The political pageantry and posturing surrounding the annual State of the Union address sickens me. I can't watch the thing even for entertainment value. Instead, I am relying on a transcript, also available officially here. To my knowledge, these speeches, like other non-classified government documents and images, are legally in the public domain.
This will be a long and boring post. Maybe you should read something fun instead? I am using this image because Mr. Yuk is trademarked and copyrighted out the wazoo, but you have been warned regardless.
Look for ellipses or commentary in brackets to indicate what I skipped, and feel free to go through the source material yourself if you really have the stomach for it.
[skipping the introductory stuff]
Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again.
No, arbitrary mandates kept people apart. Evidence that any of it actually helped is lacking.
Tonight, we meet as Democrats Republicans and Independents. But most importantly as Americans. With a duty to one another to the American people to the Constitution. And with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.
Right, unity and liberty. Very important talking points. Pay lip service to that Constitution which rarely seems to impede your ambitions. I'm already betting you'll trample its explicit provisions and restrictions throughout the rest of this very speech.
[skipping a lot of buildup about Ukraine]
Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. [...] We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever. Together with our allies –we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions.
That sounds like someone trying to provoke war, not build a foundation for peaceful conflict resolution. "Economic sanctions" are arguably the modern equivalent to blockades, and the Russian people will suffer most, not their political class.
[Skipping ahead over more of the same]
We are giving more than $1 Billion in direct assistance to Ukraine. And we will continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and to help ease their suffering. Let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies – in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west. [...] As I have made crystal clear the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power.
So you're actively and officially committing the US government to supporting one side of the conflict, and mobilizing troops overseas using entangling alliances as justification. Remind me again where you have Constitutional authority to do any of this without Congressional approval? Y'know, those people you're addressing?
[Skipping more blather]
A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world. And I’m taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at Russia’s economy. And I will use every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers.
Your bombings of African and Middle Eastern countries have costs at home and abroad, too, you sanctimonious hypocrite, and it's not your job to "protect American businesses and consumers." What was that about the Constitution again? Re-read your job description.
Tonight, I can announce that the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 Million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead that effort, releasing 30 Million barrels from our own Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And we stand ready to do more if necessary, unified with our allies.
Ah, yes. It's all about oil these days, isn't it? And you need to shift the blame for rising oil prices onto Russia to protect your own political position.
[skipping more oil talk]
In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security.
It's not autocracy versus democracy, it's oligarchy versus oligarchy. Russia is still officially a constitutional democratic republic with an elected leadership. The political classes represent no one but themselves in each case.
[more about Ukraine skipped over]
We meet tonight in an America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. The pandemic has been punishing. And so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more. I understand.
No, you don't, you disingenuous career politician. The government has literally been punishing us, though, and the rising costs are a consequence of political action more than anything else.
[...]
That’s why one of the first things I did as President was fight to pass the American Rescue Plan. [...] Few pieces of legislation have done more in a critical moment in our history to lift us out of crisis. It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19. It delivered immediate economic relief for tens of millions of Americans. Helped put food on their table, keep a roof over their heads, and cut the cost of health insurance.
And fueled the inflation disproportionately harming those of us in the 99% while funneling money to your political and corporate cronies. Again, where is your Constitutional authority for any of this?
[...]
In fact—our economy created over 6.5 Million new jobs just last year, more jobs created in one year than ever before in the history of America.
You keep saying that as if we don't know the economy was crushed by government COVID-19 policies the year before. The productive class clawing back toward normality despite natural and political devastation is not the progress or personal triumph you depict.
[more economic illiteracy]
We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. We’re going to have an infrastructure decade. It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world—particularly with China.
Oh, joy, a Ten-Year Plan from an extortion-funded government bureaucratic monopoly. What could possibly go wrong?
[...]
The federal government spends about $600 Billion a year to keep the country safe and secure.
And the government consistently fails. That is $600 billion we could have spent to address our needs, instead of whatever the political class decrees.
[more nonsense filler]
One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages.
Tell me you don't understand what drives inflation without telling me you don't understand what drives inflation.
Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.
How does this economic nationalism address inflation or lower costs?
Economists call it “increasing the productive capacity of our economy.” I call it building a better America.
So... Make America Great Again? Pathetic.
My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. 17 Nobel laureates in economics say my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures. Top business leaders and most Americans support my plan.
How will it do that? How do these "experts" really bolster your position? Are they any better than your COVID "experts?" What about economists who disagree with this rosy assessment?
And here’s the plan: First – cut the cost of prescription drugs. Just look at insulin. One in ten Americans has diabetes. [long rambling anecdote] ...[L]et’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it.
How do you plan to address the root cause of either diabetes or drug costs? Oh. price controls. Brilliant. Where is your authority to do that again? Why aren't you instead addressing the legal morass that is medical industry regulation and corporate protectionism? We need competition in a free market instead of corporate cronyism.
[skipping a bit]
Second - cut energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combatting climate change. Let’s provide investments and tax credits to weatherize your homes and businesses to be energy efficient and you get a tax credit; double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more; lower the price of electric vehicles, saving you another $80 a month because you’ll never have to pay at the gas pump again.
More bureaucratic intervention masquerading as a solution? Quelle surprise! Again, where is your Constitutional authority for any of this? How does this address the root causes of inflation and resolve the problems we face? Do you have any idea how we handle the massive burden this will place on the infrastructure? Are you proposing expansion of nuclear power to clean up emissions or just posturing more?
Third – cut the cost of child care. Many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child. Middle-class and working families shouldn’t have to pay more than 7% of their income for care of young children. My plan will cut the cost in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women, who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford child care, to be able to get back to work. My plan doesn’t stop there. It also includes home and long-term care. More affordable housing. And Pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old. All of these will lower costs.
I know I must sound like a stuck record by now, but where is your Constitutional authority for this? How do arbitrary numbers justify more price controls and interventions? Your solution is subsidies and more government education despite recent studies indicating it is counterproductive for children? How do you lower costs by hiding them behind new tax-funded bureaucracies?
And under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody.
I've heard this before. I know how much to trust it, too.
The one thing all Americans agree on is that the tax system is not fair. We have to fix it. I’m not looking to punish anyone. But let’s make sure corporations and the wealthiest Americans start paying their fair share.
Taxation is extortion, and there is no "fair share" of extortion. The wealthy already pay a vastly disproportionate share of the tax burden. How about you lower your costs, and not take our wages?
[skipping more regurgitated talking points]
That’s why I’ve proposed closing loopholes so the very wealthy don’t pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a firefighter.
We have suffered over a century of progressive income taxes, initially pitched by Woodrow Wilson as only ever applying to the top few percent. Why can't you propose eliminating income taxes for those teachers and firefighters?
So that’s my plan. It will grow the economy and lower costs for families.
There was no plan, just empty statements. How do more spending programs and deficits grow the real economy and lower costs?
[skipping a bit of partisan nonsense]
By the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office. The only president ever to cut the deficit by more than one trillion dollars in a single year.
I'll take "Things that will never happen" for $100, Alex. You just proposed more spending, more subsidies, and more bureaucracy. You're spoiling for a war in Europe. Inflation is eating away at the value of the dollar. How will any of this address the deficit?
Lowering your costs also means demanding more competition. I’m a capitalist, but capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation—and it drives up prices.
What's this? A moment of lucidity? You recognize that monopolies and cartels are inherently abusive and wasteful? That political intervention has resulted in less competition and more corporate power?
When corporations don’t have to compete, their profits go up, your prices go up, and small businesses and family farmers and ranchers go under.
That sorta-kinda makes sense in a pandering-to-the-base kind of way...
We see it happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of America. During the pandemic, these foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000% and made record profits. [...] And as Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. That ends on my watch. Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve and expect.
And we're back to the economic illiteracy with demands for more central power. Here's a hint: when government doesn't have to compete, their power concentration goes up, our wealth goes down, and small businesses and family farmers and ranchers go under.
We’ll also cut costs and keep the economy going strong by giving workers a fair shot [...] Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the Child Tax Credit [...] And let’s pass the PRO Act when a majority of workers want to form a union—they shouldn’t be stopped. When we invest in our workers, when we build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out together, we can do something we haven’t done in a long time: build a better America.
So, price controls and government funding schemes. What was that about "I’m a capitalist," again? You're certainly not a laissez-faire capitalist, and all your proposals are all top-down command economy schemes. If unions are so great for those working under corporate power, why must they be made mandatory in so many industries to survive, and why are they strongest for government workers? I offered my own proposal for reforming unionization nearly four years ago.
For more than two years, COVID-19 has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of the nation. And I know you’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted. But I also know this. Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines.
No, for more than two years, politicians flailing blindly under the aegis of the politician's syllogism have impacted our lives, and a lot of us went back to normal long ago without your permission. There was not a statistically significant difference between those of us who decided to be free without your permission and those who obeyed everything for the last two years. In fact, you can't correlate any data changes in response to any policies.
