Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 13, 2008
The Arrogance Of Power
By Joel SkousenWorld Affairs Brief7-12-8
With the final passage of the FISA reform bill this week, the US Senate has reached a new low in its outright disregard for the constitution its members are sworn to uphold. Simply put, Congress has no power to legislate any law that violates any of the provisions of the constitution. Period. In this case, the constitution is clear: no warrantless searches are permitted--none. That's what constitutions are supposed to do: put strict limits on lawmaking power so that individual rights are protected from evil minorities, evil majorities, or in this case, insipid yesmen in Congress eager to please those above them conspiring to use the phony threat of terrorism to dismantle constitutional protections. Just hours after President Bush signed this legislation the ACLU filed suit in federal court to have the law ruled unconstitutional. There is a good chance the federal court will agree, forcing a showdown at the Supreme Court.
There is a arrogance on the part of trained lawyers in Congress who defend this brazen evisceration of the 4thAmendment. They all know it run against both the letter of the constitution and centuries of case law. These apologists for stripping away a citizen's power to challenge illegal surveillance in court seem to fall into two groups: those that are knowing conspirators in the secret movement to dismantle the constitution and those that are groveling at the feet of those in power. The first group is imbued with the arrogance that comes from knowing they have effective immunity from their illegal acts, protected by fellow conspirators in the White House, Department of Justice, Congress and the courts. The second group are foolish lapdogs hungry for acceptance and advancement in the halls of power---which few will ever achieve because they aren't corrupt enough for the highest echelons of evil. A good example is Senator Orrin Hatch-(R)Utah who, with the tiniest of inducements, can be energized to leap to the pulpit and excuse, defend, and rationalize the evil acts of the Bush administration in the mistaken belief that he is upholding patriotic or conservative values. He is unwittingly upholding an evil agenda. In his eagerness to believe that everything is justified by 9/11 Hatch cannot see that he is being played for the fool.
Nothing is more symptomatic of the arrogance of power in the Bush administration than the high-handed manner in which Attorney General Michael Mukasey confronts those who dare challenge his prerogatives. No other government gatekeeper of the "secret acts of government" can compare to the audacity in which Mukasey deflects and puts off his Congressional critics--most of whom are themselves playing a roll. That is why they don't rigorously follow up on Mukasey's evasions. Kate Klonick, writing for TPMmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com gives us a rundown on the pattern of evasion since his evasive confirmation hearings:
"There are a whole host of issues confronting the Justice Department that remain unaddressed-- overall politicization, the Office of Legal Counsel memos, torture memos, hiring and firing practices, and selective prosecution. But when it comes to hard answers to Congressional Oversight, Attorney General Michael Mukasey dances around the questions, usually deflecting criticism that stems from the Gonzales era.
1. "When Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) requested a listing of the OLC memoranda [on torture] that the DOJ chose not to review, Mukasey stated that he didn't know that it 'would serve anybody's interest' to do so [except the public].
2. "When Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) questioned him about why Judith Miller was left in jail [for refusing to reveal her sources in the Valerie Plame affair], he demurred, stating that it fell into the responsibilities of special counsel.
3. "When Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) wanted to know if anyone was planning on reviewing Gitmo detainee's files to see why they were being detained [a habeas corpus issue], Mukasey deferred noting the cases were before the D.C. district court.
4. "And when Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) demanded accountability for the loss of valuable civil servants to the politicization of the DOJ Honors Program, the Attorney General stated that it had already been 'covered by the OIG [Office of Inspector General-in house DOJ investigator] report' [which whitewashed the affair].
"But when it was Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) turn to ask questions, he took a more straight forward approach, tearing into Mukasey as an 'enigma...acting like you float above up in the ether somewhere.'" Indeed, that is what Mukasey acts like--that he is above the law. As a certified insider in the service of the real Powers That Be (PTB), he's untouchable and he knows it."
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to grant retroactive amnesty to the telecoms that aided President Bush's secret, warrantless wiretapping of Americans, which was cover for the fact that indiscriminate surveillance had been going on for decades. In another of his continual modifications of position, the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama voted for the final bill, despite promising to oppose any bill that included amnesty. Hillary Clinton voted against it, but that's only because she is still positioning herself for a future run for the presidency and must play the opposing role. Were she the nominee, I can guarantee you she would have voted for it too. Senator Arlen Specter, whose work for the conspirators goes way back to his role as legal counsel to the Warren Commission, played his usual game of opposing the measure right up to the end, and then switching sides and voting for it.
We're going to see a lot of disappointed Democrats who harbor the illusion that Obama really is going to change things. He won't. And within the anti-war movement dissatisfaction with Obama is already growing fast. His supporters mounted an intense lobbying campaign on Obama's online organizing website to get him to stick to his promise on telecom immunity--all in vain--just like his promise to get US troops out of Iraq in a year and a half. It won't happen--especially with Obama joining the mindless crescendo of politicians calling for military threats to Iran.
Of course Iran isn't helping anything by rattling its own sabers---launching over a dozen test missiles in two days as a show of potential force to the ever-threatening Americans and Israelis. Actually, it now appears that some of those missiles failed and the photo evidence was altered by Iran. It is also possible that Iran did not want to use up so many missiles in one exercise and faked several of the launches. In any case, one wonders what suicidal vision Iranian leaders have that provokes them to play into the globalist's hand, making themselves look radical and helping the neocons justify attacking Iran with every provocative speech and military exercise. I suspect Russia is partly to blame, whispering in Iran's ear that it won't allow the US to attack--just like Russia promised Saddam Hussein.
Obama is destined to be a President full of regrets. He's quick on the tongue and a little too candid which results in statements that are unwise or run afoul of what his CFR handlers want him to say. Luke Boggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution took note of this growing list of regrets:
"What jumped out at me was how quickly Obama regretted his decision [to put his daughters on an interview with the TV tabloid Access Hollywood]. And that, in turn, made me wonder how often the senator has regretted other choices. Answer: pretty often. (Googling 'Obama' and 'regrets' yields more than a million hits.)
"In November 2006, Obama said he regretted buying property adjacent to his Chicago home from Tony Rezko, a longtime supporter and big-time fund-raiser who has since been convicted of mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting bribery and money laundering [one of many instances where the dark side of government uses evil and criminal elements to make "deals" with up and coming insiders to provide them with instant wealth].
"In February 2007, as his presidential campaign was beginning, Obama said he regretted saying that the lives of American soldiers who died fighting in Iraq had been 'wasted.'
"In April 2008, Obama said he regretted his choice of words when he told some well-heeled donors in San Francisco that 'bitter' folks in Middle America who have lost economic hope 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.' [Indeed, some Americans are getting very angry with arrogant politicians who constantly lie to them and make false promises of change.]
"To be sure, these are choices worth regretting. Anyone can understand why Obama would regret his land deal with a convicted felon. And even liberal Democrats like Obama have been careful not to say American lives have been 'wasted' in Iraq, even as they imply the same thing when they dismiss the war effort as corrupt, inept, unnecessary and worse.
"Obama's most costly regret, however, may well prove to be his condescending shot at those decent, hardworking Americans he said were desperately clinging to God and guns and bigotry. It was a regret-worthy statement that said volumes about Obama's easy contempt for those in what elites call 'flyover country.'
"Perhaps the American people are looking for a regretful guy this time around. After eight years of George W. Bush, whose dogged lack of regrets [absolute arrogance and stubbornness] continues to exasperate his critics, perhaps this sort of intense self-scrutiny and navel-gazing will translate into electoral victory." The only thing I can say with total certainty is that America will regret electing either John McCain or Barack Obama.
World Affairs Brief - Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted.
Cite source as Joel Skousen's World Affairs Brief http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com
With the final passage of the FISA reform bill this week, the US Senate has reached a new low in its outright disregard for the constitution its members are sworn to uphold. Simply put, Congress has no power to legislate any law that violates any of the provisions of the constitution. Period. In this case, the constitution is clear: no warrantless searches are permitted--none. That's what constitutions are supposed to do: put strict limits on lawmaking power so that individual rights are protected from evil minorities, evil majorities, or in this case, insipid yesmen in Congress eager to please those above them conspiring to use the phony threat of terrorism to dismantle constitutional protections. Just hours after President Bush signed this legislation the ACLU filed suit in federal court to have the law ruled unconstitutional. There is a good chance the federal court will agree, forcing a showdown at the Supreme Court.
There is a arrogance on the part of trained lawyers in Congress who defend this brazen evisceration of the 4thAmendment. They all know it run against both the letter of the constitution and centuries of case law. These apologists for stripping away a citizen's power to challenge illegal surveillance in court seem to fall into two groups: those that are knowing conspirators in the secret movement to dismantle the constitution and those that are groveling at the feet of those in power. The first group is imbued with the arrogance that comes from knowing they have effective immunity from their illegal acts, protected by fellow conspirators in the White House, Department of Justice, Congress and the courts. The second group are foolish lapdogs hungry for acceptance and advancement in the halls of power---which few will ever achieve because they aren't corrupt enough for the highest echelons of evil. A good example is Senator Orrin Hatch-(R)Utah who, with the tiniest of inducements, can be energized to leap to the pulpit and excuse, defend, and rationalize the evil acts of the Bush administration in the mistaken belief that he is upholding patriotic or conservative values. He is unwittingly upholding an evil agenda. In his eagerness to believe that everything is justified by 9/11 Hatch cannot see that he is being played for the fool.
Nothing is more symptomatic of the arrogance of power in the Bush administration than the high-handed manner in which Attorney General Michael Mukasey confronts those who dare challenge his prerogatives. No other government gatekeeper of the "secret acts of government" can compare to the audacity in which Mukasey deflects and puts off his Congressional critics--most of whom are themselves playing a roll. That is why they don't rigorously follow up on Mukasey's evasions. Kate Klonick, writing for TPMmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com gives us a rundown on the pattern of evasion since his evasive confirmation hearings:
"There are a whole host of issues confronting the Justice Department that remain unaddressed-- overall politicization, the Office of Legal Counsel memos, torture memos, hiring and firing practices, and selective prosecution. But when it comes to hard answers to Congressional Oversight, Attorney General Michael Mukasey dances around the questions, usually deflecting criticism that stems from the Gonzales era.
1. "When Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) requested a listing of the OLC memoranda [on torture] that the DOJ chose not to review, Mukasey stated that he didn't know that it 'would serve anybody's interest' to do so [except the public].
2. "When Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) questioned him about why Judith Miller was left in jail [for refusing to reveal her sources in the Valerie Plame affair], he demurred, stating that it fell into the responsibilities of special counsel.
3. "When Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) wanted to know if anyone was planning on reviewing Gitmo detainee's files to see why they were being detained [a habeas corpus issue], Mukasey deferred noting the cases were before the D.C. district court.
4. "And when Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) demanded accountability for the loss of valuable civil servants to the politicization of the DOJ Honors Program, the Attorney General stated that it had already been 'covered by the OIG [Office of Inspector General-in house DOJ investigator] report' [which whitewashed the affair].
"But when it was Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) turn to ask questions, he took a more straight forward approach, tearing into Mukasey as an 'enigma...acting like you float above up in the ether somewhere.'" Indeed, that is what Mukasey acts like--that he is above the law. As a certified insider in the service of the real Powers That Be (PTB), he's untouchable and he knows it."
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to grant retroactive amnesty to the telecoms that aided President Bush's secret, warrantless wiretapping of Americans, which was cover for the fact that indiscriminate surveillance had been going on for decades. In another of his continual modifications of position, the Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama voted for the final bill, despite promising to oppose any bill that included amnesty. Hillary Clinton voted against it, but that's only because she is still positioning herself for a future run for the presidency and must play the opposing role. Were she the nominee, I can guarantee you she would have voted for it too. Senator Arlen Specter, whose work for the conspirators goes way back to his role as legal counsel to the Warren Commission, played his usual game of opposing the measure right up to the end, and then switching sides and voting for it.
We're going to see a lot of disappointed Democrats who harbor the illusion that Obama really is going to change things. He won't. And within the anti-war movement dissatisfaction with Obama is already growing fast. His supporters mounted an intense lobbying campaign on Obama's online organizing website to get him to stick to his promise on telecom immunity--all in vain--just like his promise to get US troops out of Iraq in a year and a half. It won't happen--especially with Obama joining the mindless crescendo of politicians calling for military threats to Iran.
Of course Iran isn't helping anything by rattling its own sabers---launching over a dozen test missiles in two days as a show of potential force to the ever-threatening Americans and Israelis. Actually, it now appears that some of those missiles failed and the photo evidence was altered by Iran. It is also possible that Iran did not want to use up so many missiles in one exercise and faked several of the launches. In any case, one wonders what suicidal vision Iranian leaders have that provokes them to play into the globalist's hand, making themselves look radical and helping the neocons justify attacking Iran with every provocative speech and military exercise. I suspect Russia is partly to blame, whispering in Iran's ear that it won't allow the US to attack--just like Russia promised Saddam Hussein.
