This is the Friends of History Debating Society. I'm John Batchew with my good friend Germanicus, Macav lehos, and we are discussing

the Roman Empire in the 21st century called the American Empire.

Yes, the Americans deny they have an empire,

but we Romans can see it clearly.

The institutions, the architecture, for heaven's sakes,

the law, the understanding of the legions. We Romans

understand that you deny as long as possible that you're interfering in any

local disturbance. You have a light footprint. You call yourself an

embassy, but you're operating either hostile to the regime in place or helping the regime in place with your purposes.

Roman model works for the Americans.

However, the Americans are now entangled in two conflicts where they tried that light footprint and it didn't work.

That would be Ukraine and Gaza.

Gaza looks to be closing down in some fashion. No major combat has been reported for days.

The Hezbollah story is otherwise. We set that aside because we're concentrating on what's going on in Ukraine and how that affects or doesn't the

current campaign underway. So we turn to the American presidential campaign where Cleopatra, that's the closest model we have.

We're Romans.

We're stuck with our models.

They work for us.

Cleopatra is on the campaign trail and doing well.

Cover of New York Times every day, making proposals for intervention in people's finances to helping

with the mortgage, helping with

child care, helping with medical care, all very beneficial to

...