[more COVID-19 condescension]
[law enforcement propaganda]
And I will keep doing everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking and ghost guns you can buy online and make at home—they have no serial numbers and can’t be traced. [...] Pass universal background checks. Why should anyone on a terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon? Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued. These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment. They save lives.
Dude, you said something about the Constitution a while back. Have you forgotten? It's supposed to explicitly prevent you from controlling guns, you authoritarian hack. We've had the NICS check which you supported for almost 30 years, and the situation in Ukraine demonstrates exactly why people need actual assault rifles and full-capacity magazines, not just the modern carbines you dishonestly call "assault weapons." Why should watch lists deny rights without even the slightest pretense of due process? Why should manufacturers of anything be sued for what people do with those products? Your proposals most certainly do infringe, and they do not save lives.
The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote – and to have it counted. And it’s under assault. In state after state, new laws have been passed, not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert entire elections.
As they say on Wikipedia, [citation needed]. I challenge the presumption that anyone has the right to impose their electoral choices on their neighbors. I further challenge the presumption that more votes are inherently better than fewer when so few educate themselves about the matters at hand, especially as the federal government usurps more authority over more matters every day, and you and the media alike appeal to emotion and bombard us with propaganda instead of offering reason and evidence.
[skipping a bit]
One of the most serious constitutional responsibilities a President has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court. And I did that 4 days ago, when I nominated Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. [...] Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support—from the Fraternal Order of Police to former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans.
So she is endorsed by the political status quo and their enforcers. I am not encouraged whatsoever by this. What are her principles? That matters more than race, gender, or endorsements.
And if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the Border and fix the immigration system. [...] We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty that has led generations of immigrants to this land—my forefathers and so many of yours.
Why does your version of "liberty" always seem to mean more laws, more police, more surveillance, and more courts instead of actual liberty? Travel is not a crime. End the war on drugs and demolish the legal obstacles to migrant laborers and immigrants.
[skipping more]
So tonight I’m offering a Unity Agenda for the Nation. Four big things we can do together. First, beat the opioid epidemic. There is so much we can do. Increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery. [...] Second, let’s take on mental health. Especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down. [...] Third, support our veterans. Veterans are the best of us. [...] And fourth, let’s end cancer as we know it. A unity agenda for the nation.
First, end the war on drugs so people can seek better options for pain relief without the costs and legal stigma. Second, stop gaslighting the populace and setting people against one another through divide-and-conquer posturing. Third, stop sending kids to be maimed or killed in wars like the one brewing in Ukraine. Fourth, have you heard of the myth of Caligula declaring war on Poseidon? Get government out of the way, and we the people can find real solutions.
[skipping the closing blather]
The US government does not represent me, the Ukrainian government does not represent Ukrainians, and the Russian government does not represent Russians. I am not a huge fan of Eugene Debs, but his anti-war rhetoric is spot-on.
The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose—especially their lives.
They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people.
And here let me emphasize the fact—and it cannot be repeated too often—that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace.
Yours not to reason why;
Yours but to do and die.That is their motto and we object on the part of the awakening workers of this nation.
Debs argued against Woodrow Wilson's war, and went to jail for it. He ran against Wilson from his cell. He refused to compromise with the State on this matter of principle, and I can't help but admire that regardless of how I feel about his economic stance.
Biden is like a less-coherent, less-educated Wilson. He believes in the sanctifying power of bureaucracy and central planning. He will speak out against war while openly meddling in the affairs of the belligerents with complete disregard for neutrality. He will offer government as a solution to our societal ills, and demand we submit or die in the end.
Unfortunately, the best counterfeit counterpart to Debs is probably Bernie Sanders, a man who occasionally says the right things, but whose actions leave much to be desired. Perhaps Thomas Massie might rally the Republicans toward non-interventionism, but neither party has demonstrated any real anti-war, pro-liberty, fiscally-responsible institutional inclination in my lifetime.
Now, more than ever, it is essential we oppose the pressures of society to obey these self-proclaimed "authorities," support their wars, or embrace their schemes for "progress." as G. K. Chesterton said, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” It is our duty to condemn the ambitions of men and women who would enslave us to their machinations and send us to slaughter in their wars.
As usual, politicians claim to offer salvation if we will only bow down and worship them. Government is a false god, and politicians are false prophets. Do you think this is exaggeration or complete lunacy? I have written on the topic before.
Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. —Matthew 7:13-17 (WEB)
Here's a kitten picture from Pixabay as a palate cleanser after all that heavy stuff. I hope it helps. If you really made it all the way through, share your own kitten picture and a relevant comment for $PIZZA tokens, whether you agree with my counterpoints or not!
