If there was a "confidence vote" in the U.S. government, at this point I would vote "no confidence." When I grew up in the 1980s, politicians understood that "issue one" and "job one" was the matter of jobs in their districts. By layering free trade on top of Reagan's voodoo economics, the United States has been losing manufacturing jobs; has learned that even white collar jobs can be outsourced to India; and, the agricultural jobs are being taken by the immigrants from Mexico who send money back to Mexico. The only jobs they can't outsource are the in-person service jobs, like retail, restaurants, and delivery. America's younger generation is supposed to find its future in that sector, as batenders and waitresses.

No sale! --The circumstance that I just described is unacceptable, and should result in politicians being voted out of office in droves. Meanwhile, if Nancy Pelosi was doing her job as leader of the House Democrats, she would be supporting the impeachment of the current administration, with an eye to restoring justice and respect for the U.S. Constitution. As politicians such as Pelosi sit on their hands, they too are disrespecting their own oaths of office. Around the world, America becomes a laughingstock due to its posing, pretending, and fakery. Also, if the news media was doing its job, it would not be hiding the moves for impeachment that have been made by brave Members of Congress like Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Robert Wexler.

America is a place which suggests that "editorial judgment" is an oxymoron. If you have good judgment, you are not an editor. And, if you are an editor, you have bad judgment. For those with eyes to see, the bankruptcy of the news media is transparently see-thru and obvious. In the Republican field of presidential candidates, Ron Paul has consistently beaten Rudy Giuliani and has come in second place in some states. Meanwhile, the press remains in love with Giuliani -- he remains a media darling while Ron Paul remains invisible. In overall number of votes received, Ron Paul is now the fourth-place Republican candidate, ahead of Giuliani.

No sale! --And, what about that candidacy by Rudy Giuliani? When the attacks of 9/11 occurred, before the north tower came down, the police got out of the building, while the firefighters were left in there to die. Why? Because police radios worked, and firefighter radios did not work. Who was the Mayor of New York at that time? Rudy Giuliani. Now, I ask my readers to slow down and make a judgment here. If it was known that those radios would not work -- eight years earlier when the World Trade Center was attacked the first time -- then, shouldn't that system have been fixed during the eight years before 9/11? Should firefighters have been left to die for the simple reason of not hearing a warning that they should have heard? In my judgment, those were absolutely unnecessary deaths, of 121 firefighters.

Now, in the old days, with a news media that was on the job, they would never have just "let that go." 121 unnecessary deaths would have been a huge scandal, and Rudy Giuliani would have been singled out as the Mayor who was responsible for faulty radios, bought through a no-bid contract. At this point, never mind all of the remaining questions about 9/11 -- just this much, or just these 121 deaths, coulda, shoulda, woulda been a huge scandal! If our media was on the job, we wouldn't "let go" the preventable, avoidable deaths of 121 first responders, who are our front line heroes in the employ of the government!

The State of our Union is dysfunctional. This evening, hot air will come from Capitol Hill and hot air will come from America's political pundits and talking heads of the news media. They are the kings of hot air, but they appear feckless and powerless in that they are not arresting the downward slide of the United States and its economy. With the possible exceptions of the Pope and the Dalai Lama, world leadership is a sea of corruption for as far as the eye can see!

Right now, the government of Communist China is faced with an ultimatum that has come in from its own Chinese dissidents. The ultimatum demands that the regime lift its blockade of internet censorship, known as "the Great Firewall of China." Further, if the lifting does not occur by February 7 -- Chinese New Year, ten days from now -- the dissidents' China Interim Government authorizes sympathetic elements in the Chinese military to undertake a military coup to remove that regime.

The United States should get behind the dissidents and behind that call to stop internet censorship. --Will George Bush do so? No! He has already been quite chipper and cheerful about accepting the invitation of Hu Jintao (China's dictator) to attend the Summer Olympic Games that are slated to open in Beijing, China on August 8, 2008. And, all of the matters and issues that I have raised in this article will be papered over by the ridiculous talking heads who have no concern for dead Chinese, dead Americans, or dead firefighters. Rather instead, they will fill air time with the latest missteps of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, or Lindsay Lohan. America is a place where "journalistic integrity" is as much an oxymoron as "editorial judgment."

American politics makes me want to learn Mandarin Chinese, simply because there is no comfort to be had in listening to anything in U.S. English. To even turn on the television tonight is a waste. Frankly, the apathetic masses of Americans, who shrug off politics, are closer to being right. Tonight, I think I'll go out for a beer -- our Union hasn't been seen for awhile, and it won't be resurrected by a speech from George W. Bush. Goodnight, America!