State of the Union Highlights...

No, I didn't watch it. I have had, however, all day to review the transcript (a used roll of toilet paper) and here are a few major points I wanted to bring you:

Health Care: 44 million Americans, 15 percent of population, including 8.5 million children, don't have health insurance.

Jobs and Economic Recovery: Two million fewer jobs than when Bush took office. Tax cuts promising 300,000 new jobs a month never reached one-third of that goal. In December 2003, only 1,000 new jobs created. New jobs pay less than those lost.

Education: No Child Left Behind law $7 billion underfunded.

Environment: Landmark environmental laws weakened. Allowable levels of mercury from power plants tripled. Superfund clean-up costs shifted from polluters to public. Clean Air Act rules for dirtiest power plants relaxed.

State and Federal Spending: States face largest budget crises in decades. Federal deficit has hit a new high. $87 billion spent on Irag as U.S. non-defense domestic spending plummets. Meanwhile, White House pushing for new space program, costing estimated hundreds of billions.

The War on Terror: No WMD found. No link between Iraq and Al Qaeda found. Osama bin Laden still at large. Rebuilding Iraq marred by terrorism, corporate profiteering and failure to restore basic services.

(Thanks to TomPaine.com for a well-written collection of dismal failures.)