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Thread: The USA is Number One!!

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    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Default The USA is Number One!!

    This is a little essay I wrote. As I was writing I got depressed. I just thought I'd share:

    Yep, that's right folks we are number one in the world in only a few catergories. What do you think those catergories are? Education? Nope, we are 55th on the planet at getting our citizens educated. The winners in the education game are Finland (no.1), Japan (no.2), and Korea (no. 3). The US spends the most on educating it's citizens at $500 billion annually, followed by Japan, Germany and France at $139 billion, $89 billion and $82 billion respectively.

    So why is it that we are not getting a good education for our citizens when we are spending all that money on education? I haven't got an answer. Maybe someone better educated than I can answer that one.

    What about health care? No again, we are 37th in getting our citizens the health care they need. Also, we are not providing the most advanced medical technology to our citizens compared with other developed nations. So you might be asking who some of the countries are that are ahead of is in health care? Some are not surprising such as France (at #1) and the UK and Switzerland and Iceland. Here is the list and some are quite surprising:
    1 France
    2 Italy
    3 San Marino
    4 Andorra
    5 Malta
    6 Singapore
    7 Spain
    8 Oman
    9 Austria
    10 Japan
    11 Norway
    12 Portugal
    13 Monaco
    14 Greece
    15 Iceland
    16 Luxembourg
    17 Netherlands
    18 United Kingdom
    19 Ireland
    20 Switzerland
    21 Belgium
    22 Colombia
    23 Sweden
    24 Cyprus
    25 Germany
    26 Saudi Arabia
    27 United Arab Emirates
    28 Israel
    29 Morocco
    30 Canada
    31 Finland
    32 Australia
    33 Chile
    34 Denmark
    35 Dominica
    36 Costa Rica
    37 United States of America

    Looking at this list are you surprised at some of the countries that are ahead of us? I was. Dominica does a better job of taking care of the health needs of it citizens than we do! Same with Morocco. Maybe the next time I need surgery I'll fly to Singapore to have the procedure done. That way I'll have a much better chance of getting superior medical care.

    In fairness, though, Americans spend more on their health care than any other nation on the planet. That's right, Americans spend 13.6% of their income on average for health care. Compare that to France's (the best health care in the world) citizens who are spending only 9.6% on health care a year. The average per capita income in France is a lot lower than it is here in the USA, so if you look at it like that, the 9.6% figure is not comparing apples to apples anyway. The French are spending peanuts on their health care compared to us.

    Okay, so we're #1 in health care spending, but are only getting #37th quality? Call me crazy, but it sounds like we are getting ripped off, big time! That is like Wal-Mart charging top prices for their cheap plastic crap.

    Although it may feel like it sometimes, We in the United States do NOT pay the highest taxes in the world. We are #6 on that list with Congo (55%), China (47%), Argentina (44%), Brazil (38.8%) and Germany (38.1%) all ahead of us in personal tax burden (at 38%). But the research I was reading was based on percentage of income on average per citizen. Our total tax revenue is in the $4.7 trillion range per year. So in second place in taxes raised is China at roughly $4.1 trillion.

    Hmmm, maybe we are paying the most in taxes when you take total dollar revenue into consideration.

    Okay, we must at least be the most generous nation on the planet, then, right? No again. We are 7th in charitable contributions from public and private sources. As far as government sponsored giving (foreign aid) we are 22nd in the world. But thanks to folks like Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett and other private donations we jump up the list quite a bit. So who is the most generous? Saudi Arabia, when combining charitable contributions from the kingdom and from private citizens comes out on top.
    I wonder if welfare and medical care fraud committed by citizens and non citizens counts as charitable giving?

    Maybe we are the best at technology development and implimentation then? Uh, no.

    According to a blogger at the San Francisco Chronicle, Charles H. Giancarlo:

    "The United States now ranks 12th in the world in the total percentage of citizens that subscribe to broadband access, lagging behind such countries as Iceland, Korea, Sweden, Belgium and Canada. The trend line is even worse. The United States ranks 17th for the growth of these high-speed connections, outpaced by nearly all of our economic peers. Our broadband speeds don't measure up either. Korea's citizens, for example, have access to 50 megabits per second connections, making Internet services at typical U.S. speeds 'broadband lite,' at best."

