State of the union speech

[foxer 0]

I'm all for a cleaner earth,Clear streets.But i think were 10-20 years early before we start.I think we have to find something to replace oil before we do anything.

[foxer 0]

CBO Projects Deficits of $199 Billion This Year, $145 Billion in 2004

[Guest]

What happened to the $300 billion surplus that Clinton left behind?

[JAP 2]

It s just a salespitch to sell his war on Iraq this speech.

And the H cars, it s nice, but still too early and too expensive.

What he would better do is stimulate the car manufacturers in the US to build cars with smaller engines. That will have a bigger and faster impact then the H car. If car manufacterers won t cooperate, just raise the tax of gass to the same level as Europe, they will soon get the msg.

I m just asking myself why he s suddenly doing a 180 in foreign politics, when he got elected, first things he did was resume the starwars project and drop the kyoto thingy.  

Now he s talking about aids in Africa, H cars, polution and worldpeace just when he s having a hard time getting other countries on the same side on the Iraq issue       Makes you wonder ...

[foxer 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Jan. 29 2003,21:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">What happened to the $300 billion surplus that Clinton left behind?  <span id='postcolor'>

They going blame it on clinton.Also having 2 wars(soon) going doesn't help.Plus with n.korea acting up that doesn't help.

[Guest]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (JAP @ Jan. 29 2003,21:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now he s talking about aids in Africa, H cars, polution and worldpeace just when he s having a hard time getting other countries on the same side on the Iraq issue       Makes you wonder ...<span id='postcolor'>

Never thought of it that way. Very good point! I think you are right.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">They going blame it on clinton.<span id='postcolor'>

Might be a bit difficult since there was a big budget deficit when he came into power and a big budget surplus when he left.

[JAP 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (denoir @ Jan. 29 2003,22:00)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (JAP @ Jan. 29 2003,21:53)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now he s talking about aids in Africa, H cars, polution and worldpeace just when he s having a hard time getting other countries on the same side on the Iraq issue       Makes you wonder ...<span id='postcolor'>

Never thought of it that way. Very good point! I think you are right.<span id='postcolor'>

Well i m totally not Anti US !

I went there on holidays a few times, really liked the people there etc ...

This i say to prove i m not US bashing !

But i just feel Bush is doing all the good Clinton did to waste.

I m not saying Clinton was better or so, but to us Europeans he certainly came across more serious, caring about world issues and generally not acting like worldpolice.

I dont know if you remember, but the thing that i always will remember about Clinton is when he had the russian president on visit and they just started laughing and laughing at a pressconference and they couldn t stop. It s something silly, but that s how Clinton came across in all his acts here in Europe.

Hard to picture Bush doing something like that.

Since he s in power, it s like America died a little, and i m talking already before 9-11 !

My question to the US people, are you guys really not noticing any difference in leading the country

And why follow Bush so blindely ??

[Guest]

I think that the biggest difference between Bush and Clinton is that Bush is an idiot And I'm not talking about his politics but about the general impression that he makes.

You can find tons of sites that make fun of Clinton and his sexual. umm.. escapades but not about him lacking intellectual capabilities. Bush on the other hand.. Well, make a serach on google for "George W. Bush". The first three links you'll see are from the White House and from his campaign. The next one is named "George W. Bush or Chimpanzee?". I don't think I need to elaborate on that.

[Frisbee 0]

About the axis of evil,it seems to me Bush is thinking 'if I repeat the same thing over and over again people will believe me'.

Because the excerpts I saw said just the same as he always has.

[Badgerboy 0]

A good point in some ways. I think Europe (And the rest of the world for that matter) was always more receptive to Clinton. As a politician he seemed intellgent, well thought out, and reasonably strong in character. He managed to conduct foreign policy without pissing the rest of the world off, and was well respected by other world leaders.

Now look at Bush..... Like it or not, he's a bit slow. Not a bad thing normally, but for that kind of job, you really need to have basic understanding of the world. (I could quote, but millions have done that for me). His history is quite chequered (Clinton is guilty of this as well, as are most US Presidents. There is no way in hell a person like that would become PM here. The press went mad when Blairs wife used slighty dubious connections to get a good deal on a apartment! How the hell the US vote these buggers in is beyond me!

Within the short space of his term, he's managed to piss off at least every major country once. Additionally, no-one seems to take the poor guy seriously. Most world leaders/players have been quoted behind doors that they think the poor buggers 'Not all there' or simply 'Hitler' (Now that takes some earning!

Combined with a cabinet that borders on militaristic paranoia (Except Powel. He seems the only sane one there), voting Bush in was a big mistake for the American people. He has single handly managed to destroy all the good will and effort the US has built up during the 90's.

I don't care about your political affliation, I am only judging what each man achieved on a world stage, and not their individual policies.

Lets just hope he chokes on another pretzel eh?

[Mister 5 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Badgerboy @ Jan. 29 2003,22:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The press went mad when Blairs wife used slighty dubious connections to get a good deal on a apartment! How the hell the US vote these buggers in is beyond me!<span id='postcolor'>

Our politicians are really good liars.

[Diplomata 0]

GWB talks of taking democracy to others while he can't have it himself.

He rules the US, not the world.

[Koolkid101 0]

I hope the H Cars blows up on the stupid Green Peace people. It's -14 here in VT. Where's Global Warming when you need it?

[hit_sqd_maximus 0]

The hydrogen cars he is talking about are fuel cell cars right? a oxygen/hydrogen mixture running against a jell membrane to make electricity?

[bn880 5]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Koolkid101 @ Jan. 29 2003,21:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I hope the H Cars blows up on the stupid Green Peace people. It's -14 here in VT. Where's Global Warming when you need it? <span id='postcolor'>

That's probably the cause...

[ralphwiggum 6]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Koolkid101 @ Jan. 30 2003,03:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It's -14 here in VT. Where's Global Warming when you need it? <span id='postcolor'>

right here in Southern California.

we have 70 degrees farenheit temperature right now. that is highly unusual even for S.Cal. we had some nasty cold below normal 2 weeks before last year's end, and it was 50degrees during day and nearly 38 or so at night.( )

but somehow that is really far behind, and i can literally walk around wearing only tshirts and shorts. S.Cal had less and less rain every year so i'm getting a bit worried about global warming ot some extent.

one time in Saturday Night Live skit, they spoofed this.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Dick Cheney: Global warming is not that bad. During winter, you don't have to worry about your heating bill going up!<span id='postcolor'>

dark humor.

but what about summer?

[Assault (CAN) 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">(who's ass is owned by corporate America)<span id='postcolor'>

Evidence?

And if it is true: What, and Clinton wasn't?

Call me ignorant, but when people make serious statements like that I expect to see some evidence linking the two. Besides, corporate interests and politicians have gone hand in hand in many countries since man made money. What makes Bush II any different?

So what if Bush isn't articulate, it doesn't mean the guy is a complete dumbass. People call Bill Clinton 'Slick Willy' for a good reason, despite him being a lying, cheating, good for nothing president. He was more than able to convince the public that he was a good guy. He had people skills, Bush does not.

People like to blame Bush for today's terrorist problem, but people should blame 8 years of Clinton for underfunding the military and intelligence agencies to the point where they could never see September the 11th coming. 8 years of damage takes a long time to repair.

Anyways, I suspect that most Europeans dislike Bush simply for the fact that he is a Republican from Texas. The cowboy image can be hard to shake. People shouldn't make judgements on superficial reasons.

Besides, Bush isn't even a real Republican.

Tyler

[Guest]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Assault (CAN) @ Jan. 30 2003,08:48)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">(who's ass is owned by corporate America)<span id='postcolor'>

Evidence?<span id='postcolor'>

[JAP 2]

Well,

Bush is certainly doing his best to let the rest of the world believe his only concern is America.

It should be his 1st priority ofcourse, but it shouldn t be his only one.

Maybe Clinton was slick, but atleast he got things done from other countries. Bush simply doesnt care about foreign opinions, especialy in his previously made decissions. Now he s starting to care a bit, but we all know the reason why.

I cant really judge about domestic politics from Bush cause we cant feel the concequences of his decissions here in Europe, although the "strong" Dollar speaks for itself.

The point i m trying to come to is that the way Bush is running his foreign politics is gonna make him end up isolated from other countries in years to follow. ( not well put, but you get what i mean )

I still feel - whatever he or his advisors say about Iraq - that he s trying to finish daddy's job.

Cheers

[WhoCares 0]

George W. Bush ran his own oil company

Dick Cheney - former CEO of Halliburton, the world biggest supplier of the oil industry (who would benefit most from the destruction of some oil fields?!

Condoleezza Rice - board of directors of Chevron (there was even a Tanker with her name!

Donald Evans (Commerce Secr.) - Work experience: Tom Brown Inc., an independent energy company engaged in the domestic exploration, development, marketing and production of natural gas and crude oil, 1975-2001, rising from an oil rig crew man to president, chairman and chief executive officer.

