It is now almost a week since the inauguration (coronation?) of George W. Bush and his bizarre and frightening inauguration address. Although inauguration speeches are normally a series of vague and meaningless statements strung together with hyperbole and lofty rhetoric, this speech was a bit more over the top than usual. If it is to be taken seriously at all, it seems that Bush has declared that the United States will soon end all tyranny and the world will enter a golden age of "freedom" (repeated twenty-seven times) and "liberty" (repeated fifteen times.) Of course, while nobody outside the U.S. will take the parts about "liberty" and "freedom" seriously, they will undoubtedly be worried about being on the receiving end of Bush's "crusade".

Posted below is some of the better commentary and news relating to the Bush inauguration and speech:

• Just Another Word For...Freedom on Steroids By John Chuckman
• The Coronation Viewed from Israel By Uri Avnery
• A New "Citizens Oath of Office" for Inauguration 2005 by Robert Jensen
• The Spectacle By Stan Goff
• Locked Out and Pissed Off By Ron Jacobs
• Crash the Bash: Counter-Inauguration Coverage By Infoshop.org
• Washington DC IMC