by Gina Bourdage

Here are notes from Monday night’s (Mar. 23rd) Burien City Council meeting (link to PDF agenda here):

SPRING CLEANING
The City of Burien has a lot of improvements underway – everything from the restrooms to the city’s website is getting a little “spring cleaning.”

NEW CITY NEWSLETTER
The city releases a printed newsletter every quarter on recent achievements, goals and upcoming events. Now there is a solution to fill the time between the months of waiting for the next quarter to roll around: a monthly eNewsletter that can be subscribed to by visiting the City of Burien’s website at www.burienwa.gov . You can also keep an eye out for your newly tech-savvy city on social networking sites, blogs and twitter for up-to-the-minute Burien information (or you can always visit your favorite blog, which has been doing this for well over a year: www.b-townblog.com). Read our story on the city’s new newsletter here.

CALL FOR ARTISTS
Burien is currently looking for artists to display artwork in local business storefronts, in a continued effort to beautify the city as well as make it a welcome spot for a diverse and more deeply cultural community. For more information contact Gina Kallman at Moshier Arts Center: 206-988-3713.

VIADUCT REPLACEMENT
The topic of replacement options for the Seattle Viaduct has been an intense one. No matter which neighborhood you live in, this topic affects us all (especially us 509/99 users who love to get downtown quickly). The City of Burien reviewed their stance last night, suggesting they draft a letter pointing out their general concerns for the impacts made to residents in our community and neither taking a pro or con vote on the matter in general, until their specific issues are addresses.

“I don’t think there is any way I could support this,” said councilmember Gordon Shaw. “My belief is that reducing the capacity does not create a viable alternative. They ought to go with a bigger tunnel if they are going with a tunnel. The current bored tunnel solution is not a solution.“

BURIEN AUTO DEALERS
With the visible decline of major auto dealers in our area in the recent months (see our coverage on Burien Nissan, which we first reported on March 13th), the city has received expressed interest from local dealership owners in the creation of an auto mall in the northeast neighborhood of Burien. Three years ago, auto sales accounted for 25% of sales tax revenue; however, due to the current economic climate the city is only seeing a 3% return in sales tax this year. The creation of an auto mall is one option for driving auto dealers back to Burien.

COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION PLAN
Highline Medical Center and the staff of the City of Burien will be participating in King County’s Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program. The program is aimed at increasing the number of ride share participants and promoting alternative methods of transportation for employers with more than 100 employees that arrive between the hours of 6am-9am. Finding alternative ways to get to work significantly decreases the negative effects on the environment. King County has taken steps to make the program easier to follow by setting measurable goals and tracking the progress. For more information visit www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/alts/employer/index.htm.

COUNCILMEMBERS LEARN IN DC
On a recent trip to Washington DC, Burien City Councilmembers learned about how Federal Government is distributing funds to business and states in need. Through this process, steps have been developed to track the spending and make each recipient accountable for spending decisions through a public website at www.recovery.gov, allowing the public to see how their tax dollars are being spent.

ANNEXATION BOUNDARY REVIEW BOARD MEETING
Members of the Burien City Council may be attending a public hearing held by the Washington State Boundary Review Board for the purpose of considering proposed annexation to the City of Burien of an area known as “North Highline” on Monday, March 30th at 7:00 p.m. at Riverside Residence Inn, 11244 Tukwila International Blvd, Seattle, 98168. The hearing room/building is located behind the main building of the Inn.

The city council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, April 6th.

Satellite photo by Geo-Eye-One.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman who lives in Burien who traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to attend the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. This is his final report.]

WED. 1/21/08 – THE DAY AFTER
I had one more full day in Washington, DC and had a mission to make full use of it doing something a little less strenuous. The first order of business was to buy the souvenir newspapers. Hudson’s News at Union Station was the ideal place with hundreds of each still available. The high demand meant a long line for the cash register but that only meant more time to meet new people and chat about our experiences and hopes.

My next port of call was Senator Patty Murray’s coffee gathering in the Dirksen Senate Office Building where I soon met the Senator herself. There were many other distinguished attendees including the Mayor of Tacoma, Bill Baarsma, the travel writer, Rick Steves, and the Mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels.

