Is There An Actual Need for the State of the Union 'Message'?

 No.  

It's basically a theatrical production to give the President time to appear before Congress/the Senate, and have either radio or TV giving the 'message' across the nation.

The first radio address? 1922, by President Harding.  It should be noted for the next fourteen years....it was a day-time situation, and few Americans heard it.

In 1936....under FDR, things changed and it went to a night-time event, and was blasted across the entire US.  That fundamentally changed things, and it became a free 'advertisement' by the national news media.

What is the value today?  Mostly zero....just forty-odd promises, and half of them will never occur.  Some will occur, but the price-tag will shock you.  Some will occur, and make your life more miserable than it was before.

You could probably better use the time to wash and wax the pick-up, or chat with the neighbor over NCAA football frustrations.  

Blue-State Versus Red-State Intelligence Levels

 Some idiots have picked up this and started discussions over it.

I sat and pondered for a while, thinking.....well....don't you have better talking points or things to worry about?

My impression...if you went around major urbanized regions (Memphis, NY City, SF, or Miami)....you probably would find a fair number of people who just aren't that educated (even if they have a high school diploma, a bachelor's degree, or even a PhD).

I'm not saying we are a land of brilliant 'Einsteins'....just that a lot of people went through some fake educational deal, and emerged as what they are.  Some accidentally got smart....some didn't.

I worked for a Colonel once, who had a master's degree in aeronautical science.  We had to put a computer on his desk....with a 3x5 card next to it....instructing him how to turn it on, boot it up, and get one single program running in the background.  Yes, it was a dummy-situation where he needed to present the image that he was computer literate (when he wasn't).  

I worked with a US Marine in the DC area....who had a part-time job on weekends as a personalized trainer.  There were tons of people being brought into DC for jobs, and they had to use office-related programs which they had no fundamental knowledge over.  So this guy would spend two entire days teaching people on the 'art', and made around $1k for each weekend.  

I really don't see where this intelligence level discussion goes.  Maybe it helps some left-leaning folks feel superior or smarter....but then when their transmission fails and 'Marvin' is explaining the science of transmissions....it's way over the owner's head.  'Marvin' just states an entire day of work is required, and $3,500 in the cost.

Worthless chatter?  Yeah, more or less.  

Iranian 'Militia' Cells in DC?

 Well....there is this claim which popped-up, which says that Iran 'thugs' have a militia cell or two (plural, so there might be five or six).....in the DC area. 

Truth factor?  Well.....no one is really talking much about this.  Not even the FBI.

If you suddenly had some terror act (say two or three car-bombs, and a drone dropping Molotov cocktails on houses)?  That would rapidly set off a huge public situation, and Congressmen/Senators would be vacating the District for an entire month.  More Guardsmen?  Naturally.....they'd have block off the entry exit points, and suddenly you'd have 70k Guardsmen on a full-year of duty.

Probably bogus?  You'd have to show me some angle of support, and how exactly they entered the country.  I'd generally give this a BS-factor of '9' on a scale of one to ten.

Now, if you asked me....how to do this?  Well....you get a dozen Iranian idiots into Honduras, and then filter them through Mexico and cross the border (making sure they have some Spanish language capability, and a fake Honduran ID).  I'd give them each a $1k gift card and direct them to take the bus up to DC.  There, I'd hook them up with some insider, and get each set up in apartments in the Maryland area.  I'd keep the fake Latino act going for as long as required.  If they just set off two or three car-bombs per month....that would be all you need to create a massive wave of worry in DC.