Tag: State Of The Union

“Handmaiden’s Tale” Comes To Life

We recently had the speech by Biden on the state of the union and as usual the right wing had to dash some weird person out to rebut what the president had to say….this time it is some strange senator from Alabama. (I was not going to post on this person’s shot at immortality but after reading an article I decided to throw it in there.) (BTW way this is also a shout out to my friend Pete at https://beetleypete.com/ )

Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama delivered her party’s official response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union on Thursday night and offered viewers a horrifying glimpse of the far-right Christian nationalism now embedded in the GOP, which has succumbed fully to Donald Trump’s fascist vision for the country.

Speaking in hushed tones and intermittently flashing a menacing smile, Britt—the former CEO of an Alabama corporate lobbying organization and the wife of a lobbyist—said from the comfort of her posh kitchen inside her 6,000-square-foot mansion that she understands and sympathizes with “what real families are facing.”

Britt, who has been floated as a possible 2024 running mate for former President Donald Trump, characterized the GOP as the “party of hardworking parents and families”—neglecting to mention the trillions of dollars in tax breaks the party has funneled to the rich and large corporations in recent years while opposing programs such as the expanded child tax credit, which briefly slashed U.S. child poverty in half.

“Growing up sweeping the floor at my dad’s hardware store and cleaning the bathroom at my mom’s dance studio, I never could have imagined what my story would entail,” said Britt. “To think what the American Dream can do across just one generation, in just one lifetime, is truly breathtaking. But right now, the American Dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families.”

–Read on it will enlighten you–

https://www.commondreams.org/news/katie-britt-state-of-the-union

That speech was typical right wing pron….lies misinformation and total buffoonery….like everyone that come before.

Not to worry she was not the only rebuttal the anti-vaxxer champion just had to have his say.

So this is what American politics has become….oh goody!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

State Of The Union–2024

It is that magical time again when the president steps up to a joint session of Congress and thumps his chest over his many achievements and desires for the future….most of which are mostly delusional.

Since it is an election year I would expect it to be more electioneering than accurate…..and I was not disappointed….old Uncle Joe did what I expected making this an opportunity to campaign from the speech.

Just a few things….

Whether this will be President Biden’s final State of the Union address remains to be seen, but in his third such address to the nation Thursday night, he made his case for a second term in a 67-minute address. Standout details:

  • He opened with a joke: Amid the lengthy claps and cheers that greeted him he quipped, “If I were smart, I’d go home now!”
  • He went straight to Ukraine: Biden quickly described freedom and democracy as under attack both at home and overseas. He cited Russia, saying Putin certainly won’t stop with Ukraine, but that Putin could be stopped if the US provides Ukraine with the weapons it seeks. He said assistance is being blocked by those who “want to walk away from our world leadership. … We will not bow down. I will not bow down!”
  • A much used-phrase: Biden said “History is watching” repeatedly, at one point saying it’s “not hyperbole” to say that.
  • One absent word: Trump. Biden did not utter his name though many references to the former president (whom Biden referred to as “my predecessor”) were made. Biden also brought up the Jan. 6 insurrection. “You can’t love your country only when you win,” said Biden, to lengthy applause.
  • Highlight on accomplishments: He talked about “America’s comeback” in the wake of the pandemic. He said the vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to fight cancer, turning “setback to comeback.” He cited millions of new jobs, unemployment at record lows, and inflation’s drop from 9% to 3%.
  • Calls for action: Biden pushed for action on IVF, calling for a nationwide guarantee to access to it. He advocated for the restoration of Roe v. Wade and the right to choose. He said he was ending the “wrong” reality that sees Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world. He addressed interest rates, saying he wanted to provide a two-year tax break of $400 a month for first-time buyers or homeowners seeking more space. He said he wanted to give public school teachers a raise.
  • Calls for action, II: “Folks at home, does anyone think the tax code is fair?” he asked, saying big corporations need to begin paying their fair share and that the corporate minimum tax should be raised to 21%. If anyone tries to raise the retirement age or cut Social Security, “I will stop you,” said Biden.
  • Calls for action, III: As for border security, “get this bill done,” he said of the failed bipartisan border deal. “We need to act now.” He brought up the Israel-Hamas war, saying he would not rest until all the hostages are home. He said Israel has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent citizens in Gaza and said that while no US boots will be on the ground, the US will erect a temporary pier on the Gaza coast so that more aid can be delivered to Gaza.
  • His standout reference to Trump: “I know it may not look like it, but I’ve been around awhile. … My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
  • More: “In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old. Whether young or old, I’ve always known our North Star. … That we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I won’t walk away from it now. My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are? Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be.”
  • The stakes: The AP predicted the speech would be “something of an on-the-job interview,” with voters watching to see if the 81-year-old delivered the address with “vigor and command.”
  • Working for the middle class: From CNN: “The entire speech has a populist strain, going back to working for the middle class. The White House wants people to walk away from speech believing Biden understands their issues, cares about what they care about, and is actively working to make their lives better.”

