What do you see/feel that has gotten better in America/you since 2000?

[The Straight Story]

For me personally I make more money (no thanks to *, I worked hard for me, I don't think he did).

I think more of the base has gotten closer and more energized as well.

We have DU :)

But alas, I am biased and not as in the know on all things, so I need the input/thoughts of the many varied people here on DU.

So have at - and no need to credit * and crew, look around your area of the world/county/city/burb/et al - what has gotten better that you have seen, and why do you think it has?

[patrice]

1. I will be more honest now.

Hare Krsna! Hare Rama!

[Old Mouse]

2. Global cooperation is better among the industrialized nations

for global warming, and against the United States

[Obviousman]

3. We're finally gonna take down spongebob

Sorry, I just can't find anything good right now, give me some time to think.

[BeatleBoot]

4. Absolutely Nothing

NOTHING

ZIP

ZERO

NADA

RIEN

[Jamastiene]

5. Not just no but

Hell no. There are fewer jobs in my area and the place is beginning to look like a ghost town. It looks like one of only a few blue counties in a red state with a democrat governor would be doing a better job getting the economy going, but they are social conservatives and fiscal liberals in my county, like Republicans. Reasons things are so bad here: no funding from feds to state governments, local yocals are backasswards to begin with, poverty is the law of the land here, and too much religion with not enough infrastructure to provide citizens with a living wage job in this lifetime.

[rzemanfl]

6. Fishing here locally has improved a good deal since 2000.

That's about all. I think it is because of the net ban enacted a few years back, but it could be because the fish heard * say: "humans and fish can co-exist peacefully" and bought that shit.

Other than that, I am angry most of the time, hate a lot more people than I ever did in the past, swear a lot more and have lost the last shreds of respect I still had for American institutions.

Just think how great the next four will be...

[Jamastiene]

8. hahahahaha

That sounds like me. I'll go completely insane instead of just moderately crazy by the time they finally beat Bush outta the White House with a stick.

[Sugarbleus]

7. Coming together with other liberals and anti-bush

voters and concerned. That part is a wonderous miracle to my way of thinking.

We don't always agree eye to eye on subjects but we do agree that the Bush administration is a horrible thing. I feel much supported even though I cannot see any of you. I don't feel alone in my distress; I feel energized and MOTIVATED, actually. Day to day I sense this huge "back up" of support as I go about my business. I know I'm not alone. It gives me courage to press on and speak up.

On the down side, bush and my particular governor have killed so many programs and decreased funding for some serious community needs. Just heard on radio today that a town down the road from mine is closing ALL of it's libraries, for example. Schools are closing here. Transportation (light rail and city buses) have had a decrease in funding. It costs a fortune for car less folks to ride across town. Fees and costs of living have grown beyond my income.

Housing is extremely scarce. Low income and the needy are getting it in the shorts. In some cases, *name any particular agency*, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. The service I work for laid off 90% of it's staff so that I have to make an appointment to ask a question, say about my paycheck. Credit card rates have sky rocketed. Gas in my area is obscenely expensive. Electric/power has gone up. Some hospitals have closed, especially the county run units. Doctors are skiddish about who they will take as a patient.

Doors are closing and funds are disappearing. It's not been good in that respect and I fear for what we face in the next four years.

[The Straight Story]

18. Well put

A good post on things I feel much supported even though I cannot see any of you. was spot on.

[Sugarbleus]

20. =o) .................

[BeeBee]

9. No thanks to *

and despite the setbacks to marriage equality, here in California, my partner and I have more rights as a couple since 1/1/05 than we did before.

[Chovexani]

10. Not a goddamn thing.

And for once, I'm not being a smartass.

[bdot]

11. A bunch of stuff!

Let's see. The company I worked for went under during '01. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
My take home pay went down after the 1st "tax cut". Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
My take home pay went down after the 2nd "tax cut". Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
My job was bushified during the 3rd "tax cut" (was laid off). Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I finally got a new bushized job as a contractor making 40% less with crappy benefits and no ability for raises with crappy hours. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I lost a bunch of money from stocks. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I've had a bunch of friends who were laid off and had to move away. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I have had to stop doing charity work due to current crap job hours/pay. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I quit going to church because they backed the duffus. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
A lot of my bills are getting higher and higher. Oh wait, that's not a good thing.
I know there is plenty more "good things" I'm forgetting but all the pollution in the air is killing my memory.

