Super America

Nothing says American Exceptionalism quite like the Big Game. (Editor’s Note: I am reluctant to refer to the Super Bowl directly, given that the name “Super Bowl” is licensed by the NFL, and I do not want to be sued for its’ unauthorized use). Unlimited fatty foods, free flowing domestic beers, illegal gambling, underage prostitution, and corporate sponsored violence truly defines our exceptional place in world history. This sounds more like the storyboard for an episode of The Sopranos than a football game. The use of Roman numerals to describe this annual orgy of excess seems perfectly appropriate, since unsuspecting QBs are often substitutes for the human sacrifice portion of the program. The only thing missing is the lions, and I am pretty confident that we won’t see Lions at the Big Game any time soon.

American exceptionalism has become quite the topic of discussion in the echo chamber, but not as it relates to the Packers or Steelers. It has become the new litmus test for aspiring politicians, according to Kathleen Parker, and I think she is correct. In a recent op-ed piece, she compared the utterance of the phrase “American exceptionalism” to other arbitrary hurdles for pols, such as the wearing of a flag pin and using the phrase “Islamic terrorism”. In this bizarro world, symbolism trumps actions, and words equal results. Sometimes reality doesn’t even matter.

President Obama has apparently not jumped convincingly enough onto the exceptionalism bandwagon, at least not convincingly enough for the Right wing. The problem here is that regardless of what Obama says or does, the Right will flog him with claims that he does not accept the tenets of American exceptionalism. This makes sense to the Right, since they aren’t even convinced he is a citizen, despite facts to the contrary.

Here’s the most recent example, post-SOTU speech. House Speaker Boehner and CNN’s Kathleen Parker had this exchange after the Obama address to Congress:

PARKER: You know one of the words that I listened out for in his speech last night was the word "exceptional." ... But I didn't hear him say it and I thought at a time when you're building a speech around sort of defining the common purpose of America, that seemed to me a rather -- you know, a simple direct line, fairly -- pretty much a no-brainer, but he didn't say it.

BOEHNER: Well, they -- they've refused to talk about America exceptionalism. We are different than the rest of the world. Why? Because Americans have -- the country was built on an idea that ordinary people could decide what their government looked like and ordinary people could elect their own leaders.

And 235 years ago that was a pretty novel idea. And so we are different. Why is our economy still 20 times the size of China's? Because Americans have had their freedom to succeed, the freedom to fail. We've got more innovators, more entrepreneurs, and that is exceptional but you can't get the left to talk about it. They don't -- they reject that notion.

PARKER: Why do you think that is?

BOEHNER: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if they're afraid of it, whether they don't believe it. I don't know.

I heard Obama’s speech, and I am not sure that either of these characters did. My mama taught me that I have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason – listen more than talk. Boehner and Parker have skipped the listen part in a dramatic and blindly partisan way.

During the State of the Union, Obama talked about the qualities that "set us apart as a nation" and the things we do "better than anyone else." And his belief that America is "not just a place on a map, but the light to the world" and "the greatest nation on Earth." And his reminder that "as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth."

Boehner specifically whined that "they" don't understand that "the country was built on an idea," a day after Obama explained, "What's more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny."

This is all in the public record. These Right wing claims are silly and insulting to those who listen and read. How can anyone sit on TV and pretend that none of this was said during his address? The sad fact is that the truth cannot be allowed to get in the way of a good story, and the GOP’s story is that Obama is anti-American and not like us. If Obama tomorrow gives a speech titled “American Exceptionalism”, the Right will question his inflection, the red color of his tie, and his reliance on a teleprompter instead of speaking from the heart. The goal post will continue to move.

Think I’m kidding? Fox News posted an article about an Obama “gaffe” during the National Prayer Breakfast. The President used a quote from the Bible during his remarks, and Fox News reported that he has misquoted the Bible. Blasphemy, right? Except there are dozens of translations of the Bible, all legitimate in their own way. Fox News relied on the King James version – Obama’s quote was from the New International version. Have these litmus tests for public office gotten so ridiculous that use of a different translation of the Bible becomes a disqualifying event? Or is the only litmus test really in play questioning Obama at every turn, regardless of merit?

On the question of American Exceptionalism, Obama will never win over his Right wing critics that harbor a transparent agenda. After tomorrow, Green Bay fans will never be able to convince Pittsburgh fans that they are the better team, even when the scoreboard says otherwise at the end of the game.

Green Bay 26 – Pittsburgh 22

The Horseplay Doctrine

Many of us have done stupid things at work.  Let me rephrase - my readers can relate to doing stupid things at work.  Up until now, stupidity and disruptive, boorish behavior left us unprotected, potential victims to an ethical boss who believes that a day's pay demands a day's work.  But infantile pranks and games in the workplace build morale, we argue.  Dumb stuff makes us who we are, and we can no sooner leave these acts of our childhood behind when work begins than we could leave our arms or legs at home.  Accept us whole, or leave us alone!

Finally, the Virginia Supreme Court agrees:

Filed by Roberto Ceniceros of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management.

Virginia Court Says ‘Horseplay Doctrine’ Entitles Worker to Comp

 

Under the “horseplay doctrine” a restaurant server injured by co-workers who threw ice at him is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, Virginia’s Supreme Court has ruled.

The ruling last week in Matthew Edward Simms v. Ruby Tuesday Inc. et al. is the first time Virginia’s high court has addressed the horseplay doctrine, which says an innocent victim of on-the-job horseplay is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, court records show.

Simms suffered a dislocated shoulder when he lifted his left arm to protect himself from pieces of ice thrown by co-workers, court records state.

A deputy workers’ compensation commissioner concluded that Simms was entitled to temporary total disability. However, before his injury at work, Simms had dislocated his shoulder several times, so the deputy commissioner also found that the surgery Simms underwent later was not related to his work injury.

However, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled in 2009 that even though Simms was an innocent victim of horseplay, there was no connection between his employment conditions and the ice attack. The ruling sided with the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, which had overturned the deputy commissioner’s decision.

But in its ruling last week, Virginia’s Supreme Court applied an “actual risk test,” in which an injury falls within workers’ compensation law “only if there is a causal connection between the employee’s injury and the conditions under which the employer requires the work to be done,” court records state.

The state high court also relied on a theory of recovery, which has found that joking actions of co-workers are a risk of employment because humans are playful and from time to time engage in pranks, which can be dangerous.

The Virginia Supreme Court remanded the case for a finding consistent with its opinion. In a contrary ruling last year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled an injured worker must prove his injury was not a result of horseplay in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits. 

Giving Us the Business - Part II

I am afraid that this will become Part II of a series that may continue through November 2012, but it is important.  I am not afraid of writing about it - I am afraid that this false line of reasoning from the current Republican Congress will be repeated and repeated until the public forgets the real truth.  Good thing I'm here.  You're welcome.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this year, the GOP has embarked on a strategy to take credit for every piece of economic good news that will come out over the next two years.  It is Politics 101 to take credit for the good, blame the bad on the other side, and trust in the American gift for forgetting what happened the day before.  We are easily distracted.  "Look, a squirrel!"

Here is House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, getting squirrelly and accepting credit for economic growth:

"This morning, the GDP projection for the last quarter was released, showing a 3.2% growth for the fourth quarter and suggesting the economy will pick up speed this year. This uptick is no doubt due in part to the certainty that Washington has given the private sector through the recent tax deal and the newly elected House Republican Majority who have pledged to rein in the size and scope of our federal government which has exploded over the last 4 years. At a time when our nation's debt is over $14 trillion, it's time to get serious about cutting spending and growing jobs in the private sector, rather than cutting spending and "investing" in new government programs."

Reality check, Eric.  The tax deal that you suggest led to the 4th quarter growth occurred in mid-December, when the quarter was 10+ weeks old.  This was also the 6th straight quarter of growth, despite the Democrat's passage of "growth-killing" legislation, like the Affordable Care Act, Wall St. financial regulation, and student loan reform.  Apparently, in direct contradiction to your talking points, these legislative movements did not destroy the economy.  The markets, pre-Egyptian rioting anyway, are optimistic, and have been all year.

Cantor is not alone in his party in claiming credit for policies he opposed.  On Fox News last week, House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) insisted that indications of economic improvements are "in large part" because Republicans "won our majority and we're pursuing pro-growth policies."  Shameless.  He argues that 6 consecutive quarters of grow have come from an event that happened in the final 45 days of an 18 month cycle.  Insulting. 

In the first quarter of 2011, let's not forget the laser focus from the Right on jobs and growth.  As we were told during campaign season, their priority once we entrusted them with our votes would be "jobs, jobs, jobs."  So far, they have introduced a purely symbolic vote to repeal health care reform, a rewrite of abortion laws, and a rewrite of the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship.  Yup, that's a laser-focus alright.  They are pandering to the base, and riding Obama's coattails of economic success while they do it.  I fully expect the GOP to be pictured near a GM plant before 2012, talking about how their tough talk and social policy agenda led to the rebirth of the auto industry in this country - retroactively.

Courtesy of Steve Benen, here's a home-made chart, showing GDP numbers by quarter since the Great Recession began. The red columns show the economy under the Bush administration; the blue columns show the economy under the Obama administration.


Would we like to see more growth?  Slow and steady, yes.  Did the GOP and its policies account for the past 6 quarters of growth?  If anything, they railed against the very policies that have produced the results.  Memory check - in September 2008, things were so bad that the GOP nominee suspended his presidential campaign to fly into Washington and save the nation from financial collapse.  Given how dire things were when Obama walked in the door, these results are pretty good, and achieve in spite of Republican opposition and obstructionism.

Ah, but what about that pesky deficit?  Fact check:  the day of President Obama's inauguration, the federal budget deficit left by the Republican administration was $1.3 trillion. After some additional economy-saving measures were added to the mix, the 2009 deficit reached $1.4 trillion. Last year, things improved slightly, and the deficit fell to $1.29 trillion.  Now it's projected at $1.5 trillion after the GOP lobbied and succeeded in getting their donors the tax cut extension that, had it expired on schedule, would have reduced the deficit by $700 billion over 10 years.

"Listen to the American people."  This has been a familiar refrain.  This is what I hear - Obama's job approval numbers are at 50% after a painful election cycle and stubbornly high unemployment.  He seems to have some Teflon of his own, and I understand now why the GOP would want to co-opt his economic legacy.  I just won't let them do it.

If you want to argue that YOUR policies will lead to more growth, go ahead.  If you want to argue that the Obama agenda has led to growth that is unsustainable, go ahead.  Just don't pretend that any good news is because of anything you've done.  So far, you've done nothing.

Pants on Fire

“It’s not a lie, if you believe it to be true.”  - George Costanza

Kris Dunn wrote an article in Workforce, an obscure HR and Staffing industry trade rag, titled “The Top 5 Lies in HR”.  The title did its job, and encouraged me to take the next step and read the text.  Being in HR for the past 20 years, I believe I am qualified to comment on her work.  In summary, I found her “lies” to be uninteresting and pedestrian, and not a part of my Top 5, but you can judge for yourself:

1.       We’re responsible for the work/life balance of team members.

That might be a lie, if we folks in HR ever thought that.  It might be more true today that we worry more about employee’s work/life blend.  We stress more about cell phone use after hours and laptop use over vacations, and whether that time is compensable.  The real worry is that we’re responsible for the liability after hours, not the quality of your private life.  Just be productive when you are here please.

2.       It’s the company’s desire to provide strong benefits to all team members.

The company’s desire is to provide benefits that are more attractive than the competition’s benefits so you accept our job offer and stay until your productivity wanes, or the boss decides you are too negative.  The company wants the most employee benefits for the least money causing the least disruption to productivity.  Is that really so shocking?

3.       We’re into pay for performance.

We’re into saying that because we heard someone else mention it at a meeting or in a magazine article.  We think we’re “strategic partners” and friends with the CFO if we talk about pay for performance.  We are just like you, though.  We are more comfortable protecting the status quo, which means pay for seniority.  It’s one thing to tie compensation to company performance.  It’s a another thing to show that the pay caused the performance.  See “Drive”.

4.       We want only “A” players.

We want B and C players that never complain and never leave.  If they never complain, our jobs are easy.  If they never leave, we don’t have to recruit and interview more people, and we hate that (not to mention new hire orientation – yuck).  “A” players, generally speaking, are a pain in the a**.

5.       Everyone’s equal here.

That’s a lie, but I have never heard anyone in HR say that.  A line manager might say that in order to avoid an admission of favoritism.  We HR folks might say, "We treat everyone fairly." which is definitely a goal.  The reality is that a definition of "fairly" is in the eye of the beholder...or the plaintiff.

