State Of The Union

[Guest delta]

I thought the state of the union address from the President was awesome! I have a question though for those of you in uniform. I noticed that the five or six men dressed in uniform didn't applaud as much as everyone else did (not that I think that's bad). However, they did applaud on a few topics that involved military matters etc. I did think that all the applauding and standing up and down did get a little tiresome, but hey the President was doing a great job. My question is, is when do the men in uniform know when to applaud/stand and when not to? They did everything as a whole body, whether it was applauding or keeping silent, hands folded in their laps. Anyway, just something I noted as a non-prior. God bless this great nation we live in and we should all be thankful for the PRIVELEGE it is to be an American. I can't wait to don the uniform of the United States Air Force!

[Baseops.Net]

They were the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Chairman on the left, others to his left - as viewed at home).

I would assume that as they are 'non-partisan' (we have sworn defend the constitution against our enemies) that they are not to stand unless it is a non-political issue OR regarding the military / national defense, etc.

[Guest waxgoblin]

i kinda stopped watching state of the unions when i noticed they were very slow (5 seconds of talking followed by 10 seconds of clapping, over and over. cant i get the 10 minute long transcript?) and then promises promises blah blah.

[Champ Kind]

Originally posted by waxgoblin:

i kinda stopped watching state of the unions when i noticed they were very slow (5 seconds of talking followed by 10 seconds of clapping, over and over. cant i get the 10 minute long transcript?) and then promises promises blah blah.

Gee....Thanks for your well-thought-out take on the State of the Union. I can now sleep tonight.

[sARCASM: OFF]

[Guest waxgoblin]

thanks for your well thought out response. you probably religiously watch the state of the union address like it means something.

[Champ Kind]

My response wasn't actually all that well-thought-out... It was kind of off the hip.

Anyway, I'm sure you're right... I mean, how important could it be, having the President of the United States outlining his agenda for the coming term and describing some of the successes that have taken place over the last year?? So yeah, go ahead and scorn me for actually taking somewhat of an interest into what's going on in the world of politics, particularly since the very policies that a President outlines in those "meaningless" speeches could very well affect my life and the lives of most of the people on this forum.

Now, since this topic has virtually NOTHING to do with aviation, I'll leave it at that.

[Hacker]

As I was watching last night, I couldn't help but think of the SNL parody that Dana Carvey did of Bush 41's post ODS speech...

The one where he only had to say, "Operation Desert Storm...." and he would get a gigantic ovation for a couple minutes.

[Toro]

Originally posted by waxgoblin:

cant i get the 10 minute long transcript?

Thou asks...State of the Union Transcript

[ViperMan]

"A war that, after 12 long years, is finally over…"

Did I miss something?

[Skitzo]

Epic thread revival

[M2]

Epic thread revival

Nine years, that may be a record!

[Warrior]

Is it just me or does Gen Welsh look bored?

So does all that mean we don't have to worry about a 365 anymore?

[Champ Kind]

Tell that to the guys out there right now AND the guys spinning up to replace them...

[Warrior]

Tell that to the guys out there right now AND the guys spinning up to replace them...

Oh that's exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not out there now but I don't want (me or anyone else) to replace them

[General Chang]

Tell that to the guys out there right now AND the guys spinning up to replace them...

Gee....Thanks for your well-thought-out take on the State of the Union. I can now sleep tonight.

[sARCASM: OFF]

The coolest part of this thread is Champ offering thoughts on the same topic nine years later

Edited January 29, 2014 by General Chang

[Champ Kind]

Probably not the coolest. Neat, though. Bravo on the find.

Ok, Chang, back you go to trolling in the force shaping and bonus threads.

[ElLoco]

Probably not the coolest. Neat, though. Bravo on the find.

Ok, Chang, back you go to trolling in the force shaping and bonus threads.

Lol

[Guest]

It's that time of year again. You can watch the speech on many television channels or on Youtube. The White House website has an "enhanced" (extra propaganda) version at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu or https://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse

The Republican Party response from Joni Ernst is broadcast on most major networks and is viewable here: https://www.gop.gov/sotu

The Tea Party's Curt Clawson and Sen Rand Paul will also have their own responses. If anybody has links to where these can be watched online, please post them.

