1000th post - This is your fault America!

[The Doctor.]

This is OUR Fault

That’s right, this is America’s fault, plain and simple. The rise of the Bush Administration and the Neo-Conservative agenda is, for the most part, our fault.

Americans, simply put, are arrogant, ignorant, and selfish. We have therefore given rise to those who emulate the true nature and character of America. I have heard this said before in many ways and many times.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." – H.L. Mencken

Now it has truly happened… but not for such simple reasons.

Here’s the one point many who have studied this administration and its incompetence have failed to grasp; (brace yourself)

The Bush Administration is trying to SAVE us.

No, not from terrorists. They’ve proven far to incompetent and unwilling to protect us from terrorists. In fact, they NEED the threat of terrorism looming over us, somewhere, out there, just waiting for us to display a moment of weakness to pounce on us in our living rooms. They need us to feel insecure in order to garner our unquestioning loyalty and support. Without that, they will not be able to save us from our REAL enemy… ourselves.
How could I say that? Maybe you already know the answer – we love to be comfortable, and will do nearly anything to stay that way… including kill.

If you’ve ever used a credit card to buy what you cannot afford, you are guilty.
If you’ve ever bought a car that gets less than 15 miles per gallon of gas – you’re guilty.
SUV driver? – Guilty
Have you ever been in a union? Guilty.
Have you held a public office and received a raise? Guilty.
Big screen TV from Rent-a-Center?
Guilty.
2nd Mortgage?
Guilty.
Bankruptcy?
Guilty.
Shop at Wal-Mart?
Guilty.
Tax credits for your kids?
Guilty.
Attended public school?
Guilty.

Did I just make you mad? Not yet?

Used a tax shelter? Guilty. Sued anyone for ‘pain and suffering’? Guilty. Collected unemployment insurance? Guilty. Welfare? Guilty. Medicaid? Guilty. Laid off employees? Guilty.

Think I’m just being silly? Guilty.

If didn’t piss you off… Guilty…

And therein lies the problem.

Obviously I’m not telling anyone they’re a criminal for any of these things, I don’t feel like getting lynched right in front of my computer.

For the record I am pro-union, shopped at Wal-mart, and taken advantage of rentals. I do think SUVs are a menace because people buy them for status instead of their driving ability. I’ve used Medicaid, Food stamps, maxed out credit cards… you get the idea.



So here’s the problem - if I were in public office, especially high office – trying to tell the American people what they could drive, how they could shop, where they could shop, whether they could join a union, how many children they could have, or where they had to go to school… my political life expectancy would be that of a bound, muzzled, and catnip-basted hog in a pit of Bengal tigers that have been fed nothing but cucumbers for a week.
Not long indeed.

The Bush Administration knows this.
Every politician knows this.

But you can’t tell the American people they can’t have everything they want, if Americans don’t get what they want, if they become ‘uncomfortable’ – they get rid of their leaders.

Ahhh, the beauty of democracy….

So here’s why they’re trying to save us;

In the interest of pursuing comfort; this country has gone into nearly 14 Trillion dollars in debt.
No, that little $7 Trillion number you’ve heard about? Wrong. You think state and municipal governments borrow from the federal coffers? No.
Our combined Federal, State, and Local debt is nearly 14 TRILLION dollars.
We’re in trouble – we’re going into debt JUST paying down the INTEREST on these debts… and we’re still borrowing… to stay comfortable.
Soon we will have to borrow JUST to pay the interest.

Anyone notice how the US dollar is falling?
That would be because of our debt. The value of the dollar has everything to do with America’s ability to generate income. That ability is in decline both because of the terrible debt we have to pay off AND the increasing trade deficit. As we send more money and jobs out of this country – our net national value declines. As our ability to pay off our debt appears to diminish, our currency becomes much less attractive. Fewer countries will be willing to buy our debt as the returns seem neither secure or of value even if paid off.
We will have massive debt and no one will be willing to help us out. Our ability to pay for that debt will continue to decline. Our domestic programs will go bankrupt, Government cuts will add new unemployment in record numbers, unemployment will go bankrupt, factories will close, more unemployment, the dollar will continue to fall… in short – total economic collapse.

