History

Some of the more interesting bits

From Obama‘s State of the Union speech, 2015:

  • End of Afghanistan “mission”
  • Appeal to double down on middle-class economics
  • Increase availability and provide tax credit for quality childcare
  • Getting paid sick leave laws on the books
  • Wage equality
  • Raising the minimum wage — “If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it.”
  • Lowering cost of community college to free
  • Asks companies to provide more job training, hire more veterans
  • Bi-partisan infrastructure plan to attract businesses / industries
  • Trade deals in Asia, Europe — “95 percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and we can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities.”
  • Precision Medicine Initiative — pursuing cures for cancer, diabetes; personalized health information
  • Free, open, and fast Internet
  • Colonizing space — “not just to visit, but to stay.”
  • Closing corporate tax loopholes brokered by lobbyists
  • Opposing Russia, supporting Ukraine
  • Opening relations with Cuba
  • Halting Iran’s nuclear program
  • Legislation around cyberattacks, identity theft, and child data
  • Pursuing climate change solutions, including getting China to commit to limiting their emissions for the first time
  • Free speech; religious rights; LGBT rights
  • Shutting down Guantanamo
  • Transparency on surveillance; civil liberties vs. counter-terrorism
  • Marriage equality
  • American values vs. partisanship
  • Plea for a better politics
  • Appeal to debate and reason on divisive issues: abortion rights, immigration, voting rights, police brutality
  • Mic drop — “I have no more campaigns to run.”
*where* are my dragons?!?!

President Obama’s tech-centered State of the Union: full text, and digital rights concerns – Boing Boing. p.s. cool visualization of Twitter mentions during the speech (via srogers @ cartodb)

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i relied on you  
as the harbinger of truth  
and you never gave me my due  

wanted to dance  
and sail off to France  
but you called me back here from the blue 

i understand now  
it was all just a row  
we were slated to have from the start  

if i followed that path  
its inexorable math  
would lead me closer too far to my heart 

cheated with coin  
like most prone to join  
we can't turn away from the chrome  

left on our own  
we haunt pursuit of our bones  
never expecting we'd end up alone 

did what you said  
ended up in bed 
with all the white ghosts of my youth  

i should have gone far  
drove away in some car  
than come back and face this truth 

that we're all just a friend  
who'll be left in the end  
always to fend for oneself  

if you're nice to what made you  
some grace then may fade you  
else then you're left out on your own  
your own  
your own 

if you can climb out of there  
find some nearby stair  
you've got a clean shot at the throne  

but miss your chance  
to strike out & dance  
you too could be left so alone 

i cling fast to you  
like drowning men do  
when they're desperate to suck in some air  

but we'll both go down  
with spectacular frowns  
preventing each other's aware 

it don't matter now  
been too long anyhow  
since anyone cared what we do  

i'll just stick here for now  
in this fantastical row  
'til i see a path out of this gloom 

was meant for much more  
but got lashed to the door  
could never pass Go! once that took,  

try as i might  
through each horrored night  
i could never get free of that hook 

it sticks in your mind  
won't believe what you'll find  
the truth spills out plainly one day  

when we least expect  
some camera crew leapt  
at the chance to reveal what we say 

it wasn't my fate  
& i'm still super late 
in taking my place on the stage  

hold back the crowd  
they're cheering so loud  
& i'm on my way still from this cage 

let the spotlight so shine  
on what's yours & what's mine  
it hardly makes sense anymore  

but they told us we're cool  
& deserve to still rule 
& they still come around to our door 

don't leave us now  
we're OK anyhow  
don't need that whole world for our due  

i'll just use what i have  
and we'll be depraved  
but i'll love to be stuck here with you
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