Yes, there are few here left that post but maybe perhaps there might be enough of a sampling to maybe have some what of an interesting discussion.

We have an election coming up. One that might be considered almost a repeat of 1994 where the pendulum swings back to the right etc. More battles fought in what has become our Cold Civil War.

In lieu of some long drawn out rant, the Big Picture for me is where is all our spending on Infrastructure, Science, and Education? Is anyone running on that as the basis for their campaign? Lots of lip service gets paid to those topics but this (http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1258) apparently is where the money goes. That is still a vast amount spent on defense. Supposedly our 20% still represents almost one half of the GLOBAL sum spent on defense. Seriously, are we planning on invading China once they surpass us as the top global economy? It just seems that our money and efforts would be better spent investing in how to build our own country stronger from an economic and technological standpoint as opposed to how we can best destroy the countries of others or how we can destroy our own country from within. If we are going to spend our way out of the Recession than what kind of spending is going to net a better return for the investment? Its something we knew how to do 50 or even 100 years ago. Its 100% China's strategy now. Hey its China. They have not had an original thought in hundreds of years but they know how to exploit the good ideas of others and make them their own. What went wrong with us where such ideas are not a priority anymore? Hubris? We can't be all be hung up on how tall to build the wall with Mexico or what sort of evil schemes the Mormons, Homos and Muslims could be hatching, are we? Heck if we let the country go to shit maybe all the groups we don't like will go somewhere else......

Anyway, I am sure Sanchek will chime in on how I have it all wrong.

I don't disagree with you much there.

I think you do have to consider how much of our defense spending is actually an investment in a) control of cheap oil to keep our society functioning, and more importantly b) maintaining the dollar's status as a nearly universal reserve currency. People have lots of theories about how targeted/effective defensive spending is in those areas, but it may actually be a tremendously lucrative investment in our disproportionate prosperity.

Yes, there are always overruns that spill over into the private sector from developing tech for military applications, but unfortunately its not a sustainable method of doing business. Asian firms, mainly Chinese ones who are more willing to take risks, are reaping the benifits of our military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Granted, the more oil China and other developing nations have access to, the lower the overall prices of oil on the global market are which translates into cheaper energy for the USA. Oil is still just a crutch though and why should our tax money go to killing the wildebeast so the hyenas can reap the benefits?

We should be investing in what comes after oil or at least investing/encouraging the development of the scientists and engineers who will come up with the solutions for the post-pretroleum world as well as investing in the infrastructure to make our country more effecient. Again, unless all our place in this world is to wage war in the name of assuring everyone has stable short term energy prices while not allowing ourselves an exit strategy then 20 years down the road we are going to be in a world of hurt.

I'm not talking about fueling an economy of defense contractors. I'm talking about our pattern of military intervention (or at least threat) any time a country stops using dollars as its means of trading oil. For the most part, oil is bought and sold with dollars even when it's not the US buying. That creates an inflated worldwide demand for the dollar and keeps it stronger than it would otherwise be.

While I think we've been in a "cold civil war" since the 1994 election (fuck you very much Newt!), I don't see this November as being a repeat. There are a fair amount of congressional seats likely to turn over, but in many cases those are republicans for even nuttier crazy republicans. The GOP has essentially already written themselves out of legislative efforts and unless they gain a majority in both houses the situation is unlikely to change much.

For all the media and propaganda noise about the reactionary right, they really do make up an absolutely tiny section of the population and if not for the astroturf funding of the Dick Armey , Murdoch via Fox, etc, they'd be a footnote.

Regarding infrastructure that fight has been lost for decades. We are already long past the point of fixing and are effectively going to have to rebuild our public infrastructure. Two entire generations are already lost to the destruction of public education and another two are likely unsalvageable. The health insurance cartels probably have another 10 good years of rape and pillage before we can further address replacing them with something that works, and our unemployment is already systemic and in many cases probably permanent. There are skilled laborers in the millions who will probably never be fully employed again. I expect the neocon attacks on Social Security to only increase as the results of their economic policies put it ever farther behind.

I don't know about you guys but I've gone from idly thinking about emigrating to actually planning out how to do it.

Canada will soon have to worry about its borders, as americans slip across illegally for jobs etc.. oh the ironies lol.

I don't know about you guys but I've gone from idly thinking about emigrating to actually planning out how to do it.

Yes, these thoughts have also crossed my mine, but only passively. My EAOS is this coming February and after that its back to school to wrap up a degree in Civil Engineering. Once I get my official blessing then I am not going to limit myself to the USA as to where I want to go work. If I end up going to Canada or Australia or where ever else on the planet (not India. Fuck that hell hole), and find that I like my new host nation then good chance I will stay never to return. Granted, C-E could be a growth industry in the United States if the powers that be ever pull their heads out of their asses and decide to modernize or maybe even repair but I am not holding my breath. Maybe I can design the wall for the US-Mexican border and then whore myself out to Canada to design the Canadian-US border wall.

As for November:

Turd Sandwich
http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/page/turdsandwich-6248.jpg

Or:
Giant Douche
http://www.whowouldkickass.com/_images/t_large/9e41a6bb0856c69d39f199babce870a8.jpg
The choice is yours!