[The Straight Story]

19. Same with me in some ways (but less related to * really IMHO)

Company I was with went under, they were one of many telco companies that squandered investment money (and don't get me started on my conspiracy theory related to them, and as an insider I have a lot of reason to believe I was right).

I think the dot com boom was a bust well before it went bust, but I don't blame clinton or * for that myself.

What I do think bushy did wrong was how he handled some things relating to that time.

The question I have (relating to your post) is how much was directly related to bush and how much was for other reasons and how do we sort it all out??

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Welcome to DU, bdot!

At least you'll find a sympathetic ear here.

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

12. On a personal level

I have become more aware of things politically. I have always been a progressive, and have voted in every election (minus a couple of odd year primaries) since I was 18. But I was not nearly as aware of the workings of the body political in 2000 as I am now. Although sometimes it may seem easier to be ignorant, it really is not!

[Blue_In_AK]

13. ** has reawakened my inner rebel. n/t

[AG78]

14. Woke up

I'm only 26 now, but I didn't care much about politics before the 2000 election. I didn't really care about the 2000 election either. There was nothing else on at the time, so I switched to election coverage on that day. I never turned it off, stayed up the entire night while they were going back and forth between who won Florida.

But even after that day, I barely noticed much. I'd somewhat keep up, but I didn't know how anything worked. I remember being interested when Bush started talking about stem cells that summer. I remember wondering why only use the 60 existing cells. Didn't seem to make much sense.

I watched the Monday Night football game, Giants and Broncos, and fell asleep. Woke up the next morning, turned on the radio, a few minutes later, around 8:45, they said one of the towers was hit by a plane. I turn on the TV, I watch for a few minutes, and then I watch the second plane.

I started reading more after that day. I've ended up learning far more since that day than I had in all my years in school. One night in late winter/early spring of 2002, I'm listening to a sports radio station. Not completely sports, as they sometimes talk about other issues. The host, a liberal vet, mentions something called the Project for the New American Century. I couldn't remember what he said. He repeated himself a few minutes later, and I made sure to write it down.

Other than myself waking up to reality, I can't think of one thing that got better. Outsourcing, torture, war, prison camps, debt, profiteering, division, corporate consolidation, not knowing if you own your vote, disease, poverty, etc, etc, etc.

It's humans vs. profits. There are some social movements out there, which I love seeing. Hopefully we humans can come together, and on a massive scale. It really is all we have.

[bobweaver]

15. More "super value menu" items at fast food places (but sign of bad economy

[bobweaver]

16. People seem to be more politically aware and active than during 1994-2000

[Fleurs du Mal]

17. Honestly, absolutely nothing

And I don't mean that casually.

[Vidar]

21. Anger and a world increasingly united against the rogue US.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. There's an organized movement in Minnesota among progressives

to insinuate itself into the Democratic party.

We need to get rid of the Republicanites who dominate the state government before they ruin Minnesota in the same way that they've ruined other states.

[Guy Fawkes]

24. We're "safer"...

and by "safer," I mean that we have far less rights then ever before.

wait... that's a bad thing...

[elehhhhna]

25. Low intererst rates have boosted home ownership---

hubs is a builder and this is the FIRST recession that his career's survived with out major adjustments. Many first-time homebuyers (60% of them immigrants) are entering the market, and it is the American dream (hell , a global dream)to own your house...

Yes I know there are LOTS of forclosures and bankruptcies. Just pointing out the ONE AND ONLY positive thing in the last 4 years.
And I don't credit Bush much, either.

[spanone]

26. Shirley you jest.

[kskiska]

27. The "Do Not Call" list

I used to be inundated by phone calls from telemarketers. Now that I'm on the Do Not Call list, I only get a handful of these calls.

That's all I can think of.

[Yupster]

28. The Red Sox

are better than they were in 2000, and diesn't that alone make us all better?