I am sad for our future...

I think you should get out more!

You cannot deny that many area of Europe are experiencing real problems, such as Germany, Sweden, France etc.

Come on now, is anyone here really rooting vor trump??

If he does only half of what he says(protectionism, tradewars) the world economy will crash within the first half of his first term and we´ll be in WW3 by the end of it. And I´m not trying to exaggerate.

Clinton is certainly the lesser of two evils.

 

+1 Seemed everyone was so sure Romney had it in the bag last time around.

 

 

Can't see Clinton not getting it.. and it will be 4 years of limbo.

You cannot deny that many area of Europe are experiencing real problems, such as Germany, Sweden, France etc.

 

I will not deny that but to call the whole of Europe a shit hole shows me he doesn't have many stamps in his passport.

I will not deny that but to call the whole of Europe a shit hole shows me he doesn't have many stamps in his passport.

Forsure.

+1 Seemed everyone was so sure Romney had it in the bag last time around.

 

 

Can't see Clinton not getting it.. and it will be 4 years of limbo.

 

I believe this is a much different election than the last.

.....he doesn't have many stamps in his passport.

LoL.... I have enough 'stamps' to realize it's a hot mess.

It took several millennia to build European Civilization but its impending destruction has been the work of just a few years, carried out by a cadre of irresponsible, unpatriotic and deluded politicians led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The tragic paradox of the obsession with free movement and the abolition of national identities is that Europe, in any meaningful sense, will probably cease to exist this century.

Oh, well.

#MAGA

America needs to live by the words my father told me one day..... " shut the fcuk up and go to work"

LoL.... I have enough 'stamps' to realize it's a hot mess.

It took several millennia to build European Civilization but its impending destruction has been the work of just a few years, carried out by a cadre of irresponsible, unpatriotic and deluded politicians led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The tragic paradox of the obsession with free movement and the abolition of national identities is that Europe, in any meaningful sense, will probably cease to exist this century.

Oh, well.

 

I hear people making similar comments about US all the time, you get mugged, shot dead in the street, it's a terrible mess over there, it will implode soon, etc. etc. etc. all ignorant comments from people who have very little idea what the actual reality is.

 

I don't care much for alarmist comments/opinions, doomsday isn't here, Europe is and will be just fine, it survived many atrocities and disasters over its long history, you aren't giving it the credit it deserves, if you think the current migrant crisis and the recent unfortunate incidents will bring Europe to its knees you don't know much if anything about Europe, did 9/11 and the rest of the terrorist acts bring US to its knees? No it didn't, these incidents are horrible but they are a storm in a teacup in the big scheme of things.

 

Does Europe have problems? Of course it has, we all have problems, there is no forest without dead wood, fact of life.

Europe will be just fine so will the US, irrespective of the politicians at the helm and it is because of the greater majority of the decent people who populate those territories, good always prevails over evil look at our history it's full of examples.

 

America needs to live by the words my father told me one day..... " shut the fcuk up and go to work"

 

End of thread!

.

Come on now, is anyone here really rooting vor trump??

If he does only half of what he says(protectionism, tradewars) the world economy will crash within the first half of his first term and we´ll be in WW3 by the end of it. And I´m not trying to exaggerate.

Clinton is certainly the lesser of two evils.

 

Things to expect under a Clinton presidency:

 

Major middle east war in Syria/Iran

 

Hardline anti Russia foreign policy

 

Further deregulation of financial markets - pro Wall Street/anti small business

 

Draconian gun control legislation

 

More social control legislation - expanded special interest legislation

 

Push to expand open boarder policies in Europe

 

Military draft legislation

 

Overreaching immigration legislation

 

 

Do you REALLY want to live in this United States?????????

Do you REALLY want to live in this United States?????????

Lee lives in Vienna Austria

Third person rhetorical.

I hear people making similar comments about US all the time, you get mugged, shot dead in the street, it's a terrible mess over there, it will implode soon, etc. etc. etc. all ignorant comments from people who have very little idea what the actual reality is.

