State of the Union

I need to talk about books, and I haven't had time to blog for a week, but today I have to rant.

I missed the first run of most of Obama's speech because I had night class. However, I heard a good portion of it in NPR while driving home.

This morning, all the news is Republicans railing against Obama and "Obamacare" and other nay-sayers trying to debunk everything Obama sys and does. Does Michelle Bachmann give anyone else a pain in the neck?

One reviewer calls Republicans' responses selfish: http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/72-72/4679-without-obama-we-lose-so-much-more-than-an-election

My initial reaction, thinking back, is how when I listened to Reagan's and Bush's State-of-the Union addresses, they didn't say anything. I realized that first while listening to Reagan. He used wonderful platitude after platitude, patriotic phrase after patriotic phrase, and when ge got done, there was not one specific issue he had addressed. Bush did the same, --but I wasn't even sure if Bush himself knew what he was talking about in his speeches.

At least Obama has ideas. At least Obama is working for the people of the country, not his own oil or Halliburton investments. At least Obama knows the specific issues that he's taking on. I know, I know, all politics is run by the engine of big money, but he isn't manipulating the lives of thousands of citizens--and soliders!!--to maximize his own profits in his own investments like the last administration.

I keep hearing Republican supporters rail against health care and say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," when the only people for whom Health care "ain't broke" is the rich who can afford any policy they want and co-pays are not an option! I'm not complaining personally--as a state employee, I have great coverage. But I haven't always, and about half of my students have NO coverage--but with the changes from Obama, they can have their parents' coverage until they're 26, at least.

What is wrong with THINKING about the issues instead of jumping on the bandwagon!??

Mark Twain said "Never underestimate the stupidity of the American people." PLEASE let us not be the stupid people who jump on the band wagon to "get rid of socialized medicine" since it has the tiniest ring of socialism, and--gasp--communism! We desperately need better health care.

Elizabeth Edwards died today. I'm sad.

Elizabeth Edwards was a a real woman. A real, brilliant, articulate, loving woman.
When she visited MSU when John was campaigning for VP, she could answer every question thrown her direction about everything from foreign policy to economics to health care. The only question she couldn't answer was, "Why hasn't your husband's book been made more public during this campaign? It's a brilliant book." She said, "I can't answer that. I have no idea."

After she talked to us, she greeted every single person who wanted to meet her. I thanked her for what she was doing and told her how much I admired her, and she gave me a huge hug. She was a woman who exuded intelligence, kindness, and sincerity. No matter what anyone's political stance, nobody can argue with the fact that Elizabeth Edwards was something. I'm sad that she's no longer in the world.

Sad but true comment on the state of the Union: