Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark - The State of the Union
This thing is a Gordian knot of misstatement, half-truths, and outright lies. It’s hard to know where to begin dissecting this mess. Only option seems to be the beginning. So here we go. Let’s see how deep this rabbit hole is.
Begin Murderer!
In the work ahead, we must be guided by the philosophy that made our nation great. As Americans, we believe in the power of individuals to determine their destiny and shape the course of history. We believe that the most reliable guide for our country is the collective wisdom of ordinary citizens.
And so, in all we do, we must trust in the ability of free peoples to make wise decisions and empower them to improve their lives for their futures.
Translation: the government will do nothing to help you. You are on your own. The neo-conservative agenda comes out in full swing. In the wake of an economic policy that has decimated the industrial base of the American economy, those same kids who brought you, “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem,” now comes…more of the same! That’s right! It’s the same thing we gave you before. The same thing that got us into this mess. Enjoy such numbers as…
Who Would Fardels Bear?
To build a prosperous future, we must trust people with their own money and empower them to grow our economy. As we meet tonight, our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty. America's added jobs for a record 52 straight months.
But jobs are now growing at a slower pace.
The question is, how many jobs. Technically, adding two jobs every month for fifty-two months (four-and-a-half years) would still be adding jobs, but it would be considered incredibly anemic growth. It’s stasis save for the most literal terms. So where are all the jobs? According to the New York Times, nowhere. According to the payroll survey the economy grew by 1.2 million jobs. But according to the household survey in 2007 the economy experienced a net loss of 75,000 jobs. Guess which set of numbers the Bush administration went with.
In 2000, the number of unemployed Americans was 5,692,000. In 2007, it was 7,078,000. I should also point out that these numbers are low. If I work two jobs and you work no jobs, according to the government’s math, we have 100% employment despite the fact that you have no job. It would me more accurate to say that we have 50% employment, but that’s not how the math works and fixing it would make the unemployment figures worse. The Republicans won’t fix it because they don’t care and the Democrats won’t fix it because they won’t be able to fight the spin of the Republicans, that is, that there is a huge increase in the number of unemployed thanks to the Democrats. And so it goes. Figures can lie and liars can figure.
Wages are up, but so are prices for food and gas. Exports are rising, but the housing market has declined.
Yeah, the housing market has declined. It’s heading for the tank. Massive speculation without capital. Price inflation. Reckless lending. Any of this starting to sound familiar President Hoover? It won’t be the last moment of déjà vu on this trip. As for wages being up, this is only true if you ignore inflation, which Bush hints at in a slightly sideways nod with the mention of food and gas prices. Real wages are actually down 1% for 2007.
At kitchen tables across our country, there is a concern about our economic future. In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth, but in the short run, we can all see that that growth is slowing.
So, last week, my administration reached agreement with Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner on a robust growth package that includes tax relief for individuals and families and incentives for business investment.
Here’s the problem with the stimulus package. The emphasis on tax incentives to business makes this bill useless. The idea of a stimulus package is that it should offer immediate relief the economy. But when you give money to business, it takes time. A tax rebate for all Americans would be far more effective in offering economic stimulus, and more immediate. Sadly, the original Bush proposal would have done nothing for families making under $24,900. Even families making as much as $41,000 would not have gotten the full amount he was throwing around. In short, most of America got the finger rather than a check.
As for tax cuts, historically they have proved to be a disaster. Say you’re making $40,000 and after taxes you’re taking home $30,000. Then you get a $2,000 tax cut. Your boss knows you’ll work for $30,000 and now you’re making $32,000. This means he can cut your benefits by $2,000. He saves some money and you start having to put more money into your 401k, paying for your own insurance/pills, etc.
By far, the best way to stimulate the economy is through investment not in the stock market, but in our infrastructure. Repairing roads, improving our electrical grid, improving bridges. All of these things not only improve the infrastructure on which our economy depends, but it also provides jobs and keeps the money used to stimulate the economy within the country, as opposed to funding a brief increase in consumer spending which will, for the most part, flow out of the country as Americans buy consumer goods made overseas, further exacerbating our trade deficit.
Tis an Unweeded Garden
We have other work to do on taxes. Unless Congress acts, most of the tax relief we've delivered over the past seven years will be taken away.
Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase.
Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who will see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.
That’s George W. Bush. He’ll be opening for Carrot Top next week in Aspen. And he’s not one who likes to let a good joke die. He’s asked for his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to be made permanent in every State of the Union address since 2002.
Thrift, Thrift Horatio!
Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I'll submit will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012.
American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government.
The people's trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks, special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. committee reports that never even come to a vote.
Unfortunately, neither goal was met.
So, this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I'll send it back to you with my veto.
First off, Republicans criticizing earmarks is like Denny Hastert saying Americans are out of shape and need to exercise more. As for balancing the budget by 2012, remind me again who’s going to be president then? Oh, right! Not George W. Bush. Maybe he’ll haunt the oval office Jacob-Marley-style. Other than that, I can’t think how he plans to enforce this. Furthermore, under the Democratic party, earmarks have been cut by 40% from where they were under the Republican Congress.
For the record, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, earmarks for 2008 come in at $15.3 billion in a budget that totals $2.9 trillion. That means earmarks translate to .527% of the federal budget. Hypocrite-says-what? Exactly.
Does anyone else feel a bit thrown by the statement, “Neither goal was met?” Maybe I’m off my nut, but I don’t see where he’s stating any goals prior. He mentions the need for a balanced budget and debate over earmarks, but then chastises Congress for not meeting a goal that is never specified. What goal? Someone was asleep at the proofread switch.
