Free Republic

Washington -- DURING the cold war, as the Soviet economic system slowly unraveled, internal reform was impossible because highly placed officials who recognized the systemic disorders could not talk about them honestly. The United States is now in an equivalent predicament. Its weakening position in the global trading system is obvious and ominous, yet leaders in politics, business, finance and the news media are not willing to discuss candidly what is happening and why. Instead, they recycle the usual bromides about the benefits of free trade and assurances that everything will work out for the best. Much like Soviet leaders,...

A country cannot be a superpower without a high-tech economy, and America’s high-tech economy is eroding as I write. The erosion began when U.S. corporations outsourced manufacturing. Today, many U.S. companies are little more than a brand name selling goods made in Asia. Corporate outsourcers and their apologists presented the loss of manufacturing capability as a positive development. Manufacturing, they said, was the "old economy," whose loss to Asia ensured Americans lower consumer prices and greater shareholder returns. The American future was in the "new economy" of high-tech knowledge jobs. This assertion became an article of faith. Few considered how...

Weapons of Mass Deception – How the Government Scares Us into War by Bill Barnwell"We must go to war!" This is the official position of the neoconservative press and the unofficial position of the Bush administration. For months now, war plans to attack Iraq have been leaking to the press and fueling speculations of a Gulf War II. It is no secret that the administration and many in Congress are in favor of bringing down Baghdad. Bush himself says he eagerly wants a "regime change" in Iraq. Members of Congress in both parties have been working the talk circuits daily...