A Touch of Realism

"Don't think you won't have to get up and go to work after the coming of the Messiah." - a rabbi whose name I've forgotten but the quote was memorable.

I hope that reminding people of the limits of the role won't put a damper on the celebratory spirit, but I'm a little tired of the people who keep insisting that there will be no more war or home foreclosures or global warming or athlete's foot during the news administration.

The Challenges We Face

Obama included the line "The challenges we face are real" in his address today.

Apparently, the challenges were all too real for a few thousand people who had worthless tickets to the inauguration. Rumor is that the gate for people with purple tickets never opened at all. Thousands of people with blue and silver tickets also failed to get in. Other complaints include lack of information and dangerous crowding as people just pressed closer not knowing what was going on.

Having experienced the Keystone Kops Capitol Police on other occasions, this does not surprise me in the least. But I feel bad for people who spent lots of money to come in from other parts of the country and got to spend 5 or more hours standing in a crowded tunnel in the cold, after spending hours in line to pick up the tickets.

It also occurs to me that there are a lot of extra people in town. I predict metro chaos for my commute. So, if you are a tourist in town, can you do me a favor? Party very hard tonight and sleep late in the morning.