State of the Union address...

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Saw it all. Loved it :neener:

I especially liked his telling (by implication) Germany and France to suck an egg regarding Iraq by saying (paraphrased) "I've got a job to do to protect the American people and we're going to do it."

He had several great sound bites too.

Very strong speech, and very well done!
 
It was pretty much as I expected. Almost everything he proposed was in direct violation of the Constitution--specifically the 10th Ammendment, which states:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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This means, among other things: no prescription drug "benefit," no money for AIDS drugs for Africa (or anywhere else), no "patients' Bill of Rights to give uninsured workers credits to help buy health coverage,", no "direct assistance for health care coverage," no expenditures on "education," no more unemployment benefits, no "Social [In]Security," no AmeriCorps, no "USA Freedom Corps," no government-funded "mentors to love children," no federal funding of police and fire departments, no "combating of "illegal" drugs, no government "encouragement" of conservation, or "promotion" of technology, or building of "infrastructure" (whatever that means!).

Was the speech politically effective? Did he stick it to the Democrats? I don't care. All I care about is the fact that the Constitutional Republic is dead.
 
Was the speech politically effective? Did he stick it to the Democrats? I don't care. All I care about is the fact that the Constitutional Republic is dead.
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And you thought we had one at any time after 1865?
 
Am I the only one who was bothered by the plethora (see: multiple BILLIONS of dollars) of new spending on social programs? I thought the Republicans are/were the party of small government. :rolleyes:

We're going to be fighting a shooting war with Iraq very shortly. I'm not sold on it, but I realize that it's going to happen. I hope it isn't as costly as the last one, but I fear it's gonna be worse. And then we'll have troops stationed in THAT region of the world indefinitely.

So much for the campaign promise to review troop deployments and start bringing our people home.

Tax cuts are great. I hope he gets the Republicans in the Congress to play ball, and some of the Democrats, too.

Count me in the "continuing skeptic" column.
 
Seminole:

You are right, of course, but that bridge was crossed a long time ago and short of a second revolution..it isn't going to revert... the people want their goodies.


BTW: If cutting taxes is good for the economy. I volunteer to help the economy. Get rid of all my taxes and I promise to spend every cent not taken by the government.:uhoh:
 
I don't really agree with him sending billions of dollars in AIDS help to Africa when there are people here who can't afford the treatments. The same goes for food aid to other countries.

He did actually do a good job of dancing around the fact that Clinton sent those nuclear reactors to N. Korea, and now they are using them to produce weapons grade plutonium.

My tax money for "mentors" for at risk children...nope, not good in my opinion.

Pushing Congress to put into play tax cuts that they have already aproved for four years down the line, the dividend tax being removed, the marriage penalty removed...all good in my opinion.

Still skeptical on Iraq unless Powell has some very convincing evidence otherwise.

How can the economy be recovering if unemployment is up? Wonder where he took his econ classes.

But all in all...it was a lot better than I expected to be. Not as good as his 9/11 speach, but an ok speach. He's still not quite that dynamic of a public speaker.
 
ahenry and GaryH:

You are right, of course. It's not that I had a sudden revelation about the true nature of the political system in the U.S. tonight. But since Zander asked about our opinions, regarding the Address, I responded. No matter how well delivered, I can't cheer the presentation of an agenda that is fundamentally illegitimate. Just a reality check from my particular corner of reality. . . .
 
All I care about is the fact that the Constitutional Republic is dead.
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Gotcha...now why, exactly, is it that your are complaining? Do you suppose that you are the lone voice in the wilderness and no one else has your insight?

Put yourself in the shoes of the most powerful man in the world and tell us how you propose we "fix" it.

We're all bored to tears with the recitation of how our Rights have been infringed. It gives us heartburn every morning.

What, specifically, is your suggestion for a solution?

To be intentionally redundant...what is your suggestion for a solution? Please be specific...
 
I don't agree on sending one dime on AIDS programs except for children who contracted it involuntarily from their mothers. The rest got it from illicit drug use or sexually promiscuous lifestyles. Better to spend the money on diseases that people contracted through no fault of their own. Other than that, a good speech.
 
That's some bill of goods.

Overall, the speech was stronger than I expected. I'm always leery when I hear pols spouting off about all of the new ways they've thought up to spend our money; those zeros really stack up after a while. It's mind-blowing, and the social programs in general give me the boo-boo-jeebies.

Then there were the nebulous references to the Citizen Service Act and the USA Freedom Corps. I admit that I haven't looked at them in any real depth, but it sounded like he wanted to form (and fund!) a "Department of Goodwill Toward Men". :rolleyes:

His treatment of Iraq was good. You could definitely hear the war drums pounding, as he built his case. Leaving that issue for the end really brought an air of suspense to the speech. While he didn't make a case for dropping bombs tomorrow, he certainly didn't leave much doubt as to what his aims are, and what his course will be.

I'll be waiting for Feb 5th with bated breath to see what Powell has to report.

As always, I was hoping for at least some RKBA-related crumb to fall from the table, but I'm not surprised that we didn't hear anything about that. I guess that most folks just don't care enough about it now for it to be worth his time. Ah well, even silence beats a speech about "America's love affair with the gun..."

(Then, when Feinstein came on-screen without warning, I could just _hear_ my guns spontaneously rusting shut. Now I'm going to have to coax them out of hiding with the smell of CLP. :) And was it just me, or was USAF Gen. Myers slouching?)

-Pen
 
I'm tired of hearing about the evidence and not seeing anything. Even when presented, that is going to bother me.
 
...there are people here who can't afford the treatments. --NS78
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Oh, please...you can't be serious. There is nowhere in the world where those diagnosed HIV+ or with full-blown AIDS are supported to the extent that we afford with our extorted tax dollars...despite the fact that there are much more deadly health threats which deserve to be addressed first.

