Putting yourself in danger to save your country...

Can you imagine the courage this man has? Imagine if your boss could order your doctor not to examine you. According to the NY Times he has been fired, arrested and interrogated.

"I can't stand detecting non-existent crimes, imprisoning people who are not guilty. I can't stand it anymore."

Transcript of Blagojevich wire taps

For anyone interested in the Blagojevich circus, this is a transcript of
one of the phone calls in question during his trial. The tapes were kept
secret and he pushed for them to be published. It is still unclear why he would want the tapes played - if anything they are in bad taste, particularly around page 2, line 29.


DATE: 11/04/2008
TIME: 12:19 P.M.
ACTIVITY: Rod Blagojevich home line incoming call.
SESSION: 218
SPEAKERS:
BLAGOJEVICH: Rod Blagojevich
GREENLEE: Robert Greenlee
* * * * *
1 * * * * *
2 BLAGOJEVICH Anyway, O-, Obama's gonna win a
3 landslide and we'll just operate under
4 that, and I'm on the phone with Doug.
5 He's always fucking fighting against, I
6 can't take the Senate seat. And I can't
7 stand that, his attitude. What's his
8 fucking, angle, what's his motivation?
9 He says, "it's gonna be awful,
10 everybody's gonna resent you for it",
11 you know, and then, he's making it sound
12 like my fellow senators would resent me,
13 which I find ridiculous.
14 GREENLEE Yeah, I, I find it ridiculous that your
15 fellow senators would care.
16 BLAGOJEVICH Yeah.
17 GREENLEE Um, look, you know, I don't think he has
18 a motivation. I'm, I'm sure he's just
19 giving you his opinion.
20 BLAGOJEVICH Oh he's got some, there's some
21 motivation in it on him. There's
22 somethin', he's generally got my, he's
23 got a little motivation, I don't know
24 what it is. He's worried Quinn's gonna
25 in-, institute all kinds of
26 investigations. He'll, he'll order
27 investigations on every contract that we
28 issued...
29 GREENLEE Mm-hmm.

PAGE 2

1 BLAGOJEVICH ...he's saying that. Okay, so let,
2 let's analyze that, war game that. What
3 about that? So what? U.S. Attorney's
4 looking at 'em anyway.
5 GREENLEE Yeah, it's, I mean, look, if you wanna
6 look at the crassest possible
7 motivation, then he has, like, you know,
8 it's harder for him to keep clients.
9 BLAGOJEVICH I mean, yeah, isn't it?
10 GREENLEE Yeah, but...
11 BLAGOJEVICH Isn't that what they're thinking?
12 GREENLEE I re-, I mean, look, I would suspect
13 that's the, you know, that's the
14 crassest motivation. I gotta tell you,
15 I don-, I would expect more from him and
16 I, I guess I'm hesitant to say that
17 that's his motivation. That may just be
18 his opinion.
19 BLAGOJEVICH It's a sub-conscious thing. He's a
20 great guy. He's not, this is not a bad
21 thing on Doug. I, Doug is a good, good
22 person, but sub-consciously, I think
23 he's trying, he, his first reaction is,
24 ooh, I don't want him to leave, I don't
25 want him to, you know, and so now he's
26 trying to, just quickly, his mind is
27 operating, coming up with reasons on why
28 it's bad. You know, and I yelled at
29 him, and I said, "you know...my upward
30 trajectory is fucking stalled if not
31 fucking terminally wounded, you know, by
32 Obama now." Okay?
33 GREENLEE Mm-hmm.
34 BLAGOJEVICH You know? "For the last, better than
35 two decade, uh, you know, decades, I've
36 made decisions at the expense of my
37 family's best interests, for my
38 political career and you, you know, my
39 job as governor." You know?

