I wouldn't approach it this way, does it really matter what powers the states have when the federal government could take any of them away should it choose to?

[Edited on January 2, 2011 at 10:47 PM. Reason : ]

1/2/2011 10:46:59 PM

Well, the states have rights. That the Supreme Court could decide not to uphold them is not the end of the discussion. The states have it within their power to call a constitutional convention and completely re-work the federal government. Articles of Confederation it is! That they choose not to is exactly the same barrier in both situations.

1/3/2011 4:54:22 AM

Fuck Europe and their self-righteousness. They talk about us being a hate-filled country, but last time I checked we're not banning people from wearing head-scarves and erupting in religious riots over cartoons. When I meet someone from a different country, I don't fucking blow them off, I show interest in their country and culture, and try to include them in things. Europeans, on the other hand, are little nationalistic piss-ants, more than happy to try and one-up each other on that account.

1/3/2011 9:15:22 PM

Quote :

"Fuck Europe and their self-righteousness."

Yeah fuck that entire continent for stereotyping us

1/4/2011 12:17:02 AM

hettp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpower

Quote :

"A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests"

Quote :

"A Superpower in Decline"

With all the focus on states, local government, and less government I've seen around here, it seems like not being a superpower entangled in international affairs is something many tdubbers would view as a good thing.

^

[Edited on January 4, 2011 at 12:40 AM. Reason : .]

1/4/2011 12:40:10 AM

The U.S. could still have a good deal of sway without doing what it's doing. If it were still maintaining trade routes with the globe but not meddling, we'd be better off. The U.S. could still have a robust military and economy without intervening so much. If being a superpower means you shit on whoever you want for whatever reason you want, I think we've got a lot less to gain from that status and a lot more to lose.

Nationalism, I think, is present in European countries just as it is here. It arises naturally. People want to believe "their" country is the best, just as they want to believe "their" team is the best, "their" party, "their" race, whatever. Only through education (and, perhaps, counter-examples that are impossible to ignore) are people able to escape nationalism's grip. If an "us versus them" mentality lost its stronghold, there would be less war, because fewer people could be convinced to participate unless they viewed it as vital to their own security.

1/4/2011 1:01:48 AM

Quote :

" But on trade policy formulation, it seems that the right hand doesn’t always know what the left hand is doing. Last year, while magnesium imports from China were subject to U.S. antidumping duties, the Obama administration launched a WTO case against China for its restraints on exports of raw materials, including magnesium. That’s right. The U.S. government officially opposes China’s tax on exported magnesium because it imposes extra costs of U.S. consuming industries, but it insists on enforcing its own antidumping duties on magnesium imported from China despite those costs."

1/4/2011 6:30:30 PM

bump

we’re watching a superpower decline in real time

5/24/2022 5:15:37 PM

Russia?

5/24/2022 7:46:21 PM

no he means us. TGL doesnt want to watch the world burn but he likes watching america circle the bowl because it means hes right (i guess).

5/25/2022 12:51:26 PM

I knew what he meant. I was just trying to deflect to make myself feel better about our crapiness.

5/25/2022 1:38:20 PM

we’ve got an entire political party who is going full fascist and disputing elections with clear outcomes, a gun violence epidemic, women losing their body autonomy, capitalism crashing in front of our eyes, horribly scarce social welfare programs/indifference to those struggling, etc…

5/25/2022 1:54:05 PM

I know it's a quibble, but we're not watching a superpower in decline. We're watching Liberal Democracy in decline, yes. But by any common standard for "superpower," we're still pretty comfortably established. The one impacts the other only insofar as it increases the likelihood of sudden, violent internal division that would turn our superpower-ness on ourselves.

But in terms of the American Dream being over, sure.

5/25/2022 2:17:10 PM