In America:
* We arrest our criminals
* We respect the rule of law
* We know our neighbors and lend them a hand
* We embrace and trust science, scientists and knowledge
* We want better lives for our children
* We grow our own food and have plenty more for others
* We innovate, create, invent and inspire
* We mock ignorance and call it by its name
* We are guardians of the environmental health of our planet
* We respect others' choice of religion or lifestyle
* We separate church and state
* We do not torture. Never. Ever.
* We don't live beyond our means, and we save for a rainy day
* We don't pick people off the streets and hide them in secret prisons
* We don't spy on our people without warrants
* We believe "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" trumps all
* We are respected, admired and trusted around the world
* We are that shining city on a hill
In addition:
* Our leaders in DC answer to the people
* Our banks are sound, well-capitalized, well-regulated and trusted
* Our markets are free, but they are sternly and competently looked after
* Our schools produce the best and brightest bar none
* Our borders are secure and impregnable
* Our country is open to those who would legally like to come
* Our infrastructure is the best in the world
* Our people are good, kind and gentle
* Our nation is proud but humble
* Our purpose is good
I am truly sickened of what became of America these past 20 years, after three failed presidencies and one truly corrupt and incompetent Federal Reserve. Not only have the United States' institutions and leaders failed America, but Americans have failed America as well.
2009 can be the first year of our long renewal. Or it can be just another year down the path of decay and destruction.
You yourself can be a force for change and good, in whatever way you choose. Or you can give up like so many others.
Our leaders and people put us on a path of ruin, but the concept of America is still a good one. I want to see America be America again. Because this new one sure sucked.
Now that there's no question we've hit the brink, let's see which way this goes.
I'd bet on America.
Posts
83 comments:
US is beyond redemption.
It has self destroyed itself like the ex-USSR
Better learn to serve the Chinese Masters (Monster created by US)
You forgot one thing: We manufacture things.
If we don't start doing this again, there is no "stimulus" large enough to pull us out of this hole.
But Keith, America is a "Christian" nation. And the modern definition of American KKKristianity means DOING all those things you say America shouldn't. It's God's will. Just ask any KKKristian! You can identify them by their "Palin 2012" bumpersticker. (Or you could if you were in the U.S.)
Which three presidencies are you counting as failed?
Bushco? Check!!
Clinton? Not sure -- he did balance the budget, after all
Bush Sr? Perhaps
Reagan? Yep (Voodoo economics, anyone?)
Carter? A fine individual but a poor president
Ford? I'd give Ford a passing grade
Nixon? Gimme a break.
I guess I'm saying we have had closer to 40 years of sub-par executive leadership. However, hope springs eternal.
I hope America returns to it former self, but I see it getting worse. Little story from the front line. Got a FIL who is way, way upside down in his HELOCS and house payment. The funny part is he is putting it to the little bank guy that has been calling him. The bank guy " you better pay OR this is really going to hurt your credit rating" FIL do you think I give a SH&% about that" Or saying maybe I'll stop paying and live here for 1 year and trash out the place when I leave. From what I understand the banks are getting a lot of people who are pissed off and are not going to take it. I think it is a reaction to Madoff and CEO stealing money and the little guy/girls are tired of getting screwed while everyone else walks away with tons of cash.
"You forgot one thing: We manufacture things.
If we don't start doing this again, there is no "stimulus" large enough to pull us out of this hole."
Which is why Obamma better start saying "no" to the globalists. If all our good jobs are offshored to asia, there is no economic foundation for this country and these so-called "green jobs" investment will be like pissing in the ocean in an attempt to raise the sea level.
There are too many people in America who no take pride and honor in trying to better themselves through education, hard work, fugality, and striving the best they can to as self-sufficient as possible. Too many believe that they are entitled so something or other without having to earn it. The entire direction of this country is a reflection of that from illegal immigrants demanding citizenship to adults demanding easy credit and more government freebies. Too many spoiled brats. The WWII generation is gone and the new one has no wisdom. Barak is no different than the others. Just like the song from 'The Who' - meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
In amerika as long as we get our checks for free others can taste "freedom"...
otherwise we will bomb them back to the stone ages.
don't fool yourself keith.
we are all for everything you said EXCEPT when is threatens our way of life...then the sole of the boot comes down on the throat.
MLK was not killed because he spoke out for civil rights...he was killed because he spoke out against economic class distinctions.
When the power apparatus is threatened...one gets leveled very quickly.
Think JFK and his swing at the Federal Reserve.
Sounds like Germany.
And we still produce things.
Regrettably, this was planned.
