STATE OF THE UNION THREAD ......... TONIGHT

[Justthefacts]

Actually I'm looking forward to seeing just how big of a dolt he can make of himself tonight.

Rumors are some or all of the SC justices are not showing up,

At any rate , I'm looking forward to it and the responses

[stevetheroofer]

"I'll bring the popcorn!"

[imblest]

Actually I'm looking forward to seeing just how big of a dolt he can make of himself tonight.

Rumors are some or all of the SC justices are not showing up,

At any rate , I'm looking forward to it and the responses

I can't watch...it just makes me mad and I don't need that! Y'all have fun!

[Justthefacts]

Actually I'm looking forward to seeing just how big of a dolt he can make of himself tonight.

Rumors are some or all of the SC justices are not showing up,

At any rate , I'm looking forward to it and the responses

I can't watch...it just makes me mad and I don't need that! Y'all have fun!

Come on , its not that bad
Some of us political junkies live for this stuff

At any rate Myself and others will report all the fun stuff on this thread
(without the endless applause)

[Justthefacts]

"I'll bring the popcorn!"

Cool Steve , I knew you'd be hanging out

I have a cure 81 ham breakfast due at 5 and then the fun begins

I'm off tomorrow (a 4 day paid mini vacation) so I'm hangin for the duration

[Justthefacts]

ICE changing names ?

During Tuesday night's evening of pomp and circumstance that will be the State of the Union speech by President Barack Obama, America's Commander in Chief is not expected to discuss two significant national security issues: the termination of the Virtual Fence project on the U.S.-Mexico border; and a name change for the Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau, which will now be called Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano's office did announce that the Obama administration canceled the 'Virtual Fence' project along the U.S.-Mexico border, but kept the name change under wraps, choosing to slowly and methodically substitute "HSI" for "ICE" in her department's press releases and fact sheets.

The more important of these two changes -- the one that will adversely impact the American people -- is the end of the years-old border fence debate, according to law enforcement officials.

The reason for this latest cancellation is the continued technical equipment problems and the rising costs of constructing and installing the components including closed-circuit TV cameras and monitors, electronic detectors, and other security measures.

As reported by in the past by NewswithViews.com, the original border security plan called for a fence and barriers to be used on parts of the U.S.'s southern border, but with the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the Bush Administration being weak on border security, the plan switched from a real fence to a virtual fence using high-tech equipment.

Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security’s latest failure to protect the United State, was a costly program to place crucial electronic surveillance systems along the U.S.-Mexico border that is years behind schedule. The security project is grossly over budget because Secretary Janet Napolitano's agency hasn’t adequately managed the contractor doing the work, according to a Washington, DC watchdog group.

As a result, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars will be wasted and the porous southern border will continue to be vulnerable despite the Obama Administration’s assurances that it’s as secure as it’s ever been. So far the troubled project, known as Secure Border Initiative Network, has cost the government $672 million although it’s nowhere near completion, according to Judicial Watch, a public-interest group that investigates political corruption.

After years of debates, congressional votes, government studies and political posturing by lawmakers, the so-called "virtual fence" continues to cause more problems than it solves, according to testimony at a session of the House Homeland Security Committee.

In a compromise that met with disappointment by those who advocate tighter border security, instead of walls or chain link fencing, the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Department created the concept of virtual fence security that includes surveillance cameras, motion or heat sensing detectors, radar, and supposed state-of-the-art control towers designed to detect and prevent illegal immigration and drug smuggling into the United States.

According to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the security contractor -- Boeing Co. -- is installing the hi-tech physical security system. The original plan called for a completion date by December 2009 at a cost of $1.1 billion for a virtual fence. According to the report obtained by NACOP, Boeing requested that completion date to be amended by seven years.

Physical security experts told this writer it should surprise no one that a relatively simple project would become complicated and unmanageable given that fact that most of the decision-makers probably have no law enforcement, security or engineering background. That’s because the agency has failed to properly oversee the project’s prime contractor, resulting in costly rework, numerous delays and lots of extra money. In fact Homeland Security officials stood by as the contractor provided information that was “replete with unexplained anomalies, thus rendering the data unfit for effective contractor management and oversight,â€

[BillCunnane]

I have the chest high waders ready, the sewer is all cleared out and ready for the flood of fertalizer. Nope not gonna watch it. If I did I would need to be tranqualized so I could sleep. I hate liers, and I hate put on shows. The clown are all gonna be in a one ring circus and I don't think the acts are worth wasting time watching.

[sugarhighwolf]

Actually I'm looking forward to seeing just how big of a dolt he can make of himself tonight.

Rumors are some or all of the SC justices are not showing up,

At any rate , I'm looking forward to it and the responses

It was on fox earlier, about which Justice would not show up.

I looked to for a written article, this is the first one I found.

Six of the nine Supreme Court justices will attend President Obama's State of the Union address, the court confirmed Tuesday.

It didn't release names, but that likely means Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will continue his streak of attending the address, despite his misgivings that the speech and the partisan cheering and jeering that accompanies it had turned into a "political pep rally" that makes members of the court uncomfortable.

The likely attendees are Roberts and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The no-shows would be Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. Scalia and Thomas rarely attend the speech, and Alito is on a speaking engagement in Hawaii.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/201 ... e-cou.html

[TexasBorn]

I won't watch this circus event. Would make me ill.

[uniteasone]

I watched last year and thought it was nothing but a circus and I am sure it will be no different this time,but I will watch as much as I can stomach.