Forex markets Forex: USA dollar collapse http://www.pxcomp.org/user/view.php?id=101&course=1 [URL=http://www.pxcomp.org/user/view.php?id=101&course=1]Forex: USA dollar collapse[/URL]

War on terror is like war on ghosts that we can neither see nor feel around. How can anybody win a war against such an enemy who can appear only when he decides to strike,who can be near you all the time without knowing it,who can be with you in the street,on the train,on the bus,on the flight,even near your house,school or garden.Let's be honest about it. This is not a conventional war that we used to know.Even with the most powerful neuclear weapons,we simply cannot win such a war.However,this doesn't mean that we have to give up or surrender to the enemy.We can simply eradicate all terrorists and terrorism by eliminating the major cause behind it.The illegal creation of Israel on the ruins of Palestine is the stem cell that has been breeding all chaos and trerror in the Middle East and in the whole world.Palestinians,being moslems or christians,were kicked out of their country to be replaced by jews from Europe,Ethiopia,Russia,Poland etc.
Unless the Palestinian issue is settled in a fair way to all concerned parties and unless all Palestinian refugees return home under UN resolutions, we will continue to fight ghosts for many years to come.

LET'S NOT FOOL OURSELVES AND TURN A BLIND EYE TO THE REAL CAUSE OF ALL THIS HAVOC IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND IN THE WHOLE WORLD.IT'S THE CREATION OF THE ILLEGAL STATE OF ISRAEL ON THE RUINS OF PALESTINE.THIS IS THE STEM CELL THAT HAS BEEM BREEDING ALL CHAOS AND TERROR WORLDWIDE.UNLESS THIS ISSUE IS HANDLED ADEQUATELY AND ALL PALESTINIAN REFUGEES RETURN HOME,WE WILL BE FOOLING OURSELVES AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT INVISIBLE GHOSTS THAT WE CALL TERRORISTS.

Google Ron Paul.

"Who cares? It's almost time for training camp to start!"

This proves that even if we were heading down the path toward becoming a "new rome", the average citizen in this country could care less, as long as they can enjoy digital cable, and sports cars and cell phones, etc., how the leaders of this country conduct themselves means nothing. To anyone.

People care more about paris hilton and her ongoing debacle rather than michael moore's revelation of the u.s. health care system, or how many american soldiers are dying in iraq or the vice president's ongoing quest to become his own branch of government.

there needs to be a new type of action in this country. common sense needs a huge comeback. there are more important things in this world than the petty lives of celebrities in America.

To claim America is arrogant, outside of the fact that we wield tremendous power around the world, which would make even the most humble arrogant, is absurd. Ask yourself this: what powerful nation has been so reluctant to use its power? The British empire? The Soviet empire? The Nazi? How about the Mayan empire? Where the Mayans reluctant to invade and conquer other small indigenous villages? As to Giuliani: he represents a minority, albeit substantial minority, view; also, he is just trying to act like a tough guy for the Republican base. As to Powell: he is right; take post-WWII France; America expended thousands of lives and millions of dollars to liberate it and France abandonded us; any truely arrogant empire would bring the tanks in, as the Soviets did in Hungry in '56 or prague in '68.

i have heard nearly every political figure in the country, on both sides of the isle say at one point or another that america "is the greatest country in the world".

in WHAT specific respect i ask!?!

i picture GW Bush standing on the flight deck in with his presidential gear on making victory statements about a war he knows NOTHING of... and i remember his swaggering about the flight deck. this guy REALLY is the perfect president for us as he is reperesentative of our collective fickeled insanity. He... and We are the definition of arrogance.

I'm thankful for those who immigrate (legally or otherwise) to our country. Their vision of America has been lost by most American citizens, obscured by their sense of entitlement. I wonder how many of the good citizens of this country would still see the need for this war if mandatory military service were required of their children or if a draft were in place?

Like the Irish, Germans, Poles and others who have come to our shores, todays immigrants see the promise of a real democracy in America. They do believe in a "shining city on a hill" where anything is possible, if you are willing to work for it.

Like those who have come before them, immigrants take the jobs no American wants, including fighting our wars. Granting citizenship to any immigrant willing to spend two years wearing an American uniform in a warzone would end the Army's recruitment problems instantly.

The moral and physical cowardliness of George Bush and Dick Cheney is sickening. If they believe this is a just and righteous war and it is being fought to keep Americans safe, then why aren't any of their offspring fighting it? Are there any relatives of Bush or Cheney in uniform? I haven't heard. Perhaps there is no need, since the mission has been accomplished.

Patriotism truely is, as it always has been, the last refuge of scoundrels.

70% of Americans want us out of Iraq and want change.

Ron Paul is only republican candidate against the war.

Ron Paul only needs about 30% vote from republicans sick of the war and abuse of powers to win in republican primaries.

Ron Paul might possibly win. We can only hope…

You can't equate Rome to USA.
Rome was an empire, USa ia a democracy.

Rome lasted a long time, USA is still young and is only over 200 years old.

USA has one major problem. Accepting and promoting multiculturalism. This could weaken it's unity and eventually lead to defeat.

The greatest danger to modern civilisation is Islam. A muslim's first lawyalty is to his faith. That is why there are terrorist in India. In India Muslims have more rights than in Pkistan, Bangladeshor any other Muslim country in this world. But Muslims main goal is to weaken and make it an Islamic country. Most Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India have no memory of their pre islamic past. Islam erazed their memory. Majority of Muslims are peaceful doesn't mean any thing. They will celebrate if Islam wins by terrorist means. That is how they conquered the world before.

They still revere Ayotolla Kaomeni who murdered thousands of Iranions. Bin Laden gets more support than any Muslim in Islamic world. More babies are named after Osama than any other name in England.

The western civilisation will not win this war as long as it doesn't come to the conclusion that the enemy is Islam, not just terrorism.

"One other similarity to Rome that no one has mentioned is America's increasing acceptance, if not encouragement, of homosexuality."

Hallelujah! Jerry Falwell has risen from the dead! We had nearly forgotten the true cause of the 9/11 attacks, but it seems the Rev. Falwell has returned from Heaven to save us from our ignorance.

Did you forget about the ACLU and the feminists?

I'm an American and I read all three of the panels opinions at this site and yours by far was the best.

I also watched that comment on air, Ron Paul would make an amazing president, unfortunately, I don't see how he could get elected, Giuliani is a fool and also sadly poses the best chance in the Republican party.

America is an Empire at this point, it is sad but true, another unfortunate fact is that most Americans know in the back of there mind, I believe they secretly want it to be so.

Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely.

I don't believe the question is about the existence of an American Empire at this point, but how will it end, when, will it stay intact, what will happen in the world after we fall, will it be a multi-polar world or will someone take our place?

It seems to me since history there is always someone that takes the mantle of the Empire, it just happened to be America.

I do believe America as a country will stay intact when it happens however, unlike Rome.

If there is any country that is made in the Image of Roman Empire, it is the United States of America (it is not a bad thing). George Washinton look himself like a 17th Century Cincinnatus. Rudy Gulliani words do not represent the stature of America. As a mexican you suffer from "Big Brother Next door" complex(samething that Nepal/Sri Lanka suffer w.r.t India). Every country envies a prosperous neighbour, in case of mexico it is a neighbor to richest country in the world and mexico itself being poverty sticken (which is a consequence of prolonged violent revolutions and lack of genuine democracy). I dont see any merit in your argument. As long as we dont differentiate between Pride and Arrogance, Ego and Self-respect, the same crappy agruments show up.

This is from an Non-American.

I agree with Pogo and others. when a Mexican has the audacity to criticize the US...well, it makes my head explode. The Mexicans are the most arrogant, boorish and venal people on earth. They have squandered a beautiful land with their corrupt politics and drug culture. Looking for a better life they come here by the thousands and refuse to assimilate unlike millions of other immigrants and refugees. Press 1 for Spanish.

