Good on paper.

I have been so busy at work that I only found time to watch the State of the Union tonight. I have to admit though I tried to listen to it that same Tuesday, but the White House official website was acting up and wouldn't play the video. They finally got it fixed and I got a chance to listen to some more peculiar ideas my government was trying to feed me and everyone else.
I honestly have to admit that all these ideas sound very promising. In theory. Indeed, it delivered various ideas as to how to better the current situation in the country and overseas. However, in reality it addressed an assortment of proposals that would change very little.
Lets start at the very beginning. The first issue addressed, if I remember correctly, was economy. I particularly liked the idea of balancing our budget without raising taxes. What makes me suspicious about it is the fact that the federal government proposes to take money away from themselves. Now, how willing would you be to part with your money for some illusive purpose? My guess is, some proposals will be signed into law but most likely only to check that bullet point on the official agenda. "Yes, we've made an attempt to fix it. Check mark. Too bad it is not nearly sufficient." Now, with earmarks. Why is it the feds become so concerned with this issue all of a sudden? Doesn't it sound like another lame effort to balance or at least cut the deficit? And where is the guarantee it will be done or will be done effectively? I must repeat once again, these ideas sound fairly decent, but what troubles me is that it could have been done years ago. These proposals did not arise from some unexpected source (such as a huge funds inflow from the lottery and whatnot). These issues existed fro years but no one seemed to care about those enough to fix them or at least bring to someone's attention. Why should I believe now, when I am told it will definitely be addressed? That it won't slip through the cracks once again and disregarded by all in a few months?
Education. Don't get me wrong, but as someone who got their education overseas, I believe that the public school system is failing miserably in education across the broad spectrum of disciplines. Unfortunately, there's is an unacceptably high number of children who struggle at school and little is done to help them deal with it. I think that schools set standards that are too low to be challenging enough for students to get them interested in staying in schools and completing their studies. I do believe that the No Child Left Behind act took some steps in improving the process but I wonder if the entire school system requires some sort of transformation in order to be effective. If we need to do something more than preserve what is accomplished and build on it. If we need an actual reform from the bottom up. Once again, the government proposes a great idea of improving education but fails to mention how.
Healthcare. A lot has been said about it in the address but I am only going to touch on one point - affordable health insurance. Let me point out just one thing, if a person was not able to afford to purchase a heath insurance plan on their own, the tax break will not do much to alleviate the financial burden of monthly payments. The cost will far outweigh the benefits. Plus, lets not forget about deductible that all those "great" basic health insurance plans come with. Those alone will cost more than the alleged tax benefit. I did like the initiative to impose a standard tax deduction for health insurance, but once again it does little to help those who do not get it through their jobs.
Immigration. Can we hear something other than "Let us have a serious, civil and conclusive debate" one more time? Didn't catch a single alternative to the current situation, so no commentary here.
Alternative fuel and energy. I have heard of the alternative sources of energy for about ten years now, but to date no significant steps have been taken to implement this research to life, and specifically to apply it to energy conservation. We have been using solar, wind and nuclear (and by the way, can someone teach him to pronounce the damn word? I heard they have linguists at the White House) power for years now, but have yet to apply it to reduce the gasoline usage in cars. It will take years to finish and implement this kind of a program, especially if you take into account the forever-expanding gasoline usage in this country.
War on terror. No matter how noble the intentions, I cannot believe the methods the protection against terrorism was implemented. Tapping the phones? Virtually unlimited power to authorities? How is it not a violation of privacy and intrusion in personal lives? In this case, the ends do not justify the means. Religious clashes existed since the beginning of times and, unfortunately, nothing can be done to exterminate them. Unfortunately, an excessive intervention only fuels the hatred more and leads to an increased opposition and uprising against the perceived oppressors. The government has achieved absolutely nothing in the past few years but losing the trust of its own citizens and turn the entire world against itself.
Iraq. I think we lost the purpose of this war some two years ago. Yes, the old regime was destroyed, but what did we offer instead? Complete economic and political chaos? Now-daily bombings and kidnappings? People scared to go to work and kids terrified to attend school? There's no way the government can leave now, in that case the entire world, including Americans will shout of another failure, as they have been for years now. The government is scrambling now to find alternative solutions to the problems, but unfortunately there are none. So sure, lets send some troops hoping it will work itself out. Well, let me know when it does.
AIDS. I think the only reason it was mentioned was to show any real progress and achievements that was done throughout the year. I am in no way trying to belittle what was done, but I do think that it is our responsibility to provide help to those who need it and there's nothing to be bragging about. If you are doing it, do it quietly since people who need it appreciate it either way. And please learn how to pronounce that basketball-player-guy's name for he definitely deserves it.
Now on the last thought, did you notice that everyone who is anyone was there? Did you notice at least four supreme justices? Did you notice the four generals? Did you notice all those other important people? I thought it was an address to the nation, but it seemed more like a how-off to me.
All those ideas and suggestions did little to show the real ways of changing the current situation. Most of them could've been implemented years ago but since they haven't, it makes me wonder if there's any guarantee it will be fixed now. Other than that, I heard little but a simple description of problems with no real solutions to them. Isn't the State of the Union supposed to deliver solutions in addition to facts? If so, the 2007 one failed miserably to do so.

And to cheer you up, here are a few funny videos, apparently recorded by people who have nothing better to do than sit their and pick to pieces otherwise serious situations. Enjoy, those are a real TOUCHDOWN (or as our foreigners say, "GOOOAAAL!").
The first one is what I call, Hungry, Dick? , and another one The Blink Count, and my personal favorite, Funny Speeches. Once again, enjoy.