Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
State of the Union Open Thread
Reasonoids will be blogging it: You can get over the trauma of George W. Bush's final State of the Union here.
Ken Layne's exhaustive drinking game here.
9:13: I'm waiting, like a lot of people, for Bush to plug his earmarks executive order... but boy, Ramesh Ponnuru's anti-porkbusters essay never sounds truer than when Bush talks about spending much, much more on a stimulus than we'll save on cutting some earmarks.
9:17: Not that the earkmark executive order is bad. It's nice to hear Bush say it.
9:19: None of this is going to happen, is it? Not even the Republicans ovate the call to end "junk medical lawsuits."
9:20: "Trust children to learn if given the chance"? Is he coming out against NCLB?
9:21: Ah, no. He isn't. Ted Kennedy, who's pretty much responsible for passing NCLB in the Senate, sits quietly as Bush talks about what a great achievement it was.
9:26: Sweet, we're finally going to become energy independent! The news puts House energy committee chairman John Dingell to sleep.
9:27: I think we're going to see 2005-2008 as the time when climate change denialism finally died in the leadership of the GOP. Especially if John McCain wins the party's nod.
9:28: Seriously, is anyone still impressed by the earmarks thing? The pleas for new spending and fulfilled spending requests are blowing that away.
9:30: "The whim of the gavel?" Are these anthromorphic, Fantasia gavels? Michael Gerson, you are missed.
9:31: "The pursuit of happiness leads to the path of service." OK, that didn't sound as bad until he made it really, really explicit that he was talking about state-sponsored services.
9:32: I don't think Bush has ever sounded weaker than when asking Congress to "propose your solutions" entitlement spending. Maybe when he was holding that Saudi prince's hand.
9:34: Good, wistful-sounding stuff on immigration.
9:36: "Wedding guests in blood-soaked finery"? Is Rob Halford writing this speech?
9:38: Did anyone else notice the gradual change from past tense to present tense when talking about Iraq? We've won! But not yet!
9:41: The Anbar Awakening... I haven't been reading
9:42: What was Joe Biden thinking when Bush talked about progress in Iraq? I'm guessing: "You're welcome."
9:45: Ironically, as Bush talks about something he's sure to get—total funding for our glorious war—the applause gets a little less lusty.
9:52: What's the difference between this Iran section and the Iran section of 2002? Not a whole lot.
9:54: The Library Tower b.s., again?
9:56: Jesus, did any Republican not cheer when Bush talked about FISA reform and retroactive liability protection?
10:01: OK, let's let the president have his "I salute you, randomly-selected heroes of freedom" moment... but this is like sticking around for the fourth quarter of a Clippers game.
And we're out!
Jose Dorito|1.28.08 @ 9:03PM|#
I'm trying to think of one significant thing that's been
accomplished during this 2nd term.
I'm drawing a blank
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:08PM|#
Naturally, a FOX News commentator credits Bush with "success" in Iraq over the last year.
Bill Cooke|1.28.08 @ 9:09PM|#
I can't watch that B.S. and I might have a trial tomorrow so I'm not drinking tonight. I'm leaving politics for a little while. I might only come out of my hole to vote for Ron Paul.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:12PM|#
Bipartisan cooperation is overrated. Government "gridlock" slows down government growth, and that's a good thing.
|1.28.08 @ 9:13PM|#
"I'm trying to think of one significant thing that's been
accomplished during this 2nd term."
NASA research was 'successfully' kneecapped by his retarded Mars
mission bullshit, which I expect was the point - put them to work
on a Martian snipe hunt and your party hacks won't have to spend
time censoring the words 'climate change' out of official
reports.
H|1.28.08 @ 9:13PM|#
NANCY PELOSI IS NOT WARING A FLAG PIN! DOES THAT SURPRISE ANYONE SHE IS A COMMIE BITCH!
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:15PM|#
I'm not the first one to notice it, of course, but Dick Cheney's smile is grinchy.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:17PM|#
Excellent question, LevStrauss. "Tax relief" without spending cuts means burdening taxpayers with more government debt.
|1.28.08 @ 9:18PM|#
Who would wear one of those flag pins anyway? I love my country, but those are the things that rah, rah Iraq, Patriot Act, etc. people wear.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:19PM|#
Give more money to people that aren't financially responsible. I'm happy with my investments.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:19PM|#
"Expanding consumer choice, not government control." Oh, if only Bush really meant what he said there!
