One way to look at it - last night's debate shows how the office of the presidency has sunk...

[NRaleighLiberal]

(stunk?)

Was chatting with my wife this AM during our coffee, told her a few priceless nuggets I (sadly) recalled during the debate last night. Then it came to us - when "people" like Pain, Bachmann, and Santorum run...hell, put Bush in there (we all thought he was a joke...right?) - what does it say about how the country considers the office of the presidency? Is it the recent years of endless awful reality shows - can most people even tell the difference between the (supposedly serious and relevant) running of the country with the - what? - beauty pageant? talent show? that pass for presidential elections?

In a sane world, Obama (or pretty much any Dem that runs) stands so far head and shoulders above any republican that only the true fruit loops would vote differently. Clearly, we are in serious trouble in this country, as judged from the sad spectacle that takes place each time the GOP corral their worst and dumbest to grace our sad eyeballs. And of course the current state of the MSM just eats it up as it aids and abets the decline.

How....can???...this awful trend be reversed?

[Crazy Dave]

1. Maybe all those rich folks who got their tax breaks extended...

Will come out in masses to support Obama :rofl:

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. HA!

:silly:

[opihimoimoi]

3. Things can n will change if the voters demand Real Leaders who commit for the Nations Best Interest

and not their own....

Real leaders are not found in the GOP....

[Crazy Dave]

4. Change?

I don't think "Change" and "Hope" are going to work this time. Unless things get better real soon for Main St. than Wall St., the majority of suffering Americans are going to support whoever is challenging Obama and unfortunately it will be a republican.

Oh yeah..."It's all George Bush's fault" isn't going to work either.

[opihimoimoi]

23. I didn't mean CHANGE to be used in a campaign

[ellenfl]

5. regarding gov goodhair's execution statistics . . .

Innocent

these stats really beg the question, how many of gov goodhair's executees were innocent? this should be used against him.

ellen fl

[ellenfl]

6. don't forget, the repubs are trying to kill the federal government . . . eom

[handmade34]

7. we truly have sunk....

I mentioned to my partner that the audiences (public in general) are much more uncivil, uncouth and unconscionable... it can be reversed only if somehow we can teach critical thinking to kids, encourage empathy, get money out of politics, keep the Republicans out of office and keep public school alive and strong... Oh, and... :eyes: so much to do...

Yes, no matter what else one thinks, Barack Obama is the only adult in the game

[reggie the dog]

12. it is how we teach history that fails to teach critical thinking in the usa

history has lots, way too many, multiple choice tests in the usa and too few essays, in france we do not do multiple choice, the kids, from jr high on, get 3 documents, often an image and 2 written documents related to the topic covered in the previous unit, the kids are expected to read/look at, comprehend, analyze the documents to find the common theme and then place that in the context of what we covered in class and write that into an essay. i love teaching history in france because of this. plus most everyone hones their critical thinking skills this way.

[my2sense]

16. That's sounds excellent

I'm no educator but that's seems to be a stark contrast to the nonsense that passes as "education" here. In my own experience with my children - I was often shocked at how easy the high school assignments were. Also - if you fail a class in Texas, you can simply go to school on Saturdays for about 4 weeks (from memory) and "pass" the class and get credit. I was blown away.

[Kolesar]

14. Baby boomers raised their children much better than previous generations

They are not as racist as kids born in the 1950s and earlier.

[izquierdista]

8. Send people back to the farm

The root cause of this is agricultural mechanization, tractors to plow fields, skip loaders to move manure and harvesters that bring in the corn crop. Back when 40% of the population was working in agriculture, people with the smarts of Santorum were shoveling shit from the pigpen into a wheelbarrow and spreading it over a corn field. Without his family connections, Bush would have gravitated to the only job he is suited for -- unloading beer trucks at some warehouse type liquor store. Maybe Bachmann could be given the intellectually challenging task (for her) of sorting fabric scraps at some quilting supply store.

Mechanization and automation have freed man from dull, repetitive tasks, but some have taken this a bit too far. Instead of being thankful that they have been relieved of some drudgery, they have leapt to the assumption that they are actually capable of more intellectual pursuits, and they are greatly mistaken. Even Ron Paul is not immune to this. Apparently he was able to memorize anatomical facts and disease symptoms well enough to pass medical school, but in no way can he reason out cause and effect. Hey Ron, when someone catches pneumonia and doesn't have health insurance, he will (a) be free (b) have personal liberty (c) need a tax cut or (d) DIE! Try that one, you libertarian simpleton.

