World Politics

[Von Mises]

I haven't kept up with this thread, mainly because I am an Australian living in Canada, and I apologize if I am stating something that has already been discussed. From Men's Health magazine: 40 million Americans do not have health insurance, 40 million Americans live below the poverty line, 62% of bankruptcies are because of medical expenses, and 78% of those that go bankrupt because of medical expenses had health insurance. That's scary for a first world country.

These numbers are meaningless without context. In US poverty line means that family owns 1 car instead of 2, but for a billion people in the world poverty line means earning 1 dollar a day instead of earning 2 dollars a day. Same goes to health insurance, outcomes (how healthy americans are or whatever other measurement you take) in US are not worse than in other first world countries.

 

[usedtobefast]

These numbers are meaningless without context. In US poverty line means that family owns 1 car instead of 2, but for a billion people in the world poverty line means earning 1 dollar a day instead of earning 2 dollars a day. Same goes to health insurance, outcomes (how healthy americans are or whatever other measurement you take) in US are not worse than in other first world countries.

you are so wrong. those numbers are for the us economy.

 

[Anonymous]

The decision was made by the Texas Board of Education. Among other things they set the curriculum for their schools, deciding what should and should not be taught.
What raises my hackles is that it was apparently done because of his views on the separation of Church and State, one of the founding tenants of our Government (suggested by Jefferson).
America is becoming every bit as much a fanatical religious state as the Muslim countries we are fighting. Welcome to the New Crusades.

Becoming? It has been for about three decades now, since reagan...and of course is getting worse day by day...reagan let the nuthouse loose...it was all over then...

 

[Anonymous]

These numbers are meaningless without context. In US poverty line means that family owns 1 car instead of 2, but for a billion people in the world poverty line means earning 1 dollar a day instead of earning 2 dollars a day. Same goes to health insurance, outcomes (how healthy americans are or whatever other measurement you take) in US are not worse than in other first world countries.

gee, if those numbers are meaningless, why do americans have less life span than all of the other first world nations...we die younger...period...of course you will say, it is because of choices ect...they have all of the other choices in other countries...freedom of choice huh? how about not covering our own citizens via basic health care and seeing a doctor, getting your meds...all of the other first world nations provide this at half the cost we pay for this lousy system...they live longer and have more life...pretty simple...

 

[Anonymous]

That is the kind of thing perpetrated by the fanatical right that boils my blood. I literally feel hatred towards that kind of propaganda and revisionism. It is shortsighted stupidity promoted by fundamentalist wack-jobs who believe they have the right to tell everyone else how to believe. It is also a continuation of education policy promoted by people who distrust and attack education. They are making our citizens and society an ignorant laughing stock to the rest of the world. Below average people preaching "American Exceptionalism" should be satire. Unfortunately, what passes for "American Exceptionalism" is a moron from Alaska who has used enormous amounts of ambition and and even greater amounts of ignorance speaking to people like her. Our country is filling with morons, so I guess they should be led by someone like them.

America is a dying fat cow, and we deserve to die.

I agree...listen, educated americans is the last thing they want...why do you think college became so ridiculous for so many...europeans want their folks to be educated, hence it is part of your tax bill to pay for basic services like education, health ect...europan taxes may be higher than ours but at least they friggin get something back for it...what do you get here for your taxes? Half decent roads? why does europe have hardly any crime compared to here? good nature? I doubt it....rather, there is a social safety net, again a luxury gone from here and one payed for by taxes...
But the last thing these mofos want is an educated public...that isnt any big secret...it would be very dangerous to them if folks started demanding services and protection from their taxes...

 

[rhubroma]

America education today has been reduced to a mere instrument for being hireable within the job market, and has lost its function of providing students with the cultural patrimony and critical skills for interpreting it that has been laid down in the West from the Classical World forward.

In such a didactic framework, it isn't surprising to see how much ignorance prevails among the so called educated in the US. And I'm talking about a basic understanding of how civilization has behaved, its world views and thought processes and even religious outlooks, from pagan antiquity to the present.

It explains the complete child-like mystification of students when looking at the past, who are often unable to distinguish between rational historical analysis and lore. It thus also accounts for why a considerable part of US society refuses evolution and believes in so called creationism, and actually demands that Darwin be excluded from their children's curriculum.