Obama is destined to be a President full of regrets. He's quick on the tongue and a little too candid which results in statements that are unwise or run afoul of what his CFR handlers want him to say. Luke Boggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution took note of this growing list of regrets:
"What jumped out at me was how quickly Obama regretted his decision [to put his daughters on an interview with the TV tabloid Access Hollywood]. And that, in turn, made me wonder how often the senator has regretted other choices. Answer: pretty often. (Googling 'Obama' and 'regrets' yields more than a million hits.)
"In November 2006, Obama said he regretted buying property adjacent to his Chicago home from Tony Rezko, a longtime supporter and big-time fund-raiser who has since been convicted of mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting bribery and money laundering [one of many instances where the dark side of government uses evil and criminal elements to make "deals" with up and coming insiders to provide them with instant wealth].
"In February 2007, as his presidential campaign was beginning, Obama said he regretted saying that the lives of American soldiers who died fighting in Iraq had been 'wasted.'
"In April 2008, Obama said he regretted his choice of words when he told some well-heeled donors in San Francisco that 'bitter' folks in Middle America who have lost economic hope 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.' [Indeed, some Americans are getting very angry with arrogant politicians who constantly lie to them and make false promises of change.]
"To be sure, these are choices worth regretting. Anyone can understand why Obama would regret his land deal with a convicted felon. And even liberal Democrats like Obama have been careful not to say American lives have been 'wasted' in Iraq, even as they imply the same thing when they dismiss the war effort as corrupt, inept, unnecessary and worse.
"Obama's most costly regret, however, may well prove to be his condescending shot at those decent, hardworking Americans he said were desperately clinging to God and guns and bigotry. It was a regret-worthy statement that said volumes about Obama's easy contempt for those in what elites call 'flyover country.'
"Perhaps the American people are looking for a regretful guy this time around. After eight years of George W. Bush, whose dogged lack of regrets [absolute arrogance and stubbornness] continues to exasperate his critics, perhaps this sort of intense self-scrutiny and navel-gazing will translate into electoral victory." The only thing I can say with total certainty is that America will regret electing either John McCain or Barack Obama.
World Affairs Brief - Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted.
Cite source as Joel Skousen's World Affairs Brief http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com
Game Over: Thirty-Six Sure-Fire Signs That Your Empire Is Crumbling
by David Michael Green
So. You've built yourself an empire, eh?
Well, bully for you!
What's next, you ask? Well, now you've got to do what everybody does when they have an empire, of course. You've got to worry about it falling apart, mate!
But how to tell for sure? Let me see if I can be helpful. Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind, thirty-six sure-fire indicators that your empire is falling apart:
You know your empire's crumbling when the folks who are gearing up their empire to replace yours start blowing up satellites in space. And then they don't bother to return your phone calls when you ring up to ask why.
You know your empire's crumbling when those same folks are cutting deals left, right and center across Asia, Latin America and Africa, while you, your lousy terms, and your arrogant attitude are no longer welcome.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're spending your grandchildren's money like a drunken sailor, and letting your soon-to-be rivals finance your little splurge (i.e., letting them own your country).
You know your empire's crumbling when it's considered an achievement to pretend that you've halved the rate at which you're adding to the massive mountain of debt you've already accumulated.
You know your empire's crumbling when you weaken your currency until it looks as anemic as a Paris runway model, and you're still setting record trade deficits. (Hint: Because you're not making anything anymore.)
You know your empire's crumbling when "the little brown ones" (thank you George H.W. Bush - certainly not me - for that lovely expression) in country after country of "your backyard" blow you off and proudly elect anti-imperialist leftist governments.
You know your empire's crumbling when you can't topple those governments and replace them with nice puppet regimes - like in the good old days - even if you wanted to. And you badly want to.
You know your empire's crumbling when one of their leaders comes to the United Nations and makes fun of your emperor, calling him the devil, and joking about smelling sulphur where he just stood. And though a few folks cringe, everybody laughs.
You know your empire's crumbling when just about your entire military land force is tied up in a worse-than-useless war launched on the basis of complete fabrications, that every day is actually making you less - not more - secure from external threat.
You know your empire's crumbling when almost half the soldiers in that war are high-paid mercenaries, and you don't dare institute a draft.
You know your empire's crumbling when you send soldiers into war with two weeks training and a lack of armor, and then you keep them there for three, four and five rotations.
