What, in your opinion, are the biggest political travesties of our time?

[HenryBHough]

For a moment there I misread the header (travesties) as "transvestites" and my mind raced, questioningly, to that family portrait that was in another thread a day or so ago.

 

[candycorn]

Mine:

1) The Bush tax cuts
2) Citizens United
3).The Iraq War

Small potatoes.

The biggest political travesties of our time is the American public's "let the other guy worry about it" syndrome.

Every 2-3 months, some dipshit posts Will MaCavoy's diatribe about this not being the greatest country on earth; it's the first scene of the first episode from HBO's series The Newsroom. I'll post it below for those who have not seen it (at the 3:18 mark):

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zqOYBabXmA]The Newsroom - Opening Scene (Wow!) - YouTube[/ame]

I always want to ask the guys who think the country is fucked and use this video as proof, "If we're not the "greatest country" on earth, then who is and tell us why?" I have asked a few...nobody has an answer.

Anyway, the reason I post it is because the answer MaCavoy gives is very good while it doesn't answer the question that was asked.

We used to solve problems, not run from them. The republicans only care about making you afraid of any change from their Leave It To Beaver existence. The Democrats, on the other hand, love to assist the poor in every endeavor but I would suggest after a generation of welfare, you cut off the family... I would also suggest that we assist those who are demonstrating wanting to get ahead and solve problems both big and small; not those who, after a generation of welfare, still can't produce an ID to freaking vote; or...worse still...refuse to.

"Worst. Generation. Ever" is what MaCavoy just said.

If you really want to see who the people who are interested in solving problems as opposed to just here to belittle and sling mud; check out the sources they cite.... It's amusing to think that these people actually believe anyone is going to look at their sources and say, "Gee whiz...she did her homework." Yet you see it daily.

If the USA is the "greatest country on earth" why do Americans need to spend so much time repeating this supposed fact to each other?

So much time? How much time do you reckon we spend on this?

I only brought it up as a metaphor; a juxtaposition (sp?) to the OP.

'Great' can mean anything of course. Let's try a few possibles.

'Great education': American children come way down on international tables.

Yet for some reason, the world sends their kids here to study at our universities. We must be doing something right?

'Great wealth': America is by a long way the most indebted country on earth.

I think we have more millionaires than any other nation on earth...if we're keeping score.

'Great industry': Patchy at best.

Patchy enough...ask Germany, Japan, North Korea, Iraq how our bombs and missiles tasted?

'Great political system': At the local and state level could be. At the national level? Suffice to say the rest of the world is not lost in admiration.

You're right on this; our "business plan" is in dire need for overhaul.

'Great legal system': Certainly great for lawyers, who infest every nook and cranny.

Not sure what you mean by this; attorneys have clients...dunno what you meant.

'Great diet': First time visitors to the US are often astounded by the great number of extremely fat people they encounter.

Oh brother.

'Great healthcare': Well, what do you think?

Outstanding healthcare.

My advice, which will be most unwelcome, is to give up on the lazy assumption that everything American is the best in the world by definition. Recognise that sometimes it pays to look at the way things are done elsewhere.

I'll agree with you on that...

So please tell us what YOU this is the "greatest" nation on earth; it's easy to pick out flaws in everything. I'll stack America up against any nation on earth. Also, not mentioned is that this nation, the USA, has had the greatest military power for close to a century and has done less with it than any other civilization ever.

I tend to think that we shouldn't have it to start with--in the scale that it now enjoys--but I am aware of the fact that we could have decided long ago to conquer everything on this landmass from the Strait of Magellan upward; and we didn't do it.

 

[lakeview]

I've got to go with midnight basketball. By far the most overtly racist thing the federal government has done in my lifetime. A grotesque misrepresentation of an entire race of people and of the cause of crime.

 

[Mac1958]

Oops.

Sorry.

I thought the question was about transvestites.

.

 

[Kondor3]

1. The Vietnam War
2. Watergate
3. The election of Jimmy Carter.
4. The Iran Hostage Crisis.
5. The 1986 Immigration Shamnesty.
6. Failure to enlist post-Soviet Russia as a friend and ally.
7. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
8. Post - Hurricane Katrina political infighting.
9. The election (and re-election) of Obama.
10. ObamaCare
11. The ongoing Budget Crisis.
12. Spying on our Allies.
13. The forthcoming Immigration Shamnesty of 2013-2014.

 

[Wacky Quacky]

Of my time? 9/11

So much bullshit has been done in the name of that event. NSA, DoHS, Iraq War, The Patriot Act.

Of course, it's more than likely that some of those things would have come to pass regardless of 9/11. But they wouldn't have happened yet, and Washington would have a hell of a time trying to sell it.

Republicans love complaining about the line "Never let a crisis go to waste". Well, Bush and the GOP milked 9/11 to its fullest.

