Death of the American Empire?

[skywalkrNCSU]

I read a few months back, don’t know the source anymore, that our political parties were getting more and more divided but the American people are actually more centrist in their thinking. It is clear that the political parties don’t really want to represent the people and so as long as we keep voting them into office they have no incentive to change. Things like single issue voters only help perpetuate this on both sides.

[kerplode]

FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) has a little, free, ebook on their site that discusses the fall of the Roman Empire. It's a quick (~5min) and interesting read that doesn't paint a very good picture for the future of the United States.

PDF is here:
Are We Rome?

[Dienekes]

FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) has a little, free, ebook on their site that discusses the fall of the Roman Empire. It's a quick (~5min) and interesting read that doesn't paint a very good picture for the future of the United States.

PDF is here:
Are We Rome?

Good read.

[Renegade]

Under every measurement, from financial growth and infrastructure investment to advanced technology, including supercomputers, space weaponry and cyberwarfare, we are being rapidly overtaken by the Chinese

It was inevitable. I mean, exactly how long do folks think we could hold off a country with 5x our population? They weren't going to ride bicycles forever...

[Firefly]

It was inevitable. I mean, exactly how long do folks think we could hold off a country with 5x our population? They weren't going to ride bicycles forever...

Most of them can't even read their own language and are so overpopulated and polluted that it is kinda sad.

China is not, nor shall they ever be the Soviet Union.

Everybody thought we'd be speaking Japanese by now and the only people who do are the guys with love pillows, because their economy crashed and burned. More people are dying than being born.

The Chinese killing off all those girls have stilted the male/female ratio to the point where at some point once enough of their workforce ages out, they will be in a "Mars needs women" scenario.

And I didnt know America was an "empire".

[duece71]

FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) has a little, free, ebook on their site that discusses the fall of the Roman Empire. It's a quick (~5min) and interesting read that doesn't paint a very good picture for the future of the United States.

PDF is here:
Are We Rome?

Excellent read. I printed out and sent it to a few friends. I wonder if that hog trick really works......might have to try it.

[yellowfin]

Guys this is what I was mentioning in another thread about the Pew Research Data showing the two political parties are drifting apart. The article discusses that there is no more commonality between the two parties.

Far apart? Hell, you can't tell the difference between them in office except on a couple of issues. Neither have done crap to dismantle the welfare state, redistribution programs (SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.), bureaucracy, PC in the military and VA system, the IRS, TSA, or HUD, the student loan program which has quadrupled the price of college, etc. They agree on at least 95% of the budget.

[SteyrAUG]

I read a few months back, don’t know the source anymore, that our political parties were getting more and more divided but the American people are actually more centrist in their thinking. It is clear that the political parties don’t really want to represent the people and so as long as we keep voting them into office they have no incentive to change. Things like single issue voters only help perpetuate this on both sides.

Mostly true, but if somebody decides they are a "single issue voter", and all they care about is "free speech", isn't that their right?

For me the actual problem is that it seems the two parties have divided up our rights and each party represents half of them. This leaves the centerist out in the cold for the most party.

Care about guns, well the GOP isn't the NRA but nearly every Democrat would support a complete ban. But it was the Supreme Court under George Bush Jr. that ruled eminent domain can be used for private use which is the most blatant violation of the specific language of the Constitution that I have ever seen.

Sadly if you want ALL of your rights respected that means you are Libertarian but it also means you have virtually zero representation in Congress and will never see a President that shares your views. For all the membership fees I've given the NRA over the years it was the Cato Institute that brought us the Heller decision, and they even had to deal with a few NRA roadblocks. Of course now the NRA acts like it was their idea.

But for all the naysayers, we've been through worse. There was so much government socialism in the 1930s and early 40s that I don't think anyone here could have survived it. The government attacked WWI veterans who were engaged in peaceful protest, adopted eugenics programs, forcibly sterilized citizens it declared "indigent" and put people into actual camps (Japanese, German and Italian) without due process and often based upon suspicion alone.

We still don't enjoy all of our rights in the way we are supposed to have them, but when was the last time they rounded up anyone and put them into actual camps? Lots of people here view that time as the lost "good old days" and think today all is lost.

The only good thing is every government knows there is no benefit to running the well dry, so while economies rise and fall the one thing everyone in Congress agrees upon is everyone (except them) needs to be working so they can hand over their 30%. And they will do everything they can to keep the gravy train moving down the tracks.

[Honu]

those good old days of the KKK and other things camps and trampling of rights brought to you buy the Dems
it failed and they had to pull back change names and tactics and are ramping up to do more and worse IMHO not violating your rights but taking them away!
what party signed us into WWI WWII and Korea and Vietnam so who are the war mongers and controllers by power?
even under Reagan our country was in charge/control of imprisoning and torturing folks in other countries to control what they needed to?

the right, on the other hand, has slid to appease the lefties over that time ( example above and the middle east mess) and is now so weak and infiltrated with traitors to what the party is/was about that its also no good?

the two sides are closer than ever with each other and further from the people than ever

choosing a side is like being asked do you want me to smash the left side or right side of your face ! and most of us are well neither

the lefties like the nazis which they are basically one in the same even though they think the conservatives are hhahhaahha ironic

are doing exactly what they did in Nazi Germany taking over with a small percentage using fear and violence and targeting etc..

sadly history does repeat itself and in history, no nation or system has ever lasted at the top very long I really do fear are days are numbered but we are not there yet

[Outlander Systems]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nati...179971861.html

It was inevitable. I mean, exactly how long do folks think we could hold off a country with 5x our population? They weren't going to ride bicycles forever...