The United States of Decline: America unravels at an increasingly dizzying pace.

The National Review ^ | February 17, 2014 | Deroy Murdock

[2ndDivisionVet]

America is unraveling at a stunning speed and to a staggering degree. This decline is breathtaking, and the prognosis is dim.

For starters, Obama now rules by decree. Reportedly for the 27th time, he has changed the rules of Obamacare singlehandedly, with neither congressional approval nor even ceremonial resolutions to limit his actions. Obama needs no such frivolities.

“That’s the good thing about being president,” Obama joked on February 10. “I can do whatever I want.” In an especially bitter irony, Obama uttered these despicable words while guiding French president François Hollande through Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson — a key architect of America’s foundation of limited government.

That very day, Obama decreed that the Obamacare mandate for employers with 50 to 99 workers would be postponed until 2016 (beyond an earlier extension to 2015), well past the November 2014 midterm elections. This eases the pressure on Democrats, whose campaigns would suffer if voters saw their company health plans canceled due to Obamacare’s unnecessary, expensive, mandatory benefits — e.g. maternity coverage for men.

So, by fiat, Obama has postponed the employer mandate. When Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) effectively tried to do this through legislation last fall, Democrats virtually lassoed and branded him.

Also by decree last week, Obama decided unilaterally to soften political-asylum rules. Refugees and other immigrants who provide terrorists “limited material support” now can come to America. So what if someone merely clothed and fed Mohamed Atta or Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? After all, garments and meals don’t blow up. Welcome to America, Mustafa!

Meanwhile, the Justice Department is working hard to revoke the asylum of and deport the Romeikes....

[Navy Patriot]

Nicolae had pictures of himself plastered all of Romania in a act of self promotion. In later years his wife Elena also had pictures of herself all over Romania, however she was set out very strict guidelines of what pictures could be permitted to be used.

Here's the one I like best:

[blackdog]

Me too. I just don’t want my door bashed in at 3:00AM over some video.

[snoringbear]

“
Even if the U.S. didn’t import a single manufactured product from a foreign nation, we’d be producing those things here in heavily automated facilities that don’t have many employees at all. “

Ever hear of people’less fabs? People are just to dirty to work in the new fabs. And, the few that must enter must be none smokers. The term hand crafted, as an affirmation of quality is an illusion. Real quality and hence reliability is derived through automation.

[Alberta's Child]

Obama can't change the law. He can pretend to, but when push comes to shove every attempt at changing the law by fiat will be declared to be invalid and everyone who is counting on the waivers and postponements is going to be sorry they thought they could.

Of course he can "change the law." He simply has to refuse to enforce it -- and if the law is so unpopular that even many of the @ssholes who voted for it are running away from it, then Congress will never call him on it.

If you think this sounds outlandish, I'll point out just one simple example of how this has worked elsewhere:

The 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush in 2007, includes a mandate that all U.S.-bound containerized cargo must be scanned by X-ray machines before entering the United States. July 1, 2012 was the deadline established by Congress.

Everyone who worked in any industry that shipped products in shipping containers knew this was a joke, and that there was no way in hell this could be done.

That "mandate" is still the law of the land. July 1, 2012 came and went without so much as a whisper from the jack@sses in Washington who passed that bill and signed it into law. Today, approximately 4% of shipping containers bound for the U.S. from foreign countries are scanned by X-ray machine -- not much more than what was being scanned back in 2007 when the law was passed.

When Congress passes a law that can't be implemented, it simply never gets enforced. That's why it's easier to have some jug-eared nitwit announce these stupid "delays" and "extensions" for various provisions of ObamaCare.

Congress can't violate basic laws of economics any more easily than they can violate the basic laws of physics.

[Beowulf9]

Sad but good article.

[SamAdams76]

Maternity coverage for men? When did it become biologically possible for me to get pregnant?

[Alberta's Child]

Automation is about precision, repeatable processes (quality), and yes, speed.

In other words: replacing humans. Right?

I can't think of a single technological advance that wasn't aimed at replacing human labor with something that was more efficient (by some objective measure) than humans. Isn't this how we ended up with a situation in North America where the U.S. military chased away primitive tribes from a civilization that didn't even have something as simple as a wheel?

[blackdog]

Automation requires thousands of jobs to accomplish, install, and support. If not done right and such overheads are defered, the results are disasterous and in most cases ends the company which embraced the notion that automation replaces people. All it does is bring down per unit cost to manufacture, and only if.....you can capture and keep enough market share to invest the stockholders cash in such directions.

[nascarnation]

Maybe it’s to pay Sandy Fluk & Julia if their man forgets his free govt provided sheath and she contracts another STD?

[Jacquerie]

With the 17th Amendment we changed overnight from a federal to a democratic republic. Just as our Framers knew in 1787, Libs knew in 1913 and today, that excess popular participation in government eventually leads to turmoil, anarchy, followed by strong man despotism.

The wonder is that it took so long for an Obama to appear.

[Lakeshark]

When did it become biologically possible for me to get pregnant?

About the same time it became possible for global warming to start making cold winters.
About the same time it's only Republicans who have harassed women.
About the same time the color of your skin became more important than your character.
About the same time any employer who had become rich through their efforts became responsible for the deficit.
About the same time alternative energy became payed for just because you used it, not because it actually worked.

There's a lot more of those than anyone could possibly believe.....

[OldPossum]

To: Cringing Negativism Network

If only it were that simple....

He thinks it is. I've never seen anyone more fixated on something that simply cannot be done. It's like wishing on a star and demanding that that damn star deliver!

[ArtDodger]

The socialist takeover of this country, while similar to the Nazi takeover in Germany, is happening differently. Hitler and the Nazis had many other political parties sapping the majority needed to gain control, with the communists being the biggest competitor for the same voting block. Partly by cajoling the unions, the bureaucrats and down and outs, and by silencing the press, and by killing key opposition members, the Nazis finally gained control of the government and Hitler became chancellor. Once in, unions were banned, elections were stopped, opposition killed and so ended all freedom.
In America presently, the socialists are already in power but the constitution is in the way. If the People suddenly woke up, these people could all be out on the street tomorrow. No, Obama can't outlaw unions and won't as long as he needs them.
Our time is running out swiftly.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

This will not end well for anyone. Worry not the jobs will be back but not the pay. Wait till the Big War, the Draft, The spy hunts,loyality oaths, the 13 million man army, the re-education camps (lots of jobs there) and grave diggers. Work we will have a great deal of—its food that will be rationed.

[knarf]

So, they’ve GOT to kill us off.

[ex-snook]

After reading posts thru 45 it seems the problem that jobs are not coming back is not Obama, it’s automation, unions and government. I call BS, it’s the coolie wages paid in other countries coupled with pollution and decrepit factory buildings. In other words it is to make money, American labor costs are offloaded to government.

Most everything you buy is made in other countries. We either get these jobs back or we slip further toward depression regardless of who is President. Candidates get it fixed.