You know your empire's crumbling when a member of the Axis of Evil can test missiles and explode nuclear warheads, and all you can do about it is mumble some pathetic warnings about how they better not do that again or there will be consequences.
You know your empire's crumbling when you even think that there is an Axis of Evil.
You know your empire's crumbling when a rag-tag military hodge-podge of irregulars has you pinned down in an endless fight you can't win, but also can't lose.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're too dumb to even ban Humvees as a first step toward ending your dependency on a foreign-owned crucial resource.
You know your empire's crumbling when you trade your prior moral leadership on human rights issues for global disgust at your torture, 'extraordinary rendition' (a.k.a. kidnaping for torture) and the dismantling of nine centuries worth of civil liberties progress.
You know your empire's crumbling when you blow off international law that you once helped create, and undermine the institutions of international governance that you once helped build.
You know your empire's crumbling when opinion polls confirm that every month you're more and more despised throughout the world.
You know your empire's crumbling when you can't even pull off the hanging of a tin-pot murderous former dictator without turning him into a hero.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're the richest country in the world, but nearly 50 million of your people don't have basic health care coverage.
You know your empire's crumbling when the World Health Organization ranks your healthcare system 37th 'best' in the world, just above Slovenia, and just below Costa Rica. (And far below Colombia, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.)
You know your empire's crumbling when instead of making it easier for citizens to obtain a higher education, you're making it harder and more expensive.
You know your empire's crumbling when your government gives tax breaks to industries as a reward for exporting your jobs elsewhere.
You know your empire's crumbling when the so-called 'opposition' party can't even turn that obscenity into a viable campaign theme and use it to clobber the worst emperor in your history.
You know your empire's crumbling when your middle class has been stagnant for three decades, while the wealth of the hyper-rich continues to climb through the roof.
You know your empire's crumbling when your reaction to that is to exacerbate the problem by enacting tax policies that massively increase further still the gap between the rich and the rest.
You know your empire's crumbling when the predatory class has taken over your government and is stripping the country of everything not bolted down to the floor. And then it sells the floor itself, as well, to your rivals.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're spending tens of billions of dollars you don't own on new nuclear warheads and space weapons that don't work, to be used against an enemy you don't have.
You know your empire's crumbling when one of your cities drowns and your government does next to nothing before, during and after.
You know your empire's crumbling when a massive environmental nightmare is looming around the corner, and your emperor not only ignores it, but claims it isn't real while taking steps to exacerbate it.
You know your empire's crumbling when your emperor is warned by a CIA briefer of an imminent terrorist attack of vast proportions, and responds by remaining on vacation and dismissing the briefer with the words: "All right. You've covered your ass, now."
You know your empire's crumbling when the same emperor drops everything to fly across the country from his vacation home in order to sign a bill intervening on the wrong side of a personal medical drama involving a single family.
You know your empire's crumbling when gays and immigrants are used as diversionary issues to keep people from thinking about the pillaging of their country and their wallets actually taking place. And it works.
You know your empire's crumbling when people are getting more religious and less scientific, not the other way around.
You know your empire's crumbling when your political leaders start to be chosen by dynastic rules of succession.
And you especially know your empire's crumbling when the most idiotic child of one of the least accomplished leaders in its history is not only crowned as the next emperor, but is even revered for a time by most of the public as a great one.
Rome? Britain? Spain?
At this rate we'll be lucky to end up like Belgium.
So. You've built yourself an empire, eh?
Well, bully for you!
What's next, you ask? Well, now you've got to do what everybody does when they have an empire, of course. You've got to worry about it falling apart, mate!
But how to tell for sure? Let me see if I can be helpful. Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind, thirty-six sure-fire indicators that your empire is falling apart:
You know your empire's crumbling when the folks who are gearing up their empire to replace yours start blowing up satellites in space. And then they don't bother to return your phone calls when you ring up to ask why.
You know your empire's crumbling when those same folks are cutting deals left, right and center across Asia, Latin America and Africa, while you, your lousy terms, and your arrogant attitude are no longer welcome.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're spending your grandchildren's money like a drunken sailor, and letting your soon-to-be rivals finance your little splurge (i.e., letting them own your country).
You know your empire's crumbling when it's considered an achievement to pretend that you've halved the rate at which you're adding to the massive mountain of debt you've already accumulated.
You know your empire's crumbling when you weaken your currency until it looks as anemic as a Paris runway model, and you're still setting record trade deficits. (Hint: Because you're not making anything anymore.)