All of which is very sad, and also equally pathetic.

 

[rhubroma]

I'd be interested to see what Obama, and indeed the left in America, has to say about the Mexican drug cartel and its effects. Should we legalize drugs?

I mention this because, following the US consolate assassination of late, I read an article about the history of drug traficing from Mexico into the US in the newspaper today.

And it is a history which goes back to the 20's with opium, and therefore heroin, production. The US government then put pressure on Mexico to ban its opium crop, though subsequently, however, as the rising demands for morphine during WWII arose (opium being a primary ingredient of morphine) the same US gov't ordered Mexico to actually increase production, and even built railways to better facilitate its arrival in the homeland. Though after the war, America had a real heroin problem. Consequently a ban was again requested, so the Mexican drug lords simply switched to controlling the cocain market from South America into the US.

Today the US represents 5% of the global population, but is responsable for 25% of the world's illegal drug consumption. Following a simple economic fact of supply and demand, one realizes that the Mexican drug cartel is not in fact a Mexican problem, but is in reality a US problem. Ok that the US asks Mexico to stop furnishing the nation with drugs, however, it's not ok that that the same America doesn't seriously consider the problem of its own drug addiction. Furthermore Mexico is right to ask the US to arrest its trade in illegal firearms, which furnish the Mexican durg lords with the weapons they use to masacre any compatriots who try and resist their illegitimate national sovereignty - to the tune of figures which approach the civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, the profits those same drug lords acquire from selling drugs to avoricious US consumers, are the same earnings with which the identical drug lords buy the weapons illegaly from US furnishers to effect a butchering of the Mexican nation. All the while conservative and moralistic America denounces Mexico and its workers for monopolizing the manual labor market in Bel Air.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd be interested to see what Obama, and indeed the left in America, has to say about the Mexican drug cartel and its effects. Should we legalize drugs?

I mention this because, following the US consolate assassination of late, I read an article about the history of drug traficing from Mexico into the US in the newspaper today.

And it is a history which goes back to the 20's with opium, and therefore heroin, production. The US government then put pressure on Mexico to ban its opium crop, though subsequently, however, as the rising demands for morphine during WWII arose (opium being a primary ingredient of morphine) the same US gov't ordered Mexico to actually increase production, and even built railways to better facilitate its arrival in the homeland. Though after the war, America had a real heroin problem. Consequently a ban was again requested, so the Mexican drug lords simply switched to controlling the cocain market from South America into the US.

Today the US represents 5% of the global population, but is responsable for 25% of the world's illegal drug consumption. Following a simple economic fact of supply and demand, one realizes that the Mexican drug cartel is not in fact a Mexican problem, but is in reality a US problem. Ok that the US asks Mexico to stop furnishing the nation with drugs, however, it's not ok that that the same America doesn't seriously consider the problem of its own drug addiction. Furthermore Mexico is right to ask the US to arrest its trade in illegal firearms, which furnish the Mexican durg lords with the weapons they use to masacre any compatriots who try and resist their illegitimate national sovereignty - to the tune of figures which approach the civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, the profits those same drug lords acquire from selling drugs to avoricious US consumers, are the same earnings with which the identical drug lords buy the weapons illegaly from US furnishers to effect a butchering of the Mexican nation. All the while conservative and moralistic America denounces Mexico and its workers for monopolizing the manual labor market in Bel Air.

A very good writer on the mexican drug cartels is Charles Bowden...worth checking out and a fine writer as well...basically, his point is that as drug money is such a huge part of the mexican economy, to really put pressure on them to take care of it would entail massive immigration problems, far worse than we already have...so a deal is made to give lip service while basically doing nothing...this besides the obvious facts on both sides of the border of massive political corruption.

 

[usedtobefast]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/racial_slur_development_not

 

[fatandfast]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/racial_slur_development_not

thank you.laughed so hard food went trough my nose.

 

[Ripper]

That is the kind of thing perpetrated by the fanatical right that boils my blood. I literally feel hatred towards that kind of propaganda and revisionism. It is shortsighted stupidity promoted by fundamentalist wack-jobs who believe they have the right to tell everyone else how to believe. It is also a continuation of education policy promoted by people who distrust and attack education. They are making our citizens and society an ignorant laughing stock to the rest of the world. Below average people preaching "American Exceptionalism" should be satire. Unfortunately, what passes for "American Exceptionalism" is a moron from Alaska who has used enormous amounts of ambition and and even greater amounts of ignorance speaking to people like her. Our country is filling with morons, so I guess they should be led by someone like them.