Dream on silly boy.
America is Fucked and Dead.
Deal with it.
PS:
Anonymous said...
You forgot one thing: We manufacture things.
No, we don't.
DIE U PIGS
"Bukko_in_Australia said... "
God gave us our freedom, and regrettably some people behave in a terrible way. Jesus loves everyone in America, and throughout the world. We are one family.
Keith, please, so sweet and sugary - my diabetes is flaring up with this kind of drivel. Read a few history books already. We've always been a bit on the flim/flam side - just not as much as some other countries. We (Americans) are world class scammers - always have been and always will be. Our redeeming quality is that we are constantly re-inventing ourselves and one brand of corruption is replaced by another. Our best hope in this country is replacing all leadership in a 15-20 year time frame - as always, in my humble opinion.
Smug Bastard
personal thought here - know why the money says "In God We Trust"? For me that means, always trust in the way God made man. Always trust in the fact that man (and woman) will always lust after money - crazy, huh?
Ron Paul noted that America likes arresting the blue collar criminals but not the white collar criminals. If we went after the white collar criminals, we'd have to build new jails and who would supervise that construction?
Man, Keith, you ARE the world's biggest optimist. After all the corruption, lying, thievery, and incompetence by government and business alike, and all the sheeple-behavior we've seen? You've chronicled the whole mess pretty well; you more than anyone understand what the USA has become. And you still think we as a people can turn this around?
I think a decade or two of economic depression might just forge a new national character among the unempowered that could eventually demand change and pull us out of this mess. Unfortunately, the coming hyperinflation will finish us off long before then. The money bomb, you know.
Don't we still make tortillas here?
People do not want to work hard anymore.Everyone wants to sit at a computer and make 100 grand for counting widgets.
I hope the chinamen don't cut off our credit.
Not so sure it ever really was all that perfect, there was always lying, cheating, stealing, It's just a matter of it all being scaled-up.
It's like a virus that has infected the host and that host was the opportunity to do good, be a better person, etc.
The real problem is just a character flaw that taking the high road is for loosers and cutting corners, a lie here a lie there doesn't really count and equate to success.
And what exactly is success anyway, a bigger house, a faster car, a hotter mate? That all seems so superficial and that is where intelligence comes in.
So, my advice is to not look for any great event to bring us all back, but just do your best in living in this corrupted, hellish world.
I do worry though, that people are going to become a whole lot meaner if we don't turn the corner soon.
I would also like to trust our so-called leaders again, just like everyone else at this blog, but that just doesn't look practical, and why do we need a president anyway?
I'd rather just have a committee at the top, no-more focus on just a few imperfect individual politicians. All that concentrated power just lends itself to the obvious, what we've been getting.
Better learn to serve the Chinese Masters (Monster created by US)
Here's a dirty little secrete for you. The Chinese have over 2 trillion dollers worth of bad debt they are not paying on.
Part of the price of doing buisness in China. Their banking system is more corrupt and insolvent than ours, google it and do some research. Don't listen to that globalist fool Jim Rogers.
Their growth was as phony as ours. 10,000 factory closings and accellerating. Building, 39% of gdp (I bet their going to need more factories and housing haaaaa), unemployement rate 30% and rising. These globalists/new world order thugs will not maintain power. America will rise out of the ashes they have wrought or not. They however, will not survive either way it goes.
There are plenty of males in this country who are not submissive beasts of burden like the 3rd world. This is going to get interesting very soon.
Yes, of course, we all want America to be America again.
But we have a criminal elite working against us. They brainwash the masses with dumbed down, biased and a lies via distortion and ommission mass media.
They keep the masses distracted with football games and chasing all manner of useless consumer goods.
They have destroyed morality and honor by promoting the worship of money (worthless toilet paper greenbacks) and the worship of worthless sex and lust rather than love, commitment and family.
They incite the wars and propagandize fear of "The Terrorists" and glorify the military and simplify the justification for every war down to "fighting for freedom and democracy" when their is no real threat to the greatest military power the world has ever seen.
They have distorted and relegated to the memory hole the meaning of what it means to be American: the unyielding fight for individual liberty and rejection of all tyranny. They have distorted the meaning of America into "democracy" or mob rule rather than the rule of law republicanism.
They have dumbed down every man, woman and child via an education system which promotes learning by rote and caters to the lowest common denominator.
Now maybe there is no "they" and we are simply witnessing the decline of American society. I'm not even sure any more but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the elite have manipulated the education system via their foundations like the Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller foundations.
You can go read a book like The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America or read historian Anthony C Suttons books or watch Alex Jone's Endgame.
