I have a pitchfork!
Actually a hay fork, but close enough.

@annewimsey500 I have an old, rusty one that needs a new handle.

@Flyingsaucesir Ace Hardware or a local place can fix ya right up!!!!

@annewimsey500 Yup! And I know which one I'm going to today. I've bought hammer, mattock, and axe handles there before. 🪓

Our constitutional republic is a type of democracy. Is it a "true democracy," as in ancient Athens? No. Our population is far too big for that to work. (Note that even in ancient Athens, not everyone was allowed to vote. Slaves, for instance, were not enfranchised. Nor were women.) And American democracy certainly does have its flaws, as you rightly point out: e.g. two senators per state, no matter their respective population sizes. Yet the ultimate authority still rests with the people writ large. We elect people to represent us in government. But I get where you're coming from. Up-and-coming authoritarians, and their slack-jawed minions (especially their flying-monkey lawyers) always claim the democracy they're trying to destroy is not really a democracy.

@Flyingsaucesir No, our Government is not any type of Democracy, nor do you "get were I am coming from". Read the Federalist papers, it is the only place Democracy is even mentioned, and it is only mentioned there to criticize it. When you read the Federalist papers remember I was not around way back then so you have no clue where I am coming from, but I'll tell you.... I am coming from FACT.

You totally ignored the anti-Democratic examples I gave you to blurt out your obvious misunderstanding of our Government.

To continue to keep your head in the sand; the next time you pledge alliegence to our flag, will you be pledging "to the Republic for which it stands" (the actual reading of the Pledge) or to the Democracy for which it stands? (your misinformed analysis)

@Alienbeing Not only did I not ignore the examples you cited, I even reiterated one of them.

You seem to think that Athenian-style direct democracy is the only kind there is. It's not.

The Pledge is a piece of poetry. Having it read, "...and to the DEMOCRATIC republic for which it stands..." would have upset the rhythm.

The Pledge also invokes a non-existent God. So much for the Pledge of Allegiance as a source of wisdom.

Enough frothy digression. Let's get back to the issue at hand.

Because Trumpusm/MAGA bears many of the hallmarks of fascism, we can rightly describe the Trump/MAGA cult as "fascist," even though technically the word refers to a specific political party that arose in Italy in the 1920s under Benito Mussolini.

By the same token, we can rightly describe the USA as "a democracy," even though it is not exactly like the Athenian model of 300 BC. The central feature of the US political system (at the local, state, and federal levels) is decision making by vote of the majority. This system has been subverted (and perverted) with anti-democratic tactics like gerrymandering, voter suppression, and a tidal wave of disinformation (including denial that democracy is a fundamental American value), but that doesn't change the fact that America has democracy in its DNA.

News flash! There is such a thing as a democratic republic! (North Korea only uses the words in its official name; the regime there does not make any attempt to live up to them.)

[act.represent.us]

Even the structural elements of the federal system that are inarguably anti-democratic, e.g. the electoral college, and 2 senators per state no matter their respective population sizes, do not erase the fact that in this constitutional republic we democratically elect our representatives at every level of government. (I voted today in a special election for a county supervisor seat).

I think I do get where you're coming from. This isn't the first time I have had the displeasure to read your benighted opinions. You consistently side with Trumputin. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

MAGA cultists are notoriously hard-headed. Trying to get them to see reason is like trying to teach calculus to a gnat. So don't flatter yourself that I'm trying to educate you, or that I care a whit what you think. The only reason I bother reading or responding to your inanities is that this is a public forum. In other words, I am speaking not just to you, but also to the wider audience.

@Flyingsaucesir You make it up as you go along, congratulations on losing all credibility. You have no way of knowing "Having it read, "...and to the DEMOCRATIC republic for which it stands..." would have upset the rhythm." and additionally you ignore that the only place Democracy is mentioned is in the Federalist Papers and then it is referenced in a negative manner. Now you proved you are a bullshit artist I won't take anything you say seriously.

You then go on to mumble about Trump, as if he has anything to do with whether or not we are a Republic proving you are nothing but a cheap political hack, then you double your stupid assumptions by trying to equate me to MAGA. For your informatin I never voted for Trump, I don't like him. Probably the only person I dislike more than Trump is you because at least Trump tells you what he thinks, you merely assume, lie and ramble.

Thank you for proving beyond a doubt that you are not worth listening to.

@Alienbeing (sound of dusting off hands)

@Flyingsaucesir It is hard to decide which is your worst trait. Is it that you are basically ignorant and don't wish to learn or it is the fact that you are annoyingly ignorant?

@Alienbeing

@Flyingsaucesir Yes, your moronic posts are best summarized by yawning .

That is a very bleak outlook indeed! I'm happy to say I don't subscribe to it.

Yes, it's true that our democratic republic is deeply flawed. But it's also true that never in the history if the world have so many lived so well. Witness the doubling of the average human lifespan over the last hundred years.And whence came this unprecedented and broadly shared benefit? Why, the National Institutes for Health, and the Department of Agriculture, and the Nation Weather Service, among other institutions created under the auspices of democratically-elected representatives like Franklin Roosevelt.

Now it's true that FDR was later followed by neocons like Reagan (and in Brittain, Thatcher), and that these were in turn followed by even worse demagogues like Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, and most recently (and by far the worst so far), Donald J Trump. But isn't the rise of such a floating turd as Trump attributable more to the advent of social media, and the mis- and dis-information that permeates it, than to the Constitution and our governmental institutions? How long could a piece of shit like Trump survive in politics without the benefit of social media's mis- and dis-information? Not long, I would bet.

The founders envisioned and warned against assholes like Trump. That's why they set up a system of checks and balances. But they could not conceive of the internet. There is always a learning curve when new technologies have emerge. Right now we're behind the curve. We need to catch up fast, while we can. I think we still can.

I fact check. Back when I used to go into the club house and there was a community computer available I would sometimes sit at the computer and fact check what was on FOX. The morning coffee group would watch normal news and weather (LOL). Late morning or early afternoon the FOX watching group would gather, I'd sit at the computer in the corner and fact check. hahahahaha
Sometimes when they's see me come in they would just turn the TV off and leave.
I can be so annoying sometimes but I will not just sit around and accept lies!!

Julie, it depends on what you mean by weak. I talk to others all the time without name calling or even using Trump's name and I find in the end that most of us want the same things. If we get that far in conversation and I point this out people seem to agree with me. Back and forth "is too, is not" talk goes nowhere. We need to teach government in our schools again.

@DenoPenno Yep - I get along just fine with people until the labels come out. I remember days when people kept religion and politics out of social conversations, but it seems foremost in many people's minds with all the craziness going on.