RevKess and KaliSara discuss the 2015 State of the Union Address from President Barack Obama. On Tuesday 20 January 2015, President Obama delivered his annual State of the Union Address to Congress and the nation, indeed to the world. It was televised and streamed live on the internet, video recording and audio are available on various websites. RevKess watched the live stream from the White House YouTube channel. You can read the full transcript and listen to the audio through NPR. You can also read and hear Sen. Joni Ernst’s official GOP response on NPR. If you wish to fact check the State of the Union, visit this site.
Though Obama addressed many issues and plans for the administration moving into the next year or so, KaliSara and RevKess only addressed a handful of them. In just under an hour, Obama talks about many issues that are important to both the Pagan community and the citizens of the United States. In a two hour broadcast, your hosts only had time to discuss a few of them.
- Minimum Wage

NYTimes.com – Click to Enlarge
- Housing
- Health Care – including daycare expense
- Net Neutrality
- Community College for 2 years
- First SOTU reference to Civil Rights for the gay, lesbian, AND bisexual, AND transgender community in the United States
- Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
- Some of the 2016 Presidential contenders respond to SOTU
RevKess was personally pleased to hear the inclusion of both bisexuals and transgender citizens when Obama addressed civil rights for all. As KaliSara sarcastically said (with humor, not derision), “He thinks they’re human!” Previous Presidents may have mentioned gays and lesbians, but this the first time a sitting President has included bisexuals and transgender people in such an important speech.
Other News
- First Church of Wicca reopens – The Wild Hunt covers the story
- first same-sex Pagan couple to be legally married in Scotland – The Wild Hunt covers the story
- RevKess gets syndicated – RevKess’s article from 15 January 2015 on freedom of speech/expression on PaganActivist.com was syndicated on 22 January on Penton Independent Alternative Media in South Africa
- upcoming book releases from KaliSara – both her College “guide” and her children’s book
Many news stories of interest to the Pagan community were left out of this week’s edition due to time constraints. Tune in next week for more news and views for the Pagan minded.
MUSIC
- Chronilus – The Wild in Me – Threshold
- Celia – Mysterious Shaman – Shaman Journey
- Tuatha Dea (feat. Damh the Bard) – Irish Handfasting – The Tribe






things, but not because they cannot handle the truth. More often than you might think it is because they are trying not to insult someone else. This one makes no attempt to avoid insulting people. It does, however, bring to light what many think of politically correct speech. An example of how politically correct can be more insulting than sugar-coated would be many of the attempts the straight community use when talking about the gay community, in particular the trans community. See, look there. In an attempt to be general and “politically correct” I left out lesbians and bisexuals, gender queer and gender fluid. Other attempts to be more encompassing of everyone who might fit into that community is the abbreviation “LGBTQA” Even that collection of letters leaves people out. Some like the acronym “SOGI”, sexual orientation and gender identity. This term is confusing for some, a literal look at the term would encompass the entirety of humanity. Perhaps that is the point. Maybe, just maybe, people should call it as they see it, or to use a phrase “call a spade a spade.”
And then you have the opposite end of the spectrum. Memes that point out something that many might consider to be true. In this situation, many might consider it a fault to need alcohol and drugs to be entertained. Agreed. Drugs and alcohol are not necessary to have a good time. They can make for a little extra entertainment – like when your friend gets so drunk they can’t walk without falling down. In moderation, though, alcohol is fine – even some drugs are fine in moderation. RevKess would rather enjoy a glass of wine at dinner or while watching a movie than toke up, or even go out to the clubs. Combing through several pages of racist memes, none could be found that weren’t in some way disgusting or too far into the racist field (I think I need a shower now). But it is easy to understand that a racist meme is just wrong, insulting. Whether they are directed at whites, blacks, Jews, Asians, Latinos, whatever. They are all disgusting and insulting. After all this, there are some memes out there that are just down right funny, cute, or enlightening. Here is an
example of one that is inspiring – at least for the bibliophiles out there. Just look around at RevKess’s home and you will see bookcases in every room (save the bathroom) and stacks of books literally to the ceiling. Never enough bookcases. And of course there are the snarky memes.

