The new U.S. Imperialist Age

[Scooter]

So this happened:



I'm not sure if it's supposed to be parody or not. I'm thinking it reads more like a story in The Onion.

[BoSoxGal]

The Onion is defunct now that reality has become satire.

And yes, it's real: https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/docu ... ntID=15398

Text of bill: https://buddycarter.house.gov/uploadedf ... andact.pdf

[Scooter]

I knew it was a real bill. I just wasn't sure if it was meant to be taken seriously, or if was poking fun at the idea of annexing Greenland.

[Big RR]

There may well be good reasons, from strategic to mining rights, for the US to firm up its relations with Greenland, but this is not the way to do it. We could try working within NATO, but not with Trump at the helm.

As for whether the bill is intended to be serious or not--Red, White, and Blue land? I don't know anything about this Buddy ?Carter, but he either is as big a cretin as Trump, or he has a good sense of humor--hopefully the latter.

[Sue U]

I don't know anything about this Buddy ?Carter, but he either is as big a cretin as Trump, or he has a good sense of humor--hopefully the latter.

He's an ethics-challenged self-dealing politician/pharmacist who's an unapologetic Trumpist and Big Lie promoter from Pooler, GA. But he's in an R+7 district (which tragically includes Savannah), so he's in Congress for life if he wants it.

[Big RR]

Well then I'll have to put him in the Cretin category; I was hoping he just had a sense of humor. Damn!

By the way, Savanna is my favorite southern city after New Orleans. I was surprised to find out the degree of Trump support there.

[BoSoxGal]

Savannah IS a gorgeous city, I've been twice including a week long NDAA training on SA prosecution - a bleak subject matter but a great place to visit in the off time. We stayed and had our courses at a riverfront hotel (Hyatt?) and all day long would see the gigantic Maersk container ships going by, they would block out the entire wall of floor to ceiling windows on the way.

Fantastic food in Savannah, too. Lovely warm and friendly people. I'm sure there are some liberals given the quality of life in that city, but unsurprised that it is somewhat conservative. That said, according to these results Kamala beat the orange oligarch by 18 points in Chatham County GA, and the D challenger to Buddy was also the winner there - but clearly not district wide. https://app.enhancedvoting.com/results/ ... 2024NovGen

[Big RR]

I don't recall the election results, but my friend who lives and works there (and transferred there from Knoxville, Tennessee) said she was really surprised at the political spectrum of the city and especially as to the number of Trump supporters and how openly hostile they are, verbally attacking ostracizing those who do not agree with them; she's just holding out for retirement and leaving. She really considered Savanna as a good place to retire (I did too), but not anymore. Indeed, she said she really noted it during the covid crisis, when people refused to wear masks and verbally attacked people who chose to wear them (and a lot of the non-mask wearers were also armed as Savanna allows open carry). It's not the genteel city I have visited (or thought I had visited) a number of times, or the city of oddballs in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

[BoSoxGal]

That is sad to hear but given how many such freaks we have in uber liberal Massachusetts, not surprising there are many in the South.

I will never forget my visit for that NDAA conference; it was in April and when I walked around at night I was almost overwhelmed by the heady scent of gardenia, jasmine and other flowering things. The South is so beautiful, such a pity about the history and the backwardness.

[Big RR]

Personally, I think it's part of the "a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" idea--you never real understand a place until you live there. I think the same thing about New Orleans--given the music and the amazing restaurants, it great to visit for a week, but I really have no idea what ti would be like to live there. Add in the climate (and this is true of Savanna as well), and there are a lot of drawbacks.

It's a real concern about me planning my retirement; I love the northeast and the proximity to NYC (and Philadelphia as well), but you pay a lot for that in taxes, especially property taxes. But I fear winding up in Trump land if I relocate, especially if you get the aggressive Trumpers. I have friends who are Trump supporters (I'm not sure why, but i think it has to do with taxes, who are otherwise some of the nicest people I know)--we just don't discuss politics all that much and respect each other's opinions, but I am concerned about winding up in a place like my friend is in. I am more than willing to give people the benefit of the doubt and to believe they want the best for this country regardless of their political leanings, but not if they are in my face about it all the time. Indeed, I also like the western states (like Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Montana) a lot, but wouldn't want to wind up in the middle of a white supremacist or anti-government area; again if we came from an area of mutual respect it could work, but the political situation has deteriorated to a point where that is sometimes impossible. Finding the right area is difficult and time consuming, ad i fear i may be gone before I do.

[Burning Petard]

I like Delaware for its proximity to Philly and Baltimore and the many nearby cultural events associated with local history and the many local post-secondary schools. The Maryland subsidized commuter train to DC is cheap. And for retirees, the taxes are pretty decent. Non-retirees from adjacent three states come here to shop because no sales tax.

