Our flight got to Dulles airport at around 11:30pm or so, a few minutes earlier than expected. We had just come from Chicago and the flight was only about 1/3 capacity or so which was kind of surprising considering it was the eve of the inauguration (and it was originating in Obama’s hometown). I had traveled with my friend Matt, who is also from San Luis Obispo, and we were meeting with my other friend Mark, who had taken a flight a few hours earlier. We gathered our bags and Mark picked us up at the airport. We all headed to the hotel which we had booked in Tyson’s Corner, VA, about 15 miles or so from Washington, DC, just over the Potomac. By the time we were checked in, it was already 1am and we were planning to get up around 4am in hopes of beating the crowds on the Metro and getting a good spot to stand for the swearing-in ceremony. I tried but couldn’t get to sleep until 2:30am or so.

The alarm woke me up at 4am, seemingly right after I had gotten to sleep. All of us got ready and were excited to get going. It was about 25 degrees when we set out at around 5am that morning. We had a 2 or 3 mile walk to the metro station. When we got there, it didn’t look too crowded. Finally, the Orange line pulled up and we crowded in. It was crowded but it would only get worse, especially considering there was only one other stop so far before this one. As we slowly got a few stops further, something happened with the doors on our Metro (or maybe just too many people were in the way). In any case, they made everyone get off due to “mechanical problems” and we had to join the others in the already crowded station waiting for the next train. We waited for the next Orange line and crowded on. We made it to DC at about 8am and got off at the Federal Triangle stop. None of us had any idea where we were but fortunately there was a breakfast buffet right outside the metro station where we ate a quick breakfast. By 8:30am, we were walking onto the National Mall.

The energy out there was insane. Everyone was freezing but happy and excited for what was coming. There were a couple of guys with their “Repent Obama” signs but mostly, they were just being used for a photo op by all of the Obama supporters. We were interviewed while we were walking by some guy from a radio station (in Boston?) who was recording the historic event. The mass of people helped to create some heat which was nice. There were a bunch of Jumbotron’s and PA systems every now and then so that everyone could see and hear what was happening. They were playing the previous day’s concert from the Lincoln Memorial on the Jumbotrons. No one seemed to mind that it was a rerun, it was just as good as the live event with people singing along to the performers. People of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colors seemed to be smiling and enjoying the buildup.

We forged our was up to our final spot, about halfway between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. We were near a Jumbotron (third one from the front) so we could see and hear everything just fine. Then we waited. The Jumbotron played Obama’s speech from the previous day and everyone started cheering. That eventually ended and the switched back to live shots of the crowd and the various dignitaries getting seated up on the Capitol. People cheered as most of them stepped out. They also showed footage of them inside the Capitol, before they stepped out. Everyone from Muhammed Ali to the Clintons to Oprah was seated. When President Bush came out, lots of people started booing. This made me feel really sorry for the guy (and trust me, I don’t like Bush as much as the next person). But you would have thought that we could just let the guy go in peace, to have a little more respect for someone who was POTUS. Besides, we got the guy we wanted and had nothing to complain about on this day. The look on his face was heartbreaking.

They finally started the ceremony and everyone was silent. Rick Warren delivered the invocation and I have to say, I was very impressed. After all the uproar surrounding that guy, he delivered a very powerful speech that no one could say anything bad about. He was cheered just as loud as anyone else. Aretha Franklin sang her song right after this, someone I never expected to see live. Now it was time for Joe Biden to get sworn in. When the deed was done, a crazy cheer went up from the crowd. No more Cheney! The tension had built up since everyone expected Obama to get sworn in now so when the quartet of Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill were introduced, people had to settle down for a minute. This was one of the most touching parts of the ceremony for me. These were the best of the best musicians and hearing them play, on this day, right before the moment we had all been waiting for, was completely indescribable.

Now it was time. Everyone was dead silent. Even though they got a little bit tangled during the Oath of office, no one on the National Mall that day even seemed to notice. It was the beginning of a new era. His inaugural address was a list of all of our challenges that we face right now, and what we need to do to fix them. He said some great things and it was interesting how he spoke to all the different people that may be listening, but I don’t think his speech has any specific memorable lines like some other past inaugural speeches did. It was more about what this day stood for that will be remembered rather than any specific one-liner from his speech. The beginning of hope. America reclaiming it’s stature at the country to lead the world.

