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What collapsing empire looks like
Salon ^ | August 6, 2010 | Glenn Greenwald

Posted on 08/07/2010 4:42:45 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued

It's probably also worth noting this Wall St. Journal article from last month -- with a subheadline warning: "Back to Stone Age" -- which describes how "paved roads, historical emblems of American achievement, are being torn up across rural America and replaced with gravel or other rough surfaces as counties struggle with tight budgets and dwindling state and federal revenue." Utah is seriously considering eliminating the 12th grade, or making it optional. And it was announced this week that "Camden [New Jersey] is preparing to permanently shut its library system by the end of the year, potentially leaving residents of the impoverished city among the few in the United States unable to borrow a library book free."

Does anyone doubt that once a society ceases to be able to afford schools, public transit, paved roads, libraries and street lights -- or once it chooses not to be able to afford those things in pursuit of imperial priorities and the maintenance of a vast Surveillance and National Security State -- that a very serious problem has arisen, that things have gone seriously awry, that imperial collapse, by definition, is an imminent inevitability? Anyway, I just wanted to leave everyone with some light and cheerful thoughts as we head into the weekend.

(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: leftistshill; partisanshill
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To: Farmer Dean
On a year to year basis the Federal Govt. contributes zero to the quality of my life.

(I can’t think of one thing that they have ever done to help me.EVER.)

Well, DARPA did create the original Internet.

(Also, if you use GPS, that was also a creation of the federal government.)

61 posted on 08/07/2010 7:07:43 PM PDT by snowsislander (In this election year, please ask your candidates if they support repeal of the 1968 GCA.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

Don’t get upset, all the library books would have to be replaced with Spanish ones anyway.


62 posted on 08/07/2010 7:32:42 PM PDT by donna (Synonyms: Feminism, Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism)
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To: bill1952

If they just printed more money wouldn’t that solve everything? </sarc>


63 posted on 08/07/2010 7:42:02 PM PDT by killermosquito (Buffalo (and eventually France) is what you get when liberalism runs its course.)
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To: Pining_4_TX
" H.W. responded as if it were a perfectly legitimate question. I knew then we were doomed."

I remember the incident. But . . . ( ^8 } blaming Bush (41) is kinda like blaming Petain for the Nazis.

64 posted on 08/07/2010 9:29:43 PM PDT by YHAOS (you betcha!)
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To: Clintonfatigued
Well, it sort of reminds me of the stories my grandmother told me where she remembers riding up form Pittsburgh to Mercer in her uncle's Ford Model-T back around 1920 or so. Route 19 was paved from Pittsburgh to Zelinople, PA and the road past that was gravel and dirt.

I do think we are slipping backwards.
65 posted on 08/07/2010 10:20:40 PM PDT by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)
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To: upchuck
Out in the country where I live they are extending the county road system and paving dirt roads.

Hope you aren't too close to town, or you're in for an annexation fight...

66 posted on 08/08/2010 1:26:42 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Clintonfatigued; All
'Collapsing Empire'?

Is that a euphemism for this?


67 posted on 08/08/2010 1:36:09 AM PDT by SloopJohnB (B O: The first Halfrican-American President)
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To: Daisyjane69

You are missing the point.

Politicians always cut police, fire, schools, libraries, etc first so that the public feels the squeeze. This is how they prepare the public to demand more taxes. Its pay more or else.

They can’t possibly cut back on union pay, union pensions, government jobs, illegal alien services, and the endless programs for welfare mommies.


68 posted on 08/08/2010 2:23:41 AM PDT by DB
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To: beckysueb

All this ‘stimulus’ money was spent, yet MARTA is being drastically cut. More taxes and MUCH less service is the new American way.


69 posted on 08/08/2010 2:27:50 AM PDT by Lazamataz ("We beat the Soviet Union. Then we became them." -- Lazamataz, 2005)
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To: Red Boots

I have a similar experience to yours. But there is some variation depending on which branch of the county system I go to. The one in my home town is more “urban”: lots of bi-lingual holdings and programming, no quiet rules observed, groups of utes hanging out like it was a high school cafeteria. I’ve come near fistfighting a number of times when I had the audacity to ask some of these fine patrons to keep it a little quieter.


70 posted on 08/08/2010 4:25:07 AM PDT by JewishRighter
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To: Clintonfatigued

“4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs.
[5] A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
[6] But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers.”

Psalm 74: 4,5 & 6


71 posted on 08/08/2010 6:34:00 AM PDT by RoadTest (Religion is a substitute for the relationship God wants with you.)
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To: Clintonfatigued

What you see is the consequences of politicians building (more like over building) stuff they could not maintain. New roads are “sexy.” Maintaining existing roads are boring.
Happens to hospitals, too. All the rich benefactors want to build buildings with their names on ‘em - none of them seem to want to endow the hospital for their maintenance (or for parking lots...).