And that’s not the worst of it.

The reasons for the decline of the dollar are compounded by one-another. One of those reasons is also the decline of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
To make this brief; Reserve Currency is what different countries use for purposes of international trade.
Until recently, the entire world, with very few impoverished exceptions, has only used ONE nation’s currency for reserve purposes.
Bet you can guess which nation that is…
Yep – Us, the United States Dollar has been the world’s reserve currency for most of the last century… but that has been changing.
As the world’s Reserve Currency, the dollar has enjoyed a value fixed to the world market, the honor of being invited into every treasury of the world, and the privilege of being the only currency that could purchase the world’s number one commodity.
Oil.
With the dollar as the world’s reserve, the United States has never had to worry about little things like trade deficits, paying back loans, or the cost of energy outstripping our economy. The dollar was gold – and we could make it out of lead.

The US dollar has recently had to endure a bright new competitor – the Euro.
Now the two currencies are at war for the adoration of the world, but the Dollar has a remarkable disadvantage – it represents a huge, gigantic, gargantuan debt.

Now, I’ve always been crummy at analogies, but I’ll give it a try…

Let’s pretend the US dollar is a champion prizefighter… we’ll call him ‘D’. ‘D’ was a boxer who was trained from the ground up with the best trainers, coaches, and equipment a young, innovative country could come up with.
There were a few tough fights, but ‘D’ proved himself again and again in the ring of the world market. Backed up by national resources, manufacturing, innovation, technological advancement… ‘D’ became the greatest fighter the world had ever seen.
Soon there were no more opponents to stand against ‘D’ – so, being in a situation without any competition in sight, ‘D’ began to cash in on his unassailability.
First, ‘D’ realized he could fight with one arm tied behind his back, so he sold it off so that his coach could pay for some very expensive products… mostly guns and missiles in case the other coaches decided to play dirty, but also for the coaches family and their expensive tastes, as well as all the coach’s not-so well off tenants.
No problem – he could buy it back later.
Then ‘D’ needed to sell off one of his legs {he never had to move much to defeat an opponent anyway) so the coach’s wealthy friends could throw a big party… then give the leftovers to the unfortunate tenants.
Finally, ‘D’ sent the trainers home and let himself have a vacation. The workforce behind D’s strength went to other countries, took more vacation days, spent sometime in offshore places and became generally more complacent. But ‘D’ still had all of his backers to support he and his coach indefinitely. The backers had no one else to back, so the energy to keep the lights on in coach’s house was always there.
Now this wasn’t a problem until a young, fast, and powerful contender stepped into the ring – we’ll call him ‘Euro’. (Told you I was bad at analogies.)
Now this handsome, multi-cultural, well-trained fighter shows a new promise that very few other currencies… ah-hem… ‘prizefighters’ possessed… including ‘D’.
So ‘D’s backers start to invest in ‘Euro’ instead.
One-armed ‘D’ limps into the ring hobbled and bent over a crutch while ‘Euro’ springs over the ropes in a feat of athletic precision to the cheers of more than half the audience. The coach is worried… this could mean the end of his career as a country… err, I mean… coach.
So the coach pulls out the gun he bought, claims loudly that ‘Euro’s backers are criminals, shoots them one by one, and redirects their resources back to ‘D’.

Ok – it’s a lousy analogy.

The point is pretty simple though – Our administration knew the Dollar could not compete in the world market against the Euro. They knew that the nations we imported oil from might begin to trade in Euros. Iraq had very lucrative contracts with France, Germany, and Russia just waiting for sanctions to lapse. Wanna guess what currency those trades would depend on? Yep – the Euro. Saddam was never a military threat to us. Even Israel had him out-gunned… but as an economic threat – he was about to crush us. The administration knew that this could crush America’s economy. So they invaded… and they ain’t done yet.
We also MUST control the world oil market. If we do not, as the country responsible for consuming 25% of the world’s energy – we will be price gouged into economic submission no matter how strong the dollar is.