I understand that nowadays they no longer teach civics in high school, and those black and white films from the '50s on citizenship are way out of date, but they need to be brought back. The 'Back to the Future' series contained a subplot that explains much. When things were going along well, Biff was waxing cars; when the future took a wrong turn, it turned out that Biff was rich and had as much power as Dick Cheney. There is a place for the dumb and nasty, and that is cleaning out stalls, not in politics.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. on a related note, I often think that is we totally disconnect the country for a year -

no internet, phone, especially TV of any type - we would actually have to talk to each other, think, read, engage, become physically active, develop an attention span.

I think we would have a very different looking country - though a year may not be enough time....

[onlyadream]

11. Wow.. A great take on our current affairs!

I especially like the tie in to Back to the Future!

[reggie the dog]

13. here in france we teach civics as part of history class

kids get it in primary, middle and secondary school.

[handmade34]

19. your thesis is worthy of a book

...I have spouted this for years to anyone within earshot; the need to reconcile the natural inclination (instinct) to progress (and use technology) with the need to understand the human condition and considerations of the body, mind and soul.

I have farmed and it is the most soul satisfying and sincere work I have ever done. I am not farming right now only because of economics and life situations.

"Mechanization and automation have freed man from dull, repetitive tasks" but it has forced us into often merely 'different' dull, repetitive tasks. Changing the way we farm and consider farming would put people to work, make good food more accessible, help the environment, teach cooperation and help create a healthier poplulation. ...and as a note, I never considered shoveling shit a demeaning job... just something that needed to be done within a process.


I HATE large round bales of hay because I know that mechanization allows for 1 person and 1 REALLY large tractor to do the job that used to take many to do.

[izquierdista]

20. I have more chapters to this thesis.....

Shit shoveling is demeaning only that it is the lowest job on the job ladder. I agree it has to be done, and I don't delegate that task myself, I know just where the scrapings from the chicken coop need to go in the garden.

However, there are people that belong on that bottom rung and should not be given more responsibility. Larry Summers is one of them.

[Mimosa]

21. LOL! on Larry Summers quip! n/t

[NCarolinawoman]

22. Good post. Interesting.

:thumbsup:

[Gin Blossom]

25. Great post. I'm going to try out your line

"Hey Ron, when someone catches pneumonia and doesn't have health insurance, he will (a) be free (b) have personal liberty (c) need a tax cut or (d) DIE!" on libertarian friends if the opportunity arises. Brilliant.

[Raschel]

10. So true. That entire cast of characters is just an embarrassment.

[xiamiam]

15. they are the candidates of the msm...if we all turned them off they would have no power

to instruct us who are choices are. These people are given a platform by tptb who own the media.

[HappyMe]

17. It's a sad comment on our education system,

and society as a whole.

Kids are poorly educated. Reality shows makes stars out of people who are loud, inconsiderate buffoons. Bullying is probably at an all time high. Conversation has been chopped into 140 characters. You can have eleventy zillion 'friends' and never actually speak to any of them. People are isolating themselves behind screens of all sizes, and yet it's called 'social' media. Because everything is so instant, patience may become a quaint thing of the past.

I don't know how this can be fixed. If you say technology may be partly to blame, you are told that you are 'get off my lawn' geezer. Yell the loudest without regard for facts, or thinking it through - and you are a candidate.

Go wander around outside. Talk to somebody face to face. Have a seat somewhere and people watch. Reconnect. Parents should help kids with homework at the kitchen table.

[NRaleighLiberal]

18. we live in a neighborhood with 150 houses - we walk our dogs twice a day.

Guess how many actual people we pass on our walks? Guess how many of those few people are jabbering on their cell phones as they walk? Guess how much eye contact we get from people zooming by in their cars or other walkers?

[HappyMe]

24. sigh!

We are losing our human-ness or something.


People look at me like I have 3 heads when I say no, I don't have my phone with me. If I need to know the time (I hate being late) I'll have it with me. It's a basic Tracfone. People are horrified with that too. lol!

[Whisp]

27. my Sis in law is horrified that I don't buy heaps of useless junk

I am apparently not a real woman. You must consume junk like a glutton to be bona fide.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. One of my Facebook friends, a man who considers himself "conservative"

(affluent, not too politically aware, reflexively votes Republican) posted a statement asking if there was any Republican candidate who had any brains.

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. So a microscopic shred of hope?!