New Book: Why America Failed

Morris Berman has been a critic of America's current downward spiral.  In the below link, he talks about it in depth.  I feel he is right on the mark at a time when most Americans are oblivious to what is going on.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/WhyAmer

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

 

Wall Street Protest Is Pure Hypocricy In Action

This photo says it all about the "Occupy Wall Street" hypocrisy. They organize themselves on Facebook, record everything on their Apple iPhones, relax for coffee at Starbucks, make lunch runs at McDonald's, and buy more protest supplies at OfficeMax, yet they protest against the evils of corporate America. Will someone please give them a clue?

The IMPERIAL SUICIDE of America

By Bill Bonner

Now, what we see is the whole kit-and- kaboodle of life in the US giving way to desperation, delusion and an irresistible impulse to commit imperial suicide. The economy turns sour. The military becomes malignant. Households are corrupt, bankrupt and dependent. Even the churches sing their hallelujahs to Caesar now.

What's "imperial suicide?" It's what empires do. If no other empire arises to kill them...they kill themselves. China will probably eventually crush the US militarily. But that is far in the future. The US can't wait. It lets the zombies run wild.

At home, Congress debates a "debt ceiling" measure, as if it made any difference. They've raised the ceiling 93 times since they first imposed a debt ceiling 94 years ago. What are the odds that they will hold the line this time?

Zilch. Instead, they'll continue borrowing and spending until the nation goes broke. Count on it.

The US economy was a free-market success story for a hundred years...from the end of the US War Between the States to the end of the Vietnam War. It was the richest, fastest-growing, most innovative, most competitive, and most admired economy in the world. But then, in 1971, Richard Nixon replaced a more-or-less solid dollar, vaguely backed by gold, with a pure paper dollar, backed by nothing but the good intentions of government employees.

As the money went, so went the nation. Our friend and colleague Byron King opines:
The problem with the US over the last 40 or 50 years is that there's too much free money...

We raise three generations of population who are untied from the basics of monetary education - millions of minds poisoned by Economics 101 in universities across the land. "Elastic currency," courtesy of the Fed.

Media & political classes are no smarter than the dummies who walk the land, so they make policy based on "free" money from the Fed... Deficits don't matter.

Currency circulates and inflates the general price levels... People learn to live with it. Even make a virtue of it, doing things like "buy as much house as you can afford; the market will rise and you'll make money." That kind of idiocy.

There's all this excess currency sloshing around the economy, leading to people doing stupid things like drugs, too much alcohol, divorce (Cherchez les femmes), food (obesity), theft, etc...

"Wars cost much silver," wrote Sun Tzu. [Lack of money] kept a lot of nations out of a lot of trouble over the years. Not any more. Who needs silver when you can just print up bricks of paper cash and fly it over to Iraq and such.

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term American Exceptionalism... yep, we're exceptional. That's for sure. More prisoners in jail than anywhere else. We fight longer wars than anyone else...and don't win. We give more welfare to more idle people than anywhere else on earth...and we're proud of it.

There's so much money that we don't know how to say no. No limits. Just raise the debt ceiling...spend until you can't spend any more. Then spend some more.

Well, there are no limits until there are limits. Per Ayn Rand... "You can avoid reality. But you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

In the space of 40 years the US lost its winning ways. Real, hourly wages stopped growing in 1973. Stock prices, in real terms, peaked out in '99...about the same time that real, per capita private sector growth came to a halt. The number of full time jobs topped out about two years later...and housing hit its peak in 2007.

Abroad, US armed forces continue to squander the most magnificent advantage that a military has ever had. The Pentagon spends 7 times as much as the next biggest spender. And it doesn't even have a worthy opponent. Where does it get the money? It borrows from the Chinese!

And what does it do with all that money? It engages in pointless, blood sucking zombie wars. Its three current engagements alone are expected to cost $4 trillion, according to the latest independent estimates - about as much as its trade deficit over the last 10 years.

Ask your neighbors. What strategic advantage does the US gain from fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya? They will have no good answer. Probably some claptrap about 'fighting terrorism' is the best they will be able to do; that's what they were told on TV.

