Rome and the United States... A Disturbing Comparison.

If you're living in the United States of America, if you're a resident of the United States of America then you should be able to identify the comparison regarding Rome's subsequent demise and what's currently occurring in the United States of America.

Here's the short and long list of contributors to Rome's demise. I did a quick Google search and came up with many sites that suggested the same eight things that happened in Rome which subsequently led to Rome's demise as an empire.

Here's the short list.

8 Major Reasons Why The Roman Empire Fell

1. Invasions by Barbarian tribes
2. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor
3. The rise of the Eastern Empire
4. Overexpansion and military overspending
5. Government corruption and political instability
6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes.
7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values
8. Weakening of the Roman legions

And here's the long list. I'll provide the link here.

8 Reasons Why Rome Fell
Find out why one of history's most legendary empires finally came crashing down.
Evan Andrews

1. Invasions by Barbarian tribes

The most straightforward theory for Western Rome’s collapse pins the fall on a string of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire’s borders. The Romans weathered a Germanic uprising in the late fourth century, but in 410 the Visigoth King Alaric successfully sacked the city of Rome. The Empire spent the next several decades under constant threat before “the Eternal City” was raided again in 455, this time by the Vandals. Finally, in 476, the Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustulus. From then on, no Roman emperor would ever again rule from a post in Italy, leading many to cite 476 as the year the Western Empire suffered its deathblow.

2. Economic troubles and overreliance on slave labor

Even as Rome was under attack from outside forces, it was also crumbling from within thanks to a severe financial crisis. Constant wars and overspending had significantly lightened imperial coffers, and oppressive taxation and inflation had widened the gap between rich and poor. In the hope of avoiding the taxman, many members of the wealthy classes had even fled to the countryside and set up independent fiefdoms. At the same time, the empire was rocked by a labor deficit. Rome’s economy depended on slaves to till its fields and work as craftsmen, and its military might had traditionally provided a fresh influx of conquered peoples to put to work. But when expansion ground to a halt in the second century, Rome’s supply of slaves and other war treasures began to dry up. A further blow came in the fifth century, when the Vandals claimed North Africa and began disrupting the empire’s trade by prowling the Mediterranean as pirates. With its economy faltering and its commercial and agricultural production in decline, the Empire began to lose its grip on Europe.

3. The rise of the Eastern Empire

The fate of Western Rome was partially sealed in the late third century, when the Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire into two halves—the Western Empire seated in the city of Milan, and the Eastern Empire in Byzantium, later known as Constantinople. The division made the empire more easily governable in the short term, but over time the two halves drifted apart. East and West failed to adequately work together to combat outside threats, and the two often squabbled over resources and military aid. As the gulf widened, the largely Greek-speaking Eastern Empire grew in wealth while the Latin-speaking West descended into economic crisis. Most importantly, the strength of the Eastern Empire served to divert Barbarian invasions to the West. Emperors like Constantine ensured that the city of Constantinople was fortified and well guarded, but Italy and the city of Rome—which only had symbolic value for many in the East—were left vulnerable. The Western political structure would finally disintegrate in the fifth century, but the Eastern Empire endured in some form for another thousand years before being overwhelmed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1400s.

4. Over-expansion and military overspending

At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Euphrates River in the Middle East, but its grandeur may have also been its downfall. With such a vast territory to govern, the empire faced an administrative and logistical nightmare. Even with their excellent road systems, the Romans were unable to communicate quickly or effectively enough to manage their holdings. Rome struggled to marshal enough troops and resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks, and by the second century the Emperor Hadrian was forced to build his famous wall in Britain just to keep the enemy at bay. As more and more funds were funneled into the military upkeep of the empire, technological advancement slowed and Rome’s civil infrastructure fell into disrepair.

5. Government corruption and political instability

If Rome’s sheer size made it difficult to govern, ineffective and inconsistent leadership only served to magnify the problem. Being the Roman emperor had always been a particularly dangerous job, but during the tumultuous second and third centuries it nearly became a death sentence. Civil war thrust the empire into chaos, and more than 20 men took the throne in the span of only 75 years, usually after the murder of their predecessor. The Praetorian Guard—the emperor’s personal bodyguards—assassinated and installed new sovereigns at will, and once even auctioned the spot off to the highest bidder. The political rot also extended to the Roman Senate, which failed to temper the excesses of the emperors due to its own widespread corruption and incompetence. As the situation worsened, civic pride waned and many Roman citizens lost trust in their leadership.

6. The arrival of the Huns and the migration of the Barbarian tribes

The Barbarian attacks on Rome partially stemmed from a mass migration caused by the Huns’ invasion of Europe in the late fourth century. When these Eurasian warriors rampaged through northern Europe, they drove many Germanic tribes to the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans grudgingly allowed members of the Visigoth tribe to cross south of the Danube and into the safety of Roman territory, but they treated them with extreme cruelty. According to the historian Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman officials even forced the starving Goths to trade their children into slavery in exchange for dog meat. In brutalizing the Goths, the Romans created a dangerous enemy within their own borders. When the oppression became too much to bear, the Goths rose up in revolt and eventually routed a Roman army and killed the Eastern Emperor Valens during the Battle of Adrianople in A.D. 378. The shocked Romans negotiated a flimsy peace with the barbarians, but the truce unraveled in 410, when the Goth King Alaric moved west and sacked Rome. With the Western Empire weakened, Germanic tribes like the Vandals and the Saxons were able to surge across its borders and occupy Britain, Spain and North Africa.

