I believe it's executive fiat, I do not think there's anything you or I would call a judge in that context.

Incidentally, we did give Nazi war criminals trials after the war.

I did a quick Google search, it appears to be a presumed power of the executive branch, so no judges involved.

No one should be detained for a long period of time without a public trial.

Is that good or bad?

I blame the Whigs.

Honestly? I have no idea, kinda hoped somebody would explain it a bit... xD
I really should probably pay more attention to politics, but it's all so boring to me :(

the sad truth is that America didn't survive the Civil War.

the north won the battles but it was a southern politician that took over after honest Abe took two and called it a night. pretty much all progress that had been made as far as turning the US into a nation of fair and equal citizenship was wipe out the second Asshole Johnson was sworn in and the Untied States has been a class driven festering shit pile ever since.

at this point in time the only way the "American Dream" (even though it never actually existed outside of a propaganda campaign aimed at the wealthy) could be salvaged would be through a total collapse of the government and reformation of a new constitution with explicitly stated regulations and entitlements (for the population as well as the government).

... but there is no way that would be a survivable scenario because as it stands China would go on a rampage the second control of the US's nuclear arsenal became unsecured.

TL;DR: we are all fucked, anyone with half a brain should grab all their money and head for a third world country to set up shop while the cash is still worth something.

After all this Internet Censorship bs, I really hope there is a revolution, and a VIOLENT one at that. Possibly a mix between the Haitian and French Revolution?

I'm sorry, but this sort of thinking is simply ridiculous.

1) "struggle for basic survival?" We're the most obese country in the world. We have people on welfare spending their money on cable and cigarettes while eating out at McDonalds every day. Are there homeless? Hell yes there are homeless, and we should be doing everything we can to care for them. But we're far...FAR...from struggling. Go tell that to the starving population in Africa and see how far it gets you.

2) "The wealthy criminal class owns all our corrupt politicians and they make policies to enrich themselves while destroying the American middle class." Yeah, I don't think so... sure, politics is full of corruption and dishonesty. Only a fool would say otherwise. But do you seriously think that our country would have half the issues it does if we were controlled by the minds behind organized crime? Or, let's put that another way. Do you really think that organized crime would survive a week if it ran itself the way our country does? Our problems are far more the result of indecision, cluelessness, and too much listening (read: giving money to) to wacked out special interest groups. Not Italian gangsters. We got ourselves here, and blaming it on intangible conspiracies is just the socially acceptable way of refusing to take part of the blame.

Basically, does our country have problems? Most certainly. But turning this into some sort of modern day Robin Hood nerd fantasy is just ridiculous. There's no evil mastermind controlling everything, no master plan, and no huge expertly hidden conspiracy. Just a vast network of people who are more interested in looking out for their political welfare than actually doing anything of use.

You first, buddy :P



Seriously, though, guys... I'll be the first one to admit that the US has a ton of issues, and that the government needs to keep the hell away from our personal freedoms. But the victimizing, hyperbolizing, and ridiculous paranoia really don't come across well. Take a step back and try to REALLY take a look at things.

organized crime is just an illegitimate government waiting to take over.

being arrested and being kidnapped are actions only separated by the fact that one has been authorized by the government.

likewise taxes are indistinguishable from extortion outside of a government stamp.

little Italy and Capital Hill have farm more in common than you are giving them credit for, and yes, for a while there the Mob was run in about the same manner as the current US Gov.

guess what: you don't hear much about the Mob anymore. I hear the former Soviet Satellite states are progressing nicely with reliably providing sanitary water and, while I wouldn't be planting a garden or starting a carrot farm, the property values are quite affordable. if that fails all one needs to do is head far enough into central/southern Mexico where the drug Mafias aren't so active.

A couple of things you might want to think about:

1) For the wealth level of the US are poor are extremely poor (and worse off in life expectancy, health care, happiness, etc.) in relation to other countries at a similar level of wealth. It's not worthwhile to compare ourselves to some of the worse shit holes around the globe but it probably is to compare us to other wealthy countries with a high GDP per capita and when we do that the US does horribly.

2) No one thinks there's some overriding conspiracy (okay some do, but they're wrong, and I hope they're a minority). The problem is the system is set up to be unduly influenced by special interests with a lot of money. Lawrence Lessig has written a lot recently about the amount of money it takes to win a seat in congress these days and the massive corruption it's caused. He's an attorney that's has at least one case heard before the USSC so he's not your average internet crank. It doesn't matter that there's no mastermind, it matters that whenever some group with a lot of money feels threatened they run off to congress and use their undue influence as much as they can, over time this has cemented the corruption pretty firmly into place.

TL;DR every form of government is basically organized crime and we're best off in complete anarchy.

Yeah, I think I'll pass.
1) But saying that we're "struggling to survive" is still complete bullshit. That's all I was arguing against. "struggling to survive" means not knowing when you're going to eat next, or whether people are going to kill you and your family. Not having to cancel your netflix subscription to pay for gas to drive to college. Maybe I'm overreacting, but the amount of whining and complaining that we do really REALLY gets on my nerves. In the grand scheme of humanity, most of us are doing really well.

2) no argument here.

Has America "gone to shit"?

Well, let's see. Let's go back 48 years and compare. 48 years ago, that conversation was necessary. So, I would say no, America is not "going to shit."

Most people don't see the big picture, and most people don't notice what they have--only what they don't have.

yeah, a future.

well, at least a future that isn't dominated by share cropper levels of debt as the cost of living continues to rise but viable employment continues to fall.

Obama refusing to support a revoking of Net Neutrality is a great thing. But what's going on right now is not the same net neutrality that was probably aimed at. There was talk earlier of this year about the fall of net neutrality and the allowance of providers to institute "restrictions" based on the value of the contract much like TV does. Wanna use video sharing websites? Extra five bucks per month. That type of thing.

This measure is more of an extreme Anti-Piratical measure sponsored by the MPAA and RIAA. In fact, providers have come out against this bill due to it hurting their own business and the allowances in the bill giving the Government full rights to dictate to the providers their own services. This measure would be like fighting theft by burning the entire village to the ground so that there's nothing left to steal.

There are some people arguing for sanity in the House, but they're being crushed by a majority who are having their pockets lined by the RIAA and MPAA. Every counter amendment to soften or weaken the bill have been met with crushing defeat. Unless suddenly Google starts throwing billions of dollars around, SOPA's going to pass.

Edit: Also, that's not even mentioning that 95% of the people voting on this issue have no idea what this bill is, how it works, what it will hurt, or how it will undermine the infrastructure of the internet. They're basing all their information off the information given to them by; who else? The RIAA and MPAA.