I Just Cried

[LukeFL]

Like a baby watching Vice President Joe Biden being sworn in. I cried because it just hit me, we escaped watching that dangerous other guy from being sworn in instead. I am so proud of Joe Biden. He really is deserving of his office.

I also cried because of Sotomayor. As a Hispanic myself, what a great honor and avcomplisment this moment was for million of us. I don't know her but seeing her there felt like if it was me up there.

With all its faults and disagrement we may have amongst each other, what an amazing country we live in!

God bless this incredible land.

[CurtEastPoint]

1. I just shuddered at what you wrote about 'the other guy' Would that not have been just

awful? And VERY proud of Justice Sotomayor. I heard her on NPR the other day and she is an inspiration to everyone.

[IDemo]

7. I never knew she was a Type 1 diabetic before then

Having to deal with that and handle the duties of a SC justice are not for the weak willed.

[elfin]

2. Wasn't it just wonderful?! Eom

[quinnox]

3. the usa has been declining for a long time

In my humble opinion. Ever since Reagan at least. Other countries at least have their priorities right, in providing health care for their citizens through universal health care. We seem to be greedy pigs that don't give a hoot about our citizens. Instead we spend and waste billions on weapons and unnecessary defense, like we are scared of our own shadow. Not such an amazing country, at least it still could be, but not now.

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Keep this in mind, though;

The United States is one of a relative few countries in the world that has regular, non violent transfers of political power.

Although not perfect by a long stretch, the fact that we don't riot in the streets every 2 or 4 years is a tribute to the political system we have. The opposition might bitch and moan when they lose, but they don't instigate armed insurrection.

[quinnox]

8. sure, but so do many other democracies

The U.K.
Canada
Most of the Western European countries

I just don't see that as something to brag about.

[datasuspect]

14. "USA - Hey, at least we're not Haiti!"

[greatauntoftriplets]

26. Ever been to Haiti?

I have and there's no comparison.

[Harry Monroe]

9. Not yet anyway

Give them time. If the teabagging lunatics that run the asylum are not dealt with and purged from the Republican Party, I'm afraid we will see armed insurrection in 2016, when a Democrat (most likely Hillary Clinton) wins the WH. They are getting nuttier by the day and I don't see armed insurrection as being that far fetched if they don't get their way. Especially if we do nothing to implement sensible gun laws and keep ridiculous arms of mass slaughter out of their hands.

[Volaris]

46. Yeah but heres the thing...

That "armed insurrection" they keep pining for will end up looking more like Waco than the Civil War. Its because there are more WANNABE crazies than ACTUAL crazies, and when the ACTUAL crazies go first, and get utterly stomped on by the Modern Union Army (see Federal FBI and ATFe) the WANNABE crazies will say "Fuck THAT" , go back to hiding in their holes and having their "rage" channeled by El-Rushbo BACK into the political system. As much as it can suck sometimes in terms of getting through to our political opposition, our system of Government is DESIGNED to allow people like Rush to have the influence on politics that they do, because Madison was smart enough to know that if they didnt, those people WOULD attempt to lead armed revolts in the streets.

The Madisonian System channels that energy UP into the Political Hierarchey, rather than OUT into the street. The strongest of those people and their ideas survive and make it all the way to the top, and then that energy is split into the 3 branches, which is then (by the addition of a Democratic Element to our Republic, is transfered BACK DOWN into the masses of the General Population. Diagramed, it looks like a circular water fountain in the center of a lake, elegant.

What Jefferson was to the idea and language of "We the People", Madison was to the implementation of those words into a Functional Governmental System. And he got it so right that it has worked (mostly, and with very few changes) for over 200 years. THATS Genius.

[Harry Monroe]

49. I agree, it will be more of a Waco than a full blown Civil War

But I see it happening and it won't be pretty. And no matter how big it is, people will be killed including innocents.

Chickenhawk and coward Rush actually leading an insurrection is a laugh!! He knows how to instigate but he would be a yellow coward when actually backing up his words with action. But you make an elegant point. If Rushbo serves as a safety valve for the wannabe nutcases, then he actually serves a useful purpose. He is a useful idiot to Democracy.

[Volaris]

53. Yep. Madison's "quiet genius" was that he figured out what to DO with those people,

so they were only an irritant to The Republic, rather than an overt and lethal threat.

[WinkyDink]

16. "A relative few"? What are you talking about? ALL of Europe, Australia, NZ, much of S. America, ....

