In spite of all the progress we’ve made in the past few decades it is always sobering to be reminded that sexism and misogyny are still very much alive (and right here on Open Source!) This is exactly the scary thing about Alito being confirmed. Feminism is just basic human rights for women. Some men find the concept very threatening.

My apologies, I assumed, perhaps mistakenly, that you were an American because you used the salutation “dude”. Perhaps I was mistaken, the Internet being global, and you actually live in a matriarchal society somewhere and therefore would quite naturally see no need for feminism

“the whole notion that the conservative movement has been secretly conniving to overturn Roe v. Wade strikes me as conspiratorial and baseless�.

How true, they have not been secretive about it all.

as for you little yellow bird…

Granting you the benefit of doubt by assuming that your commentary on feminism is based on ignorance rather than malice I will point out what should be obvious. When an entire segment of society is treated with prejudice and precluded from positions of power based on biology the result is that biology and ideology become inextricably linked.

You’re just such an alarmist. About politics, jurisprudence, the environment. Your show aired before Alito was officially approved and you’re already throwing up your arms about how the face of jurisprudence has changed. Some law students are too busy with their studies to even have digested how Alito may change their own legal future. The most naive economist will not attribute to Greenspan (so long, and thanks for all the fish) such influence over the market as you ascribe to Alito over American jurisprudence.

As an independent — though overly optmistic — libertarian, the whole notion that the conservative movement has been secretly conniving to overturn Roe v. Wade strikes me as conspiratorial and baseless.

The system is not dead yet but it will possibly suffer permanent damage or die if it gets too dangerously out of whack for too long without swinging back to equilibrium. We inherited a good one though, built on accumulated wisdom. “Of the people, by the people” was a revolutionary leap made in good faith. Maybe the experiment is doomed to fail because of the nature of human nature. We’ve been so successful that we’ve grown fat, greedy, and sleepy.

Crooks, liars and parasites (of the people) who connived to run the system now are not dealing with reality and so the system is not growing to deal with reality, but has become self-serving. This is very worrisome.

But if you opt out out of extreme disgust ( as opposed to moderate disgust) and think that we are already in “the Fourth Reich” and the whole thing needs to be trashed ( and replaced by what? nothing?) then aren’t you contributing to that result?

I’d like to hear something constructive from you before you fly away, little yellow bird.

If the polls are correct, most people are unhappy with what is going on. This is a good sign. No?

Tell me about the ancient Chinese—-they made great pots wrote beautiful poetry and painted gorgeous scrolls. What will we leave? ( a show suggestion)

Clearly this isn’t applicable in cultures that practice barbarities like honor killings (and female genital mutilation) or where pastors historically (and histrionically) exhorted the men of their congregations to (literally) ‘beat the Devil’ out of their wives — as happened here, in this very country only about four generations ago.

Please ponder this (before offering another questionable/objectionable/offensive opinion of feminism). You’ve criticized my support of socialism as is your right, and implied that you won’t take seriously my offerings on the topic, as also is your right. Yet I wonder how you’d feel if you realized that this — “Feminism–the unsupportable notion that ideology can trump biology” — has likely just made your ROS tag into a ’skip-over’ for many readers.
You’re better than that, pal.

“Lefty types seem to be all green, all natural, except when it comes to gender issues: their extreme ideal is the idea of no gender at all, and they seem to think that any differences between the sexes are 100% nurture and 0% nature”.

I’m a Green Lefty Ecofeminist and many of us do see a basic gender difference as an obvious natural phenomina. The problem with gender difference when it comes to the law is that “separate” so rarely satisfies the demand for “equal”. Of course we want equality under the law.

I am not giving up by being disgusted. I am disgusted principally at the idea that the Democrats who have the power to resist by using are not. And SOME of them, some on BOTH sides who in their heart of hearts feel differently are caving in out of weakness and pressure and using the rationalization that the president should have the court that he wants. He is entitled in other words. Given the elections of 00 and 04 this disgusts me.

I did not say that there WAS a conservative court. There will be. And the definition of the word “conservative” is changing or has changed from the past. This is the split within the conservatives which you point out.

There may be more democracy (representing the will of the people) in the Middle East right now than we have.

Do we agree but are we talking past each other? Or are you in a deeper state of disgust than I am?

Perhaps we can agree that the bums need to be thrown out. I still vote. Do you?

I am thoroughly disgusted that so many of our legislators on both sides apparently feel that THIS president has the right to have the SCOTUS he wants especially considering the questionable and very close elections.

I hear a lot of pablum about “defendent’s rights” and I’m sure I’ll get an earful on “choice” both worthy of discussion but not dominating the whole of it. What about real individuals rights? What about the right be judged on your character not your skin color, your right to own a gun and self defense, your right to hold onto your property and keep it away from greedy city planners with crazy notions of eminent domain. What wouild Alito do about Kelo that atrocity that was wrougth by a treasonous Souter? I’m all ears.