JANUARY 20: Inauguration Day, Plus

Three days from now, January 20, will be a busy day:

• Donald Trump's inauguration has been moved indoors, the Capitol rotunda, with viewers being sent to the Capital One Arena.  The last time this happened was in 1985 for Ronald Reagan, when the temperature reached 7F.  Not so bad this year at up to 19F, but the prominent factor was wind chill.  It is very uncomfortable in DC at this time of year.

• 
  It was on 13January1982 when I was working for the U.S. Senate.
• This was a particularly cold period for the city, with temperatures dropping to below zero.  Chicago that day was -25F.  Citrus groves in Florida froze.
• It began snowing, all told, around 6 inches in a few hours. 
• A fire in the Metro train line made for a particularly traffic nightmare.
• 
  When the snowfall seemed to be ending, the first plane to take off at National Airport (later named Reagan International--he first got elected in 1981) when visibility was only a sixteenth of a mile, and crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River.  Only five of 79 on the plane could be rescued.
• My office was in the midst of all the above, and I remember the trouble I had getting home that day.  Finally reached my apartment around 10PM.
• 
  The Supreme Court upheld the law to ban TikTok, meaning closure on January 19.  However, President Joe Biden punted and left it up to the next administration.  Congress is working on giving Trump an extra three months to settle this problem. Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, was invited with billionaires and other favorites to sit close to Trump for the inauguration.  Why has Trump changed his mind about this matter?  One possibility is that one of his billionaire colleagues owns a lot of ByteDance (parent company of TikTok) shares.  This could become my posting tomorrow.  
• 
  And by the way, did you know that the population of China dropped for the third straight year?  
• As you must know, India in 2023 surpassed the population of China:  India=1,419,316,933 vs China=1,407,181,209.  India has 12 million more, with a growing difference.  
• China has a landmass three times larger than India.
• Here is something that you probably did not know:  U.S. has 3.8 million square miles of land area, while China has only 3.7 million square miles.
• However, China has four times more people.
• Russia covers 6.6 million square miles.
• However, the USA is #3 in population, while Russia is #10.

• 
  Actually, inaugural festivities start on Saturday, January 18, with Trump's reception and fireworks, a cabinet reception and vice president's dinner.
• Then on Sunday, a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.  To follow will be a Make America Great Again Victory Rally, with Trump delivering remarks.  At the end of the day a candlelight dinner with more from Trump.
• 
  On Monday, first, service at St. John's Church (remember his Bible debacle?) and White House tea, while musical performances start at 9:30, with opening remarks at 11:30AM and the swearing-in at noon.  There will be a luncheon for dignitaries.  The presidential parade, with freezing participants and spectators. Commander in Chief Ball, where Trump will talk, Liberty Inaugural Ball, for more Trump comments, and Starlight Ball, when Trump speaks again.
• Of course, at some break in the day,  Trump will make his Day One announcements.  Read NBC for 11 things he will address.  A big one will be his pardons for 6January21 defendants, for there are 1580 of them.
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  The opposition will have their National Day of Action, not only in DC, but nationwide.
• On January 20 we will know if that Gaza Strip ceasefire and hostage return has occurred.
• January 20 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday.
• In Los Angeles County, the Santa Ana winds return.

• 
  For sports fans, there will be the college football championship game:  Ohio State vs Notre Dame.
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
• ESPN at 7:30 PM ET.
• Ohio State is favored by 8.5 points.

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