>My favorite local raido host is out with another excellent Soapbox. Short, sweet and depressingly accurate.
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>http://www.robarnieanddawn.com/index.php?q=node/226
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>It’s hard to truly quantify the abject stupidity of some of the emails our show receives. Most of them get a dismissive chuckle from the side of my mouth before being slid into the shredder. Every now and then, however, one warrants a response in some form and since there is new proof that we are rocketing, as a nation, towards full Europeanization, we’ll start by making sure we’re all on the same page in regards to exactly how bad it’s going to get very quickly.
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>For the past many months, as I have espoused the pending end of America as we know it, I have made it clear that I am not now, nor have I ever predicted a quick, violent demise to our great nation. Instead, we will continue to slowly spiral further and further down the giant toilet bowl that is the Earth as we settle into a status which I have described as being “second world.” In a practical sense, it’s based on what I believe is indisputable evidence that China will emerge as the world Super Power within a decade and we will assume our rightful place alongside Russia, Canada, Brazil, India and most of Europe as emerging or vanishing powers of the second order. (We’ll be in the slowly vanishing group alongside Italy, Spain, etc).
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>Of course, my attempt at being relatable and easy to understand for all of the masses resulted in the following idiotic email from Casey:
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> Please stop using “second world nation,” when describing a country that is economically better off than a third world nation but worse than a first. “second world,” actually refers to a communist country and was used during the cold war…these days we use the terms “global north and global south,” since communism has mostly faded…”
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>Holy shit. If ignorance was an art, this guy would be Michelangelo.
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>Let’s keep this simple rather than bog you down with minutia: The three world phrases were actually created after the Second World War and long before the cold war began; and while the classifications did initially describe not just Communist, but also Socialist countries, that distinction changed rapidly as such nations showed the ability to prosper. Never the matter, of course, when the closing sentence of Casey’s email is that “communism has mostly faded,” at a time when the most successful Communist power in the history of the economic world, China, is about to emerge as the world’s greatest influence. Not to mention the resurgence of Communism in Russia and across the globe, to the point that great powers and minds have been warning of the rebirth of Marxism for over a year. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/04/the-return-of-marxism
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>Most disturbing, is the total misunderstanding of the gravity of what so many of us see; America is becoming (some argue has already become) a socialist nation, thus falling into the traditional definition of second world anyways. When 20% of your economy is health care and your nation is destined by law to turn control of that over to the government, there is no longer an argument in your country about capitalism. Grow up. And no, no one, uses the phrases “global north and global south,” at least not people that live above ground and occasionally hold a girl’s hand.
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>More specifically, however, my description is meant to be a guide to what you can expect, not an academic definition.
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>It’s not as though people in Europe are suffering, missing meals, not enjoying TV, vacations, and other luxuries the modern world takes for granted. Life is fine, there. And that’s the problem. We are very swiftly moving downward towards life in America, on all levels, being just fine. Within 20-30 years people in their 60’s will speak longingly of the days when we had the greatest healthcare system in the world, true free speech and the ability to come and go freely and without invasiveness from authority. We’ll wax poetic about the times when our nation had real, actual, influence in the world, and we’ll tell great stories about times when being on government assistance was shameful and frowned upon, not considered a way of life. And we’ll be called “out of touch,” and “antiquated,” and in many cases we won’t even be believed. But through it all, the country will still be here and everything will be ok. Just ok. We’ll be exactly like Europe is today. And none of it will be an accident.
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>Don’t take my word for it, for the proof is all around, if you’re willing to see it. Which, as an aside, I should point out, is exactly the problem. So many of you are so unwilling to embrace and accept the truth about our inevitable path that you’re totally incapable of having rational discussions. Instead you dismiss facts or totally obvious signs of what is happening right before your very eyes.
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>Enter, the Nudge Squad. What is it? Well, you can read for yourself, if you dare, here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2381478/Federal-nudge-squad-led-20-wunderkind-gears-change-Americans-behaviors--good.html
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>The American Government and its supporters will tell you, in the most sensitive and non-threatening voice possible, that it’s nothing more than a group of well versed, well rounded, well educated people who will be available to those less fortunate and less able amongst us so that they can be pointed in the right direction in life. Isn’t that sweet?
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>In reality, the Nudge Squad, an idea first spawned in (you guessed it), Europe, is a group of young, hip elitists with one goal; find the most vulnerable, impressionable, and gullible in society (and there are plenty in this culture) and convert them to believing that the answer to all of their problems is the government. Because, after all, the world is stacked against them, people are too stupid to thrive on their own, and the only malevolent power big enough to act as a referee for the little guy is, of course, the American Government. Don’t take my interpretation for it, by the way, read the damned mission statement; they’re not even trying to hide what their objectives are.
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>And so it goes. America continues to float slowly, like a giant iceberg, towards never again being what it once was or once could be. Now we’re just getting a little nudge to make us ride the current a little faster. Brace yourselves…
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Jake, I don't know why you think this is worth posting about. It has already happened. America's best days, the time when we defined first world nation, the world we grew up in, are already behind us. Maybe ahead of us again as well. Please don't blame it all on Obama, as some do. It was underway long before he took office.

I hope we get our mojo back. I love this country as much as you do. But looking at things through rose colored glasses serves no useful purpose.

Enjoy your next trip to wine country and have a glass for me. I am pleased to say I am living sober for the moment at least.

I have a book recommendation for you if you enjoy mystery novels. Actually they are more than that. It is the Dismas Hardy series by John Lescrourt, since I know you have some familiarity with the Bay Area. It was recommended to me by Tamar and I tore through the whole series. He is an imperfect writer in some ways but you can't stop reading them. Dismas, as you probably know, was one of the thieves crucified along with Jesus. Try one if you find yourself in the mood for a fast summer read. Be sure to read them in order. Lescrourt frequently delivers major spoilers in later books.