There you have the major points of the speech….

MY take is a feisty Joe was trying to say that a dude old as dirt is still punching for you. (I do not buy the hype)

The joke was lame.  Ukraine should not have been the big opening.  IVF and abortion…what will he do?  He has not done sh*t so far.  Working for the Middle Class….and how has that worked out for us?

Then there is a piece written by Rev. Dr. Barber about the true state of the union…I believe it is more accurate than anything Uncle Joe had to offer….

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/the-true-state-of-the-union/

There you have it ….I gave you what I call ‘Fantasy and Fact’ on the State of the Union.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

State Of The Union–2023

It was that time again….the annual manure spreading exercise known as the State of the Union…

As promised a quick and painless review of last night’s speech..

President Biden is stressing unity and the economy in his 2023 State of the Union address. Some key early points on those fronts from his prime-time speech on Tuesday:

  • “You know, my Republican friends, we could work together the last Congress. There’s no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well,” said Biden, per the Washington Post. “Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.” In fact, before the president began his speech, he publicly congratulated the new House speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy. “Speaker, I don’t want to run your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.”
  • “We are the only country that has emerged from every crisis stronger than when we entered it,” the president said. “Today, COVID no longer controls our lives. And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.”
  • The economy is a big theme, per the New York Times. “As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs—more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years,” says the president. (The boast is accurate, but CNN notes that the pandemic skewed things.) “My economic plan is about investing in places and people that have been forgotten. … This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.”
  • Buying American: Biden announced that all construction material for federal projects must be made in America. “Lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cable. And on my watch, American roads, bridges, and American highways are going to be made with American products as well.”

During the speech the idiots acted out and did what they do….political theater….

Things got a little testy in the House as President Biden made his pitch for Congress to lift the debt ceiling to avoid default. Biden said Republicans lifted the ceiling three times for former President Trump “without preconditions or crisis,” per the New York Times. “Tonight, I’m asking this Congress to follow suit.” Jeers rang out from Republicans as Biden said of Trump: “No president added more to the national debt in any four years than my predecessor,” notes the Washington Post.

And boos and shouts of “liar” and bulls—” could be heard as Biden accused Republicans of going after Social Security and Medicare, per the Times. “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security sunset.” As the boos rang out, Biden added that he “wasn’t saying it’s a majority” of Republicans. He ad-libbed: “Let me tell you, I enjoy conversation.” The Hill notes that GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled, “Liar!” and gave a thumbs-down to Biden’s comments.

Later, as Biden was asking Congress to pass his immigration plan, some Republicans, including Greene, chanted “Secure our border!” per the Washington Post. Biden paused briefly amid the chants, and the New York Times reports that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy “shushed” the GOP chanters.

Then there is the inevitable ‘rebuttal’ this time it was a Trumpian idiot, the governor of Arkansas Huckabee…..as of yet the GOP has never found an intelligent response to the SOTU….and this year was no different.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, and she did not hold back: The Arkansas governor declared Biden “unfit to serve as commander in chief” and said he’s putting both the US and the entire world at risk with his “weakness.” She also took a shot at his age: “At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country, and at 80, he’s the oldest president in American history,” she said. A few more of her biggest jabs at Biden and the Democrats, as reported by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and Politico:

  • “Normal” and “crazy” made a couple appearances: “The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy,” she said. At another point, decrying what she called the “false idols” of Democrats, she said, “That’s not normal. It’s crazy, and it’s wrong.”
  • So did “woke”: Drawing another contrast between herself and Biden, Sanders said, “I’m the first woman to lead my state and he’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is.” She also specifically called out Biden’s SOTU address as being tethered to “woke fantasies.”
  • Her former boss was also mentioned: Recalling her time as Donald Trump’s press secretary, she talked about a trip to Iraq on Christmas in 2018, saying that when the troops saw Trump, “the room erupted. Men and women from every race, religion, and region, every political party, every demographic you can imagine started chanting in perfect unison over and over and over again, ‘USA, USA, USA.’ It was an absolutely perfect picture of what makes our country great.”
  • In contrast to that, “Biden and the Democrats have failed you,” she said, pointing to inflation, crime, border policy, education, and US-China relations, among other things. She said she didn’t believe “much of anything” Biden said in his address, accusing him of “doubling down on crazy.”
  • And a line from Trump: In his own brief response to the SOTU, Trump said in regard to sexual orientation and gender identity issues that Biden is “trying to indoctrinate and mutilate our children.” As for Sanders, she said “most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight.”