You know your empire's crumbling when "the little brown ones" (thank you George H.W. Bush - certainly not me - for that lovely expression) in country after country of "your backyard" blow you off and proudly elect anti-imperialist leftist governments.
You know your empire's crumbling when you can't topple those governments and replace them with nice puppet regimes - like in the good old days - even if you wanted to. And you badly want to.
You know your empire's crumbling when one of their leaders comes to the United Nations and makes fun of your emperor, calling him the devil, and joking about smelling sulphur where he just stood. And though a few folks cringe, everybody laughs.
You know your empire's crumbling when just about your entire military land force is tied up in a worse-than-useless war launched on the basis of complete fabrications, that every day is actually making you less - not more - secure from external threat.
You know your empire's crumbling when almost half the soldiers in that war are high-paid mercenaries, and you don't dare institute a draft.
You know your empire's crumbling when you send soldiers into war with two weeks training and a lack of armor, and then you keep them there for three, four and five rotations.
You know your empire's crumbling when a member of the Axis of Evil can test missiles and explode nuclear warheads, and all you can do about it is mumble some pathetic warnings about how they better not do that again or there will be consequences.
You know your empire's crumbling when you even think that there is an Axis of Evil.
You know your empire's crumbling when a rag-tag military hodge-podge of irregulars has you pinned down in an endless fight you can't win, but also can't lose.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're too dumb to even ban Humvees as a first step toward ending your dependency on a foreign-owned crucial resource.
You know your empire's crumbling when you trade your prior moral leadership on human rights issues for global disgust at your torture, 'extraordinary rendition' (a.k.a. kidnaping for torture) and the dismantling of nine centuries worth of civil liberties progress.
You know your empire's crumbling when you blow off international law that you once helped create, and undermine the institutions of international governance that you once helped build.
You know your empire's crumbling when opinion polls confirm that every month you're more and more despised throughout the world.
You know your empire's crumbling when you can't even pull off the hanging of a tin-pot murderous former dictator without turning him into a hero.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're the richest country in the world, but nearly 50 million of your people don't have basic health care coverage.
You know your empire's crumbling when the World Health Organization ranks your healthcare system 37th 'best' in the world, just above Slovenia, and just below Costa Rica. (And far below Colombia, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.)
You know your empire's crumbling when instead of making it easier for citizens to obtain a higher education, you're making it harder and more expensive.
You know your empire's crumbling when your government gives tax breaks to industries as a reward for exporting your jobs elsewhere.
You know your empire's crumbling when the so-called 'opposition' party can't even turn that obscenity into a viable campaign theme and use it to clobber the worst emperor in your history.
You know your empire's crumbling when your middle class has been stagnant for three decades, while the wealth of the hyper-rich continues to climb through the roof.
You know your empire's crumbling when your reaction to that is to exacerbate the problem by enacting tax policies that massively increase further still the gap between the rich and the rest.
You know your empire's crumbling when the predatory class has taken over your government and is stripping the country of everything not bolted down to the floor. And then it sells the floor itself, as well, to your rivals.
You know your empire's crumbling when you're spending tens of billions of dollars you don't own on new nuclear warheads and space weapons that don't work, to be used against an enemy you don't have.
You know your empire's crumbling when one of your cities drowns and your government does next to nothing before, during and after.
You know your empire's crumbling when a massive environmental nightmare is looming around the corner, and your emperor not only ignores it, but claims it isn't real while taking steps to exacerbate it.
You know your empire's crumbling when your emperor is warned by a CIA briefer of an imminent terrorist attack of vast proportions, and responds by remaining on vacation and dismissing the briefer with the words: "All right. You've covered your ass, now."
You know your empire's crumbling when the same emperor drops everything to fly across the country from his vacation home in order to sign a bill intervening on the wrong side of a personal medical drama involving a single family.
You know your empire's crumbling when gays and immigrants are used as diversionary issues to keep people from thinking about the pillaging of their country and their wallets actually taking place. And it works.
You know your empire's crumbling when people are getting more religious and less scientific, not the other way around.
You know your empire's crumbling when your political leaders start to be chosen by dynastic rules of succession.
And you especially know your empire's crumbling when the most idiotic child of one of the least accomplished leaders in its history is not only crowned as the next emperor, but is even revered for a time by most of the public as a great one.
Rome? Britain? Spain?
At this rate we'll be lucky to end up like Belgium.
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