Presidential Inauguration 2005: George W. Bush

I turn on the TV, and the first thing I hear is:

"So help me, God."

That could be taken several ways, how fitting, lol . . .

So that was cool; I turn the TV on just in time to see him inaugurated. I've never seen an inauguration before.

I so didn't stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance when they did. I was busy typing this. That's not illegal, is it? Lol . . . that'd be funny if this were a totalitarian state and you got in trouble for not doing that in your own home.

. . . not that you don't get in trouble for not saying it in someplace like school or the occasional odd baseball game, already . . . lol . . .

People always say the same thing in Presidential Inaugurations. They will build America (or rebuild it, if it was ever un-builded, as it apparently was with every presidential candidate beforehand), they will create/restore/enhance liberty, and they will inspire people to become the future leaders of tomorrow.

Question: Is the inauguration considered a personal affair (for the President) or a State affair? It was very much non-separation of Church and State-y. I guess that's just the pageantry of it.

Speaking of which, I still haven't finished my debate. I probably should have gone in to help set up or something, but I was completely unclear on what I would be supposed to be doing. So I think I will go buy my (two-- because I want to be entitled to eat a few) dozen cookies a little bit early and head over to the school to see if I can show Mr. Bernstein my debate and see if it's approved. I can't stay to practice it, debate it beforehand, but he can probably/possibly read it through and tell me what he thinks (probably that he thinks I probably should have gotten it in earlier).

Well, it really doesn't matter if it's approved or not; I'm going to the Debate on Saturday no matter what, and I'm one of the only ones. We lost one of our three LD Debators because his dad refused to let him argue FOR separation of Church and State; he's some kind of crazy Fundamentalist or something. Now, that's just scary . . . I mean, you don't even have to AGREE with the things that you argue. I was considering standing up and going completely religious and going on about how God gave us liberty and our country is Christian and all the diversity and lack of Christian law is the reason the country is going to the dogs (apparently-- personally, I think it's better off than what it was in "the good old days," you know, when parents beat their kids and husbands their wives and teachers their students so much more often, and anyone who wasn't a white Protestant was in danger of losing their job or being lynched if it came out)-- which I totally do not agree with. It's called seeing the other side. It's a useful skill. That's kind of sad and really very depressing to see that his dad won't even let him take the other side, just for a debate.

Anyway, THEN I am going to NHS parent-teacher conference watching for four hours.

I have about two hours to go until that starts, all of this, my grand plan.

The lake is frozen this weekend, apparently. I am so going up there and ice-skating.

Why is the Terror Alert level ALWAYS raised on FOX news? I think it's a plot to keep us all in fear and remind us that the President is taking care of us and we all ought to submit, lol . . .

Presidential Inauguration 2005: George W. Bush

I turn on the TV, and the first thing I hear is:

"So help me, God."

That could be taken several ways, how fitting, lol . . .

So that was cool; I turn the TV on just in time to see him inaugurated. I've never seen an inauguration before.

I so didn't stand up and say the Pledge of Allegiance when they did. I was busy typing this. That's not illegal, is it? Lol . . . that'd be funny if this were a totalitarian state and you got in trouble for not doing that in your own home.

. . . not that you don't get in trouble for not saying it in someplace like school or the occasional odd baseball game, already . . . lol . . .

People always say the same thing in Presidential Inaugurations. They will build America (or rebuild it, if it was ever un-builded, as it apparently was with every presidential candidate beforehand), they will create/restore/enhance liberty, and they will inspire people to become the future leaders of tomorrow.

Question: Is the inauguration considered a personal affair (for the President) or a State affair? It was very much non-separation of Church and State-y. I guess that's just the pageantry of it.

