# How incredibly stupid will the SOTU be? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2019, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994 "2019-02-05T07:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/141 "2019-02-06T04:57:44Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > “Every year countless Americans are killed by people here illegally.” > > Countless? 😕 Its a common tactic to suppress out-groups. When one does something illegal, you post it all over the news to demonize the entire group. That is why when a black person or brown skinned immigrant kills someone its all over the news, but when a white christian man kills someone the media ignores it or writes it off as a mental health issue. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/142 "2019-02-06T05:10:30Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > The “but-for” world? > > I’m trying to decide if my desire to avoid death by ennui is stronger than my curiosity is insane. Is there at TL;DR version of an explanation? Used for calculating damages in cases involving patent infringement, antitrust, supracompetitive pricing, stuff like that, it tries to figure out, in a counterfactual world where the bad acts hadn’t been engaged in, what would have happened? How much better off would the injured party have been? Includes such riveting analysis as present-value discounts. Heavy on econometric argle-bargle. Death by ennui no extra charge. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/143 "2019-02-06T05:12:02Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Thanks to those (increasingly drunk?) hardy souls to provide that play-by-play… > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Ditto. Thanks to all. Hope y’all can sleep tonight. You’re quite welcome, though I’m not sure I added much. I didn’t really have a stake in the game, but I wanted to see the speech; to see how he would spin the new NAFTA, and whether he would discuss tariffs on such things as cars and steel from Mexico and Canada. He did not disappoint. Now, I suppose that there are talking heads analyzing the speech on all the news networks. Let them; I’ll look at the analysis tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/144 "2019-02-06T05:13:48Z")
Didn’t watch it, couldn’t bring myself to even entertain the thought. I used to basically watch it in the past because the pageantry and tradition fascinated me. Now knowing there’s a mob boss taking a shit on the Constitution while members of Congress applaud just makes me depressed. [But this pic makes me laugh out loud.](https://www.nbcnews.com/card/pic-night-pelosi-trump-n968001?fbclid=IwAR0R442lZJjce5KkdqjPJufR5NeUznMHt23ytFy_QljtcvjHvPyp5SxxNlQ) I’ve seen that look before. When Lucille Bluth was telling Lindsey she was fat, and telling GOB he was an idiot, and daring Buster to find the juice. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/145 "2019-02-06T05:29:05Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its a common tactic to suppress out-groups. When one does something illegal, you post it all over the news to demonize the entire group. > > That is why when a black person or brown skinned immigrant kills someone its all over the news, but when a white christian man kills someone the media ignores it or writes it off as a mental health issue. Is it a common tactic to ignore the actual words of a post one is replying to, in order to say something irrelevant? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/146 "2019-02-06T06:45:19Z")
Be that as it may, the trebuchet is clearly the superior siege engine. This is why your base are belong to us. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/147 "2019-02-06T08:25:42Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Didn’t watch it, couldn’t bring myself to even entertain the thought. I used to basically watch it in the past because the pageantry and tradition fascinated me. Now knowing there’s a mob boss taking a shit on the Constitution while members of Congress applaud just makes me depressed. > > [But this pic makes me laugh out loud.](https://www.nbcnews.com/card/pic-night-pelosi-trump-n968001?fbclid=IwAR0R442lZJjce5KkdqjPJufR5NeUznMHt23ytFy_QljtcvjHvPyp5SxxNlQ) I’ve seen that look before. When Lucille Bluth was telling Lindsey she was fat, and telling GOB he was an idiot, and daring Buster to find the juice. Plus, she kinda looks like Jessica Walters. Hey, if a house falls on Pence and the America-hating fuckstick tomorrow, maybe she could get H. Jon Benjamin to head up the CIA… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/148 "2019-02-06T10:20:58Z")
So the evening news reported on this as we were in the car just now, and ended up with a feelgood bit about the house uniting to sing happy birthday to … I think a holocaust survivor who was in the audience (?) And then at the end they had a tiny clip of the Orange Menace saying something like ‘Now they wouldn’t do that for me…’ :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: Melania must be so embarassed every morning she wakes up ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/149 "2019-02-06T10:40:21Z")
