Well, I would think that this puts our current President more in the “love” column.  Regardless, one has to appreciate a man who makes fun of his own ears:

I feel for the “right” lately.  Given the results of the last election, there was bound to be some pent up frustration over the state of affairs in politics.

And as we all know, when pressure builds in a confined space, it seeks to relieve itself, usually in a violent matter.

Much like Fox News correspondent Shepard Smith did.

The Supreme Court has ruled that evidence may be used against a defendant which is obtained from an unlawful arrest not based on gross negligence.

My first thought on this is a dangerous precedent to be set, in that it opens the door for further weakening of the exclusionary rule.

My second thought on this is “what is Law & Order going to do?”

Yesterday, like so many others, I tuned in to witness a momentous occasion in in my nations politics and history, the swearing in of America’s 44th President.  While his taking of the oath started off rocky, I feel it came off without a hitch.

Of greater import was the inaugual address:

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural addresshas its place as one of (if not the) best inauguration speeches of all time, and this speech will do nothing to displace it.  By all means, it is historic and it will be remembered, but more so because of it’s association with the man behind it and his singular accomplishment.

It’s the combination of the man and the speech, however, which makes it truly moving.  There were many times that I bordered on tearing, but refrained, sitting right next to my boss while watching.  Invoked were grand images of America in its past, as well as a vision of its future, while tempering Americans for the tough times ahead.

I couldn’t help but think that America got a little bigger on this day, that some people that typically felt disenfranchised by the system now felt that they had a place in it (let’s be honest, race-relations are still not what they should be in this country, and that’s what we are talking about here).  It felt like more of us were in this together, and that when America emerges, it will not only be triumphant, but together.

At first I didn’t feel this effect of enhanced inclusion.  After all, as a white, heterosexual male with Judeo-Christian beliefs, there is no one that the system is more unjustly in favor for (it should be said that this isn’t because of outright bias in the system but because of those that choose to corrupt it for their own discriminating ends).

That was until I took a look at the official site of the White House.  As with everything else from the previous administration, the new administration’s website went live when President Obama took his oath.  Taking a look at the site, I was stunned at how ambitious the agenda is.  I would stop short, but not too short, of calling it all-encompassing.

While the typical policy points are included here, the fact that there is an agenda for technology, as well as an impressive use of it on the website (there’s a blog!) was overwhelming.

It’s at that point where I felt that this inclusion wasn’t just about those that didn’t feel included before, but for everyone, for all Americans, which is what we have been and need to continue striving for.