I actually watched the State Of The Union address last night. As much as I detest listening to the President lie to us, I wanted to see what he said. I wasn't disappointed. He said a lot of things that were predictable, which are fodder for my post today. I can honestly say it was one of the few times I ever wanted to slap my television - more than once.
The first note I took was his comment that "climate change is a fact." Even though the "scientists" who introduced it to the world have been proved to be liars, and many countries are de-funding global warming/climate change research, President Obama is still pushing it. I found it interesting when he said the country is experiencing drought in the West and "coastal flooding." Really? The only coastal flooding I remember in the last few years was the result of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Has there been more coastal flooding, before or since then, that didn't make the news? If so, please make it public before you include it in your SOMU speech.
The next thing he talked about was American jobs that have gone overseas. His solution to this problem is to cut taxes for businesses to encourage growth and in-sourcing jobs here at home. But wait - that's a conservative idea and the Republicans have been pushing for his entire reign. Since Obama took office Republicans and conservatives have been saying "Cut taxes for businesses to encourage growth." Liberals say this is a terrible idea. But Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, apparently agrees because that's what he's doing in New York. Funny how they use conservative principles when liberal principles fail...
The President bragged about all of our troops being out of Iraq but failed to mention the fact that Iraq is quickly being taken over by Al Qaeda backed forces. Of course he's not mentioning that. It would make his other remarks seem foolish.
The President went on to talk about how he was working to keep terrorists from attacking our country yet his record on this isn't great considering he and others created a narrative about the Benghazi incident that denied a terrorist attack occurred and said it was a video that caused the incident - only to have that narrative completely debunked as a lie a few months later. But if he's working hard to keep terrorists from attacking us - should blatant lies be a part of that?
For the second time in his Presidency the President called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. He wants those still held there to integrated into our federal prison system. He said of Guantanamo: "We need to stand on our Constitutional ideas."
That's interesting coming from a man who, just last week said “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help they need. I’ve got a pen and I've got a phone. And I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward in helping to make sure our kids are getting the best education possible, making sure that our businesses are getting the kind of support and help they need to grow and advance, to make sure that people are getting the skills that they need to get those jobs that our businesses are creating.”
That's not Constitutional. The Constitution limits the power of the President to do things unilaterally. Yet this President takes unilateral action on a regular basis. He has changed the Health Care Bill several times. He has complained about the Constitutional limitations on him several times. But he uses the Constitution when it's convenient. When it's not he finds ways around it - as he has promised.
The President talked about our veterans - both those who served safely and those who were wounded in combat. He made it seem like he truly cares about our wounded veterans yet just last week he signed a finance bill into law that cuts benefits for wounded veterans. I'm ashamed of the Republicans and Democrats for this bill but the President signed it into law. And now he's using his address to praise the very veterans he recently screwed out of benefits. How any veteran can support this President is beyond me.
President Obama brought attention to Army Ranger Corey Remsburg, (conveniently seated next to Michelle Obama,) the U.S. Army Ranger who received devastating injuries during his 10th tour in Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Remsburg received a standing ovation from the entire chamber for his service and dedication to his country. And rightly so. He deserved every minute of it.
That said - I can't help but believe our narcissistic President put SFC Remsburg on display to make himself look good. He talked about the first time they met and then about how their second meeting was when he (the President) went to see SFC Remsburg in the hospital. President Obama praised Remsburg's determination to get better and to return to Army service. And it is definitely praiseworthy. And SFC Remsburg will need all the determination he can get to return to health since that same President just continues to cut pay and benefits for our wounded veterans.
The President chastised the Republicans for cutting unemployment benefits and he had another live example with a sob story in the audience. (He's really good at that.) What the President doesn't seem to understand (or refuses to acknowledge) is that unemployment insurance was never meant to be a career and someone actually has to pay for it. I know we have a seemingly endless supply of money borrowed from China but one day that well will dry up and payment will come due. Where will he get the money for that?
President Obama needs to take a look at North Carolina. Republican Governor Pat McCrory recently cut unemployment benefits in his state. The result was that more people went back to work and the unemployment numbers dropped. Imagine that? People went back to work when they could no longer depend on the government to supply their income. Of course - liberals will deny that this works. But they also said Scott Walker would fail in Wisconsin and look how that's turning out.
And the big one - President Obama once again indicated that if Congress doesn't do what he wants them to do he will render them (and the Constitution) irrelevant and do things unilaterally. So in one segment he says "We need to stand on our Constitutional ideas" and in another he basically says the Constitution doesn't apply to him if it prevents him from doing what he wants. How convenient for him that he can pick and choose when he will and will not follow the Constitution. That's the part that brought about the title of today's post. The President seems to believe it's his union instead of ours.
I'm surprised I actually sat through the entire thing. But I did. And I'm glad I did - I got this nice, long blog post out of it. So thanks for that, Mr. President. I was running short on topics.
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