I hate linking things....this is a short proof of how close the end of the 'republic' is.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-09-19/2-us-supreme-court-justices-%E2%80%93-and-numerous-other-top-government-officials-%E2%80%93-w?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher