Well, here we are.  Inauguration week .. coronation week .. call it what you will, just know that we're going to have a presidential inauguration tomorrow such as nothing you've ever seen before. It's rather tough to put everything I have running through what I use for a brain into one cohesive writing ....  So let's just go the random thought routine for now:

The Routine Transference of Power

This is perhaps the most impressive thing about a presidential inauguration.  To this extent at least, our Constitution works.  We're the most powerful nation in the world and every four years we change leaders (eight years at a minimum).  We do so peacefully and with the full input and participation of the people.  None of that nonsense that's going on in Russia; no Hugo Chavez here trying to become president for life.  It's too bad our Constitution - the 10^th Amendment, for instance - doesn't work this well in other areas.

The Cost of the Inauguration

Couldn't care less.  Look, when we're talking about a one trillion dollar deficit, what is 150 million dollars?  OK .. since you asked, I'll tell you:  $1.5 million dollar is to a Trillion as one cent is to $6,666.  Does that put it into perspective for you?  Most of this inauguration money comes from private donations - security is paid for by the taxpayers, and that is as it should be.

I recognize that this is a historical event - but it is the hypocrisy of the media in covering the event.  Bush spent $50 million four years ago, now Obama is spending three times that much.  Four years ago the media portrayed Bush's spending as a travesty and extravagance during wartime.  Now?  Silence.  Surprised?  You shouldn't be.  

The Voters Who Put Him There

I'm not saying anything about Obama and his intellect here.  We're talking voters.  One of the things that distresses me about this election is the ample amount of evidence we have that the voters who gave the victory to Obama are - in a word - ignorant.  Not to assuage some of you literalists out there; I know that not ALL of the people who voted for Obama are ignorant, but the label surely holds true for the majority of them.  There have been quite a few surveys and polls done since the election, and the results are pretty much the same.  The people who voted for McCain had a higher knowledge and understanding of American government than did the people who voted for Obama.

Who can forget those interview you heard from Don Imus?  His people went out on the streets and interviewed Obama supporters in Harlem.  They would ask some Obama supporters if they thought Sarah Palin was the right choice to be Obama's running mate.  Not one pointed out that Palin was tied to McCain, not Obama.  Imus' henchmen asked these hapless, ignorant voters if they were supporting Obama because he's anti-abortion. They answered yes.  They asked these supporters if they were supporting Obama because he wanted to stay in Iraq until victory was accomplished.  Oh yeah ...that's why we're voting for him.

Then we had that wonderful spectacle of Obama voters coming out of a polling place to be interviewed after casting their ballots.  These people all thought that the Republicans were in control of the congress, and none of them could tell you who Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid was. 

Sorry to say it, but a huge hunk - perhaps the majority - of Obama voters put about much thought and intelligence into their votes this year as an addict does into the purity of their next hit.  Teenagers spend more time thinking about their choices of zit crème than most of these voters did thinking about who should lead our country for the next four years. 

Our founding fathers understood that everyone is not intellectually qualified to cast a vote.  That's why there is no guarantee of a right to vote in the Constitution.  This may be our first election where the dumbest half of our population selected the president.  How can that be good?  We need to get some of the uniformed ignoranuses away from ballot boxes. 

Understanding the Celebration

There is one group of voters and celebrants out there who's joy I can understand and appreciate; and I'm talking about black voters.

First ... let me make a point about "black" vs. "African American."  I'm not one of those out there who slavishly fell in line when Jesse "The Sloganmaster" Jackson decided that from henceforth all blacks shall be referred to as "African-American."  Political correctness run amok.  Most blacks in this country have about as much in common with African natives as I have with Finnish yak herders.  I just flat-out don't like hyphenated-Americanism.  I'm not European-American, I'm an American ... and so is our next president.  I'll just be damned if I'm going to call the President of the United States an "African-American" President.

Now .. having said that, let's address the overwhelming joy we see in black America over the events of this week.  How could blacks NOT be joyous?  Someone a few months back told me that Barack Obama was black America's greatest achievement.  I disagreed.  I said that black America's greatest achievement was our black men coming back from World War II to a country where they had separate waiting rooms and drinking fountains; where they had to sit in theatre balconies if they could get into the theatre at all; where they could surely spend their money at Woolworth's, but don't try to sit at the lunch counter; where a black soldier couldn't even find a decent motel in which to put his family to bed as he traveled across our country to a new duty station ----- to come home from World War II to experience this oppressive segregation and bias ---- and instead of burning this place to the ground going right back out there and fighting for America in the Korean War.  There's black America's greatest achievement; its forbearance. 

