I skipped over Warren’s ghastly babbling until now, when I was sent this recording of the spectacle. It’s pretty much exactly how I imagined it.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
I skipped over Warren’s ghastly babbling until now, when I was sent this recording of the spectacle. It’s pretty much exactly how I imagined it.
I was actually angry while watching/listening to pRick Warren’s hocus pocus.
I actually want to shout at the screen: “Oh, SHUT UP! You annoying pompous windbag!”
Oh, I thought it was perfectly appropriate…
… for the first president of Bronze-Age Mesopotamia.
Bleeeeech, I couldn’t get past the first few sentences.
*winces*
I used to spout that crap. I now die a thousand deaths every time I’m reminded of it. To everyone who heard my god spiel years ago, I’m heartily sorry for having offended your intellect.
Cute mashup, but: the guy went on for almost FIVE MINUTES? I was falling asleep in the first 30 seconds (which come to think of it, is pretty much what I used to do in church, too….)
I am the son of a minister and I was brought up in the Church. What set me on the road to atheism (besides the lack of physical evidence) was the eternal groveling in virtually every prayer, hymn, psalm, and sermon. Even though I was being browbeaten with this every day, inside and outside the home, I just couldn’t swallow the idea, even at the age of seven, that I was an unworthy being who had to continually praise God for the mere fact of being allowed to exist, and that everything I did was tainted with an evil that was inherent within me from the moment I was born.
What stuck in my young mind was the depth of emotional depravity of a God who would require this kind of sycophantic, frantic, quivering, fearful, insincere obeisance. And, having decided that the God-as-described-by-my-father was less good and less noble than many actual human beings I had met, it required just the tiniest logical leap to conclude that such an inadequate God was unworthy of any of my attention, much less my praise.
Between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five I did not go to religious services once; and then my younger brother had his baby baptized. I attended, and once again became offended at the grovelling-on-behalf-of-us-unworthy-beings tropes offered up by the minister. In fact, I was more much more offended than I had been as a child, and I immediately made a quiet promise to myself never to subject what children I may have (I now have one) to such toxic, soulless swill.
And I haven’t.
And even thirty seconds of the unctious gruel offered up by Warren was enough for me to turn off the tv for the time he was on.
I was watching with my third period Earth and Space class of ninth graders, and to me it was all part of an historical moment. The fact of Obama’s presidency far outweighs a bit of religubabel. “He’s talking about planet Earth, you know” I thought of saying, but I didn’t.
I don’t quite get the Apocalypto connection from the youtube thing, though.
On the plus side, the Warren interlude gave me the perfect opportunity to use the loo and put the kettle on without missing anything good. I did, however, catch the later benediction, and the luncheon prayer by other god guys, both of which were heavy on the ‘Yaweh is the king of *all* nations, don’tchaknow, so don’t let it go to your head, prez’ message. Urgh.
There being only 5 comments, I wanted to say, Congratulations America, on inaugurating a thinking president. Phew! I hope our expectations aren’t unrealistic.
Damn, I had to fast forward to see if the dreck was over, but it just went on ad nauseum. Downright irritating and disappointing. Couldn’t Obama have cautioned this moron not to make a sorry religious spectacle of a momentous occasion? Not good, and maybe forboding
I could have hit the mute button, but I wanted to find out how bad it was. I’ll never make that mistake again. Letting Warren babble about his jeebus was an insult to the people who elected Obama.
Another example of evangelicals not only having no sense of public shame, but wallowing in it at every chance they get. Nearly 5 minutes of this self-indulgent crap. You’d think these ass clowns would eventually tire playing the village idiot; not those of the Warren ilk. Nope, they were likely contorting on the floor and frothing at the mouth in evangelical ecstasy.
The good part was that even though everyone else got lots of clapping and cheers after their introduction, it sounded like just a couple folks weakly clapped for Warren. What a pompous windbag.
I just don’t get what possessed Obama to let Warren do the invocation. He’s not going to become popular with the conservative God-crowd and he doesn’t need to. Does he think American society will be more cohesive because of this? Seems like a long shot at best…
Yeeesh. Add my name to the list of those who couldn’t stand getting through the whole thing.
As a small counterpoint to Warren’s god-botting performance, kudos to the person(s) who allowed the Lesbian and Gay Band Association marching unit in the parade. I doubt they’ve ever marched in a Republican’s inaugural parade.
The crowd was far too deferential to both the Giggling Murderer and his VP, Mr. Potter (It’s a Wonderful Life), and to the groveling pRick Warren.
Windbag is a good adjective. That man just would NOT shut the hell up.
” Posted by: Kraes85 | January 20, 2009 6:54 PM
I just don’t get what possessed Obama to let Warren do the invocation. He’s not going to become popular with the conservative God-crowd and he doesn’t need to.”
**********
I don’t get it either. The inaug. comm. invites Warren..get a lot of crap…invites Gene Robinson and then tells HBO not to broadcast Robinson. LGBTs under the bus x 2.
My favorite part was the part where he couldn’t count. “Now today, we rejoice … in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time.” Really? Last time I checked, the transfer of power from King George to George Washington wasn’t peaceful.
pRick Warren’s…”invocation” was stupid, but Joseph Lowery’s benediction was work of beauty, and what I will remember far longer than any bleatings from the gullet of pRick.
Forgive me for seeming overly optimistic, but I viewed Warren’s as the “Before” figure in an advertisement. Hopefully, the science-lovin’, non-believer acknowledging guy who came on the scene later will serve as a good “After” figure.
It was just god praising and begging for help and protection. It had no perspective had no relevance. Completely pointless and light weight.
Some ministers can actually be interesting without being so sycophantic.
What a dork. SAAA SHAAAA. WTH?
It reminded me of every funeral I’ve been to that was officiated by a holy roller. It’s just another opportunity to evangelize to a bunch of lost sinners – to hell with the dead relative in the box behind him.
These guys are self-centered glory hogs who can’t pass up a spotlight to sully with their dreck.
Thanks, Mr. President!
As far as I know, previous inaugural invocations have been quite inspecific: yes, the medicine man has always stood up there and babbled about a god, but has at least stuck to a generic one. Not Warren. He had to make sure the entire nation knew that JEEE-YAY-ZUS! is America’s REAL! god, and the “Our Father” is America’s REAL! prayer.
Damn, I am still livid over that moron Weaver and wish there was a way to entice that demented shithead onto Pharyngula so that we can mash him into fermented shit. He made his crappy pathetic spiel and got away with it and will never be held accountable, with the exception of us and various of our like minded outlets. Everytime that moronic shit thinks and speaks he weakens our country. Damn!
