Did anyone else here the part in the State of the Union address where Bush called for more money to be spent in schools not for education but for drug testing kids? That didnt really surprise me. What surprised me was the fact that he then said he wanted to do this not because he wanted to punish kids, but so that we could identify and help those that needed help. (Yeah, kids, if you fail the test, we wont put you in a juvenile detention center. Well whisk you away, all expenses paid, to some four-star, spa-like rehab center like the one Rush Limbaugh went to.) I think he may have used the word love. He may have said, We want to do this because we love you. Whatever it was, it sent a cold chill down my spine. I know the word Orwellian gets tossed around a lot these days, but this really calls for it. It was Orwellian.
Im not a fan of drugs. In general, Im not a fan of anything that keeps people sedate and stupid. TV, drugs, spectator sports. Theyre all distractions. With that said, however, I dont think that drug testing teens is an answer. Im not a fan of surveillance culture, and I dont believe, as many do today, that people are guilty until proven innocent
Anyway, the speech was full nice phrases about how much the administration loved us and just wanted to help. It gave me the creeps.
Here, in case youre interested is a point by point response to the claims made in the State of the Union address. (Courtesy of the Center for American Progress.)
And here is what popular conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan had to say after hearing the speech:
It was the worst Bush SOTU yet. Maybe the occasion wasn’t up to the previous ones. But the speech lacked a real theme; it had only a few good lines (at the beginning, on the war); offered no new vision or any concrete future direction in foreign policy; and revealed complete insouciance toward the deficit and, more importantly, toward those who have not yet benefited from the economic recovery. A pretty bad political misjudgment in my view. To brag about a growing economy without some kind of passage of empathy for those still struggling reveals major political obtuseness. I was also struck by how hard right the president was on social policy. $23 million for drug-testing children in schools? A tirade against steroids? (I’m sure Tom Brady was thrilled by that camera shot.) More public money for religious groups? Abstinence only for prevention of STDs? Whatever else this president is, he is no believer in individuals’ running their own lives without government regulation, control or aid. If you’re a fiscal conservative or a social liberal, this was a speech that succeeded in making you take a second look at the Democrats. I sure am.
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I saw it.
Sorry about the late response.
Not a good week for Pelosi. It would likely help Dems if they moved her aside to get better leadership in the House. So, I’m thankful she’s the focal point.
“Im not a fan of surveillance culture, and I dont believe, as many do today, that people are guilty until proven innocent.”
Might not have been then but you definitely are now.
Incredible speech by POTUS last night. Dems are finished.
Just a guess here, but I suspect people on the left are unlikely to take strategic advice from EOS.
He’s a good populist, HW. He could very we win. Cetrtajntyu about political outcomes is naive though. A lot could happen between now and November. If Trump gets another 4 years he’ll preside over the collapse of his own economy with its trade wars and trillion dollar debts and expiring tax cuts for the middle class, just as he has presided over the economic boom he inherited from Obama. It would almost be worth it, but not worth it enough.
Pelosi is going hard as the loyal (to country but not president) opposition. She’s awesome. Fuck that predatory, weak minded, self-dealing, authoritarian, narcissistic asshole president.
I’m happy for EOS that he’s found his idol…and a more suiting one I can’t imagine.
“If Trump gets another 4 years he’ll preside over the collapse of his own economy with its trade wars and trillion dollar debts and expiring tax cuts for the middle class, just as he has presided over the economic boom he inherited from Obama.”
You said the economy would tank under Trump. Instead it is kicking ass. Revenue is up and increasing at a faster rate now then before the tax cut. Obama himself said he would need a magic wand to bring back manufacturing jobs which he has.
https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-federal-government-tax-revenue-3305762
Fiscal Year Revenue
FY 2020 $3.64 trillion (budgeted)
FY 2019 $3.44 trillion (estimated)
FY 2018 $3.33 trillion
FY 2017 $3.32 trillion
FY 2016 $3.27 trillion
FY 2015 $3.25 trillion
FY 2014 $3.02 trillion
FY 2013 $2.77 trillion
FY 2012 $2.45 trillion
FY 2011 $2.30 trillion
FY 2010 $2.16 trillion
FY 2009 $2.10 trillion
FY 2008 $2.52 trillion
Just messing with you, EOS. I hope I didn’t sound too nasty.
I bet you didn’t think you’d be bowing to a guy who screws porn stars and pays them off to keep quiet about it though. It’s got to take a lot to hold down your lunch at times. I couldn’t stomach it. You are a better man than I.
I mean, I fully understand being repulsed by much of what the left says and does. But to have it drive you into the arms of Donald Trump has to feel pretty creepy. I’d have a different reaction than you. I’d feel manipulated and set up. Do you feel any of that?
Nanshee looked horrible as usual tearing up the President’s emotional rollercoaster of a speech, like she was chewing on something nasty. Nasty Nanshee, the slurring, incomprehensible fool. Is it true her father, Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr. associated with gangsters as FBI FOIA files suggest?
https://thefederalistpapers.org/us/revealed-jfk-worried-pelosis-dad-associated-organized-crime
Satan works in ruthless ways.