Huckachobee|1.28.08 @ 9:23PM|#
I liked what Mike Huckabee said about the stimulus plan, namely
that we take a loan from the Chinese and use it to give people $600
checks, which are then supposed to be used to buy cheap stuff from
China.
Hits the nail on the head no?
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:24PM|#
What Bush really meant:
By having bigger government, we need more government buildings,
built my mexicans and we are solving the DC schools problem by
sending them to MD and VA. Help us solve the DC school
"problem."
|1.28.08 @ 9:25PM|#
Purveyors of false populism?
Ahaha, that's so lame. Just call Chavez a dick and move on.
|1.28.08 @ 9:30PM|#
Did Pelosi just have her middle finger up as she was clapping with the booklet in her hand? Did any one else catch that?
|1.28.08 @ 9:32PM|#
AGAIN! She actually had her middle and ring fingers up at first, and then took her ring finger down.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:33PM|#
I like how Cheney doesn't give a damn about these things anymore. He just threw the booklet on the table and he gave up. He looks like he is in pain.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:40PM|#
Do we know the speech writer, or do we have to guess? Who's
still peddling the "Freedom Spreadin" stuff these days?
No islamonazis? That narrows the pool down a bit if it holds
up.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:40PM|#
I would be playing along at home with Jeopardy! right now, if the SOTU weren't on instead.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:47PM|#
Right when he spoke of funding the war, there was a huge yawn. The guy didn't even cover his mouth. Some people have no manners.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:51PM|#
"We will not rest!" I thought of Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: "We won't rest one minute until we catch the criminal! Now let's get something to eat."
|1.28.08 @ 9:52PM|#
You can get over the trauma of George W. Bush's final State
of the Union here.
Doesn't he give next year's SotU too?
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 9:52PM|#
Does anyone notice how Bush and Cheney are feebly trying to court Log Cabin Republicans with their Red, White, and Blue color coordination?
|1.28.08 @ 9:53PM|#
God dammit. I don't think anything pisses me off more about George Bush than the way he pronounces "nuclear." It's not nu-cu-lar. It's nu-cle-ar.
|1.28.08 @ 9:53PM|#
Yawn...
The Pure BS meter spiked about thirty seconds after Junior opened
his piehole.
Hey, Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends are on E!
SIV|1.28.08 @ 9:54PM|#
Anybody watching wrestling?
I should be
Michael Chertoff looks like that Nazi officer in the Fritz Lang
movie Hangmen Also Die.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:55PM|#
They're hoping the Log Cabin guys will forget about all the valuable military personnel who were fired for being gay.
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 9:57PM|#
Hey, Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends are on E!
Now more than ever, I wish I had cable.
|1.28.08 @ 9:57PM|#
"Doesn't he give next year's SotU too?"
It's his option, if he wants to give one before the next President
is inaugurated.
If he does, and a Democrat is next, I'd like for the Dem to hold
his own SOTU shortly after inauguration to lay out the real
situation.
But it'll never happen.
|1.28.08 @ 9:59PM|#
Junior wants funding for this and funding for that... and yet he's bitching and crying about earmarks! Hey dumbass - PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 10:01PM|#
He really wants wiretap the rabble.
Sudan, the next Dem's war, just have to wait for the body count to
get higher.
Foreign Aid, everybody's going to be rich!!!
Bob Dole is a bad omen for Republicans.
|1.28.08 @ 10:02PM|#
Dubya should be struck by lightning right now for saying "The
Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia..."
Seriously. If there was a God, that would've happened just now.
|1.28.08 @ 10:03PM|#
"9:30: "The whim of the gavel?" Are these anthromorphic,
Fantasia gavels? Michael Gerson, you are missed."
Cue Monty Python skit: 'I banged me gavel!'
"I'm waiting, like a lot of people, for Bush to plug his earmarks
executive order"
Is that even, like, Constitutional?
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 10:03PM|#
Way back in the '90s, Dennis Miller did his best to wisecrack during a SOTU address. He ran out of ideas and had to say, "Where are Tom Servo and Crow when you need them?"