I managed 1 minute 27. So very blegh.
The last time I checked, there was a large span of time between The Battle Of Yorktown in 1781 and George Washington’s Inauguration in 1789.
My favorite pastor.
Enjoy.
Hairhead #6
I’ve maintained for years that the propaganda shows Yahweh is a sadistic, egotisitcal bully with the emotional maturity of a spoiled five year old. It appears to me that omniscience, omnipotence, and various other omnis do not make a wise deity.
I was really hoping for an intervention of sorts, something like that from scene 7 in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
GOD: Arthur! Arthur, King of the Britons! Oh, don’t grovel! If
there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people groveling.
ARTHUR: Sorry–
GOD: And don’t apologize. Every time I try to talk to someone it’s
“sorry this” and “forgive me that” and “I’m not worthy”. What are you
doing now!?
ARTHUR: I’m averting my eyes, oh Lord.
GOD: Well, don’t. It’s like those miserable Psalms– they’re so
depressing. Now knock it off!
ARTHUR: Yes, Lord.
GOD: Right! Arthur, King of the Britons — your Knights of the Round
Table shall have a task to make them an example in these dark times.
ARTHUR: Good idea, oh Lord!
GOD: ‘Course it’s a good idea! Behold! Arthur, this is the Holy
Grail. Look well, Arthur, for it is your sacred task to seek
this Grail. That is your purpose, Arthur — the Quest for the
Holy Grail.
ARTHUR: A blessing!
LAUNCELOT: A blessing from the Lord!
GALAHAD: God be praised!
Absurdity, babble, balderdash, baloney, bananas, bombast, bull, bunk, claptra, drivel, fatuity, flightiness, folly, foolishness, fun, gibberish, giddiness, hogwash, hooey, hot air, imprudence, inanity, irrationality, jazz, jest, jive, joke, ludicrousness, madness, mumbo jumbo, nonsense, palaver, poppycock, prattle, pretense, ranting, rashness, rot, rubbish, scrawl, scribble, senselessness, silliness, soft soap, stupidity, thoughtlessness, trash, tripe.
I was drawn to this part of the Lord’s Prayer:
“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
To think that some people pray that every day and then cry for your blood whenever they don’t like how you looked at them. Either they don’t want their god to forgive their trespasses or (more likely) praying is but an automatic reflex response for them and don’t think about what they are saying.
Posted by: SHV | January 20, 2009 7:00 PM
“I don’t get it either. The inaug. comm. invites Warren..get a lot of crap…invites Gene Robinson and then tells HBO not to broadcast Robinson. LGBTs under the bus x 2
Shit. I hadn’t heard that. I live in Europe. That’s just not cool at all. My sympathies to any LGBT pharyngulites.
Fuck! Now I’m angry all over again!
Almost every lame platitude and preacher cliche’ in the preacher handbook was in Warren’s self agrandizing prayer. It seemed very out of place though; I sus pect most people looked at their watches waiting for the main event. I’m surprised Warren didn’t come up with something somewhat original after all the controversy.
I’m so use to this religious crap that it no longer bothers me that much. It’s just empty talk. I went to the fridge and looked for sandwich fixings… Now that I’ve heard Warren’s prayer via this video I can say the Gibson movie inserts make sense — they highlight how primitive, superstitious and psychotic such religion really is.
Now I’ll go back to listening to more interesting things:
http://normdoering.blogspot.com/2008/12/devils-music.html
#6
O Lord, please don’t burn us,
Don’t grill or toast your flock,
Don’t put us on the barbecue,
Or simmer us in stock,
Don’t braise or bake or boil us,
Or stir-fry us in a wok.
O please don’t lightly poach us,
Or baste us with hot fat,
Don’t fricassee or roast us,
Or boil us in a vat,
And please don’t stick Thy servants, Lord,
In a Rotissomat.
Once, just once, while a TV reporter is interviewing someone, when they start in with “Well, Jesus tells us that…”, I’d love to see the reporter interrupt and say, “We don’t care. Back to you, Pete.”
Superstitious, worthless bullshit.
Was that unambiguous enough?
I have a DVR so I paused it for a few minutes and the ff’ed through his speech. What’s with that orgasmy worship voice that they all seem to do? That’s just bizarre on top of bizarreness.
As for Rev. Lowery, he more than earned the right to speak at this inauguration. The fact that it was a prayer is irrelevant. Warren is just a pop culture person, with no real importance. He didn’t need to be there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lowery
I was particularly ticked off by the “When we presume that our greatness and prosperity is ours alone, forgive us” comment.
Well, I don’t know why you are all complaining so much, frankly. Warren made sure to leave out everything objectionable that he believes, and simply made a boring, standard religious speech. It would have been better to leave it out, indeed, but I expected to be angered and offended, and instead it left me flat.
Sasha Fierce!
Did anyone else find the way he said Obama’s daughter’s names hilarious?
Maybe he’s a vampire? “Sook-ie….”
I just turned down the volume while he was on. The first few sentences made me feel dirty though.
MikeM @ 37
Good scenario, but I would be a little more direct and nasty with “jesus? what the fuck is that shit?” The only times when I am fortunate enough to get a good sarcasm in is when twice last year a priest asked me for the time and I said “why don’t you ask your freaking god? After a look of outright agast, he moved on. Good for him that he did, as I might have talked him into abandoning his nonsense or commit himself for unscrambling. No quarter to morons.
The bizarre way he said SAHH-SHAA really caught me. Also, doesn’t his phrasing have a sort of an “this family just died” flavor to it?
“We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.”
I thought it was creepy.
“When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve — forgive us.”
So simple! No amends to be made, no apologies. No changes made. We can go on to do it again tomorrow. No worries; God always forgives.
God is so good!
In the Battle of the Bands, Preacher Division, Lowery left Warren flattened on the battlefield. I’ll admit I rather liked that.
I agree—Lowery’s speech was *awesome*—mainly because the crowd seemed to dig it and he had the balls to say “suck it, whitey” during an Inauguration.
Warren was a flaccid joke in comparison. The least he could have done was slit the throat of an unblemished lamb or whatever the hell the God of the Goatherds demands at these occasions.
Not really related to the speech at all, but what movie are the clips from? Its not the Mel Gibson one is it?
