The Romans built dye shops with vats outside that served as free public toilets. Not only did they act as your basic "rest area" for passersby, but the urine was used to "set" cloth that had been recently dyed - the same way that vinegar is sometimes used today with natural dyes.

So too the Democratic Party. Since FDR, the move of the Democratic Party toward Social Democracy was stillborn; a casualty of McCarthyism which was as much a Democratic Party invention as it was anyone else's. The old coalition, such as it was, essentially fell apart under Kennedy and LBJ. Since Nixon, the "modern" form of the two party system has emerged.

Each Republican president dyes the political fabric a deeper shade of reactionary brown, and each succeeding Democratic president pisses on the new shade to set the color. Thus with Carter, Clinton, and now, Obama.

Posted by: George Oilwell | May 26 2009 14:19 utc | 1

Nothing more than a bunch of glorified Rubber Stamps, they are. It's not worth the time to dicker over nuanced differences between the lot of them. They provide the legal seal of approval to the agenda they're handed. Also, this establishment's abuse of power in preempting the jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court to decide the 2000 Election Results was all the proof that is needed to show us that when push comes to shove, these compromised charlatans will rule in favor of laws that send common citiznes to the gas chambers when that day comes....again.

Posted by: Obamageddon | May 26 2009 15:10 utc | 2

When oh when will Americans give up the false opposition between Dems and Reps and crackpot focus on minor single issues such as guns, abortion, stem cell research?

US politics has descended into a mire of trivia, gossip, and an outlet for hate, much of it empty hysterics. Had Bush done what Obama has done recently the ‘left’ would have been rabid with outrage. No, sorry, he is their man and gets a free pass, or some little cracks show. If Bush had given money to banks like Obama (he did endorse that and begin it, if reluctantly imho) he would not have been accused of ‘socialism’. This is hero worship, submission to a figure, not even charismatic or forward-looking in either case. A sort of muted, diluted, bastardized replay of Hitler, Musso, Stalin even. Ok, scratch Stalin.

Naturally, it is the ‘freedom’ meme that covers up and excuses this deliquescence. A nation of 300 million kindergarteners is easy to steer, fool, steal from, corrupt. A hybrid combo of the nanny state (the Prez is in charge of the safety of the nation, Medicare is a right..) and rampant authoritarianism(s) to control the enemy within (criminals, drug dealers, terrorists, the poor, inefficient, minorities, welfare queens, etc.) and annihilate with stealth the designated enemies outside (sleazy murderous Arabs, etc.) is a recipe for slow decay or sudden disaster. The gurgling of the life blood goin‘ down the drain is loud.

Not that other Western countries are doing much, any better. As is always said, the US sets the trend. > Military might. Nor do I intend the jab about squabbling tots to be anything but an image that could be widely applied.

Posted by: Tangerine | May 26 2009 15:38 utc | 3

In a system such as the current political situation in the US, even 1 or 2% differences can be important. Even Chomsky admitted, in an interview I heard on Pacifica radio, that the Dems are marginally better on some things.

But, Obama worried me from the first I began to really look into his political and legislative history: He showed an overall tendency to walk back from any liberal/progressive/Democratic wing of the Democratic Party stands he enunciated. He said some great things; he hasn't done them. He also showed a tendency to say things to private donor gatherings which differed, to the right, from things he told the general public.

But the warning indications were there.

I looked at his actions, and it was not easy to find real info on his actions as the MCM* was so enamoured of his words. What I did turn up indicated even Hillary Clinton would have been further to the left than he on most domestic issues, even some international issues. Most important, the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party would have held her accountable for her promises. Not so with Obama, was my prediction, and that's what's happening thus far.

Just lately even the MCM is noticing that his words often do not match his actions, but MCMers are still giving him credit for great words. It's his complex, nuanced way of thinking that somehow means he's not hypocritical or flip-flopping. He explains things so beautifully. Or something. Somehow....

