It's Just 'OUR' Opinion...     Written By     Matt Bruce -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SARASOTA, FL. (NS/TWH) - President George W. Bush started out his State of the Union speech bytalking about our Nation's economy... The President said, "A future of hope and opportunity begins with agrowing economy - and that is what we have...Unemployment is low,inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move -and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government but withmore enterprise." For all those who forgot that this Nation was attacked in 2001 and wedid dip into a slight depression that started at the very end of theClinton Administration's days in control, I say where have you been??? Then the President addressed Education and what we still have left togo to enhance our Educational system... His comment, "Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences topass the No Child Left Behind Act...And because we acted, students areperforming better in reading and math, and minority students areclosing the achievement gap. Now the task is to build on thissuccess.... The No Child Left Behind Act has worked for America'schildren -- and I ask Congress to reauthorize this good law." The state of our Nation's Social Security System was mentioned byPresident Bush when he said, "Social Security and Medicare and Medicaidare commitments of conscience, and so it is our duty to keep thempermanently sound.... With enough good sense and goodwill, you and Ican fix Medicare and Medicaid -- and save Social Security." Then The President struck on one of his main talking points of thenight about Health Care. He proposed people who buy health insuranceoutside the workplace be given the same tax break as those who receivejob based coverage. His Plan would, for the first time, give a flat,standard deduction of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for afamily... President Bush said, "A future of hope and opportunity requires thatall our citizens have affordable and available health care.... In allwe do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are madenot by government and insurance companies, but by patients and theirdoctors." One of the more controversial talking points for the night came whenthe President said, "Extending hope and opportunity in our countryrequires an immigration system worthy of America -- with laws that arefair and borders that are secure." The President called for immigration overhaul which would includegranting legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants after theypay substantial fines and meet other requirements... This plan faces stiff resistance amongst those in his own Party as wellas the Democratic Majority... Then came President Bush's "Twenty in Ten"plan which would seek toreduce U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent during the next decade withFederal Mandates to quadruple production of alternative energy fuelslike bio diesel and ethanol by 2017 and higher fuel-efficiencystandards for cars, light trucks and SUVs... The President said, "For too long our nation has been dependent onforeign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostileregimes, and to terrorists -- who could cause huge disruptions of oilshipments, and raise the price of oil, and do great harm to oureconomy." On Homeland Security the President said, "For all of us in this room,there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of thiscountry from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw thescenes and felt the sorrow that the terrorists can cause. We've hadtime to take stock of our situation. We've added many criticalprotections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that thehorrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what theterrorists intend for us -- unless we stop them." President Bush said he considered every approach before deciding todeploy 21,500 more troops to Iraq and insisted his plan offerred thebest chance of success. He didn't call for troop withdrawal timetablesor tie U.S. support to better performance by Iraq's government, butinsisted Iraq would have to 'step up' in their own Countries defense... The President also orged Congress to "give the Iraq plan a chance towork." The President closed by saying, "We've been through a lot together.We've met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lieahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence -- because the State ofour Union is strong, our cause in the world is right, and tonight thatcause goes on." In my opinion, this was one of the best speeches the President gave 'sofar' while he's been in office. He presented his case to America andthe Congress in a clear and concise manner. While others, includingDemocrats and a few Republicans may continue to criticize him, theyhave 'yet' to offer any other concrete plans... So the time has come again for Americans and Congress to work togetherfor the good of our Country and see if we can make America a betterplace to be... For Now, That's Just 'OUR' Opinion... Matt BruceManaging EditorNews SarasotaHost Of "The Captain's AMERICA" Radio Show ------------------------------------------------------------------- Read More & Respond::: Post Link: http://www.newsbull.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40274:: From the Newsbull Blog of: Matt Bruce ------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoy the priviledge you now share with others who want to know what others don't... Thanks, Matt Bruce'The Captain'News Sarasota.comHost Of:"The Captain's AMERICA" Radio ShowHeard From 12 noon to 1 PM ETMonday Thru Thursday  LIVE On 1490 WWPR Radio InBradenton-Sarasota-Tampa Bay & Venice, FL...http://thecaptainsamerica.blogspot.comhttp://thecaptainsamerica.talkspot.comhttp://thecaptainsamerica.podomatic.comhttp://www.stocktalklive.nethttp://www.bxradio.nethttp://www.talk2k.com Visit My Google Group:  http://groups.google.com/group/News-Sarasota...