[MadIvan]

I love how this fellow sits on his smug, pompous arse in his comfortable home, with likely all the modern conveniences that one could want, plus a computer with internet access, with access to health care and vaccines his ancestors one could only dream of, with opportunities to travel, work and study that was beyond the aspirations of medieval kings and simultaneously decry the economic and political circumstances, in such a stupid and delusional manner, which provided all this.

The whole Empire thesis, as you pointed out, is entirely bogus.

Regards, Ivan

[motzman]

Empire, definitions:

the domain ruled by an emperor or empress
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

a group of countries under a single authority; "the British empire"
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

a monarchy with an emperor as head of state
www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn

Well, the first one doesn't work because we don't have an emporer or empress, though we have many that wish to be.

Second doesn't work either; we're doing everthing possible to move away from a "single authority".

Third's no good--we just had an election.

I've had more than one republican-leaning "well-educated" friend of mind mention the "Empire" word...an observation neither would made on their own. (Thanks TV-people!)