PAGE 3

1 GREENLEE Yeah.
2 BLAGOJEVICH And, you know, "because I'm, you know,
3 the, this, his election blocks me now
4 from any immediate upward mo-, movement
5 or, you know, maybe never have any
6 upward movement. Then, you know, now is
7 the time for me to put my fucking
8 children and my wife first, for a
9 change."
10 GREENLEE Mm-hmm.
11 BLAGOJEVICH Does that make sense Qui-, Greenlee?
12 GREENLEE Yeah. Look I, that's how I feel
13 strongly.
14 BLAGOJEVICH Yeah. You know...fuck Bill Knapp and
15 fucking Fred, and all these fucking
16 consultants who I listened to at the
17 expense of my fucking family. Okay?
18 And then I, I started venting...you
19 know, part of my vent was, "yeah, and
20 what have I gotten for-? Oh, the people
21 are gonna fucking be mad and the fucking
22 newspapers are gonna rip me for this?"
23 Okay? "I fucking busted my ass and
24 pissed people off and gave your
25 grandmother a free fucking ride on a
26 bus. Okay? I gave your fucking baby a
27 chance to have health care. I fought
28 every one of those assholes including
29 every special interest out there, who
30 can make my life easier and better,
31 because they wanna raise taxes on you
32 and I won't, I, I fight them and keep
33 them from doing it. And what do I get
34 for that? Only thirteen percent of you
35 all out there think I'm doing a good
36 job. So fuck all of you. Not to
37 mention the fact that I'm a fucking,
38 criminal investigations and my family's
39 in jeopardy."
40 GREENLEE Yep.

PAGE 4

1 BLAGOJEVICH "I should worry because, you know, the
2 thirteen percent who approve of me
3 might, I might lose them too?" (Laughs)
4 You know what I'm saying?
5 GREENLEE Mm-hmm. I, look, I gotta tell you...
6 I'm not, I'm not moved by that, I mean I
7 think it means it makes it hard if you
8 were gonna try to run again, for that
9 position. It's ha-, hard, make it
10 harder to hold it, so you have time to
11 regain that. The uh, the only worry you
12 have, and this is maybe where Doug's
13 going is, you have to worry, will they,
14 you gotta make sure they seat you...
15 * * * * *

The funniest way to send a message to BP

I am going to Florida next week for a journalism conference and we have received email warnings from the organizers about the "tar balls" on the beach. Not very appetizing. Which makes me even more disgusted with BP for causing this unnatural disaster. But funny man Aziz Ansari performed this "song" (if you can call it that) at the MTV Music Awards, and it made me smile about the situation. It sends a message to BP and is still entertaining - thanks Aziz!

Watch the 2010 MTV Movie Awards at MTV.com!

USA Today website outsources travel section to Demand Studios

USA Today has announced it is outsourcing online travel news to Demand Media, a network of freelance journalists (of which I'm a member). And while I am overjoyed that freelance journalists will have the rare opportunity to work with such a large publication on a topic as desirable as travel, I can't help but think -- Why?

Is it really a positive thing that USAToday.com will not have any travel journalists on staff? That means no health insurance, no benefits, no office to go to and no resources for educated, trained, professional journalists. Are we selling ourselves short for the chance to get published?


The other part of this discussion has centered on the ethics of Demand Media. They are clearly making a profit off of this deal, and they will have a great deal more jobs to fill. But will the journalists who are chosen make more than the pittance they are currently accepting for writing small listings and explanations for obscure hardware and tech websites? Media Bistro says it's doubtful.

It may be sad to say, but as a freelance journalist, I don't care what they're paying. Actually, when I sent in my request to join the travel writing team, I was under the impression that I would be doing it for free. That's fine for me -- I have been traveling internationally since before I could walk, and I happen to be a great writer with an advanced degree in international journalism. But if I was a USAToday.com staff travel writer, I would hate me right now.

So is the freelance me right, or the hypothetical full-time employee journalist me right?

One thing I can say with confidence: this is not the end of this debate. As the recession recedes and companies restructure, "freelancers" in every industry will become more popular and the matching-401Ked, benefitted employee will become more rare. And yet, I am still happy for freelance me.

"How health care could affect you" Office Memo

My office just sent around a memo outlining what will change with the new health care laws. It is organized into per-year changes, which is really helpful.

Timeline: How health care could affect you

(CNN) -- President Obama signed sweeping health care reform into law Tuesday. The Senate must now pass a package of changes that will reconcile the differences between Senate and House bills. If those changes are worked out, here is how health care reforms could affect you:

Within the first year

• Young adults will be able stay on their parents' insurance until their 27th birthday.

• Seniors will get a $250 rebate to help fill the "doughnut hole" in Medicare prescription drug coverage, which falls between the $2,700 initial limit and when catastrophic coverage kicks in at $6,154.

• Insurers will be barred from imposing exclusions on children with pre-existing conditions. Pools will cover those with pre-existing health conditions until health care coverage exchanges are operational.

• Insurers will not be able to rescind policies to avoid paying medical bills when a person becomes ill.

• Lifetime limits on benefits and restrictive annual limits will be prohibited.

• New plans must provide coverage for preventive services without co-pays. All plans must comply by 2018.

• A temporary reinsurance program will help offset costs of coverage for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55 to 64.

• New plans will be required to implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.

• Adoption tax credit and assistance exclusion will increase by $1,000. The bill makes the credit refundable and extends it through 2011.

• A 10 percent tax will be imposed on amounts paid for indoor tanning services on or after July 1.

• Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering 35 percent of their health care premiums, increasing to 50 percent by 2014.

2011

• Medicare will provide free annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans. New plans will be required to cover preventive services with no co-pay.

• States can offer home- and community-based services to the disabled through Medicaid rather than institutional care beginning October 1.

• A 50 percent discount will be provided on brand-name drugs for Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage enrollees. Additional discounts on brand-name and generic drugs will be phased in to completely close the "doughnut hole" by 2020.

• Additional tax for health savings account withdrawals before age 65 for nonqualified medical expenses will increase from 10 percent to 20 percent. Additional tax for Archer medical savings account withdrawals not used for qualified medical expenses will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

• A plan to provide a vehicle for small businesses to offer tax-free benefits will be created. This would ease the small employer's administrative burden of sponsoring a cafeteria plan.

• The Medicare payroll tax will increase from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married filing jointly above $250,000.

2013

• Health plans must implement uniform standards for electronic exchange of health information to reduce paperwork and administrative costs.

• Contributions to flexible savings accounts will be limited to $2,500 per year, indexed by the Consumer Price Index in subsequent years.

• The Employer Medicare Part D subsidy deduction will be eliminated. Employers will lose the tax deduction for subsidizing prescription drug plans for Medicare Part D-eligible retirees.

• There will be increases to the income threshold from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of adjusted gross income. Those older than 65 can claim the 7.5 percent deduction through 2016.

• The hospital insurance tax will increase 0.9 percentage points for those earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly), and it includes net investment income.

• A 2.9 percent excise tax on the first sale of medical devices will be established. Excepted are eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or other items for individual use.

2014

• Citizens will be required to have acceptable coverage or pay a penalty of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 (or up to 2.5 percent of income) in 2016. Families will pay half the amount for children, up to a cap of $2,250 per family. After 2016, penalties are indexed to Consumer Price Index.

• Workers who are exempt from individual responsibility for coverage but don't qualify for tax credits can take their employer contribution and join an exchange plan.

• Companies with 50 or more employees must offer coverage to employees or pay a $2,000 penalty per employee after their first 30 if at least one of their employees receives a tax credit. Waiting periods before insurance takes effect is limited to 90 days. Employers who offer coverage but whose employees receive tax credits will pay $3,000 for each worker receiving a tax credit.

• Insurers can no longer refuse to sell or renew policies because of an individual's health status. Health plans can no longer exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions. Insurers can't charge higher rates because of heath status, gender or other factors.

• Health plans will be prohibited from imposing annual limits on coverage.

• Health insurance exchanges will open in each state to individuals and small employers to comparison shop for standardized health packages.

• Credits will be available through exchanges for those whose income is above Medicaid eligibility and below 400 percent of poverty level who are not eligible for or offered other acceptable coverage.

• Medicaid eligibility will increase to 133 percent of poverty for all nonelderly individuals to ensure that people obtain affordable health care in the most efficient and appropriate manner. States will receive increased federal funding to cover these new populations.

• An annual health insurance provider fee will be imposed across the health insurance sector according to insurers' market share to companies whose total premiums exceed $25 million.

2018

• 2018 Taxing "Cadillac" plans: An excise tax will be imposed on high-cost, employer-provided health plans beyond $27,500 for family coverage and $10,200 for single coverage; it will increase to $30,950 for families and $11,850 for individuals, retirees and employees in high-risk professions.

Sources: House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor committees; Kaiser Family Foundation

Health care bill signed into law - "This is a big f---ing deal!"

At 11am CST on March 23rd, healthcare for everyone became the law in America.

Signed with a different pen for every signature, President Obama once again made history by providing healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.

When Joe Biden introduced the president, Obama's mic picked up Biden saying "This is a big f---ing deal," you can see it below. Listen while he's shaking the president's hand. Well said, Mr. Vice President :)

An amazing day for all Americans!

A day of history - Healthcare!

Today has seen a few major events unfold, the biggest and most significant of which is the passing of health care reform legislation. Needing 216 votes to pass, the bill got 219 votes, without a single vote from a Republican.

It is clearly a partisan vote, and Republicans are threatening to repeal the bill if they get into office. It is about every person who has opened their [healthcare] bill and is shocked at how much prices shot up, said President Obama, when he addressed the nation late Sunday night.

