America is imploding because of rampant corruption, cronyism and a political process that hinges on the lowest common demoninator of the electoral process, massive fund rasing from special interest groups and the dumb brainwashed religious fundamentalist southern voters. Lead prosecuters of Republican culture of corruption are being replaced quietly because of an obscure footnote in the (UN-) patriot act. http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/17/feds.quit.ap/index.html During his tenure, Ryan oversaw high-profile prosecutions on stock options fraud and steroids in sports, which led to the convictions of five people linked to the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. At least 106 companies are being probed by the Department of Justice or the Securities and Exchange Commission on questions about the timing of options grants. Options give recipients the right to buy stock at a fixed price, generally the stocks' market price the day of the grant. The inquiries are studying whether grants were "backdated" to coincide with low stock prices, maximizing the holder's potential for profit. Criticism of Ryan has mostly centered on his administration of the office. Last year, a Justice Department audit reportedly questioned Ryan's management and rated staff morale as low. Lam, also appointed in 2002, did not comment on the circumstances of her departure, slated for February 15, or discuss future plans in a statement. In her tenure leading the Southern District, which covers San Diego and Imperial counties, she prioritized prosecuting political corruption and health care fraud. Lam also oversaw the government's case against Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the former Republican congressman who pleaded guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes, and her office won corruption convictions of two San Diego city councilmen. To me this is a good thing. A unipolar world dominated by a greedy corrupt and powerful nation in the hands of a few evil and corrupt individuals has proven to make the world into a much more dangerous place. A multipolar world is best for the rest of humanity. Checks and balances is always good. Since america can not control it's evil corrupt leaders, if it is weakened by their corruption, these leaders will then think twice before creating global havoc.
I think the worst problem is the Democratic largesse, that for decades, wanted to fund every social program possible. Hilary was giong to lead the governmental health insurance system for Billie. If we go under, it will be the exploding debts from earlier year "visionaries" aka Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, etc. Happily the welfare situation was somewhat improved. For some reason, Dems were happier having 3-generation welfare families. And did they SQUAWK when people tried to right this (turns out most welfare recipients worked out fine). I am a Libertarian/environmentalist/fiscal conservative. The government does it worst. Stop trying to solve everything with programs, and some of the problems will disappear. I believe now the federal/state/county/local tax burdens (including sales, use, income, FICA and other obvious/hidden tax, now accounts for over 50% of the average salary.
i dont disagree about the social spending programs being crap... but you completely omit the huge debt attributable to war. a needless war based on lies to boot.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070120/ap_on_re_us/katrina_brown Brown, 52, declined to say who in the White House had argued for federalizing the response only in Louisiana. He said that he'd later learned of the machinations through Blanco's office and from federal officials. Blanco reacted sharply to Brown's remarks. "This is exactly what we were living but could not bring ourselves to believe. Karl Rove was playing politics while our people were dying," Blanco said through a spokeswoman, referring to Bush's top political strategist. "The federal effort was delayed, and now the public knows why. It's disgusting." Eryn Witcher, a White House spokeswoman, denied Brown's claims. "It is unfortunate that Mike Brown is still hurling false statements about the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina," she said. "The only consideration made by the administration at the time of this tragedy and since are those in the best interests of the citizens of the Gulf region." Calls made late Friday seeking comment from the federal Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned. A spokesman for Barbour, Pete Smith, had no immediate comment. The question of federal control became a source of contention after Katrina. Bush asked to put military relief efforts in Louisiana under federal oversight, but Louisiana officials rejected that idea, keeping state control over National Guard troops. They worked together with federal force
I was wondering how the Democrats did so good in the last election... Thanks for explaining it to everyone... LOL...