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Before we start, may I please comment on how ridiculous the whole pairing system is for everyone's seats? How am I supposed to laugh at the seesaw effect of standing ovations if I can't tell who's standing? Oh my word, and PLEASE tell me they did NOT just laugh at Djibouti on CNN. I'm gonna need for you to act more grown than my kids. You're on television. As an expert.
Oh, Hillary. You're holding everyone up. Keep moving.
OMG! This woman totally just backed up CNN calling this whole thing a "prom" -- she just shook Obama's hand and said of her male counterpart (probably of the opposite party), "This is my date for the evening..."
Obama clearly has very different handshakes. Notice how he occasionally does almost a frat-house-esque bro-slap for some men (yes, men only), often before giving them a clap on the back. And Candy Crowley just questioned why Wolf asked about Obama's tie choice! Does she not know that it's one of the most interesting parts of every highly televised political appearance?! Hello, lady!
Drinking game: take a sip of a drink of your choice every time he says a word or phrase you choose. I suggest something like "North Korea" if you're a lightweight, and "jobs" if you're not planning on going to work tomorrow. My buzzword's got me at three sips. Ohp, make that four.
"comes not from whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow" I love you for this. Aaand, here comes the plug for bipartisanship because "the people who sent us here sent us to work together" -- that one happened last year, too, almost word-for-word.
"Americans' paychecks are a little bigger today." Clearly he hasn't talked to any teachers in my neck of the woods. Ooh, and here's the China and India showcase! Cha-CHING! My kids owe me 500 bucks 'cause he just mentioned math and science education! If we need to "out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world," then you need to make it worth my while to be a teacher. Do you know the value of my brain?
He's calling for investment in biomedical research, information technology, and clean energy technology. I'm okay with that. "...eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies." "By 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources." That's a tall order.
Yes! Human interest story #1, here we come! It's about roofers, the Allen brothers, who have "reinvented" themselves and changed to working with solar panels.
Oh man, now I'm wishing that the mention of bipartisanship were my drinking game.
About a quarter of our students aren't finishing high school? Seriously?! But thank you for saying that science fair winners are just as awesome as Super Bowl winners. Not that anyone believes you, but still. I like the effort. And you are doing Race to the Top, making the competition not about test scores or graduation rates, but innovative education reform. It's not being done by the feds but "by republican and democrat governors throughout the country." Clearly he doesn't know my governor. She hates education and educators and paid laborers. And I bet she hates cute little children and puppies.
Human interest story #2, about Ms. Waters and a successful high school. She's happy.
"In South Korea, teachers are considered nation-builders. Here in America it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect." New teachers in science, technology, engineering and math. Thanks for giving a big thumbs-down to literacy. And if you want to tell youths that "your country needs you" as teachers, then PAY US FAIRLY FOR OUR WORK.
Human interest story #3, about Kathy at Forsythe Tech in North Carolina. She wants to "inspire her children to pursue their dreams, too." Aww. That's sweet that she is reaching her dreams now that her factory fired her and closed down. Here's to forcible education!
What are you about to say about illegal immigrant children and students with education visas in our schools...because how would you like to handle this, sir? You say you want to "address the millions of undocumented workers who are living in the shadows," but I don't know how y'all are gonna do it. Now THAT'S a partisan issue. I like that you want to keep all the smart immigrants here, though. Sneaky sneaky.
Doubling infrastructure construction. I like it. Where's the money coming from? Oh, private investment! So...what's the return like when the investment is a road?
Ugh, Nancy Pelosi. Just go ahead and admit that your daddy is Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas.
Okay so...he's talking about trade right now [can you tell I care about this a little less?] and he's talking about the new trade agreement with South Korea, how it will create 70,000 new US jobs. He said in his campaign that he would only work out trade agreements with countries that create jobs for Americans.
I can't tell who's standing! Is it you, GOP? What about you, little donkeys? I need to know! Oh there you are, Dems! Thanks, sir, for throwing in that line about the healthcare bill so I can see where everybody is. And there we have one...two more human interest stories. Check!
Yes! Time to tackle government spending again! If you haven't heard yet, he is freezing annual domestic spending (about 12% of the budget) for five years. That's scary even though the budget is seriously inflated compared to past years. Federal employee salaries already are frozen for the next two years. Not so much clapping during this stretch.
"If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it! I will veto it!" <3 I despise earmarks.
Finally. I never thought we were going to get to the military. It sounded like closing remarks there for a minute. Defend America while keeping "...the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family." THANK YOU!! And wow...we're beginning to bring our troops home from Afghanistan in July, and we should finish getting our folks out of Iraq this year. Are you sure you can keep that promise?
Do the VP and Speaker's stories count as human interest stories? Oh no need, here's another: Brandon Fisher. Human interest story #1938447654. The guy who made Plan B for the Chilean miners' rescue...which just happened to be one of my favorite news stories of all time.
No matter what you can and can't do, your speeches always move me, sir. But please be informed that I get teary at the close of almost every State of the Union that I can remember watching. Good show, good show.
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Wow, one of the commenters just said how this speech just put him smack dab in the middle of the perspectives on these issues, and now I realize exactly why. He has indeed been sliding over toward the right for a little while now...a "rebranding" as it's been called. I agree with them that he began strong and ended weak, which you may have gathered by my lack of commentary toward the end. Not as much to comment on. However, it makes me glad to see that he has a strong commitment to education reform from the bottom up, and that he is being rational and bipartisan (supposedly) instead of stubborn and party-lining.
I can't believe I have to wait another year for the next one. And I am so, so sorry you had to trudge through all that mess to get down here to the bottom. Tell me you did and I'll mail you a Hershey's Hug (no kisses -- I don't know you well enough yet).
Clearly it's time for bed.
1 comment:
I read it. which is good because I'm really really sick and could only watch like maybe the first half before I had to lie down. I could still hear bits and pieces of it from my bedroom cause Sarah & her BF were watching it in the living room, but her BF kept talking louder than the TV and then they chanted "CRY! CRY!" at the speaker so I really couldn't hear anything at that point.
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