I’m glad you feel so confident, HW and EOS. What could possibly go wrong having a mentally disabled, immoral, clown as president? Place your bets.
Durf. How could that be true since we are beating the fuck out of it as a nation now? No more managed decline. No more soul-killing stagnation. We have new life.
Peace is breaking out…dafuq you talking bout.
First of all, we aren’t beating the fuck out of it as a nation. Though, if your point is simply that improvements have been made in some areas, I’d agree.
Democrats have hamstrung themselves on many issues, and the simple fact that Trump isn’t trapped in that vortex helps. I’ve said I think renegotiating trade agreements so that the US isn’t always getting the short end of the deal is a good thing.
But many bad choices are good for the economy temporarily. Unnecessary war is an example. That’s one the Dems have been dragged into over and over.
I’m not entirely against some of the policies or ideas for policies. But the reality is falling fall short of the ideals – very far short.
My point above, though, was that having a mentally disabled, immoral clown in the most powerful public office in the world should not be considered a necessary element in getting there. And, in fact, presents some very dangerous risks.
You may want to celebrate the sidelining of the left, and show recognition to the improved position of the economy, but I don’t think it’s going to play out as swimmingly as you are hoping and expecting.
The trade agreements generally speaking are making marginal gains. Most of them are needed but marginal updates to old agreements. The trade tariffs are unnecessary to the process and are creating serious imbalances. They would have been renegotiated by any president. The prospects of future international cooperation agreements are in serious question due to Trump’s reneging on several of them. If our word can’t be counted upon, we are not able to negotiate long term agreements on good faith.
Good to hear all of you acknowledging the realities of the global economy and the absurdity of isolationism.
My point is that it isn’t necessary to prop up this disturbing and disgusting character in advocating for the policies which many people do recognize as improvements. There is no reason to tie this bizarre asshole to those changes in policy. Those changes can be made without the shit-show and all the dangers that come with it.
I believe the Soleimani killing was a good strategic move, for example. It certainly outed Iran for the disaster it is, and put them more in their place.
If you think Trump made that decision, you’re a fool. Trump as an individual is a facade. It’s been an effective facade in many ways, but the absurd degree of ignorance and immorality of that guy is not just an unfortunate byproduct. He was selected for his mind-blowing degeneracy and idiocy. There is a plan there. And you, me, EOS, and nobody else can be sure what it is exactly. Historically, these things don’t go well for us peons.
I hope you’re right, or lucky, and Trump’s intallers/managers have some good intentions. I’m not convinced of it at all.
Amazing the even HW would pit up federal tax revenue over time without including expenses.
We are losing manufacturing jobs, HW.
Trump lies. Fact Check the SOB.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/05/trump-said-hed-rebuild-manufacturing-now-its-decline-what-happened/%3foutputType=amp
The CIA has done a great job positioning Mayor Pete to possibly get the presidency. Who else is running his campaign behind the scenes?
I can agree with a lot of EOS’s and HW’s criticisms of the left – maybe even most of them. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to pretend Trump is something other than what he obviously is. It’s strange to me that supporters of more progressive conservative policies would feel they have to link the two. It’s not a necessity. Trump is a joke. Better policy isn’t.
Your side calls him names and makes accusations that aren’t backed by evidence. Meanwhile, he’s going to broker Mid-East peace, establish trade practices that are more fair, take out terrorists, protect us from socialism, reign in judicial tyranny, protect the unborn, and secure our 1st and 2nd amendment rights….
I certainly don’t idolize him, but do you seriously think I’m considering voting for a communist, Sleepy Joe, Pocahontas, or Alfred E. Neumann instead?
@Jean,
You don’t have to take my advice. Replace Pelosi if you want. Who – AOC?
Of course you’ll vote for Trump EOS. He’s your man. He’s the kind of person Christian conservatives love.
You’re name calling is noted. God forbid you should refer to people by their names. Much better to mock them. SMH
Well he does have more conservative Christians in his cabinet and inner circle than both Bush’s and Reagan combined. And most of us do love his policies.
Yes. Trump and American Christendom shall be forever associated.
I have found that I love Pelosi more and more all of the time. Ripping up that speech was good symbolism! Yeah sure maybe it wasn’t nice but sorry, if you support President PussyGrabber, you simply cannot criticize anyone on the left for not being nice enough. It is like how it is meaningless when HW or FF call someone stupid.
I don’t have a side EOS, and I’m glad about that. Each “side” is a grotesque caricature of what it claims to be.
I don’t know why you’d ask me if I’d expect you to vote for a communist, Sleepy Joe, Pocahontas, or Alfred E. Neumann. I know you would die first. I don’t fault you for that. I don’t fault you for voting for Trump either. I was just wondering about how you hold down your lunch.
I’ve heard that Mayor Pete is going to adopt “what me worry” as his campaign slogan.
Ha-Ha