Immigration Enforcement Un-American?

[tw]

Originally Posted by SamIam

Call me cynical, but I am just a realist.

Look what are political system has degenerated into - lots of partisan rhetoric combined with political deadlock.

This is what Alito and Roberts said is good when they also said their Court was not doing judicial activision.

Fortunately I have a remote control. Within the first two second of any political ad, the channel is changed. In part, because I know 40% of the population will believe those ads. It is why my father so enjoyed manipulating people with lies. And said the FTC took the fun out of it when they demanded honesty.

Well, the press is hyping a referendum in CA that would legalize marijuana. However the most important referendum is one that would attack gerrymandering - a major reason why extremists have turned politics so nasty. For example, if you live in Southern IL's 15th Congressional district. Then drive for hours north almost to Chicago. That is also your congressional district. The Republicans are already planning to do same in Indiana where 2010 Census data will require redistricting.

Did you know Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads - two major campaign advertisers - are Karl Rove? Americans for Job Security is the entire Insurance industry promoting only Republican candidates. Americans for Prosperity are the billionaire Koch brothers also promoting only for Republicans.

Or Meg Whitman who spent $120 million (plus more $millions in campaign donations from everyone else) against Jerry Brown who only has $11 million in CA governor race. The Supreme Court said only those who have the most money are permitted to have the most voice. And anybody is allowed to make false accusations - and not have their name attached to those accusations. That is also now legal. With so many extremists in power, nasty is what they want our government to become. And this is only round one. It will get nastier every two years. Those with the most bucks will learn every year how much more lying is legal - especially when those lies can now be promoted without your name attached to it. Alito and Roberts said this is fair and good.

The Economist on 7 Oct noted gerrymandering results in

fewer seats changing hands on election day, this tends to shift the focus of politics away from the general election itself, and on to the primaries in which the parties select their candidates. The turnout in primaries is tiny, typically only between 10% and 20% of voters, and tends to be disproportionately composed of activists. So those selected tend to be politically slanted to the left or the right extremes.

California’s sadly dysfunctional government has suffered from this extremism: it is one reason why the moderate Arnold Schwarzenegger has got so little done.

Well things have become so bad that the average German who once drank 142 liters of beer annually is now only drinking 107 liters. Germany is now only the fifth largest beer drinking nation. And still there was a hops shortage last year. Nasty American politics can have world wide consequences.