Re: scrolling names of donors . . . so Trump is already breaking campaign promises almost two years out! ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/150 "2019-02-06T11:57:02Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Re: scrolling names of donors . . . so Trump is already breaking campaign promises almost two years out! Last year (apparently, may have been somewhere this year), and it wasn’t on a televised feed. A live-stream site (something like The Blaze, but don’t know which one) was doing it over the web. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/151 "2019-02-06T13:43:37Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its a common tactic to suppress out-groups. When one does something illegal, you post it all over the news to demonize the entire group. One of those moments that made me feel good about the American people was the response to the Maladministration’s “illegal alien crimes” tip line. The line was quickly spammed into uselessness by reports of an illegal alien who keeps defaming and sabotaging the fine job creator who gave us Lexcorp, an illegal alien who committed a brazen daylight laundry robbery (Did they ever catch the guy? He ought to be easy to spot with those mechanica-rice-picker-damaged ears…), and of course the plethora of illegal aliens who kidnap law-abiding citizens to subject them to perverted anal-probe kinkiness (presumably in an attempt to turn them gay). ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/152 "2019-02-06T13:51:10Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Melania must be so embarassed every morning she wakes up I think she lost any semblance of shame when she hooked up with Trump. All the Trumps wear reality blinders daily. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/153 "2019-02-06T14:01:27Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > One of those moments that made me feel good about the American people was the response to the Maladministration’s “illegal alien crimes” tip line. The line was quickly spammed into uselessness by reports of an illegal alien who keeps defaming and sabotaging the fine job creator who gave us Lexcorp, an illegal alien who committed a brazen daylight laundry robbery (Did they ever catch the guy? He ought to be easy to spot with those mechanica-rice-picker-damaged ears…), and of course the plethora of illegal aliens who kidnap law-abiding citizens to subject them to perverted anal-probe kinkiness (presumably in an attempt to turn them gay). That’s awesome! As you might have guessed from my posts, I would have countered by starting a “report crimes by left-handed people” hotline. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/154 "2019-02-06T14:32:31Z")
So, any spin on why the Democratic Senate women weren’t in white? Did the House women forget to tell them? Don’t know if any were in white, but the [following were not](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/senators-kamala-harris-elizabeth-warren-didnt-wear-white-2019-state-union-not-get-memo-033136197.html): [ul] [li]Warren - blue/teal[/li][li]Sinema - hot pink[/li][li]Klobuchar - purple[/li][li]Harris - black[/li][li]Gillibrand - black[/li][/ul] Not sure what the 11 (?) other female D senators were wearing. I assume the GOP women were not in white. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/155 "2019-02-06T14:40:14Z")
Paraphrase of an enjoyable comment: “Melania Trump’s guest was Joshua Trump (no relation) who has been subjected to bullying at school because of his name. Also in attendance were Lyin’ Ted, Little Marco, Pocahontas, and Crazy Maxine.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/156 "2019-02-06T14:51:25Z")
I can only guess that Jerry Falwell, Jr. was feeling left out of the competition to see who could be Trump’s biggest ass-kisser. He’s gonna have to do a lot to catch up with the likes of Mike Pence and Lindsey Graham, but [this tweet](https://twitter.com/JerryFalwellJr/status/1092985625500884992) was an impressive move: > [@](#): > > Best State of the Union speech in my lifetime delivered by the best @POTUS since George Washington and it’s not even over yet! God bless @realDonaldTrump ! JFTR, Jerry - and you should know this! - there are more than a few stories in the Bible about supposed prophets and other religious types who kiss up to wicked rulers. While it’s not _always_ true that it doesn’t end well for them, it’s pretty clear what the Biblical writers thought about them, and it’s **never** positive. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/157 "2019-02-06T14:55:15Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Be that as it may, the trebuchet is clearly the superior siege engine. This is why your base are belong to us. Your sense of humor has no chance to survive, make your time. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/158 "2019-02-06T15:08:28Z")
Schumer looked like he was absolutely unhinged, sitting there with a maniacal grin like he had the detonator and was eye wrestling with Pelosi: “Imma do it!” No Chuck, not yet." “Imma do it _right now_!” Pretty sure she actually waved him off at one point. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/159 "2019-02-06T15:08:57Z")
I had a lot of stuff I considered saying about the speech, but this story from _The Guardian_ pretty much sums it up: [Boy named Trump who fell asleep during State of the Union hailed a hero](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/06/the-trump-who-fell-asleep-during-state-of-the-union-hailed-a-hero) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994/160 "2019-02-06T15:39:07Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I had a lot of stuff I considered saying about the speech, but this story from _The Guardian_ pretty much sums it up: > > [Boy named Trump who fell asleep during State of the Union hailed a hero](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/06/the-trump-who-fell-asleep-during-state-of-the-union-hailed-a-hero) Melania is starting to look a lot like her husband. Just look at that pic! She’s making the same _I am very smart serious person_ expression that pumpkin face wears for posed photos. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-incredibly-stupid-will-the-sotu-be/828994.md?page=9)