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http://mortgagefraudexaminers.com/the-crumbling-coliseum-that-is-america/
The horrifying collapse of the I-5 bridge in Seattle in
May, one in an ongoing series I’m afraid, is a grim reminder of the true
state of our condition…we are dying. There is a difference between
pessimism and realism. Badly deteriorating infrastructure is a reality
and predicting the future is easy.
I’m not a pessimist because I see in this very real
situation an opportunity of not a lifetime, but a nation-time. These
disasters-in-waiting should be addressed immediately, and if we did what
we must demand of our leaders, we would solve our economic crisis and
leave the next generation on a solid footing for their futures and the
generations to come.
My fear is that we will not seize upon this magnificent opportunity.
Here lie the jobs that have gone away. Here lies the
economic boost that this country needs to fire up production. Think of
all the component parts that would have to be manufactured. Everything
from bridge supports to electronics would be required.
In order to manufacture and construct stuff, you need raw
materials. Loggers and miners go back to work. Jobs would be created in
transportation because you have to get both the raw material and the
completed parts to their respective sites.
Wholesale trade would boom and consumers would go back to spending. Every sector would grow jobs overnight.
And when we were done, we would have something to show for
our investment. We would have built an infrastructure that would be the
foundation that would position us to compete in the future.
Rome was once the center of the world. What is left of the
ruins of the Coliseum is proof that all great nations eventually
destroy so much of themselves that they can never rebuild.
How is the recovery going after the levees burst and destroyed much of New Orleans Ninth Ward?
What about Detroit’s Brightmoor where once the highest
standard of living in the world has given way to an urban wasteland with
rows of falling down, abandoned housing?
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 26% of US bridges are “in urgent
need of repairs.” Don’t forget the massive bridge collapse on I-35W
over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in 2007. That killed 13 people
and injured 145 others. Remember that the next time you plan your
route.
The number of dams rated as deficient—or
those with structure or hydraulic deficiencies leaving them susceptible
to failure—tripled between 1999 and 2008. Over a third of the Nation’s
dams are fifty years old, a number that will increase to nearly 70
percent in ten years. In addition, bridges are generally designed to
last 50 years, and the average bridge in the United States is 45 years
old.
We know that the gas pipelines have not
been properly maintained and that another San Bruno fireball is about to
occur somewhere. In that incident, eight people died, 38 homes were
destroyed, and hundreds damaged by the 60 foot high wall of flames that
consumed an entire neighborhood. What you may not know is that incidents
of death or injury from gas pipeline explosion average about 50 per
year. The Pipelines run right through neighborhoods. You can find their
locations on-line.
We’ve got levees breaching, dams bursting, bridges
collapsing, pipelines blowing up, power plants shutting down, sewage
systems clogging, and water mains breaking all over town.
The Coliseum was once the proud symbol of Imperial Rome
and its permanence. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman
architecture and engineering. But, for much of its existence, nobody
gave a damn about it and look at it now.
It is often seen as the metaphor for the collapse of Rome.
They didn’t really kill Christians there, but at one time, under Pope
Sixtus V, they were going to turn it into a half-way house for
recovering hookers.
Contrary to popular opinion, Rome did not fall because of
wild sex parties. By then, most of the Romans had adopted Christianity.
By the fifth century after Christ, Rome was a pretty staid place.
Rome was destroyed by idiot emperors, massive political
corruption, cronyism, nepotism, over taxation and a financial crisis
which led to inflation and the debasement of Roman coinage. Who does
that remind you of? If you said us, you’ve been paying attention.
Perhaps we were a tad too arrogant about “our” country
being different, special, better; even went as far as to think we were
somehow favored by God. America, God’s all-time favorite country.
Some would want to remind me that we are, after all a,
Christian nation. Don’t bother, we aren’t. Wanting to be a Christian
nation and saying we are a Christian nation; do not make us a Christian
nation.
Christian nations don’t have a million homeless children,
starvation, poverty, the death penalty, racism, ageism, sexism, or so
much hypocrisy.
We have a nation with some Christians in it and some
people who use Christianity to their own benefit. Christianity isn’t
something to be proud of or smug about. It is a difficult journey that
requires always putting others first, in particular, the least fortunate
among us. The way of Christianity is seeking salvation through selfless
service to others not through praying and tithing.
We are, in fact, a savage and brutal nation resoundingly
despised around the world for our incessant war mongering. At home we
have the highest prison population per capita in the world, rampant and
rising poverty, and a government of the rich and for the rich who are
all getting richer while everyone else is getting poorer.
Instead of bridges and schools we get urban assault
vehicles, noise cannons, hundreds of millions of rounds of hollow-point
ammunition which because of the Geneva Convention cannot be used outside
the US. Those are exclusively intended for us because they rip out so
much flesh. What’s so Christian about that?
God is not going to make our problems go away. We have a
persistent radiation leak at nearby San Onofre nuclear power station.
Photos from inside the plant show that clear plastic sheeting and duct
tape are being used to deflect the flow of dripping water. WTF?
Now, of course, they assure us that this water isn’t
radioactive; they may be right or they may be lying, as usual. But, the
plant has been shut down for months because the piping system which was
recently replaced quickly wore out.
It doesn’t matter what they say, the funky fix with the
plastic and duct tape is a metaphor for the reality of life everywhere.
Things are patched up with duct tape.
Where will the next pipeline blow and torch a
neighborhood? Where will the next nuclear wasteland be born? Where will
the next bridge collapse, levee breach, sink- hole open up, or school
fall down?
What our grandfathers and our great grandfathers built for
the good of the future is being destroyed by neglect, and the people
who could be fixing it are receiving entitlements instead.
Crumbling. No plan to fix anything. No discussion of infrastructure.
Just Benghazi. Who cares? We
assassinated the leader of the country and then armed the rebels. What
the fuck did we think was going to happen? It’s Al Qaeda. Remember? They
hate us. If I had given them guns I would have gotten the hell out of
Dodge immediately thereafter. No conspiracy just stupid foreign policy.
We are getting the same result here that we got when we armed the
Mexican drug cartels. They shoot us with them.
Hopefully we learned this time but I’m pretty sure we will go right on arming our enemies or the war would stop.
The IRS fought to limit tax avoidance by organizations
that don’t really qualify for exemption. That’s the real story. That is
what they are supposed to do. The truth is they were partying just as
hard as the dudes and dudesses over at the General Services
Administration who spent $822,000 at their Las Vegas convention. Your
tax dollars at work.
The most chilling reveal is the case involving the
Department of non-Justice investigating journalists. What’s chilling
isn’t that the government would spy on us; it’s that the media has
treaded so lightly on this issue. They should be banging a drum night
and day on the first amendment implications. Their talking heads should
be sputtering with outrage and demanding citizen support to beat back
this blatant attempt to suppress the truth.
The lack of uproar tells you everything you need to know about who the media serves.
Everywhere you look, it’s crumbling around us. The tax
dollars we provided have been completely wasted. The danger is real and
omnipresent. The real terror isn’t a religious fundamentalist; it is a
government that cares nothing about its people.
All of that combined sounds like fiddle music, and I’m getting faint whiffs of the smoke of a distant fire. Something’s burning.
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Now you might understand why I haven't posted anything. I've got nothing new to say and my cynicism is increasing by leaps and bounds. Obama is a Republican who worships Ronnie Raygun -- perhaps we should have him tested for early onset Alzheimers.
By the way, given their policies I am, from now on, going to call them THE RAPEUBLICAN PARTY.
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