I’m going to try an experiment and liveblog the State of the Union address tonight. Besides, allowing myself to make snide comments in real time will help me get through watching Bush lie lie lie. There’s probably hundreds, if not thousands, of such “live threads” for the SOTU, so if you pick mine, welcome and please leave your own live comments!
[UPDATE: Andy at MassRevNow does a great job liveblogging. One Smoot gets drunk. Under the Golden Dome has a good wrap up. ]
And away we go…
Here’s Cheney, introducing…what, all the Senators…”Senator from Nevada Mr Reid” - boy must he had to say that carefully so as not to choke…
I of course watch this on C-SPAN, which deserves the ratings.
This is the boring part, where every name that gets called, the First Lady, all get applause.
Justices coming in…crap, all that cheering, that would be the Republicans because Alito got in today. Ho hum, the cabinet…etc etc etc. This is what I get for not waiting until like 9:05 or 9:10 before flipping the tube on.
Here’s the speech text at ThinkProgress.org.
Here he comes, our Commander in *cough* I can’t even say it anymore. Gah!
It’ll take about 20 min for this thing to actually start…
Hubby wonders, if his mom and dad are in the audience, and if not, is there a reason? Certainly I’ve seen no footage of the older Bushes. My site is slowish to update, Chris says it must be that the internet traffic in the country is spiking…if you aren’t blogging, then you’re on the internet for other reasons cuz there’s nothing on TV right now. Heh.
I know that Bush has to give the little speech about Corretta King - but damn, did the guy ever really care about the work she and her husband did for civil rights and for the poor?
Here’s the uniter not divider rhetoric he’s been dragging out a lot lately - “we can have civil debates” arg.
Enemies of freedom…blah blah. Leading the world economy - not anymore, we outsource all that. Trade: saying we can’t be protectionist, well duh, but can we stop trading with nasty dictators?
“emocracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. ” - Unless your Hamas in Palestine, then…well not so much.
“At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half – in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran – ” — Iran’s goverment as I recall was somewhat democratically elected…chosen at the time…
“terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear” - and Bush/Rove loves to capitalize…
“If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone.” uuuh….actually, dumbass, really they just want us out of the Middle east. But being stuck on oil as we are, we can’t do that.
“And we are on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory. First, we are helping Iraqis build an inclusive government, so that old resentments will be eased, and the insurgency marginalized. ” How’s that working out for you?
“In less than three years, that nation has gone from dictatorship, to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections. ” To civil war…to torture…to summary executions…
Man, is this speech just boring. That’s one thing I miss about Clinton - he could SPEAK man!
“As we make progress on the ground, and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels – but those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians in Washington, D.C. ” You mean, like when you ignored them at the beginning when they said use 300K troops?
“Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy.” Right, shut up and don’t tell me I made mistakes and that I’m repeating them over and over, no, just shut up.
Oh! Look at the smirk! God I hate that smirk. Just beacuse some lackeys in the audience gave him a lot of applause for a very boring delivery and line…
Ah, there’s the blatant use of a military family of one of the dead in Iraq for political gain…knew that had to be coming.
“Ultimately, the only way to defeat the terrorists is to defeat their dark vision of hatred and fear by offering the hopeful alternative of political freedom and peaceful change. So the United States of America supports democratic reform across the broader Middle East. ” Except, of course, in the case of Hamas…or Iran…or stuff like that.
“Palestinian people have voted in elections – now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace.” Only thing he’s talked about in the last oh - say - 5 years that I agree with. Wonder how this guy’s gonna have the creds to do that??
“Democracies in the Middle East will not look like our own, because they will reflect the traditions of their own citizens. Yet liberty is the future of every nation in the Middle East, because liberty is the right and hope of all humanity.” Liberty to be forced to open their oil markets…etc.
“and the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons. America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats. ” Right, cuz the world listens to you these days. God, the arrogance.
“and the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons. America will continue to rally the world to confront these threats. “[Meant this quote: “And our Nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.”] And your oil.
“Isolationism would not only tie our hands in fighting enemies, it would keep us from helping our friends in desperate need. ” Not wanting to start stupid wars overseas DOES NOT EQUAL ISOLATIONISM…..arg.