And call me Mr. Paranoid, but I think I’ll wait until I see what 151 “wasteful programs” he’s cutting before I get too excited.
This sudden fiscal responsibility as Bush heads out the door is hard to buy after seven years of irresponsible spending and massive deficits. Behold! Colorful chart-ness!
Notice how thing’s are ok, for the most part, up until 1980? Then things just shoot to the moon. There’s a leveling off toward the end of the Clinton term, but then under GW, the deficit has gone from just under $6 Trillion (that’s a six with twelve zeros after it) to just under $9 Trillion. And suddenly, the government must balance the budget. Apparently, after years of not giving a damn about anything or anyone, Bush is concerned that a legacy of war and economic collapse isn’t as cool as it sounded.
And just where the shit does he get off calling for a balanced budget right after he calls for permanent tax cuts? In addition to thinking we’re all as smart as goldfish, the president believes we also have the memory of same.
Ultimately what we’re seeing is a game of kick-the-economic-crisis-down-the-road aimed at staving off economic collapse until a Democrat is in the Oval Office to take the bullet they know is coming.
Drugs Quick, and Time Agreeing
To build a future of quality health care, we must trust patients and doctors to make medical decisions and empower them with better information and better options.
We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans.
The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control.
So I propose ending the bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage within reach for millions, and I call on the Congress to pass it this year.
Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create association health plans for small businesses, promote health information technology and confront the epidemic of junk medical lawsuits.
Once again we hit the neo-con mantra of, “You’re on your own!” This translates into a small tax cut, further starving the government the right hates so much, for those who buy their own insurance, though not nearly enough to actually pay for it, and tort reform, which really has nothing to do with medical malpractice suits. What tort reform, what Bush is really referring to when he mentions junk lawsuits, actually aims to do is prevent juries from handing out judgments for the massive amounts of damages that might actually punish a corporation for any criminal negligence or misconduct. It has bugger all to do with medical malpractice insurance. That’s just the line they use to sell it.
If the damages a company has to pay are not greater than the money saved by engaging in criminal behavior, there is no incentive to stop acting criminally.
Bottom line: insurance prices are high because the insurance industry is one of two groups exempted from monopoly laws. The other? Major League Baseball.
More Things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than Are Dreamt of in Your Philosophy
On education, we must trust students to learn, if given the chance, and empower parents to demand results from our schools.
In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams. And a decent education is their only hope of achieving them.
Six years ago, we came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, and today no one can deny its results.
Last year, 4th and 8th graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs. Now we must...
Now we must work together to increase accountability, add flexibilities for states and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, provide extra help for struggling schools.
Members of Congress, the No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America's children, their parents and their teachers to strengthen this good law.
Every time Bush talks about “empowering” some group of people or another, read, “The federal government will do nothing.” For instance, when he mentions empowering parents to demand results, what he means is, we are not going to fix failing schools.
You know one group that seems universally opposed to NCLB? Teachers. I have yet to meet one teacher who thinks this is a good program.
It is critical here to know what Bush means when he says “extra help for struggling schools.” Under No Child Left Behind, schools that do not achieve sufficient test scores must hire private tutoring firms…at their own expense. So the school that can’t afford to improve learning conditions must spend huge wads of cash on private tutors. Is there any mechanism to hold these tutors accountable? Hell no! That’s interfering in the market. So, no money to improve public education, fund NCLB, or help anyone save the hand-full of kids who get vouchers. And what happens to those few who get vouchers? Not much. Private schools already have waiting lists. They can’t take all the kids whose parents can afford the tuition, a cost vouchers don’t nearly cover.
Personal story: this summer I worked for Chicago Public Schools, transportation department. Amongst other things, my job involved contacting parents whose children were chosen in the NCLB lottery. They were allowed to travel to another public school because their school did not meet test scores. There weren’t many of them. A couple hundred out of one million. Hardly what I would call a great victory. In addition, we had to work out how to get them to those schools, which were sometimes clear across the city. One could argue that it’s up to the parents to get their children there, but that’s as good as saying they can’t go. Most of these parents work while others are disabled. This means putting a child on a CTA bus or the L by themselves. So the only option was school busses. It was something of a logistical nightmare, and there wasn’t a lot of help forthcoming from the feds. Just one of several intangible costs that Bush doesn’t consider when he arbitrarily mandates something.
We must also do more to help children when their schools do not measure up. Thanks to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships you approved, more than 2,600 of the poorest children in our nation's capital have found new hope at a faith-based or other nonpublic schools.
Sadly, these schools are disappearing at an alarming rate in many of America's inner cities. So I will convene a White House summit aimed at strengthening these lifelines of learning.
And to open the doors of these schools to more children, I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential.
Together, we've expanded the size and reach of these grants. Now let us apply the same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools.
This is another voucher scheme dressed up in the guise of a program designed to help lower income students attend college.
That being said, if these faith-based and private schools are so great, why are they failing? Moreover, what is the justification for bailing them out? When public schools fail they’re to be abandoned. But when private schools fail we have to throw more money at them? The free-market theory Bush is always espousing says that they should be allowed to fail just like public schools. In short, Bush’s cognitive dissonance mojo is working overtime.
The Undiscovered Country
Many products from these nations now enter America duty-free.
Yet many of our products face steep tariffs in their markets. These agreements will level the playing field. They will give us better access to nearly 100 million customers.
They will support good jobs for the finest workers in the world, those whose products say, "Made in the USA."
In the past twenty years, we’ve gone from being the world leader in importing raw materials and exporting finished goods to the world leader in exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. The nice thing about the former is that finished goods are worth more than raw materials. The result is a trade surplus rather than the trade deficit we are now experiencing. So just what does he think all these other countries are going to buy that they don’t already make?