I can fully understand that for the black voter; especially the older black voter, voting for Barack Obama transcends politics or policy.  It's about affirmation.  A sense of finally and fully belonging.  We should all try to appreciate the joy and satisfaction so many of our fellow citizens will get out of this inauguration tomorrow.  It may not turn out all that well for the nation; but it sure doing something to pump of the psyche of our black neighbors.

Celebrity Worshipping Atmosphere

It's Pennsylvania Avenue, running, depending on your perspective, from the Capitol to the White House (or the other way around). It's not a red carpet running from some fleet of limos into a movie palace.  The reality is that here we have a man being sworn in as the 44^th President of the United States who major, perhaps only real accomplishment in his lifetime, has being elected president.  This he did on the basis of good looks, a strong personality, a pleasant voice and eloquence ... eloquence with words written by someone else.  Eloquence, good looks and a rock star persona are not predictors of success in the Oval Office. 

This week, however, celebrity qualities rule while accomplishments and actual ability take the back seat ... and in this atmosphere of manic celebrity worship (something America does quite well) some of the lines you hear from people in the streets are less than inspiring:

• Barack is definitely it.  He's the biggest star here.
• Everybody's here.  Ever celebrity you can think of is here.
• Barack is definitely a rock star. 
• The energy in Washington is out of control.
• Obama has come to deliver us.
• Obama is the biggest star of all.
• Washington is becoming the 'it place'."

This is going to be an orgy of celebrity .. and there's really no way to stop it, so you might as well just sit back in wonder and either enjoy it or be amused by it.  But sooner or later the focus returns to such mundane items as foreign policy, relations between the three branches of government (can you name them?), shepherding America through this economic crisis and trying (we hope) to preserve a modicum of freedom and independence in the process.

There are actually people out there who truly believe that Obama is going to lift the burden of mortgage payments and paying for food from their shoulders.  For them disappointment will come early.  For others disappointment or just flat out alarm will come when they see that growth in the size of government threatens to swamp any vestige of individuality, economic liberty and independence we have left in this country.

Unprescedented Spending

I've gone out of my way to give Obama the benefit of the doubt since his election.  Truth be told, some of his cabinet nominations can give you hope.  Others are alarming.  The idea of getting a socialist to run what has really be little more than an effort to destroy capitalism - the global warming hoax - certainly doesn't sit well if you understand the force for good that is free enterprise.

If I had to make a medium range prediction on the results of Obama's grandiose spending plans I would say that would be inflation ... somewhere in the double digit range. There are investment methods that take advantage of inflation .. and that's where I'll be headed.   

There is simply no realistic way to tax Americans who are working now enough to fund Obama's spending plans.  The bill is going to be waiting for your children and their children.  Will it be a bill they can pay? 

One thing is clear:  Obama and the Democrats have seized on our economic crisis to make good on virtually all of their campaign spending promises.  Whatever Obama promised; whatever powerful Democrats promised by way of government spending programs;, has suddenly become spending that is critical and absolutely necessary if we are to recover from this economic crisis.  The economy has given Obama a blank check.

Something else is clear, and that would be Obama's belief that spending by government is almost always good; while spending by the people is often suspect.  We now have a president and a political party in charge that believes it can do a better job of spending the money that you earn than you can.  We'll see how that works out for us. 

Just some of the stuff we came up with while watching the  building Obamagasm over the weekend:

Have you been reading the accounts of Obama worship leading up to his inauguration?  Let's start with this little diddy from the New York Times:

"Four years ago, a largely white Republican crowd - including out-of-towners from places like Mississippi and Alabama - piled into Love Nightclub in northeast Washington D.C. to celebrate George W. Bush's inauguration, and to see B.B. King, the celebrity guest for the evening ... This year, however, it was Diddy doing the celebrity honors and the vast majority of the crowd was young and African-American: men in dark suits and vests and women in dresses and skirts, some still donning their fur coats ... 'This is a true celebration,' said Mason Chaudhry, 32, a bartender at Love.  Mr. Chaudhry said he hasn't seen as much energy in the club - or in the city for that matter - since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers ... The crowd's sense of jubilation seemed to transcend the dire economic times. Mr. Chaudhry, the bartender, said he hasn't seen people spend as much money in the club since the recession began."

