SOTU

SOTU tonight -- as always, I was at my friend's SOTU party.  Dare I say he gave a good speech...mostly?  I think he did a good job, at least in the first half... but you could clearly tell -- and I am speaking as someone who is a mushmouth -- that as the night went on he was stuttering and slurring his words more.  I know he has a tendency to go long and such, but... shouldn't he recognize that and make sure he gets through the speech, doesn't bs through the line, etc.?  Anyways, I thought it was fairly good -- speaking about infanticide, wages, taxes -- though he really didn't answer the Lakan Reilly issue, which could be a problem, especially as Trump seems to have a lead in this.  The call for teachers to get a raise -- again -- seemed odd; one would think some GOPer would demand that US students see their test scores reach the levels of achievement before the pandemic before we start handing out money.  And, if I can say... I like a SOTU with yelling and shouting and a lack of decorum.  I guess I have seen too many Question Times with the Prime Minister and to me that is...more impressive.  Never been a part of the US political scene -- Congressmen gave speeches to each other, and only the Confederate Constitution allowed for Cabinet members to sit in Congress (to take heat for President, though that was not the intent).  I think we lose something without it.

Democrats pushed climate action. Then utility bills skyrocketed. - POLITICO
This is also amusing, and, again, some GOPers should be out there pointing this out and calling out Democrats for causing this.  Gas prices are up as well, and you would think someone out there would be running ads.  Odd.

Election results: Democrats should be terrified about California in November. (slate.com)
I am immensely skeptical of this; I mean, I want it to happen, but... one, part of this is CA's odd jungle primary, which means that you can see stuff like Democrats burying each other in "rigged" elections (ha, Katie Porter!) to obtain favorable circumstances.  Now, it could be that Steve Garvey -- Dodgers and Padres star, not too conservative, not Trumpy -- is the ideal GOPer for CA, and while he might still lose big in the general... it will be slightly more difficult for Dems to draw a MAGA hat on him, and that might help the GOP in a general.  But I would argue that in 95% of the time, Dems come home to Dems and vice-versa, and...

The Powerful Constraints on Medical Care in Catholic Hospitals Across America - KFF Health News
This could be me, but shouldn't people know -- by now -- that a Catholic hospital is going to require you to keep a baby?  I would argue that this is a powerful incentive for my usual idea -- that the Church should take the idea of "A Day Without a Mexican" and make it a week or month of "A Week Without the Church," and shut down all the schools, hospitals, food pantries, shelters, etc.,  Nothing would amuse me more than a cavalcade of the indigent heading down to where progressives congregate and telling them to handle this.