Quoting Dr. Killpatient:

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Corruption isn't limited to Republicans or Democrats.  Pointing fingers at particular examples only in one party paints a rather narrow and very misleading view.  You have to go broader than party affiliation to properly categorize the scope.

You have to expand to include the entire human race.

Corruption takes place in every society.  Corruption is the step-child of simple human greed.  Greed for money, greed for power, greed for status, etc.  To that extent it is part of human nature.

However, there are certain groups who are far more corrupt as a matter of course than other groups.  I'm not including the odd individual in a group that is otherwise less corrupt as examples here either.  I do not think run of the mill Democrats are any more corrupt than run of the mill Republicans.  However, there is a faction of the Democrat party -- the ultra left-wing liberal faction -- that IS far more corrupt than most others.  They will do and say anything to achieve power, wealth, and control.  Those are the people who are driving the push to get Obama elected, who turn a blind eye to massive voter registration fraud by ACORN, who rally around and protect those who are most culpable in the financial crash, who will trash anyone they think might get in the way of achieving their objectives.  They ARE socialists, and have a long record of things done to enhance their power at the expense of the country and the average people.

As we get closer to the end of this campaign, it becomes more and more evident that a lot of things that are less than savory in Obama's past which would have torpedoed his chances of even getting nominated, have been swept under the rug, and squelched by any means possible.  There are legitimate questions being asked that he and his backers simply refuse to answer, to which the American people have the right to know the answers to:  Is he or isn't he a legitimate US citizen?  Why do so many unsavory characters, like Rev. Wright and Tony Rezco, seem to be in his sphere of influence?  Why does he seem to favor things that are counter to American tradition and the Constitution?  I think I have the right to know such things about ANY man (or woman) who professes to want to be president of the most powerful nation in history.

Quoting Rifter:

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... of the most powerful nation in history.

Not that it's of any relevance but I have to disagree.

In an historical context, the Roman Empire was by far the most powerful nation ever. At their height, they controlled almost every nation in the then known world! The British empire comes next. The current US 'empire' is a distant third at best..

Quoting Unicus69:

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Quoting sugarjoe:

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Quoting Rifter:

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... of the most powerful nation in history.

Not that it's of any relevance but I have to disagree.

In an historical context, the Roman Empire was by far the most powerful nation ever. At their height, they controlled almost every nation in the then known world! The British empire comes next. The current US 'empire' is a distant third at best..

I guess it depends on your definition of 'powerful'. 

                 
Have a green arrow!!!!!

Hi Rifter,

I'm curious to why you think or believe that the US is the most powerful nation in history?  I am not saying it isn't, but I think there is an argument that the British Empire which ruled virtually 25% of the world in its heyday was relatively speaking more powerful than the US is today.

Quoting lmoelleb:

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Quoting FUBAR:

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Hi Rifter,

I'm curious to why you think or believe that the US is the most powerful nation in history?  I am not saying it isn't, but I think there is an argument that the British Empire which ruled virtually 25% of the world in its heyday was relatively speaking more powerful than the US is today.

It's a question of definition of powerful. You do use the term "relatively" - Rifter does not. The US is the most powerful state ever when looking at the absolute power. It is not the most powerful when speaking of relative power.

Actually, I would have to say it the most powerful in absolute terms since we could defeat any nation militarily one to one.  But, it is also the most powerful in relative terms since most of the nations on earth have little or no military beyond a national guard type force, and the few that can field a world class level military are still woefully short compared to the US.  That is not to say that we can't be hurt badly, but I don't think there is anybody that can beat us.  Even economically in the current crisis, we are still much better off than most of the rest of the world.

Quoting lmoelleb:

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Quoting Rifter:

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Actually, I would have to say it the most powerful in absolute terms since we could defeat any nation militarily one to one.  But, it is also the most powerful in relative terms since most of the nations on earth have little or no military beyond a national guard type force, and the few that can field a world class level military are still woefully short compared to the US.  That is not to say that we can't be hurt badly, but I don't think there is anybody that can beat us.  Even economically in the current crisis, we are still much better off than most of the rest of the world.

Again, a question of definition. What I (and others) where referring to as "relative" was related to how much power the previous nations/empires in history had over the world at their time compared to how much power the US has over the current world. The "absolute" comparison matching this is the current US millitary being able to defeat for example the Roman army at the peak of the Roman empire.

Obviously there are also relative comparisons that place the US at the top. Or other absolute comparisons.

We make the historic comparison because you claim the US is the most powerful nation in history. The argument you made above supports the US being the most powerful nation today - which is pretty obvious and none of us dispute.

And yes, I do hate myself for not making that clear in my first post. I considered editing my post to add that it was obviously depending on what you ment with relative, but I made the wrong assumption that it was pretty clear to everyone.

don't beat yourself up. It was pretty clear to everyone. (or nearly everyone).

Quoting Ken Cole:

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As an immigrant from the nearby Epsilon Eridani system, I'm really getting a kick out of these "most powerful" definitions. 

we always knew there was something odd about you Ken!