Liveblogging the State of the Union address
hey y'all! is that time again. grab an adult beverage, turn on your TV/radio, and join in liveblogging the 2007 State of the Union (SOTU) address. just add your comments below. profanity is, as always, welcome.
here's a quick cheat sheet with the topics of the SOTU:
ENERGY: Cut U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent by 2017 by boosting mandates for production of ethanol and other alternative fuels. Also, raise fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars, light trucks and SUVs. Let transportation secretary set the standard, not Congress. Double the oil-storage capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over 20 years to 1.5 billion barrels.
GLOBAL WARMING: Cut emissions from cars and light trucks by 10 percent over 10 years by reducing gasoline consumption and improving fuel efficiency. The president's goal is to stop the growth of greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. motor vehicles by 2017.
HEALTH INSURANCE: Make employer-provided health insurance taxable income after a standard deduction of $15,000 for families and $7,500 for singles. Redirect money from Medicare and Medicaid and hospital funding toward new grants to states to help subsidize health insurance for individuals.
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IMMIGRATION: Pass comprehensive overhaul of immigration law. Create a temporary "guest-worker" program. Provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, including making them pay fines and learn English. Continue stiff border enforcement.
IRAQ: Expand U.S. forces by 21,500 to help Iraqis quell sectarian violence in Baghdad and insurgent-infested Anbar province. Press the Iraqi government to make measurable progress on benchmarks toward a political settlement to strengthen public support for it.
EDUCATION: Renew the No Child Left Behind Act, which sets federal test standards for elementary school children.
STRONGER MILITARY: Boost the number of service members by 92,000 over five years. Add 65,000 soldiers to the Army, raising the total to 547,000. Add 27,000 Marines, bringing the total to 202,000.
RESTRAIN SPENDING: Balance the budget by 2012. Cut "earmark" spending projects' cost in half this year. Make identities of earmark sponsors more transparent.
AIDS/MALARIA: Sustain the five-year, $15 billion program to fight AIDS worldwide, especially in 15 target countries. Sustain the five-year, $1.2 billion program to fight malaria in 15 hard-hit African countries.
Comments
"our economy is on the move" yep, to China
yeah, cut the deficit in half. the deficit you created.
we know what earmarks are; what to do about them?
he calls them "entitlements". what they are is the fucking safety net which is supposed to exist in civilized countries.
fix, fix, and save. how, how, and how?
btw, doesnt' Laura B. look completely drugged?
private insurance is not the best way to ensure health care.
no, not changing the tax code. the health care system as we have it is a way for insurance companies to get rich
oh yeah, "better information technology" will save us in healthcare. pppffffttt.
and "reforming liability laws" is a keyword for not allowing malpractice lawsuits. which insurance companies are all for
and we all now terrorists come from the Mexican border, right?
Kevin keeps heckling "C'mon nancy, pull out a piece and blow them both away"! And Global Warming was just said so it must be real now.
"modernize fuel economy standards". this from the fucker whose administration gutted the CAFE standards.
and I know how he is planning to "> the strategic oil reserves": by drilling ANWAR.
and omfg, W. now believes in global climate change? this from the fucker that would not sign the Kyoto agreement?
and Cap, you were off. but not by much. a lot of restraint by W. not to bring up 9/11 until half an hour in.
oooo, he brought out Zarqawi. and OBL.
now Shiia are enemies? but, but, the President of Iraq (dead-man-walking-Maliki and his coalition are Shiia)
I'm confused
Keith says "Condi looks like she's ready to bite somebody"
now he says "the situation in Iraq" is not what we engaged on".
yer damn right, sparky
I didn't buy enough booze.
he keeps on talking of "Iraq army", "Iraq troops"...that's the elephant in the room. there is no goddamn Iraq army. fucking Paul Brenner disbanded the army in 2003, remember?
there is no chance for success. none. I'm with cut and run.
" generational struggle" wha?
now he is admitting he has failed, "this struggle will persist..."
and how to add to the military? a d- r- a- f- t?
a "volunteer civilian reserve corps"? ain't that the National Guard?
nu-ku-lear twice more.
"heroic kindness"... oh, I get it. this is where he gets to parade the 'honored guests'. I was wondering why the fellow who saved somebody on the NYC subway is here.
These are red herrings to distract the public from the issues at hand. He's hoping that the thrumming of the heart strings will evoke enough goopy emotion that no one will notice what he's not doing or saying.
now for Jim Webb with the Dems response. should be good.
Lives to post another day.
DB, sop bogarting that blunt!
Thank you, Peeps, for saving me the agony.
Namaste.
heh. "we hope this administration is serious..."
touche. "this is the 7th time the President has proposed reducing energy dependency"
good line: "our prosperity should be measured in Main street, not Wall street"
"the President took us into this war recklessly...he disregarded the advice of [many]...we are hold hostage to this war"
the majority of the population, military, Congress, are against this war. we must withdraw. in an organized manner, but we must withdraw.
Ok... a few things. (to drunk to blog..never)
one.. I'm glad he told me who that HUGE gentleman is.. when Laura walked in I was wondering.
two.. no child left behind is under funded.. that's why my first graders' teacher has no help and why he doesn't get recess half the time.
three.. Cheney put something in his mouth and I was hoping it was a cyanide tablet.. I guess it wasn't
four.. I'm sure Cheney was disappointed to hear that Bush wanted Iraq to rebuild Iraq.. so long Halliburton?
five.. Why does he ALWAYS use the 9/11 thing explain why we're in Iraq.
six.. The reason we had to go into Afghanistan in the first place is because Reagan gave Al-qaeda (the axis of evil) the arms to fight Russia in the first place.. did it never occur to anyone that they might also try and take over the country when they were done?
"the President is not charting a new course in Iraq. he did not convince the American people or myself that what we are doing in Iraq is right"
"escalating troop levels is wrong; not only in Iraq but elsewhere"
"by keeping and > troop levels, we are reinforcing the idea that this is an open-ended commitment and it shouldn't be"
'night folks.
Um .... guys? I don't know your prez's whims, but if there are missiles heading out here, just let me know pronto so I can get my ass safely out to the Bay of Bengal. Thanks.
Lynn Woolsey Ends Iraq War
Re Cheney and cyanide: I don't think cyanide works on a cyborg.
Also, good quote in Variety today, courtesy of Brian Lowry, columnist: "What does it say about [the] L.A.-D.C. gap, though, if the former's
power brokers can set a "date certain" to extricate themselves from
the enigma that is "Lost" before the latter can divine a strategy to
redeploy out of Iraq?"
This has been a fun read, after the fact.