The Captive American

The Inauguration: Was It Live Or Was It … Memorex

Posted: 23 Jan 2009 06:11 PM CST

We’ve already written about President Obama’s strict new rules against lobbyists in his administration that, upon closer inspection, aren’t really very strict at all. Now … this. From the NY Times:

The somber, elegiac tones before President Obama’s oath of office at the inauguration on Tuesday came from the instruments of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and two colleagues. But what the millions on the Mall and watching on television heard was in fact a recording

But inauguration organizers want everyone to know–this was not as bad as it sounds:

Carole Florman, a spokeswoman for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said on Thursday. “No one’s trying to fool anybody. This isn’t a matter of Milli Vanilli,” … referring to the pop band that was stripped of a 1989 Grammy because the duo did not sing on their album and lip-synched in concerts.

So they hired four of the country’s most accomplished musicians to appear before millions of people and pretend to play. But “no one’s trying to fool anybody”?

All we can say is, thank goodness this didn’t happen (warning: the first couple seconds of this are in Spanish):

Free & Equal: Independents For Congress In 2010!

Posted: 23 Jan 2009 04:12 PM CST

An exciting new group started up yesterday in Illinois. Calling itself Free & Equal, the organization says its goal is to put an independent or third party candidate on the ballot in all 435 congressional districts in the country for the 2010 elections. Right on!

From their website:

“While engaging in lobbying and litigation for improved ballot access laws as this year goes forward, Free & Equal will be fundraising to issue grants to prospective 2010 candidates to pay for the petitioning necessary to achieve a ballot line,” said Founder and Chairman of the Board Christina Tobin. “We must make sure that people all across America are able to have their voices heard, and that they are able to cast their vote for a candidate of principle, not a just candidate of the two party duopoly.”

We like the sound of that. A lot!

Head on over to the site and check it out. If you can, you might want to open up your wallet a little bit, too. Lord knows it’s a worthy cause.