(The Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall. Hand crafted in China, the memorial symbolizes the legacy of the slain Civil Rights leader. Photo AP.)
It is a Day On this morning, not that industry has given us much of a choice about recognizing the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King off the meter. I am OK with all that, but reserve a quiet moment of contemplation for him as I did when I made the pilgrimage to his tomb on the grounds of the old Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
The public component of the Inauguration happens today, as well. The radio is murmuring about the police presence downtown, and the military vehicles strategically positioned. I remember four years ago attempting to find a place to park the Hubrismobile on the Virginia bluffs overlooking the capital to see if I could see W’s helicopter fly away from this crazy city for the last time.
FT Myer and Arlington Cemetery were locked down for security, and files of spectators, mostly but not exclusively African American, were parking where they could and taking the long trek down to the graceful Memorial Bridge and across to the National Mall. The only place I could find was a parking place on the grounds of the Arlington Annex in the shadow of the Air Force Memorial.
I sat in the car with the top down on the chilly morning, listening to the account of the ceremonies, and actually saw Marine One lift off in the distance, taking George and Laura away.
They say that there will be nowhere near the crowds that thronged the city last time. The National Park Service requested only a quarter the number of porta-potties, and they generally know what they are doing.
I am not going any way near the District today. Instead, I am headed west to the distant suburb of Reston, conveniently located near Dulles International Airport in case you feel the need to flee the continent.
I am not taking flight. I am, instead, working on the day devoted to Dr. King, and to the first African American President. This is half way through the Obama years. Each day now represents the steady march to the Smokin’ Joe Biden administration or some other horror in the slow-motion collapse of the West.
Oh well. I know we should let today stand as a signal accomplishment for the Progressive vision. We are looking at all sorts of Good Works that can be accomplished, with renewed vigor and determination.
Gun control, of course, Immigration Reform, Climate Change and all sorts of cool stuff. It should be pretty exciting. They say that the new Secretaries of Defense and State are going to be major players in the implementation of the second term agenda and naturally we are all very interested in what they will do. Mr. Kerry is supposed to have a bold plan to support international agreements on carbon (the European market in carbon swaps just collapsed) and cutting the defense budget is the number one priority for Mr. Hagel.
I am sure it will all be very exciting.
The fortress of John Boehner’s House of Representatives will be a sticking point for the President’s second term agenda, of course, so the hope is that the hapless GOP will be triangulated between the White House and Harry Reid’s Senate, and the House will fall to the forces of the vanguard of the Middle Class in 2014.
There is so much to look forward to. In the meantime, I was puzzling over a couple minor issues, like where the ten o’clock meeting is, out there in the wilds of Fairfax County.
Fairfax was once the richest county in the United States, based on median income, and at this moment as the nation arcs through the zenith of its influence, the richest that has existed in the history of the species. It is allrelative, of course. We have talked about the side benefits of living and working in the National Capital Region (NCR). Sure, the traffic sucks, big time, but we have stayed employed in a variety of worthy government activities since the awful events of 9/11.
It used to seem shocking that five of the ten richest counties in the United States were part of the DC Metropolitan Statistical Area, but as of last year, the NCR suburbs now account for no less than seven of the ten richest counties in the nation.
The prosperity of Northern Virginia represents a blend of high incomes and exclusionary zoning. But still, it is a reflection of just how the money spigot flows. Even Prince William County and bucolic Fauquier make the list. Culpeper doesn’t, and I just wish I had been prescient enough to take some business clothes down there so I could have stayed the night away from the NCR and stopped on the way back for the stupid meeting.
Oh well, it is a Day On, after all, and there is a great deal of excitement to come.
(The First and Second Families look at Marine One as Geroge and Laura split the city in 2009. Photo AP).
Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com