State of the Union

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NellyLunatic1980
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State of the Union

#1 Post by NellyLunatic1980 » Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:58 am

What's the difference between the SOTU speech and Groundhog Day?

One involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication... and the other involves a groundhog.

Wow! Did anybody watch this snoozefest last night? I'm guessing the political speechwriters were on strike, too, cuz I saw a rerun. I believe that "trite" is the nicest word I can use to describe it.

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PlacentiaSoccerMom
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#2 Post by PlacentiaSoccerMom » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:03 am

I Tivo'd through it. I noticed that Hillary was wearing bright red and they kept showing her.

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#3 Post by earendel » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:10 am

I really wish that the POTUS didn't feel the need to waste air time with a SotU address every year. I'd prefer them to be saved for momentous occasions - the announcement of bold new policy initiatives, for instance, rather than a retrospective on the past or attempts to justify one's legacy. He (or she) could just e-mail Congress, since the only requirement is found in Article II of the Constitution:

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient...
"Elen sila lumenn omentielvo...A star shines on the hour of our meeting."

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#4 Post by PlacentiaSoccerMom » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:12 am

I loved how they were showing him signing autographs afterwards.

George Bush, Rock Star.

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NellyLunatic1980
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#5 Post by NellyLunatic1980 » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:20 am

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:George Bush, Rock Star.
George W. Bush... rock star...

You don't want to know what's in my thought bubble right now.

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#6 Post by ne1410s » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:33 am

Tommy Jefferson (and others maybe) used to just send congress a letter. This was back in the day when congressmen could read.
"When you argue with a fool, there are two fools in the argument."

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#7 Post by NellyLunatic1980 » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:35 am

ne1410s wrote:Tommy Jefferson (and others maybe) used to just send congress a letter. This was back in the day when congressmen could read.
Yeah, but that was also back in the day when presidents followed the law and upheld the Constitution.

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#8 Post by NellyLunatic1980 » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:46 am

My favorite description of the SOTU on the Internets thus far:

"A laundry list of stuff he obviously doesn't mean, never worked meaningfully towards in the last seven years, and won't give a rat's ass about two hours from now when he's back in the White House. A few petty whines about earmarks and judges to remind 'em he's still the deciderer. And a big, last ditch helping of empty talk trying to redeem his own personal clusterf**k, Iraq. Platitude, bluster, platitude, threat, platitude, pander, platitude. What a waste... for this, we numbed the butts of hundreds of our most esteemed citizens."

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#9 Post by Jeemie » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:14 am

earendel wrote:I really wish that the POTUS didn't feel the need to waste air time with a SotU address every year. I'd prefer them to be saved for momentous occasions - the announcement of bold new policy initiatives, for instance, rather than a retrospective on the past or attempts to justify one's legacy. He (or she) could just e-mail Congress, since the only requirement is found in Article II of the Constitution:

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient...
It doesn't even have to be every year, just "from time to time".
1979 City of Champions 2009

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marrymeflyfree
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#10 Post by marrymeflyfree » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:20 am

I didn't bother watching, intuiting that he would have nothing new, novel, groundbreaking, or interesting to say. Same old schtick and rhetoric as always. My guess is that the democratic response was no different.

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Bob Juch
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#11 Post by Bob Juch » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:24 am

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:My favorite description of the SOTU on the Internets thus far:

"A laundry list of stuff he obviously doesn't mean, never worked meaningfully towards in the last seven years, and won't give a rat's ass about two hours from now when he's back in the White House. A few petty whines about earmarks and judges to remind 'em he's still the deciderer. And a big, last ditch helping of empty talk trying to redeem his own personal clusterf**k, Iraq. Platitude, bluster, platitude, threat, platitude, pander, platitude. What a waste... for this, we numbed the butts of hundreds of our most esteemed citizens."
Who says they're our most esteemed citizens?
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Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.

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#12 Post by ghostjmf » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:31 am

Oooooo Nelly! What you said!

As the very funny (they're not always) satirist on NPR hours before the speech said, at the end of their bit, "send your letters directly to the NPR Ombudsmann".

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Jeemie
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#13 Post by Jeemie » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:11 am

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:My favorite description of the SOTU on the Internets thus far:

"A laundry list of stuff he obviously doesn't mean, never worked meaningfully towards in the last seven years, and won't give a rat's ass about two hours from now when he's back in the White House. A few petty whines about earmarks and judges to remind 'em he's still the deciderer. And a big, last ditch helping of empty talk trying to redeem his own personal clusterf**k, Iraq. Platitude, bluster, platitude, threat, platitude, pander, platitude. What a waste... for this, we numbed the butts of hundreds of our most esteemed citizens."
How did they sum up the Democrats' rebuttal?
1979 City of Champions 2009

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#14 Post by PlacentiaSoccerMom » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:55 am

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:My favorite description of the SOTU on the Internets thus far:

"A laundry list of stuff he obviously doesn't mean, never worked meaningfully towards in the last seven years, and won't give a rat's ass about two hours from now when he's back in the White House. A few petty whines about earmarks and judges to remind 'em he's still the deciderer. And a big, last ditch helping of empty talk trying to redeem his own personal clusterf**k, Iraq. Platitude, bluster, platitude, threat, platitude, pander, platitude. What a waste... for this, we numbed the butts of hundreds of our most esteemed citizens."
It's sad to say, but I had forgotten that he was President for a few weeks. I knew that he was president, but a lot of the rage that I feel for him and the decisions he has made have gone away because I know that he is leaving soon.

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