Are we really be a Banana Republic?

[Penguin]

I'm asking this as a serious question.

After last night's absolute debacle in Iowa, I have to honestly ask if we even have the competence to run elections anymore. I know you'll defend it as the predictable result of using vendors with political connections as opposed to expertise to incorporate new-tech. Maybe but ain't that a result of a crony system that has been put in place by our so called betters via this Grand Meritocracy? I mean the folks that wrote this are out of the group that run Hillary's campaign 4 years ago right? How the fuck did they get a job doing anything that requires competence?

And that ain't all.

The most expensive and least effective health care system in the West. Didn't even have the political competence to honestly assess the banking industry 10 years ago and clear out the graft.... and the Fed is still keeping these Zombies alive 10 years later. AND managed to wreck every pension system in the US as a result via cellar door level interest rates. The F-35 anyone? How could you possibly design a more costly and ineffective piece of war making equipment? Brings to mind a question that maybe I ought not ask in polite company: Exactly how long has it been since we won a fucking war anyway? So why do we keep finding a way to entangle ourselves in new ones?

What about the cost of a college education? Or a new 4x4 that costs half the price of a damned nice farm in my neck of the woods? The Boeing 737 Max? I could on seemingly forever. I'm beginning to think that this ain't all a big coincidence. This is reality man.

Like Parcells said "You are what your record says you are."

How did the muscle bound "can do" nation of 50 years ago turn into this drowzy, drunken, disoriented goat fuck I see around me? Heaven help us.

Will

PS: I'm only 95% serious in this post. :)

[johnboy]

You want to see a seriously incompetent government, come to Canada. You'll be glad to get back home.

[BarryBobPosthole]

For as long as I can remember, people from just about everwhere have been proclaiming ‘We suck’. So do we suck more now than we did in the 60’s and 70’s? I heard it all the time when I was a teenager, mainly directed at me and people my age. i guess we fucked it up.

sorry!

we suck!

and get off my damn lawn!

BKB

[Thumper]

It's always amazed me as to how this country can get away with half the crap it does. The years I worked as an employee, I was in a management position. If I didn't produce ... ie; make a profit for my company ... my ass ended up on the street with a separation notice tacked to it. I later owned my own business and if I had failed to make a profit, I'd have been searching the classifieds for another job. That's how REAL life works. When I reached voting age, I was a bit confused by "politicians" and wondered how ANY of them kept their jobs. The first President I was fully behind was Reagan. He did a decent job as the Governor of California. He inherited a basket case and pretty much turned it around. Granted, he had to raise taxes to dig the State out of the hole that had been dug by previous administrations .... BUT, when he cut expenses and actually ended up with a surplus of money, he returned it to the tax payers. He had a radio talk show (political) after that and I listened to him every day during my 1-hr. commute to work every morning. I can remember telling my dad on many occasions that Reagan should run for President as I'd most definitely vote for him. My jaw hit the floor the day I was listening to his show and he made an announcement that the show would be coming to an end as he'd decided to throw his hat into the ring and run for President. To me, he was an "actor" (which is a BIG negative in my book), but most importantly, he was NOT a politician other than his "formative years" as Governor. And yes, I did vote for him.

Since his term ended, I've never really voted FOR anybody, I've only voted AGAINST a particular candidate. I always wanted to see a true businessman run for President. Someone who would run the country as the "business" it really is. When Ross Perot came along, I jumped on the Perot bandwagon! But, as time wore on, I ended up thinking he was a total flake and fell off that wagon pretty rapidly. I wasn't crazy about Bush, but I voted for him as a vote against Clinton. Every election since that time has been similar. Once Trump came along, I had my "businessman" and he sounded like he actually wanted to run the country as a businessman, NOT a politician. He was rough around the edges, didn't give very eloquent speeches and pretty much embarrassed me enough that I at times hated to admit I backed him, but I was so sick of politicians by that time, I stuck with him. Nothing has changed, he still embarrasses me, but I LOVE the fact he tells it like it is and has NO love for politicians himself. AND ... like Reagan as Governor, he sticks by his campaign promises and does everything he can to check them off his bucket list, no matter how hard the "real" politicians fight him. Is he the ideal President? Hell no, but he''s the closest to MY ideal President, at least, compared to the alternatives. Can he turn this country around and get us to where we used to be? Nope. No human being would be capable of doing that in only eight years, but he's on a hell of a roll imho. The problem is, the future administrations will most likely muck things up and put us right back into the toilet we've been crawling back out of the past few years.

Oh, Iowa? I stayed up watching ALL night last night to see how that silly caucus was going to play out. In fact, I watched until 4:00 am before I finally threw in the towel and took a "nap". I was back up at 6:30 ... still no results. I've watched off and on all day, nothing. The last I heard, we'd get a "partial" report by 5:00 pm. I haven't checked yet to see if that's happened. I just hope this fiasco puts an end to those silly caucuses and maybe it'll also create a good reason to force Iowa to release the historical stronghold they've held all these years for the first of the Primary proceedings. Who the "F" is Iowa anydamnway and why do they think they are so powerful? It's silly.

[Penguin]

I agree Jim, it's about competence. Like Posty noted, the next generation sucks and always has. That's not the problem.

I look around and I see all of these vital products and services that are treated as profit centers instead of worthwhile jobs that need done. And need to be done correctly. I'm coming to believe that one of my friends is right: this system won't work when it is inhabited by overly large entities. It's not just government it is also extremely large corporations that exist so that millions of small businesses can't.

Maybe another of my friends is right in that we've reached some kind of critical point of complexity. Beyond it you create as many or more problems than you solve when you try to fix it with more complex regs or tech or whatever.

Can you imagine this nation trying to put a man on the moon today?

Will

[Thumper]

Can you imagine this nation trying to put a man on the moon today?

Ummm, not if the software company who supplied the Iowa caucus is part of it!

Trump says we’re going to Mars. I’m sure it’ll happen some day, but I don’t expect it in my lifetime.

[Big Skyz]

Trump says we’re going to Mars.
For San Fran Nan that would be just like going home...

[Big Muddy]

^^^^^Bwahahaha^^^^^......good 'ern, Sky!!! ;)

[HideHunter]

Disclaimer: I actually live in "Lapland".. where Missouri laps into Iowa.. Disclaimer: I only use this defense when it is advantageous to me..

[Thumper]

"Lapland" .... the only place you can get a Pelosi lap dance! ;)