2011 State of the Union Address

[HugeFanOfBadReligion]

Well, I watched TV for the first time in over a month I think to watch Obama's State of the Union address. Anyone else watch it? Well, the reason why I bring this up here is because something he said that was relevant to this site: "We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Superbowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair". This is a statement that is very relevant to this site. I believe anybody who isn't a complete dumbass jock who despises any statement that doesn't contribute to sports would agree with this statement. It doesn't matter if you are an athlete or sports fan who isn't closed minded or if you are someone who has no interest in sports and has had bad experiences due to sports, I believe this statement is completely right. I'm not endorsing Obama or the Democratic Party, I'm not saying he's now the greatest president ever because of this statement, but regardless of your political opinions, just forget about who said it and focus on the statement itself. It is nice to have a person who is extremely influential finally say something that is similar to something a member here would say. I think I'm going to put that quote in my signature here.

By the way, if you are interested in seeing this, I found it on Youtube. The quote I discussed takes place in the video at 18 minutes and 2 seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZdEmjtF6HE

[Fat Man]

Yes, I have to remember that phrase.

"We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Superbowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair."

That is something everybody should agree on.

Everybody who's human and has more than two brain cells to rub together, that is!

Even those who didn't vote for Obama, or don't even like him, even they should be able to agree with that statement.

Of course, Sarah Palin and all those Tea Party morons in the Republican party would strongly disagree because they don't believe in science or education. They believe in indoctrination.

They believe in fairy tales, about a man made from a handful of dirt, a woman made from his rib, a magical tree with magic fruit in a magical garden, and a talking snake with legs.

They also believe that the earth and all the universe is only 6000 years old, and that Noah had dinosaurs on his ark, and the reason they became extinct was because the canopy of water in the upper atmosphere which collapsed causing the flood left the air too thin and the oxygen content too low for the dinosaurs to breath, or some shit like that!

And they believe that we are all born in sin and that's why children deserve to be beaten if they are not good at sports, and suspended from school if they can't climb a rope in the gymnasium, and that children with physical handicaps should be administered electric shocks and only allowed to eat nothing but mashed potatoes with dried liver powder, and then locked up in a mental hospital for a few weeks to be beaten some more and raped by a dirty old man.

Yeah! That's what the Tea Party Republicans believe, and they want to see their Creationist fairy tales inserted into the high school science textbooks!

And then, our children will grow up to become grocery baggers and toilet scrubbers and burger flippers, because it's much cheaper to import educated nerds and techno-geeks from overseas to keep the wheels turning.

But in the meantime, we have sports to keep us entertained, whether we like it or not.

Yeah! Who needs to have a head filled with knowledge and scientific facts, when we can just kick back and relax, slobber and drool while eating junk food and swilling down that cheap Buckhorn beer and watching a football game on TV.

Ah yes! God bless America!

Don't ya just love it!

Gee! Am I being too cynical, or what???

[Earl]

Fat Man, I happen to believe in the Genesis account of creation ("fairy tales," as you call it); but I'm no less critical of the sports culture than any other member of this forum. Your linkages are not necessarily absolute. I feel compelled to remind you that there are guys like Cycloptichorn and kuvasz (at http://www.able2know.org) who are ultraliberal (even more liberal than you) and share your antipathy and contempt for creationists, but also happen to be among the most intolerant sports fans around. And then there are politically conservative individuals such as Ray (who has sympathized with the "Tea Party" movement) who feel the same way we do about the excesses of the sports culture.

HugeFan, thanks for calling our attention to this statement that President Obama made in his "State of the Union" address. When I was around your age, I followed politics in my country (the United States) very closely; but within the last 30 years, I gave up on politics for more than one reason (not that I recommend that anyone else do the same). I hardly follow political developments in the news anymore and hardly ever vote. So, I appreciate your calling our attention to President Obama's statement; and I deeply appreciate his saying so.

[recovering_fan]

HugeFan, thanks for calling our attention to this statement that President Obama made in his "State of the Union" address.

Yeah, good thing they're following American politics up in Canada. No one down here cares much about the details. I'm glad HugeFan and the other hyperboreans are looking out for us. They will be able to tell us all how to vote next election.

[Fat Man]

Good afternoon Earl.

OK, people are free to believe as they wish, because I do support religious freedom, but I also support academic freedom.

If people want to believe in the Genesis account and take it literally, then that's their right.

Just keep it out of our science textbooks. That's all I ask.