Whether there is a "they" or no they deliberately dumbing down Americans and manipulating world events for their own gain or it's simply a natural cultural decline is a moot point anyway. The only solution is for every American to educate themselves and their family by disconnecting from the mass media and mass market control grid, to reject consumerism and to learn what it truly means to be an American.
Haha! This is funny. Mish has discovered a new virus that is infecting the "leaders" of the globe. Apparently it originated here in the USA:
Fiscal Insanity Virus
The sad thing is, the world still looks up to America as some kind of guiding light or as some kind of big brother that knows all.
It's a classic case of "monkey see monkey do".
So when Bernanke "the supposed expert on the Great Depression" lowers rates to zero and pumps trillions and trillions into the economy naturally the rest of the world follows suit.
Gumbyfish, I agree with you.
Hard work, education and fugality are no longer valued as means of getting ahead.
We have not gone far enough down the economic rathole for us to be able to climb out of it again. Most people that have been addicted to housing over the last ten years or so are still just waiting for housing to "come back". And, what would that mean? Would the whole merry-go-round of multiple houses, cash back on closing, HELOC withdrawls, the "wealth effect" get moving for one last free-for-all orgy of consumption? Perhaps for a short while. I don't see that, however.
I also have issue with those people that say that we should "make things" again. We can't make things until they are cost competitive with those countries that do make a lot of things. Those countries, tend to have a lot lower cost of real estate. The only way to make things competitively in a high cost of real estate country is with huge import tariffs. That might work, although the so-called conservatives have re-written economic history to say that the depression of 29-39 was caused by the Smoot-Hawley tariff and not by rampant speculation.
I don't know much about addiction, but from what I observe, the addict needs to "hit bottom" before he/she can reclaim a decent life. While there is still the chance of hanging on to the addiction, they will do it. The same is true for our real estate economy.
As much as they would like to. the parasites at the top cannot kill their host (us), They are a small ruling class. We are the sleeping masses. Will we wake up and overthrow them?
As long as the parasitical global elite run the world (Bankers, European royalty, govt lapdogs, etc.) the world will be stuck in the current corrupt system. They meet in secret (Bilderbergers, Trilateral, etc.) and have their orders/plans executed via the WTO, IMF, WHO, FED, Bank of England, etc.
Obama is just a continuation of the current system...one only has to look at this cabinet choices to see the "same old same old". For example, Hillary is a Bilderberger, globalist, and craves power. She is a perfect fit...for the existing world wide power system.
I agree we are at the brink....something has got to give. I also want the American ideals/goals to be front and center once more in the national psyche and in the actions of our leaders.
On a side note it is almost predictable that the latest BIG STORY on the MSM is about Michael Jackson....to draw attention from a story about our bailout money going for bonuses/perks for bank execs.
Angelo Mozilo for President!
Fuck America.
Great post Keith!
But I'm afraid that this country will have to self-destruct completely for any real change to come about. The corruption at all levels is just to deeply ingrained to allow any turn around. Americans are fat, lazy and spoiled AND LIKE IT!
It sickens me to say it, but I agree with first anon.
US is beyond redemption.
Keith, there you go again drinking that Obama kool aid. Look, I think Obama is a decent man, but he is just another politician who espouses the same old opinions. The right man for the job was Ron Paul. His views are right on; eliminate the Federal Reserve, do away with fractional reserve lending, allow the free markets to function.
I am sorry, but America could have dug itself out of this mess along time ago. America could have taken responsibility and do the right/moral thing. Now, are in the same league as Nigeria (where people who scam and break the law get away with it).
It is a shame what has happened to our country. Where corporations, individuals, and the government has thrown out the rule of law. Now we are in a deep hole and God only knows what our leaders will do next. God help us all.
The Paris approval rating?
Bwahahahaha!
Give me a break.
I say we goose-step right on in and take over France. They have already proven they are a bunch of pussies that will lie down in the face of battle.
Until we start enforcing the law, and send quite literally, tens of thousands of people to jail for wire fraud and engaging in a conspiracy to commit fraud, we will continue down our path of gangster nation.
The fraud and criminality in our financial/business sectors is now so widespread and ingrained that the public would react against widespread arrests and prosecutions.
People want something done as long as their cousin, the realtor, doesn't have to go to prison.
Were doomed.
"Never ever ever take sides against the family".
- Michael Corleone
Anonymous said...
And we still produce things.
