I picked up a copy of Vanity Fair magazine yesterday. They have an excerpt from a new book, "Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America".

I've just glanced at the article so far. But the main premise is that while there are many similarities between ancient Rome and present day USA, one that is overlooked is the privatization of previously public services. This leads to previously unseen levels of corruption for one. And a decrease in the level of service also, once the profit motive sets in.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

>>I don't think it's a matter of someone waking up, but a matter of those who participate in that phenomenon that neither you nor I can put into words speaking so loudly. So those who can spot the bunk in that phenomenon feel more comfortable speaking because there are so many who want to hear their message.
>
>That's what I meant under awakening - the unbelievers and those sympathetic to the idea are becoming a considerable market. The publishers have woken up too, having smelled the money to be made on that market. This is about third book of the kind in the recent months, and each of these books had the authors regularly parading at select microphones.
>
>I'm not saying I like the way the market of ideas works, but I'm taking its reactions as a sign of times.
>
>>Much the same way that there are so many books discussing the pitfalls that await the US as a nation because of the road our govt is taking us down. These books are showing how nations in the past setup certain processes and bush is following them. It is not that other leaders didn't follow them. But no one has followed them to this degree. And most can clearly see the pitfalls that await us.
>
>Note to self: find a way to keep your savings in euros or gold.