ACLU: Papa Obama Has Quadrupled Warrantless Wiretaps

I know. That's why I never voted for him. I could tell he was a status quo politician from the start.

 

[Neotrotsky]

What, in your opinion, are the biggest political travesties of our time?

Besides Papa Obamacare?

 

[lukelk]

Mine:

1) The Presidential Elections of 2008 and 2012.
2) Obama spending us nearly $6 trillion into debt.
3) Obamacare
4) The Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare
5) The Welfare state
6) The IRS, NSA, and DOJ scandals
7) Our President lying about all three
8) The treatment of our veterans at their own memorials
9) Social justice
10) Affirmative action
11) Our treatment of Israel
12) Anthropogenic Global Warming
13) The American Mainstream Media
14) Benghazi

holy shit pull your fucking head out of the sand

 

[lukelk]

mine

1. Ronald being elected and re elected
2. bush getting 2 terms
3. bush tax cuts
4. the right wing war on science
5. the right wing war on equality
6.the 700 billion dollar RX plan for seniors(no plan for recouping the money)
7. the right wing treating our military like crap
8.the tea party
9.iraq war
10. the failure of Katrina, and the fact that a ton of republicans voted to no give disaster relief to sandy victoms
11. citizens united
12. the rolling back of womens rights
13. the fight to kill public education
14. the failure of the right wing to extend or expand medicare
15.the tax cuts giving to companies(corprate welfare) Obama is just as guilty

 

[Peterf]

Small potatoes.

The biggest political travesties of our time is the American public's "let the other guy worry about it" syndrome.

Every 2-3 months, some dipshit posts Will MaCavoy's diatribe about this not being the greatest country on earth; it's the first scene of the first episode from HBO's series The Newsroom. I'll post it below for those who have not seen it (at the 3:18 mark):

The Newsroom - Opening Scene (Wow!) - YouTube

I always want to ask the guys who think the country is fucked and use this video as proof, "If we're not the "greatest country" on earth, then who is and tell us why?" I have asked a few...nobody has an answer.

Anyway, the reason I post it is because the answer MaCavoy gives is very good while it doesn't answer the question that was asked.

We used to solve problems, not run from them. The republicans only care about making you afraid of any change from their Leave It To Beaver existence. The Democrats, on the other hand, love to assist the poor in every endeavor but I would suggest after a generation of welfare, you cut off the family... I would also suggest that we assist those who are demonstrating wanting to get ahead and solve problems both big and small; not those who, after a generation of welfare, still can't produce an ID to freaking vote; or...worse still...refuse to.

"Worst. Generation. Ever" is what MaCavoy just said.

If you really want to see who the people who are interested in solving problems as opposed to just here to belittle and sling mud; check out the sources they cite.... It's amusing to think that these people actually believe anyone is going to look at their sources and say, "Gee whiz...she did her homework." Yet you see it daily.

If the USA is the "greatest country on earth" why do Americans need to spend so much time repeating this supposed fact to each other?

So much time? How much time do you reckon we spend on this?

I only brought it up as a metaphor; a juxtaposition (sp?) to the OP.


Yet for some reason, the world sends their kids here to study at our universities. We must be doing something right?


I think we have more millionaires than any other nation on earth...if we're keeping score.


Patchy enough...ask Germany, Japan, North Korea, Iraq how our bombs and missiles tasted?


You're right on this; our "business plan" is in dire need for overhaul.


Not sure what you mean by this; attorneys have clients...dunno what you meant.


Oh brother.

'Great healthcare': Well, what do you think?

Outstanding healthcare.

My advice, which will be most unwelcome, is to give up on the lazy assumption that everything American is the best in the world by definition. Recognise that sometimes it pays to look at the way things are done elsewhere.

I'll agree with you on that...

So please tell us what YOU this is the "greatest" nation on earth; it's easy to pick out flaws in everything. I'll stack America up against any nation on earth. Also, not mentioned is that this nation, the USA, has had the greatest military power for close to a century and has done less with it than any other civilization ever.

I tend to think that we shouldn't have it to start with--in the scale that it now enjoys--but I am aware of the fact that we could have decided long ago to conquer everything on this landmass from the Strait of Magellan upward; and we didn't do it.

The 'greatest nation' shtick appears often enough to be noticeable.

Your best universities are indeed the best in world. But the others? The public schools? Finland regularly tops the tables for school pupils achievement.

Lots of millionaires, sure. But is a million dollars a lot of money these days? But this is also a sign of a very skewed pattern of wealth distribution.

US industry once led the world. In the area of military technology it probably still does. But for all the rest? Patchy at best.

Lawyers: I meant that the US has far too many. They scrabble around for work and needlessly complicate every field of activity. Adding cost for zero benefit. More generally, imo, the quality of the justice delivered by US courts is no better than in a coupe of dozen other countries.