The American government is arrogant even to its own citizens at home in so many ways from taxes, politically driven budget appropriations, the criminal justice system, the huge number of prisoners(over 2 million) with approx 7 for each 1 incarcerated on parole or probation. People are afraid of their government, its police, their employers, their neighbors, the courts, even their spouses increasingly with each passing year. The government has progressively become more divorced from the people as its own entity doing its own bidding. I don't think this is at all what the founding fathers had in mind.

This is little more than more childish social angst from the Islamic “intellectuals” who feed the cretin minds of terrorists. Who cares? We currently use them for their oil and when it's sucked dry we will have alternative fuels, vaster resources and new means of maintaining our society -- When we are done, let them all finish each other off in the Middle East, as they are obviously genetically determined to do, and then maybe put up a fuel hotels and golf courses. Americans are the chosen ones.

America shall rule the planet for eons. The Chinese will never get their economy and society on track; Japan, North Korea and southeast Asia as a whole are depauperate lands, India is millions of sloppy 800-number tech reps, Europe is just a vacation spot with decaying ruins and ancient battlefields that nobody cares about, the Russians aren't going anywhere, Africa is a mess with no resources, South America is too volatile to be a serious contender, Canada lacks any unity or resolve and Antarctica is just too cold. So… that leaves extraterrestrials as the only competition and I’m sure we have a competitive lead on them already.

America shall continue forever and never burn like Rome unless we let foreign whack’s infiltrate our social fabric and government.

America is smarter, more ingenious, harder working and is the planet’s ultimate Nation of survivors. Anyone else out there that has conquered and dominated a continent for 231 years in the modern world? Please spare us the comparisons to Rome and other dimwitted "empires" throughout ancient and dusty history. Let’s see… America is the world leader in technology, manufacturing, education, exploration, medical advances, social integration (yes, we tend to accept all the social scabs of the world only if they better our Nation), religious freedom, literary and artistic creativity, and the best darn bar-b-cue, Brunswick stew and Key Lime pie on the planet. Yeah, the world is our oyster.

Perhaps a more arogant mexican psyche would have
produce a more posperous country. Mexico as been an independent country almost as long as the United States and much longer than Canada. Still it is the poorest of the three.

I've never been to the blog pages. It seems to be a platform primarily, though not exclusively, for anti-Americans. Anti-Americanism by the way is not being critical of the U.S. policies. Think attacking Iraq was a mistake? Fine. Join millions of Americans who think the same. Anti-Americanism is focused on the belief that the country was founded on immoral values and is the primary source of conflict on earth. "Everything bad comes from America" as one Iranian leader put it.

Face it folks, America has no monopoly on arrogance. Every blogger on these pages believes they know better (me included) than those who disagree with them.

Americans don't want to take responsibility for their actions in the world? Maybe, up to a point. How much responsibility do you think Europeans feel for their current and former colonies? Do those living in underdeveloped or tyrannical countries blame themselves for their poverty? Generally not. People want to think well of themselves and place blame for problems elsewhere.

Simplistic arguements are comforting. They lead us to believe that a clear solution is readily available. If the U.S. would just abandon Israel, peace would come to the Middle East. If we just "respected" Islam, there wouldn't be a conflict. And if only we would sit down with our enemies and talk, solutions would be found.

Whatever. Human history is what it is. If the U.S. "empire" falls then the next emerging power will step up to fill the void. Personally, I'll take my chances with the U.S. - and so too, it seems, will millions of other travellers on the planet who vote with their feet.

Rights are not bestowed by anything but your creator. Read the founders b4 printing garbage.The gov't is a corporation. The Supreme court ruled as such. Do you get your rights from the private security force of a corporation? of course not. How hold the truths SELF_EVIDENT that all men are created equal. The are endowed by there Creator with certain unalienable rights. Life , Liberty , and the pursuit of happiness.

Ignorance and arrogance seem to be two sides of the same ugly coin that come together in a self-perpetuating cycle of disaster and destruction. To present arguments that are false or to rant off on diatribes based on incomplete information and false assumptions as if it were all true just because you say it and believe it regardless of the facts is one of the most arrogant things anyone can do. To live in a nation where groups on all sides have evolved in such a context and have responded to their opponents' "infallibility" by refusing to accept their own faults indicates that we are facing the risk of eventual demise of our system, at least as we know it today.
There was a great article about Saddam's decline in Foreign Affairs sometime ago, where the authors explained that one of the reasons Saddam's regime was ultimately so fragile was that he refused to recognize any of its weaknesses. People who pointed out those weaknesses were punished as if pointing something out was the actual problem, not just the recognition and report of the fundamental problem itself. Arrogantly ignoring his many and dire weaknesses fostered even more arrogance, to the point where Saddam actually believed (seriously, as far as the authors recount) he could take on the US. His generals knew the truth but were too afraid to tell him for fear of reprisals. Even when American boots were on the ground and were speeding towards Baghdad generally uncontested, Saddam received reports that his military units were holding off the invasion and were performing excellently on the field when most were running scared at the first sight of our troops and leaving all their equipment behind.
Not to say that there are any similarities on any functional or practical level, but the description is a relevant example of the great threat of a cycle of arrogance and ignorance that nations of all types face. Had Saddam not been so oblivious of the condition of his own shambled military, he would have never believed that he could have taken on the US and probably would have never escalated the conflict. Had the US not created its own kind of arrogance-ignorance marriage to procreate the beast of Iraq, we would now be in a much different position on the world stage. Most would argue that it would be a stronger position, with solid support from key governments and their populations. The main challenge would be the same one after 9 11, but we would be in a much better position to deal with it had we not allowed the jolt of our fears to bring life to the arrogance and ignorance lurking in the halls of our government.
The challenge we face requires that we be informed. To be adequately informed, one has to leave blind dogma and crippling partisanship behind and have the humility to consume factual information from as many relevant sources as are available. In other words, we (nations and people)need to be less arrogant in order to be less ignorant and less ignorance will in turn make us less arrogant.
Being humble is considering sound arguments and solid information regardless of who or where they come from. Being informed is being able to accept or reject them based on the merits of the arguments themselves. To respond to a post about the comparison between Rome and the US by taking offense and attacking its author or his country on a set of matters unrelated to the central question shows a mix of arrogance and ignorance that could well confirm the author's claims.

Here is an example:
"The only arrogance here is from a Mexican whose country is so despoiled by political and business corruption [very true, but does this confirm or deny the comparison between the US and Rome as empires?] that, despite sitting atop huge untapped wealth in natural resource, is still one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere[very false, Mexico is one of nearly 30 countries in the Western Hemisphere, which economically is among the top 5 behind Brazil, the US, Canada, and, depending on your prespective, ahead of or behind Chile], a nation that cannot support itself [true, but fallacious, there are no nations today that can or want to 'support themselves' what we have is a world of interrelated economies, where all nations are interdependent. The same shallow (and fallacious) argument could be made to describe America's dependence on foreign oil or manufactured products], a nation that is so arrogant that it believes it has a RIGHT to ship its poor to our nation illegally [the way this is phrased is outright silly, but there are some deeper truths related to the intention behind this argument, mainly that the Mexican government does not take responsibility for its emigration problem, as it expects the US to take responsibility for the immigration problem. I actually don't see it as a problem at all. The US has always benefitted from attracting not only the brightest, but also the hardest-working individuals from around the world. Our competitive edge over Europe for example lies in the dynamism of our economy, which has always depended on immigrant labor. As they get old and stagnant, we remaing young and vibrant, able to take on the rising challenges of India and China. Ultimately, it's not a fundamentally political question, it's fundamentally economic. People who want to work go wherever they can find work and we have plenty work to go around. As long as we continue to play on our strengths, we will remain economically strong for years to come. Our main strength is the ability to attract, employ and enrich people who are willing to take risks and work hard. To paraphrase something I heard recently: 'a Mexican that is willing to walk miles through the desert risking his life and everything else to come work here is a good American.' As far as I'm concerned, it's Mexico's loss and our gain, and as long as we have an unemployment rate at around 4%, we are all the better for the risks that they take.] and is so ARROGANT as to object to us actually taking steps to enforce our own laws. (Funny how you're not to proud to accept all the dollars sent back to Mexico [the dollars were not stolen or invented, there is a counterpart to those dollars -- hard work, and Mexico is not too proud to take them just as the US is not to proud to live in houses made by Mexicans, eat at restaurants with food prepared by Mexicans, or use any other good or service provided by Mexicans. For that matter, the US is not to proud to wear clothes made in China, Honduras or Indonesia, or use a Korean cellphone. If those practical things don't make sense, then maybe 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness' does. I could never find the place where it says anything about keeping those damn Mexicans away].)"

