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fandomhigh2014-01-23 12:04 pm
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2014-01-23 12:04 pm
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Plus We Have a Motorcade [Thursday, January 23, 2014]
"Good morning, everyone," Josh said, taking a big gulp from his coffee mug. "Among his many other Constitutional duties, a president must present a State of the Union address to Congress every year. George Washington and John Adams delivered speeches to Congress. Thomas Jefferson abolished that practice because he thought it was too reminiscent of the king's Speech From the Throne. The State of the Union then became a written report that was delivered and read by a clerk until 1913, when Woodrow Wilson reinstated the 'standing before Congress and talking to them' thing. Over the past century, the speech has evolved from the President talking to the Congress to the President talking to the people of the United States with Congress acting as ovation-having props."
Josh shrugged. "I don't really see a problem with that. The State of the Union is the single most important speech the President gives every year and his speechwriters begin working on it months and months in advance. Now I'm not gonna make yours be that in depth, but you will have to give a speech next week. In it you must touch on three domestic policy issues, one foreign policy issue and bring in two human props who you will use to make your points about your amazing fake policy initiatives, like this--"
He pointed to a random male. "Skippy over there was working at Moobyland for two dollars a week until the Josh Lyman is Amazing Minimum Wage Bill passed last year and now he has enough money to buy both food and drink. Cue the standing ovation from my political allies in the Congress and the Republicans looking vaguely constipated. There are two things absolutely guaranteed to get the entire chamber standing up: announcing that the State of the Union is 'good', even if that's not remotely true, and praising our military. Everything else is up for debate." He frowned. "Except maybe talking about the World War II generation. No one wants to piss off old people."
He clapped his hands together. "Okay. Get on the computers and start coming up with some policies your hypothetical government would like to promote in the next year and some classmates to bribe into being your plot points."
Josh shrugged. "I don't really see a problem with that. The State of the Union is the single most important speech the President gives every year and his speechwriters begin working on it months and months in advance. Now I'm not gonna make yours be that in depth, but you will have to give a speech next week. In it you must touch on three domestic policy issues, one foreign policy issue and bring in two human props who you will use to make your points about your amazing fake policy initiatives, like this--"
He pointed to a random male. "Skippy over there was working at Moobyland for two dollars a week until the Josh Lyman is Amazing Minimum Wage Bill passed last year and now he has enough money to buy both food and drink. Cue the standing ovation from my political allies in the Congress and the Republicans looking vaguely constipated. There are two things absolutely guaranteed to get the entire chamber standing up: announcing that the State of the Union is 'good', even if that's not remotely true, and praising our military. Everything else is up for debate." He frowned. "Except maybe talking about the World War II generation. No one wants to piss off old people."
He clapped his hands together. "Okay. Get on the computers and start coming up with some policies your hypothetical government would like to promote in the next year and some classmates to bribe into being your plot points."
Sign in [1/23]
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Listen to the lecture [1/23]
Re: Listen to the lecture [1/23]
This ... was not going to end well.
Work on your speech!
Re: Work on your speech!
She glanced around the room, wondering which of her acquaintances might be of use to her speech.
Re: Work on your speech!
"Give me all your money" and "Make the country more awesome" weren't really policies a nation could implement. They were scrawled on his notes anyway, because he couldn't think of anything better.
Wait a minute! He scribbled quickly, and now his paper read "Give me all your money and I'll use it to Make the country more awesome".
Now, that was a policy!
Talk to Josh and Gert!
Re: Talk to Josh and Gert!
OOC