State of the Union

I guess the most notable thing I heard was "the challenge of global climate change." The words were actually spoken, this time without denial or qualifiers. Hmm.

Some of the topics were clear non-starters. That health insurance idea, for example. Higher fuel efficiency standards he's fought for years. Energy independence. I was surprised ANWR wasn't explicitly mentioned.

But then I was surprised New Orleans wasn't mentioned. Maybe we're just supposed to forget about it.

And then there were the ghosts from State of the Unions past. What about Mars? What about our glorious moonbase? Oops, down the memory hole.

Overall, the President seemed like ... like ... what's that quote, it's in the back of my mind ... oh yeah:

a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

That about sums it up. We've got our very own Macbeth, in the White House.

I don't know about you, but I find the idea of President Macbeth more than a little disturbing ....

It makes my spirit sore

The State of the Union speech. But the Democratic response, from Senator Webb, was a breath of fresh air from the reality-based community. Maybe I'll have more comments later.

Ok, I'm going to do it

I'm going to watch the State of the Union speech. I wasn't going to, but I will. Not that anyone cares, but still. It's not going to be live, but I'll watch and maybe comment later. I have the beer and nuts out and ready. Should be entertaining. I look forward to seeing the new Speaker of the House behind the President while he speaks.

That about sums it up

Patriotism is a lovely thing. In its name, some go dying by the side of an Iraqi road in twitching agony; others go shopping in oversized automobiles festooned with yellow ribbons. We all play our part—and nobody else's.

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