February 12th 2013
Watched the state of the union on CNN this night and of course everyone is running late. I don’t know of any state of the union that has ever started on time.
CNN mentioned that Dems and Repubs were trying to sit in mixed groups to show that they are indeed wanting to work together this cycle. We will just have to wait and see if they can indeed take and actually work together.
It seems the CNN is leaning to the right this state of the union when they are supposed to be non-partisan when they are covering these types of events. I would expect this from Fox but not from CNN.
At 9:10 the president made his way into the House Chamber.
9:13 a scan of Beohner showed him a bit pained as he waited for the President to get to the podium. Even with that visual, regret?, I hope that he and both the House and the Senate are able to actually work with the White House this time.
The president talked about our troops coming home and how the economy is better then ever. I really do not see that, especially in this district. He said over 6 million jobs have been created, but you just do not see that in this part of Florida, and Obama actually said that things have to change on that front. He agreed that the disparity between the different income groups needs to change, so that the country can get better, and I personally would say to heal.
With that opening he sounds more like a centrist, instead of the far left as the Republicans would have us to believe. We need jobs, and not just minimum wage jobs that do not even pay enough to really pay the bills. We need good jobs to get that going in the right direction. Again, my personal belief.
President Obama talked to, or schooled Congress on not being able to work together to get the job of the government done. He told them that the sequester is the worst thing that is truly keeping the economy from recovering. He said that the poor and middle class can not be expected to pay for all of the tax cuts that all the rich are getting, a true definition of welfare. As to what the president said about healthcare, he said the that the rich should be paying more, and not getting the tax breaks that the rich now get. The breaks that the poor and middle class are not even able to have. We need a country working together, and not just have one group paying the way for the other.
Another thing that the president came up with that I truly agree with is that we need to strengthen education and not raid Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. There are other places that can have cuts in that are not going to hurt the economy and have jobs created in the US in the process. This will have to be done with both tax and entitlement reforms, according to the president. The constant bickering about cuts, money, budget and made up crises is what is really hurting the American economy. Some in the Chamber didn’t like what he said about that at all.
Makes you wonder if in his second term President Obama might actually get something done now that the House realizes that he is hear to stay for the next 4 years. The faces on the members of Congress were dripping with disdain with each thing that the president had to say. Makes you wonder if they actually know what it is like to live in poverty like the vast numbers of Americans are FORCED to live in. It is not that they don’t want to get out it is that they are held back by regulation and the fact that businesses do not want to hire at all, not because they are being stingy, but, like the workers themselves, they just cannot afford to.
The president challenged Congress and the Senate to actually acknowledge that the climate of the Earth is actually changing, and that the US has to do something about it. Need to have cleaner energy and not depend on oil. He would like to see all cars and trucks made in a way that we can have all of them not be running on oil but on cleaner forms of fuel. He wants to see all homes and buildings refitted so that they have better energy efficiency. This is something that should have been going on already. That alone would create a lot of jobs for both skilled and unskilled labor with decent wages. He said there is a strong need to upgrade and expand our current energy and transportation systems to be global leaders instead of just those that are falling or lagging way behind.
The president said that we need everyone to have the same quality of education, especially in the early stages of life. I can not agree with him more on this front. A well educated society is one that has a better quality of life as well as less crime and less social problems. He went even further to say that our high school graduates should graduate with more then just a diploma, but also have the opportunity to get an associates degree while in school which would give those graduates a better opportunity to get a good job without saddling students with massive debt. I agree with this wholeheartedly.
Answer me this, why do most of the Republicans shown on screen have the sourest looks on their face?It makes you wonder of they really care about this country at all?
Simply put, the president hit the nail on the head on what is wrong with our nation and its economy. He had great ideas to help get things going and if those on The Hill would actually work toward these things we would see many of our economic problems go by the wayside. It is also to the president’s credit that he wants to get our troops home, but also wants to give the countries that need help with providing logistical support and guidance without having to put our troops in harms way all the time.
I do believe that this is the first state of the union where the president talked about the real threat of cyber attacks on our country and its people and businesses. He said that we need to work together so that the country has the means to be able to protect itself from these threats.
The president said that we have to protect the rights of voters so that they can actually vote. He wants to have the voting experience in America to get better that there is no reason why people should have to wait hours on end just to vote. He did not mention the gerrymandering that took place in state redistricting in 2012, but it was implied.
He also added facts about gun violence, and how we need to rein in this violence epidemic, and how all people, male and female should be paid and treated equally in the workplace. Well, of course, why hasn’t this happened yet?
He hit lots of great points in about an hour and half. Let’s just hope the points stay valid, and that they don’t slip away as some kind of inconvenience.
The weather is getting warmer, and this weekend is not only St. Patrick’s Day, but it is also the 5th Annual Down Home Street Festival in Bonifay, Florida. William Drummond and his small crew made their name and intentions for the 2012 race known here last year in a petition drive, vying for the office of U.S. House of Representatives for District 1, which, became District 2 by the time Election Day came around.
Just yesterday while taking my some to get his class ring made I saw something that is the main problem with voting these days. A woman told me that she isn’t into anything political as it doesn’t matter what she wants, those in power will get what they want and that there is nothing that she can do about it. I have met many who think that there is no way that their vote will ever count for anything and have just given up. I feel sorry for all those that tell me this and sometimes get angry at the same time when they say it. It is something that should never have happened, them feeling like that the whole government is against them.
On February 26th I visited U.S. Representative Steve Southerland’s mobile office that his staff held at the Chipley City Hall. Mr. Southerland was not in attendance that day but his staff said that he would try to be in attendance in the next quarter. I had originally gone there to see if he would be there. I wanted to be able to face my opponent and let him know that I, William Cleave Drummond II would be running against him in the 2014 General Election. Since he was not in attendance I left my card instead.
