It was 5:45pm I was hurrying to get this blackberry I had been working on functioning correctly.  It was for an executive so I couldn’t afford to make a mistake.  I thought to myself, “Damn!  I might have to stay late on this one and miss the speech!”  I was eager to get in my car and turn to the  National Public Radio station.

They had said they were going to be broadcasting the State of The Union Speech live over the air.  I was eager to listen to the inspiring words from our President.  I knew that he would deliver a very inspirational speech as he has in the past.

Well, thanks to the assistance from my diligent managers the issue got resolved right at 6:00pm and I rushed downstairs to get to my car.  I immediately changed the station to 89.9FM and hurried out of the underground garage so my antenna can grab the radio signal.

As I made my way out, the station became clear and I could hear many people talking in the background.  The radio station reporter was describing what he was seeing.  He mentioned that the president was at the door and was about to make his way in.

After  a few moments he was announced and the President took the podium.

The people applauded for a really long time.  It seemed to last forever.  Finally after awhile and after Obama said “Thank you.”  like 500 times the people calmed down.

The State of The Union Is ALWAYS Strong

He started off with the usual notions of how great America is, etc.  I noticed that previous Presidents would say, “The state of the union is strong!”  Obama was no different in saying the union was strong, but he said that it was strong in spite of the hardships we are facing today.

I don’t think I have ever heard a president say, “The state of the union is weak “  I wonder what would happen if one would say that.  Or say, “The state of the union is pretty shabby at this point and could use a little reinforcement around the edges.”  I wonder how people would react if the President talked like that.

Then he went on to talking about the actions of the Democrats in the last year.  He spoke about the Stimulus package and the Bank Bailout.  He made a joke about how everyone really did not like the Bailout but it was necessary for the financial sector to survive because many of the “expert” analysts said it was necessary.

Clean Energy Is The “In” Thing Now

He mentioned that the stimulus bill created new jobs in the clean energy department.  He mentioned it a few times and has a couple of plans to create many more clean energy jobs.  What about other jobs?  All the time the Democrats applauded and screamed in his favor.  It pretty much sounded like a high school rally.

I have always thought about that and it has always bothered me.  It seems wrong that the government consists of two parties that compete with each other like the classes at a high school rally.

Anyway, he went on to talking more about clean energy and how we should be the #1 country in the development and implementation of it.  More competition.  I guess, this is the way we have always done it right?  America needs to be #1 in all facets of life.  I am sure all those countries are telling their people the same thing.  This means that war is going no where.

Tax Cuts and Financial Reform

Continuing…Obama went into tax cuts for the middle class.  He also mentioned that even after all the spending they did they never raised income taxes.  Interesting point.  He mentioned that he was not interested in punishing the banks for what they did.  I liked the fact that he talked down at the fact that some banks give huge bonuses to CEO’s, etc.

There was talk about financial reform but no details.  There are people working on it.  Obviously we need this so the financial sector won’t collapse again.  He wants to use the 33 Billion the banks have paid back so far to make it possible for banks to lend to smaller business and people again.

Keep in mind he is talking with an inspirational tone, and with all the people egging him on makes you feel really good inside.  I literally had to fight against the feeling to avoid getting all jazzed up and crying tears of joy.  These politicians are so good at that!

Veterans, Student Loan Forgiveness, and Gays in the Military

I liked the fact that his wife was doing some good things for the veterans.  I also liked his plan for forgiving people of student loans after a certain amount of time.  He said, “Why should people who decide to go to college be broke?”  This was a great point and made me feel really good inside as well.

Oh, he also mentioned that he wants gays to be able to join the military and be open about it.  He wants to remove the “Don’t ask.  Don’t tell” law.  I bet that really pissed off a lot of homophobes.

Toward the end he went into The Deficit and spoke about how the mess was there when he took office by the previous people in office and his plans to try and fix it.  He is assigning a council of people to come up with details of how we are going to get out of this massive deficit by a certain date.  Interesting idea, I am curious to see what they come up with.

Finally he went into the fact that his party has seen some setbacks recently but they are going to stay strong and want us all to as well.  Then he ended with the same old, “God bless America!”.  Yay!!!  He could of left that part out in my book.  We have heard it enough and it doesn’t really mean anything anyway.

So the speech lasted a good hour and it made my drive home in traffic much easier.  If only I could hear stuff like that everyday.

Over all I must say that I was really inspired by the whole thing.  Boy, that Obama can deliver a good speech.  He is much better at it than our former president.

What did you think of the speech?

This seems to be a fairly popular question in the air.  The Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger said “He thinks it is time for it to be debated.  All strategies need to be listened to.”

So look at this post as the beginning of a debate.

My take on legalizing Marijuana:

Just from thinking about it, and not even looking at any numbers or polls I can say this.  Marijuana became illegal for stupid reasons in the first place.  The fact that we could make it legal now and tax it for billions of dollars is great!  We obviously need the money here in the state of California.

