Democratic Response

Here is the link to the Democratic response to the State of the Union. From the prepared text of the Democratic response to the State of the Union address delivered by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, as provided by her office.

In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more: An American response.

A national call to action on behalf of the struggling families in the heartland and across this great country. A wake-up call to Washington — on behalf of a new American majority — that time is running out on our opportunities to meet our challenges and solve our problems.

Our struggling economy requires urgent and immediate action, and then sustained attention. Families can't pay their bills. They are losing their jobs, and now are threatened with losing their homes.

We heard last week and again tonight that Congress and the president are acting quickly, on a temporary, targeted stimulus package. That is encouraging. But you and I know that a temporary fix is only the first step toward meeting our challenges and solving our problems.

There is a chance Mr. President, in the next 357 days, to get real results, and give the American people renewed optimism that their challenges are the top priority. Working together, working hard, committing to results, we can get the job done.

In fact, over the last year, the Democratic majority in Congress has begun to move us in the right direction — with bipartisan action to strengthen our national security, raise the minimum wage and reduce the costs of college loans.

These are encouraging first steps. But there is still more to be done.

On the war in Iraq.....

We stand ready in the heartland and across this country, to join forces with peace-loving nations across the globe and to fight the war against terrorists, wherever they may strike. But our capable and dedicated soldiers can't solve the political disputes where they are, and can't focus on the real enemies elsewhere.

The new Democratic majority of Congress and the vast majority of Americans are ready — ready to chart a new course. If more Republicans in Congress stand with us this year, we won't have to wait for a new President to restore America's role in the world, and fight a more effective war on terror.

The last five years have cost us dearly — in lives lost; in thousands of wounded warriors whose futures may never be the same; in challenges not met here at home because our resources were committed elsewhere. America's foreign policy has left us with fewer allies and more enemies.

Join us, Mr. President, and working together with Congress to make tough, smart decisions; we will regain our standing in the world and protect our people and our interests.

President Bush - Read my lips

Not exactly, but President Bush made it clear he would veto any bill with tax increases. From the State of the Union address at the White House Web site:

We have other work to do on taxes. Unless Congress acts, most of the tax relief we've delivered over the past seven years will be taken away. Some in Washington argue that letting tax relief expire is not a tax increase. Try explaining that to 116 million American taxpayers who would see their taxes rise by an average of $1,800. Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm. I'm pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders.

Most Americans think their taxes are high enough. With all the other pressures on their finances, American families should not have to worry about their federal government taking a bigger bite out of their paychecks. There's only one way to eliminate this uncertainty: Make the tax relief permanent. And members of Congress should know: If any bill raises taxes reaches my desk, I will veto it.

Just as we trust Americans with their own money, we need to earn their trust by spending their tax dollars wisely. Next week, I'll send you a budget that terminates or substantially reduces 151 wasteful or bloated programs, totaling more than $18 billion. The budget that I will submit will keep America on track for a surplus in 2012. American families have to balance their budgets; so should their government.

The people's trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks -- special interest projects that are often snuck in at the last minute, without discussion or debate. Last year, I asked you to voluntarily cut the number and cost of earmarks in half. I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. Unfortunately, neither goal was met. So this time, if you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I'll send it back to you with my veto.

And tomorrow, I will issue an executive order that directs federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by Congress. If these items are truly worth funding, Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote.

On trade...

On trade, we must trust American workers to compete with anyone in the world and empower them by opening up new markets overseas. Today, our economic growth increasingly depends on our ability to sell American goods and crops and services all over the world. So we're working to break down barriers to trade and investment wherever we can. We're working for a successful Doha Round of trade talks, and we must complete a good agreement this year. At the same time, we're pursuing opportunities to open up new markets by passing free trade agreements.

I thank the Congress for approving a good agreement with Peru. And now I ask you to approve agreements with Colombia and Panama and South Korea. Many products from these nations now enter America duty-free, yet many of our products face steep tariffs in their markets. These agreements will level the playing field. They will give us better access to nearly 100 million customers. They will support good jobs for the finest workers in the world: those whose products say "Made in the USA."


On entitlements and immigration...

