Chief Justice bungles oath, Obama unflappable

Despite what many right-wing talk shows and blogs are reporting as an Obama misstep, it was Chief Justice Roberts who stumbled... twice ... and Barack covered for him. Here's the skinny on the incident. (By the way, Sean Hannity described the Inaugural Address as 'mediocre.' Apparently he prefers lines like 'Fool me once, shame on you.')

WASHINGTON (AFP) � Barack Obama took the 35-word oath of office Tuesday to become the United States' 44th president -- even if he may have been led to utter the historic words in the wrong order.

Obama was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, resting his left hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible and raising his right hand to deliver the words that formally made him the successor to former president George W. Bush.

But things didn't go exactly as planned for the swearing-in of the country's first African-American commander-in-chief.

Under the gaze of more than two million crowded onto Washington's National Mall and millions more around the world, Obama said: "I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States.

"So help me God."

As specified in the US Constitution, the word "faithfully" precedes the phrase "execute the office," but the chief justice, in his first presidential inauguration, read that part of the oath incorrectly.

Obama paused, apparently realizing something was wrong, and after an awkward moment Roberts repeated himself, but the chief justice stumbled again. Obama eventually recited the line as Roberts originally said it.

Huge crowds watching the historic proceedings one mile (kilometer) down the National Mall on a jumbo TV screen groaned loudly after Roberts' gaffe.

"Oh no, no no no!" one woman screamed above the murmuring crowd.

The stumble marks the first of what is expected to be several interactions between the two men whose politics differ broadly.

Roberts, 53, was nominated to the high court by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush in 2005, as the youngest chief justice in more than 200 years.

Roberts served in Republican administrations before becoming an appeals court judge and eventually chief justice.

Obama was among 22 Democrats in the US Senate to vote against Roberts in his Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

In Obama's first luncheon as president, the affable Roberts appeared to apologize, prompting laughter and a handshake from Obama.

The new president could fill vacancies in the Supreme Court -- some aging liberal justices are known to want to retire -- as a means of countering Roberts's influence.

Jeffrey Rosen, a US constitutional law expert and professor at George Washington University in Washington, said stumbling over the oath has "no impact. News flash: He's president."

Here comes an Ice 9 spinoff

If you're not up to speed on your Kurt Vonnegut and Ice 9 is unfamiliar to you, just click on the title, read a short couple of paragraphs and then come back here.

The innocuous little beauty pictured here is called an audio spotlight system, developed by a well-meaning but short-sighted company called Holosonics. Basically an audio spotlight is a focused beam of inaudible ultra-sound.


So what good is that? Is it just another kind of dog whistle? Ah, grasshopper, be afraid... be VERY afraid. The way Holosonics is selling this product sounds good, but there is a dark side.

You see, all sound waves need a medium through which to travel -- air is one example -- and that medium distorts the wave, making it audible. Focused properly, the wave can be made audible at pretty precise distances. The technology has several practical uses currently in play -- museums and libraries can keep large spaces quiet while offering Audio Spotlight systems in specific areas; one passes by an exhibit and hears an explanation, while someone ten feet away hears nothing. Cool, huh?

The equipment might also prove useful for home audio systems and end the time-honored battle of television volume or choice of music. Wifey watches Desperate Housewives, you listen to a Knicks game, and never the twain shall meet.

So what's so bad? A walk down a supermarket aisle will become a gauntlet of advertising -- audible land mines everywhere, hawking cereal, jams, jellies, prophylactics (do you want your CHILDREN listening to this?) and the people up at the cash registers hear nothing!
And how about driving down the Jersey Turnpike? It might be nice to hear a crisp warning about an accident ahead, but what about the McDonald's that's five miles up the road?

Jaxonia's advice -- buy some earmuff stock!

How complicated can this be?

You can click onto the title and find out, but the bloodshed just can't be an answer, can it? Look at the picture; it's a Gaza beach, with Palestinian kids playing. Don't they deserve to play? Don't the Israeli kids deserve some fun in life, too? Really? What kind of idiot believes that God -- ANY God -- is smiling on what's happening in Gaza?

Who owns Jerusalem, who gave what to whom, who was there first... set up a conference in Iceland, for crying out loud; act like you all have IQs over 80!

Everybody reading this will be DEAD in a hundred years, anyway; you don't need to waste them all next week!

Going, Going, Gone!

It's almost over, eight years that seem like 80, two full terms that have, quite frankly, embarrassed us and tarnished our reputation throughout the world.


I just want it to go away. I don't want impeachment, I don't want his cronies arrested or hassled... I just want them GONE. Everyone knows in their hearts what these people have done, and no one will ever do it again. Our new president needs us to focus on all that we've forgotten or ignored. If George W. or Karl Rove or Rush Limbaugh gets in the news again, please let it be on page 6.