Spenser Abrahams (Energy Secr.) - oil industry (can't find the details right now)

Kathleen Cooper (Under Secr. Economics) - was the Chief economist and Manager of the Economics and Energy Division at the Exxon Mobil Corporation

Thomas White (US Army Secr.) - held various senior executive position with Enron Energy

James Roche (Air Force Secr.) - Corporate Vice President Northorp Grumman; well it is not oil, but weapon industry would not really oppose a war)

Gordon England (Navy Secr.) - Executive Vice President of General Dynamics

Approx. 80% of the campaign contributions (~ 33Mio$ were from oil and energy companies.

[Badgerboy 0]

Just after the Enron scandel, there was talk of investigating thePresident, and other membersof the Government. Then Bush sealed the necesary files (In the interests of national security), and nothing was mentioned again.

Strange

[5thSFG.CNUTZ 0]

Every administration puts friends or close politician allies in their cabinet.  This is nothing new.  I think I would prefer people from the private sector that career politicians.  Also, didn't Gore own stock in Occidental Oil, the company the Clinton Administration sold the Elk Hills Navy Reserves Oil Fields too?  That seems interesting?  I wonder how much money the DNC and Clinton got from the trial lawyers during their campaigns?  Didn't Enron contribute to the Dems?  YES!  Big business supports both sides of the aisle.

Enron contributions to congress

[Badgerboy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Every administration puts friends or close politician allies in their cabinet. This is nothing new. I think I would prefer people from the private sector that career politicians. Also, didn't Gore own stock in Oxidental Oil, the company the Clinton Administration sold the Strategic Defense Reserves too? That seems interesting? I wonder how much money the DNC and Clinton got from the trial lawyers during their campaigns? Didn't Enron contribute to the Dems? YES! Big business supports both sides of the aisle.<span id='postcolor'>

Then why the hell do the American people put up with this? Do you like these people in power? The British Goverment isn't a shining example, but when business dealings are found to mess with politics, there's usually hell to pay.

Doesn't this sort of behaviour bother you?

[Badgerboy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Anyways, I suspect that most Europeans dislike Bush simply for the fact that he is a Republican from Texas. The cowboy image can be hard to shake. People shouldn't make judgements on superficial reasons.<span id='postcolor'>

We don't make judgements on superficial reasons, we judge on facts. Bush has time and again (there are entire sites documenting this), shown his poor geographic knowledge, poor mastery of the english language, and conducts himself in a way that is incompatible with being a world leader. (Running a country out of a ranch for gods sake! )

Being an slow, ignorant (Yes. If you can't be bothered to read up on the facts regarding that country beforehand, I call that ignorant), person is compatible with a lot of jobs, but not for President. This man is the person who represents the US, and he's not sending the right image to the rest of the world.

I would be embarassed if my PM acted like Bush, hell, some foreign world leaders have a better mastery of english than Bush does! I'm sure he's a really nice guy, but he's in the wrong job. He's a bit of a joke to the rest of the world,and seen as being manipulated by the rest of his government,who have been in the job, far,far longer, and know how to use people. (Come on, there is no way in hell Rumsfeld would become Pres, not after some of the stuff he's been up to! Now he's got the next best thing!

Edit - Typos

[5thSFG.CNUTZ 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Badgerboy @ Jan. 30 2003,08:42)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Every administration puts friends or close politician allies in their cabinet.  This is nothing new.  I think I would prefer people from the private sector that career politicians.  Also, didn't Gore own stock in Oxidental Oil, the company the Clinton Administration sold the Strategic Defense Reserves too?  That seems interesting?  I wonder how much money the DNC and Clinton got from the trial lawyers during their campaigns?  Didn't Enron contribute to the Dems?  YES!  Big business supports both sides of the aisle.<span id='postcolor'>

Then why the hell do the American people put up with this? Do you like these people in power? The British Goverment isn't a shining example, but when business dealings are found to mess with politics, there's usually hell to pay.

Doesn't this sort of behaviour bother you?<span id='postcolor'>

Yes it does bother me but unfortunatly there are allot of people in the US and other countries that don't care.  It really pained me to see a list awhile back of the top 10 ways to become a millionaire and #1 was to become a politician.  All politicians are coorupt is some way or manner, no matter what country they are in.

All I can do is vote and hope everyone else gets involved in the process.  At some point, things will change.  They may get worse before then but they will change. I fear the only way to begin to fix this is to not allow ANY contributions unless you are a person, meaning none from a corporation, a union or any type of group. Then, limit the size of the contributions. But until there are enough active voters that are pissed off, it won't change.