Somebody Had To Do It.

Last night President Trump gave his first SOTU address and while for a speech it was pretty good to the uninitiated. Complete with headline drawing sound bites and with plenty of red meat for his base, the President laid out his agenda for making and keeping “America Great.” Social media exploded with post imploring people to boycott the spectacle and there were even reports that the Dems would walk out if the President even said the word immigration, but that was not in the cards, as a stoic democratic minority looked helplessly on while the President stood at the bully pulpit with a virtual megaphone. Forty five million viewers tuned in, but according to polls about half viewed the the speech ” very positive,” and 75 percent saying the speech made them proud. Of course the poll numbers reflect party lines, with 42 percent of the viewers identifying themselves as Republican. Didn’t watch the SOTU address? I feel ya, but someone had to do it. Like Jason Johnson, reporter for “The Root,” said:

Attending the State of the Union is like going to a staff meeting or staying till the end of a kid’s piano recital or listening to your mom sing along to “Bodak Yellow” on the way to church. It’s annoying and you don’t want to be there, but it’s part of the job and it won’t take that long.

Anyway, it’s always good to know what the enemy is doing. It reminds me of the time when the President was asked about the troop increase in Afghanistan, and told the reporter he is not going to let the enemy know what he’s doing, not his exact words but pretty close. Anywho, this time he has no choice, it the law to tell the enemy what you plan to do. Like I said, somebody’s got to do it. Here are a few excerpts from the Presidents speech.

“Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.”

The unemployment rate for blacks has been dropping for the past several years, along with the rates for other racial groups. Left out of the narrative was the fact that black joblessness remains far higher than the rate for whites, which stands at 3.7%. Black unemployment stand at 6.8%.

“Just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reform in American history,” he said. “Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses.”

This one made my nose bleed. Almost everyone knows it was the “Gipper,” Ronald Regan, that enacted the largest tax cut in American history and that Mr. Trump’s “massive tax cuts,” transferred $1.2 billion out of $1.5 billion to the top 1%. Yes some of us will see a little more next tax season, and a few will get some extra movie money in their paychecks this year, but it can’t compare to the 1% who will get tens of thousands of dollar of relief, with some getting millions of dollars of relief and the ultra rich getting billions of dollars in tax cuts. Enjoy your movie.

“In Detroit, I halted Government mandates that crippled America’s autoworkers, so we can get the Motor City revving its engines once again.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire. The Obama administration bailed out General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. It hearld the industry’s longest period of sustained growth in decades. Actually, the President wasn’t on board for saving the auto industry. In April of 2015, the president had this to say about the auto bailout. “You could have let it go, and rebuilt itself, through the free enterprise system. You could have let it go bankrupt, frankly, and rebuilt itself, and a lot of people felt it should happen. Or you could have done it the way it went. I could have done it either way. Either way would have been acceptable. I think you would have wound up in the same place.” Economist now believe offering a bailout, was a large factor in the country’s economic recovery.

“Americans are dreamers, too.”

Red meat. Anytime you got Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, David Duke congratulating you on this type of sound bite, you gotta know you didn’t get the message out you wanted to get out. To some Americans, the dream is not the same dream as Martin Luther Kings Jr dream. They dream your dream is a nightmare. They dream they can go back to the days, when the “nigras” knew their place. They dream they can go back to the days, where women were second class citizens and their only job was to cook, raise children, fix my drink, bring me the newspaper. They dream the only time they saw a brown face, is when a child makes a mistake in a coloring book. I could go on, but suffice it to say Mr. President, we already knew American’s were dreamers too.

“The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age — that covers almost three times more people than the previous administration. Under our plan, those who meet education and work requirements, and show good moral character, will be able to become full citizens of the United States.”

Very noble sounding. But he left off the part that says, you get this in exchange for giving me $25 billion dollars to build my wall, that I told you the Mexicans were going to pay for. He must have forgot that former Mexican President, Vicente Fox told him, “We are not paying for that f***ing wall!” So if the President doesn’t get the coins, you can say “adios,” to the Dreamers.

Most President’s invite guest to their speech, as a lot of members of congress do also. This year was no different. But a couple invitees stood out. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Celestino Martinez was one.

“Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Celestino Martinez — he goes by CJ. CJ served 15 years in the Air Force before becoming an ICE agent and spending the last 15 years fighting gang violence and getting dangerous criminals off our streets. At one point, MS-13 leaders ordered CJ’s murder. But he did not cave to threats or fear. Last May, he commanded an operation to track down gang members on Long Island. His team has arrested nearly 400, including more than 220 from MS-13.”

I hope CJ is getting ready to retire and go into the federal witness protection program. The President just painted a large bulls eye on his back. It hard to imagine one of the most notorious and blood thirsty gangs in America will not want some payback. Thank you for your service CJ.

“Here tonight are Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger of Staub Manufacturing — a small business in Ohio. They have just finished the best year in their 20-year history. Because of tax reform, they are handing out raises, hiring an additional 14 people, and expanding into the building next door.Corey Adams, is also with us tonight. Corey is an all-American worker. He supported himself through high school, lost his job during the 2008 recession, and was later hired by Staub, where he trained to become a welder. Like many hardworking Americans, Corey plans to invest his tax‑cut raise into his new home and his two daughters’ education. Please join me in congratulating Corey.”

Good ole, Corey “You A  Good One” Adams. Normally, I wouldn’t bring this up. A man got to do what he got to do to make sure his family is taken care of. I pretty much know that if you refused to go, you wouldn’t be a welder at Staub for long. So this is not about you buddy. Rather I’m talking about the optics. I saw an embarrassed black man enduring the applause of a congress bent on making sure minorities in this country know who the “massa” is and carting you out to show they have mercy by letting people see they have given you some of the crumbs off their table. Its okay brother, we all know what that was about.

There was a lot in this speech I did not cover. I know I might be wasting my time, but if any of you would like to read it, you can click here. Don’t forget in November the mid-terms are coming up. Make America Great again, by voting.