What will the U.S. be like 4 years from now?

[hang a left]

When *Bushco has finished the job he started. What war will we be fighting, what will become of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Make your predictions and discuss.

[Pam-Moby]

1. Poor

Very poor.:hurts:

[codegreen]

2. the war will come home; martial law instated, thoughtcrime prosecuted.

all they need are a few domestic incidents allegedly caused by leftists, and the rest falls like dominoes...

[NEOBuckeye]

11. You need soldiers for martial law. There's just not enough for everywhere.

I still don't get all of the fearmongering about martial law on both sides of the political spectrum. Where are the soldiers to enforce it going to come from? Draftees? Yeah, right! Not unless Bush and Co. want a massive uprising. You won't even be able to count on municipal and county police forces for more than a few weeks, once their departments run up too much red ink from overtime and extra gas for cruisers.

At any rate, we have no NATIONAL GUARD left, thanks to dumbass Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.

And even if we could pull all of our active troops around the world home, would we have enough to march up and down every Main Street in every major city from Dayton to Dallas? Picture maybe 10,000-20,000 troops marching around Downtown Manhattan and L.A. So, what are you going to do about the other "not-quite-as-major-cities" like Cleveland, Miami, Seattle, and Birmingham? 1,000 troops? 500? What about airports, train stations, hospitals, courthouses, stores, and bridges? Won't those need policing as well?

IMHO, by the time we arrive at this point, the United States will be going belly up like the Soviet Union did. :eyes:

[kineneb]

21. never mind going into inner-city areas

They will become independent, since they routinely out-gun the local cops. AK47s or Uzis, anyone? And you can forget Idaho with all the survivalist types.

[Javaman]

23. They will federalize the police force.

[Katidid]

39. "They will federalize the police force."

I agree - the new laser/taser equipment that has been developed in the last year will reduce the requirement of "warm" bodies to create a large militarized police force, and after all, don't forget the numerous privatized prison camps(mostly empty right now) that have been built all over the southwestern and western states(And that is only what the public knows about at this time). I think 2005 is going to be a hell of a ride! I am depressed!

[zoeb]

3. like we got hit by a 4-year tsunami. n/t

[Danocrat]

4. Newspaper headlines of the future

“Gays Mysteriously Go Missing in Nation’s Cities”
“Tactical Nuclear Weapons Not That Harmful to Environment”
“First Round of Arrests in Mandatory Church Attendance Protests”
“Arkansas Judge Roy Moore Nominated to Supreme Court”
“Senator Coulter Initiates Investigation into Hillary Fund-raising Scandal”
"Whole Families Drafted in Major National Induction"

[Ilsa]

5. Women of childbearing years will have to take a urinalysis to

order alcohol in a restaurant. That's because the restaurant doesn't want to be held liable by the govt. for contributing to an accidental miscarriage. They won't care if the fetus makes it to term and is disabled, because they never care after the birth.

So, the restaurants will be serving up tea for free to the ladies so they can make plenty of pee for the required urinalysis.

At some point, someone will develop a sensitive test that is dispensed in the toilet after every flush. All she has to do is pee as usual, and a computer-gen slip will go to her waiterperson to indicate it's okay to serve her wine or beer.

What's really disturbing is that the young women generally won't mind, because they've been brainwashed by the MSM that this is necessary to "protect innocent life" as DimSon says as he starts his third term.

[Swamp Rat]

6. Oh, it'll be worse than bad...

Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, biblical?
Ray: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor... real Wrath-of-God-type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies.
Venkman: Rivers and seas boiling!
Egon: 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanos.
Winston:The dead rising from the grave!
Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!

:D

[ktowntennesseedem]

13. I'll be looking for the Sta-Puf Marshmellow Man by March '07

[karlrschneider]

7. A "former democracy"

:grr:

[gorbal]

8. The planets will align

We will have better relations with our allies, we will develop alternates to oil. Our schools will receive more funding, everyone will have health care and the minimum wage will be 12 dollars an hour. (I'm banking on Kerry winning the recount still)

[deminflorida]

9. The Economy will not recover.... World Markets will move away

from the U.S. dollar standard.

