State of the Union 2011 – Open Thread…

16 Comments on “State of the Union 2011 – Open Thread…”

1. Who’s that guy on the right sitting behind Obama??

2. “End oil subsidies”?!! What?! Someone must have hacked the teleprompter! ASSAANGE!!!

3. Boehner seems *exceedingly* uncomfortable up there…

4. Our friend Jeanne Devon, aka AKMuckraker Tweets: “Turns out Sen Murkowski’s son needs surgery. She left SOTU. Aides say appendectomy. Best wishes”

5. Greenest SOTU ever!

6. Of course, as we noted in today’s Green News Report, it wouldn’t be the first time a SOTU featured “Green”ery.

   Let’s hope it’s not as hollow as it has been in the past!

7. Herman cain for president

8. A real reorganization of the entire government is a massive undertaking, massive, and an extraordinary way to change the way the government does its job. That announcement was a real surprise to me.

9. Via MaddowBlog:

   Pursuant to the New York Times’ look at word use in State of the Union addresses over time, here’s tonight’s address (as prepared, which may be a little different than what he delivered) as a word cloud:

   

10. I’m suddenly recalling the State of the Union speech in 2006 when we were covering the breaking news of invited guest Cindy Sheehan being arrested and removed from the chamber because she was wearing an anti-Iraq War t-shirt that read: “2,245 Dead – How Many More?”

    Sadly, we now know. 2,190 U.S. troops killed in Iraq since Sheehan was arrested that night for wearing her t-shirt.

    

11. Was so busy keeping up with Twitter commentary at same time as speech, that I now have to go back and actually read the speech later.

    But will be hosting tomorrow (Wed) on http://KPFK.org at 3p PT and likely discussing the SOTU. So…please feel free to post here what you thought was GOOD and what you thought was NOT GOOD about tonight’s speech below! Perhaps you’ll make the show!

12. why is it that when ever balancing the budget is brought up for discussion the same old issues are mentioned (social security and medicare) we never hear anything about cutting aid to foreign nations many of whom harbor factions and organizations that are anti-American and some of whom are actively backing terror organizations.

13. Funny video from Roll Call on the “bipartisan seating” arrangement tonight:

14. Jim @ 12 asked:

    why is it that when ever balancing the budget is brought up for discussion the same old issues are mentioned (social security and medicare) we never hear anything about cutting aid to foreign nations many of whom harbor factions and organizations that are anti-American and some of whom are actively backing terror organizations.

    Perhaps because foreign aid is absolutely minuscule compared to the rest of the big ticket items. The better question is why is social security and medicare always brought up, but the huge elephant in the living room, DEFENSE SPENDING almost never is?!

15. The SOTU was troubling as much for what the President didn’t say as for what he did, and, as usual, there is a fundamental disconnect between the President’s lofty rhetoric and a harsh reality.

    The President said:

    We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.

    Yes, if one measures a successful economy solely by corporate profits, then all is well. What is good for Wall Street is good for the country, no?

    What you did not hear was anything about ending indefinite detention, restoring the rule of law, bringing to a close the costly and endless, global “war on terror,” a reigning in of the military-industrial complex, an election system that utilizes 100% unverifiable e-voting systems, the shrinking range of public discourse brought on by media consolidation, the fact that high corporate profits are tied to outsourcing and the ability to exploit foreign $2/day labor or issues of inequality.

    You did not hear anything about the core problems facing the vast majority of Americans, as outlined in my recent piece, ‘Nowhere To Go’?: Nader’s Short-Sighted Tactics Reinforce ‘Lesser Evil’ Paradigm.

    Every “compromise” by the Democratic Leadership, from NAFTA to the extension of the Bush tax cuts, has served to undercut the very foundation of democracy. Each “compromise” has enhanced a gaping inequality in wealth in which wage and salary workers who make up 80% of the nation’s population possess just 15% of its wealth…

    This year, as large numbers of Americans are experiencing economic hardships not seen since the Great Depression — 46.3 million Americans live in poverty; 50.9 million have no health insurance; one in six Americans go hungry — the 400 wealthiest Americans experienced an 8% net worth increase, “to $1.37 trillion” as corporations registered their highest profits ever!

    The President’s SOTU merely confirmed what we already knew. The man is a gifted orator. But the gap between “brand Obama” and the harsh reality of his corporate-driven policy reality is perhaps greater than ever.

    Sorry, Mr. President, but from the vantage point of the millions of Americans who do not benefit from that “roaring” stock market, the state of our union sucks!

16. What is wrong with those in power when they let the corporations and Wall Street run this country…Is greed really that bad in Washington?

    If the recent FCC decision wasn’t a eye opener nothing is.

    I honestly don’t know what it’s going to take to turn this country around because the current setup in Washington by both parties isn’t working.

    Asking many of the same people to fix the problems they are responsible for is like having the foxes guard the hen house.

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