Reason Tweets the State of the Union: NOW!

News, views, abuse, and links you can use to get you though Barack Obama's annual address.

And while you're watching, don't forget to check out Peter Suderman's annual SOTU drinking game. This year it's the "have a drink on the 1 percent" edition. Plus there's always Reason's Cards Against Humanity SOTU expansion pack, if you want to create some alternate versions of the address.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

LIVE BLOG!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sir, I hate your guts.

[Fist of Etiquette]

For someone beloved, I get that a lot.

[Anonymous Coward]

First post to listen to the Bloviator in Chief!

[d3x / dt3]

Ha ha.

No.

[waffles]

This is dumb. You're wasting time. Rail some coke, bank a hooker, do whatever it takes to get off this stupid fucking ride.

[Res ipsa loquitur]

Do hookers fit in safety deposit boxes ?

[waffles]

That only happened once! And I lost the deposit slip. Whatever, I'm not going back to Syracuse NY any time soon anyhow.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Thug Life.

[Rebel Scum]

Prediction: Proggy wishlist that does not have a prayer of being enacted via the current legislative process.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Someone cue up Europe's Final Countdown!

[Episiarch]

Not a fucking chance. I'm going to go kill things in the Holodome, it's a much better use of my time.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

The Pete Suderman drinking rules link requires admin privileges? Must be hardcore!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Okay, this is boring as fuck. I'm out.

[alinenache]

Terror against terror: wrong strategy http://waltherpragerandphiloso.....error.html

[Rebel Scum]

Did anyone else just see that wookie?

[waffles]

Yeah. My job is less boring than this. I guess for most people watching this is their job. Good luck.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Already taking credit for the oil I see.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Booming energy - no thanks to Obama.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can't watch this.

'Practical' ideas not 'partisan.

This guy.

[Rebel Scum]

I don't think "practical" means what president teleprompter thinks it means.

[Chumby]

I want a split screen with the TOTUS to see whether it includes pauses and suggestions for inflection.

[lap83]

There is not enough alcohol in my house for me to listen to Obama speak.

[Rebel Scum]

Obama speak

It's easy enough to follow once you realize he doesn't ever actually say anything of any substance. At best he says something implying one thing, then directly contradicts it in the next sentence or paragraph. It's empty rhetoric all the way down.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Did he say he's balancing the budget by playing the slots?

[waffles]

Universal child care is a right! damnit!

[Fist of Etiquette]

What the hell is sitting in front of Boehner? Is that a silver condiment rack?

[SIV]

Where's that awful typewriter noise coming from?

[SIV]

Where's that awful typewriter noise coming from?

[SIV]

Where's that awful typewriter noise coming from?

[SIV]

Where's that awful typewriter noise coming from?

[SIV]

Where's that awful typewriter noise coming from?

[See Double You]

Squirrels.

[BigT]

Typing squirrels!

[thom]

My SOTU drinking game has two rules:

1. Don't watch, listen to, or otherwise expose yourself to the SOTU.
2. Drink anyway.

[SIV]

I must have the live tweeter blocked somehow.

[SIV]

I just get typewriter noises and a picture of mountains. Better live tweeting over on Popehat.

[See Double You]

You need to scroll down to see the Tweets.

[SIV]

I lost the mountain picture but the typewriter noises keep a coming.
I wonder if Divergent is on the Home Box Office again? That is the most enjoyable newish movie I've seen in years.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ooo, turned it on just in time to find out the NSA isn't spying on me after all.

[Rebel Scum]

basic decency

...is not a trait of the politician.

[SIV]

My tim e would be better spent fabricating composite armor for the killdozer.

[GILMORE]

Obama stresses middle class in State of the Union
- USA TODAY
- Middle Class fortunately has alcohol, Xanax, and the Love Unlimited Orchestra

[BigT]

See Ginsburg in the front row - she couldn't even hold her head up. Progs must be going crazy that she didn't resign while Obama had the votes.

[SIV]

I hope she lives forever.

[SIV]

When's Joni gonna make 'em squeal in falsetto?

