THE STATE OF THE UNION, JUNK SCIENCE AND HOW ALL OF THIS NONSENSE IS SLOWLY KILLING THIS COUNTRY

Anyone listening to the President last night might have thought he had just taken office and hadn't actually been here for the past five years. Let's take a closer look at some of what he said and really dig into how truthful it is.



OBAMA: "Because of this [health care] law, no American can ever again be dropped or denied coverage for a preexisting condition like asthma, back pain or cancer. No woman can ever be charged more just because she's a woman. And we did all this while adding years to Medicare's finances, keeping Medicare premiums flat, and lowering prescription costs for millions of seniors."

While it is true that people like myself cannot be dropped due to pre-existing conditions and women can't be charged more, even though they should as they live longer than men, Medicare has increased $5 a month and, with more and more being added to their ranks, its solvency may become a question down the road.

OBAMA: "Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled."

Here is where junk science rears its ugly head. A new study done by the Council On Economic Research stated that upward mobility hasn't changed at all since the 1970's, which is kind of like saying the sky isn't blue, gasoline will chase away the thirsties and Justin Bieber makes great music. This is the same group that stated that the recession ended in 2009, when we all know it really didn't. Every other study shows that upward mobility is falling further and further with only Italy and England beneath us now in the Western World. If you are poor in this country, chances are good you will stay that way.


OBAMA: "We'll need Congress to protect more than 3 million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer.  But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible."

The main reason for this issue is lack on funding from Congress determined to run Obama into the ground rather than actually do their freaking jobs. Obama has said he wants to raise taxes on corporations which to the average Republican comes across as, "I want to stab your mother in the eye." So good luck Obama on getting Congress to back you on anything at this point because they have proven they won't, even if the country burns to the ground in the process.

OBAMA: "In the coming weeks, I will issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour, because if you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live in poverty."

This is great if you are a government contractor, but the rest of us will get nothing and like it because the GOP is treating the poor as a disposable commodity and not as actual people, an idea that will eventually bite them in the ass something fierce, possibly in 2014. Income inequality may resonate better than Obamacare in the next election, something the democrats are banking on.


OBAMA: "Already, because of the Affordable Care Act, more than 3 million Americans under age 26 have gained coverage under their parents' plans. More than 9 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance or Medicaid coverage."

The actual number is closer to 2 million who have signed up for the program. The nine he quotes include those that have signed up for Medicaid and have been able to stay on their parents plan, as they are under 26. Not a great start to a poorly rolled out system that had no business being this terrible.

OBAMA "Taken together, our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet. Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth. But we have to act with more urgency – because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought, and coastal cities dealing with floods."

This is from USA today about the above statement:
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. emitted 5,490.63 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2011. That's 362.4 million metric tons fewer than what was emitted in the U.S. in 2003. And Obama is correct that no other country saw such a large carbon pollution reduction, by metric tons, over the last eight years.

But some perspective is in order. The carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. in 2011 were second only to China, which emitted 8,715.31 million metric tons.

Few other countries even come close to emitting the amount of carbon dioxide that the U.S. does. The U.S. improvement results are different when the reduction amount is measured by the percentage change.



By that measure, dozens of countries fared better than the U.S., which reduced its emissions by 6.2%, including France (8.3% reduction), Germany (14.2%), Italy (15.1%), Spain (8%) and the United Kingdom (13.2%) — all of which committed to reducing emissions under the Kyoto Protocol that took effect in 2005 and has since been extended through 2020. The United States did not ratify the treaty.

Also noteworthy, the EIA credited most of the U.S. reduction in carbon pollution to slower economic growth, weather, higher gasoline prices and an increasing shift from coal to natural gas — not necessarily the government's energy policy, as claimed by Obama.

All in all, it was typical of every other State of the Union address given over the last few decades: short on solutions, long on generalities and offering no real hope for any of the problems we face down the road. Awesome.