Don't be offended, my friend.

There are quite a few English teachers on DU, and many others who are gifted with languages. As a general rule, we DO NOT correct anyone’s grammar, but if you engage with us, we will come out to play.



-Laelth

This is a GREAT DAY for the United States of America.

The Supreme Court has ruled that “gender” is a protected class under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That means that businesses can not take “adverse employment action”—firing, not hiring, demoting, or otherwise penalizing employees on the basis of their gender, be they gay, lesbian, bi, trans, or whatever. This is a major change in American law. Previously, a gay person could be fired just for being gay. That was perfectly legal. That changed today. Previously, a gay person could be denied services at “common carrier” businesses like hotels and restaurants just because they were gay. That changed today. We have no idea what the further implications of this ruling will be, but they will be significant, and they will be good.

The Clean Water Act has been preserved. The Trump administration sought to effectively gut the act, and the SCOTUS denied the government’s plea to gut the Act. This is a major victory for those of us who value our environment.

The SCOTUS ruled that the State of Texas can not execute a suspect who was denied effective assistance of counsel. Previously, the SCOTUS has declined to hear such cases—allowing the state of Texas to execute prisoners as it saw fit. This time the SCOTUS decided that it would hear the case if Texas decided to execute someone who made an “ineffective assistance of counsel argument.” This is an enormous change in SCOTUS jurisprudence.

But THE MAIN THING is this. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Niel Gorsuch joined 4 liberals on the Court in these decisions, giving us a 6-3 majority. Gorsuch actually wrote the opinion securing LGBT+!rights. This is an ENORMOUS and EXCELLENT change. I will not promise that it will last, but, for the moment, I feel that this is a great day for the United States—a day worthy of celebration.



-Laelth

Every republic that has ever existed has been an oligarchy.

The United States is a republic. Therefore, it is an oligarchy. We just have to accept this fact. Oligarchies can be benevolent (if they are liberal—if they are dedicated to spreading the wealth that capitalism generates to ALL the people), or they can be malevolent (if they are dedicated to concentrating wealth in the hands of the richest and most powerful among us).

I am a capitalist and a liberal. I favor a benign oligarchy that enriches us all, but I will not deceive myself by thinking that the United States isn’t an oligarchy. It is, for better or for worse.

Accepting the truth as you perceive it IS NOT brainwashing. It’s just painful acceptance of truths that your previous belief system could not encompass.

-Laelth

Just Doggie Pics

I am not giving up my U.S. Passport.

For all its flaws, the United States of America remains the greatest nation in the history of the Earth.

We have the world’s largest economy, despite having less than 1/3 the population of China, our nearest competitor. We have the greatest military empire that the world has ever seen. Our reach is truly global—far surpassing the military might of any previous empire. Our language is the world’s dominant language. Our arts are consumed globally. Our products (from Coca-Cola to Apple Iphones) are highly desired and consumed globally. We even created the internet and gave it to the world FOR FREE.

No. We are the definition of a GREAT COUNTRY, and not even Donald Trump and his Republican minions can destroy us. We have serious problems, sure. I would like to continue to address those problems, but I will not deny the obvious truth ... that the United States of America is GREAT.



-Laelth

What happens if our leaders "open up" the economy and nobody comes?

At present, the only Republican plan that I can discern to address the economic fallout from the Coronavirus is to “open up” the economy—whatever that means. They blame our current economic misery on various states and municipalities that have enacted stay-at-home orders. This approach is foolish, at best.

We can eliminate state and locally mandated stay-at-home orders all we want, and it won’t change a thing. Most Americans are sane and don’t want to die. Business owners are already saying thanks, but no thanks, to Republican suggestions that they reopen. Why? It’s because they’re not stupid, and they know that it would be a losing proposition for them to reopen without enough patrons to support the cost of running their businesses. They could care less whether stay-at-home orders are in place. Eliminate them all, and nothing will change. For the foreseeable future, most Americans are staying home, like it or not.

The results look pretty catastrophic.

Unemployment is already higher than it has ever been since the Great Depression. Supposedly, we’re somewhere between 15-20% at this EARLY STAGE of our looming depression. At the height of the Great Depression unemployment hit 25%.

Oil is effectively free on the market at this point. Petrochemicals are an enormous segment of the American economy, and the petrochemical industry is on the verge of collapse because nobody wants to buy their products (supply has far outstripped demand). The American petrochemical industry may lose 100,000 jobs if something doesn’t change soon.

Las Vegas is effectively dead. Tourism, in general, is nearly dead as are our airlines. Our economy is in seriously bad shape.

Given this state of affairs, a GREAT DEPRESSION seems quite likely to me. Our alleged leaders can call for the economy to “reopen” all they want. At this point, the American people aren’t showing up for the party. No way. We don’t want to die.

-Laelth

My empathy is extraverted, selfish, and inherent.

I feel both the joy and the pain of every being that I encounter. I can’t help it. It’s an inherent feature of my being, and it is getting stronger as I get older.

I am a healer who wants to ease the pain of the world. I can not stop feeling the pain of others, so I want to make the pain of others go away. My motive is selfish. I prefer to ease the pain of others because I don’t want to feel their pain myself, as I nearly always do. I can’t help it.

For a highly empathic person, empathy can’t be abandoned or lost. It is both a blessing and a curse that one merely learns to live with.



-Laelth

Wisdom, Justice, Moderation, Constitution.

These are the guiding principles of the State of Georgia. Remember that Georgia produced Alexander Stephens. This is the guy who led the anti-war contingency in the South prior to the Civil War. This was the guy who said to the radicals in South Carolina, "Don't do it! We're gonna get our butts kicked." This is the man that was made Vice President of the Confederacy in order to give a voice and to appease anti-war Southerners. This is GEORGIA.

Georgia is moderate. Always has been and always will be, and Georgia Democrats remain proud of the one President that we have given to the republic, James Earl Carter, Jr.

Georgia voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. Georgia was the last deep-south state to elect a Republican governor, and that only happened in 2002. Many of us believe that election was stolen.

Biden can win Georgia in 2020. If it weren't for massive voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be our governor now.

Georgia will remain moderate. It's what we are.

-Laelth

I chose "mentally ill," but that's not quite it.

Trump has a Cluster B personality disorder. It’s not an “illness.” It can’t be treated, and it can’t be cured. It simply is who he is—an emotional child—utterly selfish, mean, vindictive, impulsive, reckless, lazy, lacking guilt or conscience, with a grandiose sense of his own self-worth and with a very poor ability to predict the future consequences of his actions. That’s a Cluster B personality disorder. It’s what Trump IS. It cannot change. Calling it a “mental illness” is too kind. Illnesses can be treated. Their symptoms can be mitigated. There is no such hope when dealing with a Cluster B personality disorder.

-Laelth

What is Trump's KGB/GRU code-name?

If the Russians don’t call him “Agent Orange,” I think they missed a great opportunity for humor.



-Laelth