America is a dying fat cow, and we deserve to die.

Wow ... intense post man!

Being from Canada, I always find Americans discussing politics with one another to be rather fascinating. A lot of intensity and often heated debate between Democrats and Republicans ... I just need to stay frosty or I might get caught in the crossfire All this said, at least there is passion. Sometimes Canadian politics is like slapstick comedy!

 

[TRDean]

I'd be interested to see what Obama, and indeed the left in America, has to say about the Mexican drug cartel and its effects. Should we legalize drugs?

I mention this because, following the US consolate assassination of late, I read an article about the history of drug traficing from Mexico into the US in the newspaper today.

And it is a history which goes back to the 20's with opium, and therefore heroin, production. The US government then put pressure on Mexico to ban its opium crop, though subsequently, however, as the rising demands for morphine during WWII arose (opium being a primary ingredient of morphine) the same US gov't ordered Mexico to actually increase production, and even built railways to better facilitate its arrival in the homeland. Though after the war, America had a real heroin problem. Consequently a ban was again requested, so the Mexican drug lords simply switched to controlling the cocain market from South America into the US.

Today the US represents 5% of the global population, but is responsable for 25% of the world's illegal drug consumption. Following a simple economic fact of supply and demand, one realizes that the Mexican drug cartel is not in fact a Mexican problem, but is in reality a US problem. Ok that the US asks Mexico to stop furnishing the nation with drugs, however, it's not ok that that the same America doesn't seriously consider the problem of its own drug addiction. Furthermore Mexico is right to ask the US to arrest its trade in illegal firearms, which furnish the Mexican durg lords with the weapons they use to masacre any compatriots who try and resist their illegitimate national sovereignty - to the tune of figures which approach the civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, the profits those same drug lords acquire from selling drugs to avoricious US consumers, are the same earnings with which the identical drug lords buy the weapons illegaly from US furnishers to effect a butchering of the Mexican nation. All the while conservative and moralistic America denounces Mexico and its workers for monopolizing the manual labor market in Bel Air.

Hey rhubroma,

Quick question...I have been reading through all these posts now and was wondering...is it your position that the United States is responsible for all the problems in the world? Just curious...

 

[Oncearunner8]

The decision was made by the Texas Board of Education. Among other things they set the curriculum for their schools, deciding what should and should not be taught.
What raises my hackles is that it was apparently done because of his views on the separation of Church and State, one of the founding tenants of our Government (suggested by Jefferson).
America is becoming every bit as much a fanatical religious state as the Muslim countries we are fighting. Welcome to the New Crusades.[/QUOTE]

LMAO @ that.

 

[rhubroma]

Hey rhubroma,

Quick question...I have been reading through all these posts now and was wondering...is it your position that the United States is responsible for all the problems in the world? Just curious...

My position is that when a nation has immense power, there comes along with it an immense responsibility.

And I detest the naivte associated with a certain class of my compatriots who only see the world in black and white, because it's soothing to their minds. Or look upon it with eyes not trained to see through the insipid propaganda associated with a superpower status, or the moral pontificating which we get out of the American political rhetoric, or the unpleasant consequences for millions because of its actions: either because to do so would be too mentally taxing or they cynically don't care.

It makes the patriots uneasy and such views unpopular, when they are not outright detested along with myself for daring to call America out for its sins, of which there are many, such as its illegal arms trade to the worst kind of dictators or drug overords simply for economic convinience (which has shamefully gone on, and still goes on, for far too long), or to even bring into question the virtue of its capitalist and materialist culture. Though I prefer to hold on to them, rather than choose to only look at the so called roses.

It's simply reflects a critical culture which is highly developed among Europe's left, where I of course live. Though I apply the same rigorous critical analysis to all forms of the abuses of power and hypocrisy, and, consequently, I am just as unforgiving with say the Italy of Berlusconi, or the Russia of Putin, as I have been of the America of George Bush. Of course because I'm American and I do it with America, that makes me, in the eyes of the homeland cheerleaders, the worst kind of low life.

