State of the Union

Overall, I give Obama an A+ for delivery but only a moderate B for content.

There was a lot of good stuff in there but not a lot of details about how to get it done.

What I liked the best is that he seems to be aware of the fact that we need to compete in order to maintain our standing in the world.  It's not a gift.  To be who we are, we must work for it.

Now for my detailed observations.

First of all, I like that both parties sat amongst each other instead of each having their own side of the room  To me it felt like "Together we can get things done."

A lot of emphasis on Education.  Let's see if he can put his money where his mouth is.  I am still waiting to hear that every child in the country has and i-pad type device with all of their books on it.  Right there we can pay for the next Republican war with the surplus.

He mentioned immigration.  I hope the Dream Act is still alive.  For those of you that don't know, the Dream Act gives "front of the line" privileges to those illegal immigrants that were brought over when they were young and are now in college or serving in the military.

He is standing by Health Care Reform but is open to fixing it.  He mentioned the one big thing I think is important and that is Malpractice Reform.   I agree, fix it - don't trash it.  Only 18% of all Americans disagree with me on this.

Simplify the tax code.  Last year 1% of my income went into income tax preparation.  I claim almost nothing so I keep it simple.  However, the complications mean that those that can afford big-time tax attorneys can pay almost nothing. I imagine only those that can afford to cheat don't like this.  It's too hard to hide your money when the system is simple.

He does not want to extend the tax cut for the richest amongst us.  This extension is a huge budget buster.  Interesting the the GOP wants to keep it.  Oh wait.  They are the rich.

Here is one that he took straight out of my blog.  All lobbyist activity must be posted on the internet for all to see.  I love this one.  It allows us to see who is owned by who.

There was also some Blah, Blah, Blah terror type stuff.

Overall, the economy is improving and he seems to know where we need to go and I am in agreement.

The GOP response was very predictable.  Of course, the first thing they did was talk about God and prayers.  This really gets their base up on their feet and clapping.  Once you say "God" nothing else matters to these people.  The GOP then went on to blame Health Care Reform as a budget buster in spite of the fact that the GAO (Government Accounting Office) says it is saving money.  They also made a blanket statement about failed policies which means nothing.  So, they believe in God and then went on the crucify Obama.

The GOP heroically said they would not touch Social Security for those at or near retirement.  They didn't mention their specific agenda which is to eliminate Social Security for those younger than 55.  They also called for less regulation and sort of mentioned "a few bad decisions on Wall Street," before going on to blame Obama for the economy.

Like I said, no surprise there.

The Tea Party had a response as well.  I will just say this:  If you found the Tea Party statement compelling then you have never taken a course in economics and you are more likely to believe a politically motivated politician than EVERY SINGLE ECONOMIST in the world.  Their spokesperson showed a chart that had a huge jump in unemployment the first year Obama was in office and then blamed it all on him.  This is absolutely amazing to me that people like this can get elected.

Overall, I liked the toned down animosity between parties.  I like that I am not the only one that sees where we need to go.

Speaking of knowing where to go; there is a world out there to save.

Up, up and away...

Jim

Absent but not gone

Time to check in.  I know that I've been away for a bit but don't worry.  If I am your main source of news, you haven't missed much.

I find myself much less motivated to "bitch" about politicians now that I am boycotting the Pretend News people on radio and television.  In keeping with my new year's resolution, I shall not mention them by name.  I can tell you this, when I listen to them, I get pissed off...at them.

The GOP has managed to pass a vote to get rid of health care.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Just recently, I think the health care is possibly too broken to fix so maybe we should start over.  The problem is that I don't think the GOP wants to start over.  They want to kill it.  As a rule of thumb, if it involves big money, the GOP stands to benefit by being on the side of the money.

Now, I think it's best to look at Health Care as two separate issues.

Health Care issue #1: Get costs under control.

Health Care issue #2: Insurance for everyone.

I say fix issue #1 first.  Once the economy is better, take a look at issue #2.  Right now, issue #2 is considered accomplished simply by making it illegal not to have insurance.  It also alienates states by making them pick up the tab of insuring those that can't afford it.  This is sort of like passing a law that from now on, everyone can fly by simply flapping their arms.  Voting for it doesn't make it true.

I saw a great movie yesterday.  Black Swan.  This is a 4-star movie that gets my highest recommendation.

Onward...

China owns us.  Don't be mistaken on this point.  We are as politically hog-tied as those that the Chinese throw in jail for speaking out.  We need to grow a pair and say, "Starting next week, we will impose a 25% tax on all imports that exceed the "one-for-you-one-for-me."  Said another way, balanced trade or pay for the difference.

We are sort of saying this now but in a very wimpy way.  "Please China, won't you quit manipulating the value of your currency so that we can compete fairly." To which they respond, "You have insulted me by bring this up in public - No Soup For You."

Don't get me started on copyright infringement.  Did you know they reverse engineered their stealth fighter?  Back in 1998, a stealth 117 Nighthawk helicopter was shot down over Serbia.  The Chinese went around and bought pieces of it from local farmers and then figured out how to make one of their own.

Did you hear the country is suffering from Palin Burn-out?  Who didn't see that one coming?

The UK is having yet another round of inquiries about the invasion of Iraq way back when.  I was watching when one politician said to Blair, "Tell us again why we helped invade Iraq when there was no evidences of WMDs."

I am in a writing contest that lasts for 15 days.  Each day you get a picture prompt and have 15 minutes to write a story.  There are 50 writers.  With 5 days to go, I am in a tie for second place.  Wish me luck.

Looks like its going to be Green Bay and Pittsburg playing between commercials during the Super Bowl (although the Jets could still pull it out as of the time I am writing this).

The State of the Union is coming up soon.  Can't wait to see how that goes down.  My guess is the political cooling down period following the Arizona shootings will have passed.

Time to get my cape on.  It looks cool flapping in the wind as I slide down the pole...

There is a world to save....to the Bat Cave...

Up, up and away...

Jim