    Thinking about the fact that our nation is not getting needed technology to it's citizens, isn't that spelling disaster for future economic growth? Won't it be difficult for America to compete on the world market if our citizens are not able to access technology that the rest of the world is embracing?

    But that is a topic for another blog on another day...

    Man I'm getting bummed out by all this. Okay, then we as Americans must enjoy the most personal freedoms and civil liberties on the planet, right? Sadly, no. We are 45th in the world for most personal freedoms and civil liberties. Surprised? I am. Aren't we the "Champions of Freedom"? It seems 44 other nations do a better job of walking the talk than we do. Now don't get me wrong, I know there are a LOT of places that don't have anywhere near the personal freedoms that us Americans have. Places like Somalia and Chechnya offer almost no civil liberties and freedoms. I do appreciate the freedoms I do have, to be sure. But we are far from being the number 1 "Land of the Free".

    The Nations who enjoy the most personal freedoms and civil liberties are:
    1. Andorra
    2. Australia
    3. Austria
    4. Bahamas
    5. Barbados
    6. Belgium
    7. Canada
    8. Cape Verde
    9. Chile
    10. Costa Rica
    11. Cyprus
    12. Czech Republic
    13. Denmark
    14. Dominica
    15. Estonia
    16. Finland
    17. France
    18. Germany
    19. Hungary
    20. Iceland
    21. Ireland
    22. Italy
    23. Kiribati
    24. Liechtenstein
    25. Luxembourg
    26. Malta
    27. Marshall Islands
    28. Mauritius
    29. Micronesia
    30. Nauru
    31. Netherlands
    32. New Zealand
    33. Norway
    34. Palau
    35. Poland
    36. Portugal
    37. San Marino
    38. Slovakia
    39. Slovenia
    40. Spain
    41. Sweden
    42. Switzerland
    43. Tuvalu
    44. United Kingdom
    45 United States





    I know, I'm being negative. Let's see what us American's are the best at:

    1. We are the largest producer of greenhouse gases on the planet, and not by a small margin.
    *According to figures from the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, the top five sources of greenhouse gases were the United States, China, Russia, India and Japan.

    The United States' per-capita greenhouse emissions were 24 tonnes based on 2004 data. China was 4 tonnes and India 2 tonnes based on 2000 data.

    2. We are #1 for prison population. That's right, we have more citizens incarcerated than any other nation on the planet. We are ahead of China, with the worlds largest population, and Russia with draconian laws. The USA has nearly 7 million people either in prison or on probation or parole. That is 2.3% of our population. Russia has .5% and China is even lower.

    3. Consumerism. Yep, no surprise here, folks. Americans spend more money per capita than any other nation on earth! Also Americans don't save their money. Less than 10% of our population has any savings at all. A whole lot of us are two paychecks away from disaster.

    4. Obesity. No surprise here, either. Americans are fatter than anyone else on the planet.

    5. Personal debt. As citizens we have more personal debt than any other nation. Americans not only spend more of their income than any other nation, we also owe a higher percentage than any other nation. As a people we are really good at spending money we ain't got!

    6. The US is number one in the world for military spending. Not only do we spend a lot on our military, but we spend more than the next TWELVE biggest spending nations on the planet combined. Those twelve are (in order of highest spending to lowest): China, Russia, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Israel, Australia, Brazil, Turkey and Canada.
    *That is kind of surprising that we can't seem to get a grip on the Afghanistan/Iraq situation. We are fighting guerilla’s that are putting on their war on a shoestring budget. One suicide bomber and $18 worth of explosives are what we are up against, and those guys have managed to at least hit a stale mate against the USA and it's $450 billion military budget.

    7. Entertainment and media production. We, as a nation, produce more entertainment media than any other nation on the planet. We also profit the most off of those movies, television, music and other art media. India is really starting to produce some good movies, lately. But as of right now they can't hold a candle to US profits on entertainment.