There are two other pressing challenges that I've raised repeatedly before this body, and that this body has failed to address: entitlement spending and immigration. Every member in this chamber knows that spending on entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is growing faster than we can afford. We all know the painful choices ahead if America stays on this path: massive tax increases, sudden and drastic cuts in benefits, or crippling deficits. I've laid out proposals to reform these programs. Now I ask members of Congress to offer your proposals and come up with a bipartisan solution to save these vital programs for our children and our grandchildren.

The other pressing challenge is immigration. America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.

On foreign policy...
We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century. The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear. Yet in this war on terror, there is one thing we and our enemies agree on: In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny. And that is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to the people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. And that is why, for the security of America and the peace of the world, we are spreading the hope of freedom.

In conclusion...

By trusting the people, our Founders wagered that a great and noble nation could be built on the liberty that resides in the hearts of all men and women. By trusting the people, succeeding generations transformed our fragile young democracy into the most powerful nation on Earth and a beacon of hope for millions. And so long as we continue to trust the people, our nation will prosper, our liberty will be secure, and the state of our Union will remain strong.

Party time - Super Sunday

Retail produce ads in Olathe, KS, reflect the Super Bowl party theme this week. Hamburgers, chicken, pizza and pop are featured on the front pages of food section ads, accompanied by produce items such as broccoli, cauliflower and Chilean green seedless grapes. The inside pages of food section ads featured vegetable trays, avocados and pineapples, to name a few.

Here is a quick report on what his headlining local produce section ads:
Jan. 30 - Feb. 5


HyVee
Chilean green seedless grapes: $1.48/lb
Hass avocados: 3 for $4
Mangoes: 88 cents/lb

Dillons
Large ripe hass avocados: 4 for $5
Red or green seedless grapes: $2.49/lb

Hen House

Broccoli crowns - $1.18/lb
Cauliflower $1.18/each
Blueberries: 2 4.4 ounce packages for $4
Idaho premium russets: 2 lbs for $1
Large hass avocados: 2 for $3

Schafer action today

It appears the Senate is poised to confirm Ed Schafer by consent agreement this afternoon, from a report from the office of Sen. Tom Harkin.

Here is the Wikipedia reference page on Schafer, with some recent history:

Schafer has also served as an advisor and sometimes spokesperson for the North Dakota chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a nationwide limited-government/pro-growth organization.

On October 31, 2007 Schafer was nominated by President Bush to be the next Secretary of Agriculture[1]. His hearing was originally scheduled for January 30, 2008, but was moved to January 24 on the request on North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad so that Schafer could attend the State of the Union address as a cabinet member[2]. The hearing was held on January 24; it was friendly[3], with Senators asking Gov. Schafer questions on various topics such as US beef exports to Japan and South Korea, the Department of Agriculture's ability to deliver on programs passed by Congress, policy on sugar, and cotton prices[4].

The dark side of the street

"The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. "

Well, that's what the email said, but President Bush doesn't get any love from this "nonpartisan" institute. They are not the "glass is half full" kind of people when it comes to the current Administration. Here is how they describe "A look at the Biggest Winners and Biggest Losers Under the Bush Administration":

Of course not everyone had a tough time over the past seven years. Here are the five who came through their Bush Years relatively footloose and problem-free.

Big Oil
Even as oil companies raked in record profits, the White House fought to make sure they kept $7.6 billion in tax subsidies and the legal loophole that lets them dodge paying $10.7 billion in royalties from oil found in public U.S. lands in the Gulf of Mexico. IHT IHT

Contractor Mercenaries
President Bush has thrown billions of dollars—and undue faith—behind corrupt contractor mercenaries to fight his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And like members of his administration, the president lets these contractors act outside the law. Take Blackwater: top State Department officials knew about incidents of the contractor killing innocent civilians in Iraq for more than two years—and it turned a blind eye. ABC

The Filthy Rich
Welcome to the new Gilded Age. From 2003 to 2005, the increase in income from the richest one percent of Americans was higher than the total income of the poorest 20 percent. How’d we get this way? Bush’s tax cuts for the uber-wealthy. NY Times

Cronies and Bushies
From the Department of Justice to FEMA, from the Coalitional Provisional Authority to the FDA, Bush has packed his administration with friends and partisans, prizing loyalty over experience and ideology over competence. Washington Post Washington Post ] CNN NY Times