Really? We had friends over the other night and we had this very discussion. Went through the house to see what was produced here that we use daily. Guess what?
toothpicks - China
bakeware - China
glasses & dishes - Italy & China
stainless - USA
toaster - China
Mr Coffee - China
Blender - china
Refrigerator - China
Stove - China
Dishwasher - China
Shoes - China & Brazil
Clothers - Bangladesh, China, Mexico, & everywhere except USA
Hair Dryer - China
Curling Iron - China
Obama could start with the above list instead of building new schools (no shortage of schools far as I know) and freeways for trucks that are not delivering anything (ports are overflowing with goods no one is buying)
Your life is going to change drastically in the next 5 years.
"* Our banks are sound, well-capitalized, well-regulated and trusted"
Part of the problem is that we even have banks to begin with. Fractional reserve enriches the banksters and devalues your savings through inflation.
The bond market would be a great replacement for the banks as long as we had regulations that were actually enforced. Like jail-time for fraud, both on the individual level and for fraudsters at corporations. Ratings agencies that are not corrupt and on the take.
Keith, I want to congratulate you for a positive thread.
You’re saying really great stuff here.
But how can we expect these good values from our citizens who are younger then 30, when most of our influential collages and institutions get billions of dollars a year from Saudi Arabia?
When our educators and professors in even our most progressive universities are funded by dictators and tyrants to skew the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, truth and lies.
We are being choked by our dependents on foreign energy sources
So long that a few humans claim ownership to such vast riches by sheer luck of squatting on real-estate with Fossil fuel underground very little will change.
There is no matter more urgent then Energy independents.
"Never ever take sides against the family. Never".
- Michael Corleone
"From what I understand the banks are getting a lot of people who are pissed off and are not going to take it.
Just because your buddy is pissed at the way things are going down does not mean he does not have to pay his debt.
Weather borrowers like it or not they still have to hold up to thier side of the deal. This is what pissses me off the most Keith. When people get the attitude that they don't have to hold up there side of a deal because they are pissed for some reason. If America wants to clean up it's act then everyone needs to keep their side of the road clean.
I WILL FURTHER HOLD KEITH THAT IF OBAMA IS SUCCESSFUL WITH ANOTHER STIMULUS PACKAGE HE TOO WILL BE LABELED AS A WORTHLESS PRESIDENT IN MY BOOK. YOU TOO KEITH WILL LOSE ALL RECPECT I HAVE FOR YOU IF YOU DO NOT LABEL HIM WORTHLESS AS WELL. ADMIT ITG KEITH HE SUCKS AND YOU KNOW IT.
.
It was about time twenty years ago!!
.
You're being more than a little idealistic, Keith. It wasn't like that.
Keith, wake up its not 1952.
Good post Keith . The crazy feedback and brainwashing for years now trained to people into losing the American Spirit your speak of . You speak of what made America strong .
I believe American can go back to being the Country it was ,but its going to take a lot of pain and new
attitudes . As long as the Politicians sell out to Big Business ,
we are doomed . I pray for America every day ,but I prepare for its downfall .
I would love for America to be a better nation, but I don't have a lot of faith - rather than thanking God that they weren't killed in the Denver air crash, they are all likely on the phone to a lawyer. . .it is "shakedown" city for everyone these days - bailouts for everyone from rich to poor. . .free money from Helicopter Ben, free money from George the II, and probably free money from Obama. . .The reason I spend so much time here in Switzerland is that people actually take some responsibility for their actions - if they fall on the snow, they don't sue the city, they just pick themselves up and say they should have been more careful. . .American visitors to Europe are always amazed that there aren't more warning signs, and railings in semi-dangerous places. . .it is called COMMON SENSE!. . .lets all hope that American can regain some of it.
Here's How I feel About America:
I got off work the other day after a 12 hour night shift from work. Went to grocery store to pick up some stuff. Ahead of me was a lady with a small child with cartfull of groceries (loaded to the brim). Her total bill: $353.00. She paid with food stamps and cash of $9.00 (for her 2 packs of cigarettes).
What do you think I felt afterwards??????????
This is America....
America was never any of those things.
It is all part of the NOBLE AMERICAN MYTH.
We are no better than any of God's other creatures.
I was watching a History Channel special a while back about the 1940's--WWII stuff and the way it was------
I dont think I would want to relive that decade.
I was watching a History Channel special a while back about the 1960's-----
Dope and sex and violence and the way it was-------
I dont think I would want to relive that decade.
I was watching a History Channel special a while back about the 1970's-----
Vietnam, Disco, DRUGS, Crime and crooked presidents and the way it was-----------
I dont think I would want to relive that decade.
I was watching a History Channel special a while back about the 1980's---1990's------
WELL YOU GET THE IDEA!!!!
