9/11 wouldn't have happend if the administration had unchecked power to spy on Americas.

Actually, you know, I was just re-reading the Commission Report a while ago -- it's really a surprisingly insightful read into the intricacies of interdepartmental communication and DC turf wars, aside from all the other stuff -- and was reminded of all the intelligence the US did have, that they didn't do squat with.

One department has the Sekrit List of Bad Guys, but it's so secret they don't share it with the people whose job it is to keep out the bad guys. People who were singled out, by name, never to be allowed into the country, who got in anyway just by walking up to customs. Stupid, basic problems of bureaucracy, that more intelligence will not fix.

It's like all those cop shows where in the middle of a drug deal, everybody pulls an gun and a badge, and the FBI realizes it is arresting the DEA (and vice versa).

kitty and puppy

[link]

some day it will be a very big kitty

... then there's some rah-rah stuff about the economy. Then his plan for the economy.

Tonight I will set out a better path -- an agenda for a nation that competes with confidence -- an agenda that will raise standards of living and generate new jobs. Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it.

Because America needs more than a temporary expansion, we need more than temporary tax relief. I urge the Congress to act responsibly, and make the tax cuts permanent.

And the plan is to continue tax cutting, especially for the wealthy. Nothing new here.

It's like all those cop shows where in the middle of a drug deal, everybody pulls an gun and a badge, and the FBI realizes it is arresting the DEA (and vice versa).

my goverment resembles bad tv.

In the last five years, the tax relief you passed has left $880 billion in the hands of American workers, investors, small businesses, and families -- and they have used it to help produce more than four years of uninterrupted economic growth. Yet the tax relief is set to expire in the next few years.

and savings is at what level?

Now a skeptic might think "what about the deficit?" so he addresses that immediately.

Keeping America competitive requires us to be good stewards of tax dollars. Every year of my presidency, we have reduced the growth of nonsecurity discretionary spending -- and last year you passed bills that cut this spending.

This year my budget will cut it again, and reduce or eliminate more than 140 programs that are performing poorly or not fulfilling essential priorities. By passing these reforms, we will save the American taxpayer another $14 billion next year -- and stay on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.

$14 billion? So hundreds of billions in tax cuts and 14 billion in spending cuts? Nonsecurity discrentionary spending seems to mean that will be mostly coming from social programs like students loans. This works since educated people might realize that the math doesn't add up. No, I'm being unfair it doesn't take higher education to see that the math doesn't add up.

Yeah, not like we could be using that $880 billion dollars for anything. Like, oh, paying down the deficit, or helping rebuild the goddamn Gulf Coast.

t /one note

I was going to post about the SOTU, but I don't think I can do any better than this, so I'll just repeat it:

Sorry, Smirky McMonkeyface. When you kill thousands of civilians in an unjust war that you lied in order to start, I don't think you believe in the God-given dignity of ANYTHING.

Yeah, that says it all.

So, I finally heard back from American Airline after my lost-bag issue last month. It was a really thorough and apologetic email, and they gave me 2000 frequent flyer miles. I guess that's something.

A friend of mine was travelling from Newfoundland on WestJet, and there was a windstorm, and their flight got cancelled as they were waiting to take off, but all the gates were full, so they couldn't get the plane to the jetway, so they had to deplane onto the tarmac. My friend has to travel in a wheelchair, so they had to lower her down, but first they covered her with blankets, and she said generally, they were really great. She said she also watched another Westjet employee offer to personally escort a woman to her hotel, because she had never stayed in a hotel before.

When my friend got home she wrote a letter to Westjet praising the employees for their service and kindness. Westjest responding with a thank you letter and a voucher to cover the cost of her flight. It's amazing when you get a good response for telling them about bad service, but for complimenting them, I think it's unheard of.