Yeah, I know, people are saying we should teach both sides of the controversy, and give equal time to both sides.

Sorry, but NOT in a science class.

That would be like giving equal time to Astrology and casting horoscopes in an Astronomy class, or Alchemy in a Chemistry class, or magic in a physics class, or phrenology in a class on the neurology of the human brain.

No, pseudo science does NOT deserve equal time in a science class.

That's all I'm trying to say.

[HugeFanOfBadReligion]

Yeah, good thing they're following American politics up in Canada. No one down here cares much about the details. I'm glad HugeFan and the other hyperboreans are looking out for us. They will be able to tell us all how to vote next election.

Well, I probably follow American politics more than I follow Canadian politics because there simply isn't anything interesting in Canadian politics, at least at the moment. I don't agree with our Prime Minister, but he hasn't said or done anything outrageous so I'm not strongly against him or anything, and there's normally a pretty big flaw in the leader's of the Liberal party here, so it may actually be a good thing that they aren't in power. For example, the previous leader of the Liberal party was just a complete moron. Even if I don't particularly like the Conservative party either, who are in power. And the minority parties, well, I won't even bother with those. Even if they were decent, they have no chance of getting in power. So, I just follow American politics because they are slightly more interesting.

[Fat Man]

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention . . . . .

The Tea Party Republicans would like to do away with Medicare/Medicaid which I depend on to keep my ass alive!

But then, they don't believe in science, not even medical science and health care, except for themselves.

They would prefer if I were to give 10% percent of my income (a tithe) to the 700 Club and put my hand on the TV screen while Pat Robertson prays for healing!

Yeah, the Tea Party version of health care.

That's because Sarah Palin needs more money to rent helicopters so she can hunt wolves from the air.

Gee! I hope I'm not being too cynical here!

NOT!!!

[i_like_1981]

The Tea Party Republicans would like to do away with Medicare/Medicaid which I depend on to keep my ass alive!

But then, they don't believe in science, not even medical science and health care, except for themselves.

Recently one of the front pages of a popular British newspaper (can't remember which one exactly - just saw it in a shop) stated that soon, patients may be forced to correspond with their doctors by email and not actually go back to the doctors' office in person to have a face-to-face discussion. They are even relying on people to take their own measurements like blood pressure checks and use email to keep the doctor informed of all that's going on. I kid you not. It seems that health care is being pushed to the side more and more in both of our countries. I have always supported the idea of free, good quality health care for everyone, which the NHS does give us over here in Britain to some extent. I'm not sure if this arrangement will come into force or not but it remains a concern to me nonetheless, as people with serious health problems are just going to feel more distanced from the health specialists if this comes into being. Physical check-ups by an actual doctor are always necessary. These hopes to do it over a computer won't do.

Best regards,
i_like_1981

[Fat Man]

Another thing!

I hope that stem cell research gets legalized in the USA.

Through stem cell research, medical science might even find a cure for all kinds of genetic disorders and even a cure for Type 2 Diabetes.

Also, I could get my fractured left wrist repaired, and new nerve cells could be grown.

Back in 2001, I was living in a 2 bedroom apartment. My ex-room-mate had his second stroke, and as a result, he suffered severe memory loss, became paranoid and delusional, and even violent.

Then one night, back in July 8,2001, he came into my room and attacked me with a machete!

I held up my left hand to keep him from striking me on the side of my neck, and my left wrist was fractured.

As I was reaching for the phone to dial 911, he started hacking at the phone line, so I had to leave the room, and as I went out the door, he struck me in the back of my head. I went down the hallway, down the stairs, and out of the front door and to the pay phone on the corner, leaving a trail of blood behind me.

I dialed 911, and within 5 minutes, an ambulance, a firetruck, and two police cars arrived, and as I was being strapped down onto the gurney and being lifted into the ambulance, I could see a police officer going into the apartment building with a shot gun.

I spent three days in the hospital, and my ex-room-mate was hauled off to the slammer for nine months.

When I came home, my left arm was in a cast, I had a stainless steel pin in my wrist, and I was in a lot of pain for about three weeks.

I'm left handed, but I can't do a lot of writing with my left hand anymore, except to sign my signature and that's it. When my hand was in the cast, and when I had to sign papers with an X I also had to have a witness signature, like a moron!

