War Vote

So given that the US is a republic, much like that of Rome – are we at the beginning of our “try to be an empire and spend all of our money” phase or at the end of our “tried to be an empire but spent all of our money” phase? I might be blowing smoke out my rear chute, but I can barely wait until I can ride my bike into work. Or have my children peddling on excercise bikes so that Eriko and I can watch an evening movie. ;P