    Whoo-Hoo! Finally something positive! As Americans we keep the world entertained in varied and myriad ways, and we are the best at it. It is likely our world domination of arts and entertainment began with a cartoon mouse and a gentleman named Disney.

    I'm sure there are other fabulously postive things about being an American. I just can't come up with any that we are also the best at.


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    Veteran Member Tara Nicole's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Thanks for posting that, Paris.

    While I knew some of those stats it was very interesting to see all the nations that rank higher than we do on various issues.

    I am fairly patriotic but it sure puts things into perspective, especially when considering all the hype some people spout about how the USA is supposed to be the best country in the world and all that jazz.

    I know the grass isn't always greener in other places though. I've tried living in Canada for a short time but came back to the U.S. because I just couldn't handle the brutal winter like I could when I was a teenager- I must be getting old, lol!

    I've also traveled to do charity stuff in third world nations so I've seen first hand how lucky I am to be a US citizen in that respect. But I still feel the massive ego many Americans have about our country is stupid. Sure we have lots of things to be proud of but we are just one of many great nations on the planet. I think if more Americans would realize that and behave as such we would be better liked in various other countries around the world.
    The essential humanity of men can be protected and preserved only where government must answer--not just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, or a particular race, but to all its people.

    Robert F. Kennedy
    June 6, 1966

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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Paris View Post
    This is a little essay I wrote. As I was writing I got depressed. I just thought I'd share:

    Yep, that's right folks we are number one in the world in only a few catergories. What do you think those catergories are? Education? Nope, we are 55th on the planet at getting our citizens educated. The winners in the education game are Finland (no.1), Japan (no.2), and Korea (no. 3). The US spends the most on educating it's citizens at $500 billion annually, followed by Japan, Germany and France at $139 billion, $89 billion and $82 billion respectively.

    So why is it that we are not getting a good education for our citizens when we are spending all that money on education? I haven't got an answer. Maybe someone better educated than I can answer that one.
    While I agree with Tata Nicole there are many things about the United States which are "broken," what I personally consider to be "broken" vs. what she considers to be "broken" are two entirely different matters.

    I can guess, though, about why Finland, Japan and Korea are the top three countries in education. In Finland, I would guess the students are all taught in the Finnish language. In Japan, they are all taught in Japanese, and in Korea, they are all taught in Korean. And that for the vast majority of students in these countries, Finnish, Japanese and Korean would be their native languages. The students experience with foreign languages would be being taught a foreign language. To me, it's but yet another indictment against multiculturalism.

    Not to metion the attempt in the U.S. to indoctrinate students at a very young age into certain political ideologies instead of actually teaching them something useful. Such as reading, writng and mathematics.
    Last edited by PhaedrusZ; 12-20-2006 at 05:29 AM. Reason: added content

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    I'm not patriotic at all. Shit, I'm moving to Andorra - #4 on the healthcare list and #1 on the civil liberties list.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    And yet when I express dissatisfaction with this country, my patriotic family reminds me that the USA is "the best country in the world!" No amount of discussion and reasoning will dissuade them. They really believe we are the only truly free country and that we have the world's best healthcare. Sad, really.

    I wanna leave. I REALLY wanna leave. I hate it here.

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    Featured Member gameover's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Yekhefah View Post
    And yet when I express dissatisfaction with this country, my patriotic family reminds me that the USA is "the best country in the world!" No amount of discussion and reasoning will dissuade them. They really believe we are the only truly free country and that we have the world's best healthcare. Sad, really.

    I wanna leave. I REALLY wanna leave. I hate it here.
    Maybe you should visit more countries. America is far from perfect, but I appreciate it all the more having traveled extensively overseas. I think we get spoiled from all that we have here.

    If you don't like it here, please do leave. The grass ain't always greener, but maybe living in another country is what you need to do to find that out.