Valhar@ 40> I haven’t complained yet, but the reason I would complain is that it was a distinctly Christian prayer for the inauguration of the leader of a legally secular nation. It was certainly boring and fairly standard, my objection is simply that it had no place in today’s affairs.
“When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve — forgive us.”
Yep. Better off asking empty space for forgiveness. It’s so hard to ask the actual human beings that you’ve wronged for that forgiveness.
Howbout I punch him in the nose, and then ask some empty space 3 feet to the left of me for forgiveness?
Story on why believers are morally bankrupt. I saw this over at Digg.
http://www.theinformationparadox.com/2009/01/why-believers-are-ethically-bankrupt.html
Enjoy.
That was painful. I made myself watch the whole horrid thing (in the version where you could see his face, not the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom version), mostly to see how people were reacting.
I am quite sure he was pleased with getting just the right quaver in his voice… but then I’m sure he was expecting to be backed up with a swell of voices when he went into the “Lord’s Prayer”. As they always would, right? But it didn’t seem to happen here at all. I suppose the feed from his mic was used (and not the crowd), but it seemed like dead silence out there, so it couldn’t have been the roar he would have wanted (and gotten back home).
Most of the mouths shown in the video weren’t even moving — Obama’s mouth seemed set in stone. There was one mouth in the video that seemed to move to follow the words, then gave a twitch like it had caught an insect and began chewing it.
Ugh. I wanted so badly to just pop that big inflated bag of neck under his mouth with a pin, just to see what slithered out in a burst of black fluids.
Concise Rick Warren summary
The American Constitution dont defend the separation between Church and State?
If so, why the Americans dont respect the Constitution?
I have a great respect for the American People, but thet seems to slip to a progressivly more religious state, and that is very bad!
BTW, i dont have great hopes on president Obama, and after seen this cerimony (quite adequated to a state with christian religion as a state religion…), im afraid, but i think much of the religious-freaks had the way open to aply some of their worst ideas…
No. Warren made sure, as I said above, to give lip service to Judaism by hijacking the Shema, and after that to give a very specifically Christian prayer to a very specifically Christian god, excluding not only unbelievers, but every believer who is not very specifically Christian.
Warren can’t even address God in a general sense. No, he has to make the prayer exclusively Christian by addressing a dead apocalyptic prophet by using his full name.
What a waste of four minutes.
Re: Rev. Lawery’s benediction, I was told by a friend who should know that the first part was a quote of the lyrics of a song, real title I can’t recall, but described as the “black national anthem”. So he started with good, poetic material, and finished with humor and inclusiveness. I heard Warren’s invocation live the first time, don’t care to listen to it again. But it looked to me like Pres. Obama’s jaw was tightening as Warren started.
Off the religious topic, didn’t Yo Yo Ma look like he was having a great time as he was playing such great music?
I hadn’t heard Warren’s prayer before, and, to be honest, I’m not sure I heard it now. I was too mesmerized by the ghastly goings-on at the Aztec Temple. I don’t care much for Christianity as the majority religion, but I suppose it could have been worse.
Warren could have been worse, too. I remember hearing the prayer at one of GW Bush’s inaugurations (by Graham’s son?) on the car radio while I was driving, and it was so loaded with reference to Jesus and America being a nation of faith and worship dedicated to God that I almost had to pull over. It was as if the prayer had been specifically crafted to insult non-theists. This one seemed fairly generic, in comparison.
when warren came up for the invocation, i think i heard one sentence out of his mouth, then turned on my vacuum cleaner. when i finished vacuuming the room he was finished. he creeps me out.
i did like the benediction though. yes, it was a prayer, but it didn’t offend me like warren’s tripe.
#58 MJKelleher – i had to take screen grabs of yo yo ma with his grin! i think he was definitely having a great time.
There is a wonderful short story by Lynna Williams titled “My Personal Testimony”, told in the first person by a 12-year-old girl in a 1963 Southern Baptist Faith Camp. If memory serves, she complains at one point of speakers being afflicted with “Jesus Jaw”, the inability of the saved to say what they mean and then shut up . Extra credit: catch the great performance of the story by Judith Ivey on “Texas Bound” (live readings at the Dallas Art Museum).
I found Warren’s 4 minutes informative. It told me a great deal about how deeply in trouble is the right-wing. The fact that the president’s face was “stone” was a clear indicator of how Warren is “appreciated” in the new state. Did you notice how polite and tolerant much of the media has sounded during these last days? Obama’s face tells all of us that overt bigotry and rudeness is no longer cool and Warren’s boring speech tells us that he has heard the new rule. It may be that he was so boring because he is unused to the rule of polite speech. It will be interesting to see how the right responds to this new requirement of civil public discourse. I suspect it may deeply disempower them.
Well, I didn’t mean to but I yelled “Fuck off you cunt!” at the screen. I guess he afflicted me with Tourette’s. Or is this speaking in tongues?
Oh come on you guys. Warren is one of Obama’s friends.
Warren, like every other bigoted lackwit, enjoys demonstrating before the world that he has not read the Bible for comprehension.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
Guess the source, you Reverend sack of shit.
I have little interest in “building bridges” with a man who would like to see me drowned in the river.
Thank you. It’s appreciated.
Wow, God hating vitriolic drivel. This has got to be a tough day for the liberal atheist. Such torn emotions, what? your African American messiah believes in the very thing you are decrying as inane superstitious crap. Obama is a self professed Christian. This is too funny… LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, stooooopppppppppppp!!!!!!!! I am crying on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. If only you knew the truth! It wouldn’t set you free, it would only make you more miserable. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Too much fun……..How will you ever get over Obama’s Christianity? Kinda ruins the party huh? :0)
Ps… Oh my God, get educated on the subjects you bash, you will be more effective. Just a thought.
Wow, God hating vitriolic drivel. This has got to be a tough day for the liberal atheist. Such torn emotions, what? our African American messiah belives in the very thing you are decrying as inane superstitious crap. Obama is a self professed Christian. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, stooooopppppppppppp!!!!!!!! I am crying on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. If only you knew the truth! It wouldn’t set you free, it would only make you more miserable. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Too much fun……..
Ps… Oh my God, get educated on the subjects you bash, you will be more effective. Just a thought.
Well, Obama does buy the whole religion thing, and he does need to be popular with the big chunk of Americans who think the same way and really like the purpose driven christianity stuff and vote for things like Prop 8.
Out of sheer, morbid curiosity, Christian/X:
What does Obama being an African-American have to do with…well, anything?
