What Happened to That American Exceptionalism? There is None Anymore…

America has been on the decline since Raygun – despite on small moment of high achievement and expectations during the Clinton Administration.

The lang fall into mediocrity in America can be traced directly to the steps of the conservatives in America. Al most every country which is superior to the US in any category has a government and social system which conservatives would call “socialism”. Quite frankly – socialism is kicking our ass.

I am going to start with parts of an article in Fortune Magazine… 12 signs America is on the decline.

1. Median household income

Rank of U.S.: 27th out of 27 high-income countries

Americans may feel like global leaders, but Spain, Cyprus and Qatar all have higher median household incomes than America’s (about $54,000). So does much of Europe and the industrialized world. Per capita median income in the US ($18,700) is also relatively low–and unchanged since 2000. A middle-class Canadian’s income is now higher.

2. Education and skills

Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 23 countries

The US ranked near the bottom in a skills survey by theOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which examined European and other developed nations. In its Skills Outlook 2013, the US placed 16th in adult literacy, 21st in adult numeracy out of 23, and 14th in problem-solving. Spots in prestigious US universities are highly sought-after. Yet higher education, once an effective way out of poverty in the US, isn’t anymore – at least not for lower-income and minority students. The authors quote studies showing, for example, that today 80% of white college students attend Barron’s Top 500 schools, while 75% of black and Latino students go to two-year junior colleges or open-admissions (not Top 500) schools. Poor students are also far less likely to complete a degree.

3. Internet speed and access

Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 34 countries

Broadband access has become essential for industry to grow and flourish. Yet in the US, penetration is low andspeed relatively slow versus wealthy nations—thought thecost of internet is among the highest ($0.04 per megabit per second in Japan, for example, versus $0.53 in the US). The problem may be too much concentration and too little competition in the industry, the authors suggest.

4. Health

Rank of U.S.: 33rd out of 145 countries

When it comes to its citizens’ health, in countries that are home to at least one million people, the US ranks below many other wealthy countries. More American women also are dying during pregnancy and childbirth, the authors note, quoting a Lancet study. For every 100,000 births in the United States, 18.5 women die. Saudi Arabia and Canada have half that maternal death rate.

5. People living below the poverty line

Rank of U.S.: 36th out of 162 countries, behind Morocco and Albania

Officially, 14.5% of Americans are impoverished — 45.3 million people–according to the latest US Census data.That’s a larger fraction of the population in poverty than Morocco and Albania (though how nations define poverty varies considerably). The elderly have Social Security, with its automatic cost-of-living adjustments, to thank, the authors say, for doing better: Few seniors (one in 10) are poor today versus 50 years ago (when it was one in three). Poverty is also down among African Americans. Now America’s poor are more often in their prime working years, or in households headed by single mothers.

6. Children in poverty

Rank of U.S.: 34th out of 35 countries surveyed

When UNICEF relative poverty – relative to the average in each society—the US ranked at the bottom, above only Romania, even as Americans are, on average, six times richer than Romanians. Children in all of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan fare better.

7. Income inequality

Rank of U.S.: Fourth highest inequality in the world.

The authors argue that the most severe inequality can be found in Chile, Mexico, Turkey — and the US. Citing the Gini coefficient, a common inequality metric, and data from Wall Street Journal/Mercer Human Resource Consulting, they say this inequality slows economic growth, impedes youths’ opportunities, and ultimately threatens the nation’s future (an OECD video explains). Worsening income inequality is also evident in the ratio of averageCEO earnings to average workers’ pay. That ratio went from 24:1 in 1965 to 262:1 in 2005.

8. Prison population

Rank of U.S.: First out of 224 countries

More than 2.2 million Americans are in jail. Only China comes close, the authors write, with about 1.66 million.

9. Life satisfaction

Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 36 countries

The authors note Americans’ happiness score is only middling, according to the OECD Better Life Index. (The index measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings.) People in New Zealand, Finland, and Israel rate higher in life satisfaction. A UN report had a similar finding.

10. Corruption

Rank of U.S.: 17th out of 175 countries.

Barbados and Luxembourg are ahead of the US when it comes to citizens’ perceptions of corruption. Americans view their country as “somewhat corrupt,” the authors note, according to Transparency International, a Berlin-based nonprofit. In a separate survey of American citizens, many said politicians don’t serve the majority’s interest, but are biased toward corporate lobbyists and the super-rich. “Special interest groups are gradually transforming the United States into an oligarchy,” the authors argue, “concerned only about the needs of the wealthy.”

11. Stability

Rank of U.S.: 20th out of 178 countries.

The Fragile States Index considers factors such as inequality, corruption, and factionalism. The US lags behind Portugal, Slovenia and Iceland.

12. Social progress index

Rank of U.S.: 16th out of 133 countries

A broad measure of social well-being, the index comprises 52 economic indicators such as access to clean water and air, access to advanced education, access to basic knowledge, and safety. Countries surpassing the US include Ireland, the UK, Iceland, and Canada.