While I applaud Ms. Dunn’s attempt to present some ‘provocative’ lies to sell some magazines, here is my list of the Top 5 HR Lies, and I’ll supply them for free (no magazine subscription required):

1.       “We haven’t decided yet.”

We probably have, and if it were to your benefit, we’d tell you.  Assume I have told you that "we haven’t decided yet" to avoid any confrontation before I can prepare security to be nearby when I break the bad news.

2.       “We have an open door policy.”

We love being in HR because we can close our doors, and tell everyone, “Sorry, I need privacy so I can protect your confidentiality."  It is easier to talk about you behind your back if the door is closed.

3.       “All employment decisions are based on an individual’s knowledge, skills and abilities.”

There are about 100 other factors that weigh into employment decisions, and you’ve probably already guessed the other 97 of them.

4.       “We value the annual performance review process.”

We hate it more than you do.  If supervisors did their jobs and provided feedback and direction to their direct reports regularly, there would be no need for annual appraisals.  In the absence of competent supervision that gives meaningful feedback and direction, we substitute this format, designed to keep us out of court and to discourage employees from trying very hard for the other 11 months of the year.

5.       “We like people.”

That’s half-true.  We used to like people, but that was before we got into HR.  Now we have learned through seminars and books that people are “human capital”, which is code for “a tangible asset that we can depreciate over time.”  Again, the CFOs out there love that kind of talk, and apparently, we want to hang out with finance people more.  Can you blame us?  They control our budget.

Now, the title of this post could be construed as a lie, since there was no mention of 'pant's or 'fire' in this diatribe.  I prefer, however, to think of it as effective marketing, and that should never be confused with a lie…right?

Editor’s Note:  The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog’s posts are mine alone and are not representative, unless clearly and unequivocally stated, of those of any past, present, or future client or employer. That is the truth.

Snow Daze

I am certain that there are a thousand stories like this from yesterday’s snow commute disaster, but this is mine:

(Times are approximate, except for the start and stop times)

4:57 PM:  I start my car and exit the parking garage at work.  Boy, the snow is coming down fast and furious.  It is heavy, wet and blowing.  It sticks to the driver’s side window, reducing visibility out that side to zero.  That will limit my shifts into the left lane, but otherwise, I am carefree.

4:58 PM:  At the parking lot exit, my first decision.  A left turn is quicker and closer to the entrance to Route 66, but the road is more hazardous.  A right turn is slightly longer, but better traveled.  I’ll go right.  I’m in no hurry, so safety first!

4:59 PM:  My second decision.  I usually turn left towards home, but that route has tight curves and rolling hills.  I am a confident Jersey trained snow driver, but not insane.  I’ll go right and stay on major arteries.  The pace will be slow, but the road surface should be better.

5:01 PM:  Traffic leading up to Route 123 is at a dead stop in the right turn lane.  Cars on the opposite side cannot negotiate up a slight incline, so all traffic in the other direction is stopped cold.  My driver’s side window is buried under snow.  I step out to clean it off.

5:20 PM:  I have traveled about 50 more feet.  Making good time.  I make a bold decision.  I’ll switch into the left lane, cruise to the intersection, and then make the right turn from the middle lane.  There is no perceived danger, since traffic is crawling anyway.  My goal is Route 66 West, a mere 150 yards from the intersection.  I can smell that home cooking.

5:35 PM:  I have made the right onto Route 123, and I am driving without incident along the left lane, the “fast lane” as it were.  One simple slip into the right lane for the Route 66 entrance is all it will take now. 

5:45 PM:  It seems simple to cut into the right lane, and at speed it would be.  In the absence of any speed (cars are parked trying to get onto 66), it is more challenging.  There’s the issue of the snow/slush temporary median strip that have developed on the highway.  Another obstacle is that once I have turned, the blinding snow is no longer on my left window.  It is piling up on my right window, blocking my view of the cars that I hope to merge in between.  The first seeds of frustration begin to grow.

5:50 PM:  No worries.  Route 66 is at a stand still.  If there’s an accident on that road, I could be stuck for hours.  I will outsmart everyone.  I’ll continue straight on Route 123, and jump on Route 50 West.  That will also be slow, but well traveled.  I cross over the top of Route 66, headed south.