[A HERETIC I AM]

39. Perhaps it would have been better if I had added a qualifier.

I should have said "The United States is one of a relative few countries in the world that has, for the better part of the last 150 years, had regular, non violent transfers of political power.

Would you agree with that?

Because certainly "ALL of Europe" and most certainly "much of S. America" can not claim the same distinction.

I lived in Athens Greece in the 1960's and during that time there was a military coup d' etat. Tanks in the streets, a curfew, the whole 9 yards. Certainly Italy, Germany, Spain and others have had similar instances in the 20th century. Ditto most of Central America, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, etc. I will grant you the US had a hand in many of those.

Depending on what count you use, there are 192 - 195 countries in the world today. Think how many countries in Africa have regular, non violent transfers of political power. The Middle East? SE Asia? Would you say that Russia and before it the USSR had regular transfers of political power?

That is why I used the word "Relative". Relative to the entirety of the whole world.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

38. I can't help wondering if it would be better if the RW tried to intervene rather than peacefully

allowing the transition and then undermining everything the winners try to do.

Yes, the president has led the Dems to many victories in his first term, but think what we could have done if the RW wasn't breaking established norms to obstruct incessantly.

How is it acceptable that it takes a larger number of votes to elect a Democrat than to elect a Republican? Here in PA, the red counties rule despite a majority of residents voting for Dems. Yet, the majority of voters don't even realize this cheat is happening. They'd notice an outright effort to block transfer of power and do something about it.

No, I don't want to see violent resistance. I'm just frustrated and disgusted by the sneaky cheating methods by which the Rs take power.

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. It isn't right and that's why it is important to vote in midterm elections.

"How is it acceptable that it takes a larger number of votes to elect a Democrat than to elect a Republican? "

It isn't, and gerrymandering is a damned disgrace, no matter where it occurs.

As I said in my post above, "although not perfect by a long stretch"

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

43. Well, I do vote in midterms, and that hasn't helped.

I really need to know what to do now to stop this:

In Pennsylvania, Senate Republican leader Dominic Pileggi this week renewed his call for the Republican-controlled Legislature to revamp the way it awards electoral votes by using a method based on the popular vote that would have given Romney eight of the state's 20 votes.

Democrats quickly criticized it as partisan scheme.

"It is difficult to find the words to describe just how evil this plan is," said Pennsylvania state Sen. Daylin Leach, a Democrat. "It is an obscene scheme to cheat by rigging the elections."

http://news.yahoo.com/gop-eyes-election-laws-091633484.html

I agree with you that things could be worse, and I get all misty-eyed, just like the OP, with the big, good moments. But I have big, bad worries about what's happening in the big picture.

[heaven05]

52. fine

well and good, what you say. While there was no insurrection at the reelection of a black man as POTUS, there was/is wide spread talk of armed insurrection by disaffected and emasculated white males along with their pox news people like glenn beck, ted nugent and all the rest. I shall remember this election cycle forever just because of the racist hate and vitriol spewed from the mouths of idiots calling themselves rethuglicans and patriots.

[xtraxritical]

19. Quinnox - I so agree with you.

[calimary]

28. Yes. It all started and gained respectability with ronald reagan.

That's why I personally despise him SO intensely. Our collective national mindset went straight up our own asses when he got his grubby paws on the reins of power. And because he was such an effective salesman with such a nice, friendly, folksy schtick that everybody loved and bought and embraced and swallowed whole and found to be utterly harmless and wonderful, the toxins were taken in. Easily, smoothly, and without a fight. Even welcomed. He was the new messiah - that would save us from FDR and the New Deal so we could be selfish and ignorant and hopelessly myopic and PROUD of it! And that horrible, selfish, thoroughly un-Christian "philosophy" he espoused and sold to America was rendered wonderful and respectable and desirable as could be. Because, by then, who cared even to remember WHY FDR was needed and WHY the New Deal was devised and implemented. Nobody gave a damn anymore and he made sure nobody felt like they HAD to.

It was like having an unruly, undisciplined, poorly-socialized child, and telling him or her that it's okay to be selfish and not to share your toys, and if you bullied somebody on the playground or pushed them down or snatched away their toy and stomped on it - that this was somehow okay, because for Pete's sake one doesn't dare do ANYTHING that might stifle them and/or fuck with their self-esteem.

