After gorging on NBC's sanitized coverage of the Olympics, it's becoming clear that Asia will rule this century and the U.S. is slowly moving toward becoming a 2nd tier power much like Great Britain. We've been following the Brits for much of the 20th Century -- just 10-20 years behind them.  We fight for "cleaner air & water" while the Chinese develop their industry, natural resources & infrastructure.  Detroit fizzles out - victim to old school management and unions with inflated self-worth. Meanwhile Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Honda & Toyota build plants in the U.S.

We are paralyzed by tort lawyers, liberal guilt, ineptitude, entitlements, and I dare say democracy. You get elected by giving people more pseudo security and less personal responsibility. Every time we need more money, we put on the shoulders of "business".  We no longer have much of a mining or steel industry, we build virtually nothing, and breadbasket is growing corn for ethanol.  The only things left for the U.S. are entertainment & our military -- clowns & cops.

Britain did the same. Ran off the "dirty" industries, added more "health & safety" laws, more consumption taxes. Now they have massive unemployment, a huge welfare burden, and fewer people left who are willing to pay. And we emulate them -- implementing their ideas.  We've been doing it for most of the 20th century.

With unlimited population, ample natural resources, and Western businesses eager to suck any dick, the Chinese will kick our asses everywhere they can.  The U.S. dollar is so weak, they had to "unhook" their currency from ours.  I can hear the WalMart shoppers wailing already.  The Chinese will do whatever they can to become the preeminent ECONOMIC superpower -- and they won't feel guilty about it. We will enact every kind of liability & environmental restriction we can. When you're unemployed and hungry you won't give a rat's ass about clean air.

When the environmental laws shut down the smelters in Arizona, they moved into northern Mexico.  That way we get most of the pollution but none of the revenue. Remember when ethanol was going to save us from imported oil?  It just drove up the price of food. Gee, I want the same idiots who did this to nationalize health care.

It would be nice to believe we could right the ship by "ethnic cleansing" of the legal profession, severely limiting tort liabilities, and generally giving the individual back responsibility for his own destiny. It ain't gonna happen in this democracy.  And if you don't believe we're down to the military & showbiz, check out their bastard child -- the MMA/UFC.  I give you the future of America.