Broken America? I Say Not!

reply to post by ownbestenemy


I for one will not get involved with politics, even at the local level, I have little to no patience with idiots, and there are a lot of them out there. I feel like if we could ignore or eliminate the 15 - 20% fringe, both right and left, the other 60 - 70% of us could sit down and come up with some common sense solutions to most of our problems. If you listen to the pundits, right and left, they try to convince their audiences that they are in the majority, when in fact, this nation is split 50 - 50 within a couple of points on almost every issue.

I think back to the tea parties and the town hall meetings of last summer, the shouting down of the elected officials, their motto just seemed to say it loud, no matter how uninformed or ignorant it was. The one that comes to mind was the sign telling "The Government needs to keep it's hands off of my Medicare". No one wants to discuss anything any more, they just want to repeat talking points, and repeat them loudly.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


Understandable. I could be more clear in my assertion in regards to being involved in politics. To that, I mean more involved and more reliant upon our ability to govern ourselves. Through that, comes forth our stake to ensure those elected to administer government at its most basic and limited form, follow the same tenants of self-governance.

Politics is not for everyone. But turning a blind eye to involvement and participation does not make the situation go away.

reply to post by ownbestenemy


I do try to get involved by educating myself about the candidates and the issues, and encouraging others to do the same. I have been known to write a letter or two, or make a phone call. I do understand what your saying, and I do try to involve myself in some fashion.

Another cost cutting idea, Department of Education, or education in general. I probably differ from a lot of folks on this one, but that comes from living in various parts of the country over the years. I feel like we need national standards, especially in english, math, and science. Eliminate the state and local level bureaucracies, and teach to one national standard. I know there is going to be regional bias in some subjects, but I feel for the most part, that this needs to be eliminated. Our society has become so mobile, that the poorest child in Mississippi, at some point is going to have to compete against the New England elite for a job, we should not handicap them by offering them less of education than their wealthier peers are receiving. I apologize for my somewhat fractured posts, but am at work, and actually trying to get some things done.

"america" is a myth, based on lies, taken by force of arms,
held together by force of arms. the SS number issued at birth-
no longer tattooed on your forearm like back in der fatherland.
this is der homeland -where you will work and be taxed till death.
the new world order - as heralded by cia bush and brought to us
by the cheney /bush /obama/ clintons /project for a new "american" century.
will be two wings on the same bird- a vulture- picking the carcass of america clean.
spraying chemical weapons on the gulf state civilians..for we are
no longer citizens - we are expendable /in the way of profits for globalists
whose main interest is profiting from perpetual global warfare.-it's what nazis do.
the G20 travelling riot psy-op show makes sure we all get a taste of the latest
"crowd control munitions" the 3d army 1st combat brigade is now under northcom
and ready to back up local law enforcement- who have been militarized..many thousands
trained by blackwater xe , many on steroids. you have been biometrically scanned.
all transactions and communications monitored..the new" big brother "nsa building
is 6,300,000 sq feet with 112 acres of parking.. infragard and the fbi , atf irs cdc
all militarized..take a look at "bug bots " and new drones from darpa.
all the un/nato/interpol plots are out there... denver airport as the new capitol?
vast systems of underground tunnels and operation trojan horse.? ...
i'm here in the southwest,under the boot heel of sheriff joe arpaio..
"i'll put up tents and barbwire from here to mexico"
america's private prison/ inmate labor contracts are in full swing..
we lead china in the manufacture of inmates.
so - what revolution against who now?
they killed john lennon for even singing about it.
all the laws are on the books to control the water and food supplies.
they would love to disarm us..throw us in camps..the whole nazi thing.
thats the new world order ..it's here and now. go ahead and
yap all you want..the plan as stated is "full spectrum dominance"
the dismantling of this thing called america
-taken from the native tribe that were enslaved and wiped out-
they have 1000's of bases, more missiles encircling the globe..
more nimitz class carrier strike groups - usa 11- russia 1 -china -0
any body doubting the nato /un/usa resolve will be hammered down.
and they may bluster and yap but watch what happens..
theres no peace movement-no real dissent- the goal
of the nazis in 1942 was control of the caspian basin and it still is.
get in the way and you'll be assassinated like the rest.
or your character will be assassinated..whatever -
all they have to do is say there was kiddie porn on your computer.
find some drugs or a weapon..etc..
so in my opinion- as i see the other fat rats jumping ship.?
it's a lost cause..i sold everything and got my passport.
dont know how to get clear of this clusterfugh but i'd give it
my best steve mcqueen in the great escape..
lotsa luck to you intelligencias-( the first ones to go) ..
DER HOMELAND UBER ALLES!

