What Direction America?

The American Thinker has a very provocative piece today on the direction America is headed to. They quote a statement by Elon Musk on the USA being the pillar holding up the roof of western democracy . Musk has a viewpoint that differs from most of us. He has lived thru the changes that took place as a first world country transformed itself into a third world country, and believes it could happen here as well. If it does, no place on earth will be entirely safe.

Will Musk’s Nightmare Come True?

These comments are in a sense beyond politics. It is like a sickness, we may argue about who has the disease and what the cure is that is needed, we can not however ignore the aspects of the disease that are showing on the patient or her death if it does occur. We must remember that in the course of history, over time all great civilizations fail. They also have a second article about what we have lost and what may in the end lead to our demise. We no longer trust society or each other, Kids don't play in the streets and adults live in their own little clique.

From Mayberry to Mayhem

 

Thanks Duane, good articles to get me thinking on this Sunday morning!
My first thought was that of term limits from some recent threads here. I wonder if the status quo is actually helping to keep the system standing? What would happen if some of the stalwarts in Congress are forced out and replaced with people like Tlaib/AOC, candidates that years ago we would have said had no chance to win? Imagine a scenario where Trump/R approval drops due to economic or social issues (not hard to imagine with America’s fickleness) and we get a new batch of crazier representatives. I can see the experience of South Africa coming fast.

 

Yes in SA the society was destroyed by both racial entitlement by the black dominated government and the free sh** army who wanted what the more "entitled" had. From nuclear weapons to machetes and burning tires around the necks of the "enemy" in a few short years. They have some of the richest gold and other mineral mines in the world closed due to mismanagement and no one will invest a dime to open them as they "nationalized" them and paid little or nothing to the owners and wonder why no one wants to refinance them.

Problem we face in the US is beyond politics, don't think either party can limit and reverse the damage in the short run. We lost the battle in the education area and now are paying the price. We need a social rebirth and I don't see it happening. I am 87 years old and at 10 was riding my bike 3 miles to fish or riding to hunt and no one thought anything about it. Had a scabbard on my bike that would carry either a 22 or a fishing rod. Neighbor furnished the ammo when I was about that age to shoot woodchucks and such on his farm. Store in town sold individual 22 shells to us as we couldn't afford a box. Went to a 1 room schoolhouse 14 kids in 8 grades, no ruining water, outhouse for toilet and heated with wood. Didn't hurt me, in fact has helped me most of my life.

 

hate to beat a dead horse but the 17th Amendment does not help this at all. The House was intended to be the source of crazy and the Senate would be the damper, back when they still represented their State rather than George Soros.

 

I was thinking along these lines just the other day. Someday a politician is gonna come along and promise free sh*t to every minority/marginalized and special interest group in America, and that will be the end! It almost happened under Biden, with open borders, student loan forgiveness and free college education, climate change, DEI, and Build Back Better. Taken together, these programs and more had the Democrats won, would have doubled our National Debt! Inflation would be higher, interest rates would be higher, taxes would be higher, and the USD would be worth less...or maybe worthless like the Zimbabwe dollar!

 

@duane Thank you. I forget to read the American Thinker as so much information now to get through in a day...

I wonder if this is the driving factor for Musk, why he came forward to try and fix the country, put us back on track. I mean, he saw first-hand it happened to South Africa, once the greatest country within Africa, one of the greatest in the world. He certainly has my respect and support in all his endeavors and hopefully he will slow the degradation of this country. Frankly, even if he cleans up the mess economically, I think it will simply happen again.

At this point, I am convinced there is no peaceful solution. Sometimes war is necessary to bring a solution to the problem. The correct or the wrong solution but nevertheless, it is resolved. Think war resolves nothing? Ask the Carthaginians or even the Nazis. Loads of examples throughout history... No, I am now convinced, after seeing all the insanity from DOGE that a second Civil War will be necessary to save the country or lose it entirely or change it totally.