After his speech, lots of people started leaving the Mall. We stayed where we were through the end of the ceremony and found a sitting area since the exits were completely clogged. After 1/2 hour or so, we left and walked up to the Washington Monument and WWII Memorial. We decided to get some food and took the nearest Metro down to Foggy Bottom and found a Thai place down on Pennsylvania Avenue that wasn’t overly crowded. They had a TV on with the parade. It was nice to get some warm food and thaw out since we had been in the cold for the last 9 or 10 hours. As we ate, I heard loud cheers as Obama stepped out of his limo to walk along the parade route. We hung out here for a while and then Mark went off (he had some work to attend to, that was his original reason for being in Virginia/DC). Matt and I set out down the street and found the parade. It appeared that after Obama had gone by, a lot of people had left so we were able to walk along the parade route and catch most of it. We ended our walk sometime later in the night down by the Capitol. The next few days of our trip were devoted to sight-seeing/tourist stuff since neither of us had been to DC before.

Since I have arrived home after my much to short stay in our nation’s capitol, I’ve had a buzzing feeling of inspiration and hope. Seeing all the sights such as the Lincoln Memorial (at night when no one else was around) and the Washington Monument was enough, in and of itself. But to be a witness to such a monumental change in our society with so many other people resonates very deeply in the soul. To have enthusiasm in one’s own country is a gift because for too long now there has been no wind in those sails. I was still a child when Bush became president and have lived under his rule since I have been old enough to care. I almost never realized that government didn’t have to be a negative, repressive-to-the-people thing. And I know I’m not alone. I talked to so many people from all different backgrounds over the last week who all shared a similar sentiment. It’s an amazing thing to feel a unity with everyone you encounter. It definitely feels like we, the people, have our country back. Now, it’s not time to mess around and become jaded by our emotion. Let’s use this inspiration and hope to get some things done.

I’ve posted my photos here on my flickr account.

1. 2007-12-07 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7510034
2. 2007-12-22 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7535638
3. 2008-01-05 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7583042
4. 2008-01-24
5. 2008-01-24
6. 2008-01-24   (four spills at separate facilities, one day)
7. 2008-01-24 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7771799
8. 2008-01-29 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7793474
9. 2008-03-02 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7983929
10. 2008-03-05 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=7979098
11. 2008-04-22 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=8209092
12. 2008-05-01 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=8258940
13. 2008-05-29 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=8404336
14. 2008-07-25 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=8738731
15. 2008-08-14 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=8844591
16. 2008-11-26 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=9421141
17. 2008-12-26
18. 2008-12-27
19. 2008-12-28 – http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?s=9588026

The Sierra Club reports over 41 spills this year by their count. Greka has also received over 250 citations over the last eight years or so. According to this article from the Oakland Tribune, “the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has responded at least 400 times [since 1999] to Greka oil spills and gas leaks”.

Why does this keep happening? How many times do they have to be so obviously negligent to make the proper authorities put an end to it?

I also love how the president of Greka, Andrew DeVegvar, thinks they are being “targeted” and “victimized”. Here are a couple of select quotes from the man himself from the past week or so:

“There are oil companies that are putting oil into the ocean, and there [are] other oil companies in Santa Barbara that are having oil spills and have had oil spills, and none of these companies are being victimized by stop work order.”

“We regret that this happened but it wasn’t because of our infrastructure, it wasn’t because of our operator procedures, it wasn’t because of the way we do business. It was because a human being made a mistake and that can happen anywhere.”

An occasional accident is one thing, a regular occurrence of the same issue is something completely different. None of the other companies are screwing up as often as Greka has been recently. If they were, they would be in the news as well.

The reference he made to human error was about the latest three spills over the holiday break. I disagree with him; I do believe it was because of the way that they do business, by cutting corners and not providing enough watchful eyes, especially when you have been under fire so much in the past. But that aside, there are 16 other spills over the last year that you can’t just attribute to human error (and even if you can, you obviously need to better train your employees). So I reject that argument. There is no excuse for a business to repeatedly mess up, especially when in this case the stakes are so high, posing a real danger to the surrounding environment and life.

At least there are some people in government who recognize this company is an utter failure and really should be shut down. Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-35) has authored two bills (AB1960 and 2911) to enforce stricter penalties and to help cleanup efforts when there is a spill.  He even has a website devoted to keeping tabs on Greka. But there is still much progress to be made, as they are going to continue to have these spills until they are shut down permanently.

So where does it stand? Well, they were issued another stop-work order by the county after the most recent spills. That’s the fifth or sixth time that they have had an order issued. They are not allowed to open that specific facility until the state and county have conducted an investigation and have deemed the facility fit for operation. But here are other facilities and all of them have had these problems. It’s time to start putting pressure on the people towards the top to let them know that this kind of gross neglegence is intolerable. We can’t let Greka (or others in the future) continue to get away from being held accountable for cutting corners and their disregard of safety in order to fulfil the bottom line. Email the Governator, email Assemblymember Nava, email the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. They are the ones who can force this to stop and as we’ve seen, as long as nothing is done, it surely won’t be long before there is another spill.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who’ve been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain.

Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he’s fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton … and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years … the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation’s next first lady … Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia … I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us …to the new White House.

And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother’s watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my sister Maya, my sister Alma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you’ve given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe … the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America.

To my chief strategist David Axelrod … who’s been a partner with me every step of the way.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics … you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy … who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep.

It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me.

You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education.

There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers.

In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those — to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That’s the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can.

AUDIENCE: Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

President-Elect Barack Obama
Chicago, 2008
Shortly after winning the United States presidential election

No matter who you are, you have a stake in this election. The outcome will affect every human life on earth.

The first two towns in New Hampshire have already cast their votes. The first was in Dixville Notch who voted 15 to 6 for Senator Obama. The second was Hart’s Location who voted 17 to 10 for Obama, with 2 write-in votes for Ron Paul. Historically there isn’t any particular correlation between these two towns, who have always voted first in the nation since 1948, and the rest of New Hampshire or the rest of the electorate. But maybe, just maybe, it’s an omen of what’s to come. The last Democrat that Dixville Notch voted for in a general election was in 1968 for Hubert Humphrey when he was running against Nixon.

Make your voice heard. Get out and vote. Be part of this historic election and make sure we choose the right path for our country and the world.

I’m sick of fear, give me hope.

Yes We Can.

Here are the four key findings taken directly from the report that was released:

• Finding Number One

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.

• Finding Number Two
  

  I find that, although Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.

• Finding Number Three
  

  Harbor Adjustment Service of Anchorage, and its owner Ms. Murleen Wilkes, handled Trooper Michael Wooten’s workers’ compensation claim property and in the normal course of business like any other claim processed by Harbor Adjustment Service and Ms. Wilkes. Further, Trooper Wooten received all the workers’ compensation benefits to which he was entitled.

• Finding Number Four
  

  The Attorney General’s office has failed to substantially comply with my August 6, 2008 written request to Governor Sarah Palin for infomration about the case in the form of emails.

It was amusing to see the reaction yesterday evening. Within about an hour of the report’s release, every major news website (including Fox!) and every blog had variations of the headline “Palin Abused Power”, except for the conservative blogs which made no mention of Troopergate at all. Now, while all the liberals of the world eat this up since it’s something that has been anxiously awaited since the announcement by John McCain of Palin as his VP sidekick, it’s not all it seems to be at first glance.

The McCain/Palin campaign has said all along “we will comply in every way possible with the investigation” and then turned around and refused to do anything even remotely along those lines, including Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg suing to block 13 subpoenas of state employees and Todd Palin, the moose huntress’s husband. The court ruled that they were to comply with the subpoenas and they did, just in the past week or so. Todd Palin submitted a written testimony to the investigation. But yesterday, according to the Anchorage Daily News:

Branchflower said his report did not include late-arriving statements from state officials who, on the advice of Attorney General Talis Colberg, had resisted subpoenas. They, as well as Todd Palin, did provide written statements this week after a judge upheld the subpoenas. Their statements did not cause Branchflower to change his conclusions.

Um, yeah. So after all that, their statements weren’t even used in the final report, which, by the way, had been moved up from it’s initial release date of the end of October, which seemed to me to be a pure political stunt to get it here with plenty of time for the elections (not that I’m complaining). Todd Palin’s statements (which he refused to give under oath) were pretty much an admittance of guilt that it had been him all along, giving the orders to fire the trooper, etc. but it sounds like he was just trying to “take one for the team” and take some of the heat off of his wife.

So, what does all this mean? Well, it was a legislative inquiry which doesn’t have a fine, imprisonment, impeachment or any punishment at the end of the road. So all in all, it’s purely for informational purposes. The Attorney General (who is in the tank for Palin) or the state Personnel board are the ones who can force some sort of real consequences to happen. They are indeed conducting their own inquiry into these matters but I’m not holding my breath.

All in all, I don’t think it changes the course of the presidential campaigns too much. McCain/Palin will deny everything and continue onward, not admitting any guilt just like they have been doing on all of the questionable issues surrounding the choice of Palin (who was not vetted, by the way). Obama/Biden will play it cool by not mentioning the investigation and let the media stampede all over this as long as it wants to. Obama has no need to touch this issue due to his growing lead in the polls and the people’s focus on the failing world economies at the moment, which plays right into his hands. So the investigation took $75,000 of taxpayer money, created a lot of anxiety, and no actual changes/consequences happen as a result of it. Sounds like politics as usual.