# State of the Union January 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588 "2012-01-25T07:41:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/21 "2012-01-25T21:22:15Z")
There’s also all of the pee-pee they put in our Coke. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/22 "2012-01-25T21:33:06Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > There’s also all of the pee-pee they put in our Coke. - snerk \* ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/23 "2012-01-27T17:56:41Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > I’ve heard tell of a few US manufacturers quietly pulling their Chinese operations back–Saint-Gobain returned a lot of its chemical manufacturing back here to Da Falls a while back. The company CEO said they weren’t getting the manufacturing quality they wanted from their Chinese operations. Yeah, many companies are finding that the shitty quality of Chinese goods isn’t worth the cost savings. And when they factor in transportation costs, often they’re not really saving much money anyway. Also, dealing with Chinese government regulators can be a huge headache. Back when Saab was trying to sell itself to the Chinese, much was made about General Motors balking at the deal, but there were also big problems with trying to get Chinese authorities to sign off on the sale. The Chinese auto company tried to send emergency funding to Saab several times, but even getting that approved was problematic, and the funding never arrived. China may be a capitalist society these days, but it is _not_ a free market. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/24 "2012-01-27T19:20:05Z")
Not germaine to the state of the union, but did anyone notice Joe Biden? Looked like he had the world’s worst head cold. His nose was bright red, eyes were watering, he kept sniffling and reaching for his handkerchief (the useful one, not the display one) trying to stifle a sneeze. And he only cracked a smile once…highly unusual for a guy whose stock in trade is that bright, slightly unsettling grin. Poor guy, he looked like hell and should have been home in bed. SS ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/25 "2012-01-27T19:27:44Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Not germaine to the state of the union, but did anyone notice Joe Biden? Looked like he had the world’s worst head cold. His nose was bright red, eyes were watering, he kept sniffling and reaching for his handkerchief (the useful one, not the display one) trying to stifle a sneeze. And he only cracked a smile once…highly unusual for a guy whose stock in trade is that bright, slightly unsettling grin. Poor guy, he looked like hell and should have been home in bed. > SS Yea, I noticed that to. Bad luck for him. Basically the only thing the VP has to do is play President of the Senate once a year during the SOTU, and he gets sick on the day of. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/26 "2012-01-27T19:57:53Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > I’ve also heard rumors of bribe demands from Chinese officials to foreign companies. Wouldn’t be surprised if that is on the increase. A company I work with had to pull it’s manufacturing out of China. It wasn’t due to the bribes that were demanded of them. It was because the whole system of bribery created situations where your raw materials would arrive at port and only two people in a city of hundreds of thousands would be “licensed” to unload your ship. Those two people had the money, power, influence and connections to basically hold all of the port traffic hostage and no amount of money would change that. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/27 "2012-01-27T20:49:23Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Yea, I noticed that to. Bad luck for him. Basically the only thing the VP has to do is play President of the Senate once a year during the SOTU, and he gets sick on the day of. Heh…looks like the social media picked up on it too; [Tissue time for Biden](http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/206653-tissue-time-for-biden-vp-under-the-weather-during-state-of-the-union-speech-) ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/28 "2012-01-28T08:40:54Z")
which Cabinet member drew the short straw? (i.e. wasn’t in the chamber) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588/29 "2012-01-28T13:14:09Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > which Cabinet member drew the short straw? (i.e. wasn’t in the chamber) In the event of someone nuking the Capitol on the night of the SOTU, your new benevolent overlord would’ve been Tom Vilsack (sec of Agriculture). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/state-of-the-union-january-2012/610588.md?page=1)