[farmfriend]

CA bump.

[Catspaw]

Now that you've identified a problem, what's your solution?

[Leatherneck_MT]

I like this :) Spot on!!

[Fee]

Communist China did a White Paper on the US in the mid 1990's predicting this glaring weakness. They predicted that the US power will start to decline after 2030. They based their prediction on the growth of government programs to take care of self inflicted social problems, where the costs will erode our military and technical spendings needed to maintain power.

[agitator]

Congress can and will continue to prop up the status quo because none of them are sufficiently endowed with either testosterone or spine to tell the leeches that the host is terminal until the system collapses - and like the parlor game, they hope they'll be sitting in retirement on full salary when the music stops.

[Travis McGee]

Road to CW2 bump.

[Tree of Liberty]

for how much longer can we prop-up the failed "Blue" America?

Who is John Galt?

[agarrett]

Item: "Blue" America is financially bankrupt, and California is a glaring example.

  This is, from my understanding, a counter-illustration. California sends more money to the federal government than it gets back - a trait shared by many of the "blue" states. The heartland states - the "red" ones - tend to be the opposite, getting more from the federal government than they send in. In effect, California is running a deficit in order to support the heartland.

  There was a big analysis recently - it was on the web, but I can't find it at the moment - but it showed that per capita income, and money sent in taxes, was higher in the coastal (blue) states. This could be an example of liberals practicing what they preach, perhaps. Still, it is interesting that the more liberal states, the ones we like to make fun of, tend to also generate more money.

  It makes the picture slightly more complex than you presented above.

Drew Garrett

[WhiteGuy]

I have to wonder how much longer this will be the case.

It will continue until one of three things happen.

1. Complete financial breakdown. SS & Medicare will cause this to happen beginning as soon as 2008.

2. Election of a majority of fiscally conservative legislators who will put an end to welfare spending for Foreign nations, Corporations, and those who did not earn it.

3. Revolution

[Reeses]

It used to be the Democrats were red like their communist and socialist cousins, and Republicans were the blue team. The leftist media hijacked our color saying they're giving blue to the incumbents. Bush is the incumbent now and I would like our color back!

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

The Howler Monkees of the left are in a terrible state of agitation. They can't get over the shock of their stooge Algore failing to steal the last election. It doesn't matter to them that Bush has enacted most of their programs, they are still seething with rage at the thought of the populace rejecting their rightful overlordship.

This next round they will pull out all the stops. The hate and lies and vote fraud will be unprecedented. For the left to suddenly lose power is like half a nation of heroin addicts having their junk flushed down the drain all at once.

Who knows what they will do if this next election is also a squeaker?

Could get ugly.

[Question_Assumptions]

I live in New Jersey, a solid Gore state. We get $0.67 to $0.69 cents back for every dollar we send to Washington. The same is true for Connecticut, Lieberman's home state. Where does all that money go? You might want to take a look at some of those states that voted for Bush. Think military bases, farm subsidies, and federal pork barrel spending.

[MississippiMan]

The problem: It's too far gone for correction by conventional elections and politics. The notion that we control this country by voting is illusion.

[Jim Cane]

The red states are supporting your lazy blue butts

[Gritty]

The "blue" islands on the 2000 map can best be described as cancers on the national MRI...

A better question might be, how can we keep this cancer from metastisizing and spreading as it is doing now?

Liberals move from their failed "blue" areas to the "red" areas as their policies inevitably fail. They bring their same old, failed attitudes with them, and try to remake their new homes into their old image of failed nostrums, thereby spreading their fatal disease.

[Kozak]

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury."

Fraser Tyler

" There are makers fakers and takers. Makers create wealth, fakers pretend to create wealth, and takers consume wealth. When the fakers and takers outnumber the makers, your society is doomed."

Robert A Heinlein

[Mr. Mojo]

You know, the recent designations of "blue" for the Dems and "red" for Pubbies is really starting to tick me off. Prior to this last (2000) election it was the Rat areas of the map that were always shown in (commie) red, while the GOP areas were in (freedom) blue. But the media did a little switcharoo, and not too many people noticed.

[Ohioan]

There is nothing wrong with your basic point. But I wish that you would stop referring to the Left leaning States as the "blue" States. Just because the media used a map in the last election, alotting blue to the Democrats and Red to the Republicans, doesn not mean that we should embrace that perverse symbolism. For generations, blue has been the color of Conservatism and Red the color of Socialism and Communism. When all else is equal, we should stick with the symbolism that has long spoken to the orientation involved, not abandon it.

I have no way of knowing whether the use of colors in the last election news coverage was deliberate or accidental. But considering the fact that the Left has carefully tried to undermine many symbols of the American tradition, I would prefer to err on the side of believing that the new usage serves their purpose, rather than ours. (I also, personally, greatly prefer blue.)

Again, your basic point is sound. The Left has always tried to use the work product of the productive people to further their own devious and evil ends. That is not new, but it should indeed be reiterated.

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

[laredo44]

The other kids in the class continue to get no education and the Liberals think that's just fine

Not really. The liberals think we need to give them more money to throw at the problem.

[Held_to_Ransom]

Item: A conservative estimate puts as much as 35% of the American economy underground. Taxpayers are fed-up with having 50% or more of of their hard-earned pay taxed by the feds, the state, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. So peopledo the natural thing: opt out of the system by going cash-only, off the books

Yes, and union workers can't work off the books, so now tell me, who's a patriot? The suckers that underwrite your tax frauds? Guess so.