Former President Jimmy Carter had this to say about the current state of US politics - as it seems to many I tend to whine a lot about my country.

You may read the post here, if inclined:
www.huffingtonpost.com/[...]

It hasn't been a democracy in over 50 years.

Well if it isn't then what is it? Dictatorship? Junta? What?

Its a democracy as the people choose the leader with the majority ruling.

If you keep picking the wrong man, or you regret your choice, you CHOOSE the wrong man and you REGRETTED your choice.

Ipso Facto..

Yeah, a democracy is simply the electoral system where the voters know nothing about the issues but are free to vote for the person who told the most convincing lies.

Misleading title, Carter said no such thing and couldn't Even be construed as the US bashing that is being passed as patriotism in these forums.

I do not feel compelled to defend the US nor sing China's praises, I do believe in calling a spade a spade. And I really am annoyed by disingenuous people/arguments.

The article notes that politicians changed campaign finance election laws to permit circumvention by any party with money - foreign or domestic. Effectively, the USA has been controlled by oligarchs with diverse but selfish interests.

So your conclusion from that one statement out of context becomes Carter said US no longer a democracy? And thus is used to justify your patriotic "tough love" approach of bashing your adoptive country?

The US is not a country of Angels and does deserve it's critics, nor is it the noble campion of justice it would like to make itself out to be.

I respect your right to air your grievances and to voice your opinion. But please, don't engage in double speak by showing your contemp on the one hand and professing patriotism in the other. Nobody likes a fair weather friend that plays both side of the fence.

@laotou: You now outright lie about the USA.

1. The USA is a Republic as we elect people to represent us. It was never intended to be a 'Democracy' although our elections are a fairly democratic proceedure.

2. Another outright lie is you saying "politicians changed campaign finance election laws to permit circumvention by any party with money - foreign or domestic." It is illegal for foreign money to be given or accepted by US politicians. When China gave money to B. Clinton using Chinese citizens resident in the US most of them bailed and returned to the safety of China.

3. More than once you have decried paying taxes for retirement but whine the rules have been changed and you have been cheated. That my 五毛 friend is BS. In the US, Social Security was never a retirement plan, it is, and always was, intended to supplement an individual's retirement savings.

You lied again when you claim to be cheated. There has BEEN NO REDUCTION in US Social Security benefits. I get the maximum benefit which is more than $2,300 a month.

Given your eminent, in your own mind, career at the high levels of corporate America, you should also be getting the maximum as well. That's more than 14,000 yuan a month in China. I lived quite well on my benefits in KM.

I apologize to other readers of GoK for calling you out but you now have gone beyond simply displaying your ignorance disguised by verbiage.

Democracy is an ideal, not an empirical reality now or ever. Seems to me we're not getting closer to it anywhere, at least within the actual ruling political systems. Perhaps it can be promoted by acting from without?

@Alien
I stuck this upfront - as my posts are typically epic. In my opinion, democracy requires responsibility. Assuming this is a true statement - we cannot advance towards democracy until we advance towards personal responsibility. Behaviorally - I see the USA moving AWAY from personal responsibility and advocating "big government".

@GEEZER
You can "call me out", as you say and you can accuse me of lying - but the simple fact is for every point, there is always a counterpoint. As your response appears well thought out and well supported - I'll respond in kind out of respect, to the best of my ability and attention span.

1. USA IS A REPUBLIC. Actually, it WAS a republic. When the USA created the two/multi-party system, it morphed into something else. Democracy - as I understand it - merely means we all or most of us get to vote and the value of ANY ONE legitimate citizen getting a vote is highly debatable - but ideologically admirable. Democracy always struck me as a BASS ACKWARDS form of government - where the masses choose their leaders based on the assumption that the masses are intelligent, mature, and responsible enough to choose leaders - which begs the question - WHAT is a leader and how does one evaluate a leader and measure a leader's performance?

