Obama Reportcard

[my porsche]

I am not going to comment on your remark about "actually intelligent people such as yourself and myself".

And yet, in saying that, you did.

By "yourself and myself", perhaps it sounded as if I meant he and I were the only intelligent people on this board, however I meant in reference to our generation. The average intelligence of this forum is well above that of my generation.

[Matra et Alpine]

Interestingly LT, what I take from your comments on "far left" is that you are using a very US-centric definition. So saying "dictionary" is only US dictionary. WHen you bring in anarchists, trotskyists, maoists, marxists ( in that ordfer ) then you get some idea of how far left can actually be

Re the "strngth" of the US economy. It is based on the past strength of the $ and it replacing the gold standard and usurping the British Pound as "the world currency". All of which was done via devious and well organised actions and plans. It's not anything inherent in the US economy. As has been said, the US economy will ultiamtely fall as have every other one that has spent a number of decades at the top of the tree

PS: "Capitalism" existed before the US was founded and I have to put a Scots flag up for Adam Smith Wealth of Nations ( amusingly published in 1776 ) as the cornerstone of world economics and capitalism as we live it ... So if it wasn't the US there woudl have been another nation to usurp the British Empire

[blingbling]

So, you think that the Russian Revolution was worth it? The decades of tyranny, millions of deaths due to the rule of the CPSU was a good thing? Similarly in France, how many died? The Americans revolted because of the massive oppression of tax?! Canada seemed to do pretty dang well just evolving outta Britain. Forget the revolution of the Shah, that was more a coup, but what about when the revolution in '79 happened? That wasn't any good either. Revolutions tons of times just lead to another repressive dictatorship or something of that ilk. I'd say that in a vast majority of practical circumstances, the best way is a slow evolutionary change to the ideals of the people of the nation, or, at least a peaceful revolution like the Carnation Revolution.

without the russian revolution, i would not be here. the decades of tyranny, millions of death was not a "good thing", but was merely necesary. i already said that death was not a good thing en masse, but in this russian case could it have been avoided with the previous system? no, it would not have. the economy was gone to shit anyways and russia as country was on their way down. they had world war i driven to a stalemate, but the entire country was suffering and, more importantly in the revolutionary sense, distraught with a lack of unity.

canada is a very idealistic case. the british crown slowly bagan to realize that reform was needed in a very machiavellian sense. they realized that the american revolution can happen with enough motivation, smartened up, and that is why it remains one of the few nations with a monarchy still chillin' up there.

of course, if we'd all love to live in a world of lovey-dovey, everyone in agreement, happy-times but that is simply not the case. revolution is a last draw; the last card in the deck. of course you can come up with tonnes of examples of bad revolutions (which is what you are doing) but on the other hand there will always be ones where it is good (french, russian, american, chinese, romanic uprising against etruscans, etc etc). all of those cost lives, but look at all the good things it brought. the point of a revolution is to accelerate progression, not to directly save lives. sometimes, blood HAS to be spilt. and that has been my point since the beginning. only when beuraucracy gets in the way, does a revolution become the way. when you do have the ability to deal with beauraucracy, take the canada route.

[henk4]

Before I answer that, tell me this; are you a believer of Krugman?

before I answer that, did you read anything from Paul Baran or Alan Sweezy? (or from them together?)