for page 2 b/c i want tknow:

Quote :

"i dont know how to ask this in a non-racist sounding way, but who is that dark skinned guy sitting on the aisle with the slicked back hair that has a weird curl at the bottom/back?"

1/25/2011 10:29:29 PM

Actually, companies do actively seek to establish themselves elsewhere if they get a better (cheaper + more reliable) infrastructure. It's all about money.

but this is just one aspect-- I'm just carrying on with it because you were so focused like that's all he spoke about in the hour

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:33 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2011 10:29:55 PM

Quote :

"^^ You and Obama are in agreement on that point. What is your issue...?"

pretty crazy that you believe that.

1/25/2011 10:31:40 PM

When they write these rebuttal speeches, do they have access to the full speech?

Because this is pretty weak by comparison.

^ did you watch a different speech? Because Obama both said taxes on corporations were too high, and showed a graph reinforcing this point.

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:32 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2011 10:32:08 PM

Quote :

"I like to giggle when I see the fasces behind him"

1/25/2011 10:33:18 PM

Quote :

"Why does Paul Ryan look like he's about to cry?"

Because he was the GOP's 2nd choice. The first person turned it down.


Also, they are about to show the Tea Party's response delivered by Michele Bachmann soon. CNN said they'd carry it live soon.

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:40 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2011 10:37:07 PM

It's going to be impossible for OBama to veto every bill with earmarks. That's not happening...

ear marks are innate to our political structure. This was a dumb promise to make.

1/25/2011 10:40:47 PM

I believe Michele Bachmann has already made the argument several times that she has never supported earmarks, and anything that she has voted for that looks like a earmark should be more properly termed a local investment.

1/25/2011 10:46:15 PM

Great speech by Obama. Very Clintonesque in his appropriation of Republican ideas. Not much for Ryan to rebut, but he put his face out there and stressed fiscal conservatism.

I would imagine that Obama will be a shoo-in for a 2nd term, but in 2016, Ryan will be the GOP nominee to replace him.

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:48 PM. Reason : 2]

1/25/2011 10:46:16 PM

Quote :

"but in 2016, Ryan will be the GOP nominee to replace him."

That might be true, but maybe only because he's slender youthfulness is nearly a requirement to run against Obama.

The other contenders look diseased by comparison.

1/25/2011 10:49:24 PM

Even though Ryan was their second choice, after Christie, I'm sure he had to make a thousand assurances he wouldn't run this time around.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_auditor/2011/01/gov_chris_christie_declines_to.html

I'm still kind of surprised that Bachmann is giving the official tea party response. Juxtaposing herself to the President is like when Palin tries to juxtapose her speeches with the Presidential. By making the comparison unavoidable, it sets the bar for a successful SOTU speech much lower.

1/25/2011 10:53:10 PM

"we need to start making things again..."
- Tea Party response

LOL

That is the very wrong direction to go. They couldn't have gotten it more wrong.

The battle of Iwo Jima was about fighting a Japanese incursion? LOL, that was when WE took THEIR island (they had it coming, but still). HAHA

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:56 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2011 10:53:59 PM

NBC is interviewing Bachmann now live.

1/25/2011 10:57:59 PM

I wonder if they will call out her blatant lie about the stimulus signed and passed under Bush?

nope, guess not

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 10:59 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2011 10:59:17 PM

the news media doesn't typically look back that far.....


so. more rhetoric and no actual substance again?

Quote :

"Because Obama both said taxes on corporations were too high, and showed a graph reinforcing this point."

agree, especially on the low end, we need to drop them a lot. (cut some on the top end but not nearly as much)

meh

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 11:05 PM. Reason : s]

1/25/2011 11:01:06 PM

Quote :

"so. more rhetoric "

This SOTU has extremely less rhetoric than any other SOTU that I can recall off the top of my head. So many less priorities and pieces of desired legislation were mentioned.

1/25/2011 11:14:12 PM

^ i think he was talking about the TP rebuttal?

1/25/2011 11:16:56 PM

obama is such a piece of shit. I love the way he always says "investment".

What he means is horribly appropriated government spending.

Investment is what people do who expect a return on their money.

He just sees it as a way to funnel money to his campaign contributors.

He is truly an evil leader and when he takes such anti-American stances it makes me wonder why his citizenship issues aren't scrutinized more closely.

1/25/2011 11:24:32 PM

Just heard Republican Senator Scott Brown's response to the SOTU was:

Quote :

"It wasn't a ra-ra speech but it was balanced and it hit on a lot of good points. As a Republican I'm looking forward to working with him and finding some common ground to move our country forward."