Naturally no single nation is responsible for all the worlds problems, though America, because of its international weight and leadership position, has a significant bearing upon a significant number of them. It reflects a simple law of proportionality. That that makes some people uncomfortable or furious, because unflatering to their nationalist sentiments, is an issue for which, frankly, I personally have no sympathy.

 

[ChrisE]

Ah, so now the truth comes out.

This rhetoric spouts from a sidewalk cafe in the shadow of the Bastille.

BTW, recreational drugs should be legalized. Problem solved.

 

[rhubroma]

Ah, so now the truth comes out.

This rhetoric spouts from a sidewalk cafe in the shadow of the Bastille.

BTW, recreational drugs should be legalized. Problem solved.

In fact...

Eugène Delacroix. Liberty Leading the People (28 July 1830).

 

[ChrisE]

In fact...

Eugène Delacroix. Liberty Leading the People (28 July 1830).

I didn't realize he was buried in Pere Lachaise. I can never spend enough time there; usually it just involves a quick trip to see Morrison and then off to Pigale to drink and party.

I need to make a point to look up his grave next time I am travelling thru Paris, on my way to far off lands to pillage for oil.

 

[craig1985]

Well the Health Care bill has come through. Why was there so much opposition to free health care? How is that a bad thing? I'm struggling to comprehend all of this.

 

[slowoldman]

Well the Health Care bill has come through. Why was there so much opposition to free health care? How is that a bad thing? I'm struggling to comprehend all of this.

The simple answer is because nothing is free.....someone will pay for it.

 

[Oncearunner8]

Well the Health Care bill has come through. Why was there so much opposition to free health care? How is that a bad thing? I'm struggling to comprehend all of this.

It is all a process.

I do not think it is the end of the world but hey some folks here do.

 

[Oncearunner8]

In fact...

Eugène Delacroix. Liberty Leading the People (28 July 1830).

Go read some Noam Chomsky and stop the madness.

 

[Anonymous]

The simple answer is because nothing is free.....someone will pay for it.

People already were paying for it. It is a myth of the Right that it cost nothing to have uninsured citizens. It cost a fortune.

 

[Oncearunner8]

People already were paying for it. It is a myth of the Right that it cost nothing to have uninsured citizens. It cost a fortune.

Sure does cost a fortune. Same goes for the non documented / illegal residents. The health care cost for them would pay for a good deal of the lower income families.

I wonder how this will all sort out. What will December 2010 look like? These are all good things to watch if you like politics.

Just in case you have not heard. President Obama has yet to do anything and will probably continue to do nothing. President Carter put more of his agenda in place by this time in their respective presidencies.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

People already were paying for it. It is a myth of the Right that it cost nothing to have uninsured citizens. It cost a fortune.

Yes it does. However, understand at the true conservative's core, the solution is that these people should be denied health care until they could show proof of the ability to pay for it. If they are too poor, not intelligent enough, or weren't ruthless enough in life to make a lot of money, they they'll just have to do without, or get whatever health care from free donations from other people. The conservative's principle is "I'm not paying a single penny for anyone else, no matter how bad off they are, how much money I have, or how I got my money." Many of them also believe that a single breach of that, even on the smallest level, will lead to full collectivism.

Sure does cost a fortune. Same goes for the non documented / illegal residents. The health care cost for them would pay for a good deal of the lower income families.

Yes, a perfect example. Most conservatives believe these people should be turned away at medical centers and put back on the street, receiving no health care. Or better yet, arrested and deported for being in the country illegally; even if in dire need of medical assistance. They can get that back in the country they came from.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it does. However, understand at the true conservative's core, the solution is that these people should be denied health care until they could show proof of the ability to pay for it. If they are too poor, not intelligent enough, or weren't ruthless enough in life to make a lot of money, they they'll just have to do without, or get whatever health care from free donations from other people. The conservative's principle is "I'm not paying a single penny for anyone else, no matter how bad off they are, how much money I have, or how I got my money." Many of them also believe that a single breach of that, even on the smallest level, will lead to full collectivism.



Yes, a perfect example. Most conservatives believe these people should be turned away at medical centers and put back on the street, receiving no health care. Or better yet, arrested and deported for being in the country illegally; even if in dire need of medical assistance. They can get that back in the country they came from.

This is a completely disgusting post. This may be your perception but there's no reality there.

Really, really sad.