These agreements also promote America's strategic interests. The first agreement that will come before you is with Colombia, a friend of America that is confronting violence and terror and fighting drug traffickers. If we fail to pass this agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere.
So we must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life.
Trade brings better jobs and better choices and better prices. Yet, for some Americans, trade can mean losing a job. And the federal government has a responsibility to help.
I ask Congress to reauthorize and reform Trade Adjustment Assistance, so we can help these displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs.
Did anyone else catch that oh-so-subtle dig at Hugo Chavez. “Purveyors of false populism” my left nut. Do us all a favor and clean out your own closet first. This is probably the most disgusting part of the whole mess. Goods and capital are free to cross borders. Meanwhile, workers can do no such thing. Jobs flow out of the country, and cheap, harmful goods flow in with no oversight. Think of how many things have come in from China with little or no oversight. Now expand that to Columbia, Panama, and South Korea.
No workers rights. No environmental regulations. Thanks to twenty years of conservative economics, we can’t make anything here anymore.
As for retraining workers for new jobs, I would damn well like to know what jobs. Menufacturing? That’s gone to Mexico and Asia. Tech support? Sorry. We sent that to India. So when it comes to making a living, it’s down to what? Scientific discovery? High tech? Administration? Selling burgers? So best of luck to you sixty-five year old auto worker whose pension is now worth shit. Time to go back to school and learn to split atoms.
More Matter with Less Art
To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology.
Again with all this empowerment malarkey. Starting to get the picture?
Our security, our prosperity and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together, we should take the next steps. Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions.
Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions- free nuclear power.
There’s a lot of petroleum that goes into building a nuclear power plant. Building materials, gas to power the machines that do the work, as well as all the fossil fuel-generated energy to refine the uranium that will fuel the plant. All things taken into consideration, a nuclear power plant has to run for ten years before it generates its first watt of clean energy. In addition, it is so unsafe that no private insurer will cover them. As such, the federal government has to cover them. So much for the free market. Ready for the cherry on top? They’re great targets for terrorists! The only reason Mohammed Atta, the 20th hijacker and leader in the 9/11 attacks, did not target a nuclear power plant was that he was certain that they must be protected by surface-to-air missiles. This is what Bush wants to invest in. Not solar. Not wind. But hey! When we all glow in the dark, we won’t need light bulbs.
Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future.
Let us create a new international clean technology fund which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources.
Sounds good, right? Just wait. He’s going to kill it in a second.
And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.
This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride.
There it is! There is no way China is going to go in for this, and India is questionable. And if everyone won’t sign on to it, well, it’s no good is it? It was the same way with Kyoto. Well, says Bush, since third world countries are not going to spend massive amounts of money on solar banks and such, there’s no point in trying. Oh well. And so, renewable energies die before they even get started.
And remind me exactly why we have to fund China in this? They’ve been generously buying our debt for years. Let them pay. We could use the money.
To Grunt and Sweat Under a Weary Life
And tonight I'm pleased to announce that, in April, we will host this year's North American Summit of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the great city of New Orleans.
So the city that Bush forgot will be cleaned up…or at least the few blocks around the hotel. Everyone will go out to some local restaurant, an historical site, and…probably a house or something. After the photo ops, these locations will be promptly forgotten, along with the rest of the city, leaving only the memory of the visit in the minds of the dignitaries, the hatred of the visit in the hearts of those still living there, and a bloody great big heap of debris dispiursed throughout the city.
Every member in this chamber knows that spending on entitlement programs -- like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- is growing faster than we can afford.
We all know the painful choices ahead if American stays on this path: massive tax increases, sudden and drastic cuts in benefits, and crippling deficits.
I've laid out proposals to reform these programs. Now I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and our grandchildren.
When Bush talks about reforming something, read breaking it. First off, we’vve got forty years before Social Security faces cuts. Not bankruptcy. Cuts in benefits. As of right now, Social Security only taxes the first $90,000 dollars you make in a year. So, someone making $100,000 and someone making $5,000,000 both pay the same amount in FICA taxes. Now…for the first time ever, I shal reveal to you the secret to saving Social Security. Lift the FICA cap. Ta-da! Washington? You’re welcome.
The other pressing challenge is immigration. America needs to secure our borders. And, with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing work site enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings.
We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border. And by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents.
Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy.
Border security in 2005: $1.4 million
Building and maintining a border fence for 25 years: $60 billion
Securing a supply of cheap labor: Priceless
There’s nothing you can’t buy.
I will now take it upon myself to solve the illegal immigrant problem. Require documentation to work in the US. If someone hires undocumented workers, put them in jail. Do not fine them. Do not subject them to increased oversight. Lock them up. You won’t have to do it more than once. After the first CEO gets thrown in prison with a big guy named Bubba who wants to dance, the other captains of industry will fall right in line. Might I suggest starting with the soulless cocksucker who runs Wal-Mart? Better yet, all the Waltons.
Witness this Army of Such Mass and Charge
These horrific images serve as a grim reminder. The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists -- evil men who despise freedom, despise America and aim to subject millions to their violent rule.
Since 9/11, we have taken the fight to these terrorists and extremists. We will stay on the offense. We will keep up the pressure, and we will deliver justice to our enemies.
Remind me again…where’s bin Laden just now? Let’s see…was it the Hague? No, that’s not it. Was it San Quentin? No. Six feet under? No again. Hmmm….oh! I remember now. At large! I knew I’d get it if I tried.
We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century. The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear.
Drink the Kool-Aid! Drink it!
And that is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to the people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.
Place your bets on where we invade next!