Well spoken Alejandro.

D has a powerfull point and it certainly adds to my case. America is the most powerfull country on earth right now, and with this fact come responsabilities. What makes the U.S. so different from most of other imperial states in history has been its power to gain allies and adepts all over the world simply by showing them a society living by the rule of law and the advancement of individual rights.
God save us from a world ruled by a radical, fanatical regime. The idea of China (as we know it today) taking the lead as the world`s superpower freaks me out too.
Just stop doing things that make you look a little bit more like them, and less like the Country we love and admire.

This is the miscellaneous post:

I think invading Iraq was a stupid strategic decision on many levels.

Comparing the US invasion of Iraq with Roman conquests isn't very convincing. The Romans invaded with the sole purpose of complete subjugation, permanent occupation, and assimilation of the conquered territory into their empire. Did the Romans ever try to conquer, set up a new government, and leave? (I don’t know Roman history well enough to say it never happened, but I can say that wasn’t what they tried to do in Iberia, Gaul, Greece, Egypt, etc.) Does anyone seriously think this is what is going on in Iraq? Does anyone think Bush is trying to annex Iraq? A better comparison would be the very early British Empire when the empire was more commercial than territorial.

Mexican isolationism? Mexican powerlessness, perhaps? A state’s interests grow with its power. If Mexico found itself a world power its interests would begin to extend beyond its borders as well. It is easy for such countries to be uninvolved when they don’t have the power or influence to be involved in any meaningful way. It is a lot like a fan without the talent to play in the NFL criticizing the all stars. It is easy for the Monday-morning quarterbacks to talk about what the participating players did wrong, but if they had the talent to be in there with the players, they would be making many of the same mistakes.

Yes, I am a mexican citizen. And yes, I admire your great country, specially for the principles it has stood for: advancing the rule of law and the protection of individual rights ever since its creation. I am not particularly proud about the failure of my country in providing for the basic needs of security, jobs and welfare to almost 5 million mexicans that had to look for it elsewhere, mainly in the U.S.
But I am apalled at the horrific genius of Osama Bin Laden. Your insight was clouded by the rubbish of the WTC towers and you couldn´t see for a while his real target. He was really aiming at your very heart: Those principles that have made you diffent from other imperial states in history. Now your goverment has walked away from the protection of individual rights, and certainly the rule of law has been broken many times by the Executive branch of your country. Osama has succeeded in breaking the moral strenght of the U.S. and has made it his twin. It does not appear to hundreds of million of people as standing on a higher moral ground anymore. Fortunately, the obtundation of fear is subsiding and the American people is realizing now that you do not defend these sacred values if you do not live by them. It is not worth dying for them if you don`t practice the rule of law and the advancement of individual right on your daily life as a society. Dangers lie ahead without any doubt, and there is a cost to be paid by showing all over the world what it means to live like that. But this has been the cause of admiration for many millions of people all over the world, and the main source of your power in the long run, military might notwithstanding. After all, the only thing you (and us foreigners as well) have to fear, is fear itself. A nice guy told us this one day, remember?

From Chris:
"America: turning Iranian?

1. We have weapons of mass destruction
2. We have faith based government aid, God inspires our President like Allah inspired Khomeni
3. We are eagerly exporting freedom and democracy in their backyard, they are exporting terrorism in ours
4. We torture our POWs
5. We restrict civil liberties
6. Neither President gives a damn for what the world thinks: I know Bush eschews Kyoto CO2 treaties, repayment of foreign debt, what our allies think of invading Iraq, energy independence, and what the people in countries where we have bases think."

1. I don’t blame Iran for pursuing nuclear weapons; I’d do the same thing after watching what happened to Saddam Hussein and seeing Kim Jung Il get away with developing nukes.
2. This kind of attack against religion is tiresome. Yes, bad things are done in the name of religion, and many good things are done in the name of religion. Many bad things have been done in the name of science as well. Comparing faith-based initiatives to Khomeini’s actions is ridiculous.
3. There is a big difference between exporting ideals and exporting violence. Iran is welcome to send missionaries to preach Islam in the United States, but they are not welcome to send terrorists.
4. This is a horrendous generality that is insulting to our men and women in the military and intelligence communities. The United States is the most humane great power in history. The debate about treatment of detainees in Gitmo, and POWs illustrate the humanity of the US. How do the Israelis treat their prisoners? What about the Iranians? How did the Soviets treat their prisoners in Afghanistan? How did the French treat the Algerians? Do we even need to mention the Nazis? How did the British Empire treat the Zulus?
5. There has never been a country that hasn’t restricted some liberties. There is a balance between freedom and an organized and safe society. Are you really comparing the balance struck in the US with the balance struck in Iran? Would you like to live in Iran?
6. I think both presidents care very much what the world thinks (as far as it affects them). I bet the Iranian President is very concerned about what is going on at the UN right now. Does any state care what the rest of the world thinks when they have the power to do whatever they want anyway? Listing things like the Kyoto accords and repayment of foreign debt isn’t a very good example. Of course the rest of the world wants the US to sign on to the Kyoto accords and bear the costs for reducing global pollution, but that doesn’t mean we should do so (a separate debate). Also, the US has been sensitive to what the people in other countries think about our bases there. The US military has shut down bases in the Pacific because they caused problems with the people there. The US has withdrawn most of its personnel to the far south of the Republic of Korea so they are less visible. Perhaps you would have us completely withdraw from the Pacific and encourage Japanese remilitarization and the ensuing Chinese response? Our bases in other countries are there with the full support of the governments of those countries.

Dear Americans:

Vote RON PAUL!

Really! Listen to that guy! He sounds like the only one that can save United States of America (most of all from herself)!

Just listen to him. He is all-over the net. I did and he just changed my mined totally!

No more Obama, no more Clinton for me! RON PAUL is the future! He is conservative yes! But he is intelligent! Powerful because of his ideas! (Simply the constitution)

He dares to challenge the warmongers head to head!

I hope Americans fined him and listen to him!

Sincerely
H from Oslo

Yes, Rome was arrogant, but it was also the greatest power in the world (at least in its sphere of immediate influence). It's power dominated everything around it, and enabled it to last (including the Eastern Empire) for more than 1500 years. Compare that to the British Empire, the Soviet Union, or even the US.

Roman arrogance did not begin after it became an empire. This arrogance, or extreme confidence, played a large part in enabling Rome to subdue the entire Mediterranean basin. It was this confidence/arrogance that enabled them to defy Hannibal at their gates.

Lastly, this is not a moral judgment, simply an observation.

For those engaging in the WWII debate. Germany's alliance with Japan was in name only. The fact that they pledged to help each other was a diplomatic nicety. About the only help Germany ever gave Japan was a fighter delivered by submarine to help out Japanese engineers. Does anyone think that Hitler, who hated Jews and Slavs, had any real desire to see Japanese succeed?

Whether our declaration of war against Germany was five minutes before or after Germany's declaration of war against us is irrelevant. Does anyone think that we would not have declared war on Germany had Hitler not declared war on us that same day? Roosevelt had wanted to get into the war to help Britain fight Germany for a long time--Pearl Harbor just made it a political possibility.

