Wednesday, January 25, 2012

SOTU WHAT ARE WE MISSING?


I WISH THEY WOULD OMIT THE SOTU APPLAUSE.
PLUS LESS CLAPPING TIME WOULD SHORTEN THE LENGTH, OVERALL.
THE 2012 SOTU ADDRESS HAD 81 OUTBURSTS OF APPLAUSE.

THE ONLY TIME I EVER APPRECIATED THE APPLAUSE IN THIS SPEECH WAS THIS COMMENT:

Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.
APPLAUSE

But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better.
MUTED APPLAUSE


THERE WAS SOME DOUBLE TALK ABOUT ENERGY


Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. 


ARE WE TALKING ABOUT FRACKING?


I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We've subsidized oil companies for a century. That's long enough.

WIND AND SOLAR ARE CLEAN, BUT IN PAST SPEECHES, NUCLEAR AND COAL WERE DEEMED
CLEAN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.

And I'm proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world's largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history, with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

I'M NOT APPLAUDING UNTIL I KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHAT "CLEAN ENERGY" THEY WOULD BE USING.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. (ARMED FORCES TEAMWORK).

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER ALREADY PUBLICLY DECLARED THE SOTU ADDRESS "PATHETIC". DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH WAITING FOR GOP TEAMWORK.

It means we should support everyone who's willing to work and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.
After all, innovation is what America has always been about.

AS MUCH AS STEVE JOBS WAS AN INNOVATOR, THE FORTUNES OF APPLE ARE MADE ON THE BACKS OF MFG SWEATSHOPS IN CHINA. SWEATSHOPS WITH CONDITIONS SO BAD, THEY HAD A PROBLEM WITH SUICIDES. SORRY TO BRING UP THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF APPLE, BUT THIS KIND OF TELLING HALF THE STORY IS WHY SOTU ADDRESSES ARE HARD TO TAKE.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/02/ff_joelinchina/all/1

OBAMA DELIVERS A GREAT SPEECH. BUT LINES LIKE THIS ONE:

But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.

MUST SPUR US TO ASK, SO WHAT HAS CHANGED?
ARE THERE NEW POLICIES IN PLACE?
LAST TIME I CHECKED, THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN FOR MORE OF THE SAME.

From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax

THIS IS A DIFFERENT MANIFESTATION OF TAXING THE RICH. WE ALL KNOW HOW THE GOP FEELS ABOUT THAT!

People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let's agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay. Let's get it done.


* NOTE- POTENTIAL ADD ONS TO THIS MEASURE INCLUDE THESE ITEMS:
The House’s version of the payroll tax bill would demand that unemployed workers without a high school diploma show they are working toward one before they qualify for additional jobless benefits. It would also allow states to require drug tests for unemployment recipients. 

THIS PAYROLL TAX CUT IS MONEY NOW NOT ADDED TO SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS, FURTHER DESTABILIZING SOCIAL SECURITY.

Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job.

And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs so that from now on people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help that they need. It is time to turn our unemployment system into a re- employment system that puts people to work.

So tonight, I am proposing that every state, every state, requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.


SAYING THESE THINGS, AND COMMITMENTS TO IMPROVE EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS, DOES NOT MAKE THEM SO.
HOW DOES A STATE  REQUIRE STUDENTS TO STAY IN SCHOOL? WHO WILL FUND IT?
AN UNFUNDED MANDATE PASSED OFF TO STATES TO ENFORCE IS ABOUT AS EMPTY A PROMISE CAN BE. MAY AS WELL ADD RAINBOWS AND WINNING LOTTERY TICKETS WITH LARGE SUMS FOR ALL!
SOME OF IT SOUNDS GOOD, SOME OF IT IS NOT REALLY EXPLAINED OR DEFINED, ESPECIALLY HOW IT WOULD BE FUNDED, BUT SHOULD WE REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO SEE THESE THINGS COME TO FRUITION ANYTIME SOON?

OVERALL, OBAMA'S SOTU ADDRESS WAS DUBBED A LAUNDRY LISTOF ITEMS THAT REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION. 

THE MOST CONGRESSIONAL ACTION WE'VE SEEN TO DATE, IS INFIGHTING.

OBAMA HEADS OFF ON THE REELECTION CAMPAIGN TRAIL TODAY.



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