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Anyone recall the story of the poor, freezing miserable Roman soldiers, trying to keep warm on this side of the river. On the other side was a huge horde of Huns, screaming and yelling.
Little did the Romans know that the temps were really going to fall. Overnight the river froze, The Huns overran the Roman guard and continued their attack until eventually, they sacked Rome. The former military might had been overstretched, ignored and
In the last days of the Roman empire, the domestic politics had turned rancid. The people in power were corrupt. They did their best to support their friends, yet destroy their political enemies. In many ways, the little successes they earned actually weakened the entire nation. Their economy, previously supported by trade and production, was increasingly propped up by gold stolen from Africa and silver taken in by the tons from England. But this could not stave off the true instability. Instead of having a growing middle class, society reversed course, and the rich suddenly became much richer, the middle class was squeezed out and the poor became destitute.
America under George Bush is a modern day ancient Rome. English gold has been replaced by Arabian oil and Chinese Wallmart suppliers. Watching C-span or C-span2, one cannot help but be reminded of the petty politics in the Roman Senate, debating how to protect favorer sword makers and soothsayer suppliers from claims when their products turned out to be worse than useless. Or spending their time on new laws that would support the weird beliefs of one sect, to the exclusion of others and to the greater damage of the entire Roman society.
At the end of Rome, promotions both in the military and government were based on ideology, not talent or experience. Ambassadors were designated and sent out as payback for their political support (allowing them to tax, steal and take fortunes wherever they went), not as reasonable, talented diplomats. Men in charge of armies were political warriors, not experienced fighters. They often chose to ignore the voices of experience, even putting the loudest ones to death. The results were predictable.
Just look at the list of today's high ranking officers in the Bush world. All voices of reason have been eradicated. All have been replaced with neocon supporters - whose common trait is that when given a choice, they will uniformly pick the worst one.
I think last night's votes were a "last throes" of a different sort. They know that the ruin and damage they have done to our country is about to catch up with them. Therefore, they have no choice but to reward as many of their own as they can, in the shortest span of time possible. They see, deep in their hearts, the Hun army coming across the river, and they think that by ignoring it, it will simply go away. They see, deep in their hearts, that they failed and failed miserably. They see, deep in their hearts, that they were wrong, and that if they don't grab what they can right now, their futures will be forever dim.
There is a shift in the winds of society. Everyone is beginning to see it. Even the WHite House recognizes that their day has passed. I only hope that they don't take us down when they hit rock bottom.
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