7. Christianity and the loss of traditional values

The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of Christianity, and some have argued that the rise of a new faith helped contribute to the empire’s fall. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, and it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended centuries of persecution, but they may have also eroded the traditional Roman values system. Christianity displaced the polytheistic Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole deity. Meanwhile, popes and other church leaders took an increased role in political affairs, further complicating governance. The 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon was the most famous proponent of this theory, but his take has since been widely criticized. While the spread of Christianity may have played a small role in curbing Roman civic virtue, most scholars now argue that its influence paled in comparison to military, economic and administrative factors.

8. Weakening of the Roman legions

For most of its history, Rome’s military was the envy of the ancient world. But during the decline, the makeup of the once mighty legions began to change. Unable to recruit enough soldiers from the Roman citizenry, emperors like Diocletian and Constantine began hiring foreign mercenaries to prop up their armies. The ranks of the legions eventually swelled with Germanic Goths and other barbarians, so much so that Romans began using the Latin word “barbarus” in place of “soldier.” While these Germanic soldiers of fortune proved to be fierce warriors, they also had little or no loyalty to the empire, and their power-hungry officers often turned against their Roman employers. In fact, many of the barbarians who sacked the city of Rome and brought down the Western Empire had earned their military stripes while serving in the Roman legions.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

IMHO
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If I Were The Devil

By Cheryl.

I don't know who Cheryl is but I had this post to the "Conservative Tribune" sent to me by an anonymous source. I can't access the comment section of the Conservative Tribune to post my comments there because, well... they use Farcebook and I've been banned from Farcebook twice now. Two different pseudonyms, both banned over the past decade and a half. So, though I have friends send me tidbits from other Facebook sites when they get the urge.

Here's Cheryl's revealing post "IF I WERE THE DEVIL". I don't know if it's and original of hers or not but I do know it's good.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Cheryl H

24 days ago

The greatest achievement of the devil thus far is he has convinced the majority he does not exist. 

If I were the devil...

If I were the prince of darkness I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness, and I’d have a third of its real estate and four fifths of its population. But I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree: thee.

So I’d set about however necessary, to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve, “Do as you please.” To the young I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God, instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is square. And the old I would teach to pray after me, “our father which art in Washington...”

And then I’d get organized: I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies, and vice versa. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves; churches at war with themselves; and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellect, but neglect to discipline emotions; just let those run wild, until before you knew it you’d have to have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing; I’d have judges promoting pornography. Soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls—and church money.

If I were the devil I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.
If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want it, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what’ll you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich. 

I would caution against extremes, and hard work, and patriotism, and moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old fashioned—that swinging is more fun. That what you see on TV is the way to be. And thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure.

In other words, if I were the devil I would just keep on doing what he is doing.

North Korea and Anthrax?!

Is that little, rotund North Korean dictator with the funny haircut going to try to load anthrax onto his ICBMs and launch them our way now? I hear that's the talk of the global community.

It seems the little guy is tiring of waiting for someone to provide him with enough nuke crap to create an effective nuke warhead so now he's tossing around the idea of loading the missile(s) up with anthrax. At least, that's what the global community is chatting about. I guess that's his second choice. But I'm wondering if he's going to retract all of his statements re: "fire", "burn", etc. After all, those wouldn't be applicable if he decides to use anthrax instead.

Instead of North Korea becoming a "nuclear weapons state" like we all originally thought they were trying to do they're looking at becoming an "anthrax laden weapons state" or something catchy like that. One thing's certain, he sure doesn't like the United States.

This stuff just never seems to have an end to it does it.

IMHO

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U.S. Immigration Reform Suggestions!

I copied this from a "comments" section of a rather non-descript article out there. It's about "Immigration Reform":

From: "John Doe the Troll" 1 hour ago 
Here is how the reform should look:


The New Republic of Texas Immigration Laws:

1. There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.
2. All ballots will be in this nation's language.
3. All government business will be conducted in our language.
4. Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they
are here.
5. Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office.
6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food 
stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs. 
Any burden will be deported.
7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at 
least equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.
8. If foreigners come here and buy land... options will be restricted. 
Certain parcels including waterfront property are reserved for citizens 
naturally born into this country.
9. Foreigners may have NO protests; NO demonstrations, NO waving of 
a foreign flag, no political organizing, NO bad-mouthing our president 
or his policies. These will lead to immediate deportation.
10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted and, 
when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All 
assets will be taken from you. 


Too strict? The above laws are current immigration laws of MEXICO...


As taken from BigBo

Putin's making sense?!

I  had this sent to me in an email today. I have no idea where it came from prior to it being sent to the person who sent it to me... This is one time our elected leaders should pay attention to the  advice of Vladimir Putin   On August 04, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma,  (Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions  with  minorities in Russia :   "In Russia live like Russians.    Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia , to work  and eat in Russia ,  should speak  Russian, and should respect the Russian laws.    If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslim's then we  advise them to go to those  places where that's the state law.    Russia does not need Muslim minorities. Minorities need Russia , and we  will  not grant them  special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no  matter how loud they  yell 'discrimination'. We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture.    We had better learn from the suicides of America , England , Holland   and  France , if we are to survive as a nation.    The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not take over Russia ..   The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of  culture or the primitive ways of  Sharia Law and Muslims.    When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it  should have in mind the  Russian national interest first, observing that the Muslims Minorities  Are Not Russians.   The politicians in the Duma gave Putin a five minute standing ovation. If you keep this to yourself, you are part of the problem!   It is a sad day when a Communist makes more sense than our President Barack Hussein Obama.