All in all the speech was great political theater that proves just how petty the GOP has become.

All in all the speech was a yawn….but if you would like more opinions from others…..

One big theme in coverage of President Biden’s Tuesday night State of the Union address? The POTUS was scrappy and seemed to relish it. As Politico’s headline briefly put it, “Biden pokes the elephant.” Some quick takes and reactions:

  • CNN offers a few takeaways from the SOTU here. Kevin Liptak notes the president “powered through” despite the clear and open hostility aimed his way from the other side of the aisle. “The spectacle of Biden smiling and offering a pointed riposte through multiple rounds of heckling from some House Republicans was, in many ways, an apt illustration of his presidency and a useful preview of his likely 2024 candidacy,” Liptak writes. Another takeaway? Despite his age, he showed “vigor” and energy, per Liptak.
  • At Fox News, however, David N. Bossie illustrates how Republicans saw the speech: He says Biden “was in full spin mode from the get-go, behaving more like a desperate candidate on the campaign trail.” Bossie also says Biden’s speech failed to reflect on the “obvious takeaway,” which, according to Bossie, is that Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the midterms “because the American people voted against the president’s left-wing agenda
  • At NBC News, Jonathan Allen delves into the moment Marjorie Taylor Greene called Biden a liar, when the president was accusing Republicans of going after Medicare and social security. He “went off-script” to accept Greene’s comment “as on-the-spot agreement from the GOP to keep the programs intact,” proving he was “nimble enough … to box them in on Social Security and Medicare.”
  • Vox runs down 5 winners and 2 losers from the SOTU here. Among the winners: “The ad-libbing old-school Joe Biden.”
  • If you’re looking for economic takeaways, CNBC has those here. Among the topics: billionaire tax, junk fees, and the insulin price cap.
  • If it’s fact-checking you’re interested in, outlets including CNN, the Hill, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and PolitiFact did that.
  • The Post also looks at 39 “key proposals, pledges, or priorities” from last year’s SOTU and runs down which ones flopped and which ones succeeded in the year since.

But for those that want to draw their own conclusion….Politico has a full transcript of Tuesday’s speech here.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Tonight Is The Night

The big news for today, Tuesday, is that Biden will strut into the joint session of Congress and give his speech, State of the Union….I will watch and write my review tomorrow but for those that have better things to do then here is what is expected tonight…..

President Biden delivers his second State of the Union address Tuesday night, but don’t expect a raft of specific new policy proposals given the near impossibility of making them reality in a divided Congress, reports the AP. Instead, expect a speech offering Americans general reassurances that the nation is on the right track, particularly with the economy in regard to inflation and unemployment. Presidential historian Luke Nichter of Chapman University sees Biden’s No. 1 goal as being a “calming presence” for the country. Another crucial task will be making the case that he should run for re-election, even as many Democratic voters are skeptical about that.

“I think this is an impossible speech to give because it’s a speech that requires him to speak both about the state of the union as it is and the direction he hopes to lead it, which is about playing the role of statesman,” political scientist William Howell of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy tells the Hill. “But it also is going to lay the groundwork for most likely his own run for office in 2024, which will call for him to be decidedly political and to cover all kinds of ground.” The war in Ukraine and China’s spy balloon are likely to surface as topics on the world front.

“(W)e’re told not to expect a red-meat, campaign-style speech,” per the Politico Playbook. “Instead, expect a traditional presidential call for unity—and a subtler pitch for steady leadership over partisan chaos as Washington heads into a high-stakes standoff over the debt limit and long-term fiscal planning.” The speech starts at 9pm Eastern, and notable guests include the mother of Tyre Nichols, the man who stopped a gunman at a California dance hall, and Bono.

This speech will probably be a yawn because there is very little Biden can say or promise that will be at all doable.

Stay tuned for the speech review tomorrow here on IST.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

SOTU–2022

Last night the president trotted his butt out and addressed a joint session of Congress to give his State of the Union speech…..here is my take for those that had rather watch paint dry.

