My notes and thoughts on the State of the Union address

Armed with the advantage of DVR technology, I have been typing notes and reactions to the comments contained within President Barack Obama's State of the Union address tonight.

I am going to copy and paste my remarks as is. If I make any horrendous typos or other such errors, so be it.

*********

Ahhh…. The move forward angle

The problem with Obama’s comments about moving swiftly is that the swift action that had to be taken was in fall of 08 when his predecessor was still in office.

The whole business where we “had to act swiftly” was a false declaration of urgency that paved the way for the Stimulus Bill.

Appeal to emotion! Yes, let’s bring in the children.

Obama clearly rejects Reagan’s philosophy that, “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem.”

More progressive code: as is always the case in the two-party system, “work through our differences” actually means capitulate since we have the majority.

The Tea Party movement is not yours, Mr. President! The anxiety felt by We the People isn’t merely over the economic mess anymore. Our anxiety now also includes our concerns about the overreach of Washington.

And Joe Biden is a little too quick on the draw, LOL!

Now, if Obama really believed what he says about “government matching” the “decency” of the people, he would follow that with a pledge to reduce the size of the federal government by at least 50% (and that is a low-ball number in the minds of true Libertarians).

I have to scoff at the standing ovation some members of Congress have given him. What Obama conveniently left out is the fact his party held enough votes in both houses of Congress to sink TARP if they actually felt bailing-out the banks was the wrong decision.

Wow… the message is: “We took Bush’s policies and made them better.” But I thought Bush was to blame for all that ails America!

Hmmm…. Did the teleprompter tell him to smile?

Obama left out the fact the vast majority of “new jobs” in America have been created in the public sector. He also conveniently omitted the fact that he tripled the deficit in one year.

Every job he has listed is in the public sector. The only exception has been construction – but that only has been on the rise over the last year from government expenditures, not growth in the private sector that has created a demand for new property development.

Add 1.5 million jobs… but how many more will be lost as unemployment stagnates at 10%? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was nothing more than 8,000 earmarks that will cost a grand total of $1,000,000,000,000 once all the interest is calculated for the amount of borrowing that was necessary to back up all the currency the Fed and the Treasury Department flooded into the financial system to “pay for it all.”

There’s that “disaster” word again!

But all the jobs “created or saved” by the Stimulus will go away once that money has been exhausted. What happens when the $787 billion is depleted?

So, does this renewed focus on jobs and the economy mean Obamacare and Cap and Tax are going to the back burners?

But wait a minute, didn’t Obama tell us during the campaign trail a year-and-a-half ago that “when you spread the wealth around” so that we can “give others a chance to succeed,” it’s “good for everyone?” Does this mean he’s abandoning the notion of added taxation on those making more than $250,000, hence another broken campaign promise? In other words (again), is he conceding the point to “Joe the Plumber” that he was right?

What is funny is that if he truly believed that helping small businesses was the key to boosting the economy, we wouldn’t need to re-spend that $30 billion in TARP repayments if CIT would have been included in the initial round of bailouts. Both major parties are equally at fault on this point!

What I noticed when watching the President propose eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investments is the expression on Nancy Pelosi’s face: it’s the exact same look she had right before the Massachusetts special election when she laughed while telling reporters, “a lot of promises were made on the campaign trail.” In other words, don’t hold your breath!

Ah, I knew he couldn’t go the entire speech without bringing-up the high-speed rail and so-called clean energy. If government is going to have its fingers into it, this industry will be anything but “clean.” (Can you say “Hoffa?”)

Yes, let’s legislate how everyone must run their businesses and corporations. The real reason why so many companies outsource their workforce overseas is that the dollar continues to depreciate faster than companies can maintain profit margins and provide returns to those who have invested in them while wages and salaries rise and fall inconsistently – due heavily to union strong-arming – which results in erratic money flow in the overall economy of this country.

The ovational responses among members of Congress are beginning to nauseatingly resemble a high school or college homecoming king and queen nominees rally. “We will cheer you blindly, whether we like you or not!” It’s making this whole thing virtually unstomachable.

THE WAY TO GROW JOBS IN AMERICA IS FOR GOVERNMENT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF OUR FREE MARKET, NOT BY “LAYING A NEW FOUNDATION!” Welcome to the United Socialist States of America! Cut taxes AND slash spending if you want to “revamp” the economy!

Problems hampering our growth… see above paragraphs.

“…Not interested in punishing banks…” Ok, Mr. President, then WHY promote punitive taxes and fees on banks for any reason?

The recklessness was the result of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae being pressured by the Democrat-majority House of Representatives finance committee to engage in greater and greater subprime lending in the year leading up to the housing bubble bursting! The Fair Housing Act has served to gut America’s financial sector since it was passed in the 1970s.