[SIV]

Or is it castrato?

[BigT]

I hope she really unloads on Obama. I will likely be disappointed.

[BigT]

She looks a bit stiff and is not very warm - too formal.

[BigT]

See him signing autographs? Someone should shove a Flat Tax bill under his pen.

[SIV]

Is ENB calling for comparable worth?

[Paul.]

Zzz...

[Paul.]

Just end the suspense already, have we turned the corner or not?

[SIV]

Rainy mornings? The biscuit line at Hardees? WTF? I don't remember Hardees serving breakfast when Joni was in HS.

[SIV]

OK she's 8 years younger than me:

In 1978 Hardee's introduced the made-from-scratch biscuit to its menu.

I used to make Chick-fil-A's in 1978...STONED.

[Paul.]

The State of the Union response job is basically the Kobayashi Maru of national politics.

Beatable if you tweak the program?

[BigT]

Why isn't a woman known primarily for castrating pigs working her magic on the POS ... er POTUS.

[Paul.]

Ok, this speech thingy is like the least watched, least important in a decade. Moving on, I got one of these today, and ye gods, it's an awesome watch:

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DJknZrg8.....efault.jpg

[SIV]

No Moon phases?

[Paul.]

No moon phase complication. Just an altimeter and compass complication.

[SIV]

Is the compass reasonably accurate?

I gotta have Moon phases. I'm looking at the Yes Watches.

[Paul.]

Yeah, it seems to be accurate, but the quirks of its operation have made me think it's really only a quick reference.

Quirks:

1. Because the compass uses a stepper motor which undoubtedly uses a lot of reserve power, it only operates for 30 seconds at a time.

2. There's also a second or so delay between the time you move or rotate the watch, and the compass hand (red) seeks its new position. So there's really no comparison to holding a real floating needle compass in your hands that you can micro-adjust.

The electronic compass in my Garmin GPS really acts like a true floating compass with rapid, near-instant response when you move the unit. So I wouldn't recommend this watch as a navigational replacement. At all.

Just looked up the Yes Watch. Very stylish.

[SIV]

Some people wear ties to work. I wear a KB-20.

I just wouldn't want a compass complication that wasn't reasonably functional.

[Paul.]

I'm really loving the altimeter function. Not even so much because it's an altimeter, but because it's a barometer based altimeter, you can use it as a no-shit weather gauge. Set the pip to whatever the altitude reads, if it reads 100' higher than it read a few hours before, you have a dropping barometer and might have incoming weather.

[SIV]

I like your watch but I don't like the Citizen Moon phase models. They have a little indicator hand rather than showing a facsimile of the illuminated disc.

[Paul.]

BTW if you're doing honest-to-god overland navigation, yeah, don't depend on this watch. Get one of those suuntos you linked. And a gps, for the love of pete.

[SIV]

I usually carry a Trimble for navigation and data recording. For navigation aloine a Garmin or even a smart phone works just fine. Even with all the tech there are distinct advantages to having a USGS map and a good sighting compass

[Paul.]

I think the altimeter function (when comparing to the compass function) is much more accurate (as accurate as a real, honest-to-goodness non-gps altimeter can be) and will be, in the long term use of this watch, much more realistically usable.

[XM]

Japan and Korea have one of the fastest internet speed in the world. Parts of Europe have better public transportation and shinier bridges. Latin America has single payer healthcare system.

And yet, their economy drags, a fact Obama indirectly emphasized when he boasted how our economy is outperforming everyone else. But he still wants to spend money on building sturdy bridges, fast internets and new convention centers that pump up "jobs" in the model city that operates inside his head.

How will the people who complain about income inequality, stagnant wages, and gentrification respond to his optimistic speech? The first third of his speech was basically "the good times are here and wages are doubling". Then he threw a lot of populist ideas about building faster internet, infrastructure jobs, and the wonders of google and export jobs, most of which won't affect 90% of his own base.

[Paul.]

How will the people who complain about income inequality, stagnant wages, and gentrification respond to his optimistic speech?

They'd vote him in a third term, and fourth and fifth if they could.