Lack of humility? Surely this writer jokes. I've never seen a more self-hating culture. Turn on the TV -- it's all about how America is populated by idiots. Watch a movie -- look here, we're a bunch of idiots. Listen to the radio, and it's the same. It's an odd topsy-turvy world where a statement like this can even be made.

And another thing -- fear of immigrants? If only Mexico would welcome immigrants in the same way the U.S. does. We welcome -- and happily -- about 1 million LEGAL immigrants a year (through a process that still needs much reform). These folks -- my wife included -- are part and parcel of what makes our nation a great place to live. I suppose he's got this confused with ILLEGAL immigration. Perhaps he ought to pay more attention as to what's so wrong with his own nation that these folks feel compelled to break the law to cross the border -- not to mention examine Mexico's own unwillingness to welcome immigrants from along there southern border. You want arrogance? Well, Leon, why don't you try looking in the mirror?

One other similarity to Rome that no one has mentioned is America's increasing acceptance, if not encouragement, of homosexuality.

good article and posts - a couple observations:

1. "Americans are the most casualty-shy warlike people in history." Not true, American casulaties in Iraq are no longer front page news in rags like the WaPo and ho hum to the average American unless friends or family are involved.

2. In regard to Jame Buchannan's racist rant: If you think Mexicans bring nothing to the US, refuse to eat the fruit and vegatables they pick, or live in the houses they build both while being exploited by your Christian extremist Republican business buddies who look the other way when it comes to "my Mexicans"

3. Mexico is just as arrogant as any other place but at least they have the common sense not to pick fights or go on Crusades for religion or oil in other parts of the world. When was the last time there was an islamic terrorist attack in Mexico? We could learn a lot from their isolationism.

For those of you who think that ordinary voters have much influence on national affairs, I urge you to read _The_Irony_of_Democracy_ by Dye & Ziegler as well as _A_People's_History_of_the_United_States_ by Howard Zinn.

For those of you who think that U.S. foreign policy has always been benign, I would urge you all to consider the history of Mexican-U.S. relations. The U.S. has invaded at least four times that I am aware of. I would also urge you all to read both _Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man_ and _A_Game_As_Old_As_Empire_ by John Perkins.

Google Ron Paul!

20,000 members of meetup.com have volunteered and are active in the cause.....Hillary has 700 vols, Romney 0, Rudy 0 etc etc etc.
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/about/

Time to get our house in order and halt the drive towards a military/police state.

Are you scared?? If so, vote for Rudy, McCain, Hillary or Obama.

If you are not scared...if you still believe in the American individual and that true principles of freedom spread with out the guns of the neo con trotskyists - then.......

Vote RON PAUL!!!!!

Maybe the human piece of excrement who wrote this garbage can convince his fellow Mexicans to stay out of America since it is obviously so horrible. Stupid idiot.

Maybe the human piece of excrement who wrote this garbage can convince his fellow Mexicans to stay out of America since it is obviously so horrible. Stupid idiot.

Maybe the human piece of excrement who wrote this garbage can convince his fellow Mexicans to stay out of America since it is obviously so horrible. Stupid idiot.

In response to Anonymous who said:

“No mainstream Democrat has yet seriously taken up arms against the basically imperial nature of America's prevailing foreign policy mindset.”

Ironically, it is a Republican, Ron Paul, who has taken up arms against the basically imperial nature of America's prevailing foreign policy mindset. Ron Paul voted against the Iraq War and Patriot Act. And he has helped bring the debate to the masses though YouTube and many thousands of internet fans. We are now taking action to bring his information and perspective to the real world through a rapidly growing network of individuals. Each person passes the info to 10 more people who then does the same for exponential growth. Over time we hope to stabilize and save our America republic.

Go to YouTube and search “Ron Paul” to lean more…

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Those who remember history are doomed to treat it as inevitable and repeat it.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Those who remember history are doomed to treat is as inevitable and repeat it.

It is hilarious to read Loyal Bushies defending the U.S. against charges of imperialism.

Don't they know that American neocons, conservative American historians and their homologues within the White House not only think of America as the new Rome, they relish and exult in the idea?

Neocon Max Boot, for example, has actually urged Americans to emulate British imperialists with stiff upper lips and pith helmets in the noonday sun. Robert Kaplan has glorified the U.S. "grunts" saving civilization in faraway lands, he says, from barbarian inroads. Applauding the neocons, historian Niall Ferguson has criticized the Bush Administration and Americans generally for not being imperialist enough and slacking off when the opportunity, he says, cries out for more Roman imperial order and discipline that failed states can't provide for themselves.

The whole PNAC Doctrine, the neocon script for Bush's foreign interventions, is based on unchallenged U.S. military might in the service of geopolitical dominance and a unilaterally maintained unipolar world ruled by U.S. force. "Globalization" is now commonly viewd as "soft" U.S. imperialism as an adjunct to outright military invasions and interventions.

The neocon Project for a New American Century is all about empire. The belligerent punditry of neocons Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer is nothing if not overtly and unabashedly imperial, has a vocal following, and impugns traditional liberal internationalists and diplomatists as "isolationists".

So it's not just Al Jazeera who alleges U.S. imperialism -- even the American authors and promoters of it take great pride in openly boasting about their allegiance to it -- and even ignominious disasters such as bloody, radicalized Iraq and shaky narcophile Afghanistan have hardly shaken their appetite for it.

The irony is that the blank-eyed zombies of the Republican base, whose postings expose their abysmally low level of culture and awareness, somehow can spew vile epithets and vulgar obscenities against those who do nothing but point out that global imperialism is what Loyal Bushies find most exhilarating about their ideological mission.

"We're an empire now," said a high White House aide in a celebrated interview, "and we make our own history and the reality-based community just has to sit and watch." [paraphrase]

Many differences from Rome, however, are clear. Rome granted imperial citizenship to conquered peoples, brought order and law, and Romanized and assimilated the subject cultures. By contrast, the U.S. has passed from barbarism to decadence, skipping the stage of civilization, so that it has nothing to offer but Hollywood car chases, internet porn, legitimized torture, bad McDonald's food and perpetual indebteness to the World Bank.

No mainstream Democrat has yet seriously taken up arms against the basically imperial nature of America's prevailing foreign policy mindset. That is why so few Democrats had the integrity to step forward and vote against the Senate's blank check for Bush's Iraq "war". They were intellectually disarmed by the ingrained, underlying mental frame they share with Bush's people. They dared not argue against its deeper error.

Fortunately, we have Chalmers Johnson's trilogy ("Nemesis" etc.) to redeem America's honor and awareness if anyone cares to read it.

"Who cares? It's almost time for training camp to start!"

yeah! go skins

I wonder what would have happened to Rome if they had remained a Democratic Oligarchy/Republic instead of becoming a Autocratic/Dictatorship Empire? Any ideas?

For my part, I can only hope America remains a Democratic Republic and doesn’t slide into Autocratic/Dictatorship as so many Republics of the past (including Nazi Germany).

Dear JM,
Your view is shortsighted. You post that Rome built up the lands it conquered, but that America only rapes the natural economy. Explain to me please how we "Sucked" resources from Europe and Japan following WWII, or what resources there really were to suck from Korea or Vietnam. Maybe you are right when it concerns Iraq, but then again, America has not had the chance to build anything that isn't immediately destroyed, nor do I think that they ever will. The Iraq war was a noble endeavor achieved without adequate planning and forethought. It is the Iraq occupation that has turned out so disasterous. The real problem, as I read it from these posts, is that people debate history as if it started with G.H.W.Bush's inauguration. "Liberating" Iraq will go down as bad idea, Bush will go down as a bad President, but maybe if we are lucky, this period in history will go down as the time a spoiled generation raised by self-indulgent parents ame to the realization that the world is a hard sometimes bad place, full of hard and sometimes evil or stupid people, but that sitting around complaining about it doesn't do anything except to make the complainer feel superior.

