# Are We an Occupied Country? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369 "2017-05-11T16:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/41 "2017-05-14T01:41:46Z")
> [@ethelbert](#): > > …I would prefer to see opposition to Trump adopt a higher ground. Yeah _totally_. > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Я, например, приветствую наши российские повелитель. = “Make what you like, Boskovitch - it won’t help you in court.” > [@XT](#): > > You only say that because Putin looks so cute topless riding his horse. 😛 [kinda fun](https://www.google.ca/search?q=putin+riding&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjOgOu1n-7TAhUS32MKHfiFCJkQ_AUICigB&biw=803&bih=626) The centaur one’s pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/42 "2017-05-14T04:55:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Should that not be «повелители»? With a «новые» thrown in there for good measure? Hey, don’t blame me, blame Google Translate. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/43 "2017-05-14T15:18:55Z")
No, we are by no means an occupied country. What we are is disrupted, weakened, and not a threat to Putin’s plans. That is the goal, and it has been met. The Trump supporters, and Hillary haters, and Bernie Bros, are the classic convenient “useful idiots” in Putin’s overall plans. He didn’t create them, necessarily, but he leveraged them by feeding them targeted confirmation bias memes in order to get his tool Trump into office. Now he can execute on his plans and expect no opposition from the US. Trump will be out there saying, “What’s the big deal?”, while the rest of us will be screaming at our representatives about healthcare, the environment, etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/44 "2017-05-14T23:08:40Z")
Speaking of occupation, I find it incredible that 152 years after the end of the Civil War, [casualties are still occurring](http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/suit-woman-attacked-camel-jefferson-davis-home-47400572?cid=clicksource_4380645_1_hero_headlines_headlines_hed). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/45 "2017-05-14T23:27:21Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > If Putin were actually pulling the strings on all US politics through Trump - and not only what’s of benefit for both - then I would feel a bit better, because, as terrible an autocrat as Putin is, at least he’s rational. Yes, he started a war with Ukraine and occupied the Krim - but because he considered them low-hanging fruit (and he tries his best to use Russia Today and his hackers to influence all Western elections to disrupt the EU). > > But I don’t think Putin is insane enough or lacking in control to wake up one morning, get angry over Twitter, and start bombing North Korea. > > Which is at least likely with Trump. > > Sorry, Nope. You’re the last on all scales for democratic modern countries. You’re like on a 5th grade level when everybody else is already either a junior or senior in High School. > > It’s not just the blatant corruption (after the not-very-secret corruption under Bushes). It’s that your system has so many broken parts plus a large part of your population stopped accepting facts or compromise, wanting only a “strong man”. In other words, some important meta-values necessary for democracy are gone for years now (starting with Fox news for example) and since politicans profit from it, I don’t see how there will be a reform. > Another thing lacking for decades is a Good Free Press. Yes, on paper your press is free. But in reality, the concentration into a few mega-companies makes them dependant on ad money, meaning they no longer work as watchdogs for democracy and help the citizen by doing real journalism, instead, they only create clickbait (and the fear-mongering helps the populists in turn). Add to that the layoffs when ad revenue shrunk, plus that terrible idea of “balanced airtime” instead of “finding out the truth and reporting on that”. > > And on top there is the blatant disenfranchisment of the voters, through jerrymandering, through voting fees (for non-national, non-fake proof IDs), registering, voting on week-days instead of weekends… all to make it hard for poor people to vote. > You’re close to the Roman Republic, (often stated by your people as ideal) in that everything is crumbling; and similar to how the Romans didn’t tolerate people who called themselves King, but didn’t have problems with unrestricted power in Emperors, so your people have no problems with autocracy as long as the dog-catcher and sheriff and school board is elected (to make sure non-experts, but people with agendas, can choose school books, or that the person tasked with enforcing the law is bound to be polite to the powerful to get re-elected). > > “It couldn’t happen here” indeed. It’s hard reading the first chapter because of how little of the attitudes have changed in certain regions. Dear god I’m glad you don’t live in the U.S. and can vote here. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/46 "2017-05-15T01:47:14Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Dear god I’m glad you don’t live in the U.S. and can vote here. Is it just me…Or is this remark very cryptic on many levels to the point of being essentially unintelligible what you point may or may not be? [Perhaps that “can” was supposed to be a “can’t”, which would make it at least marginally less cryptic?] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/47 "2017-05-15T04:50:45Z")