PS. Nobody here hates God any more than you hate the Tooth Fairy. But judging from your post I’m assuming the bitch owes you some money, so perhaps I picked a poor example.
The film clips look to me a lot more like Mayan scenes than African, perhaps they were extracted film Apocalypto.
You know, you’re right. I’ve a fair bit of Latin (which is useful for reading Lucretius in the original), but I should really expand my Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic working vocabulary. Care to offer lessons in the paleographic techniques used to date manuscript fragments like P52?
Pity Obama couldn’t have used it as a way of putting out a subtle message that “we need less of that mumbo-jumbo”. Not exactly the time and place for it, though.
I certainly don’t agree with the godding-up of the whole affair, period, but, actually, the worst part to me was how *incredibly* fake he was. Cutesy, even. His tone was totally inappropriate for the event. And what the hell was that thing at the end where he said “Sacha and Malia” (sp) like he was introducing for American Idol? It was bizarre. The definite low point in what was otherwise a great ceremony.
Make of this what you will. We were watching the ceremony on BBC TV. Our two little Coton de Tulear dogs, Pamba and Tycho, were being quiet and good. But as soon as Rick Warren came on, they leapt up and started barking. Shoulder to shoulder they stood, and barked and barked and barked their little heads off, directly at the TV screen. As a result, we couldn’t hear a word of what Warren said. As soon as Warren stopped speaking, these two splendid little dogs stopped barking, quietly settled down, and we were able to enjoy the rest the inauguration. Afterwards, we drank a grateful toast — to Pamba and Tycho and President Obama.
I think it’s absolutely disgusting that RIck Warren hijacked this important occasion and used it for his blatant proselytizing. Wrong message, wrong time, by the wrong person. It made me sick to my stomach!
The only saving grace is that Obama at least acknowledged that there are “unbelievers” out there who presumably have the same standing as Christians, Jews and others (something Bush would have never said).
Hijacking a little here:
I’m local to the “people” who named their kids nazi names and seems the publicity that “dad” wanted has now come home to roost….
this appeared in our papers…
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/state_removes_hunterdon_county.html
I thought it was stupid,and just totally unnecessary.
And if even Prof Dawkins’s dogs can tell that the guy is evil….;)
I’m seeing facebook comments about Obama not really being a Christian because he didn’t mouth the words to the lord’s prayer at the end.
I guess you just can’t win with these people.
Amen Brother.
Let Obama fluff the poor paranoid hard righters. He’s got to get along with those weirdos in Congress who run around annointing door jambs and stuff. If letting Rick Warren fluff them up helps make Obama seem trustworthy to these poor whacks, whatever.
I don’t know if PZ has mentioned this or if any one has noticed, there is an article with photo of PZ’s interview in the February-March 2009 issue of Free Inquiry, Page 11. Just a small part of a larger interview.
The difference between the Warren and the Aztec priest is that the Aztec might have made a sort of sense in his time and place, but Warren doesn’t come anywhere close.
I listened to the inauguration in the car, so while I did have to suffer the excretory stylings of Rick “The Dick” Warren, at least my eyes were spared.
Obama is a xtian, no doubt, but my guess is he’s xtian lite and goes through the motions, but doesn’t really believe the bullshit.
Damnit Prof Dawkins!!
Even your dogs are smarter than my family.
That’s just embarassing.
Well, raise a glass. Here’s to Pamba and Tycho.
Well, I couldn’t take it. Never seen this type of thing before, I changed the channel to watch some of the inauguration and I caught the best bit. Everybody with their eyes closed listening to some guys crazy ramblings and then they applauded him. WTF. After seeing outlandish spectacle, I didn’t watch any more of the inauguration.
/end rant
You just couldn’t help but condescend once more, PZ my friend.
Does it make you feel good about yourself? Hmmm?
Always putting down the little guy. Or in this case, the big and powerful guy. But still.
NS
http://sciencedefeated.wordpress.com/
Warren did a talk at TED that was unctuous stupidity personified. What I thought was particularly egregious was his pious claim that “I give all the money I made from the book to charity!” — to a room containing plenty of other wealthy people who understand exactly how a charitable trust works, as well as he does. It would have been great if someone had stood up said “Rick, we understand how tax shelters work, and we’re not impressed that you figured out how to avoid paying taxes on your income.”
Christians are so moral. Especially the really rich ones.
I’m with those who liked Lowery. He made Warren look like a fool, and a very dumb fool, stuck in trite religious clichés. I especially like Lowery’s rhyming close “…when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right,” followed by three spirited “Amens” in the best black church style. Had I been there I would have been cheering. The man has no only achieved in ways that Warren can only dream of; he also knows how to use humor to make a point.
Ugh, that was horrible. I was choking and was almost physically ill listening to that crap. What bothered me was the “reverence” that even NPR paid to it.
Is that enough standing to sue the inauguration committee for blatantly including “The Lord’s Prayer” in that public, government run ceremony?
I was watching CNN – I heard boos (and that was the textbook definition of a tepid welcome).
I think George Orwell summed it up nicely…
“It was not the man’s brain that was speaking, it was his larynx. The stuff that was coming out of him consisted of words, but it was not speech in the true sense: it was a noise uttered in unconsciousness, like the quacking of a duck.”
I muted the TV when the charlatan opened his gob. But curiosity got the better of me, and presently I unmuted the TV for a few seconds and heard nothing to change my mind. Rick Warren is a cheap suited mountebank. And then I realised, hey, this Warren thing rather than commencing the inauguration, this punk was ringing out the last eight years. And we had Rev. Lowery a real human being to ring in the new.
Believes enough to oppose gay marriage.
“This is an issue that I think helps to describe who we are…[Marriage] connotes to so many people a religious and not just civil element, and that includes me.”
How come everyone keeps misspelling Mr Warren’s name “pRick”, is it intentional, or — ohhhhh I get it now, hahah. ZING! Take that, you phallic religious man…
Jesus said, “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do . . . After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven . . .”
He most emphatically did not tell Warren to do a vain repetition of the prayer.
Warren was offensively preachy, then incredibly creepy. He was the worst religious speaker that I have ever heard. It was wrong in so many ways.
Lowery was marvelous, and entirely appropriate. Maybe that was Obama’s plan–to let a white fundamentalist wacko spew his incoherent hate, then let an African-American gentleman show humor, compassion and love.
If everything exists for dog’s glory then that means Dubya exists for his glory.
*Shudder*
Dog is truly evil.
I have a sneaking suspicion everybody on Obama’s admin knew Warren was going to shoot himself in the foot (figuratively) the moment he opened his mouth.