Ukraine was front and center of this speech…..

Here is a short list of the proverbial promises…..

President Biden began his first State of the Union address Tuesday night with a focus on Ukraine, and he got a bipartisan standing ovation with his condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. That big line early: “Freedom will always triumph over tyranny,” he said, per CNN. Members of both parties were holding Ukrainian flags.

  • Putin: “Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways,” Biden said. “But he badly miscalculated.”
  • US airspace: Biden also delivered a tangible piece of news, announcing that Russian airlines are banned from flying in US airspace. The US follows Canada, Britain, and the European Union in making the move. The main effect is that the Russian airline Aeroflot can no longer travel to or from the US, or even travel over the country en route to somewhere else, reports the New York Times. The Washington Post notes the ban also is expected to affect Volga-Dnepr Airlines, a Russian cargo carrier used by Boeing to move aircraft parts in the US.
  • Inflation: Biden pledged to get inflation under control. “We have a choice,” Biden said, per the AP. “One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages.” Among other things, he urged investment in US manufacturing so the US would be less dependent on foreign supply chains. “Economists call it ‘increasing the productive capacity of our economy,'” said Biden. “I call it building a better America.”
  • Tax reform: “I may be wrong, but my guess is if we took a secret ballot on this floor, that we would all agree that the present tax system ain’t fair,” said Biden. He called for reform, adding that his policies would not raise taxes on those who make less than $400,000 a year. “I’m not looking to punish anybody. But let’s make corporations and wealthy Americans start paying their fair share.”
  • More on Ukraine: “Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people,” Biden said. “He will never extinguish their love of freedom. He will never weaken the resolve of the free world.” He said Russia would emerge from all this a weaker nation.

All in all a pretty standard and boring speech.

Now aren’t you glad you had better things to do than watch this worthless waste of time?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden’s State Of The Union Address

Biden was invited to a joint session of Congress to give the traditional SOTU address on 28 April……he accepted….this will be a break with tradition for Presidents don’t deliver a State of the Union address to Congress until their second year in office…….and the speech went something like this…..

President Biden addressed Congress for the first time since taking office Wednesday night, calling for America “to do more than just build back. We have to build back better.” How so: by making sure corporations and the wealthiest 1% of Americans are paying their fair share, CNN reports. The network says he laid out an economic and infrastructure plan that amounted to “a far more progressive agenda than his 2020 campaign would have suggested.” More from the address, reactions to it, and the Republican rebuttal from Sen. Tim Scott:

  • The New York Times and CNN have more on what was included in the address, which also touched on foreign policy, immigration, coronavirus vaccination, the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and more.
  • Scott, the only Black GOP senator, said in his response that Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan is “big government waste.” The Times also has more on his rebuttal, which also called out coronavirus shutdowns and the growing divide over systemic racism: “America is not a racist country,” he said.
  • The AP fact-checks both Biden’s and Scott’s speeches. It finds a number of issues with Biden’s address, including his claim that “There’s a broad consensus of economists—left, right, center—and they agree that what I’m proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate historic economic growth.” The statement “glosses over the naysayers” some of whom say the spending is too much. It also finds misleading statements from Scott’s response; more here.
  • The AP also has details on the “diminished mood” of what is typically a more “electrifying evening,” but was much less so this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also notes that many Republican lawmakers simply didn’t attend. Those who did, including Mitch McConnell, rarely stood up to applaud. But Biden name-dropped McConnell poignantly, recalling that “it meant a lot” when McConnell suggested Biden name a cancer research bill after his late son, Beau.
  • A poll conducted after the address found that 71% of respondents felt more optimistic after hearing it, CNN reports.
  • WTVY rounds up some of the reactions that have come in from lawmakers. The Daily Beast notes that on Fox News, Chris Wallace was predicting the speech would be popular with Americans while Ben Domenech argued it would be a quickly-forgotten “blip.”

I heard nothing new….his daily news updates has told us everything we need to know….this was nothing but a much deserved victory lap.

But let’s face reality…this is nothing more than a wish list that will go NO further than the Senate and as we know this is where great bills go to DIE!

For me it was redundant and boring….but that was nothing new for me.

Then there was the GOP response…..given by South Carolina senator, Tim Scott…..

A typical Repub response….Dems bad and Repubs good…..and as usual there was no plans for the future other than to repeat lies and misinformation…..the party used Scott to try and change the conversation on race and the stupidity of the party…..and yet he failed on this issue completely.

Scott just reiterated the obstructionism that we have lived with since 2008.