If a choice----if one was--I would "maybe" relive the 1950's (sort of) but I was only 5 at the time---my folks were poor but happy--
NAWWWW
I dont think I would want to relive that decade.
Thank u Keith, you put your finger on the real problems of today's America--the America Bush is leaving behind.
America has riches, natural and man-made, that no nation on this globe has. America has the brightest pple on earth (Georges Washington, humbly, called them the industrious people of the United States). In general, Americans are the kindest, the most compassionate human beings. America HAD (I say it again: HAD) its unparalleled constitution-- a fu*cking balancing act that not even the "sacred books" could match. America HAD a great system that was self-cleaning and self-correcting and which worked so well for centuries until Bush and Cheney came along!!!! They ruined all of that, and, with a fu*cking straight face, they dare admit their criminal acts with total impunity, and they dare issue a rebuttal against the blistering Sunday NYT article about Bush's stupidity that led to the current housing meltdown (finally MSM waking up!).
Folks! Notice that Bush and Cheney are now playing stupid. “Yes we did it, but we believed it was the only way out of a bad situation—actually we are still convinced we did the right thing!”
Folks! Those a*sholes knew what they were doing to America. They play stupid now because they know they have it all made for themselves and their families for generations and generations to come. They are no different than Madoff’s alleged scam that allowed him to lead a princely life for decades. He now bluntly says: Take me to jail please, I had a great life!
Like you Keith, I live abroad and I see things from here not many pple see from inside America. I was having a discussion today with a veteran foreign journalist. He summed up the current ills of America by telling me that "the biggest loss of America is not financial, because America will most certainly recover, and the entire world is praying for that, but the loss that will take a long time to regain is America's set of values that have totally vanished under Bush's rule."
I leave you with that thought. Nuf said.
It is not the fault of the current generation that we are in the fix we are financially. Well, yes the current generation did the work of it--yes they did. But they were not armed with the history of things given them by their parents, who knew better and the parents parents who survived 1929. Knowledge is lost if it is not brought forward. The borrowing of money that can't be repaid is a grevious error. All that was needed to be taught the current generation is that debt is way too heavy to carry for very long. All debt must be repaid at some point. Compound Interest will destroy the borrower rapidly. Mortgages, Consumer Loans, Credit Cards are all explosive devices to wreck financial postures as borrowers are presuming on their financial futures, and signing away their future buying power. The lost lesson is "DEBT FREE--CASH ONLY PURCHASES". That insures financial stability and a promising future.
"We respect others' choice of religion...unless they are christians or jews"
there...fixed it for you
So much for arrests and the rule of law, Keith. Obama and Biden say they'll be "focusing on the future" not bringing the criminals in the Whitehouse to justice:
Obama & Biden To Protect Bush Administration Criminals
So are you willing to say you've been conned by Obama's "Hope and Change" yet, Keith?
Can you put your pride aside and admit you've been conned?
Only if your Keifer Sutherland and getting paid a sh*t ton of money by Bank of America to keep saying in crappy commercial after crappy commercial: 'This America - we can do anything!' or something like that.
The trouble with America is there are very few people who get excited. They bend over and take it. And then there are those who are upside down, and don't care about abandoning their obligations. What makes you think either group will support the country. Let's face it, the majority of the country is selfish, in a what's it in for me mode and screw everyone else.
I have no solution other than total anarchy and a replacement of our legislative and executive branches with regular people without agendas and filled pockets and you know thats not going to happen.
bravo!!!
Can we get rid of Photo Radar. It's a violation of the US Constitution and the State Constitution of Arizona.
http://camerafraud.com/
http://camerafraud.com/
http://camerafraud.com/
http://camerafraud.com/
http://camerafraud.com/
http://camerafraud.com/
We recognize that there is a difference between CHURCH and state and RELIGION and STATE. We recognize that Christianity is a religion and not a church. We also recognize that Christianity is not "an establishment of religion" - where Catholicism or Orthodox Judaism WOULD be.
We recognize that this nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, quite independent of the personal beliefs of the Founding Fathers themselves - from the promised blessings of the Magna Carta's "life, liberty and property" to those of our own Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights - all of which were inspired by the moral treatise the American Founders called the Bible.
We recognize that there has never been LESS intrusion of church into the affairs of the state than there is today, and more of the obtrusive nature of agnosticism into government than ever before.
We recognize the difference between propaganda and science. We know that true science requires predictability to rise above hypothesis. And when a hypothesis fails to offer accurate measurement or predictability over a predescribed set of circumstances, it must be altered to better fit the known facts, and not the popular politics.
