@Pluto's Republic
starkest cultural differences is how they treat the corrupt. In China the corrupt go to prison or executed. In the US they are celebrated and advance up the ladder, even to the presidency.

Maybe we should try China's method.

.
I recommend The China Academy for insights and snappy answers to all these questions and concerns..

The China Academy is, in my opinion, the most exciting new online publication to come along in years. It's full of geopolitical surprises by Asian academics and journalists, who are finally flexing their cutting-edge intelligence for a global audience. They don't have all the answers yet. (Westerners are much weirder that they ever imagined.) But they are growing more informed and astute by the day. What's even more interesting to me, is that the invited contributors from the West, who are featured as founding contributors to The China Academy, are the very same podcaster experts who are regularly featured and interviewed at C99 — both in the Evening Blues and Sunday's Weekly Watch.

All of the heated issues that are being discussed and lied about in the Western media are also debated in The China Academy, with surprisingly strong data and transformational differences — topic by topic.

For example, this topic:

Biden’s Grand AI Gift to China

Before the United States realizes that sanctioning China further will harm its own interests, it will continue unwittingly aiding China.

.
As always, an enlightening counterpoint. What's unfolding around us is the greatest civilization drama in the modern age. I can't believe we get to witness it as it happens. The things we've seen!

@Snode
three voters left to vote in an election but there'll be many more than three ballots cast from the graveyard.

I wonder how many of us they'll keep around. How many peasants are needed to have an election anyway, three?

There are so many ways to keep us divided and most of them work. They know that formula very well.

This just feels, in retrospect, inevitable. Each party has the same aims...power. Wealth without needing to produce anything of value, just fluffing the ultra wealthy and corporations for some of their spare change. It's the bread and circus shows they put on that are different. It's all high fructose politics for us masses, and we lapped it up. I wonder how many of us they'll keep around. How many peasants are needed to have an election anyway, three?

@MrWebster
of the movie The Godfather. A case in point is how a parade of major players made their way to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the hand of the Don. I can see it in my mind, Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates entering a dark room, hat in hand, nervously approaching the Don's desk, head down, tail between the legs (yes, they both have tails), asking for forgiveness for their transgressions, mewling their new found fealty for their new master while asking for retribution against their rivals. As Luca Brasi watches from behind a curtain, piano wire in hand.

I'm pretty sure that's how it plays out. They're all snakes in a den.

I'm now firmly set in my belief that we are not governed by representatives of the people, but rather by a syndicate of warring crime families.

And these rival gangs fight in the proverbial back rooms outside of our view. Sometimes some reporters like Taibbi expose them, but the news comes and goes. One I remember but unfortunately cannot find articles when Walmart and retail giants went up against the financial services sector for raising processing fees on credit cards, etc. Walmart was winning the battle but then Obama admin came in and declared for the banksters. (Sorry forgot the specifics.)

Gore Vidal came out long ago and complained about the uniparty. But the thing is, as you say, there are warring factions among the overlords.