72 posted on 08/08/2010 6:42:55 AM PDT by Little Ray (The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!)
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To: Clintonfatigued
Small problem. When this "empire" was growing the fastest, it did so with privately-built roads; virtually no public schools beyond sixth grade (and all entirely local and patriotic/religious); with all of its major universities still strongly tied to Christian denominations; and with a pretty persistent trade deficit.

Now, there is no question many if not most of the material symbols of "greatness" are looking shabby: cities, roads, etc. But these are BY-PRODUCTS of greatness, where you have low taxes, energetic non-welfare-oriented people, entrepreneurs, and smaller government. This is all recoverable in a mere 8-10 years with the right people and right policies in place. Thatcher substantially turned Britain around in about that amount of time, and Britain was MUCH further down the road than we are. Since then, a lack of persistence has turned England back---but the point is, theses physical symbols are quickly and easily restored to grandeur NOT by govenrments investing in "infrastructure," but by individuals pursuing their dreams. Need education? Free people who have low taxes will be able to pay for their OWN damn kids' education. I teach at a university where the tuition could easily be 1/3 to 1/4 if you removed the layers of bureaucrats and the "recruiting," which then allows the school to raise tuitions.

Want to see how quickly the physical symbols can be restored? Look at Disneyland, which in 1980 was surrounded by slums and hovels, and now is sparkling with new Disney-built and improved roads; mostly new glistening hotels; and nary a drug addict to be seen. Disney's road system is terrific, both in CA and in FL. I'm not saying they do everything right, nor do I agree with their homosexual/PC agenda. I'm just saying that when you let the private sector do some of these things, they get done, and well. I'm betting Disney planted all those giant palm trees that I don't recall being along the streets when I was here last time.

Sure, governments in China, Korea, and Japan laid a lot of cable "infrastructure," but I'm pretty sure it was the demand caused by Nokia and other private phone companies that forced it.

73 posted on 08/08/2010 7:37:49 AM PDT by LS ("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually." (Hendrix))
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To: KDD

Wow. Looks to me that we already are a socialist state.


74 posted on 08/08/2010 11:46:57 AM PDT by fullchroma
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To: Red Boots
Our public library has become a expensive homeless shelter. They bathe in the restrooms, sleep in the stacks, and watch porn on the computers.

Upon reading this line I immediately thought, "You must live in Denver." and then I clicked on your profile page.

Am I right?

75 posted on 08/08/2010 12:04:27 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Drew68

My sister-in-law moved to Denver just a year or so ago.

It’s depressing to hear it’s that bad.


76 posted on 08/08/2010 12:07:47 PM PDT by paulycy (Demand Constitutionality: Marxism is Evil.)
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To: paulycy
My sister-in-law moved to Denver just a year or so ago.

It’s depressing to hear it’s that bad.

From 1998-2002 I lived right in the heart of downtown. It was nice then, for the most part, as long as you knew which areas to avoid. I haven't been back for a while so I don't know what it is like now. I remember the multi-million dollar public library well. I spent a lot of time there. A beautiful building with lots of resources and, sadly, lots of bums.

77 posted on 08/08/2010 12:11:55 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: The Comedian
Tear up the roads, fire the cops, close the libraries, but dear gawd in Washington, don't even think about firing government parasite employees or cutting off their crippling tax-funded pension plans.

That's exactly it.

78 posted on 08/08/2010 12:15:13 PM PDT by Screaming_Gerbil (...he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one... Luke 22:36)
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To: dirtboy
When the tax revenues drop off, the administrative fat, which could be cut with no noticeable effect, is left in place. Instead, they cut the muscle - the cops, the prison guards, the libraries, the highways - the knife goes right to the small percentage of government employees that actually do something useful - to 'demonstrate' to the public that no cuts can be made without pain.

I see exactly that plan in operation here where I am in Michigan in the suburbs around the Detroit area.

Property tax revenues fall, the voters do not approve a milliage, and they cut the library and senior center and some police.

My personal opinion is if that is what they are going to do, then after they make those first major and painful cuts in those areas, what reason is there is there to ever vote for a milliage again? Just keep cutting from there, as they have already done the worst they can do tio cut services...

One (or two) words of warning however: They do ramp up the enforcement of every law possible that they can write a citation for. Code enforcement (cut your grass, no cars being worked on in the driveway or back yard, etc.) and traffic enforcement (no talking on the cell phone or drinking or eating while driving, etc.).

In addition to cutting services, they also send the enforcers out to write as many tickets as they can to get additional revenue that way.

Just a heads up...

79 posted on 08/08/2010 12:25:47 PM PDT by Screaming_Gerbil (...he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one... Luke 22:36)
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To: Clintonfatigued
reject the truth and you devolve.

It's pretty simple,really.

80 posted on 08/08/2010 4:39:45 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (Gawd I love being an American.)
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