Housing Market will go bust within 1 year (California market will go bust first).

Iraq will NOT be a success, the insurgency will increase following the January elections. Look for key assassinations within the ruling Iraqi governing party and possible a secular Islamic Civil War.

Look for a Black Friday (1987) Stock Market repeat. (2 years from now, the Republicans will claim it's a readjustment or market correction).

Republicans will continue to concentrate on polarizing social issues like Abortion and Same-Sex-Marriage in order to build upon a "Moral" platform for 2008.

There will be a BIG shift in power during the 2006 elections, especially within the House and State Governorships.

There WILL BE pain, but you can't fool the entire electorate forever.

My real hope is that this will finally be the death of the Republican Party as we know it, but then again I look at the glass half full and not empty.

[two gun sid]

30. I agree with your assessment.

I believe China will work with other countries to contain the US's dreams of empire. Our diminished and impoverished country will stand by and watch as the Chinese Century unfolds.
The electorate will not be fooled forever. Unfortunately, with our national treasure lost on the sands of the Middle East we will be in no position to prevent our slide to irrelevance.
The last election was probably the most important in our history. By choosing W we sealed our fate. This world will be a much crueler place in 4 yrs.

[indigobusiness]

31. Welcome to DU, Sid

You are going to add to the discussion here, it looks like.

Well said.

[ramapo]

10. Dumber, poorer and alone

Americans will sink deeper into the pit of delusion and detachment. The happy talk spin will whirl out of Washington and the media until events overtake them. At some point there will be no denying the terrible economic, environmental and foreign policy mess that we're in.

We will continue with our child-like behavior and spend what we don't have and use what we don't create. We will continue to believe that we are "special" and that nothing bad can happen (until it does).

We will not plan for the future but instead use up resources while putting off any acknowledgement that at some point our dream of never-ending growth will crash.

That point might come next month, next year or ten years from now.
Time will tell.

[NEOBuckeye]

12. January 26, 2008

Just a lucky guess.

[Pegleg Thd]

14. After 4 more years of

the bush bastards there won't be enough left of this country to talk about.

[satori]

15. 2008 the USA will still be at war and more global warming

I have no doubts that a war will still be going on in 2008.
More global warming, more pollution...

[Acryliccalico]

16. 3rd world country for sure

:puke: :puke: :puke: except for that 1% of the wealthy :grr: who will rule the world

[gorbal]

17. If the left behinders are correct

He will only rule 7 years, so keep the faith:)

[barb162]

18. it will be terrible, we will be in steep decline economically, lots

of unemployment, the middle class disappearing, more terror attacks, gas prices very high, people suffering, more homeless and then it will just keep getting worse. Forget the Constitution and you'll be on the mark. Think Theocracy as the fundies will really start taking over. Oh and education will also be in steep decline as people won't be able to afford good schools and what will be the purpose anyway as Asia will be really taking over all our tech and science that we have been giving away for years.

[Calvinist Basset]

19. The cockroaches will begin establishing their new society

because we will all be dead from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons that were used in the third world war.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[livinginphotographs]

20. I predict we'll be going to hell in a handbasket....

And the Bush-voters will be waiting to vote Jeb in.

[0007]

22. Texas

[indigobusiness]

32. You might be right.

I fear you might have lurched into the truth.

[Javaman]

24. Personally, I think moron* will do something epically stupid and fuck up..

the free ride for the repukes. Just a feeling.

[NewJeffCT]

40. I used to think that as well

But, after all the fuck ups & stupidity of the first four years, he still got back into the White House and is worshipped by many.

[zann725]

25. Hopefully we'll be RE-electing President Kerry in 4 years!

A lot of us haven't given up yet. Let's take it one step at a time.

