CRULazyGutlessSonofabitchUUZ!

[First Shirt]

Because WE (and I count myself in this group) have set on our asses and let ourselves be nibbled to death by ducks. WE watched the lefties chisel away at our rights and our Constitution, and mortgage our kids and grandkids futures to buy votes for themselves and their buddies, and WE let it happen. Anybody with two active brain cells and a double-digit IQ could see what was coming, but none of US had the gumption or testicular fortitude to say anything, or do anything, about it.

And on the rare occasions when somebody DID point out that WE were on an intercept course for catastrophe, they were castigated as nutcases (which may have been true, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day) and disregarded as scaremongers, because the crash wasn't going to happen this week/month/year, which means it isn't ever going to happen, right?

So, if you know the car is speeding out of control toward a collapsed bridge, and don't make any attempt to apply the brakes, when the car crashes into the gorge and is engulfed in flames, whose fault is it? WE are going to end up as a third-world shithole, a police state (or both) or Balkanized remnants of the former United States. And WE have nobody to blame but ourselves, because WE let it happen.

It's been patently obvious for years that we aren't voting ourselves out of this mess, and anyone who expects a Messiah to come along and bail us out of the cesspool WE knowingly jumped into is delusional, and probably shouldn't be allowed outdoors without a keeper.

(Martini, I'm not directing this at you, please don't take it personally. I think it's mostly a case of guilty conscience, because I know that WE could have, and should have, done more to prevent this, but WE were too busy/lazy/distracted/disinterested to do so. I guess it comes under the heading of "self-inflicted injury".)

[MarkD]

Because WE (and I count myself in this group) have set on our asses and let ourselves be nibbled to death by ducks. WE watched the lefties chisel away at our rights and our Constitution, and mortgage our kids and grandkids futures to buy votes for themselves and their buddies, and WE let it happen. Anybody with two active brain cells and a double-digit IQ could see what was coming, but none of US had the gumption or testicular fortitude to say anything, or do anything, about it.

And on the rare occasions when somebody DID point out that WE were on an intercept course for catastrophe, they were castigated as nutcases (which may have been true, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day) and disregarded as scaremongers, because the crash wasn't going to happen this week/month/year, which means it isn't ever going to happen, right?

So, if you know the car is speeding out of control toward a collapsed bridge, and don't make any attempt to apply the brakes, when the car crashes into the gorge and is engulfed in flames, whose fault is it? WE are going to end up as a third-world shithole, a police state (or both) or Balkanized remnants of the former United States. And WE have nobody to blame but ourselves, because WE let it happen.

It's been patently obvious for years that we aren't voting ourselves out of this mess, and anyone who expects a Messiah to come along and bail us out of the cesspool WE knowingly jumped into is delusional, and probably shouldn't be allowed outdoors without a keeper.

(Martini, I'm not directing this at you, please don't take it personally. I think it's mostly a case of guilty conscience, because I know that WE could have, and should have, done more to prevent this, but WE were too busy/lazy/distracted/disinterested to do so. I guess it comes under the heading of "self-inflicted injury".)

I don't think anyone here was in a position to stop the coming catastrophe,you'd have to go back a couple generations (at least, maybe more). By the time I personally was old enough to vote (1981) the damage had been done, the welfare state was in full swing, government intervention in every aspect of our lives was a reality, and our rights were what the government decided they were while everything else was a privilege.

On top of which, America isn't in this boat alone. Even if we HAD our house in order, with the global economy, when the EU/China/etc crashes under the weight of their problems we won't have any choice but to follow.

How did we get off the rails? I'm glad you asked.....In no particular order

First, no one, in government or business, holds a long view. No one in government looks beyond the next election, and no one in business cares about anything but the next quarterly results. Elected officials don't CARE what their legislation will have five, ten, twenty years down the road, only that it gets people to pull the lever for them next November. Ever notice that company stock generally goes UP when a company lays off workers? Fewer expenses in the form of salary for the next quarter, and the fact that they won't PRODUCE as much is irrelevant (that won't become an issue until the following quarter or the one after that).

Second, lack of self-sufficiency on the part of the populace. Hand a person a live chicken and a knife and they not only don't know WHAT to do, they don't even know there's something TO DO. Tell them to figure it out or starve and most will starve with the chicken still walking around. Chicken comes from the supermarket you know.

Third, lack of stigma. Some things USED to be shameful, and people were ashamed of doing them. Living on welfare for instance (my mother did, briefly, after her first husband died while she had four children under ten years old and one on the way), or having a child out-of-wedlock. Now we have third generation welfare recipients who have never been married, they just keep popping out kids and collecting the checks.

Fourth, we've lost the concept of private ownership of property. It's now all communal property, so if the government decides to take your property (in the form of taxes) so they can give it to someone else that's fair.

Those last three contribute to a lack of work-ethic. Why should I bust my ass to make a living when the government is just going to take it from me to give away? Why, also, should I bust my ass when I can just ask the government and they'll take care of me? Until of course everyone jumps on that band wagon, no one works, everyone wants, and the only way to keep the money flowing is to print more, causing inflation and economic collapse.

Fifty years ago you MAY have been able to avert disaster. Now, might as well make some popcorn and enjoy the show.

[Mike OTDP]

Well, there's one solution. Michael, Lord of the Duelling Pistols, for Emperor! With liberty for the righteous, and justice for the wicked.

[Weetabix]

So, if you know the car is speeding out of control toward a collapsed bridge, and don't make any attempt to apply the brakes, when the car crashes into the gorge and is engulfed in flames, whose fault is it?

It's more like you're on an out of control bus speeding toward a collapsed bridge, and you hadn't realized that:
- one guy was cutting the brake lines,
- another guy had gotten the driver drunk,
- another guy had swapped out the good tires for bald tires,
- another guy did the Blues Brothers trick on the accelerator,
- another guy fogged all the windows,
- another guy took down the "Bridge Out" sign after
- another guy purposely blew the bridge

/Aesop mode

My point is there were so many people disassembling the foundations of society where we couldn't really see them that I'm not sure what could be done. I've written letters, voted, called congresscritters, talked to people, etc. Not sure what else to do.

At this point, I'm trying to preach to youngsters and teach them useful skills and mindsets. It won't be enough, but I'm hoping to contribute to a larger Remnant.

[randy]

How did we get off the rails? I'm glad you asked.....In no particular order

US Constitution, 16th and 17th amendments.

[First Shirt]

It's more like you're on an out of control bus speeding toward a collapsed bridge, and you hadn't realized that:
- one guy was cutting the brake lines,
- another guy had gotten the driver drunk,
- another guy had swapped out the good tires for bald tires,
- another guy did the Blues Brothers trick on the accelerator,
- another guy fogged all the windows,
- another guy took down the "Bridge Out" sign after
- another guy purposely blew the bridge
At this point, I'm trying to preach to youngsters and teach them useful skills and mindsets. It won't be enough, but I'm hoping to contribute to a larger Remnant.

And nobody noticed that all this was going on? Nice try, but the fact remains that WE did know what they'd done, and WE knew what effect it would have, and WE still spent more time worrying about American Idol than that the people WE had put in charge of the country were dismantling it while WE watched. LIke I said, it's a self-inflicted injury, and I blame myself as much as anyone else.

Like you, I'm trying to ensure that there is a Remnant left to try and rebuild after the people WE put in charge burn the whole mess down.

[Netpackrat]

Yeah, there is no "WE" here. '92 was the first election I was old enough to vote in, and I voted for the only guy in the race who laid out a plan to fix the deficit/debt problems. And we all know how THAT turned out.

[Jericho941]

Here's my take on that analogy:

The bus is out of control, because:

-the driver is having a heart attack because he saw the guy cutting the brake lines while the bus was in motion somehow
-the guy trying to stop the other guy from cutting the brake lines had
-accidentally gave the driver his dog's heartworm medication instead of his heart medication as a personal favor to the tires guy who
-swapped good tires for bald because the company is about to go broke and they had to implement "austerity" so
-the guy using marine epoxy on the accelerator was an untrained mechanic trying to fix the damn thing,
-the windows were fogged by the guy using a fire extinguisher on the seats set aflame by the
-tweaker with a stolen "Bridge Out" sign, who bought his meth from a guy with connections to
-the guy who purposely blew out the bridge because he's a damn terrorist
-Jack Traven showed up and realized the other bus was the safer bet

In other words: Everyone was too busy dealing with unrelated problems to do a damn thing about the big picture.

[blackeagle603]

sitting here watching this discussion unfold... in a microcosm why the Dems will, on average, always win.

Winning is the first thing. Winning is the only thing. They don't let principles or conscience get in the way of winning.


Hillary in the Oval negotiating with Iran, Putin and the Norks: First Husband Bill walking the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue scouting interns when he isn't working Congress.

Think about that.

[Kommander]

How does us ending up with "President Trump" count as winning?