Click here for the full transcript.

there has been an intense struggle in Washington between the lobbyists for the insurance industry and the interests of the American people over what has been called a Patient’s Bill of Rights

Notice he said the “interests of the American people” and not what the American people want. This is key. As Americans, our government is set up to give the people what they want. And every four years we get to make some changes.

Perhaps this particular kind of reform bill is not what the people want, but what President Obama and his people want.

Both the House and Senate bills would make it against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition or illness.

This is a good thing. What else?

Both would stop insurers from charging exorbitant premiums on the basis of age, health, or gender.

Another good thing. Really sticking to those nasty insurers.

Both would prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick.

It’s hard to believe that this actually happens. Let’s go for the government plan!

both would put a limit on how much you have to pay out of pocket for the treatments you need in a year or lifetime.

So who pays for it or would you demand they lower the prices?

These protections are just one part of a landmark reform that will finally reduce the cost of health care.

I’m confused as to why he says this will lower costs, when the bill will be so expensive.

The question is whether the minority that opposes these reforms will continue to use parliamentary maneuvers to try and stop the Senate from voting on them.

It seems as if this will pass through Congress with no hiccups.

Let’s bring this long and vigorous debate to an end.

Every President wants his stuff passed quickly. It’s funny how slow things really work in Congress.

I am no fan of Sarah Palin. However, I am shocked at the reaction to her. The reaction has very little to do with her politics. Just this week, she was pictured with a hat with John McCain’s name on it. Only, his name had been blackened out with a magic marker.

Note to the Palin crew: if you want to go unnoticed, where a generic hat; not one with your old running mate’s name blacked out.

Next comes the response book. Governor Palin published “Going Rogue”. A book chronicling her life and career. Hateful Democrats published “Going Rouge” – full of essays attacking Palin the person.

Why do we feel the need to destroy our opponents in the political sphere? Whatever happened to disagreeing over policy but tolerating the person?

This is why things never get done and people hate politicians. (among a number of other reasons)

Here is the transcript. Below I share my thoughts.

These weekly addresses are becoming a joke. The President is giving us the same talking points week after week. Everything in this address has been shared before. Sometimes months ago. It’d be nice if we could have something else to listen to in these things.

Over the past two years, more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs, and factories and businesses across our country have been shuttered.  In one way or another, we’ve all been touched by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Sometimes I think he just likes to say the words, “worst economic downturn since the Great Depression” so he can feel good about what he’s doing.

The flood of job loss we saw at the beginning of this year slowed to a relative trickle last month.  These are good signs for the future

Job loss has slowed to a trickle? I don’t believe that and neither should you.

We’ll give an added boost to small businesses across our nation through additional tax cuts and access to lending they desperately need to grow.

This would be terrific if it actually worked. Here’s hoping Mr President.

much of it was due to the irresponsibility of large financial institutions on Wall Street that gambled on risky loans and complex financial products, seeking short-term profits and big bonuses with little regard for long-term consequences.

Now that you’re in charge of the private sector, you should have all the CEO’s fired…what? You’ve already done that in some companies?

a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  This agency would have the authority to put an end to misleading and dishonest practices of banks and institutions that market financial products like credit and debit cards; mortgage, auto and payday loans.

Lead by a new Czar with little or now accountability of their own.

agents in Congress claim that reforms like the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will stifle consumer choice

I guess we’ll see who’s right if this thing is actually created.

But Americans don’t choose to be victimized by mysterious fees, changing terms, and pages and pages of fine print.

And by Americans you mean members of your administration.

I urge both houses to act as quickly as possible to pass real reform that restores free and fair markets in which recklessness and greed are thwarted;

You call on a reform to be passes as “quickly as possible” while bemoaning recklessness. Don’t you see that they’re one and the same?

Here is the full transcript.

Because of the Recovery Act and a number of other steps we’ve taken, we’re no longer facing the potential collapse of our financial system or a second Great Depression. We’re no longer losing jobs at a rate of 700,000 a month. And our economy’s growing for the first time in a year.

At what rate are we currently losing jobs? What kind of good news tells us we’re still losing jobs?

too many of our neighbors are still out of work because the growth we’ve seen hasn’t yet translated into all the jobs we need.

This is because all that money for recovery went to the big banks and Wall Street who hoarded the money to save their accounts. The average American was left with nothing.

I’m determined to do everything I can to accelerate our progress so we’re actually adding jobs again.

Here is the proof that President Obama is going to add more government programs and engorge it on our money. I doubt we see any fruit from their labor.

We brought together unions and universities to talk about what we can do to support our workers today and prepare our students to outcompete workers around the world tomorrow.

So you talked about what businesses can do for those currently working and the future workers who are still in school. What about those of us looking for work now?

to deal with the mounting federal debt.

President Obama’s way of dealing with the mounting debt is to add to it. Anyone disagree?

But I didn’t run for President to pass emergency recovery programs, or to bail out banks or to shore up auto companies. I didn’t run for President simply to manage the crisis of the moment, while kicking our most pressing problems down the road.

You didn’t? You seem to be doing a perfectly good job at kicking them.

Here is the full transcript.

And we say a special thanks for the sacrifices those men and women in uniform are making for our safety and freedom

I’ve always wondered what a “special thanks” sounds like. Is it more impactful than just your regular thanks?

Many have lost jobs in this recession – the worst in generations.

And many have lost jobs in the recovery plan you signed into law.

But as I said when I took office, job recovery from this crisis would not come easily or quickly.

But you said that after you said it needs to happen right now, right away. It was after the fact that you changed and said the jobs wouldn’t come soon.

Here is the transcript.