Here is what I think would happen once it became legal.  Obviously the rules for it’s use would be very similar to alcohol use.  First off, tons of new business would open up.  Many already existing businesses would incorporate it as another product to sell, which would increase tax revenue.  All of the people who are in jail for marijuana related crimes could be let out and save even more tax dollars.

So many people already smoke it anyway so I doubt there would be that big of an influx of people suddenly becoming pot heads.  People who are not pot heads would not suddenly become pot heads just because it became legal.  Again, this is where parenting and common sense comes into play.

On a more humorous related note.  Some people who would never touch it because it was illegal might try it out.  This might be a good thing for some of these uptight people.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Today the stock market jumped a magnificent 936 points!  All because of some news that was released about the government’s plans to rescue the banking system.

This is a clear example of how our markets are influenced by the media.  You have got to look at the numbers folks.  Don’t follow other people who panic. 

Let’s say for example you are on a ship and it takes a hit from a torpedo.  Then all of the sudden people start panicking and jumping off of the ship because they think it is going to sink.  Would you just jump off with them?  Or would you assess the situation first and make sure the ship is going to actually sink before you jump?

Maybe not the best of analogies, but you get the picture right?

Investing in the stock market is a numbers game.  There are some smart investors out there who are buying many shares of stocks that most people are bailing out on and holding it because they know it is going to go back up eventually.  When it does they will be making a ton of money.  I would do the same if I had the money.

People tend to worry and panic when the media releases a story because of fear, insecurity and lack of education.  Most people will heard in the direction of the confident.  If you stay confident that the market will correct itself then we will never be in a depression again.

I have been reading a lot about this $700 Billion dollar bailout and like any other good and loyal American I must put in my 2 cents.

I have been reading many headlines that go something like, “Stock prices fall as bailout is disapproved.”

I have read a lot of back and forth arguments from different news sites and investment sites.  All in all I think it is a good idea if we don’t go through with this bailout.  As a tax payer I don’t see why my tax dollars should pay for the mistakes of banks.

Of course all the people who have a heavy stake in the financial sector will want this bailout to go through.  Well, it doesn’t look like it is going to go through.  Our congress has decided against the bailout.  The decision has caused the dow to drop hundreds of points.

The government says that the bailout will prevent catasrophic damage to the economy.  If the financial sector is left to fall as it is then it could collapse the whole economy.  This is only stated and there is no proof or explanation on how it would happen.

Many others think that this decline will only last so long and will be what is necessary for the economy to correct itself.  I agree with this.  Many times in the past this has happened and the market will always correct itself.

We are in for exciting times.  Historical things are happening all around us.  We may see our first black president, or we may see our first women vice president.  We may also be on the verge of another depression.  It is no doubt interesting to me and I will enjoy watching this show. 

Who do YOU want to be elected as President of the United States of America?

Does it really matter?  Many people say it will.  Whether there is a democrat or a repulican in office is really what makes the difference it seems.

One of the biggest problems that I see is misinformed citizens.  The presidential elections are no longer about who is best for the job.  They are all about who can spin the other’s comments better and the most times.

It is almost like being at a high school pep rally.

Those presidential debates are all about who can argue better.  As soon as the debate was over there were comments all over the internet and here at home and all people talked about was who won the debate, who made the better points, and who got who on which comments. 

Seems like a big waste of millions of dollars to me.  Check out this article I read the other day.  I agree with Dosh on this article.

What if the president was a random selection.  What if people (based on a certain criteria) were randomly chosen, like jury duty?  It is certainly an interesting idea to explore.

Anyhow, once again I don’t think I will be casting a vote this year for president.  I enjoy watching the show from the side line.  I am not ready to get in and play the game just yet.

What do you think about not voting?

A buddy of mine hit me up the other day and asked me if I wanted to go to a debate party with him.  This was the first time I had heard of such parties.

Drinking and Politics Don’t Mix

Apparently this is a party where a bunch of people get together to watch the presidential debates and then discuss it afterword.  This sounds like a potentially dangerous idea in my opinion.  Especially if the people are all drinking!  We are talking about a group of people we never met and our atheist, liberal and independent asses are going to go over and drink with them and talk about politics?!

What if these people are a bunch of crazy, right wing, republican, born-again, red neck Christians?  Well, then I probably would not want to go there.  The party is in Long Beach, CA so I doubt they will be.  Regardless, it sounds like it could be fun, especially if the crowd is mixed or they share the same beliefs and or political stand point as I do.

I must admit though, that I have not been following this historical presidential election very closely and I am still not sure if I like Obama or McCain.  However, I do love to argue with people about politics and religion. 

My Political Take

I have never been interested with joining the Republican or Democratic party.  I have always liked arguments on both sides and will not commit to one or the other.  The reasons are as follows:

• I like to keep my options open
• I don’t like labels
• It fits better with my personality
• I have an uneasy feeling that somehow the parties are pretending to be separate parties when they are in fact the same.

This could turn out to be a very fun and interesting gathering.  I am always down to try new things.

Question to the reader: Have you ever been to one of these parties?  If so, drop a comment below and tell us about it.