It’s been too long since I’ve liveblogged here at CityCynic.com, so here goes the State of the Union liveblogging!

9:05 PM — Brian Williams reports that Cindy Sheehan was to attend as a guest of a congressman, but was instead arrested and escorted off the premises. I can’t wait to see how they justify this one. Okay, she unfurled an anti-war banner before the speech. For that they held and questioned her for an hour. Okay, that wasn’t correct either. She was arrested and charged for wearing a t-shirt that said, “2245 Dead: How Many More?.”

9:15 PM — “We must justify our leadership.”

9:16 PM — Bush brings up WMDs again.

9:17 PM — Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran need freedom.

9:18 PM — First Bin Laden reference. Terrorists have chosen “the weapon of fear.” And then: “…allowing the violent to inherit the earth.” Biblical reference?

9:19 PM — “There is no peace in retreat… and there is no violence in retreat.” “The United States will not retreat from the world and we will never retreat from evil.” Charles Rangel reaction shot: shown laughing.

9:21 PM — “We have killed or captured many of their leaders.” Insurgency will be marginalized.

9:23 PM — Troop reduction decisions will be made by leaders on the ground, not in Wash., D.C.

9:24 PM — “Responsibile criticism” vs. “Defeatism focused on failure” “Hindsight is not a strategy.”

9:29 PM — Hamas must recognize freedom and disarm.

9:31 PM — Speaking to people of Iran: American respects you and your country and your right to protect yourselves. And America can’t wait to be your friends and stand with you and a democratic Iran.

9:34PM — “The enemy has not lost the desire or capability to attack us” here at home. Some boos are heard as he said this. Asks for Patriot Act reauthorization, GOPs stand, but only 3 Dems do. Critics say our gov’t failed to “connect the dots” before 9/11.

9:35 PM — Bush tries to justify phone tapping in US, by saying he won’t sit back and wait for “them” to attack us here at home. Hillary Clinton looks on in disgust, as Bush smirks towards Democratic side. “Our own generation is in a long war that will be fought under many presidents of both sides.”

9:37 PM — We must “lead this world toward freedom.”

9:38 PM — “Our economy is healthy and vigorous. 4.6 million new jobs this year.” But how many net jobs? This economy could not function without illegal immigrants. Economic retreat theme.

9:39 PM — “An agenda for a nation that competes in confidence.” $880 billion dollars in his tax cuts to people. Urges congress to make tax cuts permanent. GOPs stand, Dems stay seated. Another Bush smirk towards the Dems.

9:41 PM — On track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. “Pass the line item veto.”

9:44 PM — Congress did not not act to vote on my Social Security reform. Democrats stand and clap and yell for 30 seconds. Bush comes back with the rest of his sentence and his index finger.

9:45 PM — “Our nation needs orderly and secure borders.” Stronger immigration enforcement and temporary worker program.

9:46 PM — Affordable healthcare. “Lawsuits are driving many good doctors out of practice.”

9:48 PM — “America is addicted to oil… The best way to break this addiction is through technology.” Better batteries for hybrid cars. Ethanol from woodchips and switchgrass — competitive within six years.

9:50 PM — Plan to replace 75% of our oil imports by 2025.

9:52 PM — No Child Left Behind Act was “a good start.” Will train more math teachers. Support the American Competitiveness Initiate.

9:53 PM — “Our greatness is not measured in power or luxuries… We strive to be a more… hopeful society.”

9:55 PM — Activist judges reference. “Never give into idea that a country is in a decline.”

9:56 PM — Bush welcomes Roberts and Alito. Justices should not “legislate from the bench.” Praises service of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

9:58 PM — Wants to pass legislation. Ban human cloning in all it’s forms. “Human life is a gift from our creator and should never be… put up for sale.”

9:59 PM — Support America’s Youth Intitiative, led by Laura Bush.

10:00 PM — $85 billion committed to Gulf Coast region.

10:01 PM — End waiting list for AIDS medications in America. Work to deliver rapid HIV tests to Americans.

10:02 PM — “We entered a great idealogical conflict we did nothing to invite.” “The destination of history is determined by human action.” Compares himself to Lincoln, MLK, Jr., World War II. “Will we turn back or finish well.” “Before history is written in books, it is written in courage.”

NBC tells us it was a 51 minute-long speech. As represented by the reactions to his speech, the country is still divided on almost every issue.

DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE, Gov. Tim Kaine, VA

10:16 PM — “No higher calling then serving others.” Our gov’t should serve it’s people, but this administration’s poor choices and bad management.

10:17 PM — Expectations. Proper natural response. Proper education. Proper fiscal management.

10:18 PM — “No parent makes their child pay their mortgage bill.” Compares national situation to VA.

10:19 PM — “No Child Left Behind Act is wreaking havoc.” GOP leadership is cutting financial aid for college students.

10:20 PM — Skyrocketing costs in healthcare. White House is pulling Medicare funds from senior citizens. More complex and more expensive medications. Reforms must focus on getting people their medications more easily. Compares to VA healthcare reform.

