A quote for today

The 'Invincible' Armada*
(*Wall Street hadn't been invented yet)

This is no longer the muscular and arrogant United States the world knows, the superpower that sets the rules for everyone else and that considers its way of thinking and doing business to be the only road to success. A new America is on display, a country that no longer trusts its old values and its elites even less: the politicians, who failed to see the problems on the horizon, and the economic leaders, who tried to sell a fictitious world of prosperity to Americans. Der Spiegel

David Seaton's News Links
That is about as cold as it gets.

However, if it is any consolation, America, the land of superlatives, has managed to decline at a speed that will impress, fascinate and keep historians (Chinese) busy for centuries trying to figure it out.

I live in a country, Spain, which was the previous record holder for falling from the heights. A country, once the greatest empire in the world, that finally bottomed out in the blood-drunk orgy of its civil war and the hangover of four decades of moldy dictatorship. Everything is fine now, but it was a helluva ride to get here.

The USA seems to have telescoped what it took Spain centuries to achieve into only a few years.

The American 1950s might be compared to Spain's "Golden Age" (Siglo de Oro) and, stretching it a bit, today might be compared to the early 1930s. Think of it, 500 years of splendor and decline crammed into only six decades! ...With the best yet to come.

You go girl! DS