By Suzia van Swol-University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News Service

Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Brian Cowen brought some St. Patrick’s Day cheer today, as he met with President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on his visit to Washington D.C. The trio were greeted with the sound of bagpipes from the United States Air Force Reserve Pipe Band as they walked down the House of Representative steps. The Irish Prime Minister later discussed his visit with press outside the Cannon House Building.

St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in a big way when elephants marched down Massachusetts Ave., accompanied by clowns and bagpipes.

Former Vice-President Al Gore with Suzia van Swol and Candyce Torres, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Voting line in Alexandria, VA, originally uploaded by talkradionews.

The line at 6 AM, when the polls opened, contained over 600 people.

Photo by S. Dawn Casey

Talk Radio News Service’s Ellen Ratner and WBSM’s Ken Pittman appeared at a political event at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to encourage people to vote. You can read more about the event at the organizer’s site. The event included an illusion by Lyn Dillies in which she made an elephant and a donkey appear out of thin air.

On Thrusday, September 11th, New York City commemorated the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Here are a few pictures from Ground Zero.

More pictures from Talk Radio News on our Flickr.

On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, presidential nominees Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), spoke at the ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum in New York. This event was held to open the two-day ServiceNation Summit, which aims to promote a culture of service in the United States. The two candidates spoke about their views on what service and civic engagement are.

The event was held at Columbia University, in New York. According to the Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper, only 100 seats were allocated for students. The rest were reserved for donors and dignitaries. Several students told Talk Radio News that the seats were dolled out in a lottery system. Columbia accommodated student overflow seating outside the Low library (picture above). University officials had no comment.
The Governor of New York, David Paterson, introduced the event, speaking on the importance of service. He mentioned how fortunate the United States is that both presidential candidates know the great importance of civic engagement.
The moderators, Richard Stengel of Time and Judy Woodruff of ‘the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer’, asked Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama similar questions on the issue of service and their views on it. The two candidates largely agreed on all issues, differing mainly on the role of government in promoting service.
Both Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama expressed what 9/11 meant for them and the rest of the United States: they stressed the unity that the terrorist attacks brought, with Obama commenting that 9/11 demonstrated America’s ability to “come together.” The candidates also agreed that 9/11 had been a perfect time to lead change in government and encourage a greater culture of service, by tapping into the spirit of volunteerism that was created.
Both candidates stressed the need to reform Washington. Obama remarked that “we are not on the right track”, and McCain drew attention to the fact that 84% of Americans believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction; he declared that his long career in Washington made him especially able to “fix it.”
The importance of military service to the two candidates was clear throughout the discussions, though both stressed the importance of civilian service also. Obama stressed the need for a foreign service, for example, to help in war-torn regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan by improving health and infrastructure.
The difference between McCain and Obama, however, was clear in their opinions on the role of government in encouraging service. McCain emphasised the strength of faith based organisations and private companies in the response to Hurricane Katrina, referring to his own theory of government that the government should not do what the private sector is capable of doing already. Obama, on the other hand said that “government should expand,”, for example by creating a Clean Energy Corps to mobilise civilians in the bid to make energy cleaner.

Still, both candidates insisted that the issue of service was non-partisan and of vital importance: Obama said that one of his primary objectives, and one of the main reasons why he is running for president, is that he wants to lift up opportunities for service in the United States.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at a ceremony to dedicate the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He says that the ceremony is to honor the sacrifice of families that have lost a husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend. (0:31)

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On Thrusday, September 5, police and protesters faced off:

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NOTE: The figure of 7k protesters came from two different bicycle police. Considering varying reports post-protest and post-RNC, I doubt the number of protesters was that high.
- DHP

More pictures from this event can be found on the TRNS Flickr page.