In other election news...

[ivan3]

punk-a-doodle wrote: With some states talking about succeeding, maybe we won't have to change the number of stars.

Secession? Daniel Webster was not only eloquent, but prescient as well. Never happen - again.

(please note the dates): http://www.nytimes.com/1860/11/03/news/daniel-webster-and-secession.html

I'm surprised at the decrease in Nationalist fervor in Puerto Rico. It's not as if we didn't take it by force of arms. The `freedom fighters' even went after Truman at the Blair House. Several of the guys I served with from PR espoused their Nationalist sentiments when the beer flowed. Ideals that I found tinged with an irony that was left unmentioned.

 

[Capvin]

Ivan...thank you for the article..Very interesting.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I can never spell secede or secession correctly...I think the whole idea must make my brain hurt. Now I have to edit too....

You and me both. We just know it is better for states to succeed than secede is all.

 

[chickened]

States don't secede they sue... it is the American way...

 

[Q9]

Hmmm...

I like this secession talk. Considering that the system is obviously broken beyond repair, maybe it's time someone (New Hampshire, maybe?) broke off and re-started with a clean slate.

Fun fact: this country was founded by seceding. Unless you wish to question the correctness of that secession, you really have no right to say that secession in and of itself is "wrong." You can debate the merits, but you have nothing to stand on if you claim that secession is inherently bad. Of course, there were also the various former Soviet republics that seceded, and I doubt anyone questions the wisdom of that decision.

Latest secession: South Sudan breaks away from North Sudan.

 

[MamaRoo]

I think it would be awesome if Puerto Rico become a state! One more and we can become playing cards!!

 

[Capvin]

Q9...Let me ask you, is there even one thing in this country that you would trade with any other place in the world. I would not, and I would hope you would not also. Just think about it, we just had an election where we elected for a second term a black man with the name Barak Hussein...AND his opponent was a Mormon. Find another place on earth where that would happen. Is there really any doubt in any intelligent persons mind that if Romney was elected as President that he would have probably done a good job. Plus, after the election the two combatants spoke to each other and the loser made a speech that talked about one America. And here we are after the election of the most powerfull person on the face of the earth and, no doubt, some people are unhappy, but do you see bullets flying, riots, revolution? No, you see the country ready to move on except for a few imbeciles who want to talk about secession and who have a need to put their full ignorance on display in Twitter. A piece of advise...You seem like a smart boy. Get out of your house and work to get into a major university. Stanford would be perfect for you. Then, after you graduate you will have the ability to talk about this "broken" system


Edited by BYC Moderation Staff

 

[punk-a-doodle]

MamaRoo wrote:
I think it would be awesome if Puerto Rico become a state! One more and we can become playing cards!!

Why....did I not think of this!?

 

[Q9]

Q9....out of the mouths of babes....more drivel and drool... I forgive your foolishness only because you have a long way to go before you even begin to understand what the system is, much less declare it broken. Let me ask you, is there even one thing in this country that you would trade with any other place in the world. I would not, and I would hope you would not also. Just think about it, we just had an election where we elected for a second term a black man with the name Barak Hussein...AND his opponent was a Mormon. Find another place on earth where that would happen. Is there really any doubt in any intelligent persons mind that if Romney was elected as President that he would have probably done a good job. Plus, after the election the two combatants spoke to each other and the loser made a speech that talked about one America. And here we are after the election of the most powerfull person on the face of the earth and, no doubt, some people are unhappy, but do you see bullets flying, riots, revolution? No, you see the country ready to move on except for a few imbeciles who want to talk about secession and who have a need to put their full ignorance on display in Twitter. A piece of advise...You seem like a smart boy. Get out of your house and work to get into a major university. Stanford would be perfect for you. Then, after you graduate you will have the ability to talk about this "broken" system

As it happens, I've currently put applications in at Elon and ASU, thanks. Considering Campbell and possibly Western Carolina.

Let me see... two parties, no other choice, both candidates invariably completely crappy, haven't had a legitimately good president since Coolidge. We have "free speech zones," Federal regulations are ridiculous, the Federal government has the power to indefinitely detain ANYONE they feel has any connection at all to vaguely-defined "terrorist groups," we spend billions on a futile war on drugs that's costing thousands of lives, police can do almost anything and usually suffer few or no consequences, we shoot up other countries (civilians included) that have never attacked us, the President has managed to somehow get the power to go to war on a whim, we let the obnoxious little state of Israel dictate half our Middle East policy, we fund dictators around the globe and then shoot them and replace them when we get tired, we have organizations that conduct virtual strip-searches and literal full-body gropings at airports and wants to expand, we've got SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS OF DEBT. Get that through your skull before you go talking about everything being fine and dandy. SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS. Can you even begin to comprehend that number? I can't. Can you comprehend the CONSEQUENCES of that? I can. Oh, I almost forgot - our government funds massive amounts of clinical baby-killing, it strangles businesses with ludicrous taxes and obscene regulations, it bails out those who don't do well and encourages poor behavior, it imprisons those who expose it (Bradley Manning, anyone?), it devalues the currency, transfers money from those who work to those who don't, makes employment too expensive and kills jobs, confiscates land based on idiotic environmental regulations, unceasingly violates the Constitution... need I go on? I certainly can.

