SOTU 2006 COMMENTS

SOTU 2006 Comments

By Peter Fredson

February 2, 2006

The lengthy speech of G.W.Bush at the SOTU met all of my expectations. I expected Bush to mention 9/11 and was not mistaken. I expected many other words and phrases designed to arouse emotions and was not mistaken. Terrah, Iraq, Stay the Course, God, etc. all were applauded by the sycophant gathering.

I have dissected some of Bush’s speeches and found many phrases to be old friends. Bush promises have previously been promised and failed to materialize.

Faith was still prominent as a cure-all for incompetence. Abstinence is another cure-all for AIDS, pregnancy, consensual sex. Bush is consistent. Even if he failed at something, he is optimistic that the next time it will work.

VICTORY is still a pervasive them, and the idea that Bush will protect America from terra gives him great optimism, despite his record. Any promises regarding health must be compared with previous promises.

What I did not hear was the strategy, which Bush says he had since the first time he saw aluminum tubes, yellow cake, and mushroom clouds, to get the hell out of Iraq. It may be that he does not like to mention huge bases, the largest embassy, the idea of stage-managing a “sovereign” country, the thought of giving up all that oil, or that he is not yet sufficiently immunized from world courts for war crimes.

It is evident that he wants to remain in Iraq to protect Americans from those nasty Iranians, Syrians, and to let Condi threaten EVIL countries daily. That surely gives him a big kick in the ego and satisfies some of the murderous desire of his True Believers.

He also wants to make sure that Saddam Hussein gets a proper trial and execution. He wants to make sure that democracy for Iraq does not include any preference for Mohammed and the Koran, but wants his version of democracy to flourish by aid of 160,000 troops aiming at the foreheads of any Iraqi that dares show up on his terra screen.

He wants to make sure that his troops can break down any door with impunity without messy legalistic procedures which may prevent his imperial will from prevailing.

So he was exceedingly vague about the entrance or exit plans, as he was about the “moral and noble purpose” with which he launched Shock and Awe to accidentally kill thousands of Muslims.

I find his sudden regard for science, mathematics and technology to lack coherence with his preference for Biblical references with which to govern the U.S. It seems at odds with his fundamentalist regard for Creationism or Intelligent Design. Bush’s past promises to improve science and math education or fund other kinds of education do not inspire any confidence.

It does not explain the contempt he has for environmental concerns, leaving children behind, bible reading in public schools, turning the Oval Office and executive action into a mechanism to destroy the Separation of Church and State. It does not explain how he considers that prayer will conquer AIDS, or that abstinence will override any sexual urge, or that any type of sexual knowledge or advice is taboo.

"We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology, to help control costs and reduce dangerous medical errors” Bush said. Bush did not mention that he would use technology to spy on his own citizens, to track their every movement, every word, every action, and have a new secret police force arrest anyone for criticizing his administration.

Bush loves to smell crotches and if he suspects that any form of sex was practiced without preacher’s permission he will change the constitution to put offenders to death. Finding a used condom would probably subject the user to a firing squad.

His speech-writers worked diligently to find attractive issues which Bush might carry out without undue expense but might restore some of his voter appeal. They made quite a list for Santa, all sounding fine as campaign promises. And I assure everyone that Bush is campaigning.

He is working for his party, not his country, in amassing cash, votes, support, influence and in either bribing or bullying people into doing things his way.

Bush tried in his speech to get things done his way. My Way or the Highway, Go it Alone, to Hell with Diplomacy, let Condi and Bolton threaten any critic with nuclear weapons and preemption for “intentions.”

On the other hand Bush also strongly wants to have a strange dual relationship. He begs for bipartisan action. That’s what he says. He appeals strongly for bipartisan action, for civility, for cooperation while at the same time giving his critics “the finger”, telling them to go FKKK themselves, calling critics traitors, pulling dirty tricks on opponents, outing CIA agents, or firing whistle-blowers, going into rages upon opposition, and deciding that legalities do not apply to any of his actions.

Any mention of compassion, freedom, Democracy, Uniter not Divider, must be regarded as pleasantries to gull the gullible. Those ships have sailed. The way Bush uses those words are examples of Orwellian Double-Think.

We all know about Bush competitiveness and how he achieves it by lying, spying, destabilizing, dirty tricks, bullying, and threatening. Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative disregards all of the regulations concerning production as regulations threaten huge profits.

The enormous oil profits this year reflect the tender care Bush had with the Prince Bandar, when soon after they kissed and held hands the price of oil doubled. The profits had something to do with the Chairman of a Committee investigating oil prices. deciding that for oil executives to swear to their testimony was asking far too much of those honorable gentlemen.

Bush uses executive action to appoint the most singularly inappropriate people to high positions, because they are cronies or echo his strange views. Anyone who considers Ashcroft or Bolton to be admirable people is surely a very hardened Republican sycophant who takes no pride in his party, country or Constitution.

So the people he chooses to implement all of the promises in his speech do not guarantee any kind of success.

I did not comment on other issues in the SOTU speech as it is so repetitive, or because they were chosen merely because they sound attractive but will not be implemented. Bush is trying for a legacy now, beginning to realize that his petulance, lying, and bullying do not accomplish anything.

I was amused at the genuflections of the audience, standing and applauding while clapping boisterously in an attempt to make the country think everyone approves of his incompetence, lying, and aggression.

The Democratic Response was very timid. The Governor of Virginia used ineffectual gestures, a calm voice, and strong hints of Religion at work, that fundamentalists should defect to the Democrats who also loved Jesus and Prayer. His near monotone lacked fire. Why Howard Dean, or Kennedy or Barack or a turned-on Al or any of a dozen more exciting speakers was not given the Response made Huffington ask “What the Hell were they thinking?”

Tepid will not feed the bulldog.