“For people everywhere, the United States is a partner for a better life. Short-changing these efforts would increase the suffering and chaos of our world, undercut our long-term security, and dull the conscience of our country. I urge Members of Congress to serve the interests of America by showing the compassion of America. ” Aren’t we last per capita in the first world to give foreign aid? No wonder the world laughs at us and doesn’t believe us.
Reauthorize the PATriOT Act…why? You dont obey it now anyway!
“It is said that prior to the attacks of September 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy. We now know that two of the hijackers in the United States placed telephone calls to al-Qaida operatives overseas. But we did not know about their plans until it was too late. So to prevent another attack – based on authority given to me by the Constitution and by statute – I have authorized a terrorist surveillance program to aggressively pursue the international communications of suspected al-Qaida operatives and affiliates to and from America.”
GAAAAAAAAAAH! LIES! He was never authorized to BREAK THE FOURTH AMENDMENT.
“Previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have – and Federal courts have approved the use of that authority. ” LIE.
“Appropriate Members of Congress have been kept informed.” You know the people who agree with me to begin with.
“This terrorist surveillance program has helped prevent terrorist attacks. ” PROVE IT. If you had evidence you prevented an attack we KNOW you would have flaunted it, you cna’t help it.
“American leaders – from Roosevelt to Truman to Kennedy to Reagan – rejected isolation and retreat, because they knew that America is always more secure when freedom is on the march. ” What’s this theme comparing sanity to isolationism???
“In the last two-and-a-half years, America has created 4.6 million new jobs – more than Japan and the European Union combined. ” Um…population comparison please? Oh and the EU has some not-as-first-world countries in it. What are we, stupid?
“Protectionists want to escape competition, pretending that we can keep our high standard of living while walling off our economy.” Don’t worry about your stagnant wages…it’s just you know, being anti-isolationist and all.
“Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief. I urge the Congress to act responsibly, and make the tax cuts permanent. ” You know, so we rich peopel can get more richer.
“and last year you passed bills that cut this spending. This year my budget will cut it again, and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities.” You know, like student loans…food for the poor…transportation so you can get to your job…but we’ll keep all the military spending.
“I am pleased that Members of Congress are working on earmark reform – because the Federal budget has too many special interest projects. And we can tackle this problem together, if you pass the line-item veto. ” So only his special interests can get through on the budget.
“By 2030, spending for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid alone will be almost 60 percent of the entire Federal budget.” Which we had prepared for except you STOLE THE MONEY for tax cuts - and oh, isn’t military spending like
Drems are standing and cheering at this: “Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security” where Bush didn’t get to finish his line: “yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away ” - fracking HILARIOUS!!!
Bush is PIIIIIIISSED….wow.
Here;s the health care. Dems cheering before HE CAN FINISH again! At: “Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care.”
” We will strengthen Health Savings Accounts – by making sure individuals and small business employees can buy insurance with the same advantages that people working for big businesses now get.” How do HSA’s do that? How stupid.
“And because lawsuits are driving many good doctors out of practice – leaving women in nearly 1,500 American counties without a single OB-GYN – I ask the Congress to pass medical liability reform this year. ” Uhhhh. Last stat I checked said this accounts for less than 2% of the cost rises in health care…
“Since 2001, we have spent nearly 10 billion dollars to develop cleaner, cheaper, more reliable alternative energy sources – and we are on the threshold of incredible advances. So tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative – a 22-percent increase in clean-energy research at the Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, safe nuclear energy.” Where to start?? First, 10B is paltry compared to other budgets. Second, 22% of crap is still crap. Coal…another finite resource that sends up carbon dioxide. And NUCLEAR? We cant even find a place to put our old radiated waste.
“We will also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips, stalks, or switch grass.” From what I understand, just a boon to the corn farmers - not an efficient energy system…takes more energy to create the ethanol than it produces if I recall…
“I propose to double the Federal commitment to the most critical basic research programs in the physical sciences over the next ten years. This funding will support the work of America’s most creative minds as they explore promising areas such as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources. ” But not the stem cell research that might be able to replace my faulty kidney someday!
