Wednesday, February 01, 2006
SOTU, Part I
STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
As Prepared For Delivery
Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, Members of the
Supreme Court and diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, and fellow
citizens:
Today our Nation lost a beloved, graceful, courageous woman who called
America to its founding ideals and carried on a noble dream. Tonight we
are comforted by the hope of a glad reunion with the husband who was taken
from her so long ago, and we are grateful for the good life of Coretta
Scott King.
Lip service to the black community after all, Bush loves black people...which is why he tries to get them riled up on gay marriage and abortion while doing away with affirmative action and putting judges that would side against them in discrimination cases...
Each time I am invited to this rostrum, I am humbled by the privilege, and
mindful of the history we have seen together. We have gathered under this
Capitol dome in moments of national mourning and national achievement. We
have served America through one of the most consequential periods of our
history – and it has been my honor to serve with you.
In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, there
will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be
conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden
into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a
spirit of good will and respect for one another – and I will do my part.
Tonight the state of our Union is strong – and together we will make it
stronger.
You are the BIGGEST hypocrite when it comes to debate. The only form of debate you will tolerate is one side arguing how great you are while the other side attacks the other for not liking the president enough. You stand supposedly above the fray while your minions attack and smear your political opponents. You did it with John McCain in South Carolina, appealing to the racist hicks by a push poll asking if they approved of his "fathering a black baby." You stood by while allowing the Swift Boats to attack John Kerry's record. Don't talk to us about civil tone when you and the Republicans have POISONED THE political dialogue in the United States.
In this decisive year, you and I will make choices that determine both the
future and the character of our country. We will choose to act
confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom – or retreat from our
duties in the hope of an easier life. We will choose to build our
prosperity by leading the world economy – or shut ourselves off from trade
and opportunity. In a complex and challenging time, the road of
isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting – yet it ends
in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people … the only way
to secure the peace … the only way to control our destiny is by our
leadership – so the United States of America will continue to lead.
Yes, we will lead by example by criticizing countries for human rights violations while we torture "terrorists" at Guanantamo and Abu Ghirab, many who are innocent of the charges. We talk about leading when we replace Saddam's rape rooms with our own. We talk about leading the world when we invade other countries to control the black gold and for hegemony in the Middle East while lying to the world about WMD. Unfortunately for you, you have squandered all the good will the US received after 9/11. Even Iran was sympathetic to us after we got hit.
Abroad, our Nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal – we seek
the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided
idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it. On
September 11th, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and
oppressive state seven thousand miles away could bring murder and
destruction to our country. Dictatorships shelter terrorists, feed
resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction.
Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their
citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. Every
step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer, and so we will
act boldly in freedom’s cause.
The rhetoric is great, but the actions belie the words. We continue to support oppressive regimes in the Middle East that deprive their citizens of the freedom you so talk about. They don't hate us for our freedoms, they hate us because we deny them the freedom we supposedly consider is America's gift to the whole world. They see our talk about promoting democracy when we support the Saudi Royal family, dictators in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, corrupt presidents such as Hosni Mubarak.
Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story
of our time. In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies on
Earth. Today, there are 122. And we are writing a new chapter in the
story of self-government – with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan …
and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink … and men and
women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of individuals and the
necessity of freedom. At the start of 2006, more than half the people of
our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half
– in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran – because
the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom
as well.
As we speak, women are losing their freedom in Iraq.
No one can deny the success of freedom, but some men rage and fight
against it. And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is
radical Islam – the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an ideology
of terror and death. Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass
murder – and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously.
They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian control throughout
the Middle East, and arm themselves with weapons of mass murder. Their
aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch
attacks against America and the world. Lacking the military strength to
challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear.
When they murder children at a school in Beslan … or blow up commuters in
London … or behead a bound captive … the terrorists hope these horrors
will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit the Earth. But they
have miscalculated: We love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it.
We love our freedom, but according to your logic, we have allowed the terrorists to win by clamping down on political speech, squashing dissent, and spying on our own citizens without a warrant because they do not hold your own political beliefs. You claim the terrorists hate us for our freedom and it does not take a dimwit to realize that we should defend our freedom in order to overcome the terrorists. However, you have turned America into a police state modeled after Orwell's Oceania and that cannot be considered a victory.