Speaking of which, I still haven't finished my debate. I probably should have gone in to help set up or something, but I was completely unclear on what I would be supposed to be doing. So I think I will go buy my (two-- because I want to be entitled to eat a few) dozen cookies a little bit early and head over to the school to see if I can show Mr. Bernstein my debate and see if it's approved. I can't stay to practice it, debate it beforehand, but he can probably/possibly read it through and tell me what he thinks (probably that he thinks I probably should have gotten it in earlier).

Well, it really doesn't matter if it's approved or not; I'm going to the Debate on Saturday no matter what, and I'm one of the only ones. We lost one of our three LD Debators because his dad refused to let him argue FOR separation of Church and State; he's some kind of crazy Fundamentalist or something. Now, that's just scary . . . I mean, you don't even have to AGREE with the things that you argue. I was considering standing up and going completely religious and going on about how God gave us liberty and our country is Christian and all the diversity and lack of Christian law is the reason the country is going to the dogs (apparently-- personally, I think it's better off than what it was in "the good old days," you know, when parents beat their kids and husbands their wives and teachers their students so much more often, and anyone who wasn't a white Protestant was in danger of losing their job or being lynched if it came out)-- which I totally do not agree with. It's called seeing the other side. It's a useful skill. That's kind of sad and really very depressing to see that his dad won't even let him take the other side, just for a debate.

Anyway, THEN I am going to NHS parent-teacher conference watching for four hours.

I have about two hours to go until that starts, all of this, my grand plan.

The lake is frozen this weekend, apparently. I am so going up there and ice-skating.

Why is the Terror Alert level ALWAYS raised on FOX news? I think it's a plot to keep us all in fear and remind us that the President is taking care of us and we all ought to submit, lol . . .

He's Cold, That Ivan Denisovich Man, That Ivan Denisovich Man . . .

Here is a little song about Ivan Denisovich. For those of you who do not know this book, you won't get it. Yes, I get that he's in a gulag and it's supposed to make a political statement and be really deep and talk about the suffering of men inflicting with punishment under Stalin in work camps in Siberia, and it's supposed to "champion the triumph of the human resilience in the worst conditions and face of adversity," but, really, did we need to hear all about the cold and the bricks and the spoon in his boot?

For the record, I really didn't mind that book. I just had trouble finding theme and meaning in it that wasn't just in the setting itself. I mean, he just could have written, "Gulag," and we would have gotten it or . . . or else, he could have just written a biography or an non-fiction account of the gulags and such . . . you know . . .

( Ivan Denisovich Man )

Oh, and I think I will do this, too, like Niff has posted in her journal . . .

Here it is:

[01] Reply with your name and I will write something about you.
[02] I will then tell what song[s] remind me of you.
[03] Next, I will tell you who you remind me of, celebrity/animated or otherwise.
[04] Last, I will try to name a single word that best describes you.
[05] Put this in your journal.

I probably will be very bad at these, but what the heck . . .

He's Cold, That Ivan Denisovich Man, That Ivan Denisovich Man . . .

Here is a little song about Ivan Denisovich. For those of you who do not know this book, you won't get it. Yes, I get that he's in a gulag and it's supposed to make a political statement and be really deep and talk about the suffering of men inflicting with punishment under Stalin in work camps in Siberia, and it's supposed to "champion the triumph of the human resilience in the worst conditions and face of adversity," but, really, did we need to hear all about the cold and the bricks and the spoon in his boot?

For the record, I really didn't mind that book. I just had trouble finding theme and meaning in it that wasn't just in the setting itself. I mean, he just could have written, "Gulag," and we would have gotten it or . . . or else, he could have just written a biography or an non-fiction account of the gulags and such . . . you know . . .

( Ivan Denisovich Man )

Oh, and I think I will do this, too, like Niff has posted in her journal . . .

Here it is:

[01] Reply with your name and I will write something about you.
[02] I will then tell what song[s] remind me of you.
[03] Next, I will tell you who you remind me of, celebrity/animated or otherwise.
[04] Last, I will try to name a single word that best describes you.
[05] Put this in your journal.

I probably will be very bad at these, but what the heck . . .