very interesting take from of all places Russia? Guess it's an opinion article... but interesting take on current affairs in our country... OPINIONS? should this be under politics? The Hi-Tech Traditionalist: The Long Sought-After Principle That Unites All Americans Finally Found I think it’s fair to say that there has been a degree of disquiet in America lately. A creeping suspicion that America may not even be a country anymore, that there is no such thing as an American nation, an American people, an American person, or even an American citizen. After all, if a person from thousands of miles away, just by moving his physical presence into a territory that on maps is defined as that of the United States of America immediately becomes American, it means that the entire human race are Americans who simply have yet to show up on American territory. This should hardly be a cause for concern; just give them time. There is simply no issue, no matter how fundamental that those Americans who are already in America can agree on. Freedom of speech? No. Of assembly? No. The right to keep firearms? Heck, no. The language in which government business should be conducted? No. The right, by those already in America, to determine who may come there next? Not even close. The method by which presidents are elected? No. Who should have the right to vote in elections? No. The boundaries between the three branches of government? What branches? Who built America? No. Are the people who we thought had built her any good? Depends whom you ask. Should people be advanced on merit? You got to be kidding me. Should women who complain about sexual harassment be believed? Depends who they claim did the harassing. Mordor Has Fallen, The Battle Between Good And Evil Has Been Won None of these issues enjoys the support of a clear majority of “Americans” one way or the other. With that in mind, one could be, perhaps, rather pessimistic as to “America” retaining its status as any kind of unified political entity. But it turns out that should you be so inclined, you would be wrong! There is one thing that the vast majority of “Americans”, regardless if they came here across the frozen Bering Straits, or in chains across the Atlantic, on the Mayflower, or on a makeshift raft across the Rio Grande, can agree on. And here it is: COVERAGE FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. That’s all folks. America is saved. We know what it means to be an American. An American is a person who believes that he cannot be denied healthcare insurance, or offered a limited healthcare insurance policy, based on his pre-existing medical conditions. From president Trump to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from West Virginia to the Bronx, all “Americans” adhere to this foundational principle. Now you may say that this is because some “Americans” are misled. Because some of them do not understand that denying private insurers the ability to limit exposure is tantamount to a full government takeover of the healthcare business in America. You would be wrong. The vast majority of Americans perfectly understand this point. It is true that roughly half of them prefer to be lied to by the Republican Party and by President Trump and told that the Tooth Faerie and Santa Claus are real and that insurance companies that are told by the government how to conduct their business are “private businesses”. The other half simply cherish the government’s take over of yet another part of the American economy. When he and she share a pint of Haagen Dazs, she may sneak a peak at the calorie label and feel a twinge of regret. But he is tucking away and so is she. At this point, what difference does it make? According to a recent poll, the only generation of Americans of whom less than 40% thought that the government should play a bigger role in helping individual Americans was the WWII “Silent Generation”, soon to pass from this world. With Boomers it was about half and with Millennials and “Z-ers”, closer to three quarters. This is no coincidence, because the Silent Generation was the last generation of Americans. After them came people who happen to live in America either by accident of birth or by choice, whether their own or their parents’. Perhaps reading these lines makes you angry. Fine. But remember this: every government check you get, every government regulation that you like, that you personally rely on, cannot but come at the expense of the rights and freedoms enumerated in the Constitution. There is no free lunch. There is no loving government checks that you cash and hating those that are cashed by others. There is no liberty in the shadow of big government and big government is everywhere. It is in the food labels and in OSHA regulations, in Social Security and in 911 service. Big government isn’t evil, though it most certainly can be. Ever since civilization began, most people lived under big governments. Today, we all do. There was a brief period, a couple of centuries perhaps, when a few mostly English speaking people enjoyed limited government and personal liberty. That period is long since gone. What is unique about this where America is concerned is only one thing, but it is a biggie. Alone in all of history, America is a nation and a political entity that was born out of the negation of a big and invasive government. The American revolt against Britain was done with only one purpose and only one reason: to ensure that individual freedom always remained the supreme principle of the land and that no government could ever infringe on it. To be American was to subscribe to that principle. Many didn’t and their descendants now live in Canada and still pledge their allegiance to the British Monarch. What we are seeing now is that the foundational principle upon which America the country and America as a nation was built is no longer upheld by the vast majority of Americans. That means that America the constitutional republic is dead and its transformation to a quasi-democratic oligarchy is all but complete. There is no point in grieving, what is done is done. Let us not, however, pretend that the past can be restored, let us be honest with ourselves: most of us don’t want it to be. The Hi-Tech Traditionalist: The Long Sought-After Principle That Unites All Americans Finally Found - Tsarizm
the site and much of what is put forth... could it be claimed propaganda? it does give an alternate view of things but? "Tyrannical economies and dictatorships that thrived under the Obama administration now find themselves struggling economically to underpin their corrupt and repressive ways." from the article below... they did not have a very nice image of our previous pres... etc... Don't Look Now, But The Economies Of Repressive Governments Are Under Stress - Tsarizm
Do you think??? So does Pravda Which, I suspect is the reason why the article has been reposted here at SM. I could hardly imagine that positive and generous images would be shared of former President Obama. The American constitutional republic is not yet dead, but Donald and his cronies and fellow swamp critters are doing their level best to undermine the constitutional basis of the republic...fortunately there are some who dare to keep his authoritarian tendencies in check. The pity of it is that there are a number of conservative GOP supporters who are prepared to support his 'Nationalist' inclinations.