People Who Fear Human-Animal Hybrids
President Bush was able to keep one promise from his previous State of the Union addresses. In 2006, he pledged to fight the creation of “human-animal hybrids,” sparking visions of fearsome ManBeasts terrorizing the nation. As of today, we’ve spotted no half-man/half-animal creatures. Breaking News: We may have given the president credit too soon—just this week, we’ve discovered, British scientists created a ManCow clone. State Of The Union BBC

TK: I'm sure that's not how President Bush would like to characterize the "winners" under his Administration. Here is what has gone wrong under Bush, according to Center for American Progress:

As President Bush’s days of power draw to a close, one thing is clear: We’ve got a lot more problems now than we did seven years ago. Here are 99 of them, everything from less money to more war and a planet in crisis. It’s not a comprehensive list.


TK: The extremely long email does have 99 problems, so I won't list them all. But here are a couple:

Problem: Freezing Families
In 2008, the average U.S. household will have to spend $986 to heat their homes in winter, up 11 percent from the year before. Millions of the elderly and poor rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to heat their homes, yet in 2007, President Bush asked Congress to slash funding for LIHEAP by $379 million. [ Associated Press ]

Problem: Starvation
According to the USDA, the number of hungry families in the United States rose 26 percent between 2001 and 2006. Worse, the number of families with the least access to enough food rose 32 percent. That’s 1.3 million American families, not including the homeless. [ USDA ]

Problem: Killing Us with Carbon Emissions

After President Bush pledged a cap on carbon emissions in 2000, President Cheney filled the White House Committee on Environmental Quality with industry representatives. Following their appointment, the group released a report saying “the current state of scientific knowledge about causes of and solutions to global warming is inconclusive” and no caps were needed. [ Rolling Stone ]

Problem: Killing the Polar Bears
In January of 2008, the Bush administration missed a deadline requiring a final decision on whether to give polar bears—often the poster children of global warming—federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Geological Survey’s September report, meanwhile, found that melting Arctic sea ice could wipe out polar bears in Alaska and kill off two-thirds of the species’ global population. [ ABC ]

TK: Bush has had a rocky run, admittedly, but can a "nonpartisan institute" lay the blame on him for the fact that "Afghan women still live in fear" and his role in "killing the polar bears"? I'd hate to see what a "partisan" group would say.

Food stamps plus stimulus?

The White House is warning Senate Democrats to avoid loading the stimulus package with what they define as 'pork." For one, Sen. Tom Harkin has advocated a defined food stamp benefit in the stimulus package. Not so fast, says the WH. From The Financial Times:

Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, warned yesterday that adding direct spending measures to the $150bn economic stimulus package agreed last week would be "a slippery slope" that could derail the deal, urging the Senate to approve it quickly.

His comments highlight Bush administration concerns that signs of dissatisfaction from top Senate Democrats with elements of the deal - reached between the White House and House of Representatives - could at least delay the package.

"Once you start considering additions - the food stamps, unemployment insurance and so on - it's a slippery slope and there's a real danger that we're going to [get bogged] down and screech to a stop," Mr Paulson told CNN.

TK: As tempting as it is to load up targeted benefits in this stimulus package, it makes sense to keep it simple and give consumers maximum flexibility.

Weekend flurry

The Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group has been active in the last couple of days, even as I have been lallygagging through the weekend. Be sure to join the group this week if you haven't done it yet. Here are just a couple of posts that you will find interesting from the group in the past couple of days:

Calif. farmers want to sell water - Big Apple
From AP:

"It's been a good decade since there's been this much interest in buying and selling water on the open market," said Jack King of the California Farm Bureau Federation. "We're prepared to see significant fallowing in several key parts of the state."As for what this will mean for the cost of food at the supermarket, it's still too premature to say where prices will settle, but I can say that virtually every agricultural district in the Sacramento Valley is thinking about selling their water this year," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors Association, which represents 29 water agencies.

Food Flex - Luis From Luis:
Safeway's online interactive tool allows loyalty card holders to keep track nutrition info of past past purchases and to generate constrained shopping lists. Wonder how this stacks vs simplified food nutrition labels. Don't know but prefer the "simplex method".

http://shop.safeway.com/nutrition/Tutorial.html