Posted on 02/02/2005 3:43:44 PM PST by Timeout
The pre-spin: Bush will spend about 1/2 the speech on foreign policy, 1/2 on domestic, with heavy emphasis on Social Security reform. It's said he will provide a detailed tutorial on the SS system and its problems with a few details on his personal accounts proposal.
Laura's guests are said to be an Afghan voter and an Iraqi voter (too bad there's no Ukrainian wearing an orange hat!).
Should we start a drinking game on how many times the pool camera swings to Hillary? Hmmm. Probably not...it would likely hamper out typing ability.
Word on the blogs has it that the closing part of the speech is a hum-dinger. Set your VCR's.
Report here on outrageous MediaCrat spin before AND after the SOTU. Pictures and screen caps welcome.
Maybe you're right about there being a difference. I have noticed over the last four years that the size and cost of government tends to grow more when the Republicans are in power.
no I don't but again, what i'm asking is why they are judging (not criticizing, that is ok) a person who has spent her life supporting conservatives and Repubs. You should have heard her comments after 9/11....they were beautiful. I'm not judging the women doing this....I'm ASKING them why they are doing that to Peggy.....two very different things
It's not a belief, it's factual, and that came out of the Amtrak Reform Council. If you don't believe it, pick up a copy of Amtrak's annual budget, which is available via the FOIA.
The reason this is true is that the western trains run 70% to full, and the average passenger rides a longer distance, so passenger-mile revenue is substantially higher than on the NEC. Last I checked, the Empire Builder made about $30,000 per run, which is why it was increased from a tri-weekly to daily about fifteen years ago.
The NEC is a huge multibillion dollar gimme to the eastern states, that far exceeds the amount of money spent on ag subsidies. Out west, our state budgets pay for our regional and commuter trains. So you honestly think that the Ag budget is greater than the defense budget? Please. While I'll agree that the ag subsidies are of questionable value, the missiles and bombers that protect Massachusetts have to be based inland. And would you honestly prefer that Ag jobs paid as well as manufacturing (what does MA make anymore, now that Route 128 is gone and DEC is dead)? Hope you like paying $10 for a loaf of bread, or $20 a pound for steak...
This speech was more visual. There was something about the President's demeanor that made it unforgettable.
I was thinking too about the continuum of soldiers willing to stand in the breach for freedom. The sacrifice made by so many that can never be repaid, only honored.
This President honors us all with his integrity and dignity. His respect for every last one of us. The worthy and the unworthy.
If subsidies disappeared tomorrow we'd still be paying the same amount for bread and steak, only we'd be paying efficient large farms and ranches to grow the food instead of wasting money propping up small family farms that can't compete on the world market. Subsidies don't keep prices down; overproduction all around the world does a good enough job already. All they do is pay the buggy whip^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H family farmers to hang on for their next welfare check. And then the big farms go along for the ride, collecting subsidies they don't need because it's built into the system.
If transit in western states is such a good deal, why is Greyhound pulling out of places like northern Minnesota? How is it cost-effective to run trains in places where buses can't even break even and air connections are maintained through federal essential service guarantees?
A short sighted, self-centered person who sees so little of the vast, sweeping, glorious vision, but only the tunnel vision of his own little world.
Much like a leftist, I'd say. Different politics. Same small view of life. Sad.
Just caught up with the thread.
In some dark place, Ted Kennedy must harbor deep resentment that the CIA, FBI and US military intelligence could not save his brothers from the murderous hatred of Oswald and that Muslim, Sirhan.
His violent anti-war appeasement approach - the same evil that influenced his brothers' murderers.
Not if ag workers were paid as well as the inflated wages of Masachusetts, obviously. In any event, FYI, most of the Ag subsidy goes to Iowa, and not ND/MT, where there are very few family farms left. Oh, and also FWIW, as of a few months ago, the US became a net importer of food. Hope that makes you happy.
If transit in western states is such a good deal, why is Greyhound pulling out of places like northern Minnesota?
Amtrak hasn't served Northern Minnesota since the 1970s, and even then, that train was state subsidized.
Considering old Joe Kennedy was totally lacking in honor and/or integrity it is not surprising that the children are as untrustworthy.
A short sighted, self-centered person who sees so little of the vast, sweeping, glorious vision, but only the tunnel vision of his own little world.
Much like a leftist, I'd say. Different politics. Same small view of life. Sad.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Yes - wans't old Joe pro-Nazi(anti-Semite)? - Teddy is pro-IRA(anti-British) and most of the 3rd generation are pro-environmentalism(anti-commerce). Always anti-something or other. LOL
Not a very clean gene pool, mostly a mud puddle.