i have already seen some things that irk me so here goes..

military:

this nation as long as it wants to be a nation it needs that military i call for reformation im not for cutting the budget
i am for making every dollar count they way it should there is too much waste and beauracry and well the companies need to wake up and see this---"you dont exist without this country" so stop the bs.....

stop start programs only to eliminate them every system and subsystem should be design,built and tested by those companies without a dime from the us government until they have a working product...they take all the risk and they make crap they dont get a dime...........

the majority of every technological advance we take for granted has been due in large part to the military...... i want reformation..........

department of education

hows has that worked out so far? hmmm? american got along just fine til the department of education and look what happened before the d.o.e. WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON people we put a man on the moon!!!!!!

what have we done since the creation of the department of education? answer not much other than to just put people on tv............

i think that speaks to just how effective governmental control of education has been........

intelligence agencies:

how many do we need really? come on nsa,cia,dia,fbi,atf,homeland security, and the list goes on........most of those agencies do the same things beaucracy at its finest......

entitlement programs:

where to start with this one social security,medicare,medicaid,welfare,foodstamps needs massive reformation
social secuirty does need to be privatized i agree with that but when it comes to the rest none of them do anything to close of the ideals that they had the intent of all they do now is just a tool to enslave millions of americans....really look at this dont take my word for this fact check this til your hearts content.....

53 million americans on social security
48 million americans on welfare
17 million americans who are drawing unemployment
120 million americans who are actually working

118,000,000 americans are some form of government subsidies

120,000,000 americans are paying those subsidies......

something serious needs to be done with regards to entitlements.


in short yes this country is broken and its broken because the government cant get out of the america life

they want to be the slave masters of us all and they will use any means necessary to achieve that goal.........

the answer is clear fire every last single one in washington dc eliminate every single governmental agency that isnt to answerable to the congress ie the people......

its going to take alot of work and it wont be easy but this is the first step.

reply to post by p51mustang


I would like to really read your points and I am trying to decipher them, but you are all over the place. I attempted here to ask a question, respond to my own question and offer ideas and solutions. Not just complain. Anyone can complain and declare what you have, but it takes real intelligence and critical thinking to provide solutions.

Not everyone can pack up, move away and hope for the best. If that was your choice, then why even come here to just claim America is all that you have. Some of it may be truth, for there is always truth in even the most boldest of lies and deception. Maybe it isn't all lies and deception either. I hope you the best.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


And that is what I mean by involvement. Being engaged.

The education thing, I believe you and I have discussed before. Maybe in this thread. I too am at work and doing multiple things.

I believe there needs to be a baseline standard, but control needs to be given back to the States. A government that controls education creates a conflict of intrest in my opinion. A system controlled and dictated at the most local position possible (State, county, city, town, which ever it may be) has the ability to tailor its education to fit the needs of that population.

You do bring up a very valid point, which is, how do we ensure a level playing field, as a free-market proponent, a level-playing field is essential. How do we ensure that the child in Mississippi is afforded the same quality as a child in New Jersey or California or Texas?

If we tinker with giving control of education back to the State, thus more in control and within reach of the people of that State, the State will begin to realize in order to maintain its tax base, it will have to revamp its education. As now the States will be in direct competition with each other and the world. Competition is a wonderful thing when embraced and given a fair deal and level playing field. With as broken as our system is now, which ever 'radical' changes are put into place, it will be a generation before we even see changes.

reply to post by p51mustang


I wish your post was easier to read, but it is a perfect example of what we have way too much of, not only here, but in all forms of media. All you have offered are complaints, conspiracies with no outside sources, and the talking points of the conspiracy theorists. It adds nothing constructive to the conversation, however I am sure if you repeat it long and loud enough, others will start to follow you.

Originally posted by neo96

i am for making every dollar count they way it should there is too much waste and beauracry and well the companies need to wake up and see this---"you dont exist without this country" so stop the bs.....

You make an excellent point here, after both serving in the military, and then selling to the government, I have seen both sides. We hear about the fraud, waste and abuse in the federal procurement system, and find it hard to believe, but after seeing it from both sides first hand, this is definitely a place where many millions, possibly many billions of dollars could be saved, and spent more wisely.

department of education

hows has that worked out so far? hmmm? american got along just fine til the department of education and look what happened before the d.o.e. WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON people we put a man on the moon!!!!!!

what have we done since the creation of the department of education? answer not much other than to just put people on tv............

i think that speaks to just how effective governmental control of education has been........