In '08 let's all try something different, let's try voting FOR something we believe instead of AGAINST how someone has been defined. Better yet, to that phantom 60+%, let's just try voting.

It’s not our job to police the world.

A non-interventionist policy would have prevented 9/11.

A non-interventionist policy will prevent a future 9/11.

The United States should stop being policeman/henchman for the United Nations. The rest of the world will just have to learn how to take care of themselves.

We can have a much more positive influence through free trade and stop inserting ourselves into other nation’s wars.

Nobody would have nay reason to attack us if we would stop inserting ourselves into everyone else’s wars/troubles.

We should stop trying to be an Empire and focus on being a Constitutional Republic.

The very idea that America's arrogance mirrors Roman Empire arrogance and somehow led to 9/11 is both banal and incongruent with the facts.

The idea that US troop presence in Saudi Arabia was the last straw for modern militant Islamism I find to be less of a catalyst and more of a convenience to the militants. The U.S. could not continue to isolate Saddam without a military presence in the region. Nor could it rely on the U.N. to enforce its own mandates. American troops were serving in Saudi Arabia with Saudi permission, and in support of Operations Northern and Southern Watch. These operations were US, UK, and French led efforts to enforce the “no-fly” and “no-drive” zones in Iraq north of the 36th and south of the 32nd parallels. By time of the attacks on Khobar Towers in 1996, these operations had been ongoing for four years. And, according to a 1996 report by the House National Security Committe, since 1994 there had been little likelihood that Saddam Hussein would comply with the necessary U.N. sanctions. Therefore, the large US presence in Saudia Arabia was not based upon arrogance, but to protect Shi'ite and Kurdish populations in Iraq from Sadamm. Operations which U.N. Secretary Botrous Botrous-Ghali would later call illegal.

Draw your own conclusions, but I would prefer to side with those who have the courage to act, and in this case stave off genocide. Allowing the U.N. to believe sovereignty trumps humanity is why it will continue to remain irrelevant - see Rowanda, Darfur, etc.

As for Iraq. I cannot say it any better than Sen. Byrd - http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0319-04.htm.

Now arrogance leads those to believe that the US can simply walk away.

"It's not the Earth the meek inherit, but the dirt."

Lerner & Lowe, "Camelot"

"You guy are idiots..:
Rome (the Western Half) fell because of repeated invasions of Barbarians from the various Germanic tribes. The Western half of the empire did not have enough manpower and money to stop them, so the Western half fell. The Eastern part went on for another 1000 years because it had the money and manpower to ward off these barbarian invasions. The Eastern part fell basically because they never figured out how to transfer power from one ruler to the next without having devastating civil wars at times when they needed strong rulers. Since the US is not suffering from any of these issues, drawing parallels between Rome and the US is silly."

How about barbarians from Mexico? How about weak leader like Bush?

Buy eye glasses if you don't see too well.

Americans should really profusely thank the Iraqi insurgents. By frustrating Bush/Cheney occupation plans and making this experience such a nightmare, they may have saved the Republic. Note that I say 'may.' The imperial instincts of Corporate America remain intact and still seek to destroy democracy here and abroad.

Like the story of the arrogent Eagle,who picks up fights with evry one at evry turn-losing a feather or two in each fight,only suddenly the arrogent eagle discovers he can no longer fly, much less soar.
However one of the bystanders who saves his energy while standing on the lines watching the fights-endures longer because he uses his power and energy WISELY.

No,America is not ROME !!

Rome invaded other countries, that is a fact.
The US does the same. That is a fact

Now, then, where is the difference, you ask..

Rome managed to build things in the countries that they occupied.
Look at Britain, France, just to name two.
In Britain, they build road, bath houses, arenas and
brought with them new technologies to help make life in those countries better.
Take a look at Nimes, Arles and many other cities in France where Romans built some magnificent infrastructures..

Americans invades other countries only to "suck" resources from them. Look at Iraq. What have they build there with Billions of dollars? the Green zone?..a few Fortifications around the country?
How far are they from the oil field. you many ask? I don't know.. My guess is,not too far !

They will generally give a few millions dollars to the man in power at the time time, while stealing the country's wealth behind the people's back.

To be fair, lots of other western countries have been doing the exact same things for decades now, but what is so hard to forgive the Americans for ,is their "hollier than thou" attitude and their total hypocrisie ; The war in Iraq is for democracy alone , they keep saying.....What a joke. What about the OIL !
Remember "three days of the condor", anyone?

One more thing...
The Roman Empire stayed on it's feet for hundreds of years(400 alone in Britain) while the American Empire is struggling to keeps it's head above water allready.
America is a beautiful place .Why don't American stay home and enjoy it more, rather than going to places they are not wanted , nor needed ?

Arrogant? It depends. People learn from mistakes and fail from success.

After Vietnam, United States was not arrogant at all and tried to avoid any military confrontation for a while. Iranian students even slapped American face by taking Americans hostage.

Then it was Granada. US troops conquered a nation which has no military. That victory was a good psycho therapy.

In 1990 Iraq war, every kids enjoy those daily video game briefing showing smart bombs hitting a building. US can defeat anyone, any time. Success leads to arrogance.

Now, with the daily news of IED's, Americans may have some doubts on military power. But Americans are not quite gun shy yet because there is no draft. As long as it's other people's brothers and sisters fighting, anti-war movement will never be as strong as anti-immigrants movement (Okey, it's only for illegal immigrants)

Arrogant, maybe. It depends on what happened and it's part of human nature.

The more disturbing aspect to the "Are We Rome?" arguments is that we all know (at least those of us whose history teachers beat us over the head with the stuff...) that in the early fourth century A.D., Rome itself (the city) was invaded and sacked. From there on, the Roman Empire as we all know it - overall, subtracting it's slums and enslaved people, a wealthy and successful enclave, to the last, of knowledge and economic prosperity - ceased to exist.

Rome had been in decline, however. A series of poor emperors, major inflation of Roman currency, and a thin-stretched military were the real causes of collapse, because in the end, Rome had seen many dire straits before, such as the Carthaginian invasion, but had survived; now, however, a Rome with no strength at it's core simply collapsed.

My point is that there are some alarming similarities that we don't want to think about, but which exist. Excepting Clinton, even as a political moderate (which I am not) I can't think of any president who has truly used a creative and successful mix of conservative and liberal economic policies since Lyndon Johnson or perhaps before (think of balanced-budget Republicans like Eisenhower). Poor emperors. The economy continually fails, like Caesar continually being stabbed to death, each bludgeoning bringing him closer to the end, a final and definitive failure. Massive inflation. And our military, with poor recruitment and far too many high-level committments, is stretched stick-thin.

The reason America has been able to survive so much before is that good luck has granted us the right generations for the tasks at hand (the Depression generation to save the world in WWII, the Boomers and their children to provide the contrasts of view during Vietnam) - a strong core, held together by what was really a feeling of all being from the same place - the mecca of humanity, dare I say it, that is the United States of America. Now, our strength is fading, but the threats are real once more - small countries with deep hatred and nothing to lose, following the ideology set out by Pakistan against India before them - to eat grass if necessary and starve until they can finish building weapons to wipe away huge swaths of humanity.

We allow our "plebians" to go it on their own, while our priveleged enjoy the country designed in spite of them, not for them. Truly, democracy is for the many, but it has been handed off to the few. And what happens next, you may wonder, uncomfortably, in front of your computer? How is America invaded and sacked? It won't be, if I'm right. If we continue with the useless presidents, the cowards who won't fight and the idiots who won't think, if we continue introverting as a people even as our interests become more and more aggressively extroverted, our sacking will, in this age of the future, be far worse. It will be countless missiles, unleashed by a tormented and angry world community, disappointed in us and unable to withstand our influence passively any longer as it comes to crush them, in something reminescent of Fahrenheit 451.