1/25/2011 11:41:08 PM

It seemed very tailored to deflate their messages, and it's what I was hoping for. There wasn't much better things he could have said in the hour or so that he had.

I also liked that everyone sat mixed together. I hope this tradition sticks around.

1/25/2011 11:48:08 PM

Quote :

"This SOTU has extremely less rhetoric than any other SOTU that I can recall off the top of my head."

There was plenty of rhetoric. Not that it's a bad thing. In all but the basest sense, speeches and rhetoric are largely interchangeable words.

Quote :

"1. (in writing or speech) the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast. 2. the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech. 3. the study of the effective use of language. 4. the ability to use language effectively. 5. the art of prose in general as opposed to verse. 6. the art of making persuasive speeches; oratory. 7. (in classical oratory) the art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience. "

Disregarding for the moment my position on his proposed goals and policies, I think the speech had a good structure and basic concept, but wasn't exceptionally well-written or delivered. There were a number of clever moves in there that I have to admire.

My favorite was saying both that we needed to stop giving taxpayer money to oil companies and that he wanted to make big investments in green energy. This works on two levels: the obvious one, which is that the idea will sound good to the average Joe. Oil companies suck -- my gas costs too much and they dumped all that shit in the gulf, fuck 'em. On another level, it puts the Republicans in a difficult position -- how do you oppose giving money to the wave of the future while supporting giving money to the already prosperous energy of the past? Of course, that only works if the Democrats are positioned to pounce on it, and given their track record, they aren't.

I thought a lot of the bones he threw to Republicans sounded nice but are ultimately hollow. Tort reform won't do jack -- that's just something conservatives rail about to draw attention away from big expensive things to minor bullshit. Tax loopholes are offensive to almost all of us, but if closing them was doable it probably would have already been done. And I'll believe "I'm going to veto anything with earmarks" when I see it. Overall, though, another clever ploy -- it sounds awesome to the average Republican, gives an air of bipartisanship, and costs him nothing.

The overriding theme of "Winning the future" was laudable. Certainly we should be taking such a long view. But if I'm unemployed (and I am), I didn't hear a lot in there to give me hope for a job in the near future.

1/26/2011 12:02:57 AM

Quote :

"I wonder if they will call out her blatant lie about the stimulus bailout signed and passed under Bush?"

fixed

1/26/2011 12:06:56 AM

Bold prediction: nothing will happen. repubs will drag feet on the conservative proposals to deny obama the satisfaction of doing anything right. Because washington is filled with children.



Remember when we were on our way to Mars under GWB?

1/26/2011 12:09:09 AM

just started watching

1/26/2011 12:16:23 AM

Anyone that thinks Obama and his henchmen will actually live up to those statements tonight is laughably naive.

Vetoing earmarks? Good one.

Cutting Spending? Yeah fucking right.

Obama is a big government "we know whats best for people so we should collect their money and redistribute it as I deem fit" idealist. He's an off the charts zealot by former American President standards.

You don't change overnight when you're an elitist and socialist to the core.

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 12:18 AM. Reason : a]

1/26/2011 12:18:19 AM

Quote :

"But if I'm unemployed (and I am)"

I thought you were in grad school?

1/26/2011 1:42:00 AM

The two are not mutually exclusive.

1/26/2011 1:57:57 AM

Apparently Bachmann spent most of the time looking in the wrong direction, either in the wrong direction or with her teleprompter put in the wrong spot. I mean this was no "President Obama & Carter caused swine flu" or "the census is out to get you" moment, but

Quote :

"I believe that we are in the early days of a history-making turn. Please know how important your calls, visits, and letters are to the maintenance of our liberties. Because of you, Congress responded and we are starting to undo the damage that’s been done. We believe in lower taxes, a limited view of government and the exceptionalism of America. And I believe America is the indispensible nation. Just the creation of this nation was a miracle. Who’s to say that we can’t see a miracle again? The perilous battle that was fought in the pacific, at Iwo Jima, was a battle against all odds, and yet the image of the young G.I.s in the incursion against the Japanese immortalizes their victory. These six young men raising the flag came to symbolize all of America coming together to beat back a totalitarian aggressor. Our current debt crisis we face today is different, but we still need all of us to pull together. We can do this. And that’s the hope we hold tonight as Americans. We will push forward to reclaim the greatness of our country and to proclaim the liberty upon which we were founded. And we will do so because we the people will never give up on this great nation. God bless you, and God bless America."

The President said we can succeed today, just like when we beat the Russians in the space race. Bachmann said we can beat the President like we beat our opponents in WW2. I think she loses the metaphor race. Skimming her speech it had about 30 to 40 sentences and said President or Obama in about half or more of them. This is more symbol than substance, but the President gave a future of America speech, whereas Bachmann gave an anti-Obama speech which just didn't rise to the same level.

