State of Union

                    President Barack Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address on January 24, 2012, from the U.S. Capital.  I did not watch him on television because I cannot stand to see his haughtiness and arrogance; I did however listen to the speech on the radio in spite of the fact that he was lying to us most of the time.  I do not trust the man or his advisors.  It was obvious that he described the Union as he sees it and not how the average U.S. citizen sees it. 

                    The "Morning Bell" from the Heritage Foundation noted:  "… The President essentially redelivered his 2011 State of the Union address - complete with the same empty rhetoric, class warfare cloaked in `fairness,' and proposals for massive tax and spending increases.

                    "The speech was notable for the items he did not mention, including many of the failed spending programs and policies he undertook over the past three years, the foreign policy and defense challenges he has exacerbated, and the economic actions he failed to take that would have created jobs and spurred economic growth."

                    Even though President Obama omitted some important facts, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels did mention some of them in his Republican response to the State of the Union address.  "The percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades.  One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today.

                    "In three short years, an unprecedented explosion of spending, with borrowed money, has added trillions to an already unaffordable national debt.  And yet, the President has put us on a course to make it radically worse in the years ahead.  The federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy; it borrows one of every three dollars it spends."

                    President Obama tends to refer to himself and his accomplishments in his speeches.  The State of the Union address was no exception to this tendency.  The "Chronicle" from the Patriot Post noticed this tendency also:  "To sum up the SOTU:  `I went … I know … M … My … I took office … I'm president … I will work … I intend … I will oppose … I want to speak … I took office … I refused … told me … My message … Send me … I'll sign … I set … I signed … I will go … I will not stand … It's not fair … I'm announcing … I promise you … I also hear … I want … Join me … My administration … I want to cut … I call on … I spoke … let me put … I believe … my administration … I took office … I will sign … I'm directing … my administration … I'm requiring … I will not walk away … I will not walk away … I will not cede … I will … I'm directing … I'm proud … Send me … I will sign … I'm sending … I've approved … my presidency … I've ordered … I guess … I'm confident … I will not back down … I will not back down … I will not go back … I will not go back … I'm asking … fair play … So do I … I told … I'm prepared … fair share … my fair share … I get tax breaks I don't need … I recognize … I bet … I've talked … Send me a bill … I will sign … I ask the Senate … I've asked … I'm a Democrat … I believe … my education reform … I will keep taking …I can do … I have no doubt … I will take … I'm president … I intend … I have proposed … I have already … I'm proposing … brings me … my proudest … I sat … I look at … I'm reminded.'"  The "Chronicle" also included the statement:  "The speech also sounded a lot like last year's."

                    Tea Party Patriots had their own response to the President's 2012 State of the Union address.  Their message to the President is:  "The time is now to pass a budget, stop deficit spending, make real spending cuts and repeal government controlled healthcare!"  Their message to the nation is:  "We continue to grow, and we ask you to join us.  We will take back our country for liberty in 2012!"  

                    Charles Johnson's article about the State of theUnion address  pointed out just one of the inconsistencies in the speech.  "Last night President Obama renewed his calls for a so-called `middle class tax' cut that would all but kill Social Security:

`Right now, our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile.  People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year.  There are plenty of ways to get this done.  So let's agree right here, right now:  No side issues.  No drama.  Pass the payroll tax cut without delay.'

                    "And yet only two paragraphs later, he said this:  `Alas, in calling for a renewed payroll tax holiday, President Obama continues to raid Social Security and imperil the retirement account that many Americans have paid into and continue to depend upon.'

                    "On the one hand, he raids the Social Security trust fun, while on the other he attacks Republicans for threatening Social Security. Republicans ought not let him get away with such transparent chutzpah."

                    The rest of his article is interesting as he explains how all this will affect the Generation X-ers just as they get old enough to retire.

             

                    David Holt wrote the following in his response to the State of the Union address, particularly the comments about energy development:  "Tuesday's State of the Union address is noteworthy because it appears to signal a change in the Administration's approach to US energy development.  If so, this is welcome news.  Truly embracing an `all of the above' energy strategy that allows for the robust development of our oil and natural gas resources in the immediate term would boost economic development, lessen our dependence on hostile oil regimes, and save American consumers from record-high fuel costs.  However, while these words are encouraging, the Administration's actions over the last three years tell a different story." 

                I think that Mark Steyn had the best comment of all.  He started his article this way, "Had I been asked to deliver the State of the Union address, it would not have delayed your dinner plans: 

"`The State of our Union is broke, heading for bankrupt, and total collapse shortly thereafter.  Thank you and goodnight!  You've been a terrific crowd!'

"I gather that Americans prefer something a little more upbeat, so one would not begrudge a speechwriter fluffing it up by holding out at least the possibility of some change of fortune, however, remote.  Instead, President Obama assured us at great length that nothing is going to change, not now, not never.  Indeed the Union's state - its unprecedented world-record brokenness - was not even mentioned…."

Mark's article became better the more I read.  I highly recommend it!

                    There is an old adage that goes something like this:  You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time - but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. 

                    What did you think of the State of the Union address?  Do you believe what the President said - or are you like many other people who believe that he lies?