Some Highlights and Translations from the State of the Union 2008
"These issues call for vigorous debate, and I think it's fair to say we've answered the call.
(LAUGHTER)"
- I think that sums that up.
"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."
- I'm okay with raising taxes if I know where that money is going. But I need to know where that money is going and I need to know other people are paying the same taxes I am. One of the largest legacies of the Bush presidency will be the rush to war that they wouldn't raise taxes to fund, leaving the next generation with a huge national debt largely in the hands of China.
"American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government."
- ...
" With all these steps, we will ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office, not in the halls of Congress."
- Except decisions about abortion. And birth control. And euthanasia.
" 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."
- So the best way to support kids in failing public schools is to take money from somewhere else (remember, no new taxes) and give it to their parents so they can send them to a private school. Why do we even have public schools? Maybe we should actually fund our public schools so they can afford to offer competitive salaries and benefits to good teachers.
"These [fair trade] 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."
(APPLAUSE)
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."
- So the best thing we have to offer developing democracies is American made crap? What do we even make in America anymore? Which leads to the next item...
"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.
(APPLAUSE)
I ask Congress to reauthorize and reform Trade Adjustment Assistance, so we can help these displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs."
- Trade Adjustment Assistance is a fancy way of saying "we can pay a Vietnamese teen 50 cents per day to do your job, let's teach you to build hous... hmmm, shit."
The rest is up to you.
Taken from CNN's transcript at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/28/sotu.transcript/
(LAUGHTER)"
- I think that sums that up.
"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."
- I'm okay with raising taxes if I know where that money is going. But I need to know where that money is going and I need to know other people are paying the same taxes I am. One of the largest legacies of the Bush presidency will be the rush to war that they wouldn't raise taxes to fund, leaving the next generation with a huge national debt largely in the hands of China.
"American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government."
- ...
" With all these steps, we will ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office, not in the halls of Congress."
- Except decisions about abortion. And birth control. And euthanasia.
" 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."
- So the best way to support kids in failing public schools is to take money from somewhere else (remember, no new taxes) and give it to their parents so they can send them to a private school. Why do we even have public schools? Maybe we should actually fund our public schools so they can afford to offer competitive salaries and benefits to good teachers.
"These [fair trade] 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."
(APPLAUSE)
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."
- So the best thing we have to offer developing democracies is American made crap? What do we even make in America anymore? Which leads to the next item...
"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.
(APPLAUSE)
I ask Congress to reauthorize and reform Trade Adjustment Assistance, so we can help these displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs."
- Trade Adjustment Assistance is a fancy way of saying "we can pay a Vietnamese teen 50 cents per day to do your job, let's teach you to build hous... hmmm, shit."
The rest is up to you.
Taken from CNN's transcript at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/28/sotu.transcript/