Most great nations have numerous domestic conflicts throughout their history, and we are a very young nation. For example, Rome had approximately 30, the most famous being Marian-Sullan Civil Wars, Caesar's war, their Servile Wars (slave revolts). I'm reading the history of the Wars of the Roses, and it lasted about 30 years (what a mess!) and that was just one incident in history, they had numerous! Greece, Spain all the great western empires (I'm sure the rest of the world is the same, India, China, etc.) had numerous internal conflicts that were resolved by the sword, and I am convinced, sooner rather than later, this will also be resolved in this manner and will change America completely from what it is/was. For better or worse, is the question that remains.

Did you ever think what would happen to the world if America actually fell, no matter the cause(s). Stop for a moment and think what would the world look like these last 5 years without America. I'm not tooting our horn here, we've done good and bad things, and I would like to think our good outweighs the bad, I hope. No, I'm just being realistic. The world would look and act a lot different. I believe it certainly would be a lot harsher, a lot worse...but maybe that is not a bad thing. Dunno.

 

Ask folks who have actually lived in a post-Empire world.

The next "great depression" is NOT going to be as tidy or peaceful as the last.... ANd it was anything but peaceful.

Harlan County War - Wikipedia 1930s

Even a single company falling down can create chaos ( Pullman Strike - Wikipedia) during the Panic of 1893 - which we would call a depression today.

From 2013 -_wp1328.pdf explains the 4 major monitory crisis
What are the major types of financial crises? The paper linked above focuses on the main theoretical and empirical explanations of four types of financial crises—currency crises, sudden stops, debt crises, and banking crises

Enjoy the read.

 

Very insightful, Wild Bill. The obvious contemporary history example is old Adolf Hitler. He took a very bad situation caused by the aftermath of WW1 and short-sighted politicians at Versailles, spoke what everyone was thinking and their concerns, like their disgust with the Weimar government, then added some twists of his own concerning the Jews, turned their desires, hopes and dreams into reality and he could do no wrong or harm.

People don't realize but he totally changed German society for the working-class people, stuff like paid vacations and holidays, cheap resorts and cruises for their holidays, laws for better working conditions throughout the country, like lighting in the factories, medical coverage if you were hurt on the job, no smoking in the workplace, it's a huge list...most we would consider to be standard treatment today but wasn't then. It gave the Germans more pride, self-respect, opportunities and a much better life for them and their family while satisfying basic needs. Sure, he stopped the riots, but it was by locking up all the communists. Sure, he cleaned up the streets (Berlin was a cesspool during the depression), but it was by locking up not only the perverts but all the homosexuals and etc., criminals and non-criminals and any of those people they didn't like...like the Jews. Sure, he got everyone working again, but it was mostly in weapon factories or industries that supported them. Nevertheless, the streets were clean, low or no crime, everyone was employed and working conditions were much, much better. However, the devil is in the details as the Germans found out later...

Frankly, I would not be surprised to see something like that happen here someday. Sounds crazy, right? It's all how you market it.

Furthermore, we are so damn close to bankruptcy that it wouldn't take much to push us over then you got a real rich environment for these types to gain power.

 

@DKR Did you copy the entire link because I am getting a constant error message using: _wp1328.pdf

BTW, very interesting reading about the Pullman Strike...and we wonder how in the world Socialism came to be. LOL! Thanks!

 

Financial Crises Explanations, Types, and Implications
links to pdf of the monograph.

 

A list of financial Panics in the US - List of recessions in the United States - Wikipedia
from the start of the US. Not for the faint of heart....


the World: List of economic crises - Wikipedia
from waaay back in the day to present

 

All I know for sure is that the republicans that supported Trump in this election, if they are up for election in 2026 are going to be gone in the midterms.