Mayor Nickels was among the thousands of ticket holders who were unable to get into the Purple section (near the Capitol behind the seated areas) due to some sort of security problems. Despite traveling from Seattle and waiting for hours in the freezing cold only to have to watch the swearing-in ceremony in his hotel room, he maintained a positive attitude and was content to have shared the experience with many ordinary citizens. He never felt that he should receive special treatment just because he was the mayor of a major U.S. city and for that I think he deserves a lot of respect.

My plan for the day was solidified thanks to Jimmy, a staffer in Senator Murray’s office who told me that I could obtain a pass to the Senate Visitors Gallery from their office. Before I could use it though I had to stop by the Rayburn Office Building to thank the staff at Congressman Adam Smith’s office for having given me the Inauguration tickets and making my experience so memorable.

I spent almost 2.5 hours in the Senate Visitors Gallery watching the Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for Senator Hillary Clinton for the post of Secretary of State. Initially it seemed strange that there were very few senators present. John Kerry, the committee chairman, spoke in support of Senator Clinton and introduced a number of other senators including Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) and Patrick Leahy (Vermont). During a quiet period when a senator failed to appear, Senator Kerry used the opportunity to spend about 20 minutes talking about the national security implications of global warming and the melting of the ice mass in Greenland. The visitors loved it and applauded rapturously. Then came the vote. Those of us who hadn’t observed such an event before were wondering how they could hold a vote with only a few senators present, but the question was soon answered with almost all senators in the 110th Congress arriving quickly to cast their vote. We didn’t see Senator Clinton, but we recognized many faces, including Joe Lieberman, John McCain, and President Obama’s controversially selected successor, Roland Burris, from Chicago. The party atmosphere as they all chatted with one another lasted about 30 minutes and then it went quiet again. The deed was done though. Hillary Clinton was confirmed as Secretary of State by a vote of 94 to 2 and the visitors showed their hearty appreciation.

Outside, at the back of the Capitol I stood in the place from which George W. Bush left by helicopter only a day ago. I spent a few minutes looking at the surrounding buildings, which were now glowing in the evening sun. The Supreme Court stands to the east; the Senate office buildings stand to the north, and the House office buildings stand to the south.

Another text message arrived from the President:

“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off,
and begin the work of remaking America.”

How can you argue with that?

I called home and then moved over to the south end of the Capitol Building to watch the sunset over the Mall as the monuments started to glow and lights came on all over the city. It was hard to leave but I had to go. Descending into Capitol South Metro station, I left the stunning sight behind.

I’ll never forget the events of the week of January 18-21, 2009. How incredibly uplifting it was to see so many people concerned about the good of this country and the wider world, the wider world that looks to the United States for responsible and decent leadership. Many of the people I met agreed that change had come not just because of Barack Obama and his incredible accomplishment, but because of a collective realization that what was happening in the country just didn’t make sense. There had to be a better way forward and Barack Obama seemed to be just the person to help find that way.

Remember though, it’s not about him, it’s about us and what we are prepared to do.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman who lives in Burien who traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to attend the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. This is his second of three reports.]

TUES. 1/20/09 – INAUGURATION DAY
Inauguration Day had come. At 4:30am we walked out of the apartment and down to the bike path that runs along the Potomac River. It was quiet and, apart from a few police officers, we saw very few other people. The view across the frozen river to the Mall was spectacular with the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and US Capitol perfectly lit. The Arlington Memorial Bridge was empty and the police didn’t mind us standing in the middle of the road to take photographs. At the end of the Mall, it was still very quiet except for the activity of the security services and the vendors setting up their stalls. At the Washington Monument a large crowd had assembled to take advantage of the elevated position. Then things changed. The closer we got to the Capitol the more chaotic it became.