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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Find me another country in that list that has a population that the U.S. has - about 300 million. Large population = strain on resources (look at the pollution statistic. The top 4 countries have majority of the world's population)

    France has about 60 million - 1/5th of U.S. I'm sure if the U.S was composed of, say NY, Cali, PA and NJ, we would be amongst the top 5.

    Those countries simply have a population that is NOT DEMANDING on resources like we do in the U.S. We want things bigger, faster, etc.

    Go to Europe (I just came back from Amsterdam). You barely find any SUVs or huge cars/trucks. In fact, most of Amsterdam has bike paths around the entire city and people (young, old, preppy, women with children) all ride around the city on their bikes. Can this happen in the U.S.? No freaking way.

    Hence, we are the fattest, laziest, etc. of most of the countries in the world.

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    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Quote Originally Posted by gameover
    Maybe you should visit more countries. America is far from perfect, but I appreciate it all the more having traveled extensively overseas. I think we get spoiled from all that we have here.

    If you don't like it here, please do leave. The grass ain't always greener, but maybe living in another country is what you need to do to find that out.
    I HAVE lived overseas; I spent two years in Australia. I was fucking happy as a pig in sunshine when I lived there. I only came back in a failed effort to save my marriage (I'm divorced now) and I kick myself for that every single day.

    I have also traveled through Canada, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand. Each one of them appeared to be a well-functioning, thriving society led by intelligent, educated professionals. Every time I travel, I amazed at how obnoxiously Americans behave by contrast.

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    Featured Member Hello_Kitty27's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    I'd be interested to see the sources of these figures. I'd also like to point out that the personal freedoms list is in alphabetical order, not order of the most-to-least personal freedoms.

    Note: I'm not thrilled with the US right now and I'm not one of those people that insists that we are, in fact, the best country in the world .... I just don't buy into everything in the original post.

    Edit: A great EYE-OPENING website that I used a lot for a Global Politics class was www.nationmaster.com. I could read their 'factoids' page for hours. It's insane.






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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Yekhefah View Post
    Every time I travel, I amazed at how obnoxiously Americans behave by contrast.

    I've not been lucky enough to travel to many different countries, but every time I meet people from around the world, I'm amazed at how 'normal' the rest of the world seems. Does that make sense? For example, I've befriended a girl from South Africa. She is educated, well-spoken, knows 5 languages fluently, her husband makes a good living and supports her and their newborn baby in a nice house in the suburbs of Johannesburg.

    I think it's important for people to educate themselves about the rest of the world. Just b/c the US is the US doesn't make it any better than every other country and I think some Americans are too close-minded and cocky.






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    Featured Member gameover's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yekhefah View Post
    I HAVE lived overseas; I spent two years in Australia. I was fucking happy as a pig in sunshine when I lived there. I only came back in a failed effort to save my marriage (I'm divorced now) and I kick myself for that every single day.

    I have also traveled through Canada, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and New Zealand. Each one of them appeared to be a well-functioning, thriving society led by intelligent, educated professionals. Every time I travel, I amazed at how obnoxiously Americans behave by contrast.
    If you hate it so much here, and love Australia so much, why not move back?

    Of course, if I lived in LA, I'd probably hate America too

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bridgette View Post
    I'm not patriotic at all. Shit, I'm moving to Andorra - #4 on the healthcare list and #1 on the civil liberties list.
    I danced for a guy from Andorra once when I worked in Amsterdam. He was kind of a jerk, but in a rude way, not in a handsy way.

    But hey, Andorra is right in the middle of the Pyrenes, which are gorgeous. Between Spain, France, and Switzerland, just a chunnel ride away from Great Britain.

    Duty-free shopping! Spanish/catalan speaking population! No military! Semi-EU status!

    I wanna move there too! Wonder if there are any SC's there?

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

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    aussiepunkshocker
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    Great article Paris!
    I knew alotof those thigs already and I have noticed exactly what Yekhefah said. Its very common to see Americans on tv talking about how America is the greatest country in the world yet from what we often see and hear it doesnt often seem to be. (Not meaning to knock America by saying that either and of course Im aware that there are many good things about America too and people.) Does the fact that American media outlets are #1 by such a long way have anything to do with this I wonder?


