Coffee House Poetry

My brother informed me that I have been slacking over here at the Coffee House. I’m sorry! I’m dreadfully busy right now — that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. My current To-Do List is almost as long as my arm. I’ve got college and a novel and a CNA class and work, not mention getting my taxes in order, looking into Essure and LASIK, and about a dozen other things. It’s been busy around here.
     It’s a good kind of busy, but still.
     At any rate — I did catch President Obama’s speech last night, or at least, bits of it between chatting with friends. You can read the transcript of the speech here, but let’s have a quick look at a few bits.

Thank you very much. Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, and the first lady of the United States … who’s around here somewhere …

     Okay, look, I know everyone and their brother is all a-squee over the lovely relationship that Barack and Michell Obama seem to share — they’re openly affectionate with each other and absolutely adorable, and I know it’s trite of me to point it out as well . . . but goddammit, it’s just so cute! I absolutely love that these two seem to share such a wonderful, mutually supportive and respectful relationship, and I’m tickled to see the President point out his wife in this speech. It’s something we haven’t really seen in a long time, and part of the reason why I respect them. Building a strong and supportive relationship that will last through even the hell a presidency can put you through? That takes work and effort, and that he seems to have accomplished it says good things about Obama.

     But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
     The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories, in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.
     Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.

     I do like hearing this — we don’t hear enough of it. Yes, we can solve these problems. We have the know-how and the resources necessary. It might not be easy, but it can be done. Obama goes on to state that he’s not going to waste time laying blame, but he points out that some of the reason we’re in this mess is because we haven’t been meeting our resposibilities. He runs down a grocery list of problems, including health care, education, lack of foresight in our policies, and poor government. He does a quick overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the stimulus act that was just passed, and explains how he thinks it’ll help create jobs and so forth. He talks about tax cuts and tax credits for college, unemployment and healthcare for people who’ve lost their jobs.

Now I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work, and I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we’ve all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right. And that’s why I’ve asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort, because nobody messes with Joe.

     Okay, I know, Joe Biden — guy’s got a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease — but I still giggled at this. “Nobody messes with Joe”. Right on. Aside from that, I also appreciate that he pointed out that people are skeptical of this bill. I know I’m a bit worried about it. It seems to be geared towards the long-term, and that’s important. We’re past the point where band-aid solutions are going to work, so quick-fixes are a useless endeavor. Still, I worry about the people who are suffering right now, and I worry that this bill isn’t going to give them enough immediate help. In the long-term, it looks like it’ll do good things . . . but right now? Tsk, I dunno.
     President Obama goes on to give us a quick and dirty break down of the lending crisis, and why it’s the crux of the problem, and then outlines what he’s doing to fix it, get credit flowing again: a lending fund to help us get loans, a plan to help families afford their mortgages, and acting “with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times” . . . whatever that’s supposed to mean. I realize Obama can’t explain every little detail in this speech, but I would’ve liked a little clarification, here. Oh, wait, here it is –

     And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.
     Now, I understand that, on any given day, Wall Street may be more comforted by an approach that gives bank bailouts with no strings attached and that holds nobody accountable for their reckless decisions, but such an approach won’t solve the problem.

     Nice. A little clarification, plus added snark for my amusement. I knew I liked this guy.
     President Obama goes on to address the budget, and our astronomical debt, and I like what he has to say here. He talks about funding important things like health care and education, but points out that we’re all — Democrats and Republicans — going to have to sacrifice a bit to get this accomplished. He also talks about building a strong future for America, and I like what he says here:

     We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea.
     Well, I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders, and I know you don’t, either. It is time for America to lead again.

     Goddamn right!
     He talks about building infrastructure, funding research, and switching to clean energy. He does pause to bang the “clean coal” drum — which made me roll my eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no such thing as clean coal, okay? Moving right along . . . to the automotive industry, where he says,

     Speaking of our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not and will not protect them from their own bad practices.
     But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it; scores of communities depend on it; and I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.

     Speaking as a Michigander? Yes, please, do something about the fucking auto industry before my whole state withers up and blows away. I mean, seriously, y’all, it’s bad here.

     And for that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care.
     This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. In the last eight years, premiums have grown four times faster than wages. And in each of these years, 1 million more Americans have lost their health insurance.
     It is one of the major reasons why small businesses close their doors and corporations ship jobs overseas. And it is one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of our budget. Given these facts, we can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold. We can’t afford to do it.

     My god, yes. I think that the majority of politicians and pundits just don’t get how much trouble a lack of health care is causing in this country. Seriously. Speaking as someone who lives in the dirty lower-middle-class trenches, lack of health care is literally killing us, financially and physically. I don’t know how many employees I’ve watched lose jobs and homes and cars to something as simple as an abscessed tooth or a bout of the flu. I have employees who are never going to dig themselves out of the debt incurred by trips to the ER, that could have been avoided if they’d just had some way of dealing with the problem before it turned into an emergency. We need health care.

     So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be a community college or a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.
     And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself; it’s quitting on your country. And this country needs and values the talents of every American.

     Right on, Mr. President! I’m working on it!
     But seriously, the state of education is this country is deplorable. It brings to mind one of my waitresses, who, despite having had two children, did not realize there was an actual biological difference between the urethra and the vagina. No, seriously. And she’s not dumb, either, just ignorant. It’s amazing. We need to fix education, and with a fucking quickness. I also appreciated this bit:

     These education policies will open the doors of opportunity for our children, but it is up to us to ensure they walk through them.
     In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent, for a mother or father who will attend those parent-teacher conferences, or help with homework, or turn off the TV, put away the video games, read to their child.
     I speak to you not just as a president, but as a father when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That’s an American issue.

     He goes on to talk some more about the budget, and the tax cuts, eliminating no-bid contracts in Iraq, and cutting the crap out of the current budget, all of which are good things. From there, he discusses the war, and his plans for that — increasing the amount of soldiers, and re-structuring the war so that it’s aimed at, y’know, actual terrorism, instead of bogged down in Iraq. (Where we should never have been to begin with. Right.) He also mentions making sure we uphold our values while we fight — which is fucking important. We can’t convince people that we have a better plan than extremism and terrorism if we’re doing shit like locking people up in concentration camps and torturing them. That’s insane, and I’m glad he pointed that out.
     He ends his speech with a heavy helping of “hope” and “inspiration” — pointing out a few people who have done some amazing things, and while I recognize that this is rhetoric and propaganda, just in a different flavor than we’re used to — I also recognize that it’s a flavor I’d like to get more used to. Inspiration? I could use some of that. Hope? Yes, please. Can-do attitude? Sign me up.
     Over all, despite the whining from the right and a few quibbles I have with some of the technicalities, I was pretty pleased with both this speech and the first month or so of Obama’s presidency. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this sort of thing.