BushCo shot of in-security at Inauguration: show of force trumps common sense

[wordpix]

Here's what I saw:

1) Two points of access to the Mall , 9th St. and 18th St. NW, for what appeared to be millions of people. When I was on 9th, there were tens of thousands of people thronging the streets without being able to move, waiting to go through security (I think) toward the Mall. A security guard told me I could access the Mall via 18th St. This is where I would find a big screen to see the swearing in. I started heading there ---along with thousands of people.

2) There were several streets to the Mall closed with lots of security guards hanging around with not much to do. They told me I needed a ticket to go down so I kept heading to 18th, all the while wondering why all those streets were empty and open for the ticket holders, and only two streets in 9 blocks were open for the millions without tickets.

3) Walking down 18th or near it, I saw a bunch of locked porta potties and overflowing trash cans. The overflowing trash was a theme throughout the day because there were very few trash cans provided. All day long, I saw only one recycling container. Every trash can was overflowing with trash all over the streets and sidewalks.

4) When I got to 18th it was really crowded all the way down to the Wash. Monument grounds. The trinitron sound sucked where I was standing but luckily a man near me had a radio. The high point was Obama's swearing in, YEAH!

5) Walking back was insane. The barricades guided, er, herded everyone north toward 18th St. with a major bottleneck to get off the Monument grounds. I'm guessing there were hundreds of thousands of people waiting to go through the same one narrow spot, with no security guards or police to direct people elsewhere. "Security" was mostly at the head of the closed streets with nothing to do but check the belongings of the ticketed few.

6) A lot of people wanted to go to the parade but every street was closed off and you couldn't get within four blocks of Pennsylvania Ave. So people kept walking up 18th St., which was the only through street open. The street was crowded cheek-by-jowl for many blocks. The crowd was very nice and patient but you could tell the celebratory mood was over and people weren't going to the parade, they were going home.

I really would like to know why it's "secure" to herd millions of people onto one street where they are crowded in so badly they can barely walk, and they certainly can't turn around and walk the other way. If there had been an incident in that crowd, there would have been no escape route. I hope that when Obama is re-elected, he will fix this for the next inauguration. And how about a trash can and recycling bin on every corner, instead of the rare few I saw in these many blocks? It would also help to have the big screens at strategic spots on streets near the Mall so everyone wouldn't have to actually be on the Mall to watch the event.

I have photos but don't know how to post them. Would someone let me know?

[Vincardog]

1. Upload your pictures to the web. Then post a link to that site or the pictures individually.

[wordpix]

2. no other way, like using HTML? I don't have a website to post to

[Vincardog]

7. They used to let you embed pictures but I think they didn't like using up all the space.

[Historic NY]

3. They actually said they could only accommodate a limited amount..

of people along the parade route. People would need to find other vantages points.

[wordpix]

4. Yeah, find a vantage point four blocks away with buildings blocking the view---good luck

[wordpix]

5. Andrea Mitchell reporting the crowd isn't all that big---no wonder

[wordpix]

6. MSNBC reporting people with box seats can't get through security!

BushCo's so good at security no one can get in. Good riddance, asshat