To: philv who wrote (22762 ) 3/28/2005 5:38:22 PM From: sea_urchin Respond to of 81121 Phil > All aboard the SS Amerika -- iceberg ahoy! A goldbug's dream.strike-the-root.com >>Despite the media rapture that presently heralds America as the sole remaining superpower, an unsinkable republic and an unassailable democracy, the country appears to be cruising as comfortably into unsafe waters laced with icebergs. The warnings have been forthcoming for a long time now. Similar to the enduring morality tale of the Titanic, where "not one, but many errors brought her to disaster," little hints of disaster indicating a larger tragedy to come have been sent—and ignored—by friendly ships of state all around. Aboard the SS America, nearly a hundred years later, the helmsman stands at the wheel, looking self-important, nominally in charge. Although the hands of the helmsman certainly grasp the wheel, the course and speed of SS America have been set by others. In the shadows, the power elite plot the new course, having increased power and speed, irregardless of the safety of the vessel. To the privileged class striding the upper decks of the most powerful vessel afloat, there is little cause for alarm, however. After all, capable men control this enormous ship of state and so the leisure class promenade proudly past the stout lifeboats of their diversified investment portfolios, and calmly tell themselves the vessel is unsinkable. Aboard the SS America, the bulkheads and watertight doors likewise did not go all the way to the top. An intentional yet critical design flaw, ignored by passengers and crew alike, revealed that, in an emergency, nothing stood behind the US dollar but mere paper, empty promises, and the weight of massive debt. Still the ship of state sped onward, into uncharted waters incurring mountainous debt while the helmsman swung the wheel according to the dictates of the rich and powerful men behind him. Despite ample and repeated warnings of hazards ahead, from writers and radiomen with foresight, another foolhardy speed record beckoned those in control. Called the Project for New American Century, all that was required was an irrational increase in power and speed to achieve their goal. That and considerable luck. When the collision of the SS America occurs, with a mountainous iceberg of foreign debt amid an ice pack of foolhardy foreign adventures, the ablest survivors will be those least clinging to the notion that the vessel is unsinkable. Indeed, many of the foremost survivors will resemble the 22 crewmen who abandoned the Titanic before she sailed, aware that those who command our beautiful vessel are woefully incompetent or criminally insane.<<