Tuesday Open Thread

6 thoughts on “Tuesday Open Thread”

1. With due respect to de Tocqueville, the U.S. is pretty piss poor at repairing its faults these days.  

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   1. If we somehow lose our collective minds and re-elect the orange idiot I am not sure the damage will be reparable.

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      1. It is a scary thought to consider the damage he could do with another term. I think the lasting effect of his first term was to damage the institutions that safeguard our democracy and diminish respect for government as a whole. He destroyed a political party, representing half of the major parties in this country, completely hollowing out any moral principle or governing ideal. He packed the Supreme Court that whipsawed to the right, removing years of progress in individual rights and freedoms, and severely tarnishing its reputation with the majority of the country. He demonized the free press, convincing his feebleminded followers to ignore anything that they find uncomfortable. He convinced a substantial minority of the country that elections are not trustworthy and that, if they (he) lose, the system was rigged.  He has severely wounded the rule of law that defines our nation. If re-elected, it is hard to imagine he wouldn't kill it.

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      2. It probably won't be reparable.

         Which is why smart people have an exit strategy. Mine is to move to Mexico. (In fact, I'm there right now and will be through the second week of January.)

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   2. Due respect for your opinion … But

      • We just had a major pandemic illness hit the US, biggest in at least a century — and "we" mitigated impacts by way of social practices and eventually vaccines.  The social practices cost a hell of a lot … and now, 4 years later, "we" have a re-developed economy that is better recovered than other developed nations in the world.  
      • There was a Republican majority in both the House and Senate from 2015-2019 — and a Republican President to complete a trifecta in 2017-2019.  Even with that extreme level of control, citizens were able to avoid the worst of the possibilities due to the Senate procedures, federal court action, and Republican ineptitude.  Democrats broke up that destructive control in the 2020 elections.  , And while they were unable to repair all of the damage, there has been substantial improvements in government spending and a variety of government policies. 

      Utopia is a long way off and there are continuing threats to even the "pretty good" efforts of 2021-2022, but a newer observer than de Tocqueville might yet comment on the ability of the Americans to repair faults. 

       

       

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      1. We lost several hundred thousand more people in the pandemic than we should have.  I wouldn't call that a success.  Abortion is no longer a protected constitutional right.  We barely survived a coup in 2021, and yet the instigator could well be elected president again.  Our ability to repair is grossly overstated.  And how have we fixed the problem of gun violence since Columbine?  By having SCOTUS march on an historical blunder and expand access to weapons while hamstringing legislative fixes.  I'm not sure de Toqueville would say the same thing today

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