Andrew Tobias writes about money, investing, and politics. We have engaged in a civil offline discussion about his favorite NYC charter chain, but I find his political insights valuable. I subscribe to his blog at AndrewTobias.com. Here is his rephrasing of the SOTU last night, if it represented the real world:
“The state of the Union is precarious.
“In my first year I have:
“1. Told more than 2000 public lies or falsehoods.
“2. Ended the American Century and abdicated our leadership of the world.
“3. Plunged the nation into economic peril through what is — according to Reagan budget director David Stockman — a massively irresponsible tax cut at exactly the wrong time in the business cycle. (We will be running a $1.2 trillion deficit in the tenth year of a recovery!)
“4. Prioritized those lower taxes on the rich — including real estate developers like me — over borrowing that same money to employ millions of Americans at good jobs revitalizing our infrastructure.
“5. Denied and ignored the massive and ongoing attack on our democracy ordered by a former KGB operative with whom I enjoy a warm relationship and against whose country I have refused to impose the sanctions mandated by Congress.
“6. Ceded economic leadership in the Pacific to China.
“7. Taken credit for the low unemployment and steadily improving economy I inherited (slightly more jobs were added in Obama’s last year than my first).
“8. Decimated the State Department, hobbled the Environmental Protection Agency, neutered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and put agencies like HUD and the Departments of Education and of Energy in the hands of people with no expertise.
“9. Destabilized the health insurance market in ways that will lead to higher premiums and more uninsured (despite my promise of “great health care for everybody at a tiny fraction of the cost”).
“10. Demonized the free press, the FBI, and our intelligence community.
“11. Widened inequality, praised as “very fine people” torch-bearing white supremacists, set an example of incivility for your children.
“12. Solicited contributions to my campaign with the promise of running your name over the leave stream of this State of the Union address. No president in history has thought to cheapen and politicize the presidency that way, but then neither has a president embarrassed America on the world stage as I have. And if the —-holes of the world don’t like it, —- ’em.
“There’s more, but that’s enough for now.
“God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:
WOW
Sounds about right.
Thanks, Diane. I needed this. 👍🏽
A good alt-summary. I sent it to a friend.
And sowed anti-immigrant racial division and hate via incessant fear-mongering. See this:
http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2017/dec/21/lupe-valdez/lupe-valdez-says-unauthorized-immigrants-account-1/
Stacking the courts with far right anti-abortion, anti-union, anti-safety net apparatchiks; under staffing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, etc., so that there will be longer wait times on the phone and for actions to be taken. People will die before actions can be taken on their claims; that’s the GOP way, sabotage the social safety net from the inside, stealth destruction of these vital programs.
Neatly said: “…the GOP way, sabotage the social safety net from the inside”
Sounds about right .
I normally assign watching the State of the Union as homework. It’s an historic event, after all. I found myself in class today explaining and fact checking instead of discussing, however. I might have to discontinue the homework assignment until 2021.
That other “Lloyd” (not me), the one that is obviously a Trump lover/worshiper, that left a comment on this site today will call all of that fake news.
China has been forming relationships in Africa as well, and now in South America too. The Dumpsterfire Administration is passed out drunk at the switch while all this is going on, even though it’s happening right out there in broad daylight.