Brian Sorgatz|1.28.08 @ 10:05PM|#
FOX News is hushed to listen to Bush hob-nob with the crowd after the speech. What groupies!
|1.28.08 @ 10:07PM|#
I will say I give points to President Bush for pushing free trade agreements with various Latin American countries. I'm glad he did that.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 10:08PM|#
MSNBC is downplaying it. Basically saying its BS. Olbermann's laying on Dem talking points.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 10:14PM|#
MSNBC now segways to McCain and says the speech was about him. Now they act like it is no longer BS.
|1.28.08 @ 10:15PM|#
"I will say I give points to President Bush for pushing free
trade agreements with various Latin American countries"
Free trade, but trucks coming over the border will be run through
poison gas (after the driver gets out) in order to avoid any
unwanted human cargo.
Parisian|1.28.08 @ 10:18PM|#
The governor of Kansas's son made a game called don't drop the
soap.
That's hot.
Roger|1.28.08 @ 10:20PM|#
That's a hot video you linked to, Dave. Kewel. I like the singer's alternating heal-lifting dance-singing. Too sexy.
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 10:22PM|#
This is the tornado lady. Now I remember her. Too long ago Dems, bad pick.
dodsworth|1.28.08 @ 10:25PM|#
Did Bush state the case for the Protect America Act? Was Cato's Roger Pilon shown applauding from the audience?
SIV|1.28.08 @ 10:28PM|#
MNG,
Cena back must have been a surprise I thought he was still injured.
The Flair/MVP match highlights from the looked good. I'll have to
look for a torrent of the PPV.
Click \'n\' Learn|1.28.08 @ 10:29PM|#
What Weigel calls "good" and "wistful", I reveal to be corrupt happy talk. Is anyone surprised that Weigel would get it so wrong?
LevStrauss|1.28.08 @ 10:31PM|#
Is McCain flubbing on the economy on purpose? He bumbles like a fool. Just to create a narrative? Say it aint so John?
Monkey Of Fear|1.28.08 @ 10:36PM|#
I was watching the homoerotically tinged classic "Chuck and Buck" during the SOTU.
Andrew Revard|1.28.08 @ 10:39PM|#
What baffles me about supporters of the War in Iraq, is the way
the define the "war on terrorism." You listen to Bush, McCain,
Hannity, or any other person who supports the War in Iraq, and they
will define the "war on terror" as a war against "Islamofascism." I
always ask them this: how was Saddam and the Baath Party considered
"Islamofascist?" If you wanted to take out Islamic extremists, why
did we not attack Sudan, Somalia or even Iran? These people make no
sense.
Also, I am stuck at home listening to my father blame every problem
on illegal immigrants. Healthcare, the economy, crime and etc. are
all caused by illegal immigrants. Shut up dad...with much
respect.
d[-_-]b
stephen the goldberger|1.28.08 @ 10:45PM|#
John Cena will always be the Professor of Thuganomics in my eyes.
|1.28.08 @ 10:46PM|#
Now more than ever, I wish I had cable.
I don't know why. You get to watch the same thing on SPIKE. But
instead of calling it the SOTU, for some reason they're referring
to it as Tommy Boy.
|1.28.08 @ 10:49PM|#
I can tell Hilldog was thinking something along the lines of, "I'd be the President next year too if it wasn't for that meddling kid!"
|1.28.08 @ 11:11PM|#
"Also, I am stuck at home listening to my father blame every
problem on illegal immigrants. Healthcare, the economy, crime and
etc. are all caused by illegal immigrants. Shut up dad...with much
respect. "
Yeah, what is it about boomers that makes them hate illegal
immigrants so much? My wife is half japanesse. My mother in law can
watch Fox News all day and rail against immigrants, while sitting
next to her immigrant husband of 35 years. The guy is a little 5'4"
Vietnam Vet and I am just waiting for the day he reaches over
backhands her.
|1.28.08 @ 11:22PM|#
Andrew Revard,
Republicans : Illegal immigration ::
Democrats : Global warming ::
Catholics : Satan
|1.28.08 @ 11:26PM|#
Happy Jack,
But Tommy Boy eventually learns how to do the job and saves the
factory. I don't Georgie boy becoming a good president in the next
year.
I know I'm way out on a limb on that one.
|1.28.08 @ 11:29PM|#
missed the speech. are we still going to Mars?
No, we're outlawing biotech research instead.
dodsworth|1.28.08 @ 11:31PM|#
Matt, David, Julian,Nick, etc. etc.
