and here we go

[rm]

Sandra Day O'Connor has just announced her retirement from the Supreme Court.

You think post-2000 politics and discourse have been ugly? I think we have no idea how much more ugly they're about to get.

Comments

I think I ma quite worried.

[haya.livejournal.com]

It looks like ther will be at least 2 replacements on the Supreme court.
So much for freedom.

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

Eh, I think most Amercians just don't care, else why did they re-elect the Shrub?

I just hope it gets better when he's gone, other wise the idea of us being a "free" country will have to be rewritten.

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that it's that people don't care. People want to believe the lies. They want the hope that the decision they made the first time around was the right one and they stubbornly hold onto that. They're willing to turn a blind eye to what is actually going on -- if they don't see it, it's not happening, right? They don't see the long run for what it is, only for what they're being told it is, and what they're being told (while hopeful in their eyes) is just a bunch of lies.

I just don't know how to reach these people and help them see what they don't want to see. If they did, I'm sure that they'd change their minds for the 2006 elections.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also I have to believe a big part of the problem is the degreeto which education (formal or otherwise) is looked down on in thiscountry and is increasingly ascribed to "liberal New England values" -- people don't want to know things, not when they're told knowledge is immoral and unpatriotic.

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

Which is why our public education system is falling to ruins under the "No Child Left Behind" initiative.

I actually heard a parent talking about an incident with their child in school where they are no longer being corrected in spelling. They're just allowed to spell words any old way they want to. The explanation excuse was that it would be bad for the child's self-esteem to correct them.

I don't remember any of my teachers worrying about my self-esteem to such an extent that they wouldn't correct my spelling...

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also this self-esteem culture bullshit convinces people that they can be anythign they want without working to achieve it. It breeds incompetence, entitlement and just plane selfish, rude behavior. I am so over it.

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

But then the realization from the children hits that they won't be able to get into any college with this education, they can't get a decent job, so the only other option is the military.

Hmmm... sickening, isn't it?

[rm.livejournal.com]

Except they can and do get into college. I learned more via sixth grade in my private school that I did in four years of college. The BA is becoming the new high school degee as high school gets dumbed down and everyone is increasingly expected to get a BA. I taught at community college here for a semester and not one of my junior and senior journalism major students had mastery of simple English punctuation and grammar. It's disgusting.

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

I'd disagree, I think most Americans have a bit of the Ostrich syndrome, if they bury their heads in the sand then this too shall pass. The problem is the longer they stay down the more damage that is done and the harder fixing it will be. I don't think anyone believes Bush (even my Republican friends have had disillusionment lately), but they all think if they just wait long enough it will go away, but by waiting they don't see what they've given up.

As for education, personally I think that we have done a grave disservice to every child currently in the system by allowing politics to interfere with the basic job of education. If I ever choose to have children, they will go to school, but they will also be taught at home, I refuse to encourage the ignorance that is being and American child in this era.

[timiathan.livejournal.com]

All that matters is that a significant enough minority support Bush so the media can build a picture that almost makes sense.

The reality is that we no longer have real elections. When 80% of the central tabulators in the country are run by two brothers with sketchy backgrounds and strong conservative leanings, and the exit polls don't match the final results, and none of the explanations for why they don't match make sense, something is wrong. When the head of elections in Ohio is allowed to ignore protocol and hand select which precincts to audit, and no one complains, something is wrong. When Democrats pick up seats and gain ground at the local level, but are dominated at the national levels of the same ticket, something is wrong. We no longer live in a democracy; we live in the illusion of democracy.

This is the reality no one is willing to see. Which makes other head-in-the-sand comments kind of ironic.

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

And there are too many people that don't want to hear/believe the information about the Ohio election. I was called a tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist for mentioning the FACT that certain counties in Ohio that only had 1000 constituents reported over 8000 votes.

Again - head in the sand.

[timiathan.livejournal.com]

Yeah...my boss is very wealthy, and contributes a lot to the DNC. We get into political discussions all the time, but he gets the same "there Tim goes again..." look on his face whenever I try to explain that unless he's supporting election reform, he's just throwing his money down the toilet.

All you have to do is look at the history of Chuck Hagel, frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2008. I mean, gimme a break. I think my favorite anomoly is the counter to the "chatty dems" theory -- the exit polls were explained as Democrats being more willing to talk to pollsters...but one of the freaking questions was "who did you vote for in 2000?"...and Bush answers beat Gore answers by 6 points. Sample bias my ass.

[labellerose.livejournal.com]

Canada is looking better and better.

[raaven.livejournal.com]

::heavy sigh::

How utterly depressing.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

I don't want to sound like a nutter, but with 2 spots opening up I have a serious fear for the future.

Combine the recent land seizure decision, with the possibility of a RvW overturn - I mean it could be the spark that sets us towards a serious civil situation.