Free Republic

The Presidential Inaugural Committee is expected to announce today the official theme and details for the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony of President Bush. But insiders already know what the unofficial theme will be: Texas, Texas, Texas. "The interest is overwhelming," said a spokesman for Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who said the office has received 3,000 requests from constituents for tickets to the various inaugural events. The office only has 400 tickets. Usually the president's home state holds a distinct advantage over the rest of the country and this year is no different. Although the theme, which one inaugural...

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2005 SALUTING THOSE WHO SERVE The MCI Center CHAIRMAN’S RECEPTION Mellon Auditorium YOUTH CONCERT The DC Armory WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2005 CHAIRMAN’S BRUNCH Mellon Auditorium A CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM The Ellipse CANDLELIGHT DINNER #1 Union Station CANDLELIGHT DINNER #2 The Nat’l Building Museum CANDLELIGHT #3 The Washington Hilton THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005 ST. JOHN’S CHURCH SERVICE St. John’s Church SWEARING IN CEREMONY US Capitol INAUGURAL PARADE Pennsylvania Ave. CONSTITUTION BALL Washington Hilton FREEDOM BALL Union Station INDEPENDENCE BALL Convention Center (A) TEXAS WYOMING BALL Convention Center (B) LIBERTY BALL Convention Center (C) DEMOCRACY BALL Convention Center (D)...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 — At the height of World War II in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt opted for a low-key inauguration to mark the start of his fourth term, with a simple swearing-in ceremony, a brief speech from the South Portico of the White House to a small crowd and a modest luncheon.

WASHINGTON — As he leaves the Capitol after taking the oath of office Jan. 20, President Bush (news - web sites) is expected to exercise a familiar presidential prerogative — reviewing the troops. Then the real embrace of the military begins. Bush, who campaigned for reelection as a wartime president, will have more than the usual military flourishes at his second-term inaugural ceremonies. With 138,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq and casualties reported nearly every day, the White House wanted to showcase the role of the armed services in the war against terrorism as well as in the nation's premier...

Get ready for a real trip down memory lane - no, not the an LSD trip, we mean a nostalgia trip for the old days and the old folks kind. Ah! Nothing reminds one of people stuck in the sixties like the smell of patchouli and three-day body odor, and that smell will be present at George W. Bush's second Presidential Inauguration. These wizened weedwhiffers will once again crawl out of their Vanagons and totter to protest publicly for whatever reason they are hallucinating about this time - in this case, to turn their back on the President at the...

President Bush hoped to limit the political damage from the nomination of Bernard B. Kerik by cutting him loose as soon as he confessed he had not paid taxes for a Mexican nanny who apparently had been in the country illegally. Instead, questions about Bush's judgment have escalated because of a cascade of damaging details about Kerik's business and personal lives that White House vetters either missed or ignored... ...White House officials said they knew about many of the issues before the nomination but did not deem them disqualifying. In part, they were relying on the support of New York's...

WASHINGTON -- No buttons, signs or unusual dress will distinguish the protesters from the thousands who will line the inaugural parade route next month, but at a set time, they say they will demonstrate against President Bush -- by turning their backs on the chief executive. Coupled with the widely expected pomp and pageantry of a presidential inauguration are demonstrations by protesters angered by Bush's policies, in particular the war in Iraq. Getting ready for Jan. 20, 2005, various groups are using Web sites, e-mails, fliers and word of mouth to urge thousands of demonstrators to gather in the nation's...

This thread is the first masterlink posting for threads related to the Free Republic W2 Inaugural Ball featuring Gov. Huckabee and Capitol Offense in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2005.Official web page for the W2 Ball. Click here for admissions purchases and FAQs.ANNOUNCING THE FREE REPUBLIC W2 INAUGURAL BALL, FEATURING GOV HUCKABEE AND CAPITOL OFFENSESpecial Ticket Discount and General Funds for the Free Republic W2 Inaugural BallFreeper Ball: Hotel Rooms and Room SharingIs it time for a who's going to the W2 Inaugural Ball and where will you be staying (and what will you be wearing) thread?BLAST FROM THE PAST:...

Dec 13, 2004 (financialwire.net via COMTEX) -- (FinancialWire) Dell (DELL) CEO Kevin B. Rollins, Home Depot (HD) CEO Robert Nardelli, Time Warner (TWX) CEO Richard Parsons and hundreds of business executives have been summoned to a two-day confab with President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the returning Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, himself a former CEO, at CSX Corp. (CSX). The president wants to focus on capping lawsuit damages, Social Security reform and simplification of the tax code. --snip-- The confab, however, does not appear to include representatives of small public corporations where the unproportional costs of Sarbanes-Oxley are...

