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Again, Obama did not have a supermajority in the Senate and the rules re: confirmations had not yet shifted to the "nuclear option" aka simple majority in 2011.

While Obama did enjoy a healthy majority (56 D - 42 R - 2 I) in the first half of his first term, by 2011 the Senate was split 51-47-2 which made the odds of getting a Ginsberg-lookalike from an ideological perspective very low (have to get to 60+ votes to confirm).

Additionally, the Tea Party movement was gaining popularity in 2008 - 2016, which pushed the Republican party to the right and "penalized" (and I use this in airquotes) conciliatory/cross-aisle behavior with strong support of more rigid challengers. Remember the original "party of no"? Polito retrospective: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story ... ump-214498

So I don't think it's as simple as: if Ginsberg had retired in Obama's first term, she could have guaranteed an appropriate successor. What remains to be seen is if her work in the intervening 12 years outweighs the impact of the lifetime appointment of her ideological opposite. There were some landmark cases 2008 - 2020; gay marriage rights, voter protections, access to healthcare, access to abortions, access to contraceptives.

And MM is already looking to hamstring the Biden administration if the gop retains majority. Let’s hope that Georgia comes through!!

Or MM decides his health is now more important than getting that SCOTUS judge. Wait...

Honestly, I thought since the base got their judge, the turnout would be MUCH smaller. We do need to find how to reach

well.....things got worse.

Whooooo Hooooooo!!!! And lets' hope the states jump in and start putting ALL of the MFers in jail and taking ALL of their assets!

Today was a fabulous birthday gift <3

It’s a celebration here at our house!!

I watched several hours of the Biden/Harris inauguration ceremony and the American celebration that followed later. Biden's acceptance speech was well-constructed and spoke to points of importance and hope going forward. I thought the post-ceremony American celebration with the variety of entertainers and citizens highlighted was a great alternative to the usual ballroom formalities--future inaugural ceremonies should continue this format, IMHO. We should all be breathing a sigh of relief right now!

I know none of you want to read my opinion but I shall share it anyway. I would wish for neither a right solution or a left solution, but solutions that serve the middle ground. There is a problem in identifying middle ground, some think they are compromising while others think they are still too extreme.

I would very much like to see people trying to change the noun and the adjective or adverb still applies. this law supports the rights of Christians . can you put any religion or non religion in and its still true. ( muslim, jew, atheist, undeclared, unbeliever). this law is about LGBTQ rights. can you insert any gender and it still be true. this law is about women's rights. ( can you insert men's into the sentence and its still true ) . this is about Black lives matter. can you insert any race and its still true. This is about supporting the poor. can you insert middle class, or wealthy, and it still be true. we need to support big business. can we insert small business, environmentalist, scientist and it still be true. this is a Republican sponsored bill. can you insert Democrat and it still be true. If people are at least prepared to evaluate their desires based on that, they are at least trying to find the middle. as always, just an imperfect opinion. as one of my heroes, Nelson Mandela said, " If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."


the horrible thing about this pandemic is that a lot of people have lost loved ones, and often without the chance to say I love you or goodbye that last time. the wonderful thing about it is that so many medical social and political entities shared information. simple shit like don't put patients on their back. put them on their stomach. and complicated shit like patients are throwing blood clots immediately use blood thinners, or this drug is working and that one is not.

but perhaps the thing I like most is seeing people wear masks. my mask protects you and your mask protects me. if I see someone wearing a mask I know that they are trying to be a considerate person. they are trying to accept the science, they are prepared to be a bit uncomfortable for the good of others. That makes me realize that by and large people can and will co operate for the good of others. and the percentage of people who don't is smaller than the ones who do.

thank you neighbors. thank you communities, thank you individuals.

I particularly want to thank those whose opinion differs from mine. there is very little as expanding and enlightening as attempting to understand the opinion that differs from my own.

ifb you actually read too the end, thank you.

I read to the end Chisamba! And of course I want to know your opinion, it is why I love these forums, to see everyone's different perspective on things. OK, so mostly it is horse-stuff, not politics, but I'm kind of fascinated by politics too. I don't have anything enlightening to add, but I do think there needs to be less 'us and them' and more cooperation and empathy. And masks, yeah. I don't understand those people who seem to have the attitude 'you can't tell me what to do, it is my right to decide to wear a mask or not' : just get over yourselves, think of others, and put on a mask.