Yeah, as long as nobody riots everything's just perfect.

Why, precisely, should I give a flying crap about the race or religion of the President? I like Walter Williams, but I like him because of his beliefs, not for the fact that he's black. I dislike Obama, for the same reason. If diversity and lack of riots are your standards for a "good" system, you should really re-evaluate your priorities. For the record... I can think of several countries who have gotten certain things right that the U.S. has royally screwed up on. Hong Kong is currenty ranked at the top for economic freedom, and Singapore is close behind. The U.S. is well below them. We have 8% official unemployment and much higher real unemployment

I find it disturbing that you offer little of substance, then proceed to call me foolish and tell me to "get out of my house." You must've missed the thread a while back about me being in New York at an INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT... hanging out with dozens folks from several different countries. Believe it or not, I don't just sit at home all day, though I'm sure in your little fantasy world that idea doesn't fit with your perception of reality. Even more irritating is the fact that you are apparently trying to use being homeschooled against me. As it happens, I'm currently finishing my senior year of high school at DCCC, where I'm currently studying expository writing, Spanish, and World Civilizations. As you'd know if you read my thread regarding New York, I'm on a mock trial team as well (political debates there are remarkably commonplace - believe it or not, homeschoolers don't all share the same views). Needless to say, I have to deal with quite a few different viewpoints, especially whenever the writing course involves a presentation. Despite your desperate attempt to discredit me, the fact is, I "get out" quite a bit, and actually engage people in discussion about different viewpoints on a regular basis.

Insults are irritating, but not a big issue... until it's an insult that many people are, through no fault of their own, likely to believe, despite it being utterly untrue. I resent your thinly-veiled insult towards homeschoolers especially, not because you're insulting me, but because you're insulting many, many people, many of whom have a much greater intellectual capacity than you or me.

Dig deeper. It's terrifying, and there are horrible things that I wish I didn't know. I wish I was unaware of how ROYALLY screwed we are. I wish I could just sit back and fall into the Republican/Democrat false choice. I can't. I wish I could just unquestioningly support everything the U.S. government does, but I can't. I used to, when I was a clueless little twelve-year-old. Then I dug deeper. I was forced to ask myself uncomfortable questions. Some people go back, and forget about them. I answered those uncomfortable questions, rather than ignoring them. It only took me farther down the rabbit hole, but now I at least know the truth. I realized just how bad things have gotten. It's nice and shiny on the outside, but America - and the rest of the world - is, to borrow a quote from Jesus, a whitewashed tomb. The second you chip through the paper-thin wall of America's shiny tomb, you expose the truth, the reality - a reality that's filled with millions of corpses, trampled liberties, and violated rights. True, this country is not "as bad" as others. Unfortunately, I've taken the time to learn how many of these countries, and the empires of old, ended up where they are now. We're on the same path as the Roman Empire was. Where are they today? Oh, that's right. Gone.

 

[Capvin]

I like it!! Spunky and you know how to write and spell. It is a good start and your ideas are advanced, but still a bit sophomoric . And, yes I can very well comprehend 16 trillion and I can do it with no problem. I also know that there will be no consequences because of who and what the United States is and I know that we have the ability to easily solve the issue before the consequences become too problematic. As for Elon, it is a good choice but my point was you would do much better away from the comfort of home. Elon is a great choice for someone like you who lives in North Dakota. The better choice for you would be Stanford, or Princeton if you want to be closer to home. As for home schooling I have no problem with it except for the fact that it is a bit limiting in most cases. My comments were not meant as an insult to home schooling. My reference to getting out of the house was to pick a college away from your home where you would be subject to a greater diversity and I said that because I am aware of your intelligence but I think you would do well being exposed to a more diverse atmosphere. That is why I thought Stanford would be perfect for you. As for your other political and social comments they all have some validity, but only in a vacuum. We are not the old Roman Empire. Think more the Byzantine Empire and you would be closer to the mark. But, all in all, you are impressive and despite all the negativity you spout, you are the best example of what is right with this country.