That opinion has no basis in fact. All of the remaining silos are in MT, ND and WY; about 3/4 of the strategic bomber fleet is located in ND, MT, and ID. Minot AFB alone contributes over $227 million annually to the ND economy.
Also, it's worth noting that Ag subsidies peaked in 2000 (last Clinton Budget) at $32 billion, and by 2002 had fallen to $15 billion. The largest farms also receive the largest subsidies, since the money is proportional to production capacity.
They have real weather in Montana and North Dakota. That cute little storm that brought Boston to a standstill recently was nothing compared to typical real winter weather elsewhere. Currently the only dependable long distance transport is by train.
I'm looking at the Department of Agriculture budget right now and spending on commodity programs rose to $25 billion in 2003 and then back to $21 billion in 2004. I expect that market conditions account for the differences.
Other budget items in 2004: $8.3 billion in loans and grants for the Rural Utility Service, $3.5 billion in Farm Loan and Grant Programs, $6 billion in Rural Housing Service loans and grants.
How much was the Amtrak subsidy for one year, again? $1.2 billion or thereabouts? How many people live in the NEC?
I'm not even intending to defend Amtrak. I only take issue with the idea of a northeastern money pit when we've been bailing out the rest of the country for years.
After 4500 threads or so, I don't think there's too much left to say about Pres. Bush's SOTU address that hasn't already been said, so I'll just throw my two cents out there real quick just to get it "on record".
For my money, the SOTU address last night was a smashing success-- maybe Bush's finest address to date. Standing in stark contrast to the losercrats across the aisle from the President, Bush provided a clear, strong and optomistic vision of the future, backed up by a factual catalogue of the successes America has achieved under Pres. Bush as well as a thorough understanding of the challenges yet to come.
Now, it wasn't just the policy itself (per se) that dazzled last night, or the fact that Bush delivered it confidently and professionally. No, it was something else that made last night special. What really struck me last night was that Bush reminded America how GENUINE he is. His tears for the parents of the slain Iraqi soldier were deep and heartfelt; his points about the cause of freedom here and around the world were the product of an almost startling sense of duty to his country. Unlike Clinton, his disgusting predecessor, last nights speech wasn't delivered with the sole intent of boosting the Presidents poll numbers or giving the people what you think they want (nomatter how costly) just so he could build a legacy of some sort.
I was especally inspired by the Presidents call to Americans to align with our newly Democratic Iraqi allies to take the cause of freedom to other outposts of tyranny in the world. Bush understands that building an open and democratic Iraq is crucial to protecting Americans against the advances of Iran, North Korea and other brutal regimes. I was also wowed by the Presidents firm support of his plan for saving social security for future generations through the limited privitization of SS accounts, and his outstanding call for funding to battle AIDS in America and around the world.
Kennedy was the one who convinced bubba to allow Gerry Adams to come to the USA and fundraise for further terror activites.
Rush doesn't have to read our threads to completely nail Chris Matthews, Ron Reagan, Diane Sawyer, and all the Clintonistas who speculated that last night's hug between the Mom and the Iraqi voter was staged. Rush knew the libs were "projecting". That they knew their guys would have faked the moment, created it, so they projected that unto Bush. I LOVE it when Rush "gets it" with such ease, and expressed it so simply that I want to slap myself for not thinking of it first.
Sometimes I see quotes that are verbatim.....
I turned off the TV immediately after the President's speech. I wanted nothing to take away from that amazing performance by the greatest president in my lifetime.....and I remember when FDR was president!!!
And when Dewey won!!!!!!!
The problem is that this isn't true to a significant extent. Again, have a look at any of the websites which debunked the "Red Welfare State" myth. Incidentally, both California and Massachusetts did very well on federal dollars until the end of the Cold War, owing again to defense spending. The fundamental problem with these kinds of comparisons, however, is the differential in prevailing wages around the country is now pretty substantial.
As for Amtrak, their funny accounting is entirely politically motivated -- the NEC gets them votes in the House, the long distance trains in the Senate. They've received about $27 billion in subsidies over 30 years (of which $19 billion went for NEC capital improvements); for perspective, the Big Dig ran $15 billion (and counting), and typically, highway subsidies run about $32 billion per year.
Having said that, there are a lot of things that could be done better at Amtrak, and it would be helpful to start over. Notably, the on-board personnel do a marginal job and are extremely well-paid for it; this could and should be privatized to Marriott or something similar. Unfortunately, it's a real racket for the federal unions, and it would cost billions more in payments to the Railroad Retirement System to get rid of them (payout was $160 million last year).
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