At 5:40 am we joined the long line at the Silver section entrance and met some great people from all over the country. One girl asked us if we’d like to swap one of our Silver tickets for an even better Blue one, but we’d come together and declined her offer. It was incredibly cold as we were waiting and removing my gloves to take a photograph turned out to be a bad idea. The crowds quickly grew. Flashing lights and police officers were everywhere, many having come from as far away as Philadelphia and, most likely, places beyond.

When the Silver section gate opened at 8 am, the movement of the massive crowd was generally civilized but definitely not something for the claustrophobic. With our new-found friends we were elated just to get into the first part of the Silver section, but it was on the wrong side of Third Street for us. We quickly found a narrow fenced passageway across Third Street and shuffled into the other smaller part of the Silver section behind the Reflecting Pool and nearer the Capitol. The hope of getting our preferred spot by the second speaker stand had long since evaporated but it didn’t matter. We were in and we had plenty of space to adjust our positions. The chaos that we witnessed was prevalent up and down the Mall. It wasn’t long before a barrier fell and people rushed forward. That was fine with us because it left us with lots of open space and a clear view of the Capitol from which we enjoyed the early part of the Inaugural Ceremony. We then decided to move over to the area near the jumbotron on the north east corner of the Reflecting Pool where we stayed for the remainder of the swearing-in ceremony. The line of sight was spectacular with a direct view the podium and the seating areas above and to the sides. Unfortunately, the sound was not very good, but we were there and that’s what counted.

The crowd reaction to some of the official attendees was amusing. George W. Bush’s arrival generated a not-unexpected response. The discontent with Joe Lieberman was clearly heard and there didn’t seem to be much sympathy for Dick Cheney, who arrived in a wheelchair. The official line is that he hurt his back while packing boxes.

We weren’t aware of the mistake with Obama’s taking of the oath until much later in the day and we had to wait until we got home to hear his speech in full. We did hear enough though to appreciate the significance of what he was saying and the historic nature of the occasion. The crowd reacted accordingly and it was amazing.

Many people started to leave not long after President Obama’s speech, but we were keen to stay and former President Bush leave:

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His helicopter rose quickly and spectacularly from behind the Capitol, flying almost directly over us and heading westwards. The cheering of the masses below was no match for the sound of such a large aircraft, but the occupants had to be aware of what was going on below them. A few minutes later they came back for another circuit of the Mall before heading off to Andrews Air Force Base and then on to Midland, Texas. That was it. For many, the world was now a much better place. A few minutes later I received a text message saying:

“Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States. Please stay and watch the parade on the jumbotrons.”

These guys really know what they’re doing.

After lunch at the National Museum of the Native American, we headed west along the now mostly empty, but trash-covered, Mall and soon came upon the MSNBC facility where presenters including Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow were conducting their live broadcast against a glass backdrop with an enthusiastic crowd doing their best to be seen on television. It was at this moment that the new president and first lady got out of their enormous car and walked along the parade route, driving the crowd into a frenzy. Moving from jumbotron to jumbotron we worked our way west along the mall, stopping at each one to catch more of the unbelievable spectacle that was unfolding only a few blocks to the north.

It was soon time to head home. As expected, the Metro was not an option due to the high demand. Foggy Bottom station was closed so we had no choice but to keep on walking to Roslyn where my friend’s wife met us. Dinner at a great restaurant called Artie’s in Fairfax was the perfect end to an unforgettable historic day.

[TOMORROW: It's Bob's last day in DC, and it's jam packed - he goes to Hillary's confirmation hearing and meets a fellow northwest visitor who failed to even get in to the inauguration - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.]

Satellite photo by Geo-Eye-One.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman who lives in Burien who traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to attend the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. Previously, he filed this report, as well as an eyewitness account of election night. This is the first of three reports we'll be posting, so be sure to check back tomorrow for his entry for Day #2.]