The US spends , in real terms, something like twice on much on healthcare than any other country. Outcomes are in most fields worse than in several other countries. The system is evidently very badly flawed. Whether 'Obamacare' is the way to make it better is for you to decide.

The US is still the greatest military power, I am pleased to say. The world (and I) has cause to be grateful that that was the case in WWII. But for how much longer?

I do not think that ANY one nation is 'the Greatest on Earth'. Different horses for different courses. Just one example; imo Switzerland has the best political system.

I like the US and Americans. Well I would, wouldn't I? I have an American grandson almost three months old.

 

[Peterf]

1. The Vietnam War
2. Watergate
3. The election of Jimmy Carter.
4. The Iran Hostage Crisis.
5. The 1986 Immigration Shamnesty.
6. Failure to enlist post-Soviet Russia as a friend and ally.
7. The 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
8. Post - Hurricane Katrina political infighting.
9. The election (and re-election) of Obama.
10. ObamaCare
11. The ongoing Budget Crisis.
12. Spying on our Allies.
13. The forthcoming Immigration Shamnesty of 2013-2014.

Don't feel bad about 12. Listening to Frau Merkel's private cell phone just makes her feel important. Our Swedish PM Reinfeld would love to believe that Obama is listening to his every word.

 

[PrometheusBound]

.

I am afraid that your less devoted allies will simply remark that a people gets the government it deserves. A cruel observation but -alas! - one with an element of truth.

Don't despair; the US may well recover, .

The people don't deserve this. You get delusions of superiority by putting down the majority. It is your filthy Constitution that enables slime politics.

 

[bendog]

17 trillion and counting national debt.

I think that's it. I was going to say the impeachment of Slick, but that was merely the beginning to both parties trying to govern from irrational internal intellectual constructs of reality.

 

[PrometheusBound]

Mine:

1) The Bush tax cuts
2) Citizens United
3).The Iraq War

Bush did enormous damage that we probably can never really recover from. But, Citizens United has made honest elections a thing of the past.

Long term, Citizens United.

OTOH, the right threw a lot of money at the election and they still failed.

How can you say that! Citizens United gave us the best government money can buy! If you can't afford to buy your own Congressman, it's because you didn't make the right choices. The right to bribe is a trophy awarded for making the right moves up the corporate ladder. If you want the Gubmint to do everything for you, you have to grease the right palms!

 

[Avatar4321]

Mine:

1) The Bush tax cuts
2) Citizens United
3).The Iraq War

You think people not being burdened by the government and not being prohibitted of criticizing a politician 30 or 60 days before an election is a travesty?

Iraq War... eh I can see you arguing for that for superfluous reasons. War is hardly ever a great idea. Usually is a travesty. but the biggest?

I assume you mean in American political history.

I would probably say the biggest travesties are (in no particular order):

1) Concentration camps during the WWs.
2) Roe v. Wade
3) Slavery
4) ACA

All of which have lead to or will lead to the suffer and/or death of many Americans.

Who has suffered because they were able to keep more of their own money?

Who has suffered because they were free to criticize a politician?

 

[Pauli007001]

Elizabeth Warren!
The do nothing senator.

 

[g5000]

1. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

2. Allowing tax expenditures to reach $1.2 trillion a year.

3. The GOP's complete capitulation on healthcare reform to the Democrats when it had the chance to do something.

4. The GOP adopting the entirely unconservative position that "deficits don't matter".

5. "Waterboarding is not torture."

6. The demobilization of the Iraqi army in 2003 after we conquered Iraq. Probably the greatest military blunder of all time.

7. ObamaCare. A giant stepping stone to single payer healthcare.

8. Not indexing Social Security and Medicare eligibility ages to average lifespan or 9 percent of the population.

 

[g5000]

I would probably say the biggest travesties are (in no particular order):

1) Concentration camps during the WWs.
2) Roe v. Wade
3) Slavery
4) ACA

Agree. In my post, I was concentrating on more recent times. "Our time", as stated in the title.

Slavery is the worst travesty in our entire history, and not just politically.

 

[Redfish]

I would probably say the biggest travesties are (in no particular order):

1) Concentration camps during the WWs.
2) Roe v. Wade
3) Slavery
4) ACA

Agree. In my post, I was concentrating on more recent times. "Our time", as stated in the title.

Slavery is the worst travesty in our entire history, and not just politically.

slavery was not limited to the USA. It was worldwide and still exists today in some places. But I get it, you have to blame the USA first.

 

[Dragonlady]

1. Reaganomics changed the way government is funded and continues to this day. Continuing Reagan's fundamental policies of cut and spend has given the US the highest rates of poverty in history and greatest transfer of wealth to the highest income earners in world history.

2. Gerrymandering by both parties. Districts should not be created in order to give one party the opportunity to be hold seats in perpetuity. Gerrymandering makes a farce of fair and democratic elections.

3. The Vietnam and Iraq wars. Pointless, expensive and totally without justification.