WTF?

[pasithea]

Uh. Mr. Obama.... What the Hell are you thinking?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090423/ap_on_go_su_co/us_obama_defendants__rights/print

This is the kind of bullshit we expected from Bush. Don't do shit like this. Don't sell us out. :(

Comments

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that the American population is getting broadly more tolerant and somewhat smarter. America as a nation has made some great strides, and can probably be saved, though perhaps not as a unified political entity. What probably can't be saved is the federal government, which has succumbed to the same sort of institutional rot as large institutions everywhere. The thinking of the populace is way ahead of what the system can deliver, it's just too compromised. And so the reform effort has to move to the state level, the city level, the neighborhood level. You can already see this happening with state and municipal energy initiatives and pollution controls, as well as other civil-rights stuff like gay marriage and soft drug decriminalization.

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

Well. Yes, but remember that is a knife that cuts both ways.

In the late 70s/early 80s, the Evangelicals made a big push to get into PTAs, local city governments, and so on and work their way up from there. That's how we got all the stupid zero-tolerance policies and stuff in the first place.

By contrast, a lot of the hippy movement was on the 'drop out' trip. Disenchanted with government, believing that the mainstream couldn't be changed, so they didn't really even try. The youth vote stayed small.

We have to get engaged and stay engaged at all levels. Cynicism isn't very helpful in the long run. :/