Justus For All

Tonight was of course the State of the Union address (transcript here.)

Overall, I thought that the speech was pretty good, one of Bush’s better deliveries.  It didn’t have a whole lot that was really interesting but there were a few key points.

Bush was very strong on Iraq, and in his defense of the wiretapping.  On Iran, he didn’t telegraph at all what he would do if the world failed to act signifigantly.  Given the latest developments with descent world cooperation at the moment that was probably the wise choice.  He also, I think, took the correct tone with Hamas:

Elections are vital — but they are only the beginning. Raising up a democracy requires the rule of law, protection of minorities, and strong, accountable institutions that last longer than a single vote.

…

The Palestinian people have voted in elections — now the leaders of Hamas must recognize Israel, disarm, reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace.

The domestic half of the speech was weaker I thought, there were three things of interest to me.   The first was future entitlement costs, which gave the Democrats an applause line when he said:

Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security

This applause worked against them though, I think as he went on:

yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away — and with every year we fail to act, the situation gets worse.

His solution to the problem was disappointing though, apparently a bi-partisan commission will fix it.

The second thing was something of a surprise out of this President:

Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy. Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.

The best way to break this addiction is through technology. Since 2001, we have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper, more reliable alternative energy sources — and we are on the threshold of incredible advances. So tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative — a 22 percent increase in clean-energy research at the Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, safe nuclear energy.

We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We will also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips, stalks, or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years. Breakthroughs on this and other new technologies will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. By applying the talent and technology of America, this country can dramatically improve our environment … move beyond a petroleum-based economy … and make our dependence on Middle Eastern oil a thing of the past.

Hardly what one would expect of an oil man.  I am not against this, and some of the specifics, nuclear (well, nuculer) power and fuel cells I am all for, but I see this as a problem that will solve itself through market forces.  Government intervention isn’t really needed in my opinion.

The third thing that caught my attention was:

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research — human cloning in all its forms … creating or implanting embryos for experiments … creating human-animal hybrids … and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our creator — and that gift should never be discarded, devalued, or put up for sale.

It’s probably good that I am not a geneticist because I am all in favor of human cloning and human animal-hybrids.  I think that just because God didn’t give us wings doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fly, and just because God gave us life doesn’t mean we shouldn’t tinker with that as well.  Human directed evolution is going to be a big deal, and I highly doubt anything will be able to stop it.  It might be delayed a big though.

Lastly, I want to point out a huge mistake in the transcript.  It toward the beginning of the speech:

At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half — in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran — because the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom as well.

That should actually read ‘the demands of Justus,’ it is an understandable mistake, but many don’t realize that my campaign contributions to the Bush campaign in 2004 were based entirely on Bush supporting democracy throughout the world.  Unlike Jack Abramoff who only bought half of congress, my contributions bought the Presidency, as evidence by this line.

As for Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s democratic response, (transcript) I wasn’t terribly impressed.  Nice enough thoughts for the most part, a few partisan codewords that made it less congenial then it sounded but little real substance.  The responses seldom have much to them, he did a passable job.  His one randomly rising eyebrow was a bit weird though.