“If America’s going to be great again, we’ve got to start fixing things,” Friedman said.

Just for the heck of it, I am going to add a couple more…

Economic Mobility

“If you work hard you can achieve”…A poor kid has a better chance of achieving reaching the higher economic levels in other countries. The US lag is getting worse.

The following chart only compares the 27 industrialized countries. The US actually drops to 17th if you include Second World Countries.

Infant Mortality

Your baby has a 2.5 times greater chance of dying prenatal, or postnatal covering the first year of life than in Japan or Finland. For black mothers that is about 4 times greater.

The US ranks 27th of the 27 Industrialized Nations… Comparing it to all nations we are about 40th behind Cuba.

Suicide Rate

America is in the middle of the pack. However the rate of suicides in the US exceeds that of Libya, the Central African Republic, Brazil, and China to name a few. Mental health care in the US is seriously lacking.

Racial Discrimination and Violence Against Minorities (Ethnic or racial)

America is a sad 37th.

Educational Attainment

Guess what guys…America has dropped to 16th.

Face i…This country would be far better off deporting Republicans than Illegal Immigrants.

 

The Pope’s a “Socialist Muslim”! And Obama is Closing the Vatican Embassy!

Totally absurd off the wall accusations have become standard fare for Republicans in their psychotic hatred of President Obama. When you’ve got a base who is stupid enough to believe anything – the the political thing to do is to throw as much shit on the wall as possible. Because some segment of that base is racist enough and stupid enough to believe anything.

Apparently Jeb Bush plans to throw his hat into the 2016 race.

Then the is the “problem” with the Pope. Seems he is getting ready to turn the largest Christian denomination in the world in some decidedly non-conservative directions! If Ol’ Jeb hadn’t spoiled their psychosis, right about now outraged Tea Baggers could be marching, loaded to the nines with their guns to “peacefully” demonstrate at the nearest Catholic Church to demand we pull the American Embassy out of the Vatican – a “Socialist-Muslim Institution”. They would need the guns of course to protect themselves from the Nuns, whose cassocks suspiciously look like Burkas! You never know when one of those flying Nuns might decide to run into a tall building!

“The culture of prosperity deadens us,” the pope writes in a document laying out the platform for his papacy.Pope Francis on Tuesday called capitalism “a new tyranny” and very explicitly called on global leaders to act on poverty and growing inequality.
Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “disposable” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”.
In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us

My…My…My… Is the Pope now a (gasp!) “Socialist”? “Trickle down economics” sound familiar, Jeb? ” To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed.” Sound like a rejection of Ayn Rand, Dittohead? What the Pope laid out as the basis of his Papacy, is an utter and complete rejection of the principles of conservatism as promoted by Republicans.

Can’t wait for the “Pope Francis is a secret Socialist Muslim” from the Sno Ho, the Minnesota Birdbrain or some other illiterate, brain dead scion of the right! After all, he lives in the Vatican which is suspiciously close to the Middle East. I expect any moment for the conservative “press” to release at least a dozen “best sellers” on the “Vatican Brotherhood” being responsible for Benghazi! Dram Queen and Lawn Jockey Extraordinaire Alan West appearing on Faux News with the “bubbling blonde bimbos”  to claim he knew the Pope was a secret Muslim all along because the Church has black members!

In any event, the second part of my story — Jeb Bush, who was supposed to be the Bush brother with brains… Gets Stupid.

Jeb Bush Perpetuates Myth That Obama Is Closing The Vatican Embassy

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) called out President Barack Obama for closing the U.S. embassy to the Vatican, questioning whether the decision was political “retribution” for Catholic opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

Bush tweeted about the closure on Wednesday evening:

Jeb Bush        ✔ @JebBush  Follow

Why would our President close our Embassy to the Vatican? Hopefully, it is not retribution for Catholic organizations opposing Obamacare.

6:12 PM – 27 Nov 2013

However, the Vatican Embassy isn’t actually closing.

Last week, the State Department announced that it would be moving the embassy from its standalone Vatican facility to a larger compound shared with the U.S. Embassy in Italy, as well as the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. According toReligion News Service, the move is anticipated to save the government $1.4 million a year.

Conservatives were quick to criticize Obama on the move.

As CNN reports, the National Republican Senatorial Committee described the relocation as “the latest anti-religion pursuit of this Administration, a slap in the face to Catholic-Americans around the country that weakens America’s position as a global leader.”

“It’s not just those who bomb churches and kill Catholics in the Middle East who are our antagonists, but it’s also those who restrict our religious freedoms and want to close down our embassy to the Holy See,” Raymond Flynn, a former envoy to the Vatican, told the National Catholic Reporter.

The administration, however, maintains that the move is not indicative of any strain on the United States’ relationship with the Vatican.

According to CNN, a State Department official said the move will result in “no reduction in diplomatic staff, there’s no reduction in ambassadors, there’s no reduction in mission.”