 

I don't care much for alarmist comments/opinions, doomsday isn't here, Europe is and will be just fine, it survived many atrocities and disasters over its long history, you aren't giving it the credit it deserves, if you think the current migrant crisis and the recent unfortunate incidents will bring Europe to its knees you don't know much if anything about Europe, did 9/11 and the rest of the terrorist acts bring US to its knees? No it didn't, these incidents are horrible but they are a storm in a teacup in the big scheme of things.

 

Would have to fundamentally disagree with you on this Fortis:

 

For one, Europe has survived atrocities and disasters over its history? That means little. Europe was almost destroyed by Nazism, which Hitler could probably have succeeded with had it not been for the intervention of the United States to aid the Allies. Hitler also faltered due to lack of available oil to him. Then Europe would have become a part of the Soviet Empire had it not been again for the United States. So twice in the 20th century alone, Europe almost vanished as we know it and the vanishing was not stopped by Europe alone. Europe since the end of WWII has existed under the protective umbrella provided by the United States.

 

IMO, the comparison between Europe and the U.S. is also different. The U.S. doesn't have a problem with large numbers of radical Muslims immigrating into it the way that Europe does at the moment that could start to cause a structural problem eventually. Europe also has sizeable economic, financial, and military problems. The European Union was going to maybe have to literally split the Euro into two currencies because of the drag that the likes of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc...were taking on the overall setup. There is no such comparison with the United States.

 

And militarily, Europe cannot fend for itself. It's defense is provided by the United States. It doesn't have the resources to spend on the military because of what the Euro nations spend on their social welfare states. The only Euro nation with any real power projection capability would be the United Kingdom, and even they would probably have trouble pulling off something like the Falklands again today. They are struggling mightily to afford their two new aircraft carriers, which the British Navy is terrified about as without them, they become a second-rate Navy essentially.

 

Many of the members of NATO in Europe do not contribute the minimum 2% of GDP to national defense that they are supposed to, and the Euro nations cannot get the economies of scale needed in purchasing military equipment because it's a bunch of small, underfunded militaries instead of one larger, more integrated military force that could purchase the equipment.

 

The United States, by contrast, while having economic and financial problems, does not have them to the extent the European nations do. The U.S. economy is more robust, more vibrant, and thus purchasers of U.S. debt know that the U.S. will not have a problem continuing to service that debt. The U.S. has no problem with radical Muslim immigrants like Europe does nor does it border any countries that could try invading it. There is no sign at all that the U.S. could implode. Also the E.U. and the U.S. are structurally different, the E.U. being a union of nations while the U.S. is a single country.

 

Does Europe have problems? Of course it has, we all have problems, there is no forest without dead wood, fact of life.

Europe will be just fine so will the US, irrespective of the politicians at the helm and it is because of the greater majority of the decent people who populate those territories, good always prevails over evil look at our history it's full of examples.

 

It does!? Good doesn't always prevail over evil. For the most part throughout history, it's been the complete opposite, as evil has prevailed. And there is no law in humanity that good prevails. The good that today "prevails" is a historical anomaly. Most of human history has been a story of constant slaughter and oppression.

On Trump's economic policies and campaign:

 

1) I find it comical all these left-wing media and publications talking about how Trump's proposed protectionism and trade war ideas would be so terrible, as historically it is they, the Left, who have been so critical of free trade and demand protectionism and so forth. But now all-of-a-sudden, they are all free traders.

 

2) If Trump was to become President and actually implement those policies, they likely WOULD be disastrous. I agree that China and other countries want free trade for themselves with the U.S., but not the other way around, but protectionism is not the way to go. Trump also speaks about the trade deficit with Mexico and with China as if they are bad, which shows he doesn't understand what a trade deficit is.

 

3) Trump probably, if President, would listen to his advisors and also to his children (I can't imagine Ivanka and the sons saying to go ahead with the protectionism, in particular Ivanka, as they say she is really super-smart). I also do not think he would be able to just push it through the Congress.

