I guess its not a fluke

Hmmm. Is there a deeper message here about fireworks? I guess the last post on the absence of fireworks from the Nov. 4, 2008 election day "celebration" was not a fluke. Either way we like it here at LAAG. Maybe the City Council will take notice.

January 18, 2009
In break with last 7 inaugurals, no fireworks planned

By RICHARD LEIBY
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- For the first time in 28 years, there will be no fireworks on the Mall during inaugural festivities.

"We never discussed having fireworks as part of the events. It just didn't come up," Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for the incoming president's inaugural committee, said last week.

In repeated public announcements, the committee has promised that Barack Obama's inauguration will be "the most open and accessible inauguration in American history." But the lack of fireworks represents a departure from one of the most accessible traditions that accompany the celebration of a new presidency. A fireworks display has been a feature of the past seven consecutive inaugurations, starting with Ronald Reagan's in 1981.

***[snip]***

Free public events on the weekend before Reagan's second inauguration included all-day concerts, according to published reports. The parade itself was canceled because of bitter cold, but a fireworks display went on as scheduled.

Some participants in past inaugurations say the lack of fireworks this year undermines a populist message. [LAAG editor: what message here will be "enhanced" with fireworks?]

"The symbolism is all wrong not to do it," said Craig Shirley, who worked on Reagan's second inauguration and has written two books on the former president. "There's no preferred seating for fireworks." [LAAG editor: Actually Craig you really don't get it...the symbolism is perfect: "Change" from the past; the environmentally conscious President etc.]


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