Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you don’t.

We still have time to mess this up!

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

“woke” is the new caravan.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Let’s finish the job.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

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Reader Interactions

287Comments

  8. 8.

    piratedan

    Amy wasted no time in bringing up 1/6…. I am getting the sense that many of our lawmakers aren’t going to just forgive and move on for the sake of Unity like the GOP has been bleating about.

  11. 11.

    Suzanne

    I’m sitting here in my home office, totally alone, clapping in front of my monitor like a doofus.
    Wearing pearls with my hoodie.

  28. 28.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Republicans should have had to choose between fomenting an insurrection and participating in a new president’s inauguration.

  31. 31.

    Delk

    I’m pretending that there is no pandemic and that everybody is wearing masks to deal with the stench of the last four years.

  32. 32.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Getting our champagne flutes ready for noon ET (10 AM ours, but day drinking is allowed on a day like this).

    And Blunt mentions 1/6 too. Good. No sweeping under the rug.

  38. 38.

    VeniceRiley

    This is much nicer than yesterday, when I got a week in twitter jail for calling Broidy a wh*re.
    The seditionists must be having a breakdown seeing Cruz there.

  46. 46.

    Alison Rose

    I don’t own pearls, real or fake, but I put on my rainbow bead necklace because I am happy to have an administration again that actually sees me as an equal citizen.

  52. 52.

    Ivan X

    Watching without commentary on C-SPAN makes me feel like I’m actually there a little bit. It’s very moving.

    I actually had the enormous privilege and honor to be there in person during Obama’s inauguration, which will always be one of the very greatest highlights of my life. But this feels special to me, too.

  55. 55.

    O. Felix Culpa

    So nice that we care again about “the least fortunate among us” and love.

    Oh, and “care for the common good.” I like that too.

  56. 56.

    lamh36

    alright back from my doctors appt…got caught in traffic.

    Let me catch up on some stuff I missed before the swearing in starts!!

  61. 61.

    CaseyL

    Very happy to see every speaker (so far) making a point about how this inauguration might not have happened, and the need to go forward with that realization.  Democracy : We might have failed it.

  66. 66.

    citizen dave

    Just slightly (assuming I have the right Obama house), but now Biden and Obama will be living closer to each than when Biden was at the VP residence.  VP residence just slightly farther away.

  69. 69.

    Soprano2

    I’ve heard a lot of commentary about why they didn’t just do this inside and stream it. Biden couldn’t let the insurrectionists win by driving his inauguration inside, and depriving him of even this little bit of tradition. I’m so glad he didn’t give in to them!

  73. 73.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @CaseyL: As long as the Republicans who fomented an insurrection – an attack on our Capitol – go unpunished, this is all kabuki, IMO. It will happen again and it will be much worse.

  75. 75.

    Soprano2

    Can you imagine if Trump still had his Twitter account? He’d be hate-watching and Tweeting up a storm right now, I bet!

  78. 78.

    Punchy

    @Ramalama: Canadian tv is going crazy for Kamala who graduated from high school in Montreal.

    Days before Alex Jones demands her long-form diploma?

  89. 89.

    Almost Retired

    Gotta say,  Lady Gaga did a far better job on the National Anthem than Lee Greenwood would have.

  94. 94.

    dmsilev

    @Suzanne: She should have shown up wearing one of her more …out-there outfits. Maybe the machine-gun bra (as part of the security forces)?

  103. 103.

    CaseyL

    OK, don’t know why, but – I’ve been dry-eyed up to now – Lady Gaga singing the national anthem has made me tear up.

  110. 110.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    I’ve been just filled with loathing for Trump like I’ve never been for years in the last 24 hours  it’s because listening to Biden speak I realized our leaders should be talking like adults and not  like the snot frait boi everyone loves to beat up while on a cocaine binge.  God fucking lord, Biden as president is like having a nail removed from my foot with the relief that constant pain is gone.  Four damn years of that 70 year old  going on 19 orange clown endlessly bragging  about all the hookers he’s paid to have sex with him. Bleeh. 

  144. 144.

    Soprano2

    Wow, I didn’t tear up until Lady Gaga sang the line in the Star Spangled Banner about the flag still being there. Lots more significance in these things after 1/6, that’s for sure. KAMALA IS VICE-PRESIDENT!!

  153. 153.

    West of the Cascades

    @CaseyL: So if Trump dies in the next 15 minutes, she becomes president until 12:01? Doesn’t sound right … though one could hope!

  164. 164.

    Soprano2

    It’s too bad there’s no choir. The elite choir at our local state university, where I sing in the evening choir, sang at Trump’s inaugural. Even being Trump’s, it was quite an honor to be chosen for that.

  165. 165.

    Martin

    That was one of the best renditions of the national anthem I’ve heard. I don’t know which arrangement that was or if she arranged it, but the tempo was outstanding, and she has a really excellent voice for it.

  176. 176.

    cain

    I wish Sotomayor would have gotten Kamala’s name right – I think she pronounced it wrong.. ugh. :D

    Great job on that last song :-)

  182. 182.

    germy

    The sun just came out, right at the swearing in.  Nice timing, clouds.

    (I’ve been yelling at clouds for the past four years, so I take credit.)

  185. 185.

    Elizabelle

    Hail to the Chief for someone who is worthy of it.  For the first time in four appallingly long years.

  192. 192.

    randy khan

    I had a work call that ran much too long, so I missed Harris, but I did get to see Biden.  I feel so much better already.

  194. 194.

    jonas

    I don’t even remember who sang — if anyone did at all — at Trump’s inaugural. I recall that the only people willing to play were a bunch of D-listers nobody had heard of.