Because in the end, historically, migrating barbarians without space encountered the empire of Rome, and set about destroying it. As it's armies fought long and hard against them, the terrifying strength of these barbarians, and the people who the Romans had crushed in conquest, overcame the neat little rank-and-file systems of massacre Rome had designed. There was no Republic to be concerned, only an emperor giving orders. And in the end, as the barbarians approached, as their shadow cast over Rome, whose citizens had once taken a farmer for a general and beaten back a onslaught against them under the brilliant enemy general Hannibal - these citizens took too little heed, too late.

Little wonder they lost their empire.

For those who fail to see the difference between the justifiable and necessary war against Ben Laden and his group of extremist ideologues, and the volitional, avoidable, unnecessary and dangerous excursion in Iraq; there is one thing that you must do before you mouth off jingoistic bull such as “we should fight them over there or we’ll have to fight them on main street USA”… You must learn and educate yourself about Iraq, its history, its numerous religious and ethnic groups, the antithesis that existed between Saddam and the Ben Ladens of the world and finally you must have a grasp that the war in Iraq is derailing our efforts to snuff-off Al Qaeda type extremists by transforming them into a palatable ideology to moderate Arabs.

Signed
A U.S. Army Officer who served in Iraq.

Left-wing cranks have been finding echoes of Roman excesses in supposed predations by the United States for literally decades. The fact that this line of analysis is being pursued here and in Murphy's book as some sort of novel foreign policy insight speaks volumes about how truly vapid criticism of the U.S. has become. Really, a screed by a little-boy blogger bemoaning U.S. "arrogance," complete with affirming words from the ever risible Lewis Lapham -- what could be more utterly unoriginal?

Nero played the violin while Rome burned. The Gop/Rnc/Bush misadministration not only lit the fires to burn America down, they are adding the Fascist gasoline to the flames and are cheering!

Remarkable you always comment on our Immigration policy. Although we take in more both Illegal & Illegals than the rest of the world combined! But Mexicans think we should take care of every Mexicans in the world also. They get really upset when anyone questions their right to come here illegally and slurp at the trough of Public welfare to which they are not entitled. But far from being Undocumented the have all kinds of Documentation all Illegal of course but Illegal never stopped a Mexican. How about we adopt Mexico Immigration policy would that make you Happy?

Ron Paul was simply pointing out the obvious fact that countries and people that hate the United States hate us because we are meddling in their affairs. In the same way we Americans would be furious if some other country sent troops or setup bases in or near America.

Often times Americans are not even aware of the hatred we are inspiring because the actions are done by CIA or hired mercenaries. This often results in ‘blowback’.

Do a search for “CIA blowback” to learn more…

For example, Bush seems to be attacking everyone in the middle east EXCEPT those who were actually responsible for 9/11. Osama bin Laden is not in Afghanistan nor is he in Iraq or even Iran. He is sitting perfectly safe in Pakistan and Bush has not lifted a finger to capture him.

Bush is either incompetent or a liar or both. Bush has failed on so many levels. But you can be sure his special interest corporate buddies in the Military Industrial Complex, oil companies (that are now dividing up the Iraq regions), Halliburton, etc. I don’t mind companies getting rich just not at the expense of my tax dollars. Perhaps this is the real reason for his apparent incompetence. Perpetual war is perpetual income for his corporate supporters.

We Americans (and our children) will pay billions (perhaps even trillions) of dollars for Bush’s stupidity and/or lies. Plus anger the entire world against us, as well as create even more terrorists thus reducing America’s security.

There were about 200 Al-Qaeda terrorists (trained by the CIA in 1989) responsible for 9/11. They should be brought to justice. But that doesn’t justify attacking the entire Middle East which only creates more terrorists.

Christians were responsible for the terrorist attack in Oklahoma City in 1995. But that doesn’t justify putting the entire Bible Belt under martial law. Putting the Bible Belt under martial law would only create more Christian terrorists. But that is exactly what Bush is doing in the Middle East.

I think any rational person can agree our current foreign policy is insane and/or corrupt. Ron Paul was just trying to shed some light on the subject and speak the truth instead of the typical neo-con jingoism.

"Hitler didn't attack us at Pearl Harbor, why did we declare war on Germany?"
Actualy Hitler declared war on us, after Pearl Harbor.
If you can't recognize our arrogance you must be living under a rock. Not aknowledging the views of somone just because they don't live here seems to highlight this arrogance. It seems the rest of the world is tired of us acting like they owe us.

A very funny and insightful post. The Bush comment was great. I like this guy.

to get more insight into this 'new' style of empire read john perkins latest book 'the secret history of the american empire'. corporate powers based mainly in u.s. are the real drivers and empire builders. our gov't is merely one of many tools used to advance their bottom lines. for the most part 'we the people' squabble about scraps and politics while the real game is being played out by a very elite conglomoration of multi nationals and cartels. america, as it is, does not mean anything sacred or otherwise to most of these institutions as shown in our world rankings in education, health, life expectancy etc. these 'hidden powers' can and are capable of basing themselves anywhere on the planet. romans did not have this complete lack of personal responsibility, patriotic commitment or even global sustainability that modern day corps. display. re: rome issue, if america does fall, vis a vis Rome, the true empire will slog on without it!

Let us all remember who gave us the right to put down on paper the distorted views each of you have shown.
The Constitution does not bestow rights. It is a piece of paper.

The newpapers/bloggosphere/satellite news/cable news/Congress/The Supreme Court do not give us these rights.

The US Military gives us the rights that we have. The US Constitution and Bill or Rights only delineate these "Rights". Who in their right mind would take a piece of paper to the world and say "I have the right to do whatever I want because of this paper"? You my friends and fellow citizens would be laughed off the platform of discouse or killed.

Did John F. Kennedy send a copy of the US Constitution to the University of Alabama or to Ole Miss University? Did Kennedy send a letter to Kruschev and say take these missiles out of this hemisphere? NO. He sent the US military. The US military gives us our rights. And those who forget that simple fact are doomed to be an ink spot on the carpet of life. Words are fine. Print is fine. However, to back up your words you must always be ready to fight.

Sad are the wimps among us who believe that a piece of paper can protect this great nation.

This guy lost any opportunity to be taken seriously when he had to throw in the totally juvenile jape about "Bush protecting Texas from the Vietcong."

No, you idiot, the Texas Air National Guard, like all state air national guards, is an adjunct to the U.S. Air Force. The missions they trained for was incursion by enemy aircraft flying out of Cuba. In the late '60/early '70s, this was a real mission. It was the heart of the Cold War.

The only arrogance here is from a Mexican whose country is so despoiled by political and business corruption that, despite sitting atop huge untapped wealth in natural resource, is still one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, a nation that cannot support itself, a nation that is so arrogant that it believes it has a RIGHT to ship its poor to our nation illegally and is so ARROGANT as to object to us actually taking steps to enforce our own laws. (Funny how you're not to proud to accept all the dollars sent back to Mexico.)

Religious president? I don't understand. President is about power. Religion is about surrender.

When I was reading The Fifth Horseman by Larry Collins and Dominique LaPierre, well researched, I understood the omniscience of the U.S. President (electronic eavesdropping, spy satellites) and omnipotence (nuclear arsenal).

The only thing that's left is a President who thinks God's will is the same as his.

Under Bush and Cheney, we have the making of Rome. Had the invasion of Iraq really turned out to be a cakewalk, and occupation a great success sans insurgency, Bush could have been a Caesar and might have undertaken another invasion to Iran and beyond. It is the American people in their collective souls and character who will determine whether they want to be like Rome. They are slowly waking up. Each citizen must realize that America became a power because they had leaders who were well read in history, philosophy, economics, literature and political science. Past empires all declined because of overreach, triumphalism, abuse and a sense of invincibility.

Bush: 2001-2009, what a power trip?