Those who had worried that America was preparing to abandon them instead saw tens of thousands of American forces flowing into their country. They saw our forces moving into neighborhoods, clearing out the terrorists and staying behind to ensure the enemy did not return. And they saw our troops, along with provincial reconstruction teams that include Foreign Service officers and other skilled public servants, coming in to ensure that improved security was followed by improvements in daily life.
Sorry, point of clarification…which ones are Blackwater now? The recurring motif in this section is progress. Bits and pieces are picked out and the drum beats out a litany of we-are-making-progress.
And I ask Congress to meet its responsibilities to these brave men and women by fully funding our troops.
Read: more money for Halliburton. G.I. Joe will have to keep waiting for his body armor.
As part of this transition, one Army Brigade Combat team and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home and will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit.
Taken together, this means more than 20,000 of our troops are coming home.
The surge, if I remember correctly, was 30,000. So we’re still not down to pre-surge troop levels.
We're seeing some encouraging signs. The national government is sharing oil revenues with the provinces. The parliament recently passed both a pension law and de-Baathification reform. They're now debating a provincial powers law.
Wait…de-Bathificaiton reform? Bush is bragging that the Iraqis are finally fixing the very thing his team fucked up in the first place.
Over the past seven years, we've increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. And as we increase funding...And as we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans' system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.
I have no idea what he’s talking about when he says funding for veterans has been increased by 95%. The Bush administration has been shorting the VA for years, and every time we go another round on the budget funding has been cut by this administration. I can only guess that he’s counting some peripheral program that has little to do with vets as part of this spending increase.
Of course, if the president really wants to do something for our men and women in uniform, he can fund a new GI Bill. What we have today is nothing like your father’s or grandfather’s GI Bill. Back then you could go to college on the GI Bill, full ride. Room, board, the works. Today, a soldier can expect to get about $39,600 in total under the current bill. One year at the average 4-year private college costs $22,218. What’s more, under the current bill, not all soldiers will see all of that money. Most will see only a part of it, others none. Only 8% of vets ever fully use their GI Bill benefits.
Investing in our soldiers offers a much higher return on investment than any tech stock or mutual fund. Consider the WWII generation. For every $1 invested in the education of our soldiers under the GI Bill, we got $7 back in the form of increased productivity, higher wages that come with higher education, and innovation. Furthermore, education can serve as a means by which soldiers can readjust to civilian life. One in three returning vets will come home with some form of mental illness. The administration’s current solution to the problem is to tell them they had “personality disorders” before they went to war, and as a result, the government doesn’t have to pay for their treatment. This offers great insight into how the Bush administration views our soldiers, specifically, as a line in a ledger book. But these soldiers are more than an expense to be grudgingly incurred. And offering veterans the chance to go to college has, in the past, proved a great transition mechanism helping them to readjust to civilian life.
We have so much to gain by doing right by the men and women who have put their lives on the line for this country, and so much to lose by failing to do so. This country has an estimated 192,000 veterans homeless. You didn’t see this before Reagan. It’s only in the past twenty years that this problem has grown out of control. We have a responsibility to take care of our veterans, and frankly I find Bush’s statements to that effect insincere, unsupported by his record, and pandering of the lowest kind.
Madness Yet
This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do and I will do everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year.
Welcome to the crazy! It’s always something. Hydrogen powered cars, animal-human hybrids, Baby Einstein. Whatever. This time? Peace in the Middle East by the end of the year. It’s cool. Bush talked to them, so we’re essentially there already. Like so many other things, Bush likes to leave his legacy to the last minute. Sadly, no one told him the 30-minutes-or-less guarantee doesn’t apply to anything other than his pizza.
We Do Sugar O’er the Devil Himself
Iran is funding and training militia groups in Iraq, supporting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, and backing Hamas' efforts to undermine peace in the Holy Land.
Tehran is also developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and continues to develop its capability to enrich uranium, which could be used to create a nuclear weapon.
Ballistic weapons, could be building nukes, funding terrorists. Where have I heard this before? Don’t tell me now…
With an Auspicious and Dropping Eye
To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying and what they're planning.
Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that.
Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on February 1st. That means, if you don't act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger.
Ok. So why can’t you just go through the FISA court? They’ve turned down, what, six in fifteen hundred requests? And you can tap anyone at any time. You then have three days to make your case to the FISA court, after the fact. And if listening in on the terrorists is so important, why did the president threaten to veto any legislation that didn’t grant immunity to telecommunications companies that illegally handed over customer data? Speaking of which…
Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We've had ample time for debate. The time to act is now.
If they didn’t do anything illegal, they don’t need immunity. If they did break the law, they don’t deserve immunity.
Not Tomb Enough and Continent to Hide the Slain
This is a reflection of our national interests. It is the calling of our conscience. America opposes genocide in Sudan.
Welcome to the party dickhead! Now what’re you going to do about it?
We support freedom in countries from Cuba and Zimbabwe to Belarus and Burma.
Apparently, not much. Just one sentence. An applause line. Thank you Mr. President.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
So there it is. There’s a lot I’ve skipped over, the problems of Dole-Shalala, the overblown claims about progress in Iraq, and similar claims about terror attacks averted. It’s all in there somewhere. But I put in a late night on this one, and I’m tired. There more information out there for those that want it. I am one man writing in a tiny font and I’m on page nine and this all takes a shit ton of digging as statistics hide very well. So good night, good luck, and may those among you with clean hearts and good souls sleep until the end of September and wake up to build a better world.
Begin Murderer!
In the work ahead, we must be guided by the philosophy that made our nation great. As Americans, we believe in the power of individuals to determine their destiny and shape the course of history. We believe that the most reliable guide for our country is the collective wisdom of ordinary citizens.
