State of the Union, 2003

[Typhoon1244]

Okay guys, brace yourselves: this forum's foremost George W. Bush opponent was pleased...pleased I said...with tonight's speech!

My opinion about a war against Iraq has been that it's the wrong battle at the wrong time...but if the President gave me some good reasons, I'd support it. Finally, after weeks of wasteful and unnecessary silence, George II explained why this battle is necessary. You say "let's go get Saddam right now?" Okay, fine. I'm convinced.

My jaw really hit the floor, however, when the President spoke of pursuing the hydrogen-powered automobile! Is George W. Bush actually taking a small step toward ending--or at least dramatically reducing--our dependence on oil? IF the President is serious about this--and given his close ties to oil, I suspect that's a big "if"--I'll take back most of the dirty, rotten things I've said about him.

(The "talking heads" have thus far laughed about the "H-car," revealing more than ever their short-sightedness and stupidity...but I suppose there were similar reactions to J.F.K.'s famous challenge to NASA that resulted in the Apollo 11 landing.)

I was furthermore pleased with George's insistence that we take the lead in the fight against HIV. Worldwide, this problem is almost as serious as the oil problem...probably more so.

I hope...I fervently hope...that these ideals were not TSA-style "window dressing." Liberal, utopian ideas that were designed to make us all feel better about George II's presidency. I have to believe that after "Monica-gate," the President wouldn't lie directly to our faces!

I still violently disagree with the President about a few things.

(1) America had to pay dearly for it's own freedom. I don't agree that it's our responsibility to pay for the rest of the world's freedom as well.

(2) Cloning is not inherently evil. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands...but so are guns, cars, and nuclear weapons, and we haven't outlawed them.

(3) (A lot of you aren't going to like this, but I can't be the only one who thinks this.) Continuous, passionate references to "faith in God" do not belong in a State of the Union address.

 

[surfnole]

I didn't see the address, but I have a hard time with the HIV thing. I realize its a tragedy, but its 99% preventable. Nobody seems to want to address that though, instead spending billions on research for new drugs to cure it as our first action..

 

[jergar999]

I saw the address, and also approved of the points the president made. I fly with a guy who does missionary work in the Sierra Leon (spelling?) region of Africa, and heard the percentage of HIV positive people in the region is almost 40%. It's a global epidemic, and I think fighting it is one of the most important things we as a country can contribute to. There are people in this world who don't have the health care and education we do, so I have a hard time with the thinking that everone knows what they are getting into. As far as Iraq goes, I am still riding the fence, but see the need for action to prevent terrorism.

End of rant.

 

[FastPilot]

<(3) (A lot of you aren't going to like this, but I can't be the only <one who thinks this.) Continuous, passionate references <to "faith in God" do not belong in a State of the Union address.


Try reading the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers. Separation of Church and State as exposed by the fanatic left is a farce. This Nation was founded on the principle of FREEDOM OF RELIGION not freedom FROM religion.

"If the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven's scenes,
they will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines!"

Semper Fi,
Steve

 

[Typhoon1244]

I knew I shouldn't have said anything about religion!

Try reading the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers.

The men who wrote those documents were Deists, a belief system that has very little in common with what the President calls "faith."

Please...I'm sorry I even brought up the "God"-thing. Can we try to be open-minded and confine this thread to the relevant political issues and not turn it into another Sunday school session?

 

[AV8OR]

"(2) Cloning is not inherently evil. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands...but so are guns, cars, and nuclear weapons, and we haven't outlawed them.

(3) (A lot of you aren't going to like this, but I can't be the only one who thinks this.) Continuous, passionate references to "faith in God" do not belong in a State of the Union address."


Put point "3" before point "2" and it makes for very understandable flow from one philosophy to the other.

Also, I agree about not paying "the world's" price for freedom. Even though the talking heads tried to make it sound as though GW had made a case for bringing back the crusades, I don't think they were listening. I think what he means is that, although we might appreciate global freedom, we are commited to bringing freedom to the people of the nations whose tyranical dictators are bent on destroying ours.

Thought it was pretty good. The Democratic response, on the other hand, was LAME. Come on, didn't anyone in the Senate or the House have the balls to go head to head with this speech. Sending that Washington state governor lackey out to do their job was weak!

See yall in 04.

 

[Kaman]

Hello,
I as everyone else on this forum probably make references to things that some of you disagree with or feel that it has no place here. So, I think it's appropriate that the Preisdent of the United States, who is also is no less an American than John Q. Public has the right to express his own values in a speech. Some would say that the President is a public figure and a direct representation of the government and his party every time he makes a speech. I disagree.
No one feels war is a desirable thing, but sometimes it's an unfortunate outcome of circumstances that are not in our control. We as a nation and a way of life paid early for attempts to be an isolationist nation. There are people who hate us (Americans) simplay because of the freedoms we enjoy. A simplistic view would be that we merely want to control the oil fields to drive our energy greedy economy. To some extent it's true we need to keep the oil and gas in the middle east flowing, however, it's truly about maintaining our way of life. If we are so bad, why do so many people want to emigrate to the US? Answer, for the same reason that they did 100 years ago. To live a better life and enjoy the freedom that being an American gives.
God Bless America, and let light of freedom shine brightly.

Regards,

ex-Navy rotorhead

 

[Typhoon1244]

Cloning: when the technology that eventually allowed IVF and "test-tube children" first appeared, many of the nations most conservative thinkers were in an uproar. There were concerns that without normal conception, we would be creating children without souls. Now these procedures are commonplace.

Today, people are once again in an uproar about cloning. Look people, cloning does not mean duplicating human beings! Even an exact genetic copy of me will not have my life experience. We may look and sound the same, but we will be very different people. The President either doesn't understand that, or he realizes that most of the people who may vote for him don't understand that.

Cloning is a lot like nuclear power. In the right hands, it could advance our capability to fight disease a hundred years. In the wrong hands...well, it could be very ugly. But the risks (in my opinion) do not outweigh the potential benefits.

You guys are jumping all over AIDS, cloning, and religion! Didn't you listen to the address? President George W. Bush is talking about a serious effort to move away from fossil-fuel cars! That's big f___ing news! Doesn't anybody have anything to say about that?

 

[Chunk]

Didn't you listen to the address? President George W. Bush is talking about a serious effort to move away from fossil-fuel cars! That's big f___ing news! Doesn't anybody have anything to say about that?

Yeah...what's the price of a gallon of H2? Also, Does the thing accelerate?

 

[AV8OR]

You guys are jumping all over AIDS, cloning, and religion! Didn't you listen to the address? President George W. Bush is talking about a serious effort to move away from fossil-fuel cars! That's big f___ing news! Doesn't anybody have anything to say about that?

Yeah. I think it's a great idea. I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount more for my Henry Ford Model F150 to be cryogenic. At least it's a positive idea. If Al Gore had been giving it he would have just told us how greedy we all are to be driving our SUVs and then sped away back to the White House in his "2 miles per gallon" limo. I wonder how much Jet-A Airforce One's APU burned while Slick was gettin his locks clipped on the ramp right after his first election. Please. At least Wellstone was a believer and not just a hipocrite.

Ok, that's all, I'm done now.

Cary on gents!