Flash to Joel: Holy Roman Empire is NOT the Roman Empire.
HRE began with Charlemagne in 800. Roman empire "fell" several hundred years before that.
Criminy.
And no, I don't think I will visit your crazy-person-conspiracy-theory link.

And I fail to see how a "more humble" foreign policy would do us, or the rest of the world, much good. Militant Islam--not new, hardly modern. See Barbary Coast War; Battle of Vienna, Battle of Tours. Also flash: The United States wasn't even in existence in 732, so quit blaming us. How about we just realize this is an ongoing war that's been on for over a millenium, whether we want to acknowledge it or not?

Ever heard the song Idiots Rule by Jane's Addiction?

"You know the man you hate, you look more like him every day"

The man we hate (not like): Iranian president or the Ayatollah Khomeni before him

Well, we have President Bush. I'll be glad when his term is up.

America: turning Iranian?

1. We have weapons of mass destruction
2. We have faith based government aid, God inspires our President like Allah inspired Khomeni
3. We are eagerly exporting freedom and democracy in their backyard, they are exporting terrorism in ours
4. We torture our POWs
5. We restrict civil liberties
6. Neither President gives a damn for what the world thinks: I know Bush eschews Kyoto CO2 treaties, repayment of foreign debt, what our allies think of invading Iraq, energy independence, and what the people in countries where we have bases think.

So, one day, do I look on TV at the President and see Khomeni?

What difference will it make whether one side or the other wins, when neither believe in what I hope America will always stand for? Redskins versus Cowboys? Washington Nats versus the Dodgers? Coke versus Pepsi?

I don't fear Middle Easterners destroying what America stands for. Hitler could not destroy democracy in Britain regardless of how much he dropped on London.

Nobody can destroy freedom except Americans if they forget what really matters.

We don't defeat our rivals by playing their game. We defeat them by living and dying by the principles that make us better.

What an interesting take on the history of the Roman Empire. In fact, that is not why either of them fell.

Read about Domitian and then think again about these supposed manpower shortages.

There are lessons for us to learn concerning human nature. But our generation is too ignorant to bother to study and learn.

Even more lessons to be learned from the collapse of the British Empire. But what do we study at our supposed elite universities?

Most of American don't realize that their strength isn't based on nuclear weapons or technology advances. Their strength is based on human resources. Good natured people, humble people, desperate people come to the USA for a dream that they can make real or at least they can gain a degree of freedom in that country. USA's strength is freedom, generosity, good natured people and hardworking people.

When they start to make lies, enforce their media outlets, raised medical care cost, education cost, increase number of unproductive lawyers and spinners, they became any other empire in the past. Lately, they became selfish, close the borders to new comers. All that is bad for the creed of Americanism. They start the implementation of a big brother state, control people give them less freedom to speak out, start economic sanction those few brave men who has the conscience and knowledge clear enough to speak out.

The strength of any nation is based on people and their productive work. By borrowing from other client states to fund their stupid wars, they've abused the trusts of other nation put on them.

When a bank lost trust of people, it's over.

Joel,
"The modern United States of America may well be worse than the Holy or Not-So-Holy Roman Empire."

Just as an aside, the Holy Roman Empire is not the Roman empire being disussed.

Who cares? It's almost time for training camp to start!

The modern United States of America may well be worse than the Holy or Not-So-Holy Roman Empire.

The "Unitary Executive" Constitutional subversion just got a 2-1 boost from a U.S. District Appeal Court that plaintiffs had failed to prove they had legal standing to sue the Bush-Cheney Administration over their NSA warrantless eavesdropping program, because they could not PROVE they were subjected to it. And how COULD they prove it?

Of course, the ACLU could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the 5-4 ruling with Justice "Scalito" writing the majority opinion that Chief Justice Roberts would write a toned-down concurring sentiment for is imminently predictable.

I hope everybody will read the article linked to below by a noted legal scholar on how the NSA program is a fundamental abuse of Executive Branch powers and is an ongoing violation of both First and Fourth Amendment protections. Of course, if you click on the link to read the paper, Dick Cheney will have a personal logfile containing your IP address so he can mentally keep track of every law-abiding citizen who HAS read the paper, and can then have David Addington do a Scooter Libby job on discrediting anything they say after that point in time.

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:dvP_WZutsHUJ:lsr.nellco.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1164%26context%3Dbc/bclsfp+%22Bloom%22+%22Constitutional+Infirmity+*+Warrantless%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

The modern United States of America may well be worse than the Holy or Not-So-Holy Roman Empire.

The "Unitary Executive" Constitutional subversion just got a 2-1 boost from a U.S. District Appeal Court that plaintiffs had failed to prove they had legal standing to sure the Bush-Cheney Administration over their NSA warrantless eavesdropping program, because they could not PROVE they were subjected to it. And how COULD they prove it?

Of course, the ACLU could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the 5-4 ruling with Justice "Scalito" writing the majority opinion that Chief Justice Roberts would write a toned-down concurring sentiment for is imminently predictable.

I hope everybody will read the article linked to below by a noted legal scholar on how the NSA program is a fundamental abuse of Executive Branch powers and is an ongoing violation of both First and Fourth Amendment protections. Of course, if you click on the link to read the paper, Dick Cheney will have a personal logfile containing your IP address so he can mentally keep track of every law-abiding citizen who HAS read the paper, and can then have David Addington do a Scooter Libby job on discrediting anything they say after that point in time.

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:dvP_WZutsHUJ:lsr.nellco.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1164%26context%3Dbc/bclsfp+%22Bloom%22+%22Constitutional+Infirmity+*+Warrantless%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

If America was this great imperial power (i.e., The New Rome) why wouldn’t we just take the things that we want? The oil from nations whose wealth is based on the decaying carcasses of dinosaurs, the cheap labor that risks all to come to the U.S. from our southern border and the market for our goods and services (especially those decadent American movies) are all provided to us free of coercion. The facts are these; America has a host of problems. Of which, the whole world is aware and openly discusses. This experiment in democracy and capitalism is still well underway and the results probably won’t be known for some time. However, the results of the socio, economic, and political experiments that have been conducted in the Middle East, Mexico (and much of Central America), and most of the world we live on are well known. Those experiments can only be classified as failures and have resulted in a demand to participate in the “American Experiment” to such an extent that a review of our nation’s immigration policy is well underway. It must make those pseudo-intellectuals around the world feel very comfortable to dream about “The Fall of the American Empire” as they write articles using MS Word, wearing Levis jeans, sipping Coca-Cola, and puffing away on the occasional Camel. Misery does love company and for most of the people in this world the path that their governments and religious institutions have forged has led only to abject misery. Since they fell helpless to change the direction of those institutions and improve the conditions of their own lives, they feel compelled to focus their energy on hating the “haves” (the US) and touting the sanctity of the “have-nots” (the rest of the world). That is, until their application for a travel visa to the US is approved.

Rome (the Western Half) fell because of repeated invasions of Barbarians from the various Germanic tribes. The Western half of the empire did not have enough manpower and money to stop them, so the Western half fell. The Eastern part went on for another 1000 years because it had the money and manpower to ward off these barbarian invasions. The Eastern part fell basically because they never figured out how to transfer power from one ruler to the next without having devastating civil wars at times when they needed strong rulers. Since the US is not suffering from any of these issues, drawing parallels between Rome and the US is silly.

"Hitler didn't attack us at Pearl Harbor, why did we declare war on Germany?"

U.S is a vassal state of the zionists. That is why.

"Robert of LA:
First, you imply that this was an unprecedented invasion, which presupposes somehow imperialism?
Hitler didn't attack us at Pearl Harbor, why did we declare war on Germany?"

uh... we didn't. Nice try though. U.S. declared war on Japan, Germany then declared war on U.S. and U.S. recognized that fact.

Isn't it fun when you try and make some silly point and just... fail?

"Pride cometh before the Fall." Psalms

The United states is a set of Principles of Government inspired by God. The United States is not people but the off spring of inspired humble men.

