tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post5092265737841536547..comments2024-01-16T03:42:46.705-05:00Comments on The Downward Spiral: "Pothole Nation" = Spoiled Rotten NationBill Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-70626209352006366782012-04-21T19:24:48.692-04:002012-04-21T19:24:48.692-04:00"A nation of unenlightened halfwits". Th..."A nation of unenlightened halfwits". That really sums it up perfectly. Thats exactly how I feel about this nation, at this point in my life. Another brillant post with excellent comments Bill. Thank-you so much.defshepardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029515057003737645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-47759231351813532632012-04-21T18:52:04.227-04:002012-04-21T18:52:04.227-04:00I hear you, Gail. My hometown of Freeport, Illino...I hear you, Gail. My hometown of Freeport, Illinois, which I've written about here before had a downtown district of classic old buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of them still stand (in dilapidated condition), but most were torn down for ugly replacements or parking lots. The biggest tragedy was the ornate old courthouse, which had stood for more than a century before it was ripped down in the late 1970s to make way for an utterly soulless replacement. <br /><br />George Carlin's description of America as "a nation of unenlightened halfwits" comes to mind...Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-88874008007382422422012-04-21T18:39:56.078-04:002012-04-21T18:39:56.078-04:00Actually, my impression from visiting various coun...Actually, my impression from visiting various countries in Europe is that America, by comparison, has NEVER maintained anything. We've been pretty good about expansion, but typically just abandoned whatever got old and worn out and moved on to the new. (It's worked so long as we had territories with nothing but hapless First Nation people in our way, who were easily dispatched.)<br /><br />That's why Europe is full of amazing old castles, churches, government buildings, museums and houses - everything from fancy castles to humble cottages.<br /><br />The mentality is to preserve and reuse, as opposed to rip down. Even comparatively wealthy people live in much tinier spaces than lower-class Americans. When I was so lucky to visit in Paris and London and Italy at various times in the past 20 years, my friends in those places, who were by no means poor, still bathed in tubs - not even handheld showers, and thought nothing of it.<br /><br />I grew up in Ipswich, Mass, which has more 17th and 18th century houses still intact than any other town in the US (which I loved!). The reason is, the first Winthrop governors lived there and expected it to be what Boston became so for a while it was prosperous. But the harbor silted in, and the town was abandoned to poverty (luckily) as wave after wave of immigrants - first Greek and then Polish - moved in to work in the lace factories, then the shoe manufacturing and clam shucking industries. They were too impoverished to tear down and rebuild and now, the town is a treasure of restored antique homes.Gailhttp://witsendnj.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-78033230314274460682012-04-21T16:41:44.521-04:002012-04-21T16:41:44.521-04:00But 'Me first and fuck the rest of you' is...But 'Me first and fuck the rest of you' is exactly the sentiment that America was founded on. <br />It amazes me that you lasted this long.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-86248954619281010052012-04-21T14:53:33.050-04:002012-04-21T14:53:33.050-04:00I spoke to several friends who were in the US rece...I spoke to several friends who were in the US recently and they all expressed amazement at the visible decline in the infrastructure. This is something they do really well in mainland western Europe, in France which I know well the infrastructure is of a very high standard and very well maintained. It's a very, very bad sign when a society begins to neglect its infrastructure, it evokes things like the last days of the Roman empire.irishwildeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13653892284914268881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-40700785891852276992012-04-21T11:33:31.391-04:002012-04-21T11:33:31.391-04:00You should see the holes on the pacific coast high...You should see the holes on the pacific coast highway. After these past couple months of nothing but rain, wow, almost as bad as '97. If we face total systemic collapse, highway 101 will cease to exist in two maybe three years, it'll just slide into the ocean.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-41403989057352469362012-04-21T11:03:08.939-04:002012-04-21T11:03:08.939-04:00That was a fantastic takedown. I bow in that rega...That was a fantastic takedown. I bow in that regard to a master of deflating wakery! :)Bill Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17551954408189665078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-56381243386127586412012-04-21T10:37:53.185-04:002012-04-21T10:37:53.185-04:00When I looked at the online newsfeed for my local ...When I looked at the online newsfeed for my local paper this week, I could hardly believe it. I mean, how can we not see what's happening? It's like watching a car crash in real time: <a href="http://hipcrime.blogspot.com/2012/04/all-collapse-is-local.html" rel="nofollow">Scenes of collapse in the heartland</a>escapefromwisconsinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02369565788469048090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3862216000300765627.post-87761707914891097022012-04-21T09:33:00.800-04:002012-04-21T09:33:00.800-04:00"Potholes" must have been the topic of t..."Potholes" must have been the topic of the week that came off the fake left's fax machines this week! I swear, I think they are going with one message repeated over and over like the right! "Talk about potholes...the unwashed masses will understand potholes. Let's get them in a lather over.....potholes!"<br /><br />Your readers might get a kick out of this:<br />Thomas Friedman is worried about potholes and this writer does something magical in responding to the latest Friedman piece.<br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/thomas-friedman-satire_n_1433408.html<br /><br />I know it's huffington post, but keep with me- that's what makes his piece even funnier. The comments from most of the readers show they are not bright enough to realize satire that would make Swift proud.<br /><br />Oh, and Thomas Friedman's answer to the potholes...elect Mayor Bloomberg as a third party choice for president. lol.Jim Laheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12440909311757922295noreply@blogger.com