And so, in all we do, we must trust in the ability of free peoples to make wise decisions and empower them to improve their lives for their futures.
Translation: the government will do nothing to help you. You are on your own. The neo-conservative agenda comes out in full swing. In the wake of an economic policy that has decimated the industrial base of the American economy, those same kids who brought you, “Government is not the solution to our problems. Government is the problem,” now comes…more of the same! That’s right! It’s the same thing we gave you before. The same thing that got us into this mess. Enjoy such numbers as…
Who Would Fardels Bear?
To build a prosperous future, we must trust people with their own money and empower them to grow our economy. As we meet tonight, our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty. America's added jobs for a record 52 straight months.
But jobs are now growing at a slower pace.
The question is, how many jobs. Technically, adding two jobs every month for fifty-two months (four-and-a-half years) would still be adding jobs, but it would be considered incredibly anemic growth. It’s stasis save for the most literal terms. So where are all the jobs? According to the New York Times, nowhere. According to the payroll survey the economy grew by 1.2 million jobs. But according to the household survey in 2007 the economy experienced a net loss of 75,000 jobs. Guess which set of numbers the Bush administration went with.
In 2000, the number of unemployed Americans was 5,692,000. In 2007, it was 7,078,000. I should also point out that these numbers are low. If I work two jobs and you work no jobs, according to the government’s math, we have 100% employment despite the fact that you have no job. It would me more accurate to say that we have 50% employment, but that’s not how the math works and fixing it would make the unemployment figures worse. The Republicans won’t fix it because they don’t care and the Democrats won’t fix it because they won’t be able to fight the spin of the Republicans, that is, that there is a huge increase in the number of unemployed thanks to the Democrats. And so it goes. Figures can lie and liars can figure.
Wages are up, but so are prices for food and gas. Exports are rising, but the housing market has declined.
Yeah, the housing market has declined. It’s heading for the tank. Massive speculation without capital. Price inflation. Reckless lending. Any of this starting to sound familiar President Hoover? It won’t be the last moment of déjà vu on this trip. As for wages being up, this is only true if you ignore inflation, which Bush hints at in a slightly sideways nod with the mention of food and gas prices. Real wages are actually down 1% for 2007.
At kitchen tables across our country, there is a concern about our economic future. In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth, but in the short run, we can all see that that growth is slowing.
So, last week, my administration reached agreement with Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader Boehner on a robust growth package that includes tax relief for individuals and families and incentives for business investment.
Here’s the problem with the stimulus package. The emphasis on tax incentives to business makes this bill useless. The idea of a stimulus package is that it should offer immediate relief the economy. But when you give money to business, it takes time. A tax rebate for all Americans would be far more effective in offering economic stimulus, and more immediate. Sadly, the original Bush proposal would have done nothing for families making under $24,900. Even families making as much as $41,000 would not have gotten the full amount he was throwing around. In short, most of America got the finger rather than a check.
As for tax cuts, historically they have proved to be a disaster. Say you’re making $40,000 and after taxes you’re taking home $30,000. Then you get a $2,000 tax cut. Your boss knows you’ll work for $30,000 and now you’re making $32,000. This means he can cut your benefits by $2,000. He saves some money and you start having to put more money into your 401k, paying for your own insurance/pills, etc.
By far, the best way to stimulate the economy is through investment not in the stock market, but in our infrastructure. Repairing roads, improving our electrical grid, improving bridges. All of these things not only improve the infrastructure on which our economy depends, but it also provides jobs and keeps the money used to stimulate the economy within the country, as opposed to funding a brief increase in consumer spending which will, for the most part, flow out of the country as Americans buy consumer goods made overseas, further exacerbating our trade deficit.
Tis an Unweeded Garden
We have other work to do on taxes. Unless Congress acts, most of the tax relief we've delivered over the past seven years will be taken away.
Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase.
Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who will see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.
That’s George W. Bush. He’ll be opening for Carrot Top next week in Aspen. And he’s not one who likes to let a good joke die. He’s asked for his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to be made permanent in every State of the Union address since 2002.
Thrift, Thrift Horatio!
Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I'll submit will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012.
American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government.
The people's trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks, special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. committee reports that never even come to a vote.
Unfortunately, neither goal was met.
So, this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I'll send it back to you with my veto.
First off, Republicans criticizing earmarks is like Denny Hastert saying Americans are out of shape and need to exercise more. As for balancing the budget by 2012, remind me again who’s going to be president then? Oh, right! Not George W. Bush. Maybe he’ll haunt the oval office Jacob-Marley-style. Other than that, I can’t think how he plans to enforce this. Furthermore, under the Democratic party, earmarks have been cut by 40% from where they were under the Republican Congress.
For the record, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, earmarks for 2008 come in at $15.3 billion in a budget that totals $2.9 trillion. That means earmarks translate to .527% of the federal budget. Hypocrite-says-what? Exactly.
Does anyone else feel a bit thrown by the statement, “Neither goal was met?” Maybe I’m off my nut, but I don’t see where he’s stating any goals prior. He mentions the need for a balanced budget and debate over earmarks, but then chastises Congress for not meeting a goal that is never specified. What goal? Someone was asleep at the proofread switch.
And call me Mr. Paranoid, but I think I’ll wait until I see what 151 “wasteful programs” he’s cutting before I get too excited.
This sudden fiscal responsibility as Bush heads out the door is hard to buy after seven years of irresponsible spending and massive deficits. Behold! Colorful chart-ness!