A 94-year-old retired Army colonel came over to our house for the 4th of July festivities. A Silver Star winner in WWII, veteran of the Korean War too...we asked what he thought of the Pentagon's strategy in North Africa and the Middle East.

"I am disgusted," he replied. "Those guys just don't know what they're doing. We have no business getting involved in these things...especially in Libya. They're just traps. I have arguments about it when I go into the VA hospital. The young guys - you know, they're in their '80s - are in favor of these wars. Wave the flag. Rah rah...let's go in and do the job. Teach them a lesson... That sort of thing.

"But real war is not a football game. And nobody learns anything...except not to do it again."

Who - with the exception of a 94-year-old veteran - objects to squandering the national treasure, blood and honor on these wars? Almost no one. Why not? Because they've all drunk deeply from the intoxicating cup of imperial power. An ordinary nation fights wars to protect itself. An empire fights wars because that is what an empire does. And it continues fighting until it finally beats itself.

Why didn't Rome pull back its troops from the Rhine or Anatolia or North Africa...in order to protect its homeland from the barbarians? Why didn't Alexander retire to Macedonia, while he still had breath? Why didn't the Germans retreat to the banks of the Oder when they still had the means to resist the Soviet onslaught?

Why doesn't the US bring home its troops, cut its spending, balance its budget and protect its future? Ha...ha...you know the answer. Because the system has been taken over by zombies...people who want to see the spending continue, no matter what the cost. Zombie wars. Zombie social spending. And zombie finance.

And every time we look at it, we see more evidence. California, the West Coast Greece, is going broke. Any guess why?

Americans Are Socially Disconnected From Each Other

Russian "Scholar" Predicts Another US Civil War in 2010

I will be the first to point out legitimate indications of the decline of America, but this is plain hogwash. Perhaps this is Russian wishful thinking.

There are problems in the US, yes.  But this Russian claim that Americans will wholesale turn their guns on the government and each other is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Russia needs to be worried about Ingushstia, Dagastan, and other breakaway regions causing a civil war there. This takes the concept of projecting to a new international low.

What the Tiger Woods Debacle Shows Us.

With all the media coverage of the Tiger Woods infidelity saga, one can only wonder why the most important aspect is ignored.

It is a forgone conclusion that Tiger was attacked in anger by his wife, Elin. When that fact is acknowledged (and it usually isn't), there is a denial of seriousness since the female attacked the male.

Saturday Night Live aired a skit depicting "Elin" wielding a golf club while intimidating Tiger with the threat of further violence.

Had the shoe been on the other foot, Tiger would be public enemy number one, there would be demands for his arrest, and he would be the recipient of death threats. But since the female is the aggressor, feminists and women play down the significance of the violence and they cackle with glee at the female putting the male in his place.

This double standard is particularly troublesome in the aftermath of the Rihanna incident. In it, Rihanna, the R&B singer goaded her former boyfriend and fellow R&B singer Chris Brown into a tussle where she ended up with a fat lib and bruises. Chris Brown's career is on life support, and Rihanna is being hailed as some courageous survivor even when she was the party that initiated the violence.

I can only hope that clear-thinking men and women can see the hypocrisy being displayed by our media and by feminists. Until female on male domestic violence is viewed with the same gravity as male on female, I think that all of us should dismiss the Rihanna episodes as insignificant.

Finally, Tiger Woods clearly does not love his wife if the allegations of infidelity are true. Elin is a former nanny who he ushered into a world of privilege. Her ice princess manner, and her violence towards him get a free pass in this society. So I say, dump your witch of a wife Tiger and continue to do what you need to do to find love and peace.

This Is Amanda Knox, A Cold-Blooded Murderer.

Knox is the typical American female spoiled brat who now faces a life sentence for her role in the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher.

Knox sealed her own fate when she concocted several different versions of the what happened the night of Kercher's murder. Most disturbingly, Knox tried to implicate a local African business owner, Patrick Lumumba, of the crime but he was released after law enforcement officials cleared him and Knox's story changed.

This case is controversial because Knox is a relatively attractive, affluent, and white American female who is presumed to be innocent of such crimes by other Americans. Europe tends to be more realistic in their approach to judging women, and they tend to let the facts be their guide.

