State of the Union

I watched part of the State of the Union address last night but promptly turned it off after everyone was applauding the president every time he finished a thought. I couldn't help but think that they were applauding the fact that he could complete a sentence with out messing something up. Anyway that was the first thing that came to my mind and that was 10 minutes into the speech. I opted to read it for myself online. I wasn't surprised at some of the things that I read. I expected him to try and validate the war in Iraq, which he did, and I knew he was going to try and sell his tax plan, which he also did. I thought with all the talk about healthcare reform that he would have spent a little more time talking about his "plans" for it but he didn't. It was the same old same old. I should have known better but I had a glimmer of hope that he might actually be thinking about Americans lives...I was wrong...I can admit that. Medicare is in serious trouble...those on Medicare are having a devil of a time with their prescription plans and you need a manual to figure out the policy changes. It's ridiculous. I know I shouldn't have expected anything less.

What I was mildly surprised about was that he talked a bit about the environment..something he isn't known for. He supports funding and researching hydrogen powered cars. Now this is a good thing but I think he could have done a little bit more in that area too. More money could have gone to funding research. Oh, and also, don't some of the car companies already have protypes for cars that run on alternative fuel? I thought they did. We are too oil dependant...we've known that for years and now with situations boiling over in the Middle East, the government is taking the initiative...sorta.

The war in Iraq is still an issue with me. I'll say it again...We shouldn't be there. This war is wrong and I don't know what can be done to correct the horror and destruction being caused there. I don't care if people find that offensive or it goes against popular opinion. It's my opinion and if you don't like then ignore it...you won't be hurting my feelings. Kudos to Cindy Sheehan by the way. I know she got kicked out of the capitol for wearing a t-shirt with an anti-war slogan on it. The wife of a republican representative in Florida was also removed from the capitol for wearing a shirt supporting the troops. At least they weren't just picking on Mrs. Sheehan. Still though I thought that was pretty stupid. I mean isn't that a violation of the first ammendment? Just a thought.

On the tax plan....I'm one of those people who don't like taxes but I pay them because I realize that they are necessary. Yeah I wouldn't mind keeping some of the money they take from me but then I think about where my tax dollars go. They go to help fund certain programs like medicare, medicaid, and various other programs. I don't mind paying if I'm helping someone out. Bush's tax plan is preposterous. It is taking away from programs like student loans and the such. It's just insane.

Did anyone see Dick Cheney though? I don't know if he normally looks that way but last night as I was watching the little bit I could sit through, I notices Cheney in the background. He looked like he was going to hurt someone. He had just the meanest look on his face. He's one scary man.

So the State of the Union address didn't impress me. I didn't expect it to. I knew it was going to be a bunch of hooey. But I watched so that I could gauge how the next year is going to go. We'll see how well he handles the situation happening in the Middle East and in Asia.