>>You make my point. I'm not saying we're perfect, we just happen to be at the top of the pile. I didn't have anything to do with that, and only by sheer luck was I born here. I am just thankful every day that it happened that way. I think we have a duty to the rest of the world to try to make things better, not worse, but that would be a whole other thread.
>
>I would agree the US is at the top of the military-power "pile". But when it comes to measures like Nobel prize winners it is more or less evenly split between the US and Europe for pole position. For the standard-of-living "pile" I think there are a number of European countries that could be argued as #1. For the debt pile the US is #1. So I guess it depends on what "pile" one is measuring. The specific article of this thread was about the military one. I think if you read it through then there is a danger and a caution that the author expresses which is not about Bush but about the spread of militarism in the US which extends back a long way, pre-Bush.

Ok, no argument as to the fact that you have to consider which "pile" you are talking about. One note though, you are comparing all of Europe to the US. Last I checked Europe was a continent, not a county. Of course, there is a move toward unification but, I think they still have sovereign countries.