Today is the public celebration and commemoration of the inauguration of President Barack Obama for his second term. There's probably plenty of coverage on TV of the leadup to the main event, which looks like it starts around 11. For those of you following the events, this thread is for you to comment on whatever strikes your fancy. If you are at work, you can see Inauguration events live streaming from CSPAN, the White House website (not until 11:20), NBC News, CNN and others. If you can only listen, NPR will start its coverage around 11 or 11:30 and WDEL will start coverage around 11:30. The Delaware Democrats are having a watch party at Timothy's starting around 11:30, but I think that if you haven't RSVPed before now, they are probably all booked up.

Last Friday, the House GOP emerged from their retreat waving their white flag, noting that they would not hold the economy hostage (at least for another 3 months) over extending the debt limit. Given that this weekend has been largely given over to inauguration news and thoughts on the next 4 years, there hasn't been a ton of attention on this -- which is probably why they surrendered in a Friday afternoon news dump.

A blast from the past...

I saw it last night at the People's Plaza Regal Cinema. It was great. And that isn't some empty praise from a musical theater fanboy. I typically hate the modern Andrew-Lloyd-Webber-Cameron-Mackintosh bullshit musicals that are all singing. (Throw some dialogue in for Christsake so people know what the hell is going on. Would a couple sentences of exposition kill you Sir, Lloyd-Webber?) Anyway, I know you want to hate it, but suck it up. It was great. My one quibble has to do with the fact that the musical compresses time so much that it appears the Revolution of 1848 lasted for one day. In fact, the socialists swept the Bourbon monarchists out of France for good and for a time ran a government with a government under the banner of Liberté, égalité, fraternité, establishing that 'The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789' would be a guiding force in France going forward. #AnneHathawaywasawesomebuthatersgonnahate #sowasRussleCrowandIreallyhavenoideawhypeopleareshittingonCrowe'sperformance #idon'tundertsandhowhashtagsworkbutIseepeopledoingingthemsowtf?IthinkI'llthrowsomein?

Armed Guard Hired In Newtown’s Wake Leaves Gun In Bathroom

David Taintor 2:17 PM EST, Friday January 18, 2013 An armed guard at a Lapeer, Mich., charter school -- hired in the wake of the Newtown massacre -- made a "breach of security" this week when he left his gun unattended in the bathroom...

Not the Onion.

This is too good not to pass on mostly in full. Some of them were kinda lame, so I left those out.

Conservatives are so easy to anger these days. Even the most insignificant statement can set off their tempers. If you want to enrage a conservative, I suggest saying the following: 1. A Socialist wrote the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Jesus healed the sick and helped the poor, for free. 3. Joseph McCarthy was an un-American, witch hunting sissy. 4. Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee were traitors. 5. The South lost the Civil War, get over it. 6. The Founding Fathers were liberals. 7. Fascism is a right-wing trait. 8. Sarah Palin is an idiot. 9. The Earth is round. 10. Reagan raised taxes eleven times as President.

Come inside for some more.