MONDAY 1/19/08 – TICKET COLLECTION:
It was time to pick up my Inauguration tickets. With thousands of other lucky recipients arriving to collect them too, the House and Senate office buildings at either side of the Capitol were surrounded by long lines of people waiting to pass through security at the entrances and head up to a Congressman or Senator’s office where the tickets were waiting for them. I joined a line at the Rayburn office building and really didn’t mind that it took a while to get in. The positive atmosphere was highly infectious as people talked to strangers and told each other their stories about what this inauguration meant to them, where they were from, how they came to have tickets, and what they hoped the new president could achieve. Alongside me were a lady from Chicago, a lady from St. Louis, Missouri, a gentleman from Phoenix, Arizona, and a member of the Army on active duty who was so bitter about what had happened in recent years that we all had to do our best to convince him that things looked likely to improve. He didn’t seem too willing to believe us but no one can say we didn’t try to change his mind.

The staff of Congressman Adam Smith’s office were professional and friendly. As I expected, my tickets were for the Silver section, just behind the Capitol Reflecting Pool. After taking in the view of the city and the Mall from outside the Rayburn office building I went on a reconnaissance mission to find the best place for a good view of the main event. Facing the Capitol, the second speaker stand from the left along the Reflecting Pool seemed like a perfect spot with a clear view of the podium and surrounding seated areas and a jumbotron just across the frozen pool to the left. With that taken care of, I wandered over to the area just behind the seated sections immediately below the Capitol for a spectacular close-up view and stayed there for a while to appreciate the scene and take photographs for myself and other people.

Next I headed down Pennsylvania Avenue and over to the official Inauguration Collectibles store on E Street, watching the people and the preparations along the way. “Brits for Obama,” read one man’s badge, so I just had to stop and ask about it. He’d made it himself and wished he’d brought a big bag full of them for all those who wanted one, including me. He was from a part of Yorkshire in the north of England very close to where my family comes from and had extended his contract in Florida so he could stay long enough to see the inauguration. As we were talking, we watched as semi-truck after semi-truck came to deliver crowd barriers and forklift trucks unloaded them.

The scale of the preparation for the event was enormous.

Along Pennsylvania Avenue we walked past the Canadian Embassy and saw a huge banner which read “Canada Salutes Obama”. At the Newseum we read the front pages of newspapers from around the world, all of them positive about the change that had come.

The collectibles store was busy and I picked up a few items. It was then time to start heading back to my friends’ place for the evening. On the way to the Foggy Bottom Metro station I saw bright lights over to my left and realized I was very close to the White House. The lights marked the end of the parade route and the position of the spectacular viewing stand. Less than 24 hours later, the President, his wife, and the Vice President and his wife would walk along this route and the crowd would be wild with excitement. People everywhere were taking photographs, including two who asked me to take one of them. One of them, it turned out, was from Bellevue, and the other was from Seattle. Just to prove how small the world is, the one from Seattle knew a friend of mine in West Seattle.

I could have spent a lot longer watching all the activity in the city but had to get back to prepare for an extremely early start the next day. My friend and I packed our things and headed over to a place in Roslyn, only five miles from my preferred spot by the Reflecting Pool. The plan was to stay there and then walk to the inauguration. The Metro is best avoided when hundreds of thousands of other people want to travel too.

[TOMORROW: Inauguration Day arrives. Bob gets up at 4am and walks five miles to join 1.8 million other people in the freezing cold to witness the most historic inauguration of our lifetimes.]

Here’s a photo sent to use by Burien resident Bob, an Englishman who has been filing reports for us from Washington, DC, where he attended the Inauguration of Barack Obama:

Look for Bob’s full report soon…

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We are re-posting this column (originally run Nov. 2nd) in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, whose life and work we celebrate today:}

“When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King,
from a speech delivered in 1967

by Mark Neuman

Contemplating the Giant Triplets
I am embarrassed to admit that, at age nine, I knew more about Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch and a TV situation comedy called “F Troop” than I did about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I know this because I was watching a syndicated repeat of that silly show on the afternoon of April 4, 1968, when a news bulletin cut into regular programming to announce that Dr. King had been shot and killed earlier that day.

I did not know who he was.

I quickly got to know, in part, on the strength of my third and fourth grade teachers at Holy Rosary Elementary School in West Seattle, and then I never forgot.

Our recent handful of years
With an over half-trillion dollar burden set firmly on the backs of Americans not yet born, the powers-that-be recently bailed out the powerful who failed us.