It is a forgone conclusion that Knox will be convicted and sent to prison for a long time. This case gives Men's Rights Advocate like me a sense of justice when American females get their due for heinous crimes that they may have gotten away with in the USA.

It also serves as notice to other American women that they cannot participate in crimes, implicate innocent people, change their stories and expect to be let off the hook like in the United States.

May the soul of Meredith Kercher rest in peace when Knox is finally locked away for good.

The "Ego Epidemic" of Modern Western Women

Us women are more egocentric and narcissistic than we ever used to be, according to extensive research by two leading psychologists.

More of us have huge expectations of ourselves, our lives and everyone in them. We think the universe resolves around us, with a deluded sense of our own fabulousness, and believe we are cleverer, more talented and more attractive than we actually are.

We have trouble accepting criticism and extending empathy because we are so preoccupied with ourselves.

Am I making you angry by telling you this? It figures. Narcissistic or egotistical women do have an overwhelming sense of entitlement and arrogance.

Of course, I joke, but researchers say there is growing evidence of an epidemic of ego-itis everywhere.

Once a traditionally male syndrome, narcissism generally begins at home and in schools, where children are praised excessively, often spoiled rotten and given the relentless message that they are 'special'.

Psychology professors Jean Twenge and Keith Campbell analysed studies on 37,000 college students in 2006.

In a survey, 30 per cent of them said they believed they should get good grades simply for turning up.

And it's not just about how intelligent they think they are. In the workplace, in friendships, even in motherhood, the pervading culture seems to have become one of competitiveness, superiority and one-upmanship.

But the sphere in which the signs of self-obsession are perhaps most obvious, and the consequences most immediately felt, is the dating one.

In a recent magazine article, four women in their late 20s and 30s shared their thoughts about why they were still single. A 39-year-old beauty director claimed to be too independent for a relationship.

A 38-year-old music agent attributed her single status to the fact she was an alpha female - independent, feisty, strong-minded, high-achieving and intimidating.

She pointed out that she owned a gorgeous flat with gorgeous things in it, had a nice car, was a member of a fancy gym and wore designer dresses. 'I do what I like, when I like,' she said.

She'd been told, and appears to believe, that she's too successful and too well-educated for most men.

The third woman, a 30-year- old arts writer and curator, has been having too much fun to settle down.

Another, a 29-year-old, said she was too picky. She was looking for a guy who is (just) tall enough. And (just about) good-looking enough (but not too good-looking so that she'd play second fiddle).

He needs to be successful, solvent and driven. He must also be long on genuinely good jokes, with a decent sideline in bad ones that only she finds funny.

He needs to 'speak good restaurant', to have no special dietary requirements and to always be discerning without ever being fussy.

He needs to be clever without ever making her feel stupid. He needs to 'get' but not 'know' fashion...and so the list went on.

She concluded that she would rather eat wasps than share her Sunday with anyone who fails to measure up to her idea of Mr Perfect.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having high expectations. But being delusional and having a totally unrealistic blueprint are an altogether different matter.

And they often go hand in hand with acute ego-itis. As Margot Medhurt knows only too well.

She is the founder of Yours Sincerely, an Edinburgh-based personal dating and introduction agency for professionals. She has almost 30 years' experience in the industry and has noticed a significant rise in this phenomenon in recent years.

'It used to be that most women who joined a dating agency had a pretty good idea of where they stood in the eligibility stakes,' she said. 'But in the past few years, I've noticed that there are a significant number of women who don't.

'They tend to be in their 30s, and there is a wide discrepancy between how they perceive themselves and how others see them.

'They are often very plain, but see themselves as being absolutely fabulous, exceptional people.

'They invariably reject every guy's profile I send them. But if a guy rejects their profile, there is all hell to pay. There is disbelief. They are really saying: "I'm so fabulous. How dare he turn me down?"

'In the past few years, I've noticed a real sense of entitlement among this small group of women. The idea that a guy might not find them as amazing as they find themselves doesn't enter their head.

'They often become indignant and angry towards me, demanding to know why a guy dared to turn them down. Most people simply accept the facts of the dating game: some people will find you attractive and others won't, in the same way that you'll be drawn to some but not others.

'These women, however, are unable to get their heads around the fact that the rest of the world might not share the distorted, inflated view they have of themselves.'