Edited January 20, 2015 by deaddebate

[HeloDude]

The SOTU is obviously not what it once was/was originally intended to be. In modern/recent times it has turned into a dog and pony show and a campaign speech by the President...not saying it wasn't also that way 100+ years ago, but then again, I'm not so sure the President at that time gave hundreds of campaign speeches...even when they weren't actively seeking reelection.

So yeah, I think I'll pass. If anything of substance comes from it I'm sure I'll be read about it that night or the next morning.

[Guest]

Full transcript of the prepared speech is available here:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/20/remarks-president-barack-obama-prepared-delivery-state-union-address

Note that the President MIGHT deviate from his speech, but that is VERY unlikely. He will almost certainly only have small changes in his delivery (pauses, stutters, etc.) but no actual substantive differences.

[Guest]

My highlights of the speech.

my plan will make quality childcare more available, and more affordable, for every middle-class and low-income family with young children in America – by creating more slots [for child care] and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child, per year.

He want's to incentivize baby-making even more? Are you fucking kidding me? Children cost a great deal of money. An estimated 180K to go from birth to 18 y/o. Subsidizing a full third of that cost is ludicrous.

Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers. Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave. [...] Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave.

[...] Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. [...] And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it.

Can't really comment on this because he's too vague. I think he's just trying to start or re-ignite the debate in these areas.

Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today. And I want to work with this Congress, to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that student debt doesn’t derail anyone’s dreams.

That'll cost plenty. Where will he get the money? See below. Apart from cost, funneling more money at education is a bad idea unless there is some way to restrict cost growth. Education is one of the bigger scams in our nation and that must be part of the discussion.

Let’s close loopholes so we stop rewarding companies that keep profits abroad, and reward those that invest in America. Let’s use those savings to rebuild our infrastructure and make it more attractive for companies to bring jobs home. Let’s simplify the system and let a small business owner file based on her actual bank statement, instead of the number of accountants she can afford. And let’s close the loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top one percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth.

Hoping to pay for some of these tax breaks by closing tax loopholes for major industries is a tall order. All episodes of tax reform attempts are truly mired in campaign reform and Super-PAC's. I'm highly doubtful any real tax reform will be made during the President's last two years while Republicans hold majorities in Congress. Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic, but I think that if Republicans ever want to see real tax reform, they'll wait for 2016 and make it part of their Presidential platform, hoping to claim all the credit if it ever happens.

Since I’ve been President, we’ve worked responsibly to cut the population of GTMO in half. Now it’s time to finish the job. And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down.

Good god, yes. Shut it down. Put them in court and then in the American penal system or ship them back to the sandbox. Whichever it is, quit throwing money away for Gitmo.

Edited January 21, 2015 by deaddebate

[Guest]

Highlights of Sen Ernt's response.

One you've probably heard about is the Keystone jobs bill. President Obama has been delaying this bipartisan infrastructure project for years

On this I agree, however the argument is in the wrong place. It's become a divisive partisan topic rather than the real problem of imminent domain and international relations. The reality of very little jobs creation is falsely at center stage rather than the main motivation of oil money.

Let's simplify America's outdated and loophole-ridden tax code. Republicans think tax filing should be easier for you, not just the well-connected. So let's iron out loopholes to lower rates — and create jobs, not pay for more government spending. The President has already expressed some support for these kinds of ideas. We're calling on him now to cooperate to pass them. You'll see a lot of serious work in this new Congress.

Extending an olive branch in one hand while hiding a knife in the other, she's creating the appearance that congress can lead the successful tax reform. In fact, the Republicans and the President will have very different goals within tax reform just to support whoever the Republican candidate will be.

We'll propose ideas that aim to cut wasteful spending and balance the budget — with meaningful reforms, not higher taxes like the President has proposed.

And another appeal to the poorer masses that make up the bulk of the voters while still not isolating the wealthy few.