Notice how thing’s are ok, for the most part, up until 1980? Then things just shoot to the moon. There’s a leveling off toward the end of the Clinton term, but then under GW, the deficit has gone from just under $6 Trillion (that’s a six with twelve zeros after it) to just under $9 Trillion. And suddenly, the government must balance the budget. Apparently, after years of not giving a damn about anything or anyone, Bush is concerned that a legacy of war and economic collapse isn’t as cool as it sounded.
And just where the shit does he get off calling for a balanced budget right after he calls for permanent tax cuts? In addition to thinking we’re all as smart as goldfish, the president believes we also have the memory of same.
Ultimately what we’re seeing is a game of kick-the-economic-crisis-down-the-road aimed at staving off economic collapse until a Democrat is in the Oval Office to take the bullet they know is coming.
Drugs Quick, and Time Agreeing
To build a future of quality health care, we must trust patients and doctors to make medical decisions and empower them with better information and better options.
We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans.
The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control.
So I propose ending the bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage within reach for millions, and I call on the Congress to pass it this year.
Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create association health plans for small businesses, promote health information technology and confront the epidemic of junk medical lawsuits.
Once again we hit the neo-con mantra of, “You’re on your own!” This translates into a small tax cut, further starving the government the right hates so much, for those who buy their own insurance, though not nearly enough to actually pay for it, and tort reform, which really has nothing to do with medical malpractice suits. What tort reform, what Bush is really referring to when he mentions junk lawsuits, actually aims to do is prevent juries from handing out judgments for the massive amounts of damages that might actually punish a corporation for any criminal negligence or misconduct. It has bugger all to do with medical malpractice insurance. That’s just the line they use to sell it.
If the damages a company has to pay are not greater than the money saved by engaging in criminal behavior, there is no incentive to stop acting criminally.
Bottom line: insurance prices are high because the insurance industry is one of two groups exempted from monopoly laws. The other? Major League Baseball.
More Things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than Are Dreamt of in Your Philosophy
On education, we must trust students to learn, if given the chance, and empower parents to demand results from our schools.
In neighborhoods across our country, there are boys and girls with dreams. And a decent education is their only hope of achieving them.
Six years ago, we came together to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, and today no one can deny its results.
Last year, 4th and 8th graders achieved the highest math scores on record. Reading scores are on the rise. African-American and Hispanic students posted all-time highs. Now we must...
Now we must work together to increase accountability, add flexibilities for states and districts, reduce the number of high school dropouts, provide extra help for struggling schools.
Members of Congress, the No Child Left Behind Act is a bipartisan achievement. It is succeeding. And we owe it to America's children, their parents and their teachers to strengthen this good law.
Every time Bush talks about “empowering” some group of people or another, read, “The federal government will do nothing.” For instance, when he mentions empowering parents to demand results, what he means is, we are not going to fix failing schools.
You know one group that seems universally opposed to NCLB? Teachers. I have yet to meet one teacher who thinks this is a good program.
It is critical here to know what Bush means when he says “extra help for struggling schools.” Under No Child Left Behind, schools that do not achieve sufficient test scores must hire private tutoring firms…at their own expense. So the school that can’t afford to improve learning conditions must spend huge wads of cash on private tutors. Is there any mechanism to hold these tutors accountable? Hell no! That’s interfering in the market. So, no money to improve public education, fund NCLB, or help anyone save the hand-full of kids who get vouchers. And what happens to those few who get vouchers? Not much. Private schools already have waiting lists. They can’t take all the kids whose parents can afford the tuition, a cost vouchers don’t nearly cover.
Personal story: this summer I worked for Chicago Public Schools, transportation department. Amongst other things, my job involved contacting parents whose children were chosen in the NCLB lottery. They were allowed to travel to another public school because their school did not meet test scores. There weren’t many of them. A couple hundred out of one million. Hardly what I would call a great victory. In addition, we had to work out how to get them to those schools, which were sometimes clear across the city. One could argue that it’s up to the parents to get their children there, but that’s as good as saying they can’t go. Most of these parents work while others are disabled. This means putting a child on a CTA bus or the L by themselves. So the only option was school busses. It was something of a logistical nightmare, and there wasn’t a lot of help forthcoming from the feds. Just one of several intangible costs that Bush doesn’t consider when he arbitrarily mandates something.
We must also do more to help children when their schools do not measure up. Thanks to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships you approved, more than 2,600 of the poorest children in our nation's capital have found new hope at a faith-based or other nonpublic schools.
Sadly, these schools are disappearing at an alarming rate in many of America's inner cities. So I will convene a White House summit aimed at strengthening these lifelines of learning.
And to open the doors of these schools to more children, I ask you to support a new $300 million program called Pell Grants for Kids. We have seen how Pell Grants help low-income college students realize their full potential.
Together, we've expanded the size and reach of these grants. Now let us apply the same spirit to help liberate poor children trapped in failing public schools.
This is another voucher scheme dressed up in the guise of a program designed to help lower income students attend college.
That being said, if these faith-based and private schools are so great, why are they failing? Moreover, what is the justification for bailing them out? When public schools fail they’re to be abandoned. But when private schools fail we have to throw more money at them? The free-market theory Bush is always espousing says that they should be allowed to fail just like public schools. In short, Bush’s cognitive dissonance mojo is working overtime.
The Undiscovered Country
Many products from these nations now enter America duty-free.
Yet many of our products face steep tariffs in their markets. These agreements will level the playing field. They will give us better access to nearly 100 million customers.
They will support good jobs for the finest workers in the world, those whose products say, "Made in the USA."
In the past twenty years, we’ve gone from being the world leader in importing raw materials and exporting finished goods to the world leader in exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. The nice thing about the former is that finished goods are worth more than raw materials. The result is a trade surplus rather than the trade deficit we are now experiencing. So just what does he think all these other countries are going to buy that they don’t already make?
