.) As if we needed any more proof, here are some cute pictures of the girls from inauguration day.
The world is watching, from Brazil to Poland
Gaza
Indonesia
Macedonia
Mexico
The Netherlands
Panama
Poland
Puerto Rico
Turkey
Iraqis, soldiers keep eyes on new U.S. leader
Obama has many pressing priorities that need his attention, but on the other side of the earth, a nation is waiting to see what he does. The residents of Iraq and the U.S. soldiers station there watched Obama’s inauguration, and now they’re watching to see what he does next.
And Obama isn’t waiting too long to get started. Today – his first full day in office – he’s scheduled to meet with security leaders to discuss what’s happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the campaign trail, Obama promised a quick exit from Iraq – probably in less than two years.
Yesterday, he made references to the two nations in his inauguration speech. Iraqis paid close attention.
But the people of Iraq weren’t the only ones. Soldiers stationed there – and around the world - listened to their new commander in chief lay out his plans for peace.
Today he’ll start that journey and try to reach that goal before he reaches the halfway mark of his term in office.
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
