Who do you view as the biggest threat to the U.S. today?

China poses a long term threat like the old Soviet Union did for decades. Al-Qaeda will be a threat for the foreseeable future, but they can't come close to the kind of damage China could do in the future.

It is a bit strange to have all this trade with a communist government and help grow their economy. It will only help grow them into a superpower to rival us one day soon. Hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.

And yet we're still afraid to do business with communist Cuba. Go figure.

 

Does it really matter if they are a communist? This word is deamed as "bad" and it is just a scare tactic.

 

You're right. The Soviet Union was just misunderstood. Really, they were the good guys.

 

They were when the Germans created a Russian Front!

 

Agree with your points about China being a significant threat.

I am not so sure if China is that pure a communist country; it is just more like a socialistic dictatorship. With regards to the west investing in and trading with China, money transcends politics. China is reaping rewards from its cheep labor (similar to Hong Kong in its heyday), and western business is enhancing its profits. The natural effect is strengthening China which would love to gain global power and influence, like the U.S.

Cuba is too small a fry to be bothered with in the overall scheme of things, and an easy one to "bully". If Cuba were to have the same size market and labor, I don't see it being treated any differently from China.

 

The question is what they are doing with all that money. Lots of news about how they are building up the military with all their newfound wealth. It's difficult to trust a government who still believes in shooting their own people and jailing political dissidents.

Which is why I don't have a problem if we relax trade and travel restrictions with them. Maybe it would help Cubans live a little better and not have to flee to the U.S.

 

Other.

I think its the scum sucking rich, the CEO's of the defense contractors, big pharma, big oil, AMA, HMO's, who skim the tax base with the help of the over lobbied politicians in Washington, for non-productive purposes, leaving the US under invested in things that are important to the nation, while the scumbags get FILTHY freaking rich to to tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, some of which also comes from mom and pop who they occasionally fleece in the stock market. How's that for a run on?

This country is being killed by the special interests, who buy the politicians and benefit from the unproductive programs that are passed that give windfalls to the scum suckers. They don't care about the rest of us or the country, just themselves and their greed.

Do we need to spend $500 billion a year on defense when the next biggest spender is Russia at $90 billion a year, followed by China at $75 billion? No. We could let Germany and Japan defend themselves, but heck, then General Dynamics CEO may not claim his $10 million a year comp plan. Those dollars would be going to German and Japanese scum suckers, and they'd do it for $1 million a year.

Al Qaeda is a threat, but not near as big as made out to be. They are 2,000 thugs hiding out in caves and kitchens. They are the marketing plan for the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). They are the boogey man used to sell their wares, since Russia showed they were not really in the game, having been the boogey man for 50 years. Kinda like the Rouga Rou in Honey Island Swamp over by Slidell.

If the economy is not sound, we won't be able to afford the huge military industrial complex (MIC). It all starts with the economy. How can the economy of the nation be strong, when the economy of the households is not? We all need to live within our means, and the govt. does also. We're not doing that today. We are paying the price with the housing bubble deflating, and the value of the dollar deflating. I don't look for much fun the next 10 years. Any fixes to problems that size will require slow incremental progress, and some discomfort along the way. Those least likely to suffer will be on the upper end of the socio-economic spectrum, with some dislocations there, and the poor will suffer more, as nobody looks out for them.

Is there a solution? No. I wish I could see one, but just like Enron, Sharon Watkins, she saw what was going on, told the top guy, but it was too late. Enron had to die. The cheating that took place instead of true productivity had to run its full course and kill the company. Only in that way could the problem be dealt with, because it was too deeply ingrained in the organism. The organism HAD to DIE.

So we'll futz around with a military that's too big for our needs, and corporate and social give aways, and health care that costs 3 or 4 times as much as it should, while we try to borrow the money "because tax cuts are good", and the dollar goes down until folks won't lend to us anymore. The govt. will allow inflation and devalued currency so they can keep the MIC CEOs living in the manner to which they've become accustomed, while the standard of living of all americans falls.

Waste, inefficiency, and corruption are killing the country, in ways Russia, N. Korea, China, or Al Qaeda (a pimple) could never hope to do.

 

I agree, we are our own worst enemy - I'm so glad Bush is leaving but I don't think we'll replace him with the answer. We seem destined to continue on in the way we are going and we'll likely keep going until we reach the breaking point. Too many people want to be optimistic. Yes there are still great things about our nation, but we can't afford to ignore the troubling direction in which we are heading. Alarms keep going off, but we're like the sleeping giant at the wheel. The sky is falling, IMO.

 

People that participate in competitive cheer. Especially the parents of these girls.

They must be stopped