” Welfare cases have dropped by more than half over the past decade. ” Yeah because you kick them off with nowhere to go…
“Wise policies such as welfare reform, drug education, and support for abstinence and adoption have made a difference in the character of our country. And everyone here tonight, Democrat and Republican, has a right to be proud of this record. ” Why not? WE teach our kids about condoms, stupid.
“Yet many Americans, especially parents, still have deep concerns about the direction of our culture, and the health of our most basic institutions. They are concerned about unethical conduct by public officials, and discouraged by activist courts that try to redefine marriage. And they worry about children in our society who need direction and love … and about fellow citizens still displaced by natural disaster … and about suffering caused by treatable disease.” He dares mention disaster, corruption, or activist courts???
“And I will continue to nominate men and women who understand that judges must be servants of the law, and not legislate from the bench. ” Like when they stopped a legit recount in FL in 2000 and placed me in office.
“A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life.” You know, except for when I tell my agencies to ignore science and censor themselves.
“A hopeful society expects elected officials to uphold the public trust. ” *snort*
“far the Federal government has committed 85 billion dollars to the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. We are removing debris, repairing highways, and building stronger levees.” Like you should have done back before the hurricane.
“In New Orleans and in other places, many of our fellow citizens have felt excluded from the promise of our country. The answer is not only temporary relief, but schools that teach every child … and job skills that bring upward mobility … and more opportunities to own a home and start a business. ” You know something? You need MONEY to do that…money you propose to CUT. Fuzzy math.
“Fellow citizens, we have been called to leadership in a period of consequence. ” There’s that period of consequence again - do we have to sit in the corner now?
ThinkProgress has much better live blogging than I - they actually respond real time with the facts that dispute this speech. Like:
Terrorist Attacks Have Intensified
Bush’s ‘Strategy’ For Iraq Failing On All Three Fronts
Bush Approach to Iran Has Weakened U.S. Position
Bush Pushes Two Hijacker Myth
Bush Falsely Claims That Previous Administration Did The Same Thing
Bush Did Not Inform Appropriate Members of Congress
Bush Job Growth Lowest Since WWII
Making Bush’s Tax Cuts Permanent Would Be Costly
Bush Has Overseen Massive Deficits
Health Savings Accounts Fail To Provide Savings Or Address Costs
Bush Wanted Renewable Energy Cuts
Bush Has Cut Science Education Funding
This is interesting: Media Reported Bush Would Focus Speech On Health Care; Only 1 Paragraph Devoted To It
The Bush Administration Has Betrayed The Public Trust
Poverty Has Worsened Under Bush
Here’s VA governor, Tim Kaine (*coughpresidentialcandidatecough*) for the Dems’ response.
Starts with religion…of course. This looks rather stagnant IMHO, though I think better than Bush.
“Want to offer good news tonight, there is a better way - in VA we’re moving ahead, concentrating on service…finding common sense solutions to common problems…”
“You have a right to expect the government to deliver results…”
Talking about making tax cuts perm…despite deficits. “No parent makes their child pay its mortgage bill - why should government pass debt on to our children?”
“The admin’s NCLB wreaking havoc on schools…despite Dem insistance on full funding, have ignored…cutting billions of dollars from student loans…”
“look what’s happening to health care…skyrocketing costs…” “Many seniors fallen victim to new law, paying more for drugs” - like my grandma.
“President called for committement to win war on terror - every american embraces those goals…our committment compells us to ask this question: will the presidents policies win this war?” mentions body armor, lies to go to Iraq. “Admin wants to further reduce soldier’s benefits and pay.”
Energy: using more, paying more, more dependent on middle east… Dems on state and national levels calling for more investments in energy research…
Reform…Dems are leading that change…replace cronyism with service and results…our greatest need is for America to heal partisan wounds and unite…
We ask all Americans to join us in effort…together America can do better.
OK, this guy was pretty good - articulate at least…
January 31st, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Found your link to the text useful, I’ve linked to you. Thanks!
January 31st, 2006 at 9:37 pm
On the Council tonight, I’d like to thank Rodney Elliot for bringing up the REAL story about the new bridge. Rodney has been great this new year.
Folks here called the manager a liar for saying that CBA has been involved in the project, and that the Manager was stuffing this bridge alignment down everyones throat on his own will, as if he pulled it out of the sky.
