1. State of the Union Address
For those who were busy Tuesday night – or just had one or two things that beat critiquing Congress members’ clothing – here is a brief re-cap of the State of the Union address. Here are some of Obama’s major statements:
- Employment: Obama said we should bring all jobs from overseas back to the United States.
- Occupy Wall Street: He pressed for a return of a middle class society that doesn’t promote this 99%/1% estrangement.
- Trade: He talked of furthering American product exports.
- Education: Similar to the 2011 State of the Union address, he stated the importance of excellent teachers, and suggested mandatory education until the age of 18.
In the end, it was a large plea to the middle class American and the blue-collar, “all-American” worker. It was a plea to the common man. He urged in the end that the Congress work together to accomplish their goals and remember the dreams of America over partisan biases. He spoke in flourished language of the “dream” of America.
It is hard to sift the substance from the sugar in political speeches such as the State of the Union address – especially in an election year. The Republican and Democratic speeches (Indiana governor’s v. President Obama’s) seemed extremely similar with only slight changes in word choice, but animosity is certainly evident due to political allegiance. Indeed, the speech set the stage for a very interesting political year.
Aretha Franklin Called it Quits
Aretha Franklin was going set to be married to “long-time friend,” William Wilkerson. Wilkerson owns the Hollywood Reporter, celebrity news source, as well as several hotels and nightclubs. Wilkerson and Franklin had evidently announced their engagement only a few weeks ago. But Franklin announced they were moving too fast and called off the engagement on January 24.
The Republican Debate
On Thursday night (1/26), Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul faced off in the Florida primary debate. This is the 19th GOP debate. The main contest was between Gingrich and Romney as they vie for position in opinion polls.
In popular news, there have been attacks on Romney for his large income and low taxes (see article here), and also on Gingrich for an “unstable” personality. However, immigration seemed to be the main issue in Thursday’s debate. Ginrich attacked Romney’s anti-immigration stance, saying Romney was the “most” anti-immigration of the four candidates. Romney defended his stance by claiming he was not anti-immigration, but rather thinks illegal immigrants should be legal, and should not take the work of citizens and legal immigrants.
Some comical jabs were made at Gingrich’s hope to put a colony on the moon (see article here). Romney said he would fire an employee who came to him with that suggestion. Paul, too, said he could not support that idea.
In the end, it seems the verdict is that Romney “won” the debate. We wait to see what this will mean for the primary and presidential race.
Jay Leno Offends a Whole Nation
It is unlikely Jay Leno gets through any one of his evening shows without offending a fairly large number of people, but this time it seems he has somewhat out-done himself. On January 25, several reports were released that Jay Leno will be sued in California for “racist” remarks against a Sikh temple. He joked that the temple – The Golden Temple of Amritsar – was the summer home of Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. Sikhs found the comment “racist and derogatory,” saying that Leno’s comment “falsely portrays the most important place in the Sikh religion” and was an act of “hatred, contempt, and ridicule” against the Sikhs. But despite this debacle, State Department spokeswoman, Victorian Nuland, believes Leno will be protected by free speech rights, though she expresses great respect for “all Indians, including Sikhs.”
Davos
Snow, skiing, and billionaires. That pretty much sums up Davos, Switzerland, this week.
The secluded Swiss town is hosting the World Economic Forum, an event where 2600 businessmen and statesmen meet to discuss the world’s economic issues in “peace.” The goal of the forum, as stated by the founder, Klaus Schwab, is “collaborative thinking and searching for solutions.” However, solutions are never necessarily expected. The main topic at hand at the forum is said to be whether capitalism itself still “fits” our world, and some fear that the Occupy movement may disrupt the retreat.
As well as being a political meeting, it seems it is also quite a nice vacation, with high-end dinners and constant “networking.” Evidently, 1600 of the participants are “bosses” of the world’s top companies.
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