Is America a Superpower?

[Papi]

Ahem, it was a joke, my friend.

Actually I believe Australia is right there with Canada in all the same categories you pointed out. Awesome country.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

And its got nothing to do with canada.

He just thinks he's found a nice target web site full of retired US military and government people, along with other patriotic or semi patriotic americans, and he employs a few childish and simple methods to rile them up.

His shtick is unrelated to early retirement, investing or anything else productive or interesting to talk about. As for any alleged "investment prowess", I've yet to see anything come out of the guy that was accurate, helpful or worthy of consideration. "I made a lot of money on xxx". Gee, thanks.

And the leaning tower of pizza does NOT get french benefits from Steeley Dan!

 

[brewer12345]

And its got nothing to do with canada.

He just thinks he's found a nice target web site full of retired US military and government people, along with other patriotic or semi patriotic americans, and he employs a few childish and simple methods to rile them up.

His shtick is unrelated to early retirement, investing or anything else productive or interesting to talk about.  As for any alleged "investment prowess", I've yet to see anything come out of the guy that was accurate, helpful or worthy of consideration.  "I made a lot of money on xxx".  Gee, thanks.

I think the problem is much simpler: he's an ******* with nothing better to do with his time.

 

[Cool Dood]

Ours go toward frequent and profitless wars.

I'm not sure I understand this criticism. Would you support the war if we actually did steal all the oil and sell it, or whatever the other conspiracies are? Maybe after WWII we should have taken all those shiny BMW's

Some people are against profit, and against war, but think a war should be profitable? And some people are against profitable wars ("they're only doing it for the oil!") before they're against wars if they're profitless? I don't know, some things I just don't understand..........

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think the problem is much simpler: he's an ******* with nothing better to do with his time.

See, and I was trying to be nice to howard, and you ruined it!

 

[brewer12345]

See, and I was trying to be nice to howard, and you ruined it!

I get the joke, but I am really, really tired of being nice to obnoxious trolls.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Now come on, Howard fulfills an important function.

Most of the time he seems somewhat rational, perhaps even intelligent, in a sort of big haired white guy buffoonery kind of way.

Then he throws out one of those happy posts like the one above that is 30% totally wrong, 30% pretty much wrong in context, and 40% inflamatory. Oh yeah, and that 40% is wrong too.

Showing that there are a lot of people around who really dont know what they're talking about most of the time, but they can be rather convincing.

Which is a very important lesson for people to be regularly reminded of.

And you have to give Howard the nod for finding a nice middle ground. He's not as subtle as Hosuc, but it takes a little bit to really see the trollery for what it is. He's not as "Wow, look at what an instant jerk and completely useless person I am" like mike-1/limey was, and he's not erratic like that other guy that usually seems like a reasonable person but occasionally says stuff that makes you think he was raised by monkeys.

This is an art form, and we really need to appreciate it in all its guises.

 

[haha]

I'm not sure I understand this criticism. Would you support the war if we actually did steal all the oil and sell it, or whatever the other conspiracies are? Maybe after WWII we should have taken all those shiny BMW's

Some people are against profit, and against war, but think a war should be profitable? And some people are against profitable wars ("they're only doing it for the oil!") before they're against wars if they're profitless? I don't know, some things I just don't understand.......... 

I tend to be a practical person. Prior empires that I know about anyway took something from the conquests. We seem to be the frist social worker empire ever.

Consequently, I expect us to be one of the least durable empires too. The Romans lasted ver 400 years; the British form Waterloo until WW1. We got 50 years in but I wouldn't want to bet on 50 more.

Ha

 

[HFWR]

ongoing pontification and sense of self righteousness are totally boring

Oh, you were talking about Nords... :

 

[laurence]

I tend to be a practical person. Prior empires that I know about anyway took something from the conquests. We seem to be the frist social worker empire ever.

Consequently, I expect us to be one of the least durable empires too. The Romans lasted ver 400 years; the British form Waterloo until WW1. We got 50 years in but I wouldn't want to bet on 50 more.

Ha

Oh, come one, we've been an empire since the Spanish American war, closer to 120 years than 50. Rome was really only an Empire for about 300 years (second war of Carthage to the period of getting sacked and paying tributes to Goths and various other Barbarians). We've got another 200 years easy!

 

[Cool Dood]

...and he's not erratic like that other guy that usually seems like a reasonable person but occasionally says stuff that makes you think he was raised by monkeys.

If you're talking about me, then you'd better watch out, cuz ma and pa have terrific aim when they're flinging poo!

 

[HFWR]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/05/17/human.chimp.split.ap/index.html

"It's a totally cool and extremely clever analysis," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard. "My problem is imagining what it would be like to have a bipedal hominid and a chimpanzee viewing each other as appropriate mates, not to put it too crudely."

 

[Nords]

"It's a totally cool and extremely clever analysis," said Daniel Lieberman, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard. "My problem is imagining what it would be like to have a bipedal hominid and a chimpanzee viewing each other as appropriate mates, not to put it too crudely."

Of course he probably also thinks that Harvard professors of biological anthropology are totally hot...

 

[HFWR]

Or, in the immortal words of David Lee Roth: "Hot for the teacher..."

 

[wabmester]

Would you support the war if we actually did steal all the oil and sell it, or whatever the other conspiracies are?

I've asked myself that question, and my answer is "probably."

What if Bush had simply leveled with us rather than coming up with the most convoluted rationalizations, disgustingly awkward and disingenuous coverups, and watered-down objectives?

What if he told us that we needed to secure strategic oil reserves, boost our economy, and give Sadam a little payback for how he treated Daddy Bush?  Oh, and by the way, it might help out the people of Iraq as a bonus, but don't count on it.

I'd still think he was a menance to society, but I'd have more respect for the guy.

 

[Nords]

What if Bush had simply leveled with us rather than coming up with the most convoluted rationalizations, disgustingly awkward and disingenuous coverups, and watered-down objectives?

Get with the program, pal-- faith-based leadership is worthless without faithful followers!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I think I could have gone with "We're afraid of the iranians overrunning the country if and when saddam falters, and it'd be nice to have that iraqi oil flowing again and we cant do that without a regime change".