Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Snow Day
I took advantage of court and meetings being cancelled due to the weather to tend to the sidebar on this blog. A few dormant blogs were put on hiatus or erased entirely, and a few blogs were added (and those additions were long overdue).
The rest of the day has been spent playing with Leo and watching DVDs. (He's sleeping right now, so The Dark Knight is playing, a welcome break from Elmo and Backyardigans.)
Everyone is ga-ga over the Inauguration, which is their right. I just choose not to be. I've been to my share of Inaugurations, and its much ado about nothing. It's a series of rhetorical speeches, parties at taxpayer expense, and fantastic fundraising opportunities for the party in power. Those things don't excite me when my guy wins. (I probably would have gone if I knew the candidate, but that would have been out of respect for him or her; I consider that to be part of loyalty to friends and candidates, not personal enjoyment.) Why would I be uppity about the opposition party's candidate being sworn in? Besides, it appears that all of the networks - including the treacherous FoxNews - are plenty excited, enough to make up for my apathy.
As a taxpayer, I am a bit concerned about the Inauguration. I keep hearing price tag estimates around $150 million. That would be three times the most expensive Inauguration in United States history. During a time when people are losing their jobs, bedrock American corporations are liquidating their assets and seeking protection from their creditors under bankruptcy laws, and consumer spending is sinking to a level not seen in my lifetime, I would have thought a little financial restraint - maybe as a sign of actual modesty - would have been called for. Apparently not.
The rest of the day has been spent playing with Leo and watching DVDs. (He's sleeping right now, so The Dark Knight is playing, a welcome break from Elmo and Backyardigans.)
Everyone is ga-ga over the Inauguration, which is their right. I just choose not to be. I've been to my share of Inaugurations, and its much ado about nothing. It's a series of rhetorical speeches, parties at taxpayer expense, and fantastic fundraising opportunities for the party in power. Those things don't excite me when my guy wins. (I probably would have gone if I knew the candidate, but that would have been out of respect for him or her; I consider that to be part of loyalty to friends and candidates, not personal enjoyment.) Why would I be uppity about the opposition party's candidate being sworn in? Besides, it appears that all of the networks - including the treacherous FoxNews - are plenty excited, enough to make up for my apathy.
As a taxpayer, I am a bit concerned about the Inauguration. I keep hearing price tag estimates around $150 million. That would be three times the most expensive Inauguration in United States history. During a time when people are losing their jobs, bedrock American corporations are liquidating their assets and seeking protection from their creditors under bankruptcy laws, and consumer spending is sinking to a level not seen in my lifetime, I would have thought a little financial restraint - maybe as a sign of actual modesty - would have been called for. Apparently not.
Labels: Blogging, Economy, Inauguration, President Obama
Permalink posted by Rob Huddleston @ 12:46 PM 
