US Politics: A Post-Roe Country

[ThinkerX]

This sounds a bit ominous - Canada is becoming concerned over a potential collapse of the US, citing a whole stack of reasons. To me, it seems way pessimistic, but I do have to wonder about the 'top secret information' bit. Anyhow...

Canadian national security task force is preparing for the collapse of the United States (msn.com)

 

The watchdog group said that the U.S. slipped 11 points in the past ten years. The U.S. is now ranked below Argentina and Mongolia.

According to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), the government to the north is fearful of what that might mean for them. Former national security advisers and directors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned Canada that the U.S. could become a "source of threat and instability" in the coming years.

IN OTHER NEWS: She unleashed the Duggars onto the world -- now she feels 'dizzy' reading about them

Writing for CBC, Catharine Tunney cited those experts pondering a reconsideration of the alliance with the U.S.

Citing things like Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump's attempt to overthrow the government, and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, they have a growing list of anti-democratic warnings. Their data gathering comes from top-secret information and a briefed cabinet on emerging threats. It warns that Canada has been complacent and warned it's time to tackle things like Russia and Chinese espionage.

[Luzifer's right hand]

3 minutes ago, ThinkerX said:

This sounds a bit ominous - Canada is becoming concerned over a potential collapse of the US, citing a whole stack of reasons. To me, it seems way pessimistic, but I do have to wonder about the 'top secret information' bit. Anyhow...

Canadian national security task force is preparing for the collapse of the United States (msn.com)

 

The watchdog group said that the U.S. slipped 11 points in the past ten years. The U.S. is now ranked below Argentina and Mongolia.

According to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC), the government to the north is fearful of what that might mean for them. Former national security advisers and directors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned Canada that the U.S. could become a "source of threat and instability" in the coming years.

IN OTHER NEWS: She unleashed the Duggars onto the world -- now she feels 'dizzy' reading about them

Writing for CBC, Catharine Tunney cited those experts pondering a reconsideration of the alliance with the U.S.

Citing things like Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump's attempt to overthrow the government, and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, they have a growing list of anti-democratic warnings. Their data gathering comes from top-secret information and a briefed cabinet on emerging threats. It warns that Canada has been complacent and warned it's time to tackle things like Russia and Chinese espionage.

One can not blame a government to plan for the worst.

I mean the USA had a failed coup attempt last year.

When the strongest military power on the planet that is your only neighbor keeps moving away from democracy and rational policy making you got reasons to be concerned.

[Fragile Bird]

@ThinkerX Lol, you know what’s funny between your Canada story and that Freedom list? The second story finds Canada so unimportant that they don’t list Canada on their graph (apparently we are in the top ten). 

So unimportant, or so embarrassing that the place to the north is in the top 10, better to leave them off? The point is minor overall, but pretty funny to this Canadian.

[DMC]

16 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Lol, you know what’s funny between your Canada story and that Freedom list? The second story finds Canada so unimportant that they don’t list Canada on their graph (apparently we are in the top ten). 

So unimportant, or so embarrassing that the place to the north is in the top 10, better to leave them off? The point is minor overall, but pretty funny to this Canadian.

Are you talking about this link?  The graph there is just to depict the US' fall from 2010 to 2020.  Canada is omitted, sure, but so are plenty others - the other countries that are included are just to provide some examples of similar scores/cohorts.  Safe to say whoever made that graph at Freedom House didn't put any thought into omitting Canada.

[Kalbear]

Worth stating for folks in this thread. Be especially wary of leveraging the 'hypocrite argument - because that value is based on the moral value of fairness, which is not nearly as important to conservatives as it is liberals.

 

[Zorral]

The goppers holler teachers are grooming the kids of USA to tolerant, compassionate and communists.  The next day they holler that teachers must fulfill their duties by being armed in the classroom, getting themselves weapons training to shoot to kill.

In the meantime Kissinger -- KISSINGER!!!!!!! -- has risen to orderl Ukraine to stop fighting back and the West to stop being so mean to Putin.

This the answer to all the insanity. The world, and this nation in particular, are under thrall of vampires, who never ever go away without a stake in the heart, beheading and fire.

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, Zorral said:

are under thrall of vampires

This is the best explanation I've heard for why Henry Kissinger is still breathing.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Stakes in the heart don't work on Vamps. Only beheading, unless you have Samuel Colt's revolver, which supposedly can everything but a handful of things in creation. That one would work on Kissinger and McConnel, too.