He noted this day does not end the work we need to do for our country, but he did say "This day represents another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream. We have answered the call of history."

Just about every major Western country in the world has universal healthcare. This bill does not take us to that level, but it is a step in the right direction. We can only build from here.

Also today, Christiane Amanpour has officially announced she will be leaving CNN for ABC's This Week. She is an amazing journalist and I look forward to seeing how she does on a non-cable network.

Ethics in Politics: An Evening with Fallen Governor Rod Blagojevich

I spent last night at Northwestern's Evanston campus, representing the Huffington Post at an event called Ethics in Politics: an Evening with Former Governor Rod Blagojevich. It was far, far more entertaining than anyone anticipated. The 1000+ people there were mostly students and media, and it was quite a rambunctious crowd. The full article is on the Huffington Post main page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/rod-blagojevich-at-northw_n_483939.html

I will try to post the full audio file too. In this video clip panelist Don Gordon, an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University, jumped in to make sure Blago knew he wasn't buying everything the former governor was saying. Then, Journalism Professor Donna Leff asks a question from the audience - what advice on ethics would you give new politicians. His answer is "bleeping golden!"

Sorry it's so shaky, I was writing with one hand and filming with the other.

The World is Watching as the Dutch Decide Whether to Remain in Afghanistan

There was a huge upset in the Netherlands this past week, as the Dutch coalition government announced they will be holding early elections because they are unable to come to a unanimous decision on whether to keep 1,600 Dutch troops in Afghanistan past the Autumn 2010 pull-out schedule. Apparently, the Christian Democratic Party and the Christian Unity party are willing to agree with NATO that an extension of troops is needed because they are not convinced that the region will remain stable, and feel it is too early to pull out. However, the Labour Party does not see any importance in maintaining a Dutch presence in the region past the schedule agreed upon three years ago.

The Netherlands is still reeling from the unexpected, very quick downfall of the government over this issue. "What's shameful is that the government unity was unilaterally broken last week," said Jack de Vries, Christian Democratic Deputy Defense Minister. Without using so many words, he is blaming the Labour Party for refusing to compromise on the issue, and come to an agreement with his party. Public opinion on the Afghanistan issue is yet to be seen, but there is clearly a division about where the Dutch will stand. Local council elections are set to begin in two weeks.

Oprah Keeping Harpo in Chicago with Nate Berkus Show?

The buzz on some internet blogs is that Oprah may be working to keep Harpo in Chicago, by giving her friend and consistent guest on her show, designer Nate Berkus, his own talk show. Although, it looks like she will be giving the show to NBC instead of her native ABC network.

The reason for the commotion is that Harpo Studios has posted a whole bunch of help-wanted ads online at indeed.com for...basically...all the positions needed to launch a new show: senior producer, producer, associate producer, travel booker, etc, all listed under Harpo Studios, on The Nate Berkus Show (working title). Clearly, something is brewing! Does Nate have the star power to be the next Oprah?

Acupuncture

Sticking needles into "pressure points" would not be my idea of relaxation. And yet, I was up early Saturday morning to go to a spa that offers the service, just so I could see if it would work - as they say, you don't know what you're missing until you try.

I had lots of questions - Would it hurt? Where do the little needles go? How long does it take? What does it feel like?

There were no special instructions given when I made the appointment so I had no idea what to expect. But I wasn't nervous. The spa smelled like aromatherapy and incense. The receptionist spoke softly and slowly, reminding me of some hippies I met in Iowa a while ago, offering us tea and organic snacks. The acupuncturist took me into her office, a small room with a desk, a dim lamp and a doctor's table covered with a soft cloth, she asked me a few questions about how I feel about my health and life in general, what I do for a living, etc. Then she gave me a gown to change into and left.

When she came back, she told me to hold out my arms straight, then she moved the fingertips of one of my hands to different places (my head, my stomach, my heart) and she pressed down on my other outstretched arm, saying "resist me". She moved my fingertips to a few different places and explained that my energy around the area where my one hand was would affect my ability to resist the pressure she was putting on my other arm. Her results happened to be very similar to the areas I mentioned during the Q&A. Then she noted a few things she was going to focus on like stress and focus, and told me to lay down. It was at this point that I got really nervous.

