State of the Union.....

Okay, so I know that I am late posting this, but I was so fired up last night, I knew better than to post then.

So, here is my attempt to be calm.....

1. First, I would like to commend the President on his moment of rememberance for Mrs. Coretta Scott King. It was the honorable thing to do. It's nice to know that he would take the time to remember someone who is something that he will never be. (A strong AND compassionate visionary.)
2. He wants to reform health care. Okay, so I give him credit. I just hope he doesn't screw it up and make it more complicated like he has Medicare.
3. One main deficit of the speech - Very little mention of Katrina and no mention of the mining accidents AT ALL. This has been in the national news and has received attention by all levels of government....well, except our President.
4. We're oil addicts. Okay, so while it may be true, our nation has been that way for a long time. I was just shocked that he worded it that way, considering his VP's company.
5. His attempt to "recover" from the overwhelming response by the democrats in the audience after he stated that his social security bill didn't pass. He stuttered so much in his attempt to regain the attention of the room that no one could understand what he said.
6. I'm not going to even touch the "War on Terror" discussions. Don't even want to go there. I do understand that we can't pull out now this far in the game. I just feel he's giving us the run around.
7. No Child Left Behind - This program has not worked, is not working, and will never work. We need programs that help children achieve in school, not discourage them. (School test scores are combined and there are no considerations made to children with learning disabilties or those in special classes and therefore affects the entire school's test average.)
8. He spoke about "working towards" a balanced budget. So, he's going to try to achieve something that he was given when he took office???? So, he's basically he's telling me he's going to try to fix what he screwed up.
9. Bush wants to stop the divide between party lines. As one commentor said, 'It would be difficult for Bush to do so. You need respect from both parties to achieve this and Bush does not have support or respect from both parties.'
10. I will be brief on this topic because you all know how I feel. He spoke about "morals" and "values". I don't agree with him. He states that he believes in family values. Are nontraditional and blended families not families? I believe that his "value" is lacking compassion and tolerance.
11. He spoke for a few seconds about federal funding to nonprofit organizations to assist in community needs, focusing on AIDS support. I was pleased with this comment and shocked that he would even utter the letters A-I-D-S. I was so proud that for about 30 seconds, he seemed to show some concern and compassion for a problem that has been plaguing the world for years.

Okay, so there is my synopsis. I've condensed it down. I could have went on for days. I was so fired up last night, fire was coming out of my ears.

Then, this morning, on the local morning radio program, they were discussing Cindy Sheehan's arrest. I tried like hell to get through to the show this morning. I know that they had a ton of callers with varying opinions. For those of you who don't know, Cindy Sheehan, mother of fallen solider, wore a shirt to the Union Address last night with "2,245 Dead. How many more?" on it. She was escorted out of the building. Another woman wearing a tshirt with "support the troops" on it, was escorted out of the building. There are two differences between these two women. One woman is the wife of a republican senator and supports Bush. The other is not. Now, you tell me which one was arrested and charged with unlawful conduct?

I agree, in a way, with one of the radio show hosts. There is a time and a place for everything. There is tact and class. But, she wasn't holding a sign, obstructing someone's view. She wasn't "overly distracting". She was just there to hear what the President had to say and maybe by wearing the shirt, she was hoping that it would remind him of all the fallen soldiers....and their families.

I guess Hillary's obvious knod of disgust and disagreement should be considered "unlawful" too. Maybe the extended cheering and clapping of the democrats after Bush's statement about his SS bill rejection last night could be considered "unlawful conduct". After all, it did catch the President off guard....it was something he wouldn't agree with or approve of. AND it did reflect badly on the President. So, are all of those things "unlawful acts"? I guess most of the acts that the President does himself would be considered "unlawful acts" then. Afterall, he does a darn good job at making himself look bad.