American Revolution II

Posted by BambiB 11 years, 4 months ago to Government
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The economy is a mess. Obama stirs the pot, creates disaster, claims success and moves on. A new entitlements program in the form of "Obamacare" has just been dumped on the American People. The Federales are $17 trillion in debt, facing $211 trillion in unfunded mandates over the next 50 years. 25 cents of ever Federal dollar spent is borrowed - and China has just begun making noises that sound a lot like, "We're not loaning you any more money."

American police forces - from the local units to the Federal level are more militarized, aggressive and violent than any time in history. At the same time, Americans (many perceiving a threat from the government) are arming themselves in record numbers.

The split between rich and poor has never been greater. Jobs are hard to come by. The government is pumping out propaganda by the boat load. The adminstration is lying to us, the NSA is spying on us, the TSA is groping us, the IRS is harassing and taxing us, Congress is ignoring us.

Will it all break? If so, when? And how? Will Americans rebel? Will it be peaceful or violent? What will come afterwards? How much of the dreck that is American "law" will remain? Will the Constitution be tossed aside? Will we continue to allow morons to vote? Will there be any voting? How will things change?

Will Americans meekly accept whatever their "leaders" tell them to accept?

And most of all: WHEN do you think changes will occur?

I'd say we have 0 to 10 years before the dollar crashes. Hard. I expect the Chinese to shorten our "line of credit" and push for the establishment of the Yuan as the international currency. When they do that, the dollar will crash - dropping by more than 90% in value in a single year. The prices of everything (as valued in dollars) will soar. The government-created "dependent class" won't have enough money to eat. Crime will explode in the dependent neighborhoods and merchants, unable to withstand the stress, will withdraw, making life even more difficult. There will be riots (think "Rodney King riots in L.A.) in every major city - but food riots. People will begin to organize themselves into self-protection groups. The government will react to it all with martial law.

Then the grease really hits the fire.

Gun confiscation.

Resistance.

Counter-offensive.

Civil war.

Military suppression and insurrection.

Assassinations.

Anarchy.

A new beginning. But what kind?

So there's my prediction. What's yours?


All Comments

  • Posted by Wonky 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    That seems a bit pessimistic to me. I'm not prepared to write everyone off for their voting habits (or lack thereof). I do think calamity is probable in some areas, but until people are put to the test, how can we predict how they will behave? I tend to think that education is a key variable that would differentiate basic human responses to poverty and starvation during the Great Depression from a crash of the dollar today.

    I'll concede that there is some optimism in my assessment. Perhaps reality would lie somewhere in between. We'll find out if/when the dollar crashes.

    In the meantime, preparations like exchanging dollars for foreign currencies, getting your hands on a bit of gold/silver, investing in foreign markets servicing China, etc. do seem like worthwhile endeavors. I mentioned Peter Schiff's "The Real Crash". It's a pretty good read with some ideas for how to "crash-proof" yourself. This might make for an interesting post in its own right.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    So, the majority of voters who voted for Obama - we can write them off as hopelessly stupid.

    Then there are the morons who thought Romney was the answer. So that eliminates most people who voted.

    Then there's the ~50% who didn't even vote - we can write most of them off as dumber than those who did!

    Bottom line: The average person is oblivious and disengaged. They want to sit on the couch, eat, watch TV and not do much else.

    The average idiot would think that putting out a bucket would catch enough rainwater to survive - but it takes .5 to 1 gallon a day for the average person to survive. Assuming a bucket has a diameter of 12", that it rains every single day, and the amount of rain is 1" per day, a bucket would collect a little less than half a gallon.

    As for eating flora and fauna - do you know what plants are good to eat? Which will kill you? Most people don't. They have absolutely no idea. Wolfbane salad anyone? Top it off with Oleander blossoms?

    My bet is that if you pulled 1000 people out of today's society, turned them loose in the countryside without access to any man-made or man-produced resources (no farm houses, no pre-packaged foods, no vegetable gardens that just happen to be lying around, no livestock in a barn waiting for slaughter, no guidebooks for what plants are good to eat), that on average, you might have 200 left alive at the end of a month and maybe 10-20 left at the end of three months. Maybe more if they eat each other.

    People today have no idea how to make a snare, dress a rabbit, or for that matter, in most cases, even make a fire. They don't know what they can eat, or what will kill them.

