Citizens turned out on the Mall to watch the event on giant screens tomorrow will have a second chance to see the invocation by Gene Robinson, the gay Episcopal bishop, a source at the Presidential Inauguration Committee said.
"Yesterday's program will be shown on the jumbo screens on the Mall to entertain the assembled crowd. Tomorrow's version will include Robinson's prayer," the source said.
A spokesman for the Inaugural Committee, Josh Earnest, also said that HBO's rights to yesterday's event are limited: the committee owns the copyright to the event, but HBO has a license to broadcast it for six months. That makes it less likely that the concert will be kept out of the historical record of, for instance, documentaries of the event.
Crossposted via Politico.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bishop Robinson's Prayer Will Be Re-Broadcast on Mall
Did Obama Team Play Us Over Bishop Robinson?
During the inauguration kick off party at the Lincoln Memorial, openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of the Diocese of NH gave the opening prayer. This was seen by many as an olive branch given to the gay community in light of the anti-gay preacher Rick Warren invitation.
While, the appearance of Bishop Robinson is historic in nature, it was not carried by HBO or NPR the only two companies with filming rights.
After receiving hundreds of comaplints, they then promised to carry it on the later broadcast, yet it was not seen on the 7pm transmission.
After Elton has contacted HBO to find out why the Bishop was not televised.
"The producer of the concert has said that the Presidential Inaugural Committee made the decision to keep the invocation as part of the pre-show."
There are also reports from people who were there live that there were 'sound difficulties' and most people in the crowd of 500,000 did not even hear Bishop Gene Robinson speak.
Is the Obama team trying to play it both ways? Trying to shut us up, over the Rick Warren fiasco, while also silencing the voices of the LGBT community?
We are not pointing fingers, or accusing anyone of any wrongdoing, but we have a right to know why the well planned event did not go according to plan, or did it?
Contact the Presidential Inauguration Committee at 202-651-2009.
Starting Tuesday, Jan 20th all mail can be directed to:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
E-mail President Barack Obama.