She would feel out a point like the top of my head, then tell me what it represented, then tap in the tip of the needle. After a few she asked if the effects were "too much," which made me think there would be some massive influx or outflux (?) of energy that would bombard me. That never happened. Sometimes I couldn't even feel her putting in the needles, sometimes it felt like I was getting a shot at the doctor's office. She put one on the bottom of my inside elbow. Which made it impossible to put my arm down without shoving it in further, but there was no where to put my arms, so they just hung there. That part was uncomfortable. I felt the ones she put in my hands, they hurt, as did the ones in my feet. But the rest I didn't really feel.

Then she left me there and asked if I wanted the lights off. Hell no. I don't want to sit in the dark covered in needles I can't see. I asked her where my mind was meant to go and she replied that I should envision a world where there was no money, and I was free to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted - what would that life look like?

So I did. And did some more. And more. After what felt like forever (40 mins) she came back and started to pluck out the needles. There seemed to be more coming out than went in. She asked if she had forgotten any. I was really hoping she was joking. She wasn't. So I had to feel around to make sure I wasn't going to stab myself with a stray needle. Then she noticed one of the points had started to bleed, which freaked me out because these are supposed to be very superficial pricks. She said some acupuncturists (some - i.e. not her) say that happens when more energy needs to be released from a specific area. Maybe it was because she put it in too far. Just saying.

But I did feel a bit light-headed and much calmer when I left. As far as the stress issue went, it was definitely relaxing, but that might be because I spent 40 mins dreaming about my mansion in Ireland. As far as everything else, I think it was a bit hocus-pocusy. I could just get a massage next time. Although I really enjoyed the adventure of trying something new, and finding a new way to enjoy the spa.

The Madigan Shenanigan

Illinois politics is clearly some of the most corrupt in the nation. We are well aware. In a recent side-by-side comparison with New York state, New York Times columnist Gail Collins concluded that Illinois had the "most awful political culture."

But that doesn't surprise anyone who has had the good fortune of watching the evening news in the Windy City.

The latest debacle (aside from the Scott Lee Cohen disaster (really? withdrawing from the Lieutenant Governor race in a tavern??) and the Betty Lauren-Maltese round-the-clock coverage) was Michael Madigan pulling his political weight to suggest that the Lieutenant Governor position be scrapped all together. At first glance, this suggestion seems almost logical from a man who has not been so logical of late (front page allegations that clients of his law firm benefit from legislation he advocates and pushes through the House of Congress as Dem speaker) but when you dig a bit deeper, (and I mean just a bit, because it's glaringly obvious) you find his motives may be tainted by something other than pure undying love of servitude to the state. If the LG job was done away with then who would be next in line should the Governor be indicted (as has happened twice now), die in office (also twice) or otherwise unable to perform his/her duties? The Attorney General. And who might the Illinois Attorney General be? Lisa Madigan, Michael Madigan's daughter.

Ah. There it is, the corruption we have become so used to that we actively search for it.

Google Buzz

Google is trying to keep up with the current societal demand for social networking. We all need to be connected all the time. Buzz is actually pretty interesting. It takes the best part of Facebook (status updates and picture sharing) and puts it right in your inbox. So you can click on the Buzz button and be INSIDE of your social networking site instantaneously. No new sign-in required. From there, you can see what everyone is talking about/linking to.

Gripes: I don't like that you are automatically following people when you first sign in. I didn't choose to follow my old boss from 5 yrs ago, but clearly omnipotent Google thought I should.

Also don't like: you are not notified when people start following you. It is obviously very important you know who's listening before you say you hate your job or something sensitive.

Also: This is just ANOTHER place to keep track of who you're talking to. It is starting to look like every website is going to include some form of interactive networking. Is cyber-socializing the mandatory new feature of next generation websites?

Sarah Palin, "hands" a $100,000 speech to the Tea Party

Sarah Palin wrote her $100,000 speech notes ON HER HAND. Then she criticized President Obama for using a teleprompter. Keep 'em coming Sarah!

I propose a new word- Palinized: Having inexplicable notions of grandeur; defending hypocrisy with lots of incomprehensible words

Scott Lee Cohen is Out

The Illinois Democratic Lieutenant Governor nominee who has been hounded by scandal since the day after he won the Democratic primaries last week, has stepped down, tearfully.

The next step is for the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee to elect a replacement. The process is, apparently, quite complex. Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ) has a blog that sums up the process pretty well, noting that some things we just do not know yet.

My HuffPo article: Jeff Haas and Bill Ayers discuss new book

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/08/jeff-haas-bill-ayers-disc_n_453332.html


"Back [in the 60's] segregation was normalized so it's easy to say 'If I would have been alive I would have been right there.' But would we have been?" Bill Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, posed the question Thursday night to a standing room only audience in the back room at Barbara's Bookstore on South Halsted.