Regardless, the USA's system of government generally sort of works in a rather chaotic seemingly random manner - but it's not infallible, as is currently eminently obvious with Greece's glaring governmental and citizen-supported fiscal irresponsibility. Freedom, liberty, democracy, republics without responsibility is a formula for failure - or random chaos at best, depending on one's definition of RESPONSIBILITY. So - yes, the USA is sort of a Republic and sort of NOT a republic. Depends on one's perspective. As I have a different if not diversely opposite perspective as yours - does that make me a liar? Interesting choice of words and interesting manner of manifestation.

2. ILLEGAL FOREIGN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.

Any and all US corporations are legal, but virtual entities - aka virtual US citizens. ANY foreign country may therefore create a US corporation as a donation vehicle - although that would violate the known indirect campaign contributions guidelines for foreign entities - also known as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), of which the USA is allegedly a signatory - behavior versus practice vary rather considerably. Marcos, former Shah of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Samoa, Saipan, Taiwan, Guam, Puerto Rico - the list is endless of suspected US governmental FCPA infractions - your tax dollars at work.

As you point out - direct or indirect foreign contributions to campaign elections are illegal and both China AND Israel have been identified as illegally attempting to influence US politics - some conduits have even been prosecuted and or convicted.

FAIRLY DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS. PACs and SUPER PACs are well known vehicles for circumventing campaign election finance laws. These PACs and SUPER PACS are NOT allegedly directly related to the candidates and may therefore be financed by ANY party - domestic or foreign, as they allegedly represent "citizens" or private group "freedom of speech", but in reality are merely super slush funds for overloading the media and derivatively the general rather gullible public with positive "spin" or propaganda - hence Jimmy Carter's alleged comments regarding the loss of democracy in the USA. So from your perspective, yes I'm lying, as the letter of the law is quite specific. And NO I'm NOT lying as circumvention permits essentially unlimited inflow of funds into the PACs and SUPER-PACs. Based on your excellent knowledge of the US electoral system and government, I'm surprised that you are either unaware or have purposely chosen to avoid mentioning this critical and publicly well-known electoral system of legal abuse that flagrantly circumvents voter approved campaign reform voted into law over a decade ago, at virtually ALL levels of elected government. Either I'm lying, you didn't know, or you know but consciously elect to NOT address or acknowledge this critical and key counterpoint to your assertion that I'm lying - assuming my comments about PACS and super PACS are true and not also figments of my imagination or in your vernacular - outright lies..

3. RETIREMENT
My retirement comes due in 5-10+ years, depending on whether I choose early or late retirement, to "take advantage of full partial or full benefits". At that time, it is projected my retirement benefits will be reduced between 10-28% from what you are earning today and for each year I delay - my benefits MAY decline - potentially offset by the alleged increase in benefits I would earn by delaying my retirement.

YOUR retirement benefits (congrats), which you're receiving today and are being supported by TODAY's tax-paying working class, will remain unaffected, aside from potential cost of living adjustments (COLA). I don't believe I said the laws have been changed - so your accusation of lying is potentially debatable. I said the RHETORIC changed - social security WAS presented as a form of social retirement - that's the way it was presented to the American public, that's how MANY tax-paying Americans unfortunately perceived the system, and that's how I mistakenly perceived the system for decades. When I elected to leave the USA in 1995, for alternate career and life opportunities - I personally changed my perception of social security as something I could NOT depend upon for comfortable retirement - it was now relegated to the category of discretionary pocket money and THAT decision was opportunistically fortunate. ONLY LATELY has the US government been more aggressively forthright about correcting that illusion to align with your statement - it's a "retirement subsidy/assistance" and should NOT be depended upon for retirement - which begs the question "what's the purpose of a nationally mandated system to provide a retirement subsidy" as opposed to genuine retirement benefits for US citizens - seems half assed to me. Unskilled labor - non-salaried employees - these people living check to check generally don't have the ability, knowledge, or training to save up money for retirement.