 

Buckdance!

For readers not familiar with the terminology – a buckdance in black American vernacular  is a dance done by slaves for money or the approval of their white masters. The African American variation of which derived from the West Indies. The term has since been absorbed into the lexicon to mean a style of dancing, wherein a male dances by himself to show his skills. Clogging, a style of dance which derived from dance styles in Scotland and Ireland, which is performed to Bluegrass or Country style music has a variant where a man dances alone, typically using a sheet of plywood as a soundboard for his steps. It is an art style, and to be well done requires considerable skill.

Buckdancing in this post is the African American version – which is a racial pejorative synonymous with Uncle Tom.

Our first buckdancer up for our entertainment is Herman (“Where the white wimmin at”) Cain –

Obviously Herman is buckdancing for white conservative ears, as he now has a new Radio show taking over for Neal Boortz. The fact that Herman is a sick, women molesting trick, who cheated on his wife for 20 years or more isn’t a problem for evangelical white conservatives ready to forgive his sins as long as he continues to put a black face on their racism.

Our second buckdancer is Al Sharpton – making excuses for the Democrat Party’s failure in the recent recall election in Wisconsin –

Buck up Al – The Republicans didn’t win by cheating – they won by the Democrats failure to invest money in the election, AND, most importantly, their failure to make the case that Walker should be removed for unpopular politics – well short of any proven (to this point) criminal malfeasance. The donors apparently figured this out early – as did the DNC – and were noticeably absent in pouring money to counter the Republicans 7-1 spending advantage in the state.

This was not the stolen Florida Presidential Election of 2000 – they beat the Dems by 5 points – not 5 votes. Dems lost…Period. Guess what Al, black folks are so thin on the ground in Wisconsin, if you got 100% turnout… They (Walker) still won.

You can blame Citizen’s United – you can blame the Koch brothers…

But what they did was legal.

As to Walker – with his former top adviser turning State’s evidence – he will be indicted in the John Doe fiasco in the next 30 days and out of office by the Presidential elections. So the Dems win anyway. Its the good citizens of the state who lost.

 

Discovering Jesus – Chavez

Amazing how many folks find Jesus when faced with mortality…

Here, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez discovers God is not just for the uneducated peasants. Many of Chavez’s avowed heroes like Che Guevera were dedicated Marxists. Folks who believed “Religion is the Opiate of the masses.”

Hugo Chavez weeps and calls on God to spare his life

Very little is known about the 57-year-old socialist leader’s condition, including even what type of cancer he has. Chavez has undergone three operations in less than a year, and received two sessions of radiation treatment.

He says the latest surgery was successful, that he is recovering well and will be fit to win a new six-year term at an election in October. Yet big questions remain about his future, and on Thursday the strain appeared to show.

In a televised speech to the Catholic service in his home state of Barinas, Chavez cried and his voice broke as he eulogised Jesus, revolutionary fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.

“Never forget that we are the children of giants … I could not avoid some tears,” the former soldier said, his parents and other relatives looking on from the church rows.
“Give me your crown, Jesus. Give me your cross, your thorns so that I may bleed. But give me life, because I have more to do for this country and these people. Do not take me yet,” Chavez added, standing below an image of Jesus with the Crucifix.

 

Baseball and Football, Conservative Economics vs Progressive “Socialism”

Bill Maher explains why Football’s socialist economics has beat out baseballs conservative disaster –

This one is a brilliant comparison of why conservatism fails.

 

 

Another Smear Job By Conservatives – Al Sharpton and “Socialism”

This one is circulating the WWW, and has even reached (formerly) respectable news sites like Real Clear Politics –

Notice the label on the video…

It is not what Al Sharpton said.

The heading to this one is a deliberate, and outright lie.

Al actually responded to the question – “Is this Socialism” with the rhetorical –

“Then, you would have to say the American Public overwhelmingly voted for Socialism…”

What he said was if you call Health Care Reform “socialism” – then the American people voted for it overwhelmingly – because they voted for Obama, whose platform included Health Care Reform.

He did not at any point concede to the labeling of Health Care Reform as being “socialism”.

Back to your sources Faux –

 

Televising the Revolution – Red and Not Dead

Watched this one with amazement. Someone out there is still quoting Chairman Mao. The half-truth here is that untrammeled Capitalism has brought the world economy to it’s knees – twice.

Untrammeled communism brought the world millions of dead people, typically killed by their own government.

The real issue here isn’t Capitalism as such, it’s the Cowboy Corporate Capitalism of conservatism in the United States, whose view of the government role is as a wholly owned subsidiary of and completely for and to the benefit of major corporations…

Instead of as a watchdog and representative for the citizenry – ALL the citizenry, corporate and corporeal citizen alike.

Without that watchdog function any system falls to corruption – just as the communist state in the Soviet Union did…

And just as greedy corporate criminal have nearly flatlined the world economy under capitalism.