1/26/2011 2:41:41 AM

Boehner didn't know when to clap.

1/26/2011 2:52:16 AM

i didnt hear Obama ask the lazy people collecting unemployment checks to go back to work. That would help the economy grow and cut govt spending at the same time.

Nope, he said we can't ask those people to go back to work. Those are his voters he has to protect them

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 2:53 AM. Reason : a]

1/26/2011 2:53:27 AM

face is rallydurham BTW, pick up trolling him where you left off.

1/26/2011 2:57:45 AM

^^In order to continue receiving unemployment benefits you have to be actively looking for work; the reason they haven't gone back to work is that they haven't found anyone to hire them yet

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 3:07 AM. Reason : typical right-wing fucktard

1/26/2011 3:06:17 AM

I guess the 2 republican responses had to be written before the SOTU was given, but calling him out for not saying stuff that he did actually say seemed a little dishonest. President Obama said we should cut corporate taxes, and Bachmann responds by saying no, we must cut corporate taxes! And she attacked cap and trade pretty hard for something that wasn't mentioned at all in the speech.

As for Ryan:

Quote :

"Our nation is approaching a tipping point. We are at a moment, where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be considered our past century. This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency. Depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness, and wise consumer choices has never worked - and it won't work now. We need to chart a new course. Speaking candidly, as one citizen to another: We still have time... but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be. Just take a look at what's happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn't act soon enough; and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody. Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner."

Really? You weren't speaking for the GOP? You were just having a chat? Also, most depressing rebuttal speech ever. But he did talk about protecting people near retirement, which I assume he meant for old people to hear as no social security reform.


-CBS (vs 83% approval last year)

1/26/2011 4:34:23 AM

Quote :

"i didnt hear Obama ask the lazy people collecting unemployment checks to go back to work"

By go back to work, do you mean, leave the country where there might be a job available since Republican policies helped ship them overseas? As best I can tell, all those unemployed people can't just wave a magic rally wand and invent a job that will pay in real currency.

1/26/2011 6:37:55 AM

I think this joke has been made before but last night really hit it home for me.


What the hell is up with John Boehner? Did anyone else notice that his skin is darker than Obama's. It strange, especially for a 60-something year old man

1/26/2011 8:10:23 AM

Disappointing that there wasn't any mention of teleportation when discussing transportation... Subpar president.

1/26/2011 9:18:57 AM

Spray tan Terd, he is trying to connect with young people.

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 10:57 AM. Reason : .]

1/26/2011 10:47:56 AM

Quote :

"What the hell is up with John Boehner?"

HE says he doesnt tan either.

I would feel bad if he has jaundice or something.

1/26/2011 10:56:33 AM

^^I don't think its working, I know I don't speak for all young people, but it creeps me out.

^

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/john-boehner-tanning-bed_n_736897.html

Quote :

"Addressing the seemingly constant chatter about the orangey-tan color of his skin, House Minority Leader John Boehner told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that his eye-catching complexion is one hundred percent natural. "I have never been in a tanning bed or used a tanning product," explained the ranking Republican. He said that his mother and four of his twelve siblings also have the sun-kissed glow. "

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 11:08 AM. Reason : like I said, I know the joke is old and used up, but him standing next to Obama really hit it home]

1/26/2011 11:07:11 AM

I thought I had heard all this before, and while looking it up to support my side in a FB debate (yes, I know, how lame), I found this Cheat Sheet for his 2010 SoU address:

Quote :

"The following items were mentioned by the President as potential policy changes, legislative initiatives, or goals coming out of the address: * Fees on the country's largest banks (to follow up on the Trouble Assets Relief Program (TARP)) * Giving $30 billion from recovered TARP money to community banks to extend credit to small businesses * Job creation o Building clean energy facilities o Giving rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient o Slash tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas (giving those breaks to companies that create jobs in the U.S.) * Encourage American innovation (focus on clean energy) o Building nuclear power plants o Exploring off-shore areas for oil and gas o Investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies o Comprehensive energy and climate bill to make clean energy profitable * More exports of goods (goal: double exports in 5 years) o Launch of a National Export Initiative * Invest in the skills and education of our people o Renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act o Revitalize community colleges o Ending taxpayer subsidies to banks for student loans o $10,000 tax credit for families for four years of college o Increase Pell Grants o Only 10% of income to student loans o All student loan debt forgiven after 20 years, or after 10 years if they choose a career in public service o Cost cutting at colleges and universities * Middle Class o Nearly double the child tax credit o Giving access to a retirement account for every worker o Expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg (retirement fund) o Refinancing to make more mortgages affordable * Tackling childhood obesity (headed by the First Lady, Michelle Obama) * Health care reform * Deficit reduction o Starting in 2011, freeze government spending for 3 years on discretionary programs (excluding national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) o Eliminate programs that are unaffordable or don't work o Extend middle-class tax cuts o Bipartisan fiscal commission to provide solutions (created by Executive Order, if necessary) o Restoring pay-as-you-go law * Require lobbyists to disclose every contact they make * Limits on contributions that lobbyists give to candidates * Reform for earmarks, publish them in a single location on the web * Crack down on violations of equal pay laws * Immigration reform * Repealing Don't ask, don't tell policy within the year to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the military "

