SOTU
Posted By Russ Emerson on January 31, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Not a bad speech, all in all. Pretty good, in fact. Maybe very good. I just have one small nit to pick….
Given that illegal immigration and border security is hugely on the minds of Americans, I was hoping there might have been some real red meat on the topic. Instead, we were served a bowl of weak broth and platitudes.
One might be tempted to think that Vincente Fox must have a photo of W with a dead Tijuana hooker.
Update: LaShawn Barber focused on illegal immigration during her liveblogging.
What horrible statements without hope for delivery of social reform. Bush has caused massive deficits within a slumping economy. Why not put Scheehan behind Laura–she lost her son, too.
Also, Alito is a dangerous and disconnected horrrible person. I’m sure he will equip Republicans with machine guns in the name of Catholicism.
Wow.
And which planet, exactly, did you just fly in from?
So since I’m a Republican, but not Roman Catholic, I guess I get a grenade launcher instead of a machine gun? Could I have a phaser instead?? Huh? Pleeeeeease?
Joy-Joy is Nut-Nut.
We are having some social reform; finally in the correct direction.
“Slumping Economy?” Huh? How many consecutive years of GDP growth are we at since the Clinton recession ended? The domestic economy is at RECORD size and efficiency.
As for the deficit, I wish it were smaller (but not necessarily zero). We can blame part of it on fighting terrorists/enemies in Iraq and other places and some on Katrina. Aside from that portion of it, I can fix the rest. Just make those rascals in Congress start with a real dollars budget, not the “baseline budget” game they play now, establish a line-item veto (and give ME the power!) and use it to eliminate the pork projects in Bird and Kennedy’s districts, and last, make any new government service or entitlement program be paid for as it goes – that is, if our fair congressmen want to give another Medicare benefit, then all taxpayers must pay, each month, their share of the cost of that program. At least we would know what we are paying for and how much each program cost us taxapayers. But that still leaves the problem of Social Security. On that let me just quote: The challenge ahead for Social Security is primarily a matter of rising costs. With an outlay total of more than $500 billion in 2005, Social Security now equals 4.3 percent of the nation’s economy (GDP) and 11 percent of workers’ pay (taxable payroll)… By 2035, the program’s projected annual cost of $1.3 trillion[1] will equal 6.3 percent of GDP and 17.4 percent of taxable payroll — an increase of roughly 50 percent by either measure….” …but whoa! What I am doing? I starting sounding rational in response to…
Joy-Joy-Nut-Nut.