Ok this will be brief. Cindy Sheehan was arrested before the State of the Union speech in the House of Representatives and then released and charges dropped. Interesting.

Police Apologize, Drop Charge Vs. Sheehan

Now I want to highlight this response to the State of the Union speech. Howard Dean, had this to say.

I'm sorry this is long, and I am going to post much of it, but really go read the whole thing, I think it is a well articulated outline of a progressive agenda that will lead us ahead.

"Americans have a lot of questions that went unanswered tonight. When George Bush delivered his State of the Union address, he had a big megaphone and the world's attention. He had the opportunity to regain some degree of credibility with the American people -- more than half of whom disapprove of his performance as president. But he failed to answer the real questions ordinary Americans have about the state of our union:

- When will we have a new strategy in Iraq that protects American lives? Violence is increasing, not decreasing there and the mismanagement of this war has cost the lives of Americans and billions of dollars in fraud. And when will we secure our ports and chemical and nuclear plants, which remain vulnerable?

- When will the Republican Party put its responsibility to the people before its greed and thirst for power? The Republican culture of corruption in the executive and legislative branches has violated the law and cost taxpayers billions.

- When will President Bush and the Republican Congress wake up to the economic crisis tens of millions of Americans face? Good jobs are leaving this country, and many of the jobs that remain exploit working families by denying them adequate benefits. Millionaires and corporations receive tax breaks while Americans can't afford to save, and the gap between rich and poor continues to widen to levels unseen since the 19th century.

- When will we finally do something for the 46 million Americans who lack health insurance? Many have had their lives ruined financially when the worst happened, and many more no longer seek the care they need because they cannot afford it.

- When will we make serious strides towards energy independence? We get a greater percentage of our oil from cartels and dictatorships now than we did in 2000."

Ok, so everyone keeps saying "stop bitching about shrub and tell us what YOU will do", so OK lets talk about that.

"Part of that means telling people clearly and unambiguously what we stand for -- and I'll tell you right now:

- Real security -- we will protect Americans at home by getting serious about homeland security, and address the real threats abroad by capturing or killing Osama bin Laden and focusing on actual (not imagined) nuclear proliferation...

- Honest leadership and open government -- we will end the criminal Republican culture of corruption and restore a sense of responsibility to elected office, and we will pass fundamental reforms that make government more honest, open, and accountable to the American people than ever before.
...
A health care system that works for everyone -- we will join every other industrialized country by making sure everyone has access to affordable health care...

- Energy independence -- we will reduce our reliance on foreign oil by investing in cleaner and more efficient technology. We will treat energy independence as what it is -- not only a conservation issue, but an economic and national security issue."

Lets go troops! Take our country back!