10:21 PM — “We must defeat those that attack and kill innocent people.” Innaccurate reasons for invading Iraq, insufficient body armor, Administration wants to cut veteran benefits. We are more dependent on Middle East than ever before.

10:24 PM — Failure of Administration to enforce immigration laws. We need consistent federal action to preserve out borders.

10:25 PM — Bush Administration is failing to focus on other issues. Environment. Family farms. Jobs. Left to local gov’t to fix. “Light of liberty” must focus on every American.

10:26 PM — Dems working to replace partisanship and cronyism with results. We need to heal wounds and become one people, as Thomas Jefferson once said. Service is the better way to better national politics. “Together America can do better.”

Nice to see a fresh face responding to the SoTU address.

Michael Jackson emerged in public in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain recently, dressed to impress.

Michael Jackson Spotted in Robe and Veil:

Michael Jackson visited a mall in Bahrain’s capital Wednesday, covering himself in a black abaya robe traditionally worn by conservative Bahraini women and a veil hiding his face.

The 47-year-old pop star was accompanied by three children, apparently his, whose faces were covered with dark scarves. They wore yellow shirts and sweat pants or khakis, without robes.

Well, at least it’s good to see Michael hasn’t changed much, despite currently hiding out living in Bahrain. Everyone knows the best way for a guy to not stand out in public is to dress in women’s clothing… Yikes!

Another New York City transit strike may be on the horizon as union members voted down a new contract by the slightest of margins.

NYC transit workers reject new contract:

The city’s 33,000 transit workers rejected a new contract by a mere seven votes Friday, raising fears of another crippling strike like the one that brought subways and buses to a standstill a month ago.

The Transport Workers Union voted down the contract, despite the urging of union President Roger Toussaint to ratify the agreement. He said the final tally was 11,234 against and 11,227 in favor.

Here we go again! I can’t believe the vote was only 7 votes apart. Toussaint must be kicking himself in the butt over not getting the union members to support him after all they’ve been through.

I thought the new contract was better for them, but apparently half plus 7 of them didn’t agree.

Wow, I’m once again excited about the Superbowl this year!

I just watched what had to be one of the most exciting football games I have ever seen — the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indiana Colts. The Steelers won 21-18 after more twists, turns, and fourth-down conversions than the world’s loopiest rollercoaster!

And Jerome Bettis’ only fumble of the year almost cost the team the season!

I have to tell you, I was really feeling down after the Giants collapsed in their first-round playoff matchup, but after watching a game like this, there’s no way I can’t be excited! Superbowl XXXL, here we come!

[Ed.– This was originally written for TV Bits, but it was so good, I had to share.]

Happy New Year from TV Bits! Which countdown special did you catch last night while drinking yourself into the new year?

We caught them all and here’s what we thought:

ABC: Dick Clark returned, which was great, but who could understand what he was saying? Granted, he’s has to re-teach himself to walk and speak since his stroke in 2004, but it’s very hard to view last night’s co-hosting duties with Ryan Seacreast as a triumphant return. Anyone notice Clark mess up the final countdown? And let’s try not to even mention the pre-taped, boring Hollywood musical performances hosted by Hilary Duff. One last question: who dressed Mariah Carey for her outdoor performances?

FOX: Regis Philbin tried to exact revenge on ABC by hosting his own show on FOX this year. Too bad it was as monotonous as watching an episode of Millionaire. Regis couldn’t even sing the classic song “New York, New York” properly… and it was probably his own idea! Funny how the show could only manage to get celebrities to phone-in to the show, instead of actually appearing on it. And then we had to spend 10 minutes listening to Donald Trump talk about how great his finale of The Apprentice was…

CNN: If you were a drunk news junkie and/or Anderson Cooper junkie, then you were in heaven watching this news-oriented countdown. The special even featured live musical performances across the country, but only exactly half of each performance, before cutting back live to Times Square. We wanted to see the whole Barenaked Ladies performance! It was nice to see all the NYE celebrations around the world, though.

MTV: We had trouble naming anyone appearing on MTV’s countdown special, except for obligatory guest Diddy and free-styling rapper Common. Remember when Carson Daly used to host the show and they had really cool musical acts? This year’s show didn’t come close.

NBC: Carson Daly’s second attempt at hosting this show was even less-publicized than the first. We forgot it was on at first and then when we tuned in, all we saw was Daly reciting facts about the first NYE celebration in New York City and about how the ball was the same one from 2000. There were some musical performances and celebrity guests, but we can’t even remember any of them. The Rockefeller Center Tree lighting ceremony was way better than this special… plus it featured Al Roker.

ESPN: After watching the exciting (and long-running) Giants-Raiders game, ESPN’s special had to be partially pre-empted and then only featured highlight clips from 2005 and some commentary. It was nice to see ESPN getting into the countdown spirit, but it wasn’t even as exciting as Telemundo’s Spanish-language special.

Enjoy 2006, folks!