I am going to disagree with you here, in the past our society was not near as mobile as it is now. Kids need to be able to compete with not just those across the street, but need to be able to compete with those across the country. The recent discussions of the Texas text book debate come to mind. I will elaborate on this in response to another post shortly.

intelligence agencies:

how many do we need really? come on nsa,cia,dia,fbi,atf,homeland security, and the list goes on........most of those agencies do the same things beaucracy at its finest......

Excellent point, but try to eliminate one of them, or even make them work together, and listen to the pigs squeal. Each organization has built it's empire, and none of them are going to be willing to give it up. You left out several, but there really only needs to be two. The FBI for issues within our borders, and the CIA for issues outside our borders, they need to be under the same department, and work together and communicate freely. There was a long series of articles about our intelligence organizations a few weeks ago, and I will be damned if I can find them right now, but was an interesting read.

entitlement programs:

where to start with this one social security,medicare,medicaid,welfare,foodstamps needs massive reformation
social secuirty does need to be privatized i agree with that but when it comes to the rest none of them do anything to close of the ideals that they had the intent of all they do now is just a tool to enslave millions of americans....really look at this dont take my word for this fact check this til your hearts content.....

53 million americans on social security
48 million americans on welfare
17 million americans who are drawing unemployment
120 million americans who are actually working

118,000,000 americans are some form of government subsidies

120,000,000 americans are paying those subsidies......

something serious needs to be done with regards to entitlements.

Wow, no kidding, some serious stuff needs to be done with these. I am going to start with Medicaid and Medicare, as I have a great deal of experience with these over the last 4 or 5 years. My wife and I have been the primary caregivers to two individuals who were on these programs. Medicare is actually not a bad program, but serious changes need to be made. Everyone is up in arms about "death panels" and the like, as for me, with what I have witnessed, I can only hope that assisted suicide becomes legal in my state before I desire it. This may sound heartless and cruel, and it might be, however I would invite you to visit a nursing home before you judge me. 80% of medicare's money is spent on end of life care, and some of these folk's life had ended 10 or 15 years before they actually departed this earth. Medicaid is much the same, however it pays 100% so people let doctors perform all kinds of unnecessary and redundant tests. There is so much fraud in both of these programs, again, millions if not billions could be saved if this fraud was eliminated.

The remainder of the programs are about the same, with much fraud and abuse, and the sad part being, the people that could actually use it the most, probably can't qualify, or are too proud to accept it.

Serious changes need to be made, and I do not want to witness people, old or young, starving in the streets. I also know we can not count on churches and charities as many of them are nothing more than corrupt bureaucracies within themselves. I now do taxes for a living, and the little amount that most donate to charity is doing nothing but lining the charity's pocket.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


lol we are still going to disagree about the department of education its just that americans were smarter before and now they are just plain dumber........

if i had access to half the stuff we have today as when i was growing up my life would have been completely different i am from a bigone era and it speaks to how i was raised.



with regards to intelligence i would like to see 1 building and one roof that they are all under much like how the pentagon is for the military something like that needs to done to intelligence with a group of people much like the joint chiefs running the show.

id also like to make permanent postions and stop appointment people just cause you own them something.....

sum total of what i am trying to say is to take the politics out of national intelligence agencies and let them do what they were created to do..................protect this country.

reply to post by ownbestenemy


I am going to disagree with you on the state control, and here is why. I have lived all over the country, raised here in MO, have lived in NH, CO, FL, and now am back in MO. In about 2000 I moved a lady and her son from FL to live with me in CO, her son was not an outstanding student in FL but did ok, however in CO he was 2.5 years behind his grade level, after working his butt off at our insistence in the CO schools, we moved to FL, and now he was about 1 yr ahead of grade level, and was bored out of his mind. Needless to say, bored students do not do well in school, and he never finished HS. He is one of the lucky ones though, as he is very good with his hands, and will probably never want for a job.

We need to do away with the grade level, no 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc, and set standards, only when they understand what they need to, are they allowed to move up. We need better educators, it needs to be a job folks are proud of, and not just a fall back position when they find they are too stupid or lazy to hold a real job. No offense to you good educators out there, but unfortunately many of them are not. Many, if not all of us, have been inspired by an educator at one time or another, however, I do not see that in the public school systems nearly often enough any more.

reply to post by neo96


I too am from a bigone era, I don't think people are dumber, I think they haven't been challenged and required to think for themselves. Teachers these days are handed tests at the first of the year, and told that there students need to know the answers by the end of the year. Good educators are quitting the profession because they are not allowed to challenge their students, ONLY TEACH WHAT IS IN THE TEST, hell damn trained monkeys could do that.

