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Yes, our republic has moved from two somewhat reasonable parties to one which is completely unreasonable and one which seems powerless and unwilling to fight the erosion of democratic principles, effective government, integrity, and just plain old decency. But think about what you're saying. Trump is under investigation for colluding with an enemy of our country and for using the most powerful office in the world for personal profit (among other things, I'm sure). He has done everything he can to shut down that investigation and just chose a Supreme Court Justice because that person believes that the President is above the law.
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All of that is factual. I agree with all of that. I was just making the point that the causes of it are a long time coming, and they go back well beyond ten years ago. I'd say the causes of it go back to Watergate, the Southern Strategy, and Vietnam. And they're both social and economic.
I know I sound like a broken record citing citing Carter's
"Malaise Speech," but he nailed the problems back in 1979. Bad energy policy, materialism, short-term thinking... Everything he warned about has come to pass.
We've been kicking the can on every issue imaginable for as long as I can recall. Debt, sexism, racism, the environment, needless wars, defense overspending... Shit. We punt and pretend on everything. 2008 was fucking disaster. And what'd we do in response? We bailed out the causes of the crisis and made them 3X as rich as they were before. What's our plan for addressing automation's impact on labor? Crickets.
Do you think this recovery, built on share buybacks and cheap corporate debt, is sustainable? It's Potemkin on steroids. Half of this country can't come up with $500 in a day if they need it. God fucking bless us in the next recession, when we have no tools left to fight.
I don't think this economy can withstand 7% mortgage rates! The biggest growing sector of it is a "gig economy," aka "subsistence economy."
These factors, and many more (our culture is 80% incurious and lowbrow), have brought us here. That was my only point. I do not disagree with you that Here is Bad. Not in the least. I think, to borrow from Neil Young, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere.
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The fact that Congress is even considering (for purely political reasons) this asshole for the highest court is evidence that we are in a place that not one of us could have imagined even ten years ago. Whether or not he is the deciding vote in whether or not the fucking President can be fucking indicted while in office (I mean, holy shit, people! How am I even writing this sentence?) is completely beside the point.
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Maybe it's the nadir? Maybe the only way is up? I'd like to think that. But I don't.
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The Republican Party has completely destroyed any faith one could have in the government doing the actual right thing at all. They are destroying this country. A guy was nominated for Supreme Court because he doesn't believe the guy who nominated him, who is currently under investigation for serious, serious shit, can be held responsible for criminal acts, the Republicans are desperately trying to push him through before they get voted out and have hidden as much about him as they can, and you guys are shrugging. Jesus Christ.
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I'm not shrugging. I just don't think there's any will or ability left in this country to fix what ails us. It's too far gone to bring it back. To me, Kavanaugh looks like another pawn in drunken chess match between power players in DC. I'm with you, but as Voltaire would note, I've also got to tend my own garden.
TM[/QUOTE]
