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(image credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Two Dutch students, Omar Kbiri and Lennard Hulsbos, found themselves on a last-minute trip to Washington, DC to watch the inauguration, thanks to Virgin founder Richard Branson! Branson was at a conference Tuesday in Amsterdam and mentioned he was flying back to the States for the inauguration. The original story in Dutch is available here. An English translation provided by b°b (the full version is in the comments):
To make his speech more interactive, the attendees were allowed to send their questions to the Englishman to a big screen via text-messages. On the question “Can you take 2 broke students to Washington DC?” Branson answered “Yes” immediately. After his speech, the two students stepped inside Bransons’ limousine and drove to the airport where Branson’s private jet was already waiting.
The two ‘poor’ students didn’t even have to pay for their hotel. A sponsor spontaneously offered to pay the bill.
Link to English translation by Google. -Thanks, b°b!
Wow, what a day! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you all know that Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. History is made today, as Americans welcome their first African American president.
Did you watch Obama’s inauguration? (I watched most of it, then had to leave for an appointment, which I just got back from) What’s up with Chief Justice Roberts fumbling of the oath. I <3 Aretha Franklin’s awesome hat!
ABC News has a pretty neat coverage: Link (Photo: Elise Amendola/AP)
While everyone is watching the inauguration events in Washington, a crew of workers will be busy behind the scenes making sure that president Bush is moved out of the White House, and president Obama and his family are moved in. Former chief White House usher Gary Walterstells CNN how it is done.
In the morning, after the Bushes and Obamas depart the executive mansion for the Capitol Hill swearing-in ceremony, moving trucks will roll up to the south side of the White House, Walters said.
The drivers put down their tailgates, allowing most of the White House’s 93 staff members to begin unloading Obama family items, he said.
“Staff members all have been given very specific jobs on that day, almost down to the minute as to what their responsibilities are,” Walters said.
The move is designed to be seamless, painless and invisible while millions of Washington visitors — and millions more watching on TV — follow the inauguration ceremonies and the parade that follows.
By about 5 p.m., before the Obamas move from the parade viewing stand to their new home, the presidential move must be complete.
Also: Click on the images in this post from one of the creators to get a sense of the scale and intricacy of the display.
I love this group. The Isiserettes are a non-profit drill and drum corps from Des Moines headed to D.C. in January to perform at Barack Obama’s inauguration. The official group is made up of kids ages 7 to 18, but I’ve seen some pretty tiny kids grooving out there (which is adorable).
This video is cool, but I have to say it doesn’t do them justice: they’re super impressive when you see them live. Here’s a video of the drum line in action:
Video by Bill Grady, via MyFortDodge.