He was poison embodied. Like a heaping tablespoon of sugar and honey with arsenic and depleted uranium concealed within. Sure went down the throat easily, though, and tasted mighty good at the time. ronald reagan was the worst thing that's ever happened to this country and its citizens and its mindset and indeed its very view of right and wrong. ronald reagan was worse for America than Osama bin Laden could ever have dreamed of being, on his "best" day.

[UtahLib]

44. I am so sick and tired of trying to explain this to Reagan lovers.

Because you seemed to be speaking exactly my thoughts, I could feel the pressure building in my chest while reading your post. Though I can logically understand the reasoning when our President and others invoke that dastardly name, it still turns my stomach every time it happens. I find great satisfaction in watching people like Thom Hartman demolish the Reagan mythology. If justice ever prevails, history will surely reveal that despicable man for what he truly was.

Thank you

[lunatica]

4. It's definitely a good day to be thankful of the Obama/Biden win

[chieftain]

5. Same reaction here. n/t

[Laochtine]

10. He'd be a President

I wouldn't mind having a beer with, Regular Joe

[SunSeeker]

11. And God bless you, LukeFL.

[UrbScotty]

12. how wonderful indeed! Joe is such a wonderful VP:

Smart, tough when he needs to be, but also very caring and humble.

Can you imagine if Paul Ryan was taking the oath - or, if Sarah Palin was being sworn in for a second term...

Thankfully, we will not have to know!

[brush]

15. I still smile . . .

. . . every time I think about the VP debate and how Joe Biden both schooled lyin' Ryan and kicked his ass at the same time, all with a smile on his face. I think that taught us all to not under estimate the Veep. And if Hillary doesn't want it, he could very well be the next president.

[calimary]

30. I loved how he flat-out LAUGHED AT that little snot-nose punk. Laughed at him.

Laughed in his FACE!!!! In my opinion, we were provided with an expert instructional as to how to treat paul ryan and any cockamamie thing that comes out of his mouth. This is how you treat him, and react to him, and respond to him. THIS is what to do and how it's done. He needs to be thoroughly laughed at.

paul ryan deserves nothing less. EVER. 'Cause I don't see him coming around and seeing the light anytime soon. He probably STILL thinks HE was "right" all along and somehow everybody else just simply misunderstands... Utter snot-nose. Brat-child. Seriously needs to be put in his place. Sent to the back of the class. Sent to bed without his supper. Grounded with his TV and laptop and iPad taken away til he learns his lessons about working with people and considering some other point of view than ayn rand's. Considering what he was SUPPOSED to have learned in Catholic school - where they're supposed to teach you the REAL message of our Savior - about being our brother's keeper and about caring for "the least of these" - and putting them FIRST for a change. How the MEEK were the ones who'd inherit the world and there wasn't anything in the Beatitudes about "blessed are the war-makers" or "blessed are the bullies and the selfish." Somehow, his take-away was that the money-changers Jesus drove OUT of the Temple were actually the ones to be worshipped.

[Jennicut]

37. The abortion question during the debate solidified to me how unintelligent

Ryan is. Biden was able to have both a personal view and a public view on abortion rights. Ryan may be part of my generation but VP Biden represents my views on women's rights. Joe authored VAWA, Ryan cosponsered the bill to give fetuses personhood. Huge differences. I love that a 70 year old man has progressive views on women and gay rights too. I love our VP.

[xtraxritical]

20. I wish VP Joe would run for the Presidency in '16 !

[nolabear]

13. Sometimes being West Coast is a real pain. But I'm ready for Obama! Second term, Baby!

[shenmue]

17. I has a happy!

[lonestarnot]

18. K & R!

[AverageJoe90]

21. Sad to say I missed Biden's inauguration.....

Ah well. At least there's always President Obama's. When's the newly re-elected POTUS making his speech?

[Great Caesars Ghost]

22. +1000000000000000032

exactly! We must keep good focus on the real enemy, the right wing gop

[pamela]

23. Oh my God, I can't even picture that...

Paul Ryan as VP? Mitt Romney (and pukey Anne) standing there tomorrow, taking the oath while President Obama looks on in the background? That thought makes me sick to my stomach.

[calimary]

29. No. I couldn't either. But they do get to be there looking on in the background

watching PRESIDENT OBAMA and VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN take the oath! That will probably make them sick to their stomachs. Fine by me. The rest of us will be celebrating having dodged the biggest and most lethal bullet of all.

[LukeFL]

36. That is going to be deliciously beautiful

To watch. The romneys seating in the back. Great sight indeed!!