    Quote Originally Posted by Yekhefah View Post
    And yet when I express dissatisfaction with this country, my patriotic family reminds me that the USA is "the best country in the world!" No amount of discussion and reasoning will dissuade them. They really believe we are the only truly free country and that we have the world's best healthcare. Sad, really.

    I wanna leave. I REALLY wanna leave. I hate it here.
    Last edited by aussiepunkshocker; 12-20-2006 at 10:44 PM. Reason: I worded it really badly! 0-:

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Its nationalism and propoganda. Americans believe that they are truly free but they are not. Even during most of the Soviet Union, soviets did not think they were slaves like it was lead to believe in the western world. Its much easier for a body politic to control the willing and subsurvient. That's what many americans have become, a vision of their enemy........believe the lies baby!

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

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    aussiepunkshocker
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    Yeah, it sort of reminds me of all the stories Ive read about China where people believed they were living in the most progressive country and most of the rest of the world was fucked up... I guess Chinas many times more extreme, but its the same sort of thing.


    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Its nationalism and propoganda. Americans believe that they are truly free but they are not. Even during most of the Soviet Union, soviets did not think they were slaves like it was lead to believe in the western world. Its much easier for a body politic to control the willing and subsurvient. That's what many americans have become, a vision of their enemy........believe the lies baby!

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Um, I've travelled quite a bit (and lived abroad some too), and I actually appreciate my US citizenship LESS now. I have come to kinda resent it even. Because I would prefer to live elsewhere, but it's difficult when you aren't rich.


    Oh, my comment about Andorra wasn't exactly right. I'd really rather live in Costa Rica. Slightly better healthcare but way more civil liberties, AND fabulous weather year-round. That's hard to beat


    The crap we get force-fed about USA being "the best" and all that is propaganda, same as any other country's bullshit propaganda. What's frustrating is that so many people fall for it, same as people in other countries fall for THEIR countries' crap. I guess ignorance is bliss though - if you haven't seen the difference for yourself you don't know what you're missing.

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    Yekhefah
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    Quote Originally Posted by gameover
    If you hate it so much here, and love Australia so much, why not move back?
    Gee, what a great idea. I wonder why I never thought of that!

    It's not as simple as hopping a fence, you know. Unlike this country, they don't just fling open the doors to all and sundry. It takes a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of negotiation.

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    Veteran Member Tara Nicole's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    Its nationalism and propoganda. Americans believe that they are truly free but they are not. Even during most of the Soviet Union, soviets did not think they were slaves like it was lead to believe in the western world. Its much easier for a body politic to control the willing and subsurvient. That's what many americans have become, a vision of their enemy........believe the lies baby!
    Damn well said!

    What's worse is that those very same willing and subservient Americans are/were going around calling those of us not fooled by the propaganda traitors and worthy of the death penalty.... talk about becoming a vision of the "enemy"
    The essential humanity of men can be protected and preserved only where government must answer--not just to the wealthy, not just to those of a particular religion, or a particular race, but to all its people.

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    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by maxim1729 View Post
    Go to Europe (I just came back from Amsterdam). You barely find any SUVs or huge cars/trucks. In fact, most of Amsterdam has bike paths around the entire city and people (young, old, preppy, women with children) all ride around the city on their bikes. Can this happen in the U.S.? No freaking way.
    Why not? I live in Eugene, Oregon and there are a lot of bike paths everywhere and people use them. My step-son's middle school has a huge bicycle parking lot for both students and faculity, and it does fill up. He loves to ride his bike to school, even if the weather is bad. Puddles and rain are just like getting away with something he's not supposed to do, hence, it is fun!

    Anyway, I got into this topic because of some of the tripe the public schools were putting into my step-son's head. I used sources like the UN, WHO, CIA, Red Cross, Encarta, Wikipedia, a variety of newspapers and websites for the info. I also was looking at some blogs to see what folks thought.

