How America Is Squandering Its Wealth and Power

4more years

If the war in Iraq was such a good move why did they have to lie and mislead the people to get us to go to war in the first place! The price of oil has only gone up along with our deficit for paying for the war. While our ability to fight on another front at the same time has fallen considerably. And lastly our present governing parties economic policies have led us to the brink of economis disaster1 We have no one to blame but ourselves for continuing to vote into office those who no longer represent us but who seem to represent the highest bidder!

America in Decline

The article is, I believe, a glaring look at the roots of our decline...our monstrous desire for more and mismanagement of our resources, particularly financial.

We as a nation have lived beyond our means for so long, that we are used to thinking we will be ok. But now it is catching up with us.

I believe we have been in decline and will continue. To think that maybe we can pull out of the tail spin is up in the air. The bailouts have a heavy price tag and are a bandaid. Our pleasure seeking mindset must change to stave off us becoming a third world country.

Perhaps, as after 9/11...we should turn our attention to Divinty...for we need reasoning beyond our own!

Who is running the country?

Our country is in the middle of a national crisis and these (worthless) professional politicians can't even get along with each other. If this was a company I'd fired them all and start fresh and elimiating lobbist. Our two party system is disfuntional. From my eyes I see zero leadership and the quality of life for most american disintegrating. Why didn't Warren Buffet buy the Presidency and straighten this country up. We all pay too much taxes because of the government waste and the millions of Americans who pay little or nothing.

What is really ashamed is that we lost 4,000 brave Americans and have accomplished nothing. I'm ashamed to call myself a Republican any longer based on the horrendous job of Bush. He should simply step down. Oh, I forgot that would put Cheney in and all he's done is line his pockets with those sweetheart Haloburton contracts. Throw them both in jail!

War in Iraq

Taking Iraq was the most brilliant strategic move made by a US President since Washington crossed the Delaware in December. Not only does Iraq have 40% of all the oil reserve of the Middle East, but they have 90% of all the water. If you want a drink or to plant a crop you have to ask Iraq. Taking it gave us a way to keep the peace in the Middle East and maintain the free flow of oil at market prices. But, our internal enemies, who now control the press and tell the people what to think wanted to make GW Bush look bad so they bad-mouthed the operation from the beginning. Now we have the result of their thinking and have only managed to avoid even a recession thanks to the few good moves the Republicans have been allowed to make, i.e. lowering taxes and promoting free trade.

Energy and War

All development (progress) is internal. Had we spent $800M over the past seven years developing alternative energy instead of spending on the battlefield, where would we be now? 1.) Oil would be cheaper and our enemies who control oil would be a lot less arrogant; 2.) The powers-that-be in this country that make their living on fear and ignorance would have to find a more humane way to make a living. Can we really expect the corporations that control gov't policies to solve our many problems? I think not. What is to be done? Once we finish being bled to death by the Pashtuns in Afghanistan over the next twenty years, hopefully, we will wake up one morning and realize that less money for the Pentagon and more money for other federal agencies is the way to live. Until then, we should at least start working on minimizing our casualities.

Energy and War

All development (progress) is internal. Had we spent $800M over the past seven years developing alternative energy instead of spending on the battlefield, where would we be now? 1.) Oil would be cheaper and our enemies who control oil would be a lot less arrogant; 2.) The powers-that-be in this country that make their living on fear and ignorance would have to find a more humane way to make a living. Can we really expect the corporations that control gov't policies to solve our many problems? I think not. What is to be done? Once we finish being bled to death by the Pashtuns in Afghanistan over the next twenty years, hopefully, we will wake up one morning and realize that less money for the Pentagon and more money for other federal agencies is the way to live. Until then, we should at least start working on minimizing our casualities.

the Bacevich article

Thank you, Professor Bacevich! You make me proud to be a Boston University alum. We Americans must change the way we live. We must invest in alternative energies and use our famous ingenuity to create new ways to get off oil altogether. Stop the transfer of wealth to foreign nations. Stop the war in Iraq, the first war we've ever prosecuted on credit, and get out of debt to China before they start appointing presidents for us. Reduce the national debt and disencumber our children and grandchildren.

Promote public transportation. Get every home a solar installation to reduce the costs of electricity. Preserve what oil we do have to build the steel windmills we'll need. Reinstitute "Buy American." Help Detroit turn around by inventing better batteries for cars. Hire millions to fix our infrastructure, as FDR did in the New Deal. Buy locally grown food. Plant what's native to your community and start a victory garden for fresh produce from your own backyard.

We need a president who can inspire us to do these things. A great orator. All those politicians who assert that words are empty just don't know how to speak themselves. Hope springs eternal. Remember that out of 289 people in his college class, only five people were dumber than John McCain. This time, we need a smart president. Vote for Barack Obama. Our lives depend on it. Get off the bandwagon of politicians who only support big business and the nation's 18 wealthiest families--vote the guy in who only has one house.

We are a people who can make sacrifices for the greater good. We are running out of time to preserve our frail planet. It starts with us.

This is stupid

At this point it should be blatantly obvious that this is not a war, but a policing of the streets of Bagdad which is causing more resentment toward the U.S. at an enormous cost, both in lives and money. This at a time when people are losing their homes due to economic effects of this war. But, oh yeah, Iraq has a huge surplus. AND Iraq will never fit the mold of a Jeffersonian Democracy due to vast differences in our cultures.

I can't believe that they are talking about withdrawel by 2011 as progress. This is stupid.

Bring them all back!!!

Bring back all of the troops. Our country would definitely have to be on the defense, but at least all of our soldiers would be home and who's too say anything would even happen?

I say just bring them all back and strengthen homeland security, not foreign land security. I think other countries are perfectly capable of securing their own lands.

website

Dear Editor / Moderator,

My comment is not about the article. It is just that this is the first time I have visited your website and I noticed something very odd. On the 'date stamp' for these comments, you use the 24-hour clock. Well, that's fine (although it is rather unusual in America, isn't it?) but under that system you don't need the 'AM' and 'PM' tags, as they are altogether redundant. It looks quite funny, really.

cheers,

Henry