All in all it was a wasted evening for me.

But that is something that I am use to with the American experiment these days.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The State Of The Union Address

A short history lesson…..

Soon Pres. Biden will making his first SOTU address to a joint session of Congress…..since traditionally the first year of a presidency is not a SOTU address…we will call it a joint address to Congress…..call it what you like but it will be a SOTU address.

But why?

Why does the president make these speeches every year?

Is it something they must do or is it just a way for them to look like they actually care about the country?

The State of the Union address can trace its roots back to the Constitution. Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution says that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

“From time to time” leaves the question of frequency open to interpretation, but George Washington helped cement the State of the Union as an annual event after he gave the first State of the Union address at Federal Hall in New York City in January 1790.

Since there wasn’t much of a blueprint for Washington, he praised the 1st Congress’s work and outlined a brief legislative plan for the upcoming year: He wanted to work on the army, build post roads, and develop uniform systems of currency, weights, and measures. In December 1790, Washington gave his second State of the Union address and firmly established it as an annual event—and the tradition that it take place near the end of the year. Until 1934, the State of the Union was usually in December or November. This would change to the beginning of the year after the 20th amendment moved the start of Congress up to January.

….but that does not mean that every president has made such a speech….

No. You’ll notice that the order from Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution doesn’t say anything about a speech; the president just has to keep Congress informed of what’s going on in the country. When Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801, he decided that the idea of showing up before Congress to deliver a grand address sounded like something a monarch would do, so he decided to bag the speech. Instead, he wrote down an annual message and sent it to Congress, where a clerk read it aloud to the legislators.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/29811/brief-history-state-union

In his speech tonight what can Biden possibly say that he has not already said?

I mean we have daily presidential updates….so what can he possibly give us tonight?

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020–State Of The Union

The president delivered his annual State of the Union in the midst of impeachment and the chaos in Iowa…..I will keep it short and go to the analysis…..

President Trump is delivering his third State of the Union address less than 24 hours before the Senate is to decide his fate in his impeachment trial. The president, speaking to a joint session of Congress, including the senators who are expected to acquit him Wednesday, was greeted by Republican chants of “Four More Years,” Politico reports. He declined to shake Nancy Pelosi’s hand. “My fellow citizens, three years ago, we launched the great American comeback,” he said. “Tonight I stand before you to share the incredible results.” The president praised the strong economy and promised a “blazing bright” future. “We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never ever going back,” he said. More:

  • Revived US economy. “From the instant I took office, I moved rapidly to revive the US economy—slashing a record number of job killing-regulations, enacting historic and record-setting tax cuts, and fighting for fair and reciprocal trade agreements,” said Trump, who claimed that the US economy is better than it has ever been. The AP notes that the economy is definitely healthy, though it has continued on an upward trajectory that started under Barack Obama.
  • “Where the action is.” “The fact is that everybody wants to be where the action is, and the United States of America is, indeed, the place where the action is,” said Trump, hailing the return of manufacturing to the US and the USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA. “Unfair trade is perhaps the single biggest reason I decided to run for president,” Trump said.
  • Venezuela’s “true president.” There was bipartisan applause when Trump introduced Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, one of his State of the Union guests, and called him the “true and legitimate president,” the Guardian reports.
  • Space Force. Trump praised the creation of Space Force, introducing Ian, a 13-year-old from Arizona, who “aspires to go to the Air Force Academy, and then he has his eye on the space force.” And behind Ian was his 100-year-old great-grandfather: Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen.
  • Health care. Trump vowed to defend Medicare and Social Security, then denounced Democrats for “socialist” health care plans. “One hundred thirty-two lawmakers in this room have endorsed legislation to impose a socialist takeover of our health care system, wiping out the private health insurance plans of 180 million Americans,” he said. The New York Times considers the claim “weighted, but mostly true.”
  • “HR3!” After Trump challenged Congress to send him legislation to lower drug prices, Democrats chanted the name of the drug price reduction bill the House passed in December that is now “untouched” in the GOP-controlled Senate, the AP reports.
  • Medal for Rush. Trump not only announced that Rush Limbaugh would be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he had Melania Trump bestow it on Limbaugh during the address.
  • A “very powerful wall.” Trump denounced “sanctuary city” policies and boasted of border wall progress. “As we speak, a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built,” he said. “We have now completed over 100 miles and have over 500 miles fully completed in a very short period of time.”
  • Democrats walk out. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan walked out of the chamber during the speech, saying he had “had enough” and it was all as fake as professional wrestling, the Guardian reports. He was soon followed by Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who left after the president hailed Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
  • An “Oprah moment.” In what critics described as an “Oprah moment,” Trump introduced a military spouse and her two children, and then revealed that her husband, Sgt. First Class Townsend Williams. was back from Afghanistan, the BBC reports. There were chants of “USA” as the family was reunited in the gallery.

