Bracing for the State of the Union

It's tonight, at 8:00 PM. Here are some things to read instead of watching it.

• Will Durst on WorkingForChange has The George W Bush 2006 State of the Union drinking game. An excerpt:
  

  1. Whenever George W uses the phrases: "national security," "tax relief," "activist judges," or "affordable health care," drink two shots of beer.
  
  2. Whenever George W mentions the tragic events of 9/11, the last person to grab a toothpick, stand, and salute must drink three shots of beer. If you stab yourself in forehead with the toothpick, drink two more shots.
  
  3. If George W actually says, "If Al Qaeda is calling you, we want to know why." first person to finish a whole beer gets to toss Li'l Smokies at any of the others until they finish their beer. Use the toothpicks.
  
  4. If George W makes up a word like "strategerie" or "deteriorize," drink four shots of beer.
  
  5. If George W speaks of Hamas and repeats his earlier statement that "it's good to see people are demanding honest leadership," the first person to stop laughing gets to drink one shot of beer then pummel Suit with empty shot glass. No head shots.

  
  
• Greg Saunders at This Modern World has more to say about "Health Savings Accounts" vis-a-vis regular, non-rich people in Saving What You Don’t Have:
  

  I wonder if Bush has ever had to lay all his bills out on the kitchen table and figure out which ones he can pay immediately and which ones can wait until the next paycheck? Or if he’s ever lived in an overcrowded apartment with hand-me-down furniture, eating the same thing six days a week because it’s cheaper? Or if he’s ever had to settle for a job slightly less shitty than the one he had in high school because there weren’t any jobs in the field he majored in? Of if he’s gone through the process of figuring out which generic brand products at the grocery store are as good as the name brands and which ones aren’t?
  
  As most of you know, I’m not just describing poverty here. This is normal life for many Americans. Some live paycheck to paycheck, while others are able to pinch enough pennies to save a few bucks. Either way, most people don’t have thousands of dollars to spare.

  
  
• Last December I wrote, "I'll only post [Insani-T-Shirts.com] shirt designs on this blog if they're super-duper exceptionally relevant and/or hilarious." I think I've shown remarkable restraint, especially given that we now have more than 220 cool and/or clever shirts for sale, and I haven't posted a darn thing since then. But, in honor of whatever lies, deceits and misleadings are headed our way tonight, I hereby invoke that clause. All these - and more - are available in the Politics section of our site; click on a picture to see it full-size.