Imagine millions of Americans with televisions that don’t work.  Now imagine those millions of Americans reading books and spending more time with their friends and loved ones.  Now imagine panic and mayhem.  Imagine disaster.  Because that’s what we’re facing if those millions of TV’s don’t work. 

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From today’s b, the paper

obama-rama ‘44’
HEINEMAN MYERS CONTEMPORARY ART, BETHESDA
So, you can’t get tickets to the presidential inauguration? Us too! But before you consider sending an angry missive to the legislative-aide friend you thought would be your hook-up, this event could quench your Obamamania thirst. “44” includes art and musical performances inspired by the president-elect. And if your hoping for some warm political fuzzies, the one-of-a-kind art collection features imaginative work that expresses hope for the future. 5-10 p.m. Saturday, 4728 Hampden Lane. $10 donation. heinemanmyers.com.

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From today’s b, the paper

he first big awards show of the season, the Golden Globes (8 p.m. Sunday, NBC), honors the best of film and TV — an entertainment two-fer! It’s also a pretty accurate barometer for who will be nominated for and win Oscars. Here’s who we think should take home the gold in selected categories:

FILM
Actress in a musical or comedy
NOMINEES: Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona;” Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky;” Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading;” Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!;” Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”
WHO SHOULD WIN: Question: If Streep gets the Globe, will she lead the audience in a “The Winner Takes it All” sing-a-long? Here’s hoping! Streep’s got a shot, but we’re going for Hawkins’ comedic and touching turn.

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Reviewing stands for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration parade are built on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. {thanks, AP}

From today’s b, the paper

So, with hotels across the region booked for this month’s inauguration, you’ve decided to make a few bucks by renting out your home for the first time.
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The White House

We’re just two weeks out from inauguration day for President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

There’s another group of folks who don’t have to wait quite as long.

Newly elected members of Congress, and their counterparts who were reelected in November will be sworn into office later today.

Maryland will send one new member to Congress, Frank Kratovil who will represent Maryland’s 1st congressional district.

There are still a few undecided races, and a few states where folks will have to be appointed to takeover vacated seats.

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{Thanks, AP}

The countdown to the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama continues.

Obama will be sworn into office at 12 noon on Tuesday, January 20th, three weeks from today.

Preparations are well under way in Washington for what will be a very busy day, and a busy time for the incoming administration and political onlookers.

Work is underway to prepare to transport and house millions expected to descend on Washington, and to mark the transfer of power.

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President-elect Barack Obama says he’s going to have a more open and transparent government.

In an effort to effectively communicate what’s happening, Obama seems to do a lot of talking. The President-elect holds, on average, two news conferences a week.

Observers will note that Obama’s press conferences are very controlled.  I’m not mad at him. If his public relations people are worth their salt, they’ve given him ways to control his message.  That’s what effective communications people do. Even amidst controversy, Obama seems to do well maintaining control and staying on point.  He seems willing to talk about just about everything, though only when he’s ready.

But there’s one topic with which Obama has had some difficulty.

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Have plans to head south on 95 during the week of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration?

Officials in Washington, D.C. still don’t know how many people to expect in the District, but they expect that some of those in town for the historic event will want to hang out in bars, lounges, clubs and restaurants.

A few weeks back, city officials said that last call at all nightlife establishments could actually be a little later. Original plans called for the businesses to close at 5 a.m.

That decision drew some criticism from influential members of Congress including California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Utah Senator Robert Bennett, who worried about the potential effects of have large numbers of potentially intoxicated folks on D.C. streets.

Opponents to the extension made arguments about potential robberies, vandalism, and violence - not to mention drunk driving.

D.C. city leaders apparently took note.

Yesterday the D.C. City Council reigned themselves in a bit, and moved last call up a bit to 4 a.m.

So what do you think?

Was the move by the city to help nightlife establishments make a little extra money a bit too much?

Are you planning to head to D.C. to toast Obama or witness history?

I don’t care about economic bailouts,  economic stimulus plans,  tax cuts,  tax hikes,  war,  getting out of wars or invading new land.  I’m not interested in the Secretary of State,  Joint Chiefs,  Secretary of Commerce or Joe Biden.  All I want this Christmas is to see Barack Obama smoke a cigarette.  Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, the Associated Press or AP sends a list of news stories to its radio-TV affilliates and asks them to choose the top ten stories of the year.  The list for 2008 which I received this morning has 46 stories.  I’m quite disappointed with my choices and had a tough time determining what I think were the biggest national/international stories of the year. I decide based on my gut which is in place from eating too much and also doing news since I was 14 years old.  I believe one definition of news is what people are talking about so that is one of the things I consider when making my list. 

1 - Barack Obama becomes the first black man to be elected President (This is a no-brainer, right?)

2 - The Mumbai, India terrorist attacks (It just happened last week and I think it’s huge for several reasons. The attacks and various hostage situations lasted for 60 hours.  Ten targets.  Ten men.  This should be a huge wakeup call for the U.S.  There are a lot of soft targets here that terrorists would salivate over.  The implications on India-Pakistan relations are huge. This really opens a whole new can of worms in the war on terror.)

3 - The economy sucks.  Oil prices skyrocket and then nosedive.  (Easy choice, right?)

4-  The Taliban say “We’re still here!!!”  which means more troops will be headed to Afghanistan.  Tied for 4th place is the war in Iraq.  Progress thanks to the surge but a lot of work still needs to be done.

5 - Women close to the top: Hillary Clinton comes close to becoming the Democratic Presidential nominee.  Tied for 5th place is Sarah Palin who became the GOP Vice Presidential Nominee.

6 - Hurricanes Gustav and Ike batter the Gulf Coast.

7 - The death of Heath Ledger from a prescription drug overdose

8 - N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns because of a call-girl scandal.  

9 - More than 400 children taken from a polygamist compound in Texas.

10 - Josh Spiegel gets a new website  (It was either that or Russian Politics and I think I’m a helluva lot more exciting than Putin and Medvedev.)

Read more at joshspiegel.com