    As for the "resource-poor" cities… once MacDonalds and Burger King close, it's all over.
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  • Posted by Wonky 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Even an idiot can place out a bucket to catch rainwater and (in rural areas) find a bite to eat among the local flora and fauna. Hard to say for certain, but I think we'd see a great many resourceful people that would turn their education to good use in surviving (whether they use it for anything currently). Sure, the cities would rapidly become resource-poor, but wouldn't anyone with half a brain get out of a city that was truly economically dead?
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  • Posted by xthinker88 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It would be interesting to lay out the charges incorporated in the Declaration of Independence one by one and then compare them to our current government. I'm guessing King George would be looking pretty damn good right now.
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  • Posted by xthinker88 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Not to split hairs but I guess my point was that A) you are correct and B) true but it had nothing to do with A.

    Vietnam was not a win for the insurgents but a win for the invaders.
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  • Posted by Eyecu2 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    While your points are all valid. I was using the length of the supply line as a major point in favor of the Revolutionaries during the war against Britain. Gorilla tactics, and sabotage were factors in the war against Britain and would certainly be of major importance were this to happen here again.
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  • Posted by j_IR1776wg 11 years, 4 months ago
    Non-violent massive non-compliance against Obamacare, taxes, attempts to destroy the Bill of Rights, the evil public education system, the Fed, the 16th Amendment for starters.
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  • Posted by $ Genez 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    All of these things have been great warnings for those willing to open their eyes. The problem is when we let the liberals / government start getting into the eduction business. Granted most are still run at the local level but they are big enough, that the average citizen does not have time to change it. In a small town the people used to get together and hire a teacher.. if there were enough of them, they might have selected a board or committee to do the job. but when there are 50 (or hundreds) of teachers to hire, we leave it to administrators... Because of this, we long ago abdicated an active role in educating our children and makeing sure they understood the world, politics, etc.. Hence the last several decades of entitlement voting in which, in general, voters go for who will help them most... not what is best for the country.. and the more government can help you, the closer we get to AS, 1984, etc...
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  • Posted by $ Genez 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Exactly. Or bowhunting, etc.. One of my sons has become pretty skilled with a recurve, told him that could come in handy.
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 11 years, 4 months ago
    So, the question has consumed me for the last several hours. Crash, late 15 to mid 16. Financial into Govt controls into Rioting into Martial Law into --- Hell, I'm just scaring myself.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    As a strategic matter, the length of the supply line probably isn't the issue. Think of it this way: An army has to eat, has to have fuel, has to have munitions. But who is to say that the guy making the munitions won't throw in a double-charged round once in a while? Or that the people making the meals won't include one person who ladles on a bunch of cyanide? Or that the guy driving the fuel truck hasn't dropped a time-delay detonator into the depot tank? If you can interdict a supply line, you can shut down the enemy. But if the enemy is all around, and you can't tell friend from foe, what do you do?
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    For that matter, Orwell predicted government behavior in "1984". And it's arguable that "Brave New World" has application - not necessarily with the direct genetic manipulation of humans, but certainly with the educational process where most of the population consists of gammas, deltas and epsilons.

    There's been plenty of warning. The problem is, the average person is a moron. As long as they have three meals, a comfortable bed, "reality" TV, streaming video and a phone that's a lot smarter than they are, they're happy. It's not that they don't CARE that they're being fattened for a reason and butchery day is tomorrow - they're so think, they DON'T SEE IT COMING.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Oh. You were serious?

    Science Fiction (multiple books - but mostly Hugo winners and the like).
    Feynman's Lectures on Physics
    Pauling's "General Chemistry"
    Lots of stuff on line from probably 100+ sources.
    Some software references
    Too much stuff in the Gulch.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    >> Whether it's through a new currency, a freezing of all debts & assets

    I'm trying to picture an economy where you can neither owe anything nor own anything.

    >> which is why I garden, learning to can
    And marksmanship, and reloading...

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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Really? Too many educated people?

    I think that's probably the least-convincing justification you could possibly have given.

    Obama won. Twice.
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  • Posted by Non_mooching_artist 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'm thinking they would be as well, and throwing in chains those who have brought our country so low. And to think, the tea tax that finally threw the colonists over the edge was just shy of 2%. How much gets taken out of your paycheck? We have grown complacent. Cowed, maybe?
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  • Posted by khalling 11 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    that statement reminds me of a book I recently read-Olsen's Nation-a satire on Ocare and a journey-bacon is outlawed and people CARE
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