Sotomayor will be marginally better than any Repub nominee, so there's that small comfort. She has ruled fairly often for corporations against regular people, but that could be because appeals courts must usually follow prior SCOTUS decisions. Might she be a force for change on the court? If so, let us hope it is leftward, not like Obama's sense of "change."

It would be cool if the SCOTUS took a fresh look at granting corporations "personhood."

*MCM--Mainstream Corporate Media

Posted by: jawbone | May 26 2009 16:00 utc | 4

Words are obviously very powerful as words are all Obama has.

Words are acts. Read up Austin and Searle.

Obama is the perfect politician. That means he has to go for any achievable consensus. Politics is the art of the possible. If you want to move the consensus to the left, you have to build a movement. From scratch. It is as simple as that.

Posted by: outsider | May 26 2009 16:38 utc | 5

Wonderful--another Roman Catholic making six out of nine justices. Doesn't look good for those looking to get DOMA repealed or hold onto Roe V. Wade.

Posted by: Obelix | May 26 2009 17:07 utc | 6

Catholic means literally deferral to the hierarchy. This is the essence of fascism--a fascist is a bundle of sticks.

The meaning is best elucidated in the old Aesop's fable about a father who had three quarreling sons. He sent his sons to gather two sticks each, all similar in size. When they returned he asked them to break one of the sticks. They did so easily.

He then twisted some twine around the remaining three sticks. This fascist was too difficult for any of them to break.

Posted by: scott | May 26 2009 17:21 utc | 7

the system fucks, watch the UK expenses scandal. couple of pounds her and there and Blair commits 6.5bn to Iraq to blow thousands up. Justice my Irish Arse.

Posted by: Cloned Poster | May 26 2009 17:53 utc | 8

I have not yet researched Sotomayor, but I do know that this is history in the making. I hope that this will be a step toward more diversity in politics.

Posted by: Chrystal K. | May 26 2009 22:43 utc | 9

u s 'jurisprudence' is hardly any jurisprudence at all. it is so essentially corrupt & polluted - its composition is a question of complete indifference to me

Posted by: remembereringgiap | May 26 2009 22:48 utc | 10

"I have not yet researched Sotomayor, but I do know that this is history in the making." dream on this is nothing more than calculated abuse of the left's antipathy towards established amerikan racism, just like with Obama an empty headed overly ambitious member of a 'minority' has been carefully selected to represent the views of the very assholes who have made the cluster of poor people who the nominee is alleged to represent miserable and poor.

The one minority that is most in need of representation in amerika's government are the poor, yet they never get a look in.

Some such as this nominee are alleged to have been poor once but the first vet is always the one that makes certain that the nominee can no longer be poor. This is usually by way of having to throw mind bogglingly expensive'events' to 'gather support' from the rich at so called fund-raisers. Natch which can only be put on if you have or can get the vast sums of money to pay for them.

The next step is to make sure the proposed trojan horse retains none of the vestiges of minority 'attitude' Remember last year Oblamblamblam went to extraordinary lengths to show that he wasn't angry about the fact that the ethic group that he rather dubiously claimed was the one he belonged to, was the same ethnic group who generated most of amerika's wealth beginning before independence, yet they are far poorer than any bunch of Italian, Irish or Polish migrants who stepped off the ship a mere two generations back.

It doesn't matter where the hell a pol or judge comes from as long as they think and act like a middle-aged middle class male

If you truly think this nomination is historic you are either very naive, very stupid or the latest in a long line of dem spruikers

Posted by: Debs is dead | May 27 2009 5:33 utc | 11

Debs, The one minority that is most in need of representation in amerika's government are the poor

Yeah, we have the best government money can buy!

Posted by: Rick Happ | May 27 2009 7:16 utc | 12

Obama must be doing pretty good because unlike Dubya, his "f*%k-ups" do'nt seem to be quite vivid enough for peeps to actually talk about.