Offshore drilling?! I’ll believe it when I see it.

Clean coal: the ultimate oxymoron.

Cap and Tax will drive the economy down the tubes: period.

What do we have to export? Two of our three auto companies are in pseudo-receivership. We import oil at an obscene pace. The steel industry is a shell of what it once was. These unrealistic statements are mindboggling!

How are we going to maintain healthy economic ties with all these nations if we are going to constantly threaten trade wars and trade barriers?

The U.S. Department of Education: its uselessness is one of those truths we hold to be self-evident. Education works best when its funding comes entirely from local sources. It drives families and communities to become more involved in the local school districts.

Colleges and universities are state institutions. It is the states’ responsibilities to ensure they are serving their function.

10 years of public service – will anyone be left to hold down a private sector job?

Joy… health care AGAIN!

Channeling Joe Wilson: “YOU LIE!”

More appeal to emotion. Mr. President, how will we pay for this at that 10-year mark once we’ve spent through in six years what we needed a four-year running start on taxation (oops, I mean fee-collecting) in order to begin financing.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates: was this the accounting before or AFTER you called the CBO chief to the White House to “discuss” the numbers with him?!

Many health care professionals do support the Obamacare plan… however MOST oppose it. The devil is in the details – especially the ones he omits.

More blaming Bush time. When will this President take ownership? When will this President finally take ownership? Bush did a lot of harm with the aiding and abetting of his party in the majority of Congress for six years. But the Democrats have been the majority party since January 2007 and he has had a year in the White House with a sweeping majority.

“Line by line…” a song and dance Americans have heard for 20 years. Still waiting for it to happen.

Interesting: Progressive translation time: “Congress didn’t give me what I want so I am going to bypass the legislative branch altogether and create a new commission, upon which I will bestow the customary overreach of governmental power to ram my agenda forward.” My prediction, Obama is going to deeply regret this comment by the end of February from the never-ending heat he is going to inevitably feel from political analysts from all angles, not just conservatives.

More delays in action. Typical.

“That is how budgeting works.” Is Obama branching out into comedy now? He has negligible private sector work experience – so where did he learn about budgeting?

“A deficit of trust.” I do believe this is a right-wing phrase that has been popular for a few years.

He’s what?! This administration has brought in as many lobbyists as any of his predecessors! This is a bold-face lie!

The problem with John McCain’s campaign finance law was that it was unconstitutional. It brought about an outright infringement on First Amendment rights. That is why the Supreme Court struck it down.

Oh give me a break: we have been hearing this line about transparency and posting legislation online before it is voted-upon for two years. Still waiting to see that one.

Mr. President, are you going to lecture Speaker Pelosi about the false and unfair comments she has directed at Tea Party goers?

We need less legislation! If the Senate must have 60 votes to pass any bills, and all voting is split along party lines, then THERE WILL BE LESS SPENDING AND FEWER EARMARKS RUNNING UP OUR DEFICIT AND NATIONAL DEBT!

Did your party leave behind fear and division from 2001 to 2008? (Hmm, all I hear is crickets chirping in the background)

But, the President gave General Stanley McChrystal only half the troops he insisted he needed to accomplish a successful Afghan surge.

“All our troops are coming home…” I’ll believe it when I see it.

So, in other words you’ll be keeping Hillary Clinton away from returning troops so she can’t spit at them or call them “baby killers.” (Oops! Did I say that out loud?!)

Did this President catch the news reports that came out last summer from the Russian Socialist Republic? You know, the news that Vladimir Putin openly declared that his country reserves the right the use nuclear weapons in preemptive strikes should they feel there is a credible threat to their security which warrants it?!

Bolstering AIDS research: does this mean he will pursue improvements to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control? Funny how he left that part out.

The problem with his observation on life in Afghanistan is the fact we have no business engaging in nation building. It is not going to work there. We must finish the mission to eradicate al Qaeda and the Taliban and then bring our Armed Forces home!

And now, more promises promises promises!

Border security: again, I’ll believe it when I see it. Bush didn’t get off the pot on that issue. I see nothing tangible that points to it happening during this administration either.

Government does not create prosperity!

Turning issues into silly soundbites: God knows politicians NEVER do that!

Change you can believe in: the controversy is the result of runaway spending that made your predecessor look frugal and the insistence that government take over every essential industry. Mr. Obama, YOU played a major role in the creation of the Tea Party movement – deal with it!

So, are we now stretching the blame all the way back to JFK? Blaming “W” isn’t enough?

Wait, did he actually deliver a line WITHOUT looking at the teleprompter? Where’s my calendar to mark this historic occasion?

I am impressed: he managed to speak for over an hour before finally using the phrase “I will fight.”