quade 4 #1 January 21, 2015 Well, this ought to be an interesting bit of standing and applauding vs sitting on hands and looking grumpy. Fun bit to watch no matter which side you're on not for the cheers or jeers, but simply because it's history.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 800 #2 January 21, 2015 Agreed. This one looks to be rather interesting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BornToThrill 0 #3 January 21, 2015 As a political science major, this is going to be extremely interesting. Cannot wait to see the rebuttals by Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Ben Carson, and Glenn Beck. ...only two more years.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #4 January 21, 2015 I have grown eary of the SOTU. It inevitably turns into a circle jerk and a goofing session. It doesn't get any worse than when a lame duck second-term POTUS does a SOTU with an opposing party in charge of Congress (Reagan/Clinton/Dubya and now Obama). The Atlas launched successfully about an hour ago. Now the Flyers and Penguins are tied up at 1 getting to the end of the second period. Looking forward to watching the third period. Note: the SOTU would be a helluva lot more interesting if it wasn't televised. Take the drama out of it, publish the speech. I'll look at the transcript... My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #5 January 21, 2015 "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #6 January 21, 2015 Not a great speech; average in general terms. Optimistic for Democrats. I'm not sure there was even a single bone thrown to the Republicans. Usually The President (regardless of who it is) tosses one or two nods to the other side. LOTS of hand sitting on the right side. I'm not entirely sure if they ever applauded a single line.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumpy 284 #7 January 21, 2015 quade LOTS of hand sitting on the right side. I'm not entirely sure if they ever applauded a single line. He could have announced a cure for cancer and world peace with the same result.Never try to eat more than you can lift Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #8 January 21, 2015 Stumpy*** LOTS of hand sitting on the right side. I'm not entirely sure if they ever applauded a single line. He could have announced a cure for cancer and world peace with the same result. Well...there are some lines Presidents (regardless of who is in office at the time) can use that force the other side to not only applaud, but also stand up. Typically that's some sweeping patriotic BS or praise of the military. Maybe I missed it, but Obama didn't seem like he wanted to do any forced moves this go around. That -may- have been intentional to show just how forced the other side is and very much like you say, would not have applauded the cure for cancer.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #9 January 21, 2015 Stumpy*** LOTS of hand sitting on the right side. I'm not entirely sure if they ever applauded a single line. He could have announced a cure for cancer and world peace with the same result. I read the embargoed transcript. His whole "better politics" sermon about not attacking opponents. But spent portions of the speech demonizing some and taunting others. Would he have announced the cure for cancer without bashing someone? This is why the SOTU is a joke. A pep rally. And all pep rallies need a "them" and an "us." Edited to add: perhaps it came off as more innocent on the television. But the transcript with the partisanship followed by calls for civility left me feeling that the speech as a whole was little more than frivolity. Quade, I think, also nailed it. Provided nothing for the other side to cheer. He watched it and said it was fairly weak. I'm sure there were dick moves by the GOP in when they applauded or didn't. Transcript doesn't show that. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boomerdog 0 #10 January 21, 2015 Obama's SOTU speech is nothing more than a thin patina of flowery perfumed verbiage covering a Mount Everest of bullshit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayneflorida 0 #11 January 21, 2015 Finally, equal pay for woman. He is going to start with the White Staff, ha ha. Really tired of the phases he often uses. "It's not who we are" and "It's not what we do". I conclude that it was a successful speech because I fell asleep again. Can't blame President Obama because I did it with Bush and Clinton. Must be a SOTU BS thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,312 #12 January 21, 2015 Doing my usual morning news feeds came across a "fairly" decent article by ABC regarding the SOTU: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/state-union-2015-fact-check-obamas-rhetoric-reality/story?id=28355350Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #13 January 21, 2015 $3.25 million per detainee per annum in Guantanamo in 2014. Yikes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #14 January 21, 2015 Boomerdog Obama's SOTU speech is nothing more than a thin patina of flowery perfumed verbiage covering a Mount Everest of bullshit. This. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkyDekker 1,465 #15 January 21, 2015 Parties and followers are so divided, people aren't even listening anymore. Whatever the other party says or claims, it is wrong and bad. Goes for both sides. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #16 January 21, 2015 SkyDekkerParties and followers are so divided, people aren't even listening anymore. Whatever the other party says or claims, it is wrong and bad. Goes for both sides. Agreed. You'd like to imagine the discussions that went on between politicians of opposing parties were more mature and measured than, say, youtube comments, but it gets more difficult all the time. I think it's worth posting this again: http://xkcd.com/1127/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jclalor 12 #18 January 21, 2015 And with the nations entire chain of command in attendance, and with the ever increasing chance of the unthinkable happening, who does Obama choose to pick up the pieces of a shattered nation and move the country forward...? A Black man http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/01/20/obama-designated-survivor-state-of-the-union-ernest-moniz-sally-jewell/22051655/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #19 January 21, 2015 jclalorAnd with the nations entire chain of command in attendance, and with the ever increasing chance of the unthinkable happening, who does Obama choose to pick up the pieces of a shattered nation and move the country forward...? This is always an interesting poli-fi part of the night; the "what if" scenario. It's part legitimate concern, sure, but the odds of it happening are pretty slim. I doubt we're ever going to see a lone-wolf attack that would be that successful. My guess is the only successful attack would be something on the scale of a nuclear strike, but then that threat pretty much always looms over DC. I do not think a 9/11 type of attack would be successful now.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #20 January 21, 2015 State of the Union address and a Speaker's Corner Thread..... I think that if it's mostly through the next workday and we only have 20 posts (21 now).... That it was a universal "MEH" I'm glad I watched basketball instead. (I popped over a couple times and it was all fluff, though an orange President and a burgundy Speaker was amusing) (I popped to the Republican response, but I really can't stand that woman, I have no reason, but every time I've seen her it's like a cheese grater on my teeth.....I can't stay long enough to see whether or not I even resonate with her politics...) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Channman 2 #21 January 21, 2015 SkyDekker$3.25 million per detainee per annum in Guantanamo in 2014. Yikes. if only they would reduce the number of doctors and lawyers that are stationed there, that would reduce that number considerably. We had what 660 plus detainees on the high end and now less than 200? I read somewhere there are roughly 6 doctors to every detainee currently being held. The overall cost to the military want go down, if these men and women were stationed elsewhere, but it would reduce the associated cost at Club Gitmo. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #22 January 21, 2015 ChannmanI read somewhere there are roughly 6 doctors to every detainee currently being held. If that's true (somehow I doubt it is currently true, but let's assume it is for the moment), wouldn't that be an indication of the amount of "enhanced interrogation" the prisoners received? The only reason to have that many doctors would to ensure the prisoners don't actually die on a moment to moment basis.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #23 January 21, 2015 quade***I read somewhere there are roughly 6 doctors to every detainee currently being held. If that's true (somehow I doubt it is currently true, but let's assume it is for the moment), wouldn't that be an indication of the amount of "enhanced interrogation" the prisoners received? The only reason to have that many doctors would to ensure the prisoners don't actually die on a moment to moment basis. Your tin hat is too tight"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #24 January 21, 2015 rushmc******I read somewhere there are roughly 6 doctors to every detainee currently being held. If that's true (somehow I doubt it is currently true, but let's assume it is for the moment), wouldn't that be an indication of the amount of "enhanced interrogation" the prisoners received? The only reason to have that many doctors would to ensure the prisoners don't actually die on a moment to moment basis. Your tin hat is too tight Quade said that he didn't believe there were that many doctors. Then he took a stab at a reason if it was indeed true. Relax... My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,991 #25 January 22, 2015 >We had what 660 plus detainees on the high end and now less than 200? I read >somewhere there are roughly 6 doctors to every detainee currently being held. That would be ~1200 doctors. Sounds like reality is closer to 6, if the usual ratio of doctors/nurses/assistants holds. ====================== Here’s another secret the White House doesn’t want you to know about the VA. Al Qaeda detainees get better medical treatment than our veterans. Say what? Yes, it’s true. I know because I served as a Pentagon spokesman from 2005-2009 and visited Guantanamo Bay Naval Base over 30 times during those years. Despite the fact that Al Qaeda terrorists carried out the Sept. 11 terror attacks, killing 3,000 people in America, the admitted co-conspirators and their roughly 150 fellow jihadists at Gitmo have approximately 100 doctors, nurses and health care personnel assigned to them. J.D. Gordon is a retired Navy Commander who served as a Pentagon spokesman in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2005-09. He serves as senior adviser to several Washington-based think tanks. ========================== http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/05/22/al-qaeda-terrorists-at-guantanamo-treated-better-than-our-vets/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
