Monday, January 24, 2005
Inauguration Day
Last Thursday was Inauguration Day. For most of DC, that meant street closings, Texans in tuxes and ten-gallon hats, and a federal holiday. For me, it meant all those things plus a chance to spend time with houseguests there to cover the event (between their deadlines, of course).
Thursday morning I headed down 16th St. to Meridian Hill Park (also known as Malcolm X Park, apparently) with my friend Aaron Huey. Aaron, an amazing freelance photographer based in Seattle, was there to cover the counter-inauguration protests. While nothing like some of the protests we've seen in the past four years around here, they were bigger than I expected -- especially considering the cold and snow on the ground.
I took some pictures of the festivities at the park before the protesters marched towards the White House. Except for a brief incident involving some right-wing agents provocateurs it was pretty calm. Scuffling with the police came later, according to Aaron.
Another interesting element was reported by my friend Amy, who covered the Stars & Stripes Inauguration Ball for the Herald News, a small newspaper in New Jersey. Reporters with passes to cover the event were penned in a small bleacher seat-type thing near the entrance, and had to wave over ptential interviewees from behind a fence. Reportorial visits to the bathroom and food line were closely supervised by Bush volunteers, as were interviews with people at the ball. Being a journalist in GWB's America just keeps getting more fun every day.
Thursday morning I headed down 16th St. to Meridian Hill Park (also known as Malcolm X Park, apparently) with my friend Aaron Huey. Aaron, an amazing freelance photographer based in Seattle, was there to cover the counter-inauguration protests. While nothing like some of the protests we've seen in the past four years around here, they were bigger than I expected -- especially considering the cold and snow on the ground.
I took some pictures of the festivities at the park before the protesters marched towards the White House. Except for a brief incident involving some right-wing agents provocateurs it was pretty calm. Scuffling with the police came later, according to Aaron.
Another interesting element was reported by my friend Amy, who covered the Stars & Stripes Inauguration Ball for the Herald News, a small newspaper in New Jersey. Reporters with passes to cover the event were penned in a small bleacher seat-type thing near the entrance, and had to wave over ptential interviewees from behind a fence. Reportorial visits to the bathroom and food line were closely supervised by Bush volunteers, as were interviews with people at the ball. Being a journalist in GWB's America just keeps getting more fun every day.