Two comments from an interested and amused Canadian atheist: 1. I get the sense that Obama doesn’t believe in any of this hocus pocus crap and that he simply feels that the ends justify the means; and 2. the U.S. melding of Church and state has now reached the point where it is truly alarming to anyone concerned about the future of the world. I do not know enough about Rick Warren’s beliefs to know what he would think if nuclear armageddon were thrust upon North America. However, I do know that many among his constituents would rejoice in the fact that they would have a sign that the end of times were nigh. If that isn’t enough to give you cold sweats tonight, I don’t know what will.
Rick Warren is a pastor; Joe Lowery is a pastor; they both preach.
They are the same.
Robert Mugabe is Southern African political leader; Nelson Mandela is a Southern African political leader.
They are the same.
Yeah, right!
Barf. That was just awful. I wanted to punch myself in the face to relieve the pain of listening to that drivel… but I persevered, for the sheer glory of having survived listening to that whole speech.
Is it just me or is Rick Warren looking more and more like Jerry Falwell with each passing second?
By the way, loved the story about the dogs, Prof. Dawkins. My father acted much the same way. When Warren sidled his bloated carcass to the microphone, Dad barked out “that preacher is going to make some DC man-whore very happy tonight.”
Sufferin’ succotash! I sure hope they wiped the mike clean before passing it to the next guy. That guy sounded like he was working up one helluva spit storm.
I’m such an Obama fanboy, I even like how he prays. He just looks like he’s thinking deeply, none of that mouthing incantations and swaying bullshit.
P.Rick’s extatic, quivering moan of “We are sooooo greatful”, and the way he said “Sasha and Lia” were just extremely weird.
This diary up right now on Daily Kos is from a religious persecuted soldier who has to endure prosletyzing from his commanding officers. He felt compelled to applaud Warrens speach to avoid retribution from his immediate commander. This story reminds me of Stalinist Russia. Forced religion in our military is a big deal. Many service-members are secretly part of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Give it a read.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/20/182354/708/765/686745
That’s it? It’s like Bush’s 2001 inaugural speech, except much shorter. Zzzzzzz. As much as I find Maya Angelou irritating, she at least did not sound like paint bubbling and flaking off the wall. Warren is just borin’.
P.S. A toast to Pamba and Tycho! When I played Warren’s speech, our kitties Loki and Newton (yeah, guess who he’s named after) were suddenly nowhere to be seen. ;-)
Much like the facebook chatter mentioned in #78, some extreme racists are hijacking the youtube comment boards on videos of Lowery’s ending ditty. But I guess that’s ok in their mind because people who actually voted for Obama call Rick Warren a bigot.
He felt compelled to applaud Warrens speech to avoid retribution from his immediate commander.
And Christians wonder why I think they’re scum.
That was Rick Warren being unaware of his own racism. “Don’t these Negroes give their children such interesting names? How exotic. Wasn’t Malia a character in The Lion King?”
Can you fucking imagine being in heaving listening to this shit 24/7 (or whatthefuckever time they have)??? I not only do NOT believe in this bullshit. I don’t want it to be true! It would suck donkey!
Well, the stock market gave it all a thumbs down…
It looked like the afternoon cost about thirty seven smart bombs and a crate of M-16’s…
Or was that one elementary school and a small city’s worth of Stop signs?
Sacrifice for the greater cause?
uh huh…
I can’t believe I’m the only person who’s noticed how much Rick Warren looks like a stereotypical creepy-uncle-type child molester. Um. Not to make cheap appearance-based cracks or anything.
Also, has nobody ever taught the man that Muslims and Jews aren’t just Christians who dress funny and use different names when they worship Jesus? Did he really think he was “including” them with his talk about Isa and Yeshuah? For a minute there I thought they were gonna have to break out life rafts to save the spectators from drowning in smug.
I had no idea that there were so many special people in need of their invisible mythical friend with all the public displays of pro invisible friend(s).
What is the USA, a Theocracy? With all the frigging praying going on people really showed their nut job status.
Now we should be worried.
#32 Andrés Diplotti
“And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
This part of the lord’s prayer, apart from your very good point, always puzzled me – are they telling their almighty, all-knowing, omnipotent, wise, kind, vengeful, jealous god to follow their example and behave like they do? How do they dare when they believe that he might smite them?
#45 DaveX
Excellent point. That does sound creepy.
The only “nonsense” is the neodarwinian drivel you are spreading here. It is a mystery that grown up people could believe that evolution was driven by “natural selection”.
Nothing is more childish.
I wonder how many violations of State and Crutch, oh, Church there was during the ceremonies? How many crimes were committed against the USA constitution?
The man made me want to vomit.
“is”, from your comments you’re a special person with an invisible friend. Seek help for your delusions to save your life. Get real “is” and grow up; it’s time to say good bye to your invisible friend and come back to objective reality and face real life in Nature.
Maybe neodarwinists from Pharyngula would like to have for president some rabid atheist like Leo Trotsky. At least doctor Myers advertised here “Minnesota Atheist radio”, the most stupid name of a radio I ever heard.
Maybe there should be also radio “Natural selection voice from Pharyngula”.
Posted by: robotaholic | January 21, 2009
Can you fucking imagine being in heaving listening to this shit 24/7 (or whatthefuckever time they have)???
When it happens on Earth, you end up with someone like Is.
I watched the video just to quickly confirm that yes, the Mesoamerican sacrifice scenes are from Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.
Is = the living proof that no pharyngula thread can ever go un-gotbotted
*sigh*
hey IS, go eat dog shit
#19
I enjoyed Shakes Sis’ take on this today:
Back at the inaugural, Pastor Rick Warren delivers an overtly Christian invocation to the collective chagrin of progressives, including every progressive Christian I know. He refers to the proceedings as “the peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time”. Sure it is. Inherent math problem aside, tell that to Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy, buddy.
Not to mention Garfield and McKinley!
Warren sure has that excrucio curse down. That was agonising.
Anybody else catch Warren’s nod to Christian Zionism during the prayer?
More childish is your trolling, and your cocksure misuse of terminology you don’t understand in a technical field you’ve never studied.
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/11/entropy_and_evolution.php#comment-1222005
Oliver Sacks has an anecdote relating how patients in the aphasic ward would laugh uproariously whenever Ronald Reagan appeared on the screen. They had limited ability to understand the meanings, but Reagan’s out-of-sync-ness was blatantly apparent to them. Perhaps Tycho and Pamba were picking up on that kind of thing.
I only hope that he appeared as fake and pathetic to people of his religious ilk as he does to me.
And to continue the Pythonity:
“Let us praise God. Oh Lord, oooh you are so big. So absolutely huge. Gosh, we’re all really impressed down here I can tell you. Forgive us, O Lord, for this dreadful toadying and barefaced flattery. But you are so strong and, well, just so super. Fantastic. Amen.”
the most stupid name of a radio I ever heard
Well, you seem to be an expert in stupidity.
I knew it would be painful to listen to Rick Warren speak, but I didn’t expect the content of his speech to exclude non-Christians quite so completely.
Does anybody know if any previous inaugural presidential speech ever had acknowledged the presence of “non-believers”, as clearly as Obama’s speech yesterday ?
Oh lordy.
That was so embarrassing.
Once again, hurrah for living in the UK.
I cannot begin to imagine a Prime Minister taking up office in the same way.
Ok, I’m not the first to comment on this, but it really annoys me: “Now today, we rejoice … in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time.”
Worship your weird invisible friend if you want, but at least get your own math right. It’s transition number 43 (and no, they were not all peaceful)
Unless Warren is planning to relay his god’s apologies for foisting Bush the Lesser on the world for eight horrible years (well, if this deity is really omnipotent, it must have been part of his divine plan, right?), then I don’t think I’ll waste my time watching this video, thanks.
On the other hand, a wonderful realisation is dawning on me: the US now has a president who can string a whole sentence together in one go, who isn’t a shill for Big Oil and the Religious Right, and who might actually say something of worth in an interview. No longer do I have to turn down the radio to avoid that horrible combination of depression and nausea as the leader of the most influential country on the planet opens his mouth to remind us yet again of what an ignorant, incompetent, bigoted and corrupt individual he is, and of the harm he has done.
Go President Obama!
OK, he’s still a Falwellian gasbag, but the 44th transfer thing could be correct if you count the first peaceful transfer as Washington’s acquisition of Presidential power. Since he didn’t become president directly over the corpses of the British at Yorktown, I think you could make a case for that counting on the list.
Posted by: pwl | January 21, 2009 1:32 AM
I wonder how many violations of State and Crutch, oh, Church there was during the ceremonies? How many crimes were committed against the USA constitution?
Im not american, but i started to watch more closely american politics, when, some years ago, i heard about people that want to put creation and (un)inteligent design on school, and to put that beautiful example of primitive laws that is the Ten Comandements has the pricipal law of your – beautiful and, for some people, inspiring – country.
Why dont the laicists in the USA dont make any really visible against the continuous disrespect of the Anerican Constitution?
Sincerely, to me, the inauguration of Barack Obama, gave the sensation that the religious extremists in America had a new friend: the president.
I strongly doubt it. The only time I ever heard an American politician mention the existence of atheists is when the first President Bush said atheists are not citizens.
The 1st Bush was asked “Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?”
He replied “No, I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”
Not to worry Fernando. Obama is a pro-science president. He will try to be everyone’s president, but he isn’t going to let religious extremists get in the way of scientific progress and science education.
Obama should have asked Michael Palin (The Meaning of Life) to do it instead.
Posted by: BobC | January 21, 2009 5:25 AM
Not to worry Fernando. Obama is a pro-science president. He will try to be everyone’s president, but he isn’t going to let religious extremists get in the way of scientific progress and science education.
I had that idea too, but after i heard tha dubious afirmation about science in his (Obama) speech, i started to think: what he means by that? he is going to put science alone in schools and expel that crazy creationists and dogmas or he want to use science has a walking stick for religion – Saint Thomas of Aquinum way…?
And talk about christians, muslims, jew and non-believers, was really unnecessary: why he dont talked only of Americans; in this way he would showed a litle more respect for the Constitution, that was showed in this Inauguratio-Mass cerimony.
My fellow freethinkers im starting to think that what make Obama seemed so good, was this: Bush was so incredibly incompetent, that any change would be a great change!
Bobc, i really hope to be greatly mistaken!
I did the best thing I could think of while this went on.
I looked up the internet for the most hardcore pornography I could find, the kind of stuff I’d need some steel wool to remove. I felt a bit better that the pictures I were seeing that were totally non-related made me feel a little bit worse that was I was hearing.
That Apocalypto scenes don’t quite work as a joke in this context. It completely misses the sectarian nature of Warrens speech. What you need is an Islamic or Hindu cleric giving a traditional blessing in either of those religions and then ask the average evangelic whether they think church and state mix well.
RE: Joseph Lowery’s benediction–he took the opening from one of the verses of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” written by James Weldon Johnson. It’s been historically called the “Negro National Anthem.” In a sense, I think Obama’s team positioned Warren and Lowery strategically; it’s as though Warren represents that past that Obama wants to address, but Lowery represents the future that Obama himself represents.
that’s pretty much what went through my head when I sat through his crappy prayer.
I thought it was funny that the camera jumped away from Obama looking around under hooded eyelids, as if he was thinking, “Should I really keep pretending like this is okay?”
O/T: Today’s “indexed” is win,
http://thisisindexed.com/2009/01/unforeseen-difficulties/
No comment on the ghastly babbling of Gene Robinson or T.D. Jakes on the same day? Be fair– the priestly caterwauling of liberals is just as nonsensical as that of conservatives.
What about the benediction? I thought it sucked pretty much as well
That Warren dude made people “bow their heads” for five stinkin minutes? What a freakin idiot.
actually, RE:146, Lowery represented the past, even more so than Warren.
I think Obama included him for that reason, to close the past civil rights movement, and begin a new one.
Yet another that didn’t wish to pray with Rick Warren:
Lowry seemed to be aware that he was speaking to the whole country and not just his home-church choir. Warren (who obviously believes that his beard will disguise the fact that he’s virtually chin-free—a choice that speaks to both his honesty and the clarity of his self-image) was trying to speak to the country—e.g., the too-cute-for-words gimmickry of referring to Jesus in different languages—but he was unable to pass up a golden opportunity to advertise for his particular brand of big-box Christianity.
So for Obama’s inauguration, proselytizing was Warren’s biggest priority. If only for that reason alone, he shouldn’t have been there.
Breaking: the UK Advertising Standards Authority has told Christian Voice twatotron Stephen Green that his complaint about the atheist bus ad is rubbish.