He didn't and still has not done or said anything to earn a positive cheer. Your imagination need not be strained looking for positive images.
Oh, I don't know...there is much in that article that is truthful or has a some basis of truth, as much as many other ones floating around the internet. One point it gets right is Health Care. It is a MAJOR point of contention in the US so major that it's a like an open artery in the lower and middle classes, draining them while they sleep. And, many are FINALLY starting to wake up and realize that the costs even if covered by "Don't worry, insurance covers it" leads back to them in the long run. There is no such thing as a free lunch - period. I believe that the US government should protect its citizens from enemies Foreign and Domestic and Health Care is a Domestic enemy and something the people cannot fight themselves, all they can do is watch it drain their lives and fortunes away or die. I suppose dying is a way to fight it, permanently. I believe Health Care is such a major issue that given the current mess of looney Democrat politicians, Bernie Sanders is the only one that can not only challenge Trump but perhaps defeat him all due to Health Care. And, that propaganda about it ruining the country? When was the last time we were told the truth about anything? It seems that money is so plentiful enough that they can give it away to other countries such as Israel ($38 Billion?) so...? Anyway...everyone has made their mind up by now about health care so no sense beating a dead horse...nevertheless, the artery is still open, still bleeding, with no way to stop it. "What we are seeing now is that the foundational principle upon which America the country and America as a nation was built is no longer upheld by the vast majority of Americans. That means that America the constitutional republic is dead and its transformation to a quasi-democratic oligarchy is all but complete." I must whole-heartily agree with both these statements. Frankly, don't know where this guy has been, but it's been dead a long, long time. We still spoon feed the populous the fairy tale mainly because the blood of their sons and daughters are needed, as is their taxes, but dead a long time now and no, it's not coming back.
When the subject of health care comes up, one thing seems to get consistently overlooked: why the cost of healthcare is so high. It's high because the American Medical Association severely limits the number of doctors available to the public. They don't do that to improve public healthcare. They do it to maintain their power base and protect their highly profitable monopoly. Why is malpractice insurance so high? Because medical insurance companies decided to maximize their profits by inventing a non-existent malpractice crisis. Why are drugs so expensive? It's not because they cost millions of dollars to develop. A drug that costs 100 million dollars to develop can be sold at $2.00 a dose, and will break even in 50 million doses. Thereafter, it will make a hundred million dollars in profit for every subsequent 50 million doses. At no point is there a necessity to price that (or any) drug at $8,000.00 a dose. That's called predatory pricing, and the sole purpose is to get all the money that can be got, as fast as possible. And if someone can't afford eight thousand dollars a dose (per day, week, Q4hrs, or whatever), tough nougies. They can jolly well die, and get out of the way of the people that can. And all of that, from the AMA to the insurance companies, to the drug manufacturers, is founded on the purchase of politicians. It is based on and eternally protected by favorable legislation. Like the legislation that exempts the entire insurance industry from all laws against price-fixing. Like the laws that make every vaccine manufacturer, prescribing physician, and administering medical assistant immune from lawsuit. Those laws are already on the books. The entire healthcare problem will go away as soon as the attendant incursions on the Constitutional rights of American citizens are dealt with. It may require a full-scale 2nd War for Independence. It may require mass dis-election of a lot of corrupt politicians. It may require several miles of rope. But the job can be done if the average American decides to get it done. And right quickly.
And, THAT is EXACTLY the reason one can find more doctors in other first world countries, there is no shortages of doctors in Germany, Russia, France, etc...only here. The game is properly and completely rigged.
I get a chuckle every time American and Culture are used together. There is no American Culture, there is one big mix mash of cultures constantly at each others throats. Most Nations have a culture and a identity and they protect that Culture and identity. The sheer number of ethnic groups and nationalities in the USA make that totally impossible here. The mass imports of ethnic groups and cultures over the last 12 years that have no common ground with any of the existing and already clashing cultures is really boogering things up. I would argue as much as the mass European migration to the America's boogered up the cultures and ethnic groups that existed here pre-columbian. The United States is basically being recolonized and the existing population being replaced without a war or for all practical purposes a shot being fired, simply a campaign of attrition. The same is happening all over the European homelands. The odd thing about today's environment is that historically more technologically advanced cultures replace the more primitive cultures........... All around the world and particularly here in the USA Stone age through Iron age cultures are defeating the more advanced cultures left and right, mainly because the more advanced cultures are just handing everything over. One might say the Barbarians are through the gates of Rome and the Sacking of the City has began.