[dethl]

26. You mean there will be a US in 4 years?

n/t

[The Zanti Regent]

27. I fully expect the country to break up like the USSR did!

That map of the United States of Canada and Jesusland is getting more real with each passing day!

[0007]

34. 'Tis going down fast, 'eh?

[lpbk2713]

28. All of the above , and ............

they will be blaming it all on Bill Clinton. Some things will never change.

[AntiCoup2K4]

29. Unfortunately, if Bush gets his way, it might look like a cross between...

...Fallujah and the South Asian coastline.

[Mr.Green93]

33. On the verge

of a new beginning with President H.R. Clinton

[femme.democratique]

35. Watch this for an indication....

[NewJeffCT]

37. What I think

1) China will take steps to move away their currency from being tied to the dollar. Just the public mention of this possibility will send our markets crashing and create a ripple effect around the world. This will also hurt China quite a bit, but in 3-4 years, they may be confident that it will be only a deep recession in China while we suffer a Depression. The EU also suffers a recession, but it is relatively mild compared to the US.
2) The US Depression is blamed on the UN, those socialists at the EU, George Soros and excesses from the Clinton Years. Most buy into the mantra, as it is repeated on all the nightly news stations as gospel.
3) Tony Scalia will be nominated to take the place of retiring Rehnquist, with somebody like Pickering taking Scalia's spot on the bench. Right now, I think Moore is too controversial. Bush might make noise towards Moore, but then nominate Pickering instead to make it look like he is giving in. Alberto Gonzales will be the next choice in order to win more Hispanic votes.
4) Wal-Mart, through several major acquisitions and further aggressive expansion, will be head & shoulders above the rest of the world’s corporations, dwarfing the combined revenues of the rest of the Fortune 10.
5) Martial Law will be declared in either New York City or southern California following a major terror attack close to the 2008 election.
6) Conservatives further infest the airwaves and the rest of the media as everybody tries to imitate Fox to get their ratings. Maybe Ann Coulter or Michelle Malkin replaces Peter Jennings when he retires? The White House Press Corps is now named by Karl Rove and includes only reporters from the NY Post, Washington Times, Fox News and similar media. Anything bad is still blamed on the liberal media, however.
7) Iraq will still be a mess in four years, with US troop deaths surpassing 10,000 as reported in the US, but 20,000 as reported in the free world media. However, any positive stories out of Iraq lead the evening news for a week, so most think things are hunky-dory.
8) Most corporations drop health insurance subsidies as “unaffordable” in the new global economy. However, the media still tells us that we have the world’s best health care despite the number of uninsured now passing 75,000,000.
9) US passes law declaring that we are a Christian nation, but all religions are welcome here.
10) Draft is imposed out of necessity for needing more troops to combat insurgencies in Iran & Syria. One million are drafted by election day 2008.
11) To combat the Depression, more tax cuts for the wealthy are passed.
12) Our bankrupt federal government is forced to drastically scale back Social Security payments for current retirees and cut any future payouts entirely; Medicare is cut out completely as well. This is justified in the name of the War on Terror.

[AllegroRondo]

42. When do we devalue the dollar?

[NewJeffCT]

43. I don't know if "we" will have a say

I think it is more up to China & Japan and if they decide to stop buying US Treasuries to support our economy. Just the rumor that they might will send the dollar (& our economy) into a tailspin.

[theycanbiteme]

36. A poor, militaristic, police state....

run by fascists.


And...the world allied against it.

[catmandu57]

38. I don't know

I really don't think I'm going to be here four years from now, thats pretty pesimisstic, but it's the way I've been feeling, and the way it looks I don't really give a flying fuck.

[imabadman]

41. Not much different

That's the good thing about the way our government is set up. Things can only change so fast.

If you ask me, gridlock is a good thing.

[NewJeffCT]

44. what gridlock?

Republicans control all 3 branches... or, are you talking about gridlock between the extreme Right and the really extreme Right?

[imabadman]

45. If you think Bush is going to get everything he wants

Sit back, observe and you will be very surprised.