Dems and those that didn't listen to what Trump said he wanted to do in office are going to take back the legislative branch to slow down Trump. He's not a politician. He's not a statesman. He is a business man (good or bad you chose) .. but he thinks we got a raw deal and in his book Art of the Deal, his methods are clear. He had a small window of advantage ... and he's leveraging it.

Will this be good or bad, i haven't a clue. All i know is, it's painful. This may be the last opportunity to correct our course ever. So, Let's see what happens.

Maybe if by the end of his term things will turn around enough for Vance to lock in our direction. Otherwise, I predict stimmy checks and universal basic income with fixed prices by 2030. Oh and Republican will probably be a banned word punishible by dings to your social credit score and reduced or eliminated UBI.

He's got 18 months to get 'er done .. maybe less if there are turncoats in the party.

All i gotta say is whew wee this is gonna be a wild ride.

 

Wow, someone actually knows German history and the beginnings of what would be WW-II!
Under the Weimer Gov, citizens and business's couldn't get money or loans, you had to go to the Jews, they were the only source of money and that REALLY pissed off the people, including Adolf, who understood full well the harsh realities of being poor! He was not "Anti Jew" and had no plans to murder them all, rather drive them back to their holy land and fend for themselves, hell, Germany would have been the first nation to Recognize Israel as a legin self governing nation ( kind of like Russia did) Hitler knew he needed the Jews,just not in Germany, nor did he want their control and influence, so,.....
Once he came to power, his "People" are what ran amook, doing things He himself wouldn't have allowed had he known, and from there, things escalated badly, for a time, Hitler was the ONLY leader in the world standing up against Communists, socialists, and the Jews, and all the control those groups had, and he was NOT wrong in any of it, only that he allowed things to sort of go their own way and had people in power who were not following his vision, and that sealed his fate! Had he stuck to HIS ideals, HIS plans, HIS Vision, the world would be a very different place then what it is today, but, he got duped by others with more power in germany then they should had had,, and they turned his plan to their own desires and it cost Millions of lives! Nevel Chamberlin knew full well what Hitler was really about, had tried to help him, but was caught between his own gov'ment, and the West, specifically America and it's reliance on the Jewish for wealth, that and the "Old Families" who ran everything, what we today call the globalists, the Rothschilds mostly, and a few others, that is what hitler was standing up to/against, and those people were ultimately who brought Germany to its knees!

Today, we have the Islamists and their hardcore desire for a new Caliphate, their overwhelming desire to crush Christianity and take over the world, and under the "New World Order" fomented by the Old Families, used as useful idiots to bring about a THE change they desire! What we see today is that plan mostly functioning, except for One Donald Trump who has derailed those plans and is taking a wrecking ball to the NWO, much like Adolf tried in 38!

 

Agreed as a Canuk
Sloth

 

First, the market is HORRIBLY overvalued. Come on, a 40,000 Dow Jones? Really? I wouldn't touch the market for any reason... Now, I only invest in CDs, pays 4% sometimes 5% when money is tight, Yeah, I know, not much but at least I know my money will not disappear overnight and frankly it has been working out very well.

Second, I think you are right. The Dems will use this greatly to their advantage, so he has about 18 months to turn this around which I think it will, but the dust has to settle and affected countries have to feel the pain and come to understand that political pressure isn't going to cause this to reverse back to the 'business as usual.' We also must remember that Trump is a Lame Duck President, and you can bet all our adversaries and even our allies know this and will be funneling money and power into those that oppose Trump; however, he can and will do what he thinks is best for the country for 4-years and they also know this and can't do a thing about it.

Third, Trump knows China much better than I but if the Communist Party digs in their heels - well - they do not give a damn how it affects their country, as long as it doesn't affect the party. So, I hope he hasn't underestimated China because where China goes many nations will follow. It all comes down to numbers. Can these countries truly withstand the tariffs hurting their American markets or will they give fair trade a try. We must also remember that Western countries politicians also rely on election donors, major corporations, who are the ones that are getting hurt by the American tariffs... China is a different story.

 

I put my cash into my local bank CDs. TBills pay a bit more, but I can access my $$ with only the loss of last quarters interest.

I don't 'do' any stocks directly, but I do have some $$ in a 401K that I was able to keep from the time I worked at the bank. This 401K does just fine, as the Bank seems to have the inside track, if you know what I mean.

"Bad" for the economy - bullshit.
Gas is down
Food is down and everything I need day-to-day is dropping in price.
I do see a lot of howling from those that have raped my family for generations, so - DILLIGAS?

 

Yeah, if I could have fed myself by being a Historian then I definitely would have done so...but I like to eat. LOL! I also had a few amazing Professors. One sticks out, she was German married to an American and I took all her courses while I was in Germany, even help in her research. I was a groupie! LOL! However, I learn a ton about the German culture and oddities. I sort of got thrown into the WW2 pre and post era by my family as they were all in WW2. My father got torpedoed a couple of times by the Japanese, uncle loss his legs on Iwo Jima, another was with Patton, on and on...but it tore my family apart. I won't go into it, but it greatly affected my life, so I got interested and the one damn question that historians never could answer for me was how in hell did a country like Germany produce and allow a person like Hitler to rise in power. I spent 14 years in Germany listening and looking and now, with old age wisdom and with life's experiences from around the globe, I think I finally get it. Anyway, I have answered it to my own satisfaction. I also learn that history is based on 'facts, myths and lies' and you have to sift through them to get at some resemblance of the truth. You certainly will not get the true story out a book, not a chance, just enough truth to make the myth or lie convincing.

EDIT: Imagine my teacher in grade school when as a 13-year-old I gave a book report on 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' (William Shirer) LOL! No, not recommending it as reading as years later I found a lot of it to be regurgitated crap.

 

@DKR "This 401K does just fine, as the Bank seems to have the inside track, if you know what I mean."

I know exactly what you mean! And, if I had a 401K that was managed by a bank, you bet I would definitely keep it also. We individual investors never get the entire story or even the damn story in real time. By the time we get it, the major institutions have already acted on it, and we get the crumbs. I'm not saying you can't win sometimes but you got to understand the game is rigged...just like the damn casinos. I made a lot of money via the market, but I lost a lot also. I was just lucky that I won more than I loss - lucky. I got out because it truly is a damn casino. Information is the key and unless you are deeply on the inside, got all the details - well - then you are simply gambling or a major portion of your decision is based on a gamble, not strictly on factual and timing information, it can't be.

 

My questions were always:
1) how did someone like Hitler come to power, it wasn't like he was wealthy or came from power.
2) how did the German people fall so in love with him, even despite seeing what was happening to their Republic under his rule. How could they put so much trust behind him
3) how did they willingly allow so many sick-o's, gays's and such, as well as all the Jews, to be collected up and inturned, and the people went along with it happily.

I had seen and heard every one of his speeches, his rallies, and such, and didn't find much to convince me of following him to hell and beyond, so what was it?

I'm in no way defending him at all, he was a mad man, but, I don't believe he was quite so mad as the rest of the world believed, or wanted us to believe!
And while there is a mountain of hate piled at his feet, he isn't the one to blame it all on, no, that blame goes to his commanders and their underlings, his zealots who saw opportunities to advance their own agendas and they ran with them.

 

IMO and I am no historian Hitler rose to power because after WW I Germany was bleed to death by the victors, inflation was rampant, unemployment was rampant, national pride was at an all time low. The communist were making noise the government was useless. Hitler saw what was going on and played it to his advantage promising a New Germany and that's what the people wanted to hear. Hitler saw the opportunity to use the Jewish people as a scape goat for all of Germany's ills even though they fought in WWI and were loyal German citizens. Goebbels was a master propagandist and turned non Jewish neighbors against Jewish neighbors even though they knew one another for years. Goebbels used fake news to further Hitlers agenda and no one questioned it ------sound familiar.