As Prepared For Delivery
Mr. Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, Members of the
Supreme Court and diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, and fellow
citizens:
Today our Nation lost a beloved, graceful, courageous woman who called
America to its founding ideals and carried on a noble dream. Tonight we
are comforted by the hope of a glad reunion with the husband who was taken
from her so long ago, and we are grateful for the good life of Coretta
Scott King.
Lip service to the black community after all, Bush loves black people...which is why he tries to get them riled up on gay marriage and abortion while doing away with affirmative action and putting judges that would side against them in discrimination cases...
Each time I am invited to this rostrum, I am humbled by the privilege, and
mindful of the history we have seen together. We have gathered under this
Capitol dome in moments of national mourning and national achievement. We
have served America through one of the most consequential periods of our
history – and it has been my honor to serve with you.
In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, there
will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be
conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden
into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a
spirit of good will and respect for one another – and I will do my part.
Tonight the state of our Union is strong – and together we will make it
stronger.
You are the BIGGEST hypocrite when it comes to debate. The only form of debate you will tolerate is one side arguing how great you are while the other side attacks the other for not liking the president enough. You stand supposedly above the fray while your minions attack and smear your political opponents. You did it with John McCain in South Carolina, appealing to the racist hicks by a push poll asking if they approved of his "fathering a black baby." You stood by while allowing the Swift Boats to attack John Kerry's record. Don't talk to us about civil tone when you and the Republicans have POISONED THE political dialogue in the United States.
In this decisive year, you and I will make choices that determine both the
future and the character of our country. We will choose to act
confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom – or retreat from our
duties in the hope of an easier life. We will choose to build our
prosperity by leading the world economy – or shut ourselves off from trade
and opportunity. In a complex and challenging time, the road of
isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting – yet it ends
in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people … the only way
to secure the peace … the only way to control our destiny is by our
leadership – so the United States of America will continue to lead.
Yes, we will lead by example by criticizing countries for human rights violations while we torture "terrorists" at Guanantamo and Abu Ghirab, many who are innocent of the charges. We talk about leading when we replace Saddam's rape rooms with our own. We talk about leading the world when we invade other countries to control the black gold and for hegemony in the Middle East while lying to the world about WMD. Unfortunately for you, you have squandered all the good will the US received after 9/11. Even Iran was sympathetic to us after we got hit.
Abroad, our Nation is committed to an historic, long-term goal – we seek
the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided
idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it. On
September 11th, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and
oppressive state seven thousand miles away could bring murder and
destruction to our country. Dictatorships shelter terrorists, feed
resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction.
Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their
citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror. Every
step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer, and so we will
act boldly in freedom’s cause.
The rhetoric is great, but the actions belie the words. We continue to support oppressive regimes in the Middle East that deprive their citizens of the freedom you so talk about. They don't hate us for our freedoms, they hate us because we deny them the freedom we supposedly consider is America's gift to the whole world. They see our talk about promoting democracy when we support the Saudi Royal family, dictators in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, corrupt presidents such as Hosni Mubarak.
Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story
of our time. In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies on
Earth. Today, there are 122. And we are writing a new chapter in the
story of self-government – with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan …
and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink … and men and
women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of individuals and the
necessity of freedom. At the start of 2006, more than half the people of
our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half
– in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran – because
the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom
as well.
As we speak, women are losing their freedom in Iraq.
No one can deny the success of freedom, but some men rage and fight
against it. And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is
radical Islam – the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an ideology
of terror and death. Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass
murder – and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously.
They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian control throughout
the Middle East, and arm themselves with weapons of mass murder. Their
aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch
attacks against America and the world. Lacking the military strength to
challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear.
When they murder children at a school in Beslan … or blow up commuters in
London … or behead a bound captive … the terrorists hope these horrors
will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit the Earth. But they
have miscalculated: We love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it.
We love our freedom, but according to your logic, we have allowed the terrorists to win by clamping down on political speech, squashing dissent, and spying on our own citizens without a warrant because they do not hold your own political beliefs. You claim the terrorists hate us for our freedom and it does not take a dimwit to realize that we should defend our freedom in order to overcome the terrorists. However, you have turned America into a police state modeled after Orwell's Oceania and that cannot be considered a victory.