Ayers, ironically, was himself a left wing radical and founding member of the controversial group Weather Underground during the Vietnam War. He recently returned to the spotlight as questions arose over his connection to then-presidential-hopeful Barack Obama, nearly costing Obama the election.

Ayers joined a panel of activists at different levels of career revolutionism, to discuss the legacy of Fred Hampton and to promote Jeff Haas' book "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Killed a Black Panther." The panel was hosted by Barbara's Bookstore in honor of Black History Month.

Haas' book recounts his personal story of growing up a privileged white man in Atlanta, then coming to Chicago after graduating from law school. He learned of the Black Panther movement as a young lawyer working to get Hampton released from prison. He succeeded, only to have Hampton assassinated on December 4th, 1969, in what he worked for years to prove was the work of Chicago police and the FBI, tracing all the way up to its director, J. Edgar Hoover. Haas co-founded The People's Law Office and worked to uncover the covert and often illegal government program to obtain secret evidence on activists, COINTELPRO.

Ayers was moderator of the panel that included Haas, headliner of the evening; LaDonna Redmond, Chicago community activist and co-founder of Graffiti and Grub; Dr. David Stovall, a University of Illinois at Chicago professor in Educational Policy Studies; and honorary guest Bill Hampton, Fred Hampton's brother.

In his southern drawl, Haas began the discussion by giving a substantial recap of the events leading up to the incident that shocked Americans and enraged civil rights activists over 40 years ago. He read an excerpt of the book describing his visit to a church on Chicago's West side to hear Hampton speak, quoting him:

"If you ever think about me and you ain't gonna do no revolutionary act, forget about me. I don't want myself on your mind if you're not going to work for the people. If you're asked to make a commitment at the age of twenty, and you say I don't want to make a commitment at the age of twenty, only because of the reason that I'm too young to die, I want to live a little longer, then you're dead already."

The panelists discussed the legacy of Fred Hampton, hoping to encourage people to get involved in defending civil rights.

"We are all living in a living history," Redmond said. "If we want peace, don't ask what Obama did, ask what you did."

Afterward, Haas signed copies of his book and signed mine:

"Tell truth for power. Keep the struggle for justice alive."

State of the Union: Everything rolled into one

Or as the Twitter-sphere calls it: SOTU (saves space). President Obama addressed the nation last night in his first State of the Union. I had to watch it on MSNBC online after it aired because I was at an event when it came on, so I didn't have the typical feeling I get of watching "with the whole nation," but I was pretty impressed that he addressed so many things in such a short amount of time. He spent more than 25 mins (from my personal estimations) talking about jobs and the economy. Mostly empathizing with people, with a few plans sprinkled in). Then he diversified his topic portfolio by smoothly transitioning in education, limiting federal spending (plus a 3-yr freeze...we will get to that later), climate change efforts, health care (I waited for it and waited for it and he did get there, albeit,with a pretty quick mention), the wars, repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the military (which was huge, I thought it should have been talked about more by the media. But I guess since Sam Stein on HuffPo broke the news, people were just expecting it. I was still impressed) and he even criticized the Supreme Court decision to deregulate corporate campaign donations - the justices were sitting right there! It was ballsy. Justice Alito was about to stand up and say something, the news sites reported he was saying "that's not true" to Obamas claims that corporations were going to steamroll the needs of the people. My point is that he addressed a lot of issues, but had to do it in a short sentence or two because he spent so long talking about jobs and the economy.

I would mention too, though, that he did not address the Guantanamo Bay closure (or lack thereof), which was a big issue in his inauguration speech and other speeches. But that is likely because he did not want to bring up the fact that he failed to do what he said. He was not afraid to say he added a trillion to the deficit (after talking about how Bush took us from a budget surplus to a huge deficit (artfully, without mentioning Bush's name at all - the camera panned to McCain mumbling to himself), so I think he could have addressed his failure at Gitmo. But he didn't. He never said he would, so it's cool. But I noticed.

And after promising to address the Middle East conflict, he did not bring up the fact that he (more accurately, Hillary Clinton) failed completely at halting Israeli settlement building. Which is a foreign policy issue so I guess it is not relevant compared to the domestic issues he talked about...but if we are throwing out issues to talk about, I think it deserved a passing mention. But again, not a huge surprise or let down, just something I noticed.

Also absent in talking about domestic issues we are facing as Americans: Oprah is leaving! He didn't even mention the talk show maven's last year. Poor Oprah! ...just kidding.