And some number of millions of everyday Americans participated as well, in the pursuit of a piece of the glittering illusion: unbelievably rapidly appreciating equity.

Any number of common desk working brokers and agents just “did what the boss told us” to earn fast, fat commissions.

Regulators, overseers are somewhat difficult to blame. They, too, like the profits, were largely imaginary, nonexistent. Those who existed sat by, quite silent.

Today, a Senator from Illinois engenders, through no fault of his own, racist sentiments from various pockets all about our country.

And this is seven score and three years after the end of the Civil War.

And meanwhile another chunk of trillion has been thrown at a conflagration, a quagmire, in the Middle East that, inarguably, Dr. King would have opposed.

A great speech
And so I bring to you today words earnestly delivered by Dr. King, less than a year before he died. Officially it is titled: "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam."

It could quite well be subtitled: “The Giant Triplets Speech.”

It could also be called: “Please Don’t Make Our Country Look Like This in the First Decade of the 21st Century.”

If only all we Americans had recited or read, daily, his powerful words, spoken forty-one years ago:

“When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.”

In our modest blog offices it was suggested: Should we post and highlight this speech two days before Election Day?

We “Woodwarded and Bernsteined and Bradleed” this about. Would some be offended? Might some misunderstand?

Perhaps some will.

Some always do.

Any complaints? Send them to me.

Any credit or compliments? They go to Dr. King.

Here is a recording of, in my opinion, a stunning and timeless speech from the greatest and most courageous leader of my lifetime.

When you hear Dr. King’s words, spoken less than a year before he passed, does your heart beat fast?

I should expect and hope it would.

Perhaps your eyes water at certain points.

You’re in good company if they do, I assure.

Never heard this speech before? You are not to blame. We live in a “forget the past” society. Additionally, Dr. King’s other stunning and courageous works, including “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” happen to overshadow his own genius, literary and oratory greatness and prescience displayed at other times in his life.

Does the speech seem familiar? Please give it a listen again, in the relative stillness of this, the day most often set aside for meaningful thought, then send a note to that Social Studies teacher from grade six, your History professor from college, your Speech Coach and thank her or him for the initial introduction.

Send the links to your nephew in the Navy, your sisters from the old sorority, your Aunt in Auburn or Alabama, your boss in Bellevue, your kid in college.

Move it along the internet line to your favorite State Rep or least favorite Congressman, the most ethical attorney you know, or maybe even the least trustworthy scumbag Wall Street suit you are glad you never met, or, perhaps, are sorry you ever did.

Print out Dr. King’s words (we’ll get that link to you soon), fold it up and send them along with warmth in your Holiday greetings later this Autumn.

And so, on this Contemplative Sunday Holiday
No matter for whom you wish to loft into office with the fuel of your ballot this Tuesday, I am sure we can all agree, today, on this Contemplative Sunday, the following goal: Let us all, now and in these crucial near years, stare down those Giant and Ugly Triplets and knock them off their high perch for good.

Thanks.

–Mark Neuman
mark@b-townblog.com

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman and Burien resident who is currently in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of President Obama. This is his second in a series of exclusive reports for The B-Town Blog; his first was filed Sunday morning.]

1/18/09 – THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION
Today was the day of the Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. I arrived on the National Mall at 8:40 am to join a line near the Washington Monument waiting for the gate to the west end of the National Mall to open. Once it did, we all moved in quickly and I rushed along the south side of the reflecting pool to a place not far from front. There I stayed in the freezing weather (it reached a balmy 37 degrees) through to the end of the show at 4:30 pm.

Around 10 am we were treated to some rehearsal activity followed by clips of the performers in the waiting area and various videos. We were fairly certain that the large military helicopter that made a low pass in front of the memorial before the show was the Obama and Biden families checking out the spectacle on their way to the venue.

The show itself started promptly at 2:30 pm. The size of the structure built for the television production and ticket holders meant that it was impossible to see what was actually happening on stage from my position but I did have three large screens not far away and was surrounded by so many enthusiastic people that the atmosphere far outweighed the lack of a clear view of the performers. There were many great moments.