These agreements also promote America's strategic interests. The first agreement that will come before you is with Colombia, a friend of America that is confronting violence and terror and fighting drug traffickers. If we fail to pass this agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere.
So we must come together, pass this agreement, and show our neighbors in the region that democracy leads to a better life.
Trade brings better jobs and better choices and better prices. Yet, for some Americans, trade can mean losing a job. And the federal government has a responsibility to help.
I ask Congress to reauthorize and reform Trade Adjustment Assistance, so we can help these displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs.
Did anyone else catch that oh-so-subtle dig at Hugo Chavez. “Purveyors of false populism” my left nut. Do us all a favor and clean out your own closet first. This is probably the most disgusting part of the whole mess. Goods and capital are free to cross borders. Meanwhile, workers can do no such thing. Jobs flow out of the country, and cheap, harmful goods flow in with no oversight. Think of how many things have come in from China with little or no oversight. Now expand that to Columbia, Panama, and South Korea.
No workers rights. No environmental regulations. Thanks to twenty years of conservative economics, we can’t make anything here anymore.
As for retraining workers for new jobs, I would damn well like to know what jobs. Menufacturing? That’s gone to Mexico and Asia. Tech support? Sorry. We sent that to India. So when it comes to making a living, it’s down to what? Scientific discovery? High tech? Administration? Selling burgers? So best of luck to you sixty-five year old auto worker whose pension is now worth shit. Time to go back to school and learn to split atoms.
More Matter with Less Art
To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology.
Again with all this empowerment malarkey. Starting to get the picture?
Our security, our prosperity and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil. consumption over the next decade, and you responded. Together, we should take the next steps. Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions.
Let us increase the use of renewable power and emissions- free nuclear power.
There’s a lot of petroleum that goes into building a nuclear power plant. Building materials, gas to power the machines that do the work, as well as all the fossil fuel-generated energy to refine the uranium that will fuel the plant. All things taken into consideration, a nuclear power plant has to run for ten years before it generates its first watt of clean energy. In addition, it is so unsafe that no private insurer will cover them. As such, the federal government has to cover them. So much for the free market. Ready for the cherry on top? They’re great targets for terrorists! The only reason Mohammed Atta, the 20th hijacker and leader in the 9/11 attacks, did not target a nuclear power plant was that he was certain that they must be protected by surface-to-air missiles. This is what Bush wants to invest in. Not solar. Not wind. But hey! When we all glow in the dark, we won’t need light bulbs.
Let us continue investing in advanced battery technology and renewable fuels to power the cars and trucks of the future.
Let us create a new international clean technology fund which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources.
Sounds good, right? Just wait. He’s going to kill it in a second.
And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases.
This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride.
There it is! There is no way China is going to go in for this, and India is questionable. And if everyone won’t sign on to it, well, it’s no good is it? It was the same way with Kyoto. Well, says Bush, since third world countries are not going to spend massive amounts of money on solar banks and such, there’s no point in trying. Oh well. And so, renewable energies die before they even get started.
And remind me exactly why we have to fund China in this? They’ve been generously buying our debt for years. Let them pay. We could use the money.
To Grunt and Sweat Under a Weary Life
And tonight I'm pleased to announce that, in April, we will host this year's North American Summit of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the great city of New Orleans.
So the city that Bush forgot will be cleaned up…or at least the few blocks around the hotel. Everyone will go out to some local restaurant, an historical site, and…probably a house or something. After the photo ops, these locations will be promptly forgotten, along with the rest of the city, leaving only the memory of the visit in the minds of the dignitaries, the hatred of the visit in the hearts of those still living there, and a bloody great big heap of debris dispiursed throughout the city.
Every member in this chamber knows that spending on entitlement programs -- like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid -- is growing faster than we can afford.
We all know the painful choices ahead if American stays on this path: massive tax increases, sudden and drastic cuts in benefits, and crippling deficits.
I've laid out proposals to reform these programs. Now I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and our grandchildren.
When Bush talks about reforming something, read breaking it. First off, we’vve got forty years before Social Security faces cuts. Not bankruptcy. Cuts in benefits. As of right now, Social Security only taxes the first $90,000 dollars you make in a year. So, someone making $100,000 and someone making $5,000,000 both pay the same amount in FICA taxes. Now…for the first time ever, I shal reveal to you the secret to saving Social Security. Lift the FICA cap. Ta-da! Washington? You’re welcome.
The other pressing challenge is immigration. America needs to secure our borders. And, with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing work site enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings.
We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border. And by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents.
Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy.
Border security in 2005: $1.4 million
Building and maintining a border fence for 25 years: $60 billion
Securing a supply of cheap labor: Priceless
There’s nothing you can’t buy.
I will now take it upon myself to solve the illegal immigrant problem. Require documentation to work in the US. If someone hires undocumented workers, put them in jail. Do not fine them. Do not subject them to increased oversight. Lock them up. You won’t have to do it more than once. After the first CEO gets thrown in prison with a big guy named Bubba who wants to dance, the other captains of industry will fall right in line. Might I suggest starting with the soulless cocksucker who runs Wal-Mart? Better yet, all the Waltons.
Witness this Army of Such Mass and Charge
These horrific images serve as a grim reminder. The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists -- evil men who despise freedom, despise America and aim to subject millions to their violent rule.
Since 9/11, we have taken the fight to these terrorists and extremists. We will stay on the offense. We will keep up the pressure, and we will deliver justice to our enemies.
Remind me again…where’s bin Laden just now? Let’s see…was it the Hague? No, that’s not it. Was it San Quentin? No. Six feet under? No again. Hmmm….oh! I remember now. At large! I knew I’d get it if I tried.