When it comes to celebrity worship, this inauguration won't disappoint.  News organizations are gawking at the chance to spot celebrities around town.  An example from the Politico: "Jay-Z! At Pentagon City mall this afternoon, apparently with Mary J. Blige in tow. Shopping? Mall revelers were "screeching" and chanting: "H-O-V-A". Point is, he's in da house."

In preparation for inaugural events, what do you think was one of the top items on people's to do lists?  Botox.  That's right.  USA Today reports that Washington DC-area cosmetic dermatologists suddenly got a lot of business for people wanting "quickie cosmetic fixes" before the inauguration.  This includes Botox and microdermabrasion.  A DC-area dermatologist says that requests have doubled and some have even tripled in preparation for the inauguration.

Or have you seen the new American flag?  Seriously, there are pictures of a new American flag that has emerged for the inauguration dawning none other than the face of Barack Obama and the date of his inauguration.  Nevermind the official US flag code: "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature."

Obama's hair cut has also become all the rage.  Apparently it is a "medium-short, tapered at the end of the neckline; the hairline is natural, finished with shears,"  according to his barber, Zariff in Chicago.  Zariff calls the cut "the Obama" and it cost $21.  Tourists have come from all over, including overseas, just to get "the Obama" from Zariff.  But other barbershops across the country are also offering Obama haircuts, which have become all the craze. Barber shop owner Tony Thomas says, "Before they were saying it was a business cut. Now, a lot of clients say, 'Give me the cut that the president is wearing,' ... People want what's popular. You try to relate to somebody you know." 

If the Obama hair cut isn't enough to show your devotion to the chosen one .. how about a tattoo.  There are stories from all around the country of people getting Obama tattoos to show their support.  One tattoo parlor in DC is doing an "Obamathon" for the inauguration where you can get a free Obama '08 tattoo if you get another tattoo costing more than $200. 

But this idol worship isn't just exclusive to a few graffiti artists or barber shops .. 67% of Americans say that they plan to watch the inauguration tomorrow.  And 92% of blacks say they plan to watch.  And it will be pretty easy considering that every network from BET to Disney Chanel to QVC will have wall-to-wall coverage of the event.

And for Americans abroad .. all of the sudden it is "cool" to be American again.  Take a look at this article from the Washington Post about the treatment of Americans abroad now that Obama will be president.  An American woman living in Prague says that she no longer hesitates to say she is American, "Thank God! It feels better ... The people I work with give me high-fives and say things like 'You can be proud to be from your country again.' "  Krispy Kreme in Great Britain is offering free café Americanos to people who walk up to the counter and say Obama's slogan "Yes, we can!"

Now that the election is over, this report by John Ziegler is making some waves. Maybe because it exposes some of the Obamamania. Also because it shows how the lamestream media was in the tank for Barack Obama in this election. And also because it demonstrates the fruits of our government education system.

Now I really don't care what else you do today .. so long as you don't abuse any small animals .. but please watch this video. On Election Day some Obama voters were chosen by the producers of an upcoming documentary "How Obama Got Elected." These voters represented a cross-section: young and old, black and white, male and female. They were chosen based on their verbal abilities and willingness to express their feelings to a large audience. Listen to these people. I promise you, you will be entertained.

Certainly it was hard to judge the true nature of Obama supporters based on the random ones selected for this video ... So the Zogby people were commissioned to conduct a telephone poll to ask a greater number of Obama supporters the very same questions asked of the people in the video. Oh and one other thing to keep in mind. The people were given multiple choice answers to these questions. Even with multiple choices, here were some of the results.

• 94% of Obama voters correctly identified Sarah Palin as the candidate with a pregnant teenage daughter.
• 86% of Obama voters identified Palin as the candidate who spent $150,000 on a campaign wardrobe.
• 86.9 % of Obama voters though that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though the quote actually came from Saturday Night Live.

Now for some news about the candidate they were supporting ....

• 57.4% of Obama voters could not correctly say which party controls congress.
• 82.6% of Obama voters could not correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot
• 88.4% of Obama voters could not correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket
• 56.1% of Obama voters didn't know that Obama started his political career at the home of Bill Ayers, an unrepentant terrorist.

Now you have a measure, for good or bad, of some of the voters who went to the polls on Election Day awash in Obamamania. Do some of you now think that there are people voting who shouldn't be allowed to vote? Remember, there is no constitutional right to vote in a presidential election. Shouldn't we be weeding some of these people off the voting rolls?

Also, here's an interview with John Ziegler by Nate Silver. Oh my is it full of bad words!