We recognize propaganda when we see it, such as the blatant manipulation of limited data sets to create the infamous Hockey Stick Graph - upon which much of a new religion of environmentalism is based. A religion which influences government every bit as much as Christianity may.
If your betting on America then your betting on the Dollar.
Mozillo was printing Billions in Ninja loans every day during 2004-2006 and pocketed a cool Billion or so for himself in fake profits.
The inflation is over and has been for more than a year, the Dollar will continue rising.
I bet on the rotten system.
Unless you press the "self - destruct" button, there's no way to change something for the regular guy on Main Street (and your Obama is part of this FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM too - only RON PAUL is NOT). But hey, dreams are still free.
Keith,
What do you think about this take on the Madoff bonzi scheme. I always had my suspicion.
I think it deserves its own thread ?
http://tinyurl.com/7axtqo
That would be great if we could go back to the 1950's and be the envy of the world. If Obama can do that, then I will admit I was wrong. But I just don't think he can do it. He's only one man, Keith.
And besides, it's not who's IN the white house...it's who's UNDER it.
See, when it comes to politics, people are like little children at Disneyland. They see what's on the surface, but they don't see the underground facilities and what the Disney characters really look like when they take off their costumes. They don't see that!
Same way with politics; They see the voting results, they see the two year long presidential election dog and pony show, they see the all talking heads give their little speeches and shit, but they don't see the money being handed under the table. They don't see the big money men twisting the politicians arm to get him to vote a certain way. (remember the bailout.) Do most people see it that way? NO!! Because, they are children.
Children at Disneyland.
In 100 years America will look like mexico city meets Bangalore India. Demographic trends ARE the future.
I would like to think that there is an America like you describe...however in my lifetime it has never existed. Beginning with Vietnam, working through cooked presidents (Nixon) then incompetent presidents (Carter), Saving and Loans scams, tech bubbles, a few housing bubbles and the list grows from all the fraud and waste that our government seems to write into law.
Is this not the American dream? To find a way to legally screw over your fellow Americans? Hasn't the great Ponzi scheme been a culmination of previous attempts? Someone seems to think that we can produce talent and innovation when in reality we have just produced a nation of bottom feeders looking for our next quick buck. You have been fooled into believing there is something better out there, when in reality your savior will just package up the lie and sell it to you in another prettier box
I bet on the corrupt system,because everything in this country is about money.from religion to porn,from wall street to non-profit organizations everyone is out there to make a buck even if it means bending the rules.
it's all about hustling.
and don't tell me short selling is not hustling.
had that toaster made in china...if it lasted 6 weeks id be surprised. note that we are being prepared to import autos from all over the world yet made by ford, gm and chrysler thus bled dry...........
yep..that photo radar sending driving tickets over the mail and extorting money is just a bit much
"Clinton? Not sure -- he did balance the budget, after all"
Huh??
He was the sitting prez during the dot-com boom.
Tax revenues were pouring into Washington... faster than he could spend it.
The deregulation that made it happen came under Reagan (and I'm not great Reagan fan), so at least give credit where credit's due.
Even Clinton was baffled by his good fortune. Right place at the right time, for sure, despite the cigar.
Geez, that sounds a lot like Australia... without the financial meltdown and the, um, guns.
Why do Americans think they have the last word on decency and democracy?
Just like all Americans with their lastest fads, you'll soon be elevating thrift, if nothing else, to the level of World's Greatest Virtue and America as the Nation on Earth for having discovered it and having the foresight to have signed up for exclusive rights to it.
God, you yanks are funny, in a pathetic sort of way.
Why don't you instead try to imagine a life where being the World's Greatest at something isn't, like, the most important thing in the world.
Just get on with your newly humbled lives and quite pretending you're at the epicentre of the world.
"You forgot one thing: We manufacture things."
You can't do that again soon because you've lost the skill base to do it.
Also, labor costs are too high.
Manufacturing is GONE. So is this idea of being the "financial capital" of the world.
All you've really got is agriculture (1st largest export) and entertainment (2nd largest export).
Beware of Bollywood!
"Keith, there you go again drinking that Obama kool aid. Look, I think Obama is a decent man, but he is just another politician who espouses the same old opinions. The right man for the job was Ron Paul. His views are right on; eliminate the Federal Reserve, do away with fractional reserve lending, allow the free markets to function."
Bush was as close to Ron Paul as you'll get in terms of letting free markets run wild.
It doesn't work. Why?
Because free markets are not rational, because humans are not rational, either because of human emotion (greed, revenge, altruism, etc.) or because information is not equally distributed.