6:10 PM:  I am sitting still on 123 wondering what the hell is going on.  I fight the urge to honk the horn at no one in particular.  The traffic report doesn’t even mention my location.  The report basically says, “It’s bad everywhere, please be kind to people.”  I think it’s the end of the world.  When the traffic report is that non-specific, I think this might take awhile.

6:15 PM:  My “Low Fuel” light comes on.  That wasn’t good planning on my part.  If I stop for gas, I could lose my place in line.

6:30 PM:  I can see Route 50 now.  Cars are not able to scale a simple incline in front of Tastee 29 Diner.  I see cars go up, I see cars slide down.  I wonder if they will allow Jersey trained drivers to give it a shot.  It doesn’t look that bad, if I could just get to the intersection.  I call home asking about alternative routes.  I don’t like my options.  I tell Cherie that I might not get home until 7:30 PM at this pace.

6:35 PM:  I can’t wait any longer, I’d better get some gas in the car while I can.  I cut through the intersection without watching the traffic signals (they are useless at this juncture), and glide into the Exxon.

6:40 PM:  Windows cleared, legs stretched, gas tank full, I have no choice out of the gas station except a right turn onto Route 50 headed east.  It is the opposite direction from where I want to go, but no one is moving west.  I’ll drive east, and find a cut over towards a better road.  Surely, there are roads that these Virginia drivers fear that I will not.  I call home for new options.  I am traveling at 30 miles per hour, and I don’t care that I am going the wrong way.  The speed feels like victory.

6:43 PM:  Eastbound traffic on Route 50 is at a standstill.  Cars cannot climb the slight incline on the westbound side at this point either, but I have no idea what the issue is on my side of the road.  I see red brake lights extend as far as visibility will allow.  I am stopped dead, headed in the wrong direction, and it is still snowing at an estimate rate of 2 inches per hour.  This is hell without the heat.

7:00 PM:  My brother-in-law calls and helps me decide to quit for awhile.  We agree that I have earned dinner at Artie’s, a fine dining experience near the Fairfax Circle.  I try not to dwell on the fact that I earned this meal while driving 2 hours, and ending up 2 miles further from home than when I started.  I’ll watch the Caps game and enjoy a nice meal.  Traffic will be gone by the time I’m done.

7:05 PM:  Karen the bartender explains to me that the reason all the TV screens have the Direct TV icon and not actual programming on.  In her words, “Direct TV sucks.”  That may be true, but what else is true is that there will be no Caps game for me tonight, at least not until I’m back in the car headed home.

7:45 PM:  Pale ale gone, food arrives.  The grouper special is magical.  Another stranded motorist, Anna, sits next to me, and we share traffic horror stories.  The whole bar comes alive with suggestions on short cuts, hazards to avoid, and tales of survival.  Underneath all of our bravado, I think we all know we are so screwed.  50-50 chance we sleep in our cars tonight.

8:35 PM:  Brimming with confidence and a full belly, I walk to the car with a plan.  I am headed straight into Fairfax City.  A few zigs and zags, and I’ll make it back to 123, then Braddock, then home.

8:50 PM:  I am lulled into a false sense of security with my simple trip into Fairfax City.  The roads are really bad, but I am a trained Jersey driver (have I mentioned that?).  Home free, until this unusual stop at a traffic light near the Fairfax Library.  Why isn’t anyone moving?

8:55 PM:  I call home to give Cherie an update.  She suggests turning around, or some other ridiculous idea, that is only ridiculous to those of us who are out here in this wintery maze.  I think I might have been rude and dismissive.  Mental note to apologize if I ever get home.

9:10 PM:  Dope-smoking George Mason college boys think blocking intersections is a faster way to get to where they are going.  I think about ramming them with my late model Honda Accord, and claiming it was the weather’s fault.  Cooler heads prevail when I find a new radio station I had not heard before.  Peace.  Caps losing 1-0.

10:00 PM:  Good bye, Fairfax City!  My plan is coming together.  I roll down University Blvd., make a right at the Mason campus and head towards Route 123.  The sense of déjà vu I feel as I approach 123 should have been a warning sign.  Never mind!  There are only 3 cars ahead of me to turn onto 123.  Best news yet!  Caps get shut out, 1-0.

