I thought I'd try my hand at live-blogging the SOTU address - I find it hard to pass up commenting on history in progress :)
Continued below the fold
Continued below the fold
Is it just me, or a lot of people wearing the same particular shade of blue/purple that the Iraqis used to vote?
...President Of The United States!... And off we go!
...free and sovereign Iraq.This is going to be a long speech, every time he mentions the Iraq vote, they will give a standing ovation...
Not that that's a bad thing!
Hey, the ink-stained V for Victory is catching on.
...active force for good in the world...I like that!
...good stewards of the economy...I wonder if he'll say anything about tax reform?
Hey.... Is John McCain sleeping?
...restraining the spending appetite of the federal gov't,,,Amen!
...cut the deficit in half by 2009...I like that... but how?
..taxpayer money spent wisely, or not at all...
...especially women and minorities...Come on! I still firmly believe that there are no biases against women or minorities... Whatever happened to merit or skill based standards?
...community health centers, blah blah blah more spending...Can we please stop making the government the only solution for everything?
...safe, cleen, nuclear energy.About dang time! Nuclear (nukyular) energy is and has been clean for awhile now - let's get over our fear of nuclear energy and use it!
...just the beginning of our duty.Heh, he said "doody".
...examine the tax code from top to bottom...easy to understand, fair to all.Rock on!
...America's immigration policy is also outdated...Temporary guest workers, closes the borders...ok, I like where this is going... let's see if he can bring it home
...social security is a great moral success of the 20th Century...Please Please Please stop pandering!
...by 2042 the system will be bankrupt...Cue boos from the Democrats...
...our children's retirement security is more important than partisan politics...Yes it is, so would you please let the people handle that instead of the gov't?
...voluntary person retirement accounts...And half of the congress applauds!
I must admit, I like the idea, but why must the government be the implementor?
...the money is yours, and the government can never take it away.Of course, liberals don't applaud this line.
What's up with the Cheney smirk?
...eventually permitting workers deposit up to 4% of their payroll taxes into their own personal accounts...Hmmm... considering that SS currently takes out 6% of my payroll, I guess that sounds pretty promising. The question is, what will my percentage be by the time I can use 4%?
...guarantee that human life is never bought or sold as a commodity...Funny how the Democrats almost didn't stand up for that one.
...every judicial nominee deserves an up or down vote.Again, no Democrats standing.
...expect the Syrian gov't to end all support for terror...Or else what? Let's put some real pressure on them - move a bunch of troops up the border!
...our men and women serving in Iraq will return home with the honor they deserve.Nice refutation of the whole "Viet Nam" comparison.
[deceased Sgt. Norwood's mom hugs Iraqi woman who voted]
I am holding in the tears...
Nope, can't do it.
MOVING. Simply moving.
...
and he's done!
More thoughts later.
Reference: 2005 State Of The Union site
Text: 2005 SOTU
^^^ speak up ^^^