I was unimpressed at all…..but the one “line” that got my funny bone activated was the “very powerful wall”…..and part of that wall just blew over on a 30 mph wind…..

Plus there is already a bill on drug prices and the Senate has done nothing with it….maybe if Trump would get off his ass and tell Mitch to do his job he would have that bill to “sign immediately”……..(but that would be giving the House some credit something this person will never do)…….then there is the stupidity of Guido of Venezuela (yes I know I did not spell his name right)….

There is more silliness from this speech (if it can be called that)……….

Economic Pinocchios. Trump boasted at length about the strong economy, though fact-checkers found numerous false claims and exaggerations. Aaron Blake at the Washington Post notes that Trump spoke of ending “years of economic decay,” but on his watch, the economy has continued the progress that began under his predecessor. “Trump has a good story to tell on the economy,” Blake writes, “but he insists on … pretending that the economy he inherited was in some kind of free fall, which just wasn’t the case.”

A “reality show State of the Union.” Morgan Chalfant and Brett Samuels at the Hill note that the address included several “made-for-TV” moments, including the Rush Limbaugh honor and the reunion of a military family. The flourishes were “uniquely Trumpian given his penchant for production value and headline-grabbing moments, and they produced lighthearted moments that softened what was otherwise a caustic evening,” they write.

Attacks on socialism. Trump, continuing what is expected to be a major theme in his re-election campaign, slammed socialism both in the US and overseas, the New York Times reports. “To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: We will never let socialism destroy American health care,” he said.

Policy proposals. The address was relatively light on policy proposals, but Trump did call for legislation to lower prescription drug prices, which led to chants from Democrats who have sent legislation to the Senate. Trump also called for more vocational training, a ban on late-term abortions, and a law allowing people to sue “sanctuary” cities if they are the victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. “And that was pretty much that,” writes Anthony Zurcher at the BBC. “If the president is going to campaign on any bold, new ideas, they’ll have to wait for another night to be unveiled.”

The elephant in the room. The Times notes that Trump made no mention of his impeachment trial, despite the fact that he was speaking on the eve of his widely expected acquittal.

Nothing about the speech will be memorable…..nothing about it was concise or relevant……it was a rambling mess….

All in all….it was a night best forgotten……

All in all I would had preferred Vanilla…..

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020–State Of The Union–Preview

This is a busy week….the Senate trial, voting in Iowa and the State of the Union speech by the president given before a combined House/Senate……

What will he say?

Always the same question……and I give a preview so you know what to look for…..

President Trump will use next week’s State of the Union to promote what he calls the “Great American comeback,” according to a senior administration official. The speech comes at a moment when Trump is hoping to put his Senate impeachment trial behind him. White House officials say. Trump wants to use the nationally televised address to highlight his administration’s efforts to bolster the economy, tighten immigration rules and lower prescription drug costs just as his reelection effort accelerate, the AP reports. “I think it’s safe to say the speech will celebrate American economic and military strength and present an optimistic vision of America’s future,” said the senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the speech that Trump is scheduled to deliver before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

But for the second straight year, Trump will deliver his speech with a cloud over his presidency as his Senate impeachment edges to a rancorous close. Last year, Trump was forced to postpone his speech because of the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, triggered by bitter partisan battle over his push for funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border. The official who briefed reporters declined to comment on how the speech will address impeachment. White House officials stressed Friday that the president was determined to offer an optimistic message. Trump has invited Army veteran Tony Rankins, who has battled post-traumatic stress disorder and drug addiction, and Raul Ortiz, a deputy chief of the Border Patrol, to be among his guests at the speech.

Just a quick look….but not to worry I shall give an analysis after the fact…..

Keep in mind that this could change depending on the news cycle before the speech…..so many things could change the tone and the structure….we wait……

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SOTU 2019–Bad lip

Those guys at Bad Lip Reading are a pack of geniuses…..I love there videos…..and they have got a good one for Trump’s State of the Union speech in 2019….

Enjoy!

Once again these guys hit a homer.

I look forward to their next post and I shall make sure that my readers get to enjoy their humor as well.

Please help spread the word.