[Fragile Bird]

5 minutes ago, DMC said:

Are you talking about this link?  The graph there is just to depict the US' fall from 2010 to 2020.  Canada is omitted, sure, but so are plenty others - the other countries that are included are just to provide some examples of similar scores/cohorts.  Safe to say whoever made that graph at Freedom House didn't put any thought into omitting Canada.

Haha! That’s part of the paranoia Canadians have, since we are usually ignored by Americans without any thought being exercised about it at all!

In the meantime, we obsess about the US. Secret plans being developed so that we have ideas that will help us survive the gradual collapse of the US doesn’t surprise me at all.

[Fragile Bird]

6 minutes ago, Zorral said:

 

This the answer to all the insanity. The world, and this nation in particular, are under thrall of vampires, who never ever go away without a stake in the heart, beheading and fire.

I knew there was a reason I’ve fallen down the deep dark hole of internet werewolf and vampire books…

[DMC]

2 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Haha! That’s part of the paranoia Canadians have, since we are usually ignored by Americans without any thought being exercised about it at all!

LOL, fair enough.  To be clear though I wasn't saying whoever made that graph at Freedom House was "ignoring" Canada.

[LongRider]

9 minutes ago, DMC said:

This is the best explanation I've heard for why Henry Kissinger is still breathing.

Is he really breathing tho?    

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Just now, LongRider said:

Is he really breathing tho?    

You know the old joke?

How do you know Kissinger is lying? He breathes.

So, if Kissinger is lying, then he is probably still breathing.

[Zorral]

Requiring teachers to be armed in the schools -- what that actually means.  How long before a mischievous kid snatches it, finds it, and turns it on the classroom, just for starters. Another how do teachers who are supposed to be shooting also try to get the kids to safety?  Ah well, this just means the teacher shortage is even higher, chivvying along the shut-down of public education, which is the point, not a side-effect.

[LongRider]

8 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

You know the old joke?

How do you know Kissinger is lying? He breathes.

So, if Kissinger is lying, then he is probably still breathing.

Well, that settles it then as he's still lying.      

[Zorral]

BTW -- the shooter supposedly came to Uvalde from North Dakota originally.

https://www.inforum.com/

 

[KingintheNorth4]

29 minutes ago, Zorral said:

The goppers holler teachers are grooming the kids of USA to tolerant, compassionate and communists.  The next day they holler that teachers must fulfill their duties by being armed in the classroom, getting themselves weapons training to shoot to kill.

In the meantime Kissinger -- KISSINGER!!!!!!! -- has risen to orderl Ukraine to stop fighting back and the West to stop being so mean to Putin.

This the answer to all the insanity. The world, and this nation in particular, are under thrall of vampires, who never ever go away without a stake in the heart, beheading and fire.

Speaking of Kissinger.

 

[Zorral]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/05/uvalde-mass-shooting-and-gun-rights-the-supreme-court-is-enabling-the-next-massacre.html

[Centrist Simon Steele]

38 minutes ago, Zorral said:

The goppers holler teachers are grooming the kids of USA to tolerant, compassionate and communists.  The next day they holler that teachers must fulfill their duties by being armed in the classroom, getting themselves weapons training to shoot to kill.

In the meantime Kissinger -- KISSINGER!!!!!!! -- has risen to orderl Ukraine to stop fighting back and the West to stop being so mean to Putin.

This the answer to all the insanity. The world, and this nation in particular, are under thrall of vampires, who never ever go away without a stake in the heart, beheading and fire.

The arming teachers thing is SO stupid. I was an 8th grade teacher when Sandy Hook happened, and we literally had a staff meeting (in Colorado) to "take the temperature of the room on carrying guns to school." I went off on that. How long until a teacher shoots a kid--on accident or not? How long until a student gets ahold of a teacher's gun and shoots someone else? 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

4 hours ago, DMC said:

While I emphatically agree any "roleplaying" drills that are apt to traumatize kids are unnecessary (albeit ones more akin to fire drills sound fine), this reminds me of a note of caution one of my old advisors would tell students when teaching statistical significance.  He'd ask, "if I told you a plane had a 2.5%, or even 0.1%, chance of crashing, would you get on board?"  Same principle applies here - a 3 in a thousand, or even 3 in one-hundred thousand, chance of experiencing a school shooting is tragically high.

The stats argument about school shootings rings particularly hollow for me at this point. We have absolutely hit a point of "this is a problem in schools."

One thing about school shooter drills that gets me though is they are truly worthless. Fire drills make sense, of course. Because "fire" isn't conscious and can't see your plan and work against it. People who shoot up schools are often students in those schools who have gone through the shooter training drills. They know the scenarios. They know the rules. They know where people will go, what they'll be doing, etc.