It ain't gonna work. Even I was a big Ron Paul supporter and now I see very clearly what the flaws in free market capitalism are. Thanks to Bush.
What will the men of this country do now that it will be required that they grow a pair? I blame them for allowing things to get too far out of control. We have allowed our children to be brain washed by feminism and liberalism. I say it's ok to show masculinity, virility, and machismo. We have allowed the order of things to be skewed. It is now time to take back your rightful roles as breadwinner, role model, and family leader.
Now it’s time for woman to be what they once were: respectable and honorable creatures. The backbone of the family and what was once considered a “Lady”. No more teaching your children that masculinity is something to fear and loath. That to be male is to be criminal.
These things are just some of the things that have brought down western culture. Others include: Religion, Greed, Television, and the belief that everyone is entitled to everything.
"Clinton? Not sure -- he did balance the budget, after all"
Huh??
He was the sitting prez during the dot-com boom.
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CLINTON DID NOT TRULY BALANCE THE BUDGET!
it was balanced only due to "generally accepted accounting principles" the federal government uses.
one of the "generally accepted accounting principles" is to borrow the positive tax receipts in Social Security and replace it with an IOU.
But I'm afraid that this country will have to self-destruct completely for any real change to come about.
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yep. i have been saying this for a decade or more. my first hope to correct this all was the first RP, Ross Perot. the second was Ron Paul.
I voted (write in) and campaigned for Ron Paul. I tried. and will continue to try.
my last last hope is that BO after 2 years or so will see his policies aren't helping (likely they will hurt more than help) and will chart a new direction. a direction that will not be based on the failed economic policies of the past couple of decades.
BO is a good person and means well, but he is born of the political establishment that got us into this mess.
Better learn to serve the Chinese Masters (Monster created by US)
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the Chinese are going down hard too.
no country will be untouched, this is a worldwide problem.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Geez, that sounds a lot like Australia... without the financial meltdown and the, um, guns.
Why do Americans think they have the last word on decency and democracy?
Just like all Americans with their lastest fads, you'll soon be elevating thrift, if nothing else, to the level of World's Greatest Virtue and America as the Nation on Earth for having discovered it and having the foresight to have signed up for exclusive rights to it.
God, you yanks are funny, in a pathetic sort of way.
Why don't you instead try to imagine a life where being the World's Greatest at something isn't, like, the most important thing in the world.
Just get on with your newly humbled lives and quite pretending you're at the epicentre of the world.
December 23, 2008 1:47 PM
Listen you dumb Aussie, America has helped more people, clothed more people, given shelter to more people and fed more people than any nation in the history of the world. We are the kindest and generous of all nations. We are the land of the free and home of the brave! We defend freedom around the world and give the precious gift of liberty to anyone who yearns for it.
"Weather borrowers like it or not they still have to hold up to thier side of the deal. This is what pissses me off the most Keith. When people get the attitude that they don't have to hold up there side of a deal because they are pissed for some reason. If America wants to clean up it's act then everyone needs to keep their side of the road clean".
Idiots like this piss me off the most, Keith. People who claim that if you walk away from your mortgage you are not holding up their side of the deal.
THAT IS THE DEAL! If you don't pay the mortgage, the bank gets the house!
If the bank does not like it, maybe they should get 20% down next time?
WALKING AWAY IS PART OF THE DEAL.
Self righteous pricks act like you don't have the right to foreclose. It's ignorance at the other end. Bwahahahaha! Get Real.
And learn the difference between weather and whether.
Don't speed! Don't run the light, Don't drive to endanger if you don't like the traffic violation cameras!
Freedom of movement yes but road laws are in place for the safety of all people using the system. Obey them!
You don't like it? Take the bus or walk. It's healthier anyway.
Police state may ass. You'll be pissed when some a-hole t-bones your car and kills your wife and the only evidence would have been a traffic bot photo but some dickwad and his buddies decided it was more important for them to dress up like santy clauses and disable them.
I get the point but these devices are calibrated and inspected and can be verified if they are not working.
So you can't be falsely accused or even pay a fine if you are not doing anything wrong!
Now I'm all for civil disobedience for things that matter but this is stupid.
If you want to beat the red light robots. just get a British car and put a sesame street doll on the "normal" side. Then when they send you the picture, you can just blame it on the cookie monster or animal or bert or big bird or oscar.
The judge will certainly understand since he'll have just busted a gang of santas for deliberately disabling a traffic device which is a felony in some states!