Now to wind this all up in a flash;

This Administration did not have the brass to tell the American people that we had to take drastic domestic measures to pay down our debt, make American manufacturing more competitive, and strengthen our economy.
That would have made us ‘uncomfortable’… ensuring political extinction for the offending bureaucrats.
So, knowing this, and being generally contemptuous of the American people, they committed to a course of action; war.
War was something Americans could wrap their petty heads around… there were good guys and bad guys… just like on the television.
Once they committed to the invasion of the Middle East; they could not waver… no matter how bad a stench they created.
They must continue to press into the oil-rich land or face telling the American people the ‘uncomfortable’ truth. In order to do so they HAD to win the election at any cost.
They think they are saving America, despite their bald ineptitude.
Can you blame them?

I can.
But I blame Americans too. If Americans had the attention span and willingness to understand concepts more complex than Monday night football, we might have supported an Administration that would have taken the critical and immediate measures necessary to heal our economy.
But instead we must illegally invade sovereign nations, kill the inhabitants, and plant governments there that are bent to execute our will. Vegas odds say Iran is next… there’s even a pool for the excuses or, more terrifying, the ‘event’ that will spur our forces further East.

It would be too easy just to say that ‘Red Staters’ would not have understood, but I live in a ‘Blue State’ and have found that less than 50% of people I speak with have the patience to care about the real reason for our invasion. Hell – 4 years ago I might not have cared either.

This is your fault America… and I’m right here with you.

Not enough patience to read this whole article?

GUILTY!

[AndyTiedye]

1. It Isn't Our Lifestyle, IT'S THE WAR!

It wasn't that long ago.
We were living even higher off the hog. Our economy was booming.
Yet we were running a surplus.
People wanted to buy our stuff and they did, despite the strong dollar.
There is nothing wrong with peace and prosperity.

Americans do understand. Most of us voted for Gore in 2000. We got robbed.
We got robbed again this year.

[The Doctor.]

4. True, we could have avoided the fall of the dollar... but there is also

The concern over controlling the energy market.

Without control of the oil, we will be price gouged into economic submission even WITH a strong dollar.
Perhaps if Americans didn't consume 25% of the world's available energy that wouldn't be a problem... but that kind of discipline would be... Uncomfortable.

I'll edit to include that tomorrow sometime... and repost.

Thanks for the input.

[AndyTiedye]

6. We Don't Need to CONTROL The Energy Market

We just have to make sure that it cannot BE controlled by anyone else.
Alternative energy and better efficiency can do that. Those things
aren't cheap, but you could buy a lot for what we are spending on
the Iraq war.

Extensive adoption of hybrid technologies in cars will cut their
energy use (and pollution) substantially while providing improved
performance. We will also drive those cars less. Telecommuting
is becoming more common, and ridership is up on many of the recently
expanded and upgraded rail systems. Build a nice fast train where
people want to go, and they will come. Especially if gas prices
are annoyingly high.

[The Doctor.]

7. again I agree, but unfortunately the 'expense' part is a

bigger problem than most people realize.

The cost to develop those sources is very high, the energy output is very low compared to petroleum... except in the case of fission, but that comes with it's own very unique expenses.

I believe our one real hope is getting Fusion online.

Many times more efficient than Fission but with a minimun of nuclear waste.

With such a source of electricity, we could hydrolyse hydrogen right out of the ocean to replace liquid fuels and natural gas.

But try Explaining to the American people that we're going to sink 20 billion dollars into some 'science' thingy.

I believe Gore would have pursued this.

The Neo-cons are hopefully the last relic of a shortsighted race.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[aquart]

3. Guilty for belonging to a union?

Don't even try it.

[The Doctor.]

5. Good - got your attention... that was the point.

Would you be less comfortable if you were not in a union?

I know I would be if I weren't.