10:35 PM:  A transformer blows about 50 feet in front of me.  Lights up the sky like the sun.  Sparks everywhere.  That was a nice diversion.

10:45 PM:  I have inched (literally) about 150 feet in 45 minutes.  My brother-in-law suggests I bail out and stay at his house tonight.  He is close by.  Of course, once I am in the right lane, turning around or switching lanes is impossible.  I am trapped like those race cars on the Grand Prix ride at Disney World.  I kindly reject his offer.  I am on a mission, and I am getting stubborn.  I am also really up to date on all of the world and national news.

11:05 PM:  I make a right turn onto Braddock Road.  Abandoned cars litter the road.  Some have flashers, most do not.  I need to pee real bad.  I wonder how much that water bottle holds?

11:20 PM:  Hey, knuckleheads!  If you don’t keep your speed, you WILL get stuck.  Use the gas, redneck!!!

11:30 PM:  It’s getting fun now.  I am on Fairfax County Parkway North, near the Fairfax Costco.  The road conditions are terrible with deep piles and very few sustainable trails.  I have given up caring.  I am going home.

11:33 PM:  Dead stop ahead, but I will not stop anymore.  I exit right before gridlock traps me again, onto West Ox Road.  I can weave my way home this way.  Surely, no one else has thought of this.

11:48 PM:  I love West Ox Road, and I am flying past Fair Oaks Hospital.  I knew I’d make it.

11:49 PM:  Fairfax County Parkway South is a parking lot.  No movement.  Fortunately, I am on the north side, and I am alone.  My feelings of guilt at my good fortune do not last.  Suckers.  I am almost home.  HA!

11:55 PM:  I am in my neighborhood.  The road conditions are the best I have seen all night.

12:03 AM:  I pull into the driveway, but my rear end (I should say the car’s rear end) wouldn’t make it all the way.  I’m half in the street.  Finally home, and now I’m stuck.

12:05 AM:  Back outside, shovel in hand.  Frankly, I could use the exercise after sitting in the car for that long.

12:20 AM:  Car is on the sidewalk, I think, but at least it isn’t in the street.  I’m home.

7 miles commute, 7 hour trip.  You do the math.

Live Blogging on Tape Delay from the State of the Union

After reviewing my newsfeed last night and today on Facebook, it is clear that everyone has an opinion on Tuesday’s address to the nation.  It is also clear to me that most of those opinions could have been written before the speech was even delivered.  My friends on the right hated it.  My friends on the left liked it.  My non-political friends posted stuff about their kids and funny You Tube video links.  No surprises.  Perhaps this summary of my observations from the speech will also provide no surprises, but here you are anyway.  Keep reading.

Here are some of the notes that I scribbled to myself during Obama’s SOTU to Congress last night:

