Happy SOTU to You!

I was not able to watch or live-blog the State of the Union last night as I was driving back from my Welsh class in Provo. But I did listen to it. Here it is at this link if you missed it.

The President was soaring again on high rhetoric for ideas he knows will never get through this Congress except for military authorization against ISIL (yuck! but maybe necessary) and approval of trade deals (a mixed bag at best).

But the President has set the agenda for future action on ideas for public Community College education for all just like High School. And tax reform ideas to help the middle class - not the 1% who have more than they need (and who, of course, deserve it because they have it).

That last bit was snark if you didn't know. We do not want to have a nation of oligarchies (think Russia) or trust fund babies (think Paris Hilton). Let people work hard, be smart, and earn great rewards, but not at the expense of those who work just as hard if not harder and are manipulated by a system that allows the rich and powerful to deny the opportunity of a prosperous middle class to others. We can reform the tax system to cut loop-holes for corporate and individually wealthy who feed on the less-fortunate and the body politic more than any mythical welfare queen in the imaginary pink Cadillac. It won't be this Congress, but some day it may come.

The best part was the spontaneous applause of some dumb Republican when the President said he wasn't going to run again in another election. And it was a much more upbeat and fun moment than the grossly rude "you lie" shout-out. The President turned to the applause and said, "I know, because I won both of them."

That right there was the reality of the moment and the last six years of slow but improving conditions in our country. Reality bites when you live in a fantasy that the President never can be legitimate because, well, just because, I guess.

Here's to you, Mr. President! And good luck with that Congress. Don't let them get you down. Keep soaring. Maybe some more of the people will join you in improving the future instead of tearing it down.