But climate changes and local terrain scare me bad, both for flooding and shortage of potable water. The recent weather extremes seem to be missing Northern Delaware. I hope I don't live to see the local results of global warming and I also hope my grandchildren all find it convenient to go somewhere else. Potable water is a problem both from salt water incursion and industrial pollution,. Like sea-level rise in Florida, that is a taboo topic of conversation; we prefer to pretend it is not here.

snailgate

[Big RR]

That's one area I have considered--also Richmond/Williamsburg VA. But i procrastinate... I want to find out where my daughters will wind up.

[BoSoxGal]

Personally, I think it's part of the "a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" idea--you never real understand a place until you live there. I think the same thing about New Orleans--given the music and the amazing restaurants, it great to visit for a week, but I really have no idea what ti would be like to live there. Add in the climate (and this is true of Savanna as well), and there are a lot of drawbacks.

It's a real concern about me planning my retirement; I love the northeast and the proximity to NYC (and Philadelphia as well), but you pay a lot for that in taxes, especially property taxes. But I fear winding up in Trump land if I relocate, especially if you get the aggressive Trumpers. I have friends who are Trump supporters (I'm not sure why, but i think it has to do with taxes, who are otherwise some of the nicest people I know)--we just don't discuss politics all that much and respect each other's opinions, but I am concerned about winding up in a place like my friend is in. I am more than willing to give people the benefit of the doubt and to believe they want the best for this country regardless of their political leanings, but not if they are in my face about it all the time. Indeed, I also like the western states (like Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Montana) a lot, but wouldn't want to wind up in the middle of a white supremacist or anti-government area; again if we came from an area of mutual respect it could work, but the political situation has deteriorated to a point where that is sometimes impossible. Finding the right area is difficult and time consuming, ad i fear i may be gone before I do.

What about Puerto Rico? Or is it a nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there because of lack of other amenities and hurricane risk?

My mental plan for the longest time was to retire to Ecuador, I did tons of research and have friends who lived and taught there for years so I thought it was a well thought out decision - but now the country has become a violent narco hellscape, so that's not looking good. I've got 15 years left to work at least, so maybe things will turn around by then . . .

[Big RR]

Puerto Rico is a negative for me because of the heat--I'd never want to live in the tropics. Add to that the tenuous infrastructure and the crumbling medical system (people have to bring their own sheets, pillows, and other supplies when admitted to a hospital/appointments with physicians can take weeks or even months (this may be different in the San Juan area, but the members of my wife's family who live there (about a half hour from Ponce and Mayaguez, the next two biggest cities after San Juan) say it's gotten worse--some have moved to the US because of health problems. ALso, they have had a number of hurricanes and earthquake recently and have taken a long time to bounce back--my wife's aunt (in her 90s) lost power and water for 4 months after a hurricane.

And then there's the crazy inheritance system where birthright inheritance is more or less forced and children can inherit over the spouse...; I understand that some changes are in the works, but nothing happens quickly down there. My wife's aunt (the same one) had a joint bank account with her sister and it has been frozen since her sister died 4 years ago, pending all of the nieces and nephews either disclaiming their interest in it or getting a court apportionment (and FWIW, even a will wouldn't have remedied this, as you have certain heir who have a right ot inherit and cannot be disinherited (there may be some ways to do this, but i have nor seen it).

[Sue U]

Although I have seriously considered other cities and countries, my most likely plan is to retire here in Philadelphia; but I am getting curious about Mexico City. I've never been, but it looks attractive.

[BoSoxGal]

Although I have seriously considered other cities and countries, my most likely plan is to retire here in Philadelphia; but I am getting curious about Mexico City. I've never been, but it looks attractive.

Hey, it might be in the USA before you retire - Mexico, the 52nd state?

[Sue U]

Hey, it might be in the USA before you retire - Mexico, the 52nd state?

But then where would we send all the Messicans?

[Big RR]

That culd sove the immigrant problem, make 'em all citizens--and Mexico could offer citizenship to all comers before they are annexed.

[rubato]

Th US by comparison to other developed countries was never much of an imperialist power. England, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, even little Belgium and the perennially hapless Italians (the poor dears tried so hard) were much more so. Our only “colony” was the Pilipines which we only held for 48 years and released w/o violence. Contra Angola, Vietnam, Algeria, India, &c. We did not have a national agenda to seize and engulf foreign territories and peoples.

As a good liberal of my generation I can recite many of our shortcomings and vices but in balance imperialism is not one of them. It is striking that at the end of wwii the world was, literally, our oyster and we could have taken much of it as our hegemony by right of suffering and did not. Maybe we aren’t so bad after all.

Yrs,
Rubato

[BoSoxGal]

You really need to read Gore Vidal's Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to be So Hated