Councilor Elliot reported that the state officials from Mass Highway are the ones who selected the option, and that they met with CBA a YEAR AGO about the alignment. Seems that the CBA has known about this process all along, and and knew who determined the option (state), and what the best option was. So people get all worked up and claim no public input and that they had no idea what was going on, when in fact they were in from Day 1.
Gotta love politics in Lowell, everyone joins in.
January 31st, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Good stuff Lynne. I tried to liveblog as well, I figured that would force me to watch the speech.
January 31st, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Really? That’s not what I remember hearing that Mass Highway guys said to CBA. Someone is either lying or having a faulty memory.
Mass highway, as I understood it, told the CBA that they do whatever the CITY decides. it’s not their job to pick the options. The CBA people can better speak to what they were told but that’s what I remember.
The CBA heard about this at the same time as the REST of the city - after the Sun article. They then started to take actions to find out more and talk to the city councilors - a lot of whom were just as startled as everyone else.
Elliot got it wrong, sorry. CBA tried to get traction on this for AGES before it came before city council. But I will let them defend themselves.
January 31st, 2006 at 10:54 pm
So now Elliott, who always rags on the manager, is lying too?
Bottom line is MassHighway met with them a YEAR ago. To call this some sort of surprise is, to say the least, misleading.
January 31st, 2006 at 11:04 pm
*sighs* Wow, first, I said someone is lying or has a faulty memory.
Second, like DUH, Mike, yes they knew about it when the Sun posted their article. yes that was a year ago. They’ve used the time in the interim to try and talk to the city councilors and try to get educated. They had trouble getting anywhere! They had a meeting, then tried to educate or be educated by the council. They had neighborhood meetings. No one was saying it was a suprise “just last month.” Come on.
I don’t know what your issue is with the CBA, but I suggest you talk to them sometime. EVERY time they do something or say something you rag on them. I have no idea what your beef is but I wish you’d tell us about it. Is there anything the CBA ever does that you agree with?
January 31st, 2006 at 11:57 pm
So you can call the CM a liar, but when the CBA is called to the carpet it’s because I have an “issue” or a “beef”? And everytime I post anything that questions CBA you jump out of your skin to defend them. So do you ever think they do anything WRONG?
My impression from your postings was that the City Manager was shoving this proposal down the cities throat, without talking to the community about it. Maybe my impression of your writings was incorrect, but from Mr. Elliots remarks tonight after the meeting with MassHighway the situation didn’t go down in that manner.
No need to be so defensive, I’m merely posting what was said tonight and trying to match it up with your previous comments. If you want to dish out “liar” comments, you have to be able to take them too.
February 1st, 2006 at 12:57 am
I posted this earlier, but thought it was worth mentioning again:
CM Cox, representatives from the Lowell National Historical Park, UMass Lowell, and the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments met back in December 2003 to discuss the options.
Later that month, the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments voted unanimously to request that the Secretary of Transportation consider the plan for a new bridge running from University Ave to Merrimack Street.
All of these details were written about in the Sun back in December, 2003.
As I see it, the CM is not soley responsible for the choice of the bridge design.
February 1st, 2006 at 9:56 am
Mike’s first post asserts two claims from Councilor Elliot:
“Councilor Elliot reported that the state officials from Mass Highway are the ones who selected the option, and that they met with CBA a YEAR AGO about the alignment.”
He then states:
“Seems that the CBA has known about this process all along, and knew who determined the option (state), and what the best option was.”
I’m not sure if the second statement is a conclusion drawn from the first or if it is additional information from Elliot.
Either way… it seems there is agreement that the Mass Highway Department (MHD) met with CBA a year ago.
What seems to be in dispute is what information was exchanged at that meeting. Did MHD disclose to CBA that an alignment had been chosen or that different options were still being considered? If the latter, was it disclosed whom or what process would decide the ultimate alignment? Did MHD disclose that they themselves were the ones who would decide (or have decided on) an alignment? Did they select it for the city without the city being able to choose or was “their choice” merely a recommendation? If the city still had a say in what was selected, why would the CBA know “who determined the option (state)”.
Having not seen the meeting last night and thus not having heard exactly what Elliot said, nor having been at the MHD/CBA meeting of a year ago, all I can do is speculate.