WASHINGTON — One of the most talked-about jobs in Washington might not register with most Americans. But as President Bush rebuilds his Cabinet for his second term, Beltway cognoscenti are focusing on the unfilled No. 2 job at the State Department for clues about the direction of foreign policy. To those who study the frequently secretive Bush administration's moves in the hope of divining its intentions, Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites)'s choice for her top deputy will be crucial. "It's a Washington exercise, but not an unimportant Washington exercise," said Morton Abramowitz, a former U.S. ambassador...

<p>Is it time for a who's going to the W2 Inaugural Ball and where will you be staying (and what will you be wearing) thread?</p> <p>If so, I'll start off.</p> <p>The Good Lord willing, Sheila and I will be there accompanied by Syncro, and we'll be staying at the Washington Plaza Hotel. Chris is working and won't be able to take time off to drive us across country so our good friend Syncro has offered to take us. We'll be taking the southern route and will spend a few days in Florida before heading up to Washington, DC. Hope to visit as many chapters as we can along the way. And if anyone wants to join a cross country convoy, that would be great!</p>

With a little ingenuity, Chris Cowen got tickets to the hottest party in Washington. By paying a $30 membership fee to join the Texas State Society, Cowen, 31, of Minneapolis was eligible for tickets to the Lone Star State's inauguration gala. He bought four tickets for $125 each, two of which he sold on eBay for a total of $3,000. Cowen will use that money to pay for his trip to Washington on Jan. 20 to witness President Bush's second inauguration and to hobnob at the Texas ball the night before. (SNIP) While Cowen and thousands of others scramble to...

<p>Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, suffering from thyroid cancer, still plans to preside at President Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20, The Associated Press has learned.</p> <p>The chief justice normally swears in the president, but it has been unclear if Rehnquist will be well enough to participate.</p>

Special Ball Ticket Discount Fund: I've received several inquiries regarding a special ball ticket discount fund for people who may wish to donate to help someone else attend the ball who might not otherwise be able to attend. If you would like to make a donation that will help someone else attend the ball, please use our regular secure server donation (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/) page. If you have someone special in mind, please indicate in the comments area of the donation page the screen name of the person you wish to receive a discounted ticket and we will alert that person via...

As Freepers gear-up for Free Republic's 2nd Inaugural Ball, I thought it might be fun to post some of the photos I saved from the first FR Ball threads in 2001. There were so many photo threads from that first Ball, but the photos were hosted on now-defunct sites. Unless folks saved the photos to their computers back in 2001, finding any of them on the internet now is next to impossible. So, here begins the photo journey back four years, to the Free Republic Inaugural Ball and Count the White House Silverware Party... Your host for the evening, Jim...

ALL---I was planning to go to the Freeper Ball, but "life happens" and I can't go... There are also many other Freepers that are looking for rooms and room mates to share the cost...so JimRob has agreed to let me post this thread for just this activity. I HAVE A ROOM AVAILABLE...see below. If you are interested, please Freepmail me and we'll work out the transfer to you. As you can see this room is actually a TWO BEDROOM Suite, two baths etc...locacted directly across from the RedLine Metro stop...about 6.2 miles from DC and easy to transfer etc to...

One wonders if President Bush has it in him to understand that an extravagant inaugural celebration ("Bush's Money Men Pass the Hats One More Time," White House Letter, Nov. 29) is not appropriate in 2005. For one thing, there's a war on and American soldiers are dying. Also, a large percentage of the population is suffering deprivation - worse now that winter is approaching. The president could assert his authority and ask that the inauguration be scaled down, and that the money not spent be given to agencies trying to help the "other" Americans. Think how the image of "compassionate...

Are you single and/or dateless and going to the Free Republic Ball? I've been scouring the Ball related threads and it seems there are several people in this predicament. I thought I'd start a thread so we could organize the singletons and meet up at the Ball. Newbies also welcome. (I'm a bit of a newbie myself)

Interesting to see if Nelson switches parties now....

<p>Free Republic’s 2001 Inaugural Ball and Count the White House Silverware Party was such a rousing success that 61 million Americans demanded we do it again in 2005. So, we are!</p> <p>Huckabee and his rock and roll band, Capitol Offense, will be held on Thursday, January 20, 2005 in Washington, D.C.</p>