Those with a deadly transmittable disease deserve to be quarantined and treated until they are no longer threats to the general populace. If it's a valid policy for TB or smallpox carriers, it should be valid for AIDS-carriers.

Who needs any more "gift-givers"?
 
It was pretty much as I expected. Almost everything he proposed was in direct violation of the Constitution--specifically the 10th Ammendment, which states:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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I agree. All of the programs the President touted are needed and definitely would be a good gesture (most social programs are) and would do a lot for a lot of people. But.........

The fact of the matter though is that it's not the Federal Governments job to take care of that kind of stuff. Not only is it not the Feds job, its prohibited by the Constitution.

Those things should be left to the private charity / non-profit sector. If taxpayers want to support a particular program they can donate their money themselves.

On the Iraq issue the President definitely made a stronger case for Military action.

I had been kind of disturbed by the attitude expressed by Colin Powell when he said something to the effect of "It's not a matter of how much more time the inspectors need, it's a matter of how much more time we will give Iraq to confess."

I was disturbed by that statement by Powell because it left zero room for the possibility that Iraq although desiring weapons of mass destruction might not actually have anything to show for that desire and therefore nothing to "confess". A bit like a City official stating that a citizen possessed illegal firearms and if he didn't "confess" he was going to be thrown in jail even though there were none of the claimed firearms found in his house.

Tonight’s speech cleared up some of the actions on Iraq’s part that go well beyond being un-cooperative. Especially the parts about Iraqi officers posing as Scientists etc

While that type of action is unacceptable I don't know that it makes a case for war. It will be very interesting to see what kind of evidence is presented. I hope it's more than some empty warheads and some unaccounted for missiles with a maximum range of only a few miles.
 
Oh, please...you can't be serious. There is nowhere in the world where those diagnosed HIV+ or with full-blown AIDS are supported to the extent that we afford with our extorted tax dollars...despite the fact that there are much more deadly health threats which deserve to be addressed first.
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That's not always true. There are people whose insurance won't cover it. I don't think that tax dollars should be spent on it, I think private insurance should, but if the tax dollars are going to be spent in the billions to send aid to Africa, I would rather have them stay here. There are people who still die from neumonia in this country because they don't get it treated. There are children who go hungry, but our gov't still sends billions of dollars in aid to all sorts of foriegn countries without solving the problem here. My main point is if I am going to be taxed, then I think that it should stay within our borders. I would much rather that my taxes weren't being used for socialist programs period. Unless that program buys me a gun and ammo for it of course. :evil:
 
Atticus,

My wife made the comment early in the address that Ted looked drunk, then when he had his slumped down she said "look the drunk passed out". :D
 
Was I mistaken, or did the following draw the most cheers of the entire speech:
All free nations have a stake in preventing sudden and catastrophic attack. We are asking them to join us, and many are doing so. Yet the course of this Nation does not depend on the decisions of others.
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I'm a big fan of anything that throws mud in the eye of the UN.
 
The most telling sight for me was the look on the faces of the Democrats as he spoke about tax cuts. As he spoke of allowing the people to keep more of THEIR OWN MONEY, the liberals looked as if he were hammering a stake thru their hearts. The look on Hillary's face was priceless.

Of course, they always get upset when we start to think we're something more than "money trees" for their pet projects.
 
Dave, you are exactly correct ...

Dave, the look on Hillarat's face was priceless! She looked suddenly 10 or 15 years older.

It seems to me the Demorats believe that unless the inspectors find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that there is no danger. What the President pointed out (among other things) is that NOT finding them is the real issue! The weapons were catalogued after the last war. If they are not in evidence now and there is no evidence of them being dismantled/destroyed, then it is fair to conclude that the weapons are in hiding! Why can't that be obvious to everyone?
 
PRESIDENT HITS HOME RUN

KNOCKS IT INTO THE STANDS
CUTS LEGS FROM UNDER LIBERALS

All points made about spending and expansion of government are valid, but not central to the speech.

The essence of this speech is this: a President just got up before the people and flatly said what he beleives and what he intends to do. There were no weasel words, there was no waffling, and there were no apologies for his stand. This speech was dripping with CHARACTER and RESOLITION, and I for one am very proud of our President.

I agree that there was plenty of pork in there, and I don't like it any more than the next guy. Where Bush got specific about programs, e.g. AIDS spending, education, taxes , etc. he can be defeated in detail if necessary. But there was no getting around the overall vision for this country he expressed: and I beleive his vision is right, and even if I didn't, it's wonderful to see a man who doesn't tap dance on issues.

BRAVO ZULU MR PRESIDENT!
 
Zander,

Gotcha...now why, exactly, is it that your are complaining? Do you suppose that you are the lone voice in the wilderness and no one else has your insight?
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Out of curiosity, did you learn these manners at finishing school?

Put yourself in the shoes of the most powerful man in the world and tell us how you propose we "fix" it.
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None of us have sought that job. That doesn't prevent us from having the vague feeling that shipping off $15 billion dollars of money stolen from Americans to give to people on another continent might not be the best way to "fix" anything.

We're all bored to tears with the recitation of how our Rights have been infringed. It gives us heartburn every morning.
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Really? I've heard quite a few of these recitations from you, also.

What, specifically, is your suggestion for a solution?

To be intentionally redundant...what is your suggestion for a solution? Please be specific...
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You asked for someone's opinion on the speech. He gave it to you. Now you're mad? Why? 'Cause he didn't wave a pompom?

:scrutiny:
 
You gotta admit that Bush sure has come around in the speech making department. He actually looks comfortable up there now. Very few verbal gaffes.

I thought he did a great job. The real interesting speech will be delivered next week by the Secretary of State, though.

Mark
 
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