You weirdos crack me up with your manufacturing comments. The USA is the largest manufacturer in the world. But you commie pinkos act like we have maybe three factories in the entire country.
Your ignorance makes my days brighter. I know the truth and am happy - you believe what you hear and are angry. Sucks to be you.
Add:
We live a life that is the legacy of a revolution, and honor that legacy with protest and free speech.
Very good thread. Everybody should be proud. But I too am cynical. Is it better to have this glorious myth, or see the ugly beast for what she is?
I blame them for allowing things to get too far out of control. We have allowed our children to be brain washed by feminism and liberalism
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Wait a minute. Bush is the MAN... his wife stayed at home and put him on a pedestal. Look at what that gave us!
Sorry. Go find some other theory.
To Duarte: right on!
Keith, in order for things to change in America we need to get rid of the duopoly party system. This has killed the country because it has shut almost 50% of the people. The two parties have corrupted every facet of American life.
People have to come to their senses and say out loud, "I'm not gonna take it anymore". I don't know if we are there yet.
Too many folks are complacent;
too many folks are addicted to govt. handouts;
too many people are too busy with their careers,
too many people are too busy with their family life;
too many people have no idea what the Constitution is or what the Declaration means;
too many people have been brainwashed by liberal colleges;
too many people are too occupied by their gadgets, tv, and playstations;
too many people listen to the mainstream media, never challenging their claims about this, that, and the other thing -- so-called global warming being one of them;
too many special interest groups and monied interest groups control our lives and our laws;
i could go on and on but you get the picture.
perhaps only a severe recession or depression will get people to act.
maybe that's the answer?...
WTF are you talking about, Keith? America has never been that country. Look at the corruption for decades in Your Boy's Chicago. Look at the Wild West. Look at the Revolutionary War period.
I don't know where you get your ideas, but they seem to be rooted in fantasy rather than reality.
Hey, but America has gay marriage and iPhones. That's what important. Now go invest your dimes into AAPL and GOOG stock sheeple, no matter how bad the news. Don't worry, solar panels and writing crappy Perl programs will save the world. Look look, Obama has just spoken on a microphone. Poof! It's all tip-top now.
Funny to read all these Aussies here selling the virtues of Australia and how humble they are.
Yet, all the Australian actors come to America to get rich in Hollywood or by marrying Tom Cruise. Hey Aussies, tell your compadres to stay working in Australia for peanuts, living in a humble way.
And one more thing, every time you Aussies use a PC, Internet, microchips, Cellphone, air conditioning, GPS, broadband, fiber optics, toilet paper, etc, you get on your knees and thank Americans for inventing 99% of everything you use in a daily basis, which either make your life more comfortable or help you make a living.
Thanks for Midnight Oil and INXS, but sorry, we Americans also invented Rock 'n Roll. So these Aussies also got a ride on our inventions. What about Irons you might say...nope, sorry, we invented surf, too.
So fellow Americans, let's wait for "bfd" Australia to come up with revolutionary inventions like the Internet or cell phones, so they can get off our backs for a change. And that message also goes to all the lazy socialist Europeans who think they are hot sh!t. Time for you whiners to start inventing something useful, while we Americans take a 30-day vacation to pose all day on Cafes.
The US is becoming Mexico. If you don't believe me, I encourage you to visit California. The result of decades of ultraliberal policies, which bankrupted that state and NY.
The same ultraliberal formula will be applied by your liberal messiah. Our country is dead; prepare the wallet to support welfare and union parasites who are busy breeding like flies.
A recent article by The Economist revealed that only 144,000 taxpayers in California pay more than 50% of its taxes. Yep, the rest just sucks welfare. And now taxes are going up again there.
You forgot that in America, we rape, plunder, enslave, exploit, torture and commit genocide.
This country was founded on lies, created wealth through enslavement and genocide and institutionalized its greatness through deceit and nepotism. The house of cards is falling down and the emperor has been exposed. I love America for its potential, but I make no illusions about its past.
"Listen you dumb Aussie, America has helped more people, clothed more people, given shelter to more people and fed more people than any nation in the history of the world. We are the kindest and generous of all nations. We are the land of the free and home of the brave! We defend freedom around the world and give the precious gift of liberty to anyone who yearns for it."
Actually, no, Australians give more than Americans. And so do other countries. America comes in somewhere between fouth and seventh.
And, by the way, Australia also "gives the precious gift of liberty." More people immigrate to Australia on humanitarian grounds than to America.
You people are living in some kind of dream world. At least check your facts before you get all high and mighty.
The US Capitol building was built using slave labor. Do you really need to know anything else about the United States?
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