    Nice little shoutout in Spanish there from JLo.

  196. 196.

    Another Scott

    They’re running a little early.  It’s not official for another 9 minutes or so.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  201. 201.

    SFBayAreaGal

    Vice President Kamala Harris. I am so happy I lived to see a Black/Asian woman elected to this position.

  204. 204.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Another Scott: They’re running a little early. It’s not official for another 9 minutes or so.

    Yeah.  Noticed that too.  Had the make sure my computer time wasn’t off.

  206. 206.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Pence sitting there wondering whose asshole he’s going to gently nibble on for the rest of his life.

  217. 217.

    Feathers

    @cain: She was in the NYU musical theater program. Don’t get into that without an amazing voice.

    J Lo really killed it. Way above expectations, and I say that as someone who’s been a fan of hers for a long time.

  218. 218.

    Elizabelle

    Joe was resting up briefly before signing all the Executive Orders this afternoon.   Gotta hit the ground running once this ceremony is over.

  227. 227.

    MisterForkbeard

    I teared up a bit just now. And I’ve got this BIG STUPID GRIN on my face, just like the speakers.

    It’s a great day. I’m also in a meeting at the moment, so can’t pay as much attention as I’d like.

  231. 231.

    jonas

    That sound you hear is MAGAt heads exploding across the country after seeing Hunter Biden up there with his family watching his father get sworn in.

  245. 245.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Call for the insurrectionist Republicans to be brought to justice, then have the crowd chant “lock them up!”

  249. 249.

    CaseyL

    “We can” … do a lot of excellent, necessary stuff.

    What a fantastic speech.

    “Our better angels have always prevailed.”  Vintage Joe, giving us his vision for America.  All the gods help him realize it.

  252. 252.

    jonas

    Pretty good speechifying from a guy I was told was a dementia-addled geezer hiding in his basement who couldn’t string two words together.

  255. 255.

    Expletive Deleted

    Lurker here, probably late to the game but for those who were asking JLo was quoting the last bit of the pledge in Spanish.

  259. 259.

    germy

    With 40 minutes left in office, President Trump, in Florida, has issued one more pardon — to Albert Pirro Jr, the ex-husband of (Fox Newser) Judge Jeanine Pirro – convicted on conspiracy and tax evasion charges— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) January 20, 2021

  262. 262.

    Soprano2

    Jon Favreau tweeted that this speech is the exact opposite of the whole Trump presidency. I can’t agree more!

  263. 263.

    West of the Cascades

    @germy: Someone in the Biden transition team, I hope, has been tracking which of these 11th hour pardons haven’t been delivered and accepted, so they could potentially be rescinded.

  264. 264.

    Elizabelle

    “There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you.”

    The difference between those who have empathy and those who don’t.  People who understand that sentence.

  265. 265.

    jonas

    My God, comparing these words to the load of bullshit, spite, and bile spewed by Trump four years ago…

  266. 266.

    cain

    This speech is decent – but I remember Obama making a lot of the same appeals for 8 years and these assholes voted for Trump. I hope that this time the lesson is learned.

    I will say that Joe delivers his speeches with a simple elegance that very different from the soaring oration of Obama.

  269. 269.

    Soprano2

    @Elizabelle: “There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you.”

    The difference between those who have empathy and those who don’t.  People who understand that sentence.

    Yep, I never could have imagined what my life would be today 10 years ago. You never know what will happen to you; your life can be changed forever in 5 seconds.

  270. 270.

    Ivan X

    @cain: I don’t think even Biden’s most ardent fans would call him a soaring orator. And I’m perfectly good with that right now.

  271. 271.

    eponymous

    This is so decent and competent and truthful. I hope so hard that the optimism of his outlook prevails.

  272. 272.

    West of the Cascades

    Quoting Norah Jones, as President Kennedy once quoted Kahlil Gibran. I’m loving hearing our President speak truth and hope.

  274. 274.

    CaseyL

    I don’t need soaring oratory.  I appreciate it, but it doesn’t move me.

    What I appreciate, what moves me, is someone speaking from the heart about their resolve, their intent, and their determination to make us whole again.

    That is what I heard in President Joe’s speech.

  277. 277.

    Elizabelle

    @Steeplejack:   I think Senator Blount might vote for impeachment.  He might.

    FWIW, President Obama owns Amazing Grace.  In my heart.

    Remembering Clemente Pinckney and all the souls lost at Mother Emmanuel.

  279. 279.

    Elizabelle

    I will watch this whole ceremony again tonight.  And smile throughout.

    Has been pitch perfect.

  280. 280.

    mrmoshpotato

    Take a moment.

    Trump no longer controls the nuclear weapons. Whatever you do today, stop every few minutes and remember that.— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) January 20, 2021

  281. 281.

    Steeplejack

    “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Word.

    Still verklempt about the ASL pledge. That was the  high point for me. Besides Garth Brooks’s formal blue jeans, of course.

  283. 283.

    Ken

    OK, ceremony over and chattering starting, so TV off.

    Also a suitable time for the NYAG to start opening indictments; it won’t detract from the inauguration.

  284. 284.

    jonas

    Ok and that’s a wrap. Damn that was one hell of a closing benediction.

    Here’s to having a real president again! It’s a good day.

  286. 286.

    ballerat

    Amanda Gorman’s reading just knocked it out of the park. Most powerful and resonating words of truth said today at that podium.

  287. 287.

    J R in WV

    I’m not a Lady Gaga fan, but Oh My did she do a good job with the President’s Own Marine Band!

    Lady has pipes, and knows what to do with them!

    Last, again…

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