 

4) I am very interested in seeing how Trump performs if the nominee. Either he will be a Barry Goldwater-esque disaster for the GOP and then cause them possible to lose both the House and Senate as well, or he will somehow beat Hillary. I agree with him that the only thing Hillary has going for her is the woman card, and that was not a sexist statement contrary to what the Hillary campaign claimed. The thing is, he will play hardball with her in ways that the typical gentleman wishy-washy Republican politician candidate probably would not.

As Alexander the Great once stated, “I would not fear an army of lions if led by sheep, but I would fear an army of sheep if led by lions.”

Would have to fundamentally disagree with you on this Fortis:

 

It does!? Good doesn't always prevail over evil. For the most part throughout history, it's been the complete opposite, as evil has prevailed. And there is no law in humanity that good prevails. The good that today "prevails" is a historical anomaly. Most of human history has been a story of constant slaughter and oppression.

 

I will admit I haven't read your post, just skimmed trough, what I got from my skimming was US is great Europe isn't and a lot of fluff to justify your position.

 

If good doesn't prevail over evil do you think you'd have a keyboard at your finger tips to irritate so many people? LOL

 

It's amazing how much you know for someone who's experienced so little.

Has anyone been keeping up with the anarchist and anti-capitalist riots in Seattle today? It was like chaos over there today.

When I brought this up on my Facebook I eventually made this (long) post...

 

When I was a kid growing up my American Dream was to work hard and be successful at whatever I did. I hoped that this success would bring me not only happiness but financial gain. The thought never crossed my mind that me simply wanting to do well and earn money would some day be vilified. As if somehow hard work and luck that paid off should be an albatross that I wear around my neck in shame.

 

There is a movement sweeping across America and a good portion of it is coming from the younger generations. I completely understand where they are coming from. Growing up in this day and age can't be easy... hell, when I was growing up I lamented at how well the generation before me had it. I think it is natural to do this. But my solution was never to try and "take" something that I hadn't earned to make things even and fair. You can never do good as a society when this is your ideal solution.

 

I buckled down and worked harder... I wanted to prove that I could do it. Every job I did I gave it 100%... I never thought a job was beneath me. I mowed lawns. I chopped wood. If you ask my Father he will tell you that no one could clean a bathroom as well as I did. Most of the jobs I did paid less than minimum wage. I was excited when I got my first job paying minimum wage (Thanks to Kristine G) -- did I ever think to myself: Screw these guys paying me less than minimum wage... there must be some conspiracy! They are taking advantage of me! I deserve more! No. I understood the law of supply and demand. The jobs I did paid the amounts they did because that was what they were worth. If I hadn't done them at that price, someone else would have. So... what can I do to correct this situation I thought? Well, that is easy. You work harder than the other person and prove that you are worth more. You don't get it before you even start, you show that you deserve it. You get promoted and work your way up the system. That's how the immigrants who moved to the United States with nothing did it... when they started sweeping as Janitors for the company that one day they would eventually own.

 

The only reason I mention any of this is because I see our country going in a very dangerous direction. A direction where people who create are seen as the guilty ones. Where having something someone else doesn't have means you are morally corrupt. Where if you don't voluntarily share everything you have with someone who might be more needy makes you heartless. I'm all for helping people out, but at the end of the day it is up to that person to either succeed or fail. Life will never be fair. You can lament this point until the day you die or you can accept it and move past it. Nothing we as a society can do, nothing the government can do will ever change this. Trying to make everything in life fair is like trying to escape from quicksand... the harder you try the deeper you'll become buried in the trap. The only thing we can try to make fair is the processes by which society is governed and the laws are enforced. This doesn't make life fair... it just means that the path you go through should be as close to fair as possible. It also means that you should never have something you've worked hard for taken from you if you've done it legally and in a morally responsible way.