She said she had a eureka moment when she read a recent article about the rise in narcissism among women.

According to the American research, there has been a 67 per cent increase in it over the past two decades, mainly among women.

An estimated ten per cent of the population suffers from narcissism as a full-blown personality disorder.

The symptoms include: a grandiose sense of self-importance; the belief that he or she is special or unique and in some way better - either intellectually or physically - than others; a requirement for excessive admiration; a sense of entitlement, whether to fame, fortune, success and happiness or simply to special treatment; enviousness of others or a belief that others are envious of him or her; an inability to empathise; an inability to admit a mistake; and haughty behaviour or attitude.

What researchers have also identified, and are far more worried about, is what has been described as 'normal' narcissism - a cultural shift that has seen even non-narcissistic people seduced by the emphasis on material wealth, physical appearance and celebrity worship.

The researchers believe our culture brings out narcissistic behaviour in almost all of us.

They blame the internet (where 'fame' is a click away), reality television (where the lure of fame without talent is most prevalent), easy credit (which enables people to buy far beyond their ability to pay), celebrity worship, our highly consumerist, competitive and individualistic society, and a generation of indulgent parents who have raised their children to think they're special, amazing and perfect.

According to Twenge, this focus on self-admiration has caused a cultural flight from reality to the land of grandiose fantasy.

We have phony rich people (who actually have massive mortgages and piles of debt), phony beauty (via plastic surgery), phony celebrities (via reality TV and YouTube), phony genius students (with grade inflation) and phony friends (with the social networking explosion).

'I had noticed this trend, but wasn't really sure what it was all about,' says Margaret Medhurt.

'However, when I read that article and thought about the unrealistic expectations and sense of entitlement among some of the women, it really struck a chord.

'One of the cases that brought it home to me involved a 38-year-old businesswoman.

'I knew there were going to be problems right away. As soon as someone joins the agency, we get things moving very quickly - but this wasn't quick enough for this woman.

'She wanted a date immediately. The first man I sent her profile to declined an introduction and she was extremely cross. She couldn't accept it and she couldn't even be polite about it.

'In three weeks, three men turned her down. I explained that it takes time to meet someone but she just got angrier and angrier. She was demanding to know why these guys did this. I was trying to get the balance right - between being honest with her and being tactful.

'I think, ultimately, she had a very flawed perception of herself. And she almost couldn't bear that it was being challenged. It was as if she couldn't deal with the fact that some guys didn't think she was amazing - and she left.'

Men, traditionally regarded as the more self-centred of the species and the rogues of the mating game, are left scratching their heads and pondering Freud's famous question: what do women want?

David Baxter (not his real name) is a 40-year-old management consultant. Previously married for nine years, he joined a dating agency in the summer.

He says he's not perfect, but is told he's an eligible and pleasant guy with a lot to offer.

'I've had three successive dates recently with ladies in the late 30s to early 40s age bracket that have left me dumbfounded,' he said.

'I've never come across such massive egos, such arrogance and lack of basic courtesy.

'It was as if these particular dates were a forum for them to tell me how exceptional they were. One told me repeatedly how many young guys at the gym asked her out; another was very artificial.

'You sensed that they absolutely worshipped themselves, though none of them was drop-dead gorgeous or had amazing personalities, jobs or anything else to set them apart and elevate themselves into some superior position.

'I also thought it was quite telling that none of them had ever been married, engaged or had recently - or perhaps ever - been in a long-term relationship.

'I got the feeling that these women were living in a Sex And The City-inspired fantasy world. I also sensed that nobody would ever be good enough for them.

'They seem to be looking for something that doesn't exist: Mr Perfect, or perhaps some larger-than-life, dashingly handsome and unattainable character such as that portrayed by Mr Big. Nothing else will do.'

Despite his recent experience, David still considers himself lucky.

'I'm still positive about the whole thing, but I have friends who are not so optimistic and it's evident that encounters with these sort of women seriously erode their self-confidence, which is a real shame. There are a lot of genuine, decent guys out there who are getting a rough deal.'

Neil Hay is a 32-year-old former professional golfer-turned-financial consultant who lives on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

After taking some time out following the death of his mother, he joined a dating agency almost a year ago.