• I like Boehner’s pink tie.  Very sensitive, and he is clearly comfortable with his masculinity.  Wonder if he’ll cry.
• I see that Obama has been guilted into wearing the flag pin pretty consistently.
• I thought for sure Obama would open with a joke about the size of Boehner’s gavel.
• Obama mentions Gabby Giffords from Arizona.  I thought her mention would garner a louder and longer ovation.
• I am glad that he didn’t dwell on the shooting in Tucson.  He mentioned it, and moved on.  That felt right.
• “Sit together tonight, but work together tomorrow.”  That’s a good line.
• It was good that he spent a few moments laying out the seismic changes in the work of world over the past several decades brought on by technological advances.  The world IS different than it was 20 years ago, and we do need to be reminded about that.
• “Out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”  This has been a campaign speech so far.  Pretty soon, he should get to the boring policy stuff.
• Every time he says the word “investment”, I know that the GOP is thinking “spending”.  It is not the same thing, although both sides will use those words as bludgeons on one another to support their positions.
• “By 2035, 80% of our energy will come from renewable sources.” Ever since JFK’s ‘man-on-the-moon by the end of the decade’ pronouncement, every President feels like they have to have some huge, long term goal in their SOTU, and usually it’s a goal with arbitrary percentages and deadlines…like this one.  Remember Bush’s pledge that we were going to Mars by 2020?  Most of us will BE biofuel by the time 2035 rolls around.
• His education initiative “Race to the Top” – where have I been?  I don’t remember hearing much about that replacing No Child Left Behind.  Any educators out there know about this?
• Everybody claps for teachers.  Such an easy and hollow gesture.  I am sure teachers are flattered, but I think they’d rather see better pay.
• Nice to see the 2004 Dream Unity Ticket of Kerry and McCain sitting together.  Could they have won?
• I hear a lot about high speed rail, and I understand its benefits, but this country isn’t Europe.  Will we really start using that kind of service, instead of car and air?  What else could we use that money for?
• I don’t think that TSA pat down joke was necessary.  Leave that stuff to Leno and Letterman.
• The tax code is the new 3^rd rail of politics.  Every President proposes simplifying the tax code.  I am a cynic.  Until someone is elected on an all-tax code change platform, nothing will really change.
• 5 year spending freeze across the board.  Candidate Obama skewered candidate McCain for proposing a similar thing in 2008 debates.  Said something like that would be using a hatchet when a scalpel is needed.  Guess he changed his mind.
• Side note as a preemptive strike: Closing a tax loophole should not be considered a tax increase, IMHO.
• Obama promises to veto any bill with an earmark.  I’ll believe that when I see it.  Easier said than done.  It could be that he can now veto any GOP legislation by claiming that he found an earmark buried inside.  Could be his own version of the Party of No.  It worked for the GOP this election cycle.  This is one promise I can’t imagine he could keep.
• Glad he mentioned the student loan reform.  He eliminated the middle man in the loan process (banks) and that money can be used as budget savings and/or more educational loans.  Businesses are praised for cutting out the middle man.  This should get more play.
• As I look at him at the podium, I still can’t believe he won.  In January 2007 when he announced, who honestly thought he’d be in this position?  Reality is stranger than fiction.
• Poor Hillary.  Did she even shower today?  Not her best day.
• The mixing of GOP and Democrats in the crowd subdued the entire speech.  That’s a good thing.  The pep rally atmosphere was getting out of control.  If civility is boring, I’ll take civility.
• I thought we’d hear a longer laundry list of accomplishments.  Either he decided to focus on the future, or polling numbers told him otherwise.

Bonus Notes:

I read today that Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota had the following quote in her original text of her State of the Union response that she released to the press:

Obama should "commit himself to signing" a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. 

The Constitution gives the president no role in amendments, which go directly to the states for ratification after Congress approves them.  Someone must have pointed this out to poor Michelle.  She deleted the reference in her final remarks.

This clip should sum up Rep. Bachmann’s grasp of US history, and facts in general:

Vantage Points

WASHINGTON — In the run-up to the 2010 midterm election in which Democrats lost control of the House, the Obama administration repeatedly broke the law by using federal funds to send Cabinet secretaries and other high-level political appointees to congressional districts of Democratic candidates in tight races, according to a government report.

"Because those trips were classified as official, funds from the U.S. Treasury were used to finance the trips and reimbursement from the relevant campaigns was never sought," stated the report by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that enforces Hatch Act restrictions on partisan political activity inside the federal government.

"In other cases, even when trips were correctly designated as political, agencies used U.S. Treasury funds to cover the costs associated with the trips and did not recoup those funds as required by the Hatch Act and its regulations," the office concluded.

I would image that a story like this would lend credence to the GOP storyline that the Obama administration is guilty of spreading tyranny and that we have lost control of our government.  Why isn’t the right wing blogosphere filled with this breaking news story?  Gather your pitchforks!!!

I guess it’s because this never happened.  This is the real news story that came out yesterday from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — In the run-up to the 2006 midterm election in which Republicans lost control of the House, the Bush administration repeatedly broke the law by using federal funds to send Cabinet secretaries and other high-level political appointees to congressional districts of GOP candidates in tight races, according to a government report.

"Because those trips were classified as official, funds from the U.S. Treasury were used to finance the trips and reimbursement from the relevant campaigns was never sought," stated the report by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that enforces Hatch Act restrictions on partisan political activity inside the federal government.

"In other cases, even when trips were correctly designated as political, agencies used U.S. Treasury funds to cover the costs associated with the trips and did not recoup those funds as required by the Hatch Act and its regulations," the office concluded.

Insert indignation here __________.  It seems that levels of outrage depend on what side of the aisle  you sit.  If you are wondering what the penalty is for this 'infraction', the perps lose their jobs.  Too late for that sanction to hurt.