 

Bernie Sanders called out a lot of CEO's and companies recently... and some with good reason. I was never for bailing out the banks, but I know why it was done. I wish it hadn't. But I can admit that it bought us a bit of breathing time to try and correct the financial collapse that is sure to come unless we do something about it. We need to get back to the point where we are excited for American companies to grow and do well throughout the world. We used to lead the world in nearly every single financial and industrial category. That is no longer the case. I think the response by the GE CEO was an excellent one (you can read it here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ge-...1a3_story.html)

 

TLDR: Let's stop thinking like crabs in a barrel. We are trying to drag everyone down to our level... instead, lets work together and celebrate our victories as a country. Just because a CEO gets paid more than me doesn't make him a thief... wealth and creation should be celebrated. If they are breaking the law, prosecute. If they are behaving in a morally unethical way and there is no law against it... let us as a people create that law legally and enforce it -- not out of spite or jealousy -- but because we know it to be right and just.

^^ The USA needed to do what Iceland did........NO BAILOUTS, INDICTMENTS, PROSECUTION & INTERNMENT for the people in positions of power in the fnancial institutions responsible. The bail-outs are only antogonizing the problem. I am not against business big or small, however institutions MUST be held accountable for their actions.

 

I worked in the financial world for twenty plus years and saw the recklessness with which many firms operated. Their actions led directly to financial ruin for many Americans and the US economy.

TLDR: Let's stop thinking like crabs in a barrel. We are trying to drag everyone down to our level... instead, lets work together and celebrate our victories as a country. Just because a CEO gets paid more than me doesn't make him a thief... wealth and creation should be celebrated. If they are breaking the law, prosecute. If they are behaving in a morally unethical way and there is no law against it... let us as a people create that law legally and enforce it -- not out of spite or jealousy -- but because we know it to be right and just.

 

That was an excellent post.

 

Our country is great, and everyone thrives from it because of this. Its just your choice to either thrive or fail. And, the beautiful thing is, you actually have that choice and freedom to do so. The playing field might not be as even for you as it is for others, but people have had major success despite the circumstances, and dependent on how bad you want it, you can make it happen. Don't complain for working at McD's, a billion dollar corp, and think you deserve more than min. wage because of the $ the company earns. No, jobs are paid by skill and importance. Don't have them? Get them. Work harder. Be smarter. Business is beautiful. Business creates money and jobs. I can't think of any other profession which creates money and jobs for people.

 

I honestly think the main problem in the US today is lack of education. That, and the amount of misinformation which is spread. Very damaging with the internet, shit can travel faster than ever . Seems like no one is open minded to weigh opinions anymore.

^^ The USA needed to do what Iceland did........NO BAILOUTS, INDICTMENTS, PROSECUTION & INTERNMENT for the people in positions of power in the fnancial institutions responsible. The bail-outs are only antogonizing the problem. I am not against business big or small, however institutions MUST be held accountable for their actions.

 

I worked in the financial world for twenty plus years and saw the recklessness with which many firms operated. Their actions led directly to financial ruin for many Americans and the US economy.

 

True. And moving forward that will be the case, new laws have been enacted, more over sight (I know). But, having those companies fail would have wrecked havoc on the US economy. It was a necessary evil. I don't think we'll ever see that again.

I will admit I haven't read your post.......

Does anyone ever?

I will admit I haven't read your post, just skimmed trough, what I got from my skimming was US is great Europe isn't and a lot of fluff to justify your position.

 

You said you didn't read my post (which I had a feeling you wouldn't, but decided to write it anyway). But nothing I said is "fluff." You could say it is wrong, in your opinion, but fluff is defined as "trivial" or "superficial" and nothing I've mentioned are those things. To the contrary, they're very substantive and have major impact on the current geopolitical setup.

 

If good doesn't prevail over evil do you think you'd have a keyboard at your finger tips to irritate so many people? LOL

 

Good joke, but seriously, what makes you think that good always prevails over evil? Historically, evil has always prevailed.

 

It's amazing how much you know for someone who's experienced so little.

 

My opinions on this are based on knowledge that is not obtained through life experience. You could travel to every European country and not know squat about the condition of their militaries or financials. And you could never travel to any of them yet be very informed about much of those things. I never set foot in Rome nor was I alive during the ancient Roman Empire, but I can learn much about it. I never set foot in North Korea but I know it is a very oppressive state.

 

A soldier in Iraq may not know near as much about the big picture as a person who has never been there but who keeps informed on the issue.