"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air - however slight - lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness." ― Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas

© benfrank.net
No matter what the politicians say about how great America is and how we, as a people, will always triumph, the fact is that the nation seems to be imploding.
Despite the dire state of our nation, however, you can rest assured that
none of the problems that continue to plague our lives and undermine our freedoms will be addressed by our so-called elected representatives in any credible, helpful way, and certainly not during a State of the Union address.Consider the following facts:
Our government is massively in debt. Currently, the national debt is somewhere in the vicinity of
$18 trillion. More than a third of our debt is
owned by foreign countries, namely China and Japan.
Our education system is abysmal. Despite the fact that
we spend more than most of the world on education ($115,000 per student), we rank
36th in the world when it comes to math, reading and science, far below most of our Asian counterparts. Even so, we continue to insist on
standardized programs such as Common Core, which teach students to be test-takers rather than thinkers.
Our homes provide little protection against government intrusions. Police agencies, already empowered to crash through your door if they suspect you're up to no good, now have
radars that allow them to "see" through the walls of your home.
Our prisons, housing
the largest number of inmates in the world and still growing, have become
money-making enterprises for private corporations that rely on the inmates for cheap labor.
We are no longer a representative republic. The U.S. has become a corporate oligarchy. As a recent survey indicates,
our elected officials, especially those in the nation's capital, represent the interests of the rich and powerful rather than the average citizen.
Comment: With the spread of social media technologies in Palestine the world has seen video after video displaying Israel's criminality. With the Shin Bet accosting a French Prime Minister, and Netanyahu berating French Jews, it seems the safest place for anyone to be is as far from these psychopaths as possible. Too bad the Israel and the US have seen fit to destabilize much of the rest of the world. Their insanity has no limits.
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