I was already anxiously anticipating the Inaugural activities, but hearing the details of the opening event has really ramped up my interest. I have also been anxiously awaiting the release of the new U2 album, No Line on the Horizon, in March, and hopefully a U2 tour in the not too distant future (no dates announced yet). So I was very excited to see Bono in the lineup for the opening celebration. He seems to be the only non-American in the show….. interesting. Perhaps he and Mary J. Blige will treat us to a performance of One. I am sure this event will be impeccably produced, as every Obama event has been, and the content and presentation will be memorable.

The other interesting event of note that is taking place on Inauguration day is the Neighborhood Ball. Tickets to this ball were available to DC residents only. It will be attended by the Obamas, and will be televised on ABC and on the Internet. I have always wondered what took place at one of these events. This will be my chance to see.

Check out the Presidential Inaugural Committee website for more details and updates. I was wondering why they have been soliciting donations for the Inaugural events and I found out today on a C-SPAN segment. Obama’s representative explained that they are following the same principles regarding funding that they did during the campaign; no PAC or lobbyist contributions, limitations on personal contribution amounts, no contributions from corporations, etc. So, if you have some spare change, you might want to contribute to the biggest celebration America has ever seen.

Peace.

We are excited to announce that Bono will be making an appearance Wednesday night (April 25, 2007) on behalf of ONE urging the millions of Americans watching the show to join us in the fight against extreme poverty. Bono will meet with the Idol contestants to talk with them about ONE and the difference your advocacy is making in the lives of the world’s poorest people. The Idol contestants will also perform “American Prayer,” a song written by Bono and Dave Stewart about the AIDS emergency in Africa.

Wednesday night’s show will be a two-hour special hosted by Ellen and featuring appearances by Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Earth, Wind & Fire, Il Divo, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Josh Groban with the African Children’s Choir, Jack Black, Helen Mirren, Rascal Flatts, Quincy Jones, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox and many more.

Check out the press release on the ONE.org site for all of the details regarding the “Idol Gives Back” two night special tonight and tomorrow night. It looks like it will be well worth watching.

We are one.
Carol

DATA STATEMENT ON BONO’S MEETINGS WITH US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES, 2/28/07

Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of the African advocacy organization DATA, is in the U.S. this week meeting with legislators, presidential candidates and others about the strategic importance of fighting extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa.

On Monday and Tuesday, he met with Senator Sam Brownback, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator John Edwards, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator John McCain, Senator Barack Obama and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He looks forward to exchanging ideas with all the campaigns in the coming months.

In unstable political times, helping poor countries with tested, affordable interventions is not only the right thing to do — it’s the smart thing to do. We expect that the candidates will be hearing from voters on these issues during the coming elections.

Selected quotes from the speech:
“True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our freedom.”
“Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice, it is a command.”
“God has a special place for the poor. God is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them.”
“Ending poverty is not a burden, it is an adventure.”

The NAACP also announced that it is going to join with the ONE campaign to end poverty and to fight AIDS. Click on the following link to listen to an interesting interview with Bono and Julian Bond. LISTEN TO BONO AND NAACP CHAIRMAN JULIAN BOND ON THE TOM JOYNER SHOW Mr. Bond seems to think alot of Bono.

The ONE Blog has a post describing some of the key aspects of the ONE and NAACP partnership.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond:

“Tonight, the NAACP, the ONE Campaign and DATA agree to enter into a agreement to increase our collective capacity and our advocacy efforts to address extreme poverty.”

The new partnership will include a drive for 250,000 new ONE and NAACP members, co-hosted events and forums across the country and the NAACP engaging their members in support of bipartisan debt cancellation, trade reform, effective aid, global health, clean water and infrastructure development efforts.