Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of January 22, 2013. Give Chad your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.

John Moore, Getty Images
John Moore, Getty Images
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1. Inaugural (link)

Well today on the show, we will focus a little time on President Obama's Inaugural Address from yesterday. There was no memorable line, but there was a lot to cringe over. There were many parts of the speech that I thought were pretty good. However, the bad parts of the speech were really bad. The President basically embraced and told you to embrace big government. He laid out his plans for the next four years. Those plans and this speech, I believe, set up the next big speech by the President. In yesterday's speech you heard the President either allude or directly mention gay marriage, climate change, gun control, immigration, & other issues.

It won't surprise me if the President brings up these same issues at the State of the Union in about 3 weeks.

What did you think of the President's address?

2. The Loyal Opposition (link)

Are Republicans just too angry? Is the message off? Erick Erickson of RedState.com has some interesting thoughts.

Congratulations Mr. President on your second inaugural.

 

Saying that makes some of you really enraged. I said the same on twitter shortly after his official swearing in. Several of the replies were embarrassing and atrocious. Some accused the man elected by a majority of Americans of treason. Some accused him of willfully destroying the nation.

 

I believe the President’s policies are destructive and will harm our economy, our nation, and our sense of national self long term. I believe his policies have the effect of turning us into subjects of the government, not citizens in charge of it. Because of his expansion of the social safety net funded through class warfare, Mr. Obama’s policies will cause too many Americans’ fortunes to rise and fall with those of the government, unable to chart a course for themselves apart from government.

 

But I do not think the President means to do this maliciously. I do not think he is treasonous. I do not hate him. I am not outraged by it. The President has done what he set out to do. I cannot be outraged by him doing what he set out to do. I am far more outraged by the Republicans not doing what they said they would do.

 

We have too many outrage pimps on both sides of the aisle whipping the respective bases into a frenzy and fury against the other side. I don’t have enough time or energy to be outraged about it all. There are things to be outraged by, but not everything, and certainly not with full energy dedicated to every perceived slight and grievance.

 

What I am finding is that among conservatives there is too much outrage, piss, and vinegar. It makes our ideas less effective. We have become humorless, angry opponents of the President instead of happy warriors selling better ideas. We are not even selling ideas.

 

Conservatives, frankly, have become purveyors of outrage instead of preachers for a cause. Instead of showing how increasing government harms people, how free markets help people, and how conservative policies benefit all Americans, we scream “Benghazi” and “Fast & Furious.”

 

We’re off key and off message. We’ve become professional victims dialed up to 10 on the outrage meter. Who the hell wants to listen to conservatives whining and moaning all the time about the outrage du jour? Seriously? Mitt Romney ran a campaign on just how bad things are, but he was rejected by a majority of Americans who felt like he really did not care about them and really had no plans to improve their lives.

 

Bitching about Benghazi doesn’t do that either.

 

Be mad at me if you need to. Feel free to express your moral outrage and indignity at me. But then shut up and focus on convincing people not that the President of the United States duly elected by a majority of the American people is a traitor willfully trying to destroy the country, but that our policies will allow people to make the most of their lives and not be dependent on the rising and falling fortunes of Washington, D.C.

 

Be happy. The anger is unbecoming of the party of Lincoln and Reagan.

 

And if you must be angry, don’t be angry at a President doing what he set out to do, be angry at a Republican Establishment not doing . . . well . . . much of anything.

What do you think about this? Is Erickson off-base or does he make a good point?

In my opinion, it's okay to be angry but at times some are guilty of being angry for no other reason than to be angry. Democrats and Republicans are guilty of this. What is key here is to figure out what is anger and what is passion. Be passionate and defend what you believe. But also know, it's okay to laugh and to live. It's okay to make fun of both Republicans and Democrats. It's okay to laugh about politics.

Be passionate, and pick your battles.

3. Best Of (link)

The City of Lubbock is one of the best run cities in America. According to 247WallSt.com, Lubbock comes in at #19 out of 20 on their "best" list.

Lubbock, located in Northwestern Texas, benefits from a relatively stable economy. Home values in the city increased by more than 14% between 2007 and 2011, higher than all but two of the 100 most populous cities. Foreclosures in Lubbock were next to non-existent in 2011. The unemployment rate of 6.1% in 2011 was the sixth-lowest of all large cities. The Lubbock City Council approved a property-tax hike in September as part of the budget, rising by nearly 2 cents to 49 cents per $100 in property to 49 cents  making slightly more than 49 cents to approximately $100 in valuation. The increased revenue allowed city employees to receive a 3% pay rise.

Lubbock is pretty good compared to many other cities out there. The economy is still good and quality life isn't bad. Still, things could be better and depending on how this council acts, things could get worse. Previous council's have done a good job at getting Lubbock where it is right now.

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These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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