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babylonsister

(172,815 posts)
Wed Jan 31, 2018, 09:57 AM Jan 2018

"Yes, I watched the entire SOTU address. Yes, expletives were deployed loudly." [View all]

https://www.facebook.com/TomJoadLives/photos/a.433295386709954.96727.433288343377325/1659057300800417/?type=3&theater

Tom Joad
58 mins ·


Yes, I watched the entire SOTU address. Yes, expletives were deployed — loudly. Not too many surprises, but two quick observations on how the coup plays out from here.

1) He asked Congress, twice by my count, to grant the Executive branch (and the president's cabinet) authority to simply fire people at will — for "failure" to the American people. Exsqueeze me? It's one thing to 'serve at the pleasure of the president,' it's quite another for department heads across all sectors of government to start weeding out federal employees who prove "disloyal" to POTUS, by standing up for the rule of law and our Constitution.

2) Drawing a parallel — repeatedly — between MS13 gang members and the DREAMers really is a new low; he (Mr. Miller, no doubt) made certain that his description of these drug dealers and killers (cue the weeping family) got into the country ... 'as children, illegally' and I felt sick to my stomach.

This is not normal. I won't be satisfied, until we depose the boy king and return to reason and civility — back to a time when presidents spoke in complete sentences.

"For of those to whom much is given, much is required. And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us—recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state—our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions:

"First, were we truly men of courage—with the courage to stand up to one’s enemies—and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one’s associates—the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?

"Secondly, were we truly men of judgment—with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past—of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others—with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it.

"Third, were we truly men of integrity—men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us—men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?

"Finally, were we truly men of dedication—with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?

"Courage—judgment—integrity—dedication—these are the historic qualities … which, with God’s help … will characterize our Government’s conduct in the 4 stormy years that lie ahead." — President-elect John F. Kennedy

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