he did knock that last one out of the park though

but in reality, this was just a slightly modified version of last years (except with a joke about smoked salmon)

1/26/2011 12:38:59 PM

Quote :

"Apparently Bachmann spent most of the time looking in the wrong direction, either in the wrong direction or with her teleprompter put in the wrong spot. I mean this was no "President Obama & Carter caused swine flu" or "the census is out to get you" moment, but "

I noticed that. It was obvious she was reading from a teleprompter, and I figured they couldn't afford a fancy broadcast camera with the prompter in front of the lens.

1/26/2011 1:35:40 PM

Some jerk-off on Hardball right now is defending Michele Bachman. To make matters worse, he gave a shout-out to his alma mater, North Carolina State University.


Phillip Dennis. Ever heard of him?

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 5:27 PM. Reason : ]

1/26/2011 5:23:50 PM

Quote :

"face Veteran 467 Posts user info edit post obama is such a piece of shit. I love the way he always says "investment". What he means is horribly appropriated government spending. Investment is what people do who expect a return on their money. He just sees it as a way to funnel money to his campaign contributors. He is truly an evil leader and when he takes such anti-American stances it makes me wonder why his citizenship issues aren't scrutinized more closely."

Oh look everyone Trig Palin now has interweb access under the username of "face".
Please do us a favor and off yourself. That would be one way the new health plan would benefit everyone

1/26/2011 6:16:20 PM

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2011/01/26/if-a-dollar-falls-in-the-forest/

Quote :

"For years, Pentagon officials have admitted that they really don’t know where their money is going because their financial systems just aren’t good enough to be audited with any hope of retuning results in which one might have a high degree of confidence. "

1/26/2011 7:20:07 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/01/26/obama.youth.outreach/index.html



"Obama to take YouTube questions on State of the Union speech"

Quote :

"President Barack Obama will hold a YouTube interview Thursday to answer questions submitted by viewers. The interview on YouTube at 2:30 p.m. ET is part of a series of events in which top administration officials are talking directly to Americans about administration policies set out in Tuesday's address to a joint session of Congress. Obama spent Wednesday visiting solar and wind energy companies in Wisconsin to tout his push for increased government investment in clean energy as a growth industry of the future, a major theme of his speech the night before. Later Wednesday, senior administration officials David Plouffe and Stephanie Cutter were holding a conference call to discuss a range of issues important to "young Americans," according to a White House web posting on the State of the Union speech. Along with Obama's YouTube interview Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden will answer questions from the public in a Yahoo interview, and four top administration officials will participate in online discussions answering questions submitted via Facebook"

Submitted your SOTU questions yet?

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 11:15 PM. Reason : .]

1/26/2011 11:14:47 PM

Googled him, apparently Phillip Dennis is the founder of the Dallas Tea Party. Wonderful.

[Edited on January 27, 2011 at 8:51 AM. Reason : .]

1/27/2011 8:51:14 AM

I'm pretty sure you're just trolling me, you can't actually believe what you are saying...

Unemployment benefits are certainly one of the causes of high unemployment.

If you reduce unemployment benefits how the fuck do those people plan on eating? Do they just starve and die?

No, they go get a job because as much as they hate working its better than the alternative which is starving.

Do you guys even think about issues or do you just pick the one that sounds like rainbows?

1/27/2011 11:11:54 AM

^ agreed

Here is a good read by JPM http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/jpmorgan.pdf on the impact of extending unemployment

1/27/2011 1:58:30 PM

Quote :

"No, they go get a job because as much as they hate working its better than the alternative which is starving."

You're not looking at the impact of that. There are people who we should pay NOT to work, else we devalue education and force down the workforce.

1/27/2011 2:15:38 PM

I can't even imagine what you just said kris.

I might as well respond "jduewtgthgffgyttgtfg"

1/27/2011 5:43:02 PM