We need a standards based education system, if I have a 5 yo that can add, why not teach them to subtract, but wait, that is for 6 yo's. Our system doesn't make any sense, kids do not learn at the same speed, and somewhere along the line that needs to be taken into account. But wait, we can't hold them back, or not allow them to progress as that will hurt their self esteem.

I think we do need some national standards in math, english, and science, even history, but that seems to be where everyone gets hung up, so I am not sure on that one. Maybe if we just taught them how our government was supposed to work, and taught them historical truths instead of the BS that was peddled to you and I when we were kids.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


bout the only thing we will agree on with regards to education is we need better teachers but thats about it....


way i see it is

the teachers fault
the students fault
the parents fault

and a part of this component is the family unit........... but then again look at private education in this country and look at the difference

something clearly needs to be done but im not a fan of the government making it better.......

reply to post by neo96


One of the things I find interesting is that teachers in Catholic schools are generally paid much less than there public school counterparts, however I feel that students in a catholic school get a better education and are poised to be more successful in life. Being agnostic, I am not sure how I feel about this, but apparently they have figured out something that the public schools have not figured out.

added: I agree with you on the faults, but I feel like a great deal of it lies on the family unit, and this will get a whole nother conversation started.

reply to post by ownbestenemy


Non acquiescence is perhaps the best and strongest way to fight the tyranny of government. Much of the infringements to our individual rights have happened by acquiescence. We the People have stood by and knowingly watched as our rights are being infringed. We allow governments to herd us into "free speech zones", we allow our government to restrain the freedom of press by issuing credentialed passes, we allow our government to establish religion by agreeing that the IRS, (a tax collection agency for Christ's sake's!) is the sole arbiter of what is and what is not a bona fide religion, we shrug our shoulders and even defend the police state when peaceful protesters are beaten, tortured, and tear gassed, and we allow our politicians to lecture us on our right to petition government for a redress of grievances as being limited to a vote at election time.

We allow our government to dictate what type of arms we can bear, and those that we do bear must be registered with them, and we must be licensed in order to bear them, as if a right can be licensed.

We allow law enforcement to violate our right to privacy, and from unreasonable searches and seizures.

We willingly incriminate ourselves by signing government contracts without even bothering to consider the ramifications of signing such contracts.

We acquiesce to a plethora of alphabet administrative agencies not even mandated by Constitution and then we hopelessly wonder what happened to our freedoms.

We hopelessly wonder, because unlike our Founding Fathers, we desperately fear becoming a part of the prison populace, even as that populace in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate.

We acquiesce to tyranny, and if we continue to do so, then we run the very real risk of finally reaching a tipping point where a violent and chaotic outburst similar to that of the French Revolution as a response. Unlike some who seem to salivate at the idea of a violent revolution, I still hold faith that a peaceful revolution is not just possible, it is probable. It is not, however, even remotely probable as long as we continue to acquiesce to tyranny.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


ponder this man you seem to have an open mind

remember way back when when families were just that mother and father and actually there to raise their children

those days are over

the family unit of today mother and father are not always around if in fact they even have one in my opinion

that is really telling to the state of things...................but sometime its not entirely their fault it is to some degree i just wanted to clarify that some a fault does lay there in regards to the choice that they have made.

reply to post by neo96


I think with the economic situation today, we are seeing some of the return of that. In my case, my wife and I hit hard times, and moved in with my mother and stepfather. We didn't plan on staying here, but at this point, we are looking after them, and were able to look after my 95YO grandfather for the last 6 months of his life.

I think some of the "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality has been taken out of folks, they are finding they don't need the fancy cars and McMansions, and are trying to get life back to where it is a little more simple and affordable. We have a long way to go, but in that, I think we are moving in the right direction.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


i hope that is true it would be nice to see the return of what people think is important

and get away from the mentality of i want i want i want the instant gratification of todays society...........

earn what you need not what you want.....: p

reply to post by neo96



There are so many changes that need to be made to way things are now, it is almost overwhelming as to where to start.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


well man nothing worth doing has never been easy and to those things that we all want are simply never handed to us to begin with..........the journey begins but with a single footstep in the right direction and i'm already on that path...........i ask is do we just sit here and talk about it or do we finally do something about it.