U2 were excellent, as was Renée Fleming singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, and Master Sergeant Caleb Green of the US Army singing the Star-Spangled Banner. He was great during the show but he was even better during the rehearsals. It was a real treat to see Pete Seeger performing more than 45 years after he played at the same location as part of Martin Luther King Jr’s March On Washington. He encouraged the crowd to sing This Land Is Your Land with him and they didn’t let him down. The spoken parts of the show were very well delivered, especially when accompanied by historic scenes.

In many ways, Barack Obama’s speech was not unusual. We’ve come to expect him to provide an incredibly inspiring performance and he did exactly that. The crowd loved it and are unlikely to ever forget it.

All in all this was a very special occasion. I don’t know exactly how many people attended but I could see people as far back as the Washington Monument. Apparently there were also people most of the way back to the Capitol too, which is really quite amazing.

But, that may be nothing compared to the two million or more people expected on Tuesday.

Here’s a photo slideshow of some of the scenes witnessed by Bob Sunday:

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman who lives in Burien who is in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of President Obama. Previously, we posted his eyewitness account of election night, and are proud to be offering his continuing reports from the field on this historic occasion. This is the first in a series of exclusive reports Bob will be sending us, so be sure to check back often.]

PREPARING FOR INAUGURATION DAY
Thursday, November 6th, 2008 was a calm day. It felt like the world had changed and the weather was nice to go with it. After picking up the Seattle Times and Seattle Post Intelligencer as souvenirs, it occurred to me that there was no reason why I couldn’t go to the “other” Washington to see the inauguration. Fortunately, I have friends who live right across the river and are as enthusiastic as me about the whole thing.

A quick Google search for “Inauguration Day” led me to an official page which gave ticket details. So, I filled in the request form for tickets from Congressman Adam Smith and Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. I understood it was a long shot – my friend in Buffalo works for Senator Charles Schumer and they had so many requests that they decided to have a lottery for their tickets. It didn’t matter though. Getting a ticket was a bonus, because I was going anyway. I was going to stand on the mall with millions of others just to be there and witness history.

“I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS FOR YOU…”
Monday, January 5th, 2009 was an ordinary day. That is, until 11:08 am when I got a phone call from a lady who said she worked for Congressman Adam Smith. She asked me if I’d made plans to go to the inauguration.

“Yes”, I said, “I’ll be there standing on the Mall with millions of others.”

“I have some good news for you”, she replied. “Someone canceled and you are next on the list for tickets.”

Once I’d emerged from a state of disbelief I did what she asked me to do, which was to send her proof of my flight arrangement. A few minutes later I had written confirmation of my tickets. My friends were as amazed as I was.

PLANNING THE TRIP
For many weeks now, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the Washington Post Inauguration Watch page and making sure we’ll make the most of the event.

Today, Sunday, January 18th, I’ll stand for many hours to secure a good place near the Lincoln Memorial for the opening ceremony.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob called in around 9:40am Sunday morning to report he was indeed on the Mall, at the Lincoln Memorial with approximately "500,000 others," bundled up for the 35-degree cold and positioning himself to watch today's "We Are One" concert which features Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce and several other big-name acts.]

On Monday, January 19th I’ll go to the Rayburn office building and pick up our tickets. We don’t know where we’ll be for certain, but it seems likely that we’ll be in the Silver Ticket section behind the reflecting pool:

On Tuesday, January 20th, we’ll either go to our seats or, more realistically, walk about six miles to the Silver ticket standing area at a horribly unsociable hour. The goal will be to try to position ourselves near the center so we can see the Capitol Building and keep one eye on the jumbotron to our right. We will, of course, be freezing, but thanks to that great Seattle company REI it may not be so bad.

We’ll then watch as Barack Obama becomes our 44th president.

I still can’t quite believe that, so I have to say it again:

We’ll watch Barack Obama become our 44th president!

Thank you Congressman Adam Smith for giving us tickets for the inauguration.

And thank you Barack Obama for inspiring us and millions of people in the United States and around the world.