When my arm was finally taken out of the cast, then I could sign my full name again. But that's all I can do with my left hand, and my hand writing really sucks now. I use to have really nice hand writing, but now, my hand writing looks like chicken scratches on paper. I have to print like a first grader, and only very short sentences before my hand starts hurting too much. My left wrist is so stiff I can hardly bend it at all. When I have to fill out forms, I have to have somebody write down and answers I give verbally. Yeah, I need to have somebody else fill out forms that require writing answers.

I use to play the guitar, but now I can't anymore. I use to do oil paintings, but now I can't anymore. The only way I can write is by using a keyboard, because my left hand is too crippled up to properly hold a pen or a paint brush.

So, that's just one more thing that was taken away from me.

This was the only violent incident in my life that was not sports related, except that I could not afford to get proper nursing care for my room-mate after he had his stroke. I had to care for him myself. If I had been a football player, I would have had enough money to pay for professional nursing care while he was recovering from his stroke.

I couldn't get any help to save my ass!

Anyway . . . . .

My left wrist is stiff, and I barely have any feeling in ring finger and little finger, and those two fingers tingle all the time, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with pains in my left wrist.

Now, I believe that through stem cell research, medical science will be able to repair and fully restore my left wrist and my left hand so that I would be able to play the guitar again.

But NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The Previous Bush Administration made stem cell research illegal in the USA, so, I'll never will be able to have the damaged nerves replaced and have feeling restored.

In the good ol' USA, I was not allowed to study science in school, had sports shoved down my throat, and now, I can't play a guitar anymore.

The Republicans hate science, and the hate people like me who loves science, and the Republicans want to kill me!

THEY JUST WANT ME DEAD!!!

[ChrisOH]

FatMan:

Excellent post! Just a few comments:

The Tea Party movement is supposed to stand for "Taxed Enough Already". Numerous adherents to this movement write to my local paper, complaining about "Obamacare", socialism, government bailouts, etc., but I've yet to see them complain about tax monies being used to fund sports in schools, building of school sports facilities with public money, or the hiring of unqualified teachers simply because they're good football/basketball coaches, whatever. (I did a quick web on "Tea Party and school sports" and found a small number of supporters who nominally opposed these things, but also favored eliminating public schools in favor of private ones (which is counterproductive, IMO, and would only discriminate against students already living in poverty). Referring to my earlier post about my gym teacher teaching "health" and being completely clueless, and the basketball coach "teaching" history by writing notes on the board and giving "study sheets" containing the questions for the test, this is *blatant* misuse of taxpayer money, and I consider it outright fraud on the part of the school district. School levies are supposed to pay for product or service -- training children and adolescents to be educated adults who can contribute to society. By having unqualified teachers, failing to properly educate students, and promoting sports over academics, schools are failing to deliver the product or service they're required to provide!

In my middle school, our sixth-grade class had to be moved to the *cafeteria* because water was leaking through the top-floor ceiling of our classroom and county health inspector deemed it unsafe. The school district didn't repair it because they had "absolutely no money" (to quote the superintendent at the time). Yet...the football, basketball, and baseball teams at the high school still had their uniforms, their fields/gyms, their equipment, their transportation to and from games -- I don't recall a single sport being eliminated or even cut back on, even while the roof was literally caving in on the schools!

I challenge the Tea Party legislators and candidates -- national and local -- to address this issue head-on -- after all, didn't they say "everything was on the table" when it came to reducing taxes? Until and unless they do address this issue, they have no chance of establishing credibility with me, or with getting my vote.

On a related note, I cannot stand Sarah Palin. She and her family seem like a typical "jock" family -- she proudly proclaims she's a "hockey mom" (as if that somehow qualifies her to potentially govern a nation), her daughter got knocked up by a dimwit hockey player, and her husband is some sort of snowmobile racing champion. In the 2008 election, I actually made an effort to listen to both Obama and McCain and watch the debates before deciding on my vote -- and I have to say, McCain lost my vote pretty much the day he named Palin as his VP choice. IMO, it was nothing but a desperate attempt to woo women voters, especially the Hillary Clinton Democrats. It was insulting not only to women (whom he assumed would vote for someone simply because of their gender) and to any thinking voter.

[Fat Man]

In response to ChrisOH.

Yeah, that really sucks!

So, they want to do away with public schools and only support private schools.

That means millions of young people won't be able to get an education.

Just what in the flying fucking Hell are they trying to do to this country?

Without public schools, that would mean that by mid century, USA will have the same literacy rate as some third world countries where up to 80% percent of the population can't read and write.