Whenever I see shots of people praying with thier eyes closed, I wonder, “Is eyes closed a better way to cast this magic spell of ‘prayer’? Will it fail if the eyes are open? Is prayer that fragile that open eyes will make god say, ‘Oops, sorry, simon didn’t say.'”
Yes, it is. Some feel that prayer isnt a petition (*1) to god, but a method to align your desires with the will of god. Even of those who feel that prayer is a petition to god for something, many believe that their connection to god in internal to them. So for both of these groups, turning inward is appropriate for prayer and closing ones eyes is a aid in turning inward. Even for those who really do feel they are petitioning the external sky daddy, the bible reccomends humility in prayer and averting your eyes in the presence of the lord, so even there closing ones eyes is appropriate. So yes, closing ones eyes is a better way to cast that magic spell, which ever of several varieties of said magic spell the user is trying to cast.
1 – I reference of course, the famous theologian, J. Morrison, who rather emphatically stated, “You cannot petition the Lord with prayer.”
Matthew, Chapter 6
v1. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
v5. And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners in order to be seen by men. Truly I say unto you, they have their reward in full.
v6. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
v7. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetitions, as the gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
Please, I ask the judgment and negativity to stop – this attitude, this rejection, this is bullying and this condemnation never works – I hear you, that you are unhappy with this man’s opinion, with his rejection – and at the same time, ask each of you to recognize that your actions here indicate the same level of base consciousness. Please let us all open our hearts and rise above this part that dwells in all of us. Greater gains have been made through understanding people who think so differently than by belittling them. This is what Nelson Mandela has taught us, this is what I believe Obama is asking from all of us as well. As Einstein has reflected, a problem can not be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it. Want to change the world? Want to expand another person’s point of view? Unity is the way – R.A.I.S.E. your consciousness R-elate, A-lign, I-nquire, S-upport, E-engage. Yes, We Can! Love is the Answer! Imagine!
Please, I ask the judgment and negativity to stop – this attitude, this rejection, this is bullying and this condemnation never works – I hear you, that you are unhappy with this man’s opinion, with his rejection – and at the same time, ask each of you to recognize that your actions here indicate the same level of base consciousness. Please let us all open our hearts and rise above this part that dwells in all of us. Greater gains have been made through understanding people who think so differently than by belittling them. This is what Nelson Mandela has taught us, this is what I believe Obama is asking from all of us as well. As Einstein has reflected, a problem can not be solved with the same level of consciousness that created it. Want to change the world? Want to expand another person’s point of view? Unity is the way – R.A.I.S.E. your consciousness R-elate, A-lign, I-nquire, S-upport, E-ngage. Yes, We Can! Love is the Answer! Imagine!
Will, you concern is noted. Personally, I reject your concern.
Oooh, a concern troll! HOW FUN!
Rats I wanted to be first to note concern. As long as were quoting Lennon: Cry baby cry. Oh, I’m just being mean now, I should say I read the news today oh boy (absurdist non-sequitur alert).
@#151:
Rick Warren can bow his head for five minutes and lick my balls.
Thankfully thy Will be done.
However, don’t presume your will is mine.
To Hairhead@6:
I completely understand your disgust, and was in a similar situation myself. I was raised Catholic and I can remember when I was a little girl maybe 7 or so going to my first confession and struggling to make up sins so that I could be forgiven. That is what sticks out in my mind now more than anything, I had to wrack my brain for things I had done wrong so that the entire farce could have meaning and then because there was nothing that I felt guilty about I felt compelled to make things up. A few years later I realized how ridiculous the whole thing was and was so relieved to be free of it.
Now I can’t even stand to listen to it, I find it quite offensive and I muted this windbag while I was watching the inauguration. I know this is a little off topic, but I read that post and it so eloquently reflected my own feelings that I wanted to share.
I think he’s confused. Apparently he thinks the god of the Jews is the same as the god of the Protestants, and the god of the Catholics.
The god of the Jews does not see Jesus as special, nor does he recognize any saints. The god of the Protestants does not see Moses as his principal prophet, nor does he recognize any saints. The god of the Catholics does not see Moses as special, and he prefers people pray to their favorite saints, leaving himself, Jesus, and the holy ghost out of it.
Come on, ‘god’ is not a name: it is a job title. Why can’t he tell us what god he is talking about?
I’m with Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on this one… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj-TlRi_uj4
I was there in the crowd, at the 3rd jumbo-tron back, surrounded by African Americans who lowered their heads when he began to speak. So, I didn’t get to vocally reject or ignore him. I let him say his peace with an open mind, but the “America is God’s favorite nation” and “Jesus is America’s God” and especially the intolerant “all other nations will stand before You to be judged” parts nearly made my head explode.
Rick Warren is also known as the voice of ‘Fry’ on Futurama
I’ve been to our local commencement exercises a few times, and have heard plenty of “invocations” and “benedictions” by different types of preachers, black and white, and even from a jewish rabbi. They have been solemn, contemplative statements that even I, as an atheist, could appreciate. Warren doesn’t hold a candle to them.
What a friggin embarassment.
i think i’m going to be sick
AS a result of this hocus/pocus in the ceremony, the catholic church in Mexico now is claiming that the concept of a laicist state is obsolete.
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2009/01/21/index.php?section=sociedad&article=039n1soc
That we should allow the return of the church to the politic life in Mexico.
The catholic church wants to get back to the old days of the XIX century, when they control the wealth and key points in the goverment.
well, better les forget about it…
You shouldn’t have had that second cup of coffee, Rev
What’s with this “WE know that … Dr King … looks down on us from Heaven …”!? Speak for yourself, turkey!
While I am hopeful (and somewhat confident) that the zeal backing his presidency provides the needed momentum to enable him to help the citizens and allies of the United States overcome the many challenges we now face, I am not ashamed to admit that on election day, my mark when into the box of another. The neutrality obtained from the implied obligation of a public servant to forfeit the right to express personal religious opinions while acting as said public servant is just too important for me to allow myself to vote for a candidate who would so blatantly cast that responsibility into the wind so that his religious group can get free advertising.
“Tanks beaten into tractors.” Good one!
I am offended by the IDIOTIC opening statement of Warren
“everything we see and everything we can’t see exists“.
So if I can see something, it exists.
And if I can’t see it (e.g. the idiocy of Warren) it still exists.
Therefore everything exists.