Again - seems to me to be a half-assed system. That you are able to live off of CNY 14k per month in China - that's wonderfully fantastic for you - how's that work for you, if you lived in the USA? Your benefits that you receive in China and are NOT federally taxable - are below poverty level for anyone single retiree living in the USA, unless they also ALL move to China or similar nations with lower costs of living. Your own statements are self rebutting on this issue, but as I'm a debatable liar - debatable....

Assume you own your own home at a value of say USD 100k and the tax assessor does NOT asses it at it's current market value - in California, your property taxes alone are typically 1-3% of the assessed value of your home. Assuming you own your own home free and clear - no mortgage payments - your annual property taxes at the 1% rate would be USD 1k or CNY 6k per year. You'll need to pay roughly 8% of non-essential purchases. So that CNY 14k a month - it's DEFINITELY pocket money - or a retirement subsidy - assuming you have a retirement plan, savings, etc. If you live in a condo community - count on paying at least USD 100 a month (USD 1200 a year) in management fees and expect that to DOUBLE within 10 years (if you're LUCKY, it'll be 10 years). Most working class Americans do NOT have retirement plans and depend upon social security to survive (not including food stamps, etc). Long-term employment, to take advantage of corporate retirement plans is a dream because of the hiring cycles - which corporations no longer plan for - because those reserves need to generate profit - thanks to a greedy stock market system that demands profit over social responsibility.

Even the military is insecure because of chaotic cutbacks (yet we can still send billions of aid to Afghanistan, Iraq, Puerto Rico, Saipan, etc ad infinitum). Is viewing things from an obviously different perspective lying? Is a different perspective misrepresentation or lying? Interesting choice of words and interesting manifestation of your opinion.

I MAY be debatably wrong occasionally or frequently on things at home in the USA - as these things are coffee table discussions to me these days. As for eminent - my career has been scoffed at by a foreign embassy leader as "impossible", according to another KM executive, so I'm obviously a legend in my own mind, unless my background is true, but who cares. I don't care about public or private perception - money talks - manure walks.

And - there's no need to apologize - I generally take the digs in good humor and I seriously reflect on genuine and sincerely intended comments, such as yours and others, in case I'm delusional - which I know is frequently the perception. Don't care - as long as banks, investors, and financiers continue to buy into my distortion/perception of reality - I'm good.

There is occasional if not frequent debate regarding my alleged allegiance to the USA - I love my country - don't care what others think - but I see it for what it truly is - not the sugar-coated propagandized illusion that most people would like to believe. I have very few illusions about the good and the ugly and right now - political corruption is rampant and unchecked...in my opinion. But as you point out - if my opinion is diversely different from yours - I'm just an outright liar...most interesting choice of words and a most interesting manner of manifestation.

I personally find it revolting that someone like Trump and Hilary are/were front runners of the US Presidency. Trump is blatantly disrespectful to our armed forces - the people who serve our country in harm's way. His cavalier attitude towards serving military, his snide remarks about our POWs - and this guy is a public front runner for President. I'm seriously worried about what the USA considers leadership quality.

Hilary - really smart lady - but she's so publicly sneaky and manipulative - hiding behind legalisms. Her inability to be forthright and her behavior - questionable qualities in a leader. I'm waiting for the media to responsibly compile a list of leadership qualities - as opposed to this perpetual media hype, which I consider irresponsible biased entertainment as opposed to responsible unbiased reporting.

So, as my opinions and perspectives are polar opposite to your opinions and perspectives - you public "out me" as a liar. That's a most interesting choice of words, perspective, and behavior, as I don't consider you a liar - merely a different or alternative perspective for my personal consideration.

I'm not permitted the luxury of publicly accusing people of being liars, regardless of my personal perspective. I'm professionally required to perceive and analyze various issues from multiple perspectives, to understand the opposing party's perspective(s) and then devise engagement strategies for mutual benefit if possible and feasible.