'It's made me terribly cynical, not just about the way women are, but also about what on earth it is that they are looking for in a guy,' he said.

'Of course, we all have standards and preferences. There's nothing wrong with that. But most of us are also realistic. We know that Cheryl Cole is out of our league.

'I had been hoping to meet someone who was quite nice-looking, with a good personality, someone to go for dinner and to the cinema and have a decent conversation with. But I'm left feeling that this isn't what women are looking for.

'It's as if they want to be swept off their feet right from the first date, as if they're waiting for someone like Brad Pitt or George Clooney. They're not interested in a regular, normal, decent guy. That's not good enough for them.

'I spent three hours on a date with one woman. I thought we got on brilliantly, but then she said she didn't want to meet again.

'This has happened a few times. It makes me think that if you don't live up to their perfect fantasy, then that's it. It's game over before you've even had any chance to begin to get to know each other.

'It does dent your confidence. I'm left thinking either that there's something wrong with me or that I'll just never be whatever it is that these women are looking for.

'I know there are a lot of single women who say things like they're too independent, too feisty, too confident or too successful for men. Or they claim that men are intimidated by strong, intelligent and independent women.

'But this is simply not the case. I think they just tell themselves this. It's a way of rationalising things. It's as if it's easier for them to believe their own myths than to face reality - that they are completely ordinary.'This brilliant article was penned by Lucy Taylor, accessible with this link.

American Sickness Series: Anthropomorphism

One sickness that afflicts Americans more and more, but is seldom written about is anthropomorphism, or the humanization of pets. My theory as to why Americans place human characteristics on their pets is for the lack of affection between men and women, and parents and children even.

Single women are most often guilty of engaging in anthropomorphism. We often hear of the spinster who fills her void of affections with cats. But I would submit that married women are often guilty of it as well. Loveless marriage in the US is no longer the exception, but the norm. Pets often serve the purpose of providing women the "unconditional love" that they cannot get from their spouses.

This is not to get men off of the hook. Many men look to their dogs as the buddies they lack in human form. Many men would not think of going hunting, fishing, or camping without their dog in tow.

If you travel to other regions of the world, one thing that is striking to an American is the physical affection that foreign parents lavish upon their children. Given all the hysteria surrounding pedophiles coupled with the Anglo-Western culture of personal space that pervades the US, there is no wonder why children turn to pets for being starved for affection. We now have the first generation of females who don't "date," but hook-up for brief encounters of sex or near sex. This isn't affection contrary to popular belief.

There is nothing innately wrong with affinity for pets and animals. But the extent to which Americans replace human closeness with closeness with animals is one other sign of the decline of America.

The sad thing is that far too many Americans, women mostly, react with more alarm at the death of an animal than at the death of a human. This is how bad the problem has gotten!

American Female Recklessness Abroad

Since American females are handled with great deference in the US, many are harmed or even killed when the venture abroad.

Take Natalie Holloway to the right. Her social conditioning failed to give her pause at the thought of boozing and picking up one night stands in Aruba. As most of us know, she is presumed to be dead.


To the left is Sara Kuszak who was killed while jogging in crime ridden Puerto Rico. She obviously was oblivious to the risks of jogging on a foreign milieu.

Feminism teaches women that they can do it all, and chivalry teaches them to believe it. Outside of the US, the rules are different. Tragedies like this are avoidable, but they will persist for some time given the naive mentality of feminism-infected girls abroad.

Women's Selfishness Often Harms Animals

American women often pontificate about how much they "love" animals and want to do everything they can to protect them; yeah right.

These women who profess to love animals, in my experience, simply wish to satiate their need for warmth and physical contact and to "feel important."

I once befriended an outdoorsy girl who approached every animal to feed it caress it and "experience" it. I explained to her that feeding and establishing contact with wild animals is to the animals' detriment since it erodes the natural fear for humans and therefore subjects the animals to risky encounters with other humans later on. She, of course reacted with hostility and shouted she "wanted to do it."

What this taught me is that these animal lovers only love animals to the extent that it suits them, not the animals. This is typical American female ego-centrism.

Leave the animals alone and appreciate them from afar or at a petting zoo! You are doing them no favors.

This Is Why I Cannot Relate To American Women