[samsingh]

24. kick

[mountain grammy]

25. I wrote and deleted 3 negative responses to you, LukeFL

because I think you're right, it really is a good day. The alternative is still unthinkable.
Like Tiny Tim, living in poverty and squalor, I say, "God bless us, everyone!" because it can always be worse.

[LukeFL]

33. I can understand and somehow relate

To the sentiment of not feeling fully and completely proud- although a lot of work has been done, there is a lot of work to do. progress takes persistence, a constant maneuvering from great minds.

I wasn't born in this country, I know what it is to be in fear and live in poverty ( not US pvoverty) because of it, I respect this country deeply- I will defend it in front of anyone. I also see that we have a long way to go for true progress. We see-roadblocks daily; the irresponsibilities of the GOP, the complicity of the media, and wall street, the fact of the matter is, there is really NO other country i Want to be.

I am thankful everyday this country opened it's doors to me.

[mountain grammy]

47. I was born in the USA, as was my mom,

but my grandparents, aunts and uncles on my mother's side were all immigrants. As a young boy, one of my aunts' husband escaped from Russia with his two sisters after their parents were murdered during a pogrom around 1919. He was about 7, his sisters teenagers. They hid in barns and walked for miles, until finally, with the help of American relatives, they made it to America. My grandparents, along with my aunt and uncle lived in the Warsaw ghetto until they made it to America, where they lived in a Brooklyn ghetto. My aunt said the living conditions weren't much better, but they were no longer afraid. They were in America where all things were possible! Believe me, I was raised to appreciate freedom every day.
But for all the steps forward that I've seen in my lifetime, and there have been many, I now fear we are taking too many steps back. I never want to see America become the place my ancestors came from. We can have all the "things" in the world, but freedom from fear is a necessity. We lose a piece of that freedom with every mass murder.

[gateley]

27. He's a gift to our country. Such a good person.

[calimary]

31. I didn't see it (West Coast, y'know), and we haven't even turned the TV on yet.

But I knew it would be Associate Justice Sotomayor involved. Which makes ME proud as a woman! I'm not a Latina, but I'm female, and the whole idea is JUST WONDERFUL!!! In that way, I, too, feel like it was me up there.

Only changes I'd make in the Inaugural pageant tomorrow is - I'd have the OTHER "Wallace" than that pompous, sanctimonious ass last time. JIM WALLIS, of Sojourners, would be my choice to do one of the convocations. But the big one, that comes before the Oath-taking, I'd give to Sister Simone Campbell.

[LukeFL]

34. I am with you on this too

As a woman, it was also a breath grabber. Thanks to the ideals and constant work of the people before us, we have come a long way.

[judesedit]

32. As a Hispanic I would think you would be aware of the fact that PRESIDENT Obama is the one working

for your people. I agree, he's sent more illegal aliens home than any other President, but he's been trying to create a fast track to citizenship for Hispanic children who were born here. He is also helping them to stay in schools. That's gratitude for you.

In case you are speaking about the 2nd Amendment....I think you should re-read it in its entirety. You must not remember when PRESIDENT Obama authorized carrying firearms in National Parks. He previously LOOSENED gun laws, NOT tightened them.

It is the actions of some who ruin it for the many. What's new?

[LukeFL]

35. Scratching my head on this one.

Explain how your comment relates to my OP.

[kxm40]

42. Judesedit lost me too

That was a very strange comment

[Politicub]

41. K&r!

[Initech]

45. I shudder to think what would have happened had Paul Ryan become VP.

Remember - he voted against hurricane relief. He voted against hurricane relief. That's a given!!! I'm so glad Joe Biden will remain our VP!

[Graybeard]

48. Joe Biden=A Lifetime Of Service

And Justice Sotomayor represents the bright future of our nation.

I too am a proud American today.

[BearCorn]

50. Other Guy??

Who is the other dangerous guy? Obama?

[Cirque du So-What]

51. You may want to give a moment's thought to your question, especially today

Lessee...*who* could possibly fit the description of 'the other guy' on Inauguration Day - the day when the President of the United States, Barack Obama, is sworn in to a second term, after a long battle against the largesse of the right wing's formidable war chest - a battle that divided the repugs as they, in turn, picked one nutcase after another as their favorite, going on to settle upon the mediocre, moneyed, mendacious milquetoast who received the blessing from corporate interests?

Give it awhile; I'm sure it'll come to ya.

[Cirque du So-What]

54. Told ya so!

I just *knew* it would COME TO YA!

[LukeFL]

55. Uh, obviously Paul Ryan