Don't forget to vote!

'I think you do have to consider how much of our defense spending is actually an investment in a) control of cheap oil to keep our society functioning, and more importantly b) maintaining the dollar's status as a nearly universal reserve currency. People have lots of theories about how targeted/effective defensive spending is in those areas, but it may actually be a tremendously lucrative investment in our disproportionate prosperity.'

- That is the most hillarious A) and B) I have ever heard.

This article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10995111 is most revealing. China spends £50bn on defense - only a few billion pounds more than the UK (2nd and 3rd ranking respectively), while the US spends £500bn! Now, what China actually spends is, I am sure, much more, but no country in this emergingly bi-polar world spends 500bn on defense unless they are trying to keep the biggest muscles in case of war, or indeed to deter that war - regardless of 'investments'.

The US situation completely reminds me of the UK's in the first decade of the 20th Century, spending hundreds of millions (which was billions back then!) on naval armaments and claiming it as an 'investment return' in the protection of markets, the safety of Empire, and the deterrence of war. But we of course now know it was purely to cow Germany and ensure our '2-power'' rule of having a navy at least the size of the next two powers combined.

Look how that turned out. Now zip back to 75, 50, heck even 25 years previous when the British navy during the 19th century was a fraction of its Napoleonic or Edwardian size and the UK was at its zenith, especially in terms of foreign investment and invisible earnings on shipping, insurance, trade and banking.

Food for thought.

I don't know about you guys but I've gone from idly thinking about emigrating to actually planning out how to do it.
This has been on my mind, too, though I owe UNC Hospitals a couple years of my life for contractual reasons. I hear Denmark is lovely.

The Dems will lose seats in November: partly due to the flailing economy (did anyone think it would be restored by now?), partly due to their poor political strategies compared to Repubs, a bit of corruption coming forth, and also partly the natural swing of the pendulum. If Republicans take either chamber legislation will basically come to a halt (and expect subpoenas to fly, maybe even articles of impeachment). Even if the Dems hold both chambers, the Senate is such a deadlock of veto points I'm not sure what can be done. Hell, nearly 2 years in and votes are still in a slog for Obama's nominees.

Defense spending is retarded, but I don't see that changing soon. Pretty much what Malse said. Until we find a cheap new energy mode, our infrastructure will be left to rot. The economy is crap, and big guns make more headlines than electrical grids. Our policies are based more on slogans than need.

Not sure how much it will matter, as the environment further fries. The state of the oceans is distressing. Acid levels up, phytoplankton down. Those Danish beaches look better by the day.

If I ever left the "States" I'd go to Switzerland. Pretty nice place to live, and they actually know how to plan their national budget.

If I ever left the "States" I'd go to Switzerland. Pretty nice place to live, and they actually know how to plan their national budget.

Switzerland and Germany are both high on my list. Bermuda is up there too -- it's a Commonwealth nation.

Late getting to this thread since I was at my girlfriend's cousin's wedding in Ireland, and have to say those of you thinking about emigrating into the EU may want to ask Halo to set you up with his sister or something first.

Ireland's unemployment rate is 14% and rising. I imagine the entire EU is in similar straits, never mind that even if you do manage to get a work visa and a job you won't really have the same standard of living you did when you lived here. You get boned pretty hard on the exchange rate, things are extremely expensive, and taxes are pretty unbelievable compared to our rates.

Then, say you do manage to get a job as a foreigner over a domestic, and say the income is so good that it mitigates the taxes and so forth, then you get boned again in the bureaucracy. My girlfriend and her family are all Irish citizens. They keep a house there and spend 2-3 months there a year. One thing that started to annoy them was the bugs coming into the house because they didn't have screens on the windows, couldn't find screens to buy in Ireland to install so they brought some over from the US, installed them ... and then got fined an enormous sum of money because the screens "weren't keeping with the style of the house". I.E. it is illegal to install screens over your windows to keep the bugs out on your own home in Ireland. Just be glad you only have to live with 200ish years worth of compounded bureaucracy instead of hundreds upon hundreds!

(Though if you had to pick a country, Germany is the economic engine of the EU and probably the best choice. The problem is you need to learn German and get into shizer porn)

No offense Kel, you know I love you, but Ireland is right up there with Greece right now for being perhaps in the worse economic situation possible, indeed still in the recession. Much of the EU is just as recovered as the US, indeed many parts were quite unaffected by the recession (see France, for a start).

The reason we have a lot of red tape in regards to architecture is because of tradition; there is nothing quite like walking down a town that is completely Tudor, completely Georgian, completely Victorian. It's nice not to have many sky-scrapers and glass buildings. Indeed, nothing beats an English country cottage.

And unemployment at 14%? I know the UK is bad with around 7%, but many states are sitting around 4 - 5%.

We also have 'bad' taxes because we have a welfare state and free health care :P

As for the exchange rate, well live and earn here for a few years, and when you pop back to the US on holiday, everything is half price - perfect =)

But yes, my sister is available. Love you Kel :P

Indeed indeed! ;)

Halo you only disagreed with me over your love of shizer porn I imagine ...

'Halo you only disagreed with me over your love of shizer porn I imagine ...'

- It's true :(