If you are a Facebook user, you know that it was hard to avoid Obamamania on Facebook in the past year. And you certainly can’t avoid Steelers super bowl fever on Facebook - there are hundreds of Steelers fan groups on Facebook.
Can Facebook play a roll in the Primary elections here in Pittsburgh?
Lets look at some of the candidates and rumored candidates for mayor and their Facebook groups:
Mayor
City Council
Other Races
Other Elected Officials on Facebook
Are there any others that we are missing? Who would you like to see on Facebook? Do you support your favorite candidates by joining their facebook groups?
What do you all think? Anyone supporting anyone yet? Seems a little early to me, but then again I hear they're already starting to poll people about it.
What a typical American tragedy! A modern day Grapes of Wrath, really. Is there no justice?She lives in a lovely home in a stylish inland enclave. It has an interest-only mortgage of about $2.2 million that requires a payment of $12,000 a month, very roughly. It was last appraised at $2.7 million, but who knows if it’s now worth anything remotely close to that price.
The woman...has no job or other remunerative employment. She has a former husband, an entrepreneur whose business has suffered recently. He pays her $20,000 a month, of which roughly half is alimony and half child support. The alimony is scheduled to stop this summer.
She has a wealthy beau who pays her credit card bills and other incidentals, but she is thinking of telling him she is through with him. She has no savings and has refinanced her home repeatedly, always adding to indebtedness and then putting the money into a shop she owns that has never come close to earning a dime. Now she is up all night worrying about money. “Terrified,” as she put it.
I have been pondering what advice to give them about money. What I keep coming up with is this: Do not act like typical Americans.Don't act like typical Americans? Check!
"I still lay claim that I am the best tea maker in the world.""I decided God had been on my side and had come to vindicate me.""those who have studied the history of economies know that we are down, but that the only thing hat can happen is we will move up. That is a certainty."
He stood before a crowd of millions that filled the three-mile stretch of the National Mall from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial.
To accommodate the crowd, Jumbotron screens and massive speakers lining both sides of the Mall played the scene unfolding on the Capitol steps.
Some bystanders, if not shoulder to shoulder straining to see to Jumbotron and to hear the booming echo of the speakers, sat on the ground and covered themselves with blankets to shield themselves from the wind and the cold. The National Weather Service reported that the high yesterday in
The evangelical leader Rick Warren gave the blessing to open the event at 11:30 a.m., then Aretha Franklin sang a soulful rendition of “My Country Tis of Thee.” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairperson of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, introduced each motion of the event.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens read the oath of office for Vice President Joseph Robert Biden III first just before noon, then U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. for Obama minutes later.
Between the two leaders’ oaths, a quartet comprised of violin, cello, piano and clarinet played a rendition, arranged by composer John Williams, of the tune “Simple Gifts.”
Obama then placed his hand on the Lincoln Bible, which first lady Michelle Obama held. He recited the oath from Roberts’ cues, some of which jumbled words and required repeating.
To the sound of disjointed cheers and chants from the mass of onlookers, Obama began his inaugural address about 10 minutes after noon.
He thanked now-former President George W. Bush for his service to the country, then called into action the listening Americans. He urged the country to act responsibly and work to overcome the challenges the nation faces.
“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking
He cited the economic crisis, the war in
“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real,” he said. “They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this,
Millions of people listened intently to these words, mostly silent during the speech except for a few occasional yells and chants of the new president’s last name. Some said “Amen” to his words, many nodded in approval.
A man tuned an old radio he had into NPR and listened to their commentary in addition to the echoing broadcast from the speakers. Cameras flashed throughout the crowd, and onlookers waved American flags, creating a flickering blanket of red and white over the dark sea of people.
“This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed,” Obama continued. “Why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”
Obama concluded the speech after about 18 minutes:
“With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.
“Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations,” he said, finishing the speech.
Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at
As many of the crowd members began to disperse, a process that took hours and closed many Metro stations and clogged roadways during the afternoon, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery offered a benediction prayer to conclude the ceremony.
Bush and First Lady Laura Bush left the Capitol in a helicopter, and the Obamas and 200 guests left the bitter cold outside to attend the Inaugural luncheon in the Capitol building before the Inaugural parade commenced at 3:30 p.m, escorting the Obamas down
“Lord … we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in 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,” Lowery said, ending the swearing-in ceremony. “That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.”
-Katelyn Polantz
-Photos by Michael Heater
A snapshot of the scene last night in front of the Capitol (People were already lining up to find their spots for this morning):
Sarah Lloyd, 16-year-old high school junior from
“We’re going to eat Pringles, sleep,” she said on Monday as she sat with a group of students from
Their backup plan, if they could not stay where they were, was to find the closest Jumbotron.
“There’s a chance they’ll let us stand out here,” Sarah said, adding that she had volunteered for the campaign and canvassed in
Harry Dest, his wife Ouida and their 7-year-old daughter Hunter are bracing for the worst this Tuesday. They have three standing-room-only tickets to Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration swearing-in ceremony, and it’s going to be cold – a high of 32 degrees, not counting the wind, according to the National Weather Service forecast office.
The Dests are from
“We’re trying to do the best we can by buying as much stuff before we came up here,” Harry said.
The family said they spent $300 on cold-weather gear for the Inauguration.
“It’s a jacket for me, boots for her, scarves, gloves, handwarmers,” Ouida said. “We’re freezing, but it’s a moment we wouldn’t trade for anything.
Harry ran through the family’s checklist for the big day: They’ll be up at 3:30 a.m. to catch the orange or blue line Metro from
That means they’ll be standing on the Capitol Lawn from 5:30 a.m. on, until the ceremony commences at 11:30. Music will begin at 10 a.m. to help pass the time.
Ouida said they’ve been researching how to prepare for Tuesday for weeks. She plans on bringing a sleeping bag for Hunter to use to keep warm.
“Bundle up and dress warmly, make sure you have comfortable foot gear, cover your head and neck,” Harry said. “Even though it’s going to be cold, there’s going to be so much energy here, it won’t matter once the day comes.”
-Katelyn Polantz (who will be following the Dest's recommendation and catching a bus at 5 a.m. tomorrow. Don't worry, Dad, I'll wear lots of layers.)
Yesterday was chilly, as predicted. The weather channel said it was 35 degrees, but there's a wind chill and the sun didn't break through the clouds.
In front of the Capitol building in mid-afternoon yesterday, bundled up visitors milled around taking photos, meeting each other and scoping out the area for the big event Tuesday.
Chris Quigley, who has worked in
She said she expects Inauguration Day to be a bit colder than it was today. The Presidential Inaugural Committee, in literature published last month, advised spectators to prepare for 37 degree weather.
Actually, the National Weather Service says it’s going to be a high of 32 degrees – not counting 10 to 15 mile-per-hour winds. Yikes, that’s cold.
-Katelyn Polantz
We knew we had arrived at a yinzer oasis in the middle of the bureaucratic desert, Capitol Hill!