Do you see the logical fallacy? But, hang on a minute… This is religion, why do I speak of logic?
and everything
under
the sun is in toon
but the sun is eclipsed
by the moooo
oooooo
ooo-ooo-ooo
ooon
I was there, and in my part of the Mall, there was zero applause for Warren. There were a few people who seemed to be into it, but more were like me and my husband, whispering in each others’ ears at how offensive he was. And that his asking for people to say the lord’s prayer with him was really over the line. (Well, that’s what we were whispering, anyway.)
And hey, Matt W, I think we were pretty close to each other! And the African Americans (and white people) around me were respectful but seemed completely unthrilled by Warren.
eatme.
I don’t eat Jesus crackers anymore.
Breaking: the UK Advertising Standards Authority has told Christian Voice twatotron Stephen Green that his complaint about the atheist bus ad is rubbish.
I remember him speaking at the Oxford Union once last year, in a debate about adoption by same-sex couples. He was one of the worst speakers I’ve ever heard – barely comprehensible in his rhetorical style, and didn’t stay on topic. (He randomly started ranting about social workers taking kids away from their parents, which had absolutely nothing to do with the question at hand.)
In a god? Yes. You have to really work hard to be that deluded. At least for me. I fail at it.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=216537&title=changefest-09-obamas
Jon Stewart… makes fun of Warren at about 4:20
“Not to worry Fernando. Obama is a pro-science president. He will try to be everyone’s president, but he isn’t going to let religious extremists get in the way of scientific progress and science education.”
Privately, I doubt that Obama is religious or even a Christian (I always suspected the same of Bill Clinton). He seems like a pragmatist who realizes that you need the Christian facade if you want to have any hope of getting elected in a country with a strong evangelical base (analogous to his public pronouncements of his unconditional support of Israel).
Will:
So, you’re saying we should move past the backward and bigoted level of consciousness which created these problems? You want to shed the impediments which stand in the way of love?
Cool. Drop me a line when you’ve abandoned faith.
It looks like Will has graduated from Christian theological bullsh*t to New Age sloppy thinking. It’s a start, but he has a long way to go.
Why is it hard to believe? You’re reading it aren’t you?
Looks like we have another idiot troll. Can’t think his way to a science book. What next?
Okay. I’m a wimp. I was there and I did not boo. But my daughter booed loud enough for both of us. (I was proud) There were a few other boos in the distance. I tried to be Motherly and mature, saying loud enough for the quiet crowd around us to hear “Sweetie, I know he is a horrible man, but we must be nice today.”
But Obama said both “science” and “non believers” a small seemingly meaningless step but a huge leap from the pat.
Roger (#146) wrote:
Thank you for the info. I was also wondering where the final bit of Rev. Lowery’s benediction came from, since I’m positive that I’ve heard it before, or something very close to it:
“We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.”
Anyone?
Matt & Mya (@various):
I was near the third Jumbotron back, as well… pretty much in the center of the Mall, right in front of the Capitol. We should’ve worn carnations or something, so we could recognize each other.
My sense was that, even though many were bowing their heads, not too many cheered or applauded (as they did for the benediction), and I heard active gasps and nervous laughter when RW pronounced the Obama girls’ names like some sort of child molester.
On another subject, regarding this:
…note that Washington was the first president elected under the Constitution… which followed the Articles of Confederation. Washington was inaugurated in 1789; since the Revolutionary War ended in ’83, I’d say that qualifies as a peaceful transition of power (i.e., from the Confederation to the United States). As for the assassinated presidents, when the VP succeed a POTUS during the term (including not just those, but also Ford succeeding Nixon), there’s no inaugural celebration: They just take the oath ASAP and get to work. But in any case, the transition has always been peaceful — in the sense that we haven’t had coups or juntas or factional warring — even when the occasion for the transfer was bloody.
Oh, one more thing: Maybe somebody’s already mentioned this and I just missed it, but wasn’t the Itzhak Perlman/Yo-Yo Ma quartet wonderful? I love the way Yo-Yo Ma’s face lights up when he plays: He just embodies the joy of making art.
“but wasn’t the Itzhak Perlman/Yo-Yo Ma quartet wonderful?”
I agree, it was magical in some way that I did not expect. And without coats…My boss was in my office watching with me, he and his wife are musicians, he was commenting on how difficult it is to play in the cold, but that on fretless instruments, if you are good, you can adapt instantly to the change in tuning.
Oh jeez, this is BAD. Did he come up with it in ten minutes or something? I watched the inauguration, but I skipped this. But man, this is terrible. He sounds so insincere. And all this about ‘even the son of an african immigrant can do this too!’ Wow, Warren, that’s big of you… sheesh, I’m cringing the more I hear.
@19
George Washington was not the first President of the United States.
The perfect response to Warren’s call to prayer.
William Hilbright (@197):
I presume you’re referring to these august fellows, who “led the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation as the Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled. Under the Articles, the president was the presiding officer of Congress, chaired the Cabinet (the Committee of the States) when Congress was in recess, and performed other administrative functions. He was not, however, a chief executive in the way the successor President of the United States is a chief executive, but all of the functions he executed were under the auspices and in service of the Congress.”
Washington certainly was the first President of the United States, and the first chief executive of our nation… and (to the original point) the transition of power from the previous Confederation to the United States as currently constituted, signalled by Washington’s inauguration, was peaceful: There were no battles between Confederationist and Constitutionalist armies over who would run the country.
That’s what that phrase “peaceful transfer of power” means (and which some folks, it seems to me, willfully “misunderstand”): That we transfer power from one administration to the next by political means, rather than by violence or force of arms. Let’s not let the fact that it’s been invoked by a bozo like RW blind us to the importance of that fact.
@199
Thank you for clarifying and making my point better than I managed. There was no revolutionary transfer of power from King George to George Washington. The transfer of power to Washington as President of the United States was peaceful. Hence, #19 was incorrect.
While it is not cut and dried, I think a case could be made that the 16th transfer of power was not particularly peaceful.
William (@200):
Yup. Sorry I wasn’t clearer: I meant to be arguing with the same people you were arguing with… not with you.
Re: 152 (above)
I have seen this take: That Warren represents the past mentality about religion and America’s place in the world, and that Lowery, wihle himself a vestige of the past, represents the new outlook on our future. It was no accident, I think, that Warren spoke while Bush was still president, and Lowery spoke during the Obama Administration.
When you look up “unctuous” in the dictionary, there’s a photo of Warren right beside the definition.
With crosslinks to “egomaniacal” and “pompous”.
We were there.
We turned our backs.
The gentleman behind us did as well, telling us he supported us.
It’s truly despicable that something like this could happen at an official federal function in a country founded in part on separation of church and state.