Getting a good education is the best way to escape poverty. Sports is not an option for everybody.

For me, sports was not an option. I had a crippled up left knee and was unable to run, and I walked with a limp. Since sports was not an option for me, then I had to hit the books and study.

But NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

When I was in the 5th grade, I had a teacher who would not allow me to read Astronomy books, we got into an argument over it and he grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back against the wall.

So, instead of my hitting the books, my head hit the wall.

As for taxes.

I have no objection to paying my fair share of taxes, because taxes is the fee we pay to live in a civilized society. For example: when you buy gasoline for your car, the tax you pay on the gasoline helps to maintain our highways, else we would be driving on nothing but dirt roads and cow paths.

It was Franklin Franklin D Roosevelt, a Democrat, who instituted the idea of building freeways. Otherwise, if the Republicans had their way, we would still be driving on single lane cow paths across the country.

If the Republicans had won back in the 1930s and 1940s, children today would get no education at all. Of course, without an education, one can always get a job in a buggy-whip factory, and those would still be around today if the Republicans had their way back then. And shoeing horses would still be a required skill. So, we would not have all the benefits of science and technology that we have now, and the average life expectancy would only be about 50 years. But what the Hell, one can always get a job in a buggy-whip factory. Eh?

Oh gee! Me thinks I'm being cynical again!

So! The Republican Tea Party has no objections to paying taxes to support football and sports arenas. Oh, but God forbid that our tax dollars should be spent on education, on textbooks and paying the salaries for decent science and math teachers! Oh my goodness gracious! God forbid!!!

Now, we can't have that, now, can we!

Uh huh!

I got to wonder, just what is in that tea those Republicans have been drinking as of late!

Well, pretty soon, they'll all get in line like sheep and cattle to drink the poison Kool Aid.

One can only hope!

Then it's good riddance!!!

[greencom]

I agree with you Fatman, the Republicans are not noted for their respect of science or education or research but the Democrats do not have the gonads to stand up to them, they've
turned into a bunch of slack jawed wussies. I see no hope for this country. Yes I feel that the Republicans want people with disabilities to just die just like NAZI Germany would have wanted. I am not what most people would consider a Liberal, I am quite conservative about many things but I am appalled at the lack of compassion most Conservatives have. I hate sports and I love animals and I do not hunt so my co workers consider me a flaming Lib, I guess respecting life turns them off. All they respect is brutality and profit.

[recovering_fan]

the Democrats do not have the gonads to stand up to them, they've turned into a bunch of slack jawed wussies.

Amen to that!

Democrats need to learn how to be more ruthless in debates, without lowering themselves to the level of personal attacks, of course. They need to spend less time trying to find common ground between their viewpoints and their opponents' and more time directly rebutting what the Republicans say. I regret never joining the debate team in high school.

[ChrisOH]

Democrats need to learn how to be more ruthless in debates, without lowering themselves to the level of personal attacks, of course. They need to spend less time trying to find common ground between their viewpoints and their opponents' and more time directly rebutting what the Republicans say. I regret never joining the debate team in high school.

That's one of the frustrating things about Obama for me. Now, I voted for him and still think he's a far better president than the one who left two years ago (of course, I also think my cat would be a better president than GWB, so I realize that's almost damning him with faint praise). It seems at times that President Obama is almost apologetic to the Republicans for his views and plans. Anytime Republicans voice any opposition to him, he seems willing to automatically compromise and take his proposal "off the table". (See: the "public option" for health care reform.)

Problem is, you can't compromise or reason with unreasonable people. Boehner and the newly elected Republican house majority have *publicly* stated that their intent is to oppose Obama at every turn, roll back any legislation he got passed, and ultimately get him voted out of office in 2012. (Gee, what happened to their campaign promises that the economy and job creation would be their top priority, and that they were tired of "politics as usual"? Stubbornly blocking anything the other party does sure smacks of "politics as usual" to me.)

I remember thinking back in 2004 how John Kerry should have hammered Bush into the ground over the Iraq war, as in "How the *hell* can you justify putting Americans in danger over *falsified* intelligence information?" But he was too nice a guy to do that -- and he lost, and more Americans (not to mention Iraqis) died in a war fought under false pretenses. I hope Obama learns from this, and loses any timidity he might have during the next campaign.

[recovering_fan]

Thanks, Chris, for illustrating precisely the style in which Democrats must start talking about politics!