When do you guys intend to do an "investigative" story on why Cato
not only tolerates, but features, the anti-civil libertarian ideas
of Roger Pilon? News flash: this didn't happen back in 1992. It is
happening now. Heck, none of you guys has even seen fit to writing
a blog about this.
yoshi|1.28.08 @ 11:40PM|#
all i heard was bigger government and more spending - and this guy is a republican? the only thing worse I can imaging is hillary or ron paul as president.
Joe Allen|1.28.08 @ 11:51PM|#
I am trying to ad up how many times POTUS said "Nukyaler." I'll have to add it up on my calcleator.
|1.28.08 @ 11:53PM|#
Dave W. | January 28, 2008, 10:25pm | #
missed the speech. are we still going to Mars?
No, Mars is coming here for a special limited engagement.
The Wine Commonsewer|1.29.08 @ 12:49AM|#
I'm watching Stargate.
Strangest thing. We met one of the producers on the Road to Hana a
few years ago. Naturally, I thought it was all BS (cuz lame-oh me
had never heard of Stargate), but he and his wife and kids were
very cool and very fun. We went to the Red Sand Beach, had drinks
back at our place, and met them at the beach the next day.
Back home. Google. Turns out to be true.
My 15 minutes. Well, one of my 15 minutes anyway.
Course he isn't a libertarian, so screw him and the horse he came
to town on.
thoreau|1.29.08 @ 12:55AM|#
Caught a few minutes of a rerun. Is it just me, or is Pelosi
reading a novel.
I should do the same, instead of watching that damn thing.
Also, the Republicans roared like college football fans watching
their team beat the rivals when Bush called for passage of the
wiretap bill. Fuck them.
|1.29.08 @ 6:56AM|#
Michael Chertoff looks like that Nazi officer in the Fritz
Lang movie Hangmen Also Die.
I do try to refrain from commenting on people's personal
appearance, but you're right: Chertoff looks like he never eats,
and it's a bit unnerving.
Jacob|1.29.08 @ 8:09AM|#
I would love to see Reason stand up for principle and call Cato out on this shit. Even if it's just a blog post. Cato is a storied libertarian institution that has been central to the movement for years. Now, one of their writers is lining up with the neocons on government surveillance powers. A post from Reason would send angry traffic their way that wasn't the foaming-at-the-mouth Rockwell type.
Jacob|1.29.08 @ 8:10AM|#
Sorry, wrong thread. If you're wondering what I was talking
about:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9119
|1.29.08 @ 8:21AM|#
I was totally screwed with my SOTUA drinking game. The rules we
had down that did us in the most were
1. Drink every time they show a presidential candidate
2. Drink every mention of the "Surge"
3. Drink every time Bush mispronounces a word.
Man. That speach was a blurr...
|1.29.08 @ 8:51AM|#
Wow, I can't believe how many people noticed that Bush can't
pronounce "nuclear". Like, nobody has EVER commented on that
before.
Welcome to the party, ladies.
|1.29.08 @ 9:27AM|#
I can tell Hilldog was thinking something along the lines
of, "I'd be the President next year too if it wasn't for that
meddling kid!"
Steee-eeee-eeee-ttttchhhhhhhh...Snap!
*Gasp* Hillary Clinton!
Dr. State|1.29.08 @ 10:02AM|#
9:19: None of this is going to happen, is it? Not even the
Republicans ovate the call to end "junk medical
lawsuits."
If there is any issue that can motivate me to vote a straight R
ballot come Nov., it is the threat of Socialized Medicine.
If the Republicans cannot convince the American people that it was
government meddling which created this health care crisis to begin
with, and that adding more government will only make things worse
and will lead to the absolute ruination of medicine, then they
should just hang it up.
Here's Dr. Paul speaking at the Las Vegas conference:
Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) shared his provocative insights
regarding the overexpansive breadth of the government's role in
health and medicine today. His message of the restoration of
personal healthcare freedoms received a standing ovation from the
audience.
|1.29.08 @ 11:57AM|#
"Yeah, what is it about boomers that makes them hate illegal
immigrants so much? "
wanting to enforce immigration laws doesn't mean you HATE illegal
immigrants.
"My wife is half japanesse."
and this relates to ILLEGAL immigrants how?
" My mother in law can watch Fox News all day and rail against
immigrants,"
illegal immigrants or immigrants?
" while sitting next to her immigrant husband of 35 years. The guy
is a little 5'4" Vietnam Vet and I am just waiting for the day he
reaches over backhands her."
immigrants =/= illegal immigrants.
hth
|1.29.08 @ 12:00PM|#
I'm not against speech; just illegal speech.
I'm not against gun ownership; just illegal gun ownership.
I'm not against drinking alocohol; just illegal alcohol.
*stiffens neck, furrows brow a bit* What part of "illegal" don't
you understand?
|1.29.08 @ 12:54PM|#
"""all i heard was bigger government and more spending - and
this guy is a republican?""""
Limbaugh and a couple of others are claiming this may be the end
for republicanism. It might be more correct to say this may be the
end of conservatism (at least the popularity of). The irony is that
it wasn't killed by illegals crossing the border or by some left
wing conspiracy, but that it was murdered by the republicans
themselves.
|1.29.08 @ 1:09PM|#
Did anyone bother to count the number of times "liberty" was
evoked by our "Fearless Leader"? GWB even gave us a civics lesson
about the mindset of the Founding Fathers.
Prediction:
Actual liberties returned to us are inversely proportional to the
number of times GWB mentions it in the SOTU.
|1.29.08 @ 1:20PM|#
joe, way to ignore the issue.
conflating illegal immigration with immigration is like comparing
trespassing with standing on your own land.
it's intellectually dishonest, or lazy depending on your
intent.
one can make rational arguments against our immigration policy w/o
falsely pretending two different things are the same.
iow, it's a way to ignore the actual issues, demonize people you
disagree with, and fail to address the distinctions that make the
policy debate.
|1.29.08 @ 1:54PM|#
joe,
There are legitimate interests for govt restricting each of those
things in particular circumstances. For instance, libel is "illegal
speech", a mentally ill person owning a gun is "illegal gun
ownership", etc.
Are you claiming that govt has NO legitimate interest in
controlling immigration?
|1.29.08 @ 2:10PM|#
an analogy would be calling somebody racist, or claiming they
hated minorities if they were against racial preferences.
are you against racial preferences? i am
does that mean you HATE the recipients of racial preferences? of
course not.
similarly, one can be against illegal immigration, but not hate
illegal immigrants.
|1.29.08 @ 2:38PM|#
conflating illegal immigration with immigration is like
comparing trespassing with standing on your own land.
No, whit, it is not. The government is not forbidding people from
entering onto its land; it's forbidding people from entering onto
my land, even if I approve of them being there.
The government's actions are much more similar to banning
alcohol.
Chris Potter,
Are you claiming that govt has NO legitimate interest in
controlling immigration?
No. The only comparison, stated, implied, or intended, was to the
difference between the legal thing and the illegal thing being
purely a matter of the government's action. As opposed to the
trespassing example whit gave, where there is the real-world
difference between standing in a public place and a private
one.
whit, you're babbling, and nothing in your comment is remotely
applicable to what I wrote.
|1.29.08 @ 2:47PM|#
"No, whit, it is not. The government is not forbidding people
from entering onto its land; it's forbidding people from entering
onto my land, even if I approve of them being there."
only if issues of national sovereignty mean nothing to you. sadly,
they do for too many.
"The government's actions are much more similar to banning
alcohol."
not really.
comparing banning alcohol to protecting the borders of a soverein
nation?
ridiculous analogy.
|1.29.08 @ 2:50PM|#
"No. The only comparison, stated, implied, or intended, was to
the difference between the legal thing and the illegal thing being
purely a matter of the government's action."
it has to do with national sovereignty. the govt gets to decide who
comes into a country. that's true of every nation on earth. it's
hardly an earth shattering concept.
" As opposed to the trespassing example whit gave, where there is
the real-world difference between standing in a public place and a
private one"
and there is also a difference between entering a country legally
vs. illegally, just as there is a difference between owning a
property and squatting/trespassing on it.
like it or not, govt. regulates both. you can't just walk into a
national park and proclaim 10 acres "mine mine mine". that's
illegal.
similarly, you can't just walk into the US and not be breaking the
law. there are rules of entry just like there are rules for private
property within our borders.
you may WANT open borders, and that's fine. that's a policy
disagreement. but misrepresenting those who oppose illegal
immigration as hating immigrants, or any such bilge is
intellectually dishonest.
Gus|1.29.08 @ 5:36PM|#
"Reasonoids will be blogging it: You can get over the trauma of
George W. Bush's final State of the Union here."
Trauma??? Jezuz, Weigel, are you really as emotionally driven as a
5-year-old girl?
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245