    I think I only served to confuse him, though. He is 12 and in 7th grade, and can't understand why schools would teach him incorrect facts. I had to explain to him that the teachers have to teach him what the government wants him to know, they have no choice. His teachers very well may know this info, but are not allowed to teach him that, as the government doesn't want it. Parents, however, are under no such restrictions. So the parents can teach their kids anything they want.

    Any stripper working today knows very well how our laws here in the USA are so much more restrictive than anywhere else in the western world. It is just absurd that in most of the states a dancer can get arrested for prostitution for giving a grind lap dance (with or without clothes). Sheesh, who is it hurting, anyway?

    This blog seems to sum up my thoughts on the lack of personal freedoms in the USA very well.


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    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    I also wanted to note that I am patrotic, and believe that patrotism is not based in self delusion, but in being honest with one's self about the current state of one's nation.

    A person can perpetuate lies, scream the lies from the rooftop, convince others that the lies are actually the truth, but it still doesn't change the facts. A true patroit loves his/her country despite it's short comings and works to make his/her country a better place for all. I believe that the best possible way to do that is to expose the lies that are being told. I don't believe that we are a nation of such weak minded individuals that if we knew the truth we would have a national nervous break down.

    I believe that we would come together to make things right. Like the civil rights movement and Lawrence vs. Texas and Roe vs. Wade. Of course there are some Americans that believe all of those items I just mentioned are immoral and wrong, but whatever. They are in the extreme minority anyway, and can go live in their little compounds spouting their hateful ideals in solitude, because we do have freedom of speech...sort of.

    There are those that disagree with homosexuality, abortion, the death penilaty, equal rights for women, equal rights for all races, and on and on... But for the most part, I think most American's simply want to live their lives in peace, to enjoy the freedoms afforded them by the US constitution and it's ammendments and not have the government too deep into their pockets.


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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    Just a couple points here:

    So why is it that we are not getting a good education for our citizens when we are spending all that money on education? I haven't got an answer. Maybe someone better educated than I can answer that one.
    Money /= quality education; if it did, how do you explain education before 1960? All that increasing money in schools has accomplished is the strengthening of ATF/NEA unions that are all about jobs and not at all about education. But that's an old story and not very exciting--anyone that gives a damn about their kids' education either homeschools or goes private.

    What about health care? No again, we are 37th in getting our citizens the health care they need.
    Says the UN. This is an organization that can't manage its own checkbook without payoffs and nepotism and somehow deigns itself capable of determining the status of health care worldwide? For those disgusted with the American system of care, I suggest you visit hospitals abroad...if you can. The only difference between the American system and those of Western Europe is the manner in which they ration care, simple as that. If you go private--either here or in Europe--your standard of care is better than that of those that must go through government rationing systems. Six in one, half a dozen in the other.

    "The United States now ranks 12th in the world in the total percentage of citizens that subscribe to broadband access, lagging behind such countries as Iceland, Korea, Sweden, Belgium and Canada. The trend line is even worse. The United States ranks 17th for the growth of these high-speed connections, outpaced by nearly all of our economic peers. Our broadband speeds don't measure up either. Korea's citizens, for example, have access to 50 megabits per second connections, making Internet services at typical U.S. speeds 'broadband lite,' at best."
    Utterly and completely meaningless. Korea's citizens, for example, have access to 50 megabits per second connections because 77% of their 48 million people live in one of a handful of cities. There is no equivalent of Nebraska or Kentucky in Korea so they didn't have to string fiber through rural areas like Verizon or Qwest do. Even so, in the US, 230 million people use the internet--that's 21% of total world usage among 5% of the world population. Moreover, what is the economic impact of internet usage in the $12 trillion US economy vis a vis South Korea's? Not even close.

    Okay, we must at least be the most generous nation on the planet, then, right? No again.
    Actually, we're number one in both categories. The US government in 2005 spent $25 billion in foreign aid (page 15). No other nation comes even close. Some idiots like to use GDP as a measure of foreign aid. Here's why that's a fallacious argument:

    I'm the nation of Chad. I want to receive foreign aid. Do I want .1% of American GDP or 10% of Poland's GDP? What matters is not the percentages but the dollars.