As we emerge from the worst recession in generations, there is nothing more important than to do everything we can to get our economy moving again and put Americans back to work,

We are emerging but we aren’t moving yet? This seems to be a contradiction. I don’t believe any American who isn’t the CEO of a company or working for a big bank/Wall Street feel this recession is over.

We made progress with China and Russia in sending a unified message to Iran and North Korea that they must live up to their international obligations and either forsake nuclear weapons or face the consequences.

Progress? Iran and North Korea are behaving as they always have. The progress you are claiming has done nothing.

As the two largest consumers and producers of energy, we developed a host of new clean energy initiatives with China, and our two nations agreed to work toward a successful outcome at the upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen

Put simply: they only agreed on words. The action to achieve this will never happen.

This recession has taught us that we can’t return to a situation where America’s economic growth is fueled by consumers who take on more and more debt.

This sentence is incredible. President Obama says we cannot return to a economy fueled by more and more debt…Does he not see what his agenda has done to the national debt?

I think I understand. The Obama administration doesn’t want the American people to have personal debt in order for us to take care of the national debt they thrust upon us.

we need to spend less, save more

Yes. Yes we/you do.

It is important that we do not make any ill-considered decisions

Read this as any decisions made by anyone not part of the Democrat party.

I will not let up until businesses start hiring again, unemployed Americans start working again, and we rebuild this economy stronger and more prosperous than it was before

If that’s the case, then, Mr. President, you will never let up.

Here is the full transcript.

There is an ongoing investigation into this terrible tragedy. That investigation will look at the motives of the alleged gunman, including his views and contacts.

They’re looking to pin this as an act of terrorism from radical Islam…

given the potential warning signs that may have been known prior these shootings, we must uncover what steps – if any – could have been taken to avert this tragedy.

So it looks like they’ll try to blame anyone but the person who actually committed the crime.

I met with the leadership of our military and the intelligence community, and ordered them to undertake a full review of the sequence of events that led up to the shootings.

Does that include how to better protect the service men and women? Or does it include the discussion of firearms on a military base?

we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system, so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again.

Here’s the next crisis the Obama Administration will use to introduce some new leftist program. Mark my words, the outcome of this investigation cannot be good for liberty.

our troops must have the security that they deserve.

I think if you were to talk to the troops, they’d tell you exactly the kind of security they deserve.

all of us should resist the temptation to turn this tragic event into the political theater that sometimes dominates the discussion here in Washington.

I read these words and I mark them here. When this does become theater, we’ll know where to point the finger.

We owe our troops prayerful, considered decisions about when and where we commit them to battle to protect our security and freedom

This was code for his current decision-making process concerning troop levels and military plans in Afghanistan.

Here is the link to the full transcript.

This past Thursday, on a clear Texas afternoon, an Army psychiatrist walked into the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, and began shooting his fellow soldiers.

Ever the storyteller – President Obama adds that little detail about it being a clear afternoon.

it’s all the more heartbreaking and all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.

That’s for sure. Let’s see if he knows more than we do.

even as we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America. We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades; tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured; using blouses as tourniquets; taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves.

I have a relative who was one of those soldiers aiding the hurt.

I met with FBI Director Mueller, Defense Secretary Gates, and representatives of the relevant agencies to discuss their ongoing investigation into what led to this terrible crime.

Isn’t is obvious? The man didn’t want to be shipped out.

Our thoughts are with all the families who’ve lost a loved one in this national tragedy.

Seeing as I’ve not been a recipient of this kind of comment, does the idea of someone’s thoughts being with you help in any way?

They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers.

I wonder if the term “nonbelievers” offends anyone.

so long as our nation endures.

Wait – what? “So long as our nation endures”? That doesn’t sound like there’s much hope for it enduring!

Why is the Obama administration taking so many shots at a political entertainer?

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has repeatedly aimed his guns at the radio personality. And the ammunition is the clever digs that appear to be neutral but are really nasty comments.

And on the same lines – why is a giant political party being driven by a radio personality? Or is it? I think Emanuel and his team would like nothing else than to keep the attention on Rush Limbaugh and leave the focus on him instead of some bigger issues.

We’re talking about the leader of this country (his right-hand man rather) picking verbal fights with a personality in the entertainment field.

This is when we should look up from our ipods and proclaim the freedom to ignore and the freedom to disagree without demonizing your opponent. (For more on demons, see Paranormal Activity)

Let’s keep our sanity about us friends.

I needed to take a break from politics and my job frustration to share about a movie I saw recently titled, Paranormal Activity.

The movie follows a boyfriend and girlfriend as they suffer through multiple nights of a haunting.

Do not assume this is anything like The Exorcist or any other haunted house movie, it seeps into your soul and seriously messes you up.

The boyfriend, Micah, buys a camera to “capture” the events on tape. He doesn’t take things too seriously until the end of the film when the truly horrific begins to occur. He taunts the “thing” and pulls out a Ouija Board in order to talk with it.

The girlfriend, Katie, confesses to a psychic that she’s been “followed” by something since she was eight years old.

Every night that you see, something happens. It begins innocently with their bedroom door moving a few inches, followed by bangs, screams, feet stomping, and more.

I never understood why the couple didn’t just leave the house and go to a Motel 6 or something. Yes, the thing will follow her, but at least this would get them out of the craziness for a while.

The ending sets up a nice new mythos for moviegoers and horror fans and was suggested by Steven Spielberg.

It is a frightening movie. Beat out Saw VI which tells you that people enjoy the “clean” horror rather than the blood and guts of recent years.

It’s rated R for the number of times, foul language is used. And seriously, if your house was being haunted by whatever it is in this house…you’d say a few choice words too.