The question is, is the CBA’s actions over the last year consistent with a situation where they were told that a decision had been made and that the meeting was not about dialogue but merely to inform them that a decision had been made? If not, it seems likely that they were under the impression that there was still a process they had a say in to arrive at a decision. Such an impression explains the surprise they exhibited when a previous council meeting disclosed that money was to be spent toward moving forward on a specific alignment having been already chosen.
If this is the case then the question is, have they been strung along or was there real dialogue where there was miscommunication (and if so, who’s miscommunication).
February 1st, 2006 at 10:36 am
Cox wanted to spen $50K without a public hearing on the issue at all. That’s not shoving this down the city’s throat? Once that money was spent, was there going to be a real debate about the best options or was it going to be stiffled?
The CM may not be the only decision maker, but he is supposed to be responsible for bringing to the Council so it can be debated. I mean, in cases where this much money is spent, it’s OK for the CM to just sorta assume it’s OK with the Council and the public???
As to your comment about my defending the CBA, look, I was there for some of the meetings and discussions, so what, I’m not supposed to talk about what I hear and see happening?
As far as I remember, the people at the meeting were told by the Mass Highway folks that they quote “will do whatever the city wants them to do.”
February 1st, 2006 at 10:37 am
It would appear that communication broke down on all fronts.
I was pleased to hear Counc. Elliot speak to the differant options and the potential ramifications of each option.
The Acre is not the only part of the city that will be effected by this bridge reconstruction. All bridges over the river will be effected.
My only hope that this bridge is done CORRECTLY (remember the School St. Bridge?) and done in a very timely manner (not 5-7 years).
At this point, I don’t see it as productive to bicker back and forth as to who is at fault.
The options have been presented in public forum, the process is moving forward.
Meanwhile, this issue has only served to EMPHASIZE to the council and the City Manager, the importance of incorporating the entire community
into the decision making process.
February 1st, 2006 at 10:57 am
Oh and UML, the Parks people, and the MA Highway peopel getting together to make a decision is NOT public input.
February 1st, 2006 at 12:20 pm
K-R-S, You are totally right. If this process had been open from the beginning, and done correctly, we would have had all the information available to us and could have made a decision based on the facts.
Both Elliott and Millinazo were highly critical of the City Manager’s tactics when he initially brought this motion to the Council floor. They both are members of this Sub-Committee; they listen to Mass Highway and anyone else who wanted to speak and they both now agree that this is the best course of action.
February 1st, 2006 at 1:52 pm
The important thing is that the correct option has been selected, thus eliminating that stupid traffic causing elbow from Merrimack to the Bridge.
The mission church building, if those think its historic, can be moved.
The church itself should partner with CBA for the church on Merrimack Street.
Mimi is right on here, everyone is on board now after the sub comittee meeting. Glad it took place and all the facts got out.
February 1st, 2006 at 3:07 pm
Mimi,
Which is exactly how the process SHOULD play out. This is a major construction undertaking which will ultimately effect a great deal of folks.
I can understand where Jim & Rodney were coming from, the CM’s tactics are not always (APPEARANCE WISE) above board.
February 1st, 2006 at 5:42 pm
I dunno…is it the best option? Is it really?
I don’t want to find out the hard way that it isn’t good - for traffic, for the neighborhood. Where’s the studies that we as citizens could take a look at? Where’s the proof this won’t totally hose traffic patterns? Common sense is telling me it will be a mess and really won’t solve problems, but create more.
No one saw them actually deliberate these issues before making that decision. If no one cited anything other than “what Mass Highway said” for their reasons for deciding the way they did…well. As stated in the new post on this subject, Mass Highway claimed that they do whatever the city wants. Well, if Cox says the city wants this option, they could just be playing along. Just saying. And I’m not assuming that BTW, but I’m wondering about it.
February 1st, 2006 at 5:44 pm
Oh, and expect this project to take an extra 3-4 years from the first turn of the dirt, I’m guessing. Since it won’t be urgent to finish the project because the old bridge will stay up, they’ll drag their feet on it. Just my prediction.
(Would love to be proven wrong.)
But by and large the residents polled did not agree with this idea at all. And they were totally ignored.