    Moreover, private Americans donate more money than any other government, including their own--to the tune of $62 billion a year. No one else is even close--that's six times what Japan gives, and they're number two.

    The assertion that we lack in personal freedoms is so ridiculous as to be worth rejection on its face. You mean to tell me that the quasi-communist state of Slovakia is more free than the US? You mean that France, who has a terrorist-holding statute allowing them to hold citizens without charge is more free than the US? And Chile? Are you serious? Blogs from embittered MoveOn.org lemmings are hardly an accurate gauge of what constitutes the personal freedoms of a nation.

    I'll be the last person to say the US is perfect, but there's a reason we can't keep 20 million illegal people out of this place even with fences and border guards and a pair of oceans. And it's not because it sucks.
    Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

    William F. Buckley, Jr.

  22. #22
    smartcookie
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    As neither Twain nor Disraeli said, there are three kinds of lies:

    Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

    I've lived abroad and travelled some (but not as much as I'd like to). As fucked up as this country is in enough respects, I still don't think I'll be giving up my citizenship anytime soon, and feel very lucky, as a woman and as a natural born entrepreneur, to have been born here.

  23. #23
    Banned ArmySGT.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    I love America to me America will always be the best, #1, GO USA! GO USA!

    I saw a lot of the World in fifteen years in the U.S. Army. This is without the resorts, tropical stays, hostels, and all the great places that are seen by most touristas. Sewage in the street? Check. Rats the size of house cats? Check. Naked children panhandling in the street? Check. Yep That was South Korea in 1993.

    Horse carts on the highway in the fast lane? Check. Garbage thrown out of second story windoes to the street below? Check. Teenage prostitutes? Check. Cars driving on the sidewalks? Check. That was Terceira Island, Azores Islands (Portugal) in 1995.

    Teen age Prostitutes? Check. Drunken Street Brawls? Check. Drunken anti Immigrant street brawls? Check. Ambulances crews untrained throwing horribly injured patients onto stretchers without regard to injuries? Check. Germany 1999.

    Genocide? Check? One People attempting to rape (literally) the other out of existence? Check. UN Staff operating brothels using women stolen from Russia and the Ukraine? Check? UN Staff importing drugs, contraband cigarettes, and stolen cars like Mercedes? Check. Russian troops loading stolen Mercedes, drugs, and art onto russian cargo planes to return to Russia? Check. Kosovo 2001

    Then there is Iraq........... Amazing Bedouins living in tents with Goats and a Satellite TV dish to get all the soccer games. Sprawling slums with out electricity, running water, or sewerage................ anything but the rule of Law, Decency, and Goodwill.

    I love my country. We hold People accountable. We prosecute the wicked. We enforce our Laws. We will do this even to our own embarassment. That is what makes us Great.

  24. #24
    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    ^^So are you saying there is no room for improvement?

    I personally find the below average educational opportunities, the broken medical care system and...oh yeah! The fact that we produce more CO2 pollution than the rest of the planet combined a little distrubing.

    We need to get off the fossil fuels, drop the "no child left behind" bs and get all of our citizens basic health care coverage.

    Just like private schools do a better job of educating their students than publicly funded institutions, I would imagine pulbic health care would not be a person's prefernce, but doesn't it seem somehow wrong that millions and millions of tax payers can't afford basic health care?*

    *as a side note, I think tort reform would go a long way to making the health care system more managable. But that is neither here nor there.

    I, too, love my country. I consider myself a patriot and want to be part of the solution, not add to the problems.


    Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!


  25. #25
    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: The USA is Number One!!

    ArmySGT, we have that kinda of crap right here in the USA too. And more. Apparently you haven't seen much of this country. I have seen some of the exact and/or comparable things you describe right here in good ol' USA.

    The wicked get off here all the time. Innocent get wrongly prosecuted.

    But it's good to know that the army is brainwashing their recruits properly. I guess.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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