Posted by: jony_b_cool | May 27 2009 9:36 utc | 13

Obelix and scott,

Both of you have caused the wheels to turn in my head by pointing out to me that Sona Sotomajor is a Roman Catholic... Just because Sona Sotomajor is a leftist on issues surrounding affirmative action doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be a leftist when it comes to protecting women's reproductive rights. In fact, I have a sinking feeling that it is more than just a coincidence that Obama gave a speech at Notre Dame one week before picking a Roman Catholic to the Supreme Court. So by picking a Roman Catholic to the Supreme Court, Obama could very well be throwing a woman's right to choose under the bus.

Posted by: Cynthia | May 27 2009 12:48 utc | 14

Debs, spot on. Obama is a Trojan Horse. Great metaphor.....hell, it's not even metaphor...it's fer real.

Obama will do the things no Republican could ever dream of doing, and the blinded religious Democrats will eat it up and say "this shit is yummy."

That is so true about Catholics. I should know, I'm a former one myself, and two of my uncles were priests. We argued incessantly. They never could provide an adequate explanation for my observations of selling in the temple. It always came down to "you just have to have faith." Sorry, that doesn't fly. No faith here. It's just a euphemism for obeisance.

Posted by: Obamageddon | May 27 2009 13:23 utc | 15

Let me also add that by picking an affirmative action activist, such as Sona Sotomajor, to the Supreme Court, Obama is making no bones about wanting to level the playing field for non-white Americans -- excluding ones who are of Arab, Persian and Asian descent, of course. After all, look at Obama's foreign policy and you'll know that he views Arabs (and Persians) as nothing more than terrorists who are out to nuke the West back the Stone Age and Asians as beating us all (including Jews) when it comes to intelligence. But notice how Obama is showing no signs of wanting to level the playing field for America's poor. This says to me that he is showing every sign of wanting to keep the poor, especially poor whites, stuck at the bottom of the totem pole.

Posted by: Cynthia | May 27 2009 15:19 utc | 16

Life story, Israel trips tie Sotomayor to Jews
The tears and choked sobs when Sonia Sotomayor accepted President Obama's nomination on Tuesday told another story.

Packed into the room along with Sotomayor's family, friends and colleagues were representatives of Jewish groups that have consulted with the White House about prospective replacements for David Souter.

The story of her life -- the daughter of a Puerto Rican single mother from the Bronx, N.Y., whose ambitions knew no bounds -- resounded with a community that has made the story of immigrant triumph over struggle a template of Jewish American success.

"It was impossible not to moved by her personal story," said Mark Pelavin, the associate director of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center. "To see her mother sitting there and think about what this says about her and her country -- the combination of someone who grew up in a housing project, who has been on the bench for a long time, but who has been a prosecutor as well, that combination is very powerful."

"It was thrilling," said Sammie Moshenberg, the Washington director of the National Council of Jewish Women.

It doesn't hurt that Sotomayor, 54, is a poster child for strong Jewish-Hispanic relations. In 1986, when she was in private legal practice, she joined one of the first young leadership tours of Israel sponsored by Project Interchange, which is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee.

Sotomayor so enjoyed the country -- its immigrant culture, its popular music influenced heavily by Jewish immigrants from Argentina and Brazil -- that she made a return visit in 1996 when she was a federal judge, and recently joined a Project Interchange U.S.-Israel forum on immigration. In the process, she formed a lifelong friendship with Project Interchange founder Debbie Berger and her husband, Paul, who attended her swearing-in as a Manhattan appeals court judge in 1998.

"She enjoyed Israel not just from an intellectual perspective, she liked the music and the people," Paul Berger told JTA.

Richard Foltin, the legislative director for the AJC, said her background naturally played a role in how the Jewish community would welcome her.

"We must recognize the significance of the third woman and first Hispanic on the court," he said. "And there's no question of her impressive qualifications."

Sotomayor would come to the Supreme Court with one of the longest bench careers in its history, having handed down or joined 3,000 decisions in 18 years as a federal and appeals court judge. That's a lot to read through and accounted for a degree of hesitancy from Jewish groups that were enthused about her life story but just getting to know her judicial record.

"I've got a bunch of opinions in my briefcase and it's time to start reading," Pelavin said.