We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century. The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear.
Drink the Kool-Aid! Drink it!
And that is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to the people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories.
Place your bets on where we invade next!
Those who had worried that America was preparing to abandon them instead saw tens of thousands of American forces flowing into their country. They saw our forces moving into neighborhoods, clearing out the terrorists and staying behind to ensure the enemy did not return. And they saw our troops, along with provincial reconstruction teams that include Foreign Service officers and other skilled public servants, coming in to ensure that improved security was followed by improvements in daily life.
Sorry, point of clarification…which ones are Blackwater now? The recurring motif in this section is progress. Bits and pieces are picked out and the drum beats out a litany of we-are-making-progress.
And I ask Congress to meet its responsibilities to these brave men and women by fully funding our troops.
Read: more money for Halliburton. G.I. Joe will have to keep waiting for his body armor.
As part of this transition, one Army Brigade Combat team and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home and will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit.
Taken together, this means more than 20,000 of our troops are coming home.
The surge, if I remember correctly, was 30,000. So we’re still not down to pre-surge troop levels.
We're seeing some encouraging signs. The national government is sharing oil revenues with the provinces. The parliament recently passed both a pension law and de-Baathification reform. They're now debating a provincial powers law.
Wait…de-Bathificaiton reform? Bush is bragging that the Iraqis are finally fixing the very thing his team fucked up in the first place.
Over the past seven years, we've increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. And as we increase funding...And as we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans' system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.
I have no idea what he’s talking about when he says funding for veterans has been increased by 95%. The Bush administration has been shorting the VA for years, and every time we go another round on the budget funding has been cut by this administration. I can only guess that he’s counting some peripheral program that has little to do with vets as part of this spending increase.
Of course, if the president really wants to do something for our men and women in uniform, he can fund a new GI Bill. What we have today is nothing like your father’s or grandfather’s GI Bill. Back then you could go to college on the GI Bill, full ride. Room, board, the works. Today, a soldier can expect to get about $39,600 in total under the current bill. One year at the average 4-year private college costs $22,218. What’s more, under the current bill, not all soldiers will see all of that money. Most will see only a part of it, others none. Only 8% of vets ever fully use their GI Bill benefits.
Investing in our soldiers offers a much higher return on investment than any tech stock or mutual fund. Consider the WWII generation. For every $1 invested in the education of our soldiers under the GI Bill, we got $7 back in the form of increased productivity, higher wages that come with higher education, and innovation. Furthermore, education can serve as a means by which soldiers can readjust to civilian life. One in three returning vets will come home with some form of mental illness. The administration’s current solution to the problem is to tell them they had “personality disorders” before they went to war, and as a result, the government doesn’t have to pay for their treatment. This offers great insight into how the Bush administration views our soldiers, specifically, as a line in a ledger book. But these soldiers are more than an expense to be grudgingly incurred. And offering veterans the chance to go to college has, in the past, proved a great transition mechanism helping them to readjust to civilian life.
We have so much to gain by doing right by the men and women who have put their lives on the line for this country, and so much to lose by failing to do so. This country has an estimated 192,000 veterans homeless. You didn’t see this before Reagan. It’s only in the past twenty years that this problem has grown out of control. We have a responsibility to take care of our veterans, and frankly I find Bush’s statements to that effect insincere, unsupported by his record, and pandering of the lowest kind.
Madness Yet
This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do and I will do everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year.
Welcome to the crazy! It’s always something. Hydrogen powered cars, animal-human hybrids, Baby Einstein. Whatever. This time? Peace in the Middle East by the end of the year. It’s cool. Bush talked to them, so we’re essentially there already. Like so many other things, Bush likes to leave his legacy to the last minute. Sadly, no one told him the 30-minutes-or-less guarantee doesn’t apply to anything other than his pizza.
We Do Sugar O’er the Devil Himself
Iran is funding and training militia groups in Iraq, supporting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, and backing Hamas' efforts to undermine peace in the Holy Land.
Tehran is also developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and continues to develop its capability to enrich uranium, which could be used to create a nuclear weapon.
Ballistic weapons, could be building nukes, funding terrorists. Where have I heard this before? Don’t tell me now…
With an Auspicious and Dropping Eye
To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying and what they're planning.
Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that.
Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on February 1st. That means, if you don't act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger.
Ok. So why can’t you just go through the FISA court? They’ve turned down, what, six in fifteen hundred requests? And you can tap anyone at any time. You then have three days to make your case to the FISA court, after the fact. And if listening in on the terrorists is so important, why did the president threaten to veto any legislation that didn’t grant immunity to telecommunications companies that illegally handed over customer data? Speaking of which…
Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted. Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We've had ample time for debate. The time to act is now.
If they didn’t do anything illegal, they don’t need immunity. If they did break the law, they don’t deserve immunity.
Not Tomb Enough and Continent to Hide the Slain
This is a reflection of our national interests. It is the calling of our conscience. America opposes genocide in Sudan.
Welcome to the party dickhead! Now what’re you going to do about it?
We support freedom in countries from Cuba and Zimbabwe to Belarus and Burma.
Apparently, not much. Just one sentence. An applause line. Thank you Mr. President.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
So there it is. There’s a lot I’ve skipped over, the problems of Dole-Shalala, the overblown claims about progress in Iraq, and similar claims about terror attacks averted. It’s all in there somewhere. But I put in a late night on this one, and I’m tired. There more information out there for those that want it. I am one man writing in a tiny font and I’m on page nine and this all takes a shit ton of digging as statistics hide very well. So good night, good luck, and may those among you with clean hearts and good souls sleep until the end of September and wake up to build a better world.