Yeah, it should’ve been “can’t”. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/48 "2017-05-15T09:18:43Z")
We’re too powerful to be occupied by Russia. What has happened is that our worst voters have become big fans of a country they favorably perceive as a kind of Redneck Great-Power. What we are now is a _Russian-inspired_ country. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/49 "2017-05-15T11:41:08Z")
We are occupied by the “federal” government. Until the Russians master the ability to exact tribute like the D.C. rulers, I am unconcerned with their supposed occupation. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/50 "2017-05-15T12:49:14Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > You’re the last on all scales for democratic modern countries…It’s not just the blatant corruption (after the not-very-secret corruption under Bushes). It’s always [humbling](http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/complicit-in-corruption-how-german-companies-bribed-their-way-to-greek-deals-a-693973.html) to be [lectured](http://www.dw.com/en/how-corrupt-is-germany/a-1144554) about [corruption](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/documents-indicate-slush-fund-used-in-german-world-cup-bid-a-1058212.html) by someone from [Germany](http://www.dw.com/en/wulff-scandal-raises-questions-over-political-sponsorship/a-15816541). Almost as ironic as when they start going on about other countries’ human rights violations. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/51 "2017-05-16T00:42:50Z")
I don’t enjoy foreign lecturing but for some context: Transparency International’s [Corruption Perceptions Index](http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016) lists Germany as being 81% clean compared to America’s 74%. Canada stands at 82% and France at 69%. The Economist’s [Democracy Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index#Democracy_index_by_country_.282016.29) gives Germany a score of 8.63/10 (Full Democracy) and the United States a 7.98/10 (Flawed Democracy). Canada stands at 9.15/10 (Full Democracy) and France at 7.92/10 (Flawed Democracy). These are pre-Trump numbers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/52 "2017-05-16T01:56:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s always [humbling](http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/complicit-in-corruption-how-german-companies-bribed-their-way-to-greek-deals-a-693973.html) to be [lectured](http://www.dw.com/en/how-corrupt-is-germany/a-1144554) about [corruption](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/documents-indicate-slush-fund-used-in-german-world-cup-bid-a-1058212.html) by someone from [Germany](http://www.dw.com/en/wulff-scandal-raises-questions-over-political-sponsorship/a-15816541). > > Almost as ironic as when they start going on about other countries’ human rights violations. 🙂 It seems a pretty accurate assessment to my mostly-transparent, fully democratic self. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/53 "2017-05-16T14:50:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s always [humbling](http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/complicit-in-corruption-how-german-companies-bribed-their-way-to-greek-deals-a-693973.html) to be [lectured](http://www.dw.com/en/how-corrupt-is-germany/a-1144554) about [corruption](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/documents-indicate-slush-fund-used-in-german-world-cup-bid-a-1058212.html) by someone from [Germany](http://www.dw.com/en/wulff-scandal-raises-questions-over-political-sponsorship/a-15816541). > > Almost as ironic as when they start going on about other countries’ human rights violations. 🙂 So, by your standards a citizen or resident of a flawed country is not allowed to have an opinion? Hm, how do you stack up to that standard? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/54 "2017-05-16T18:25:57Z")
Well I for one voted for Putin. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/55 "2017-05-16T22:44:17Z")
Because you thought you were voting for fries covered in gravy and topped with curds? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/56 "2017-05-16T22:45:20Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Well I for one voted for Putin. Congrats on your win! ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369/57 "2017-05-16T23:40:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, if he were a sovereign citizen he would repel the evil invaders by repeating “lack of joinder!” and pointing out that there is no gold fringe on the Russki flag. > > Also, [Wolverines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dawn)! > > Regards, > Shodan I was thinking this week that if they remade Red Dawn, the Wolverines would be helping the Russians round up the Lie-buh-rals, and that Powers Boothe’s character would be shot on sight. It would end with promises of Jesus returning to Earth somewhere around Nye County, Nevada 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-an-occupied-country/786369.md?page=2)