The people of today - are all anchor babies - who were dropped on this nation - without ever having done anything to reach this condition. All of us stand on the shoulders of others and just because we are born into this and maybe have heritage with the inspired men/women that sacrificed much country doesn't mean we are royal blue. Many people today who have a paper saying they are citizen and even have heritage going back to Plymouth rock - are completely in contradiction for what the founding fathers stood for and worked for. They are full of arrogance and pride. Sowing their own destruction.

Pride is every nations downfall. And this nation is throwing off all those principles which hurled it forward into Global Power and Dominance. When the fundamental principles of our nation are gone - God, Mercy, Compassion, Justice, etc - so will our power.

We should return to Our God, Mercy, Liberty, Compassion, Justice, and HUMILITY. This is what made us great and what will keep us Great

2012

America is arrogant? Why? Because we exert a lot of power on the global stage.

This is silly.

Historically, America has been reluctant to seize a place of influence and prestige in the world commensurate with its own power. It took a Woodrow Wilson to finally bring us out of isolation. It took Pearl Harbor to bring us out of it again and the Soviet threat to keep us involved.

Intellectuals in second-rate or failing states with little global influence will always resent America inasmuch as its ideals and not theirs have become preeminent. And to be sure, America has failings, but its greatest failing is not that it wields too much influence around the globe. Quite the opposite, America still exhibits a reluctance to wield influence on the global stage commensurate with its power. Why? Because when we go into Iraq and everything isn't just peachy, people suddenly decide that things like women's rights, free trade, the rule of law, democracy, and liberty aren't ideals that are worth fighting for and dying for. Instead, they whine and complain that soldiers are dying, that Iraqis don't want us there, that we are "forcing" democracy on them, and on and on. That attitude, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call "decadence." We're far removed from FDR's generation and the results are telling.

You seem to concentrate on what you read rather than what you might easily see, should you so bother.

The United States armed forces are comprised of a large number of civil, respectful, and disciplined individuals. To suggest otherwise is the true arrogance.

There's a sickening irony involved in a Mexican calling any other culture lacking in humility, given the Mexican arrogance towards American culture when they sneak into our country, make use of our services, and provide nothing in return but transplanted barrios and declining quality of life in the lowest economic strata.

Of course, in keeping with the Roman analogies, I suppose America needs its peons.

The US is well aware of its failings. Every so often we need reminders of our limits. The comparison of Iraq to a long term military involvement akin to Roman military adventures is fallacious. The Vietnam war was twice as long, and a hundred times as costly in terms of human life. Iraq is only a major strain on the military because we no longer maintain as massive a military as we did during the Cold War.

Aside from gas prices, the average American hasn't seen an iota of fiscal strain from the Iraq occupation, because its being financed on credit. We'll feel it for a while, but that cost can be amortized for decades.

Ironman:
"OK, I'll bite - what happened on March 18, 2003?"

March 18, 2003

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Consistent with section 3(b) of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that:

(1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq; and

(2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

Robert in LA: The Pearl Harbor/Germany argument is a non-starter:

Germany and Japan were allies under the Three-Power Pact (along with Italy). They were all pledged to come to the aid of the other members if an uninvolved country attacked (read the US). Four days after Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the US, that same day Roosevelt subsequently declared war on Germany. A military decision was made by the US and UK to pursue victory in the European theater first and then to finish Japan.

The Vichy French were in reality a German vassal state, so invading them falls under the rubric of attacking the Germans.

Is your CAPS lock key sticking?

"Excuse me, Rudy's right - we've all heard the victimology, we just don't buy it"

Actually most people in this country do understand the reality of the situation. The hatred in the Middle East stems from our presence there. It's Rudy that didn't get it (although I agree that he does but was looking for a good sound bite).
I love this country but no one country, or person, should have unlimited power without some checks and balances. The fall of the Soviet Union left us without one and we're seeing the folly of our arrogance in Iraq.

OK, I'll bite - what happened on March 18, 2003?

"...as Colin Powell puts it the only permanent territory we request is where our soldiers remain as a memorial to our quest."
OD:
You lost the right to make that claim on March 18, 2003.

Not hardly.

First, you imply that this was an unprecedented invasion, which presupposes somehow imperialism?
Hitler didn't attack us at Pearl Harbor, why did we declare war on Germany? The Vichy French never did anything to us, that didn't stop us from invading. And occupying. And leaving it better.

We can be asked to leave. Don't believe that? OH, so the Phillipines knocked us by force of arms (well, their volcanoes did help) but we left when asked. We left the Canal. We'll even leave Gitmo (when the lease is up or the Castros go!)

Giuliani personifies arrogance, so it's not surprising for him to make such comments. It will probably be his undoing in the campaign at some point. Unfortunately there aren't many really attractive candidates in either party, that can win and also combine common sense with experience and policies that will benefit America. At least we have someone like Ron Paul who is out there telling the truth and bringing some fresh air and historical perspective to our national predicament.

How much better off would we be (as Ron Paul has asked) if the Congressional opponents of today's major foreign and interventionist policies had prevailed? Well enough that all the money spent down that ---- hole in Iraq could have been put to tremendous effect to helping solve (and eradicate) many of our health care, education and REAL national security problems.

People say that Rome wasn't a democracy but most of Rome's empire was built under the Republic, before the Imperial period.

That Republic was remarkably similar to America's in practice. Politicians mostly came from an aristocracy of dynastic, moneyed families. The people voted, but they were so easily swayed by gutter politics and cheap jingoism that effectively they rubber-stamped the rulers' decisions. Above all, elections were decided by money, though in America money flows up, through lobbying and fundraising, while in Rome it flowed down, through patronage and clientela.

As for empire, I see four key differences between America and Rome.

1. Rome wanted to own the world, America merely wants to run it and to have special privileges.

2. Rome eventually gave citizenship to people whose countries it invaded. Americans would never dream of doing that.

3. Romans could lose 50,000 men overnight in a Meditterranean storm, shrug their shoulders and set to building another fleet. Americans are the most casualty-shy warlike people in history.

4. We could hope that point three might spare us the worst consequences of America's ambitions, but unfortunately, unlike the Romans they have nuclear weapons. It is therefore possible for them to destroy the world just by being lazy and stupid and continuing pretty much along their current path.

"...as Colin Powell puts it the only permanent territory we request is where our soldiers remain as a memorial to our quest."

You lost the right to make that claim on March 18, 2003.

Dam right we're arrogant. Always have been. Thought we were something special from the start - reread the Declaration of Independence. Didn't much like cowtowing to the pirates extorting on the Barbary coast - shores of Tripoli (from the Marines song), all that, hey not much has changed there. Yes, we struggled with slavery and taking the continent away from the natives - but look around the world, that's your story too. And WE are the world - we got some of everybody, and they're glad to be here and not there. OH, and WE saved the world at least 3 times last century and our blood is spilled on every continent and as Colin Powell puts it the only permanent territory we request is where our soldiers remain as a memorial to our quest. Excuse me, Rudy's right - we've all heard the victimology, we just don't buy it. Islam needs to deal with its pathologies, that it hasn't is ITS problem, though they have made it OURS.

Speaking of Ron Paul.. I am voting GOP in the primaries!! I HOPE HE WINS!! The mainstream media is ignoring him and keeps harping about his low poll numbers.. but who gives a darn.. the man is the smartest man in Washington.

A thoughtful blog. I agree with Leon about Guiliani's comment. He knows better when he discredited Ron Paul's remarks about our foreign policy. Infact i was also watching the debate at that time and i was surprised by Guiliani's arrogant remarks too. Thanks for bringing this up again Leon.

A thoughful blog. I agree with Leon about Guiliani's comment. He knows better when he discredited Ron Paul's remarks about our foreign policy. Infact i was also watching the debate at that time and i was surprised by Guiliani's arrogant remarks too. Thanks for bringing this up again Leon.