The National Council of Jewish Women -- one of the few Jewish groups that expresses an opinion on judicial candidates -- has yet to announce where it stands. Whatever the case, said Nancy Ratzan, the NCJW's president, the organization would dedicate itself to ensuring that Sotomayor receives a fair hearing.

"Our 90,000 followers will be focused on making sure it's a fair and prompt process that focuses on her record," she said.

NCJW and the Religious Action Center will canvass members for appropriate questions for Sotomayor during the confirmation process; the questions will be relayed to the U.S. Senate Judicary Committee.

Leaders of the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement calling for a process that is conducted "professionally, and with civility and respect," and praised the pick while stopping short of an official endorsement.

"We applaud President Obama for having selected this noted jurist to be the Court's first Hispanic and third woman Justice," the ADL leaders stated. "If confirmed, she will undoubtedly bring an important new perspective to the work of the Court."

Even the Orthodox Union, which tends to stake our more conservative ground than other Jewish organizations on church-state issues, spoke positively about Sotomayor, citing several religious freedom-related cases.

In a 1993 case, she upheld the constitutional right of a rabbi in White Plains, N.Y., to display a menorah in a city park. In two other cases, in 1994 and 2003, Sotomayor upheld prisoners' religious rights even though the practices in question did not conform with mainstream beliefs. And in 2006, she ruled that allowing federal age discrimination statutes to apply to a 70-year-old minister dismissed by the Methodist church would constitute unwarranted government interference in church affairs.

Those decisions, OU said, were "very encouranging."

Marc Stern, the legal counsel for the American Jewish Congress, predicted that Sotomayor's long bench experience ultimately will be a plus. More time on the bench shaping reasoned opinions made her less of a target than other nominees -- like Lani Gunier, Robert Bork and Samuel Alito -- whose years pushing intellectual boundaries in the halls of academe handed fodder to opponents seeking controversial statements.

Additionally, the 2nd Circuit of Appeals -- based in Manhattan and covering New York, Connecticut and Vermont -- deals with cases emerging from courts and legislatures that already trend liberal. That means it is less likely to address issues such as abortion and discrimination that often exercise Jewish groups.

"There's no track record that anyone can point to," Stern said, referring to such hot-button issues. "There's not likely going to be a whole lot there as a smoking gun."

Posted by: Yammitor | May 28 2009 3:51 utc | 17

@16
This says to me that he is showing every sign of wanting to keep the poor, especially poor whites, stuck at the bottom of the totem pole.

yes, every White deserves their 40 acres & a mule

Posted by: jony_b_cool | May 28 2009 4:30 utc | 18

General Taguba confirms Hersch's torture/rape allegations?

At least one picture shows an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

Further photographs are said to depict sexual assaults on prisoners with objects including a truncheon, wire and a phosphorescent tube.

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Donald Rumsfeld covered Iraq briefing papers with Biblical texts

Another apparently shows a female prisoner having her clothing forcibly removed to expose her breasts.

Detail of the content emerged from Major General Antonio Taguba, the former army officer who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq.

There you go. Think this will see the light of day in the U.S.?

No, it will all be about the fake "battle" regarding the SCOTUS nominee, which is pure Kabuki.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | May 28 2009 4:56 utc | 19

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/05/27/pm_supreme_court/>Marketplace examines the vested interests who profit directly from noisy SC debates. Richard Vigery, the grandfather of right wing direct mail fundraising, tells Marketplace, "Opportunities like this seldom come along."

In the past two decades, roughly a dozen different non-profits across the political spectrum have set up in Washington with the goal of pushing their judicial agenda. Call it the Supreme Court Nomination Industrial Complex. These groups exist to influence nomination fights. But they also depend on these fights to raise money and survive...

JOHN MORTON [of AJR]: The media like conflict, wherever it comes from and regardless of how phony it might be.

Commercials about the last couple Supreme Court nominations have cost about a million dollars each, but insiders say those ads brought in even more cash.

Posted by: small coke | May 29 2009 17:21 utc | 20