[Lore]

I see a third party rising at some point too, but nothing we'd currently recognize.

For me to take any comment of a third party seriously, you are going to have to show me how it is possible that the Republican party (or Democrat party) would get less than 30% of the popular vote. I'm just not seeing any possible route there.

On my Michigan ballot there were 5 parties running a candidate for Presidency. So other parties do exist. It only takes a defection of several key members from one of the now two leading parties to form a more perfect union. That happened a little over a couple of hundred years ago, if you recall, and was instituted by what was felt as a government at the time which was disconnected and unresponsive to the immediate needs of its citizenry. Sounds already familiar.

[Pretorian]

Which to me begs the question...how in Gods name did you ever become the "worlds superpower"?

Well this isn't a hard question at all. USA became a world superpower when people with an average IQ of 100 were the majority, and people with average IQs of 70-80 did not influence politics much. They were just sitting on their porches, drinking iced tea or whatever. Once the latter outbred the former , it was not physically possible to keep their valuable opinions and votes at bay. As a result, if you were elected you had to divert resources from maintaining and advancing " the superpowerness" to buying votes from the low-IQ voters. Medicaid, welfare, free housing, free cellphones, free something else. Then you become dependent on these votes. You just can't get into power at all without them. Therefore you breed the low-IQ masses, you import them from wherever you can, and you make damn sure that smart guys do not get in , at least not en masse .

So what you see now is not a superpower but a colossus with feet of clay. Do you know that they waved Math requirements at the USA Navy Academy for prospective students with low IQs ? How you fancy a nuclear submarine captain that's just too stupid for Math. Of course, simply a low IQ won't get you there, you need to have a special color also, but these are details.

[Plantagenet]

Just placing a black man or latino in play for the Presidency to gain that demographic is tokenism and pretty easily smelled out.

Its worked out pretty well for the democrats.

[Lore]

Just placing a black man or latino in play for the Presidency to gain that demographic is tokenism and pretty easily smelled out.

Its worked out pretty well for the democrats.

But not for Herman Cain, big difference.

[ian807]

My two cents worth on the elections.

Romney managed to sabotage himself by speaking http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/mittromney/a/Mitt-Romney-Quotes.htm. He really shouldn't have done that. Regardless, the election came down to who you despised least, the genial but incompetent Mr. Obama, or the smiling snake, Mr. Romney with his cartoonish sidekick, Mr. Ryan.

At 55, however, it was insurance that sealed the deal for me. I've had colon cancer. I was lucky enough to have insurance - this time. I have no interest whatsoever in going back to an unregulated medical insurance system. We don't enjoy the kind of rationally designed, imperfect but workable medical system that exists in either Canada, or the public/private hybrid in the UK.

As for the republicans, their party's deal with the devil (i.e. the tea party and evangelicals) has now come home to roost, and the devil has started collecting in full. A constituency of poor whites and rich people who's money bought them nothing is a shrinking constituency, and the republicans are now in the position of "Can't win with 'em. Can't win without 'em" as far as these two groups go.

The fact of the matter is that even most conservative republicans aren't extreme. Many are merely fiscally prudent and otherwise sensible human beings. A barking mad right-wing religious extremist turns them off as surely as it would a liberal.

Last but not least, there are the younger people. They haven't any hope of financial advancement, but they're very electronically connected. They don't watch mainstream media news, or much TV at all. They're as likely to get their news from the http://www.BBC.com, http://www.RT.com, or even http://www.AlJazeera.com. Their view is international. They see that China's controlled economy is succeeding while ours fails (temporary as that might be). They know what a laughing stock our "social issues" are to the rest of the world. To these kids, the Republicans seem anti-reality, archaic, parochial and out of touch.

My suspicion is that the Tea Party/evangelical block and the mainstream Republican party will part ways fairly soon.

[Quinny]

There's never been a failed Socialist society!

[Pops]

I believe the problem is that there is no means by which a more socialist approach can result in the types of changes that need to occur in order to affect a concerted move to alternatives. With the right kind of incentives I think that your average capitalist business man could achieve this if the right rules were also in place. The government in it’s quasi-socialist approach already tried this with solar companies….huge fail.

Correct, the US "quasi-socialist" approach failed completely in the face of the Chinese socialist approach.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/busin ... .html?_r=0

[Beery1]

Just a Scots Canadian opinion of course.....take it for what it's worth.

What is a 'Scots Canadian'? You were either born in Scotland or Canada. If you were born in Canada, you're Canadian, you're not a Scot - not even if both your parents were born in Scotland. What, is Canada not good enough for you?

Alternatively, if you were born in Scotland but live in Canada, you're a Scot, not a Canadian.

I am, by the way, enjoying the sour grapes and whining of all the tea party nutters who didn't get the president they wanted. Very entertaining. All I can say is Diddums!

[AgentR11]

You should know by now that people born in the "new world" routinely consider themselves xyz American xyz whatever.

Approx half the blood in my veins as it were, made its way here from France. I make some effort to learn French things and incorporate them as best (rather poorly) as I am able. I get some additional humor in that my wife is Chinese, and speaks French (amongst others), and I can barely even manage to greet someone in French. Thus I think of myself, in new world terms, as a French American.

Doesn't really mean much; other than I can make a pretty decent baguette given the limitations of the oven I own; but it is a typical way New Worlders self identify.

[rockdoc123]

Alternatively, if you were born in Scotland but live in Canada, you're a Scot, not a Canadian.

Not true. Born in Caledonia, later Canadian citizenship and under Canadian laws can carry both passports. Ergo Scots Canadian.
I have the sporran and skian-dugh to prove it...eh!

[PrestonSturges]

Just placing a black man or latino in play for the Presidency to gain that demographic is tokenism and pretty easily smelled out.

Its worked out pretty well for the democrats.

But not for Herman Cain, big difference.

But Herman will always have a job reciting Klan fairy tales to the spellbound goobers and validating their world views.

[dissident]

So much talk about minorities giving Obama the win. Really? All those unemployed whites who are being sold down the river by the likes of Romney are all a bunch of masochists? The lunatic fringe that has taken over the Republican party does not represent the majority by any stretch. The real problem is that only a part of the electorate has caught on to the fact that the Republicans today are not what they were 30 years ago. It's sad but we have the same lemming voter syndrome in Canada. The original Conservative Party was gutted and taken over by a fringe movement called Reform (whose real base is in the Republic of Alberta) and is nothing like it was during the 1980s and before. But people keep on voting for the party name and not the actual party.

[Lore]

It's true, the neoconservative movement in the US is a conglomeration of factions that are for the most part working against their own interests.

[Beery1]

Alternatively, if you were born in Scotland but live in Canada, you're a Scot, not a Canadian.

Not true. Born in Caledonia, later Canadian citizenship and under Canadian laws can carry both passports. Ergo Scots Canadian.
I have the sporran and skian-dugh to prove it...eh!

You can carry both Canadian and British (not Scottish) passports, and anyone with enough money can buy trinkets.

My daughter can carry both US and British passports. It doesn't make her British-American. She was born in the USA - unless she gives up her US citizenship, she's an American. You're a Scot.

[Beery1]

You should know by now that people born in the "new world" routinely consider themselves xyz American xyz whatever.

I know. It's embarrassing when people who have never seen Ireland (for example) claim to be 'Irish Americans'. What's wrong with simply being an American or a Canadian? People should be proud of where they're born and raised. I don't think it's healthy to be claiming some sort of nationality based on a foundation passed down via genetics - it tends to give people a skewed and unrealistic viewpoint.

If people want to claim a nationality, they should go live in that country and be committed enough to renounce their previous citizenship. Anything else, in my view, is posing.

[SeaGypsy]

That's the silliest thing I have ever seen you say Beery.

My father was born Pennsylvania Dutch. ie. 6th generation German American; fluent in the mother tongue and spent 7 years as a USMP in Germany in the American occupation. His mother was Scots, but converted to PA Dutch Catholic to marry.

My Mother was born Irish Catholic; 6th generation Irish Australian. Little Gaelic. but strong culturally Irish family; migrated during the potatoe famines of the 1820's.

They met in Germany, where my father was in the US Army; mother was hitching around Europe.

I was born in the same town as my father and 3 previous generations, in PA.
My family migrated to Australia before I was 5 years old and only returned a few times for holidays. I have no American accent, no SS number, have never voted there, but I have a US Passport as right of birth and parentage.

I travel mainly on my Australian passport, mainly because it's where I spend most of my life and pay tax etc.

My wife is half Spanish, most of the other half indigenous Taiwanese, with a smattering of Malay. All of her ancestors on one side were born in the Philippines for 400 years. The other side for about 900 years.

My children are entitled to Australian, Philippine and US passports.

1000 years ago none of any of our ancenstors were in any of these countries. None of my family have rights to Irish, German, Scots, Taiwanese, Spanish or Malaysian Citizenship.

What national identity am I under your weird little lense Beery?

[ohanian]

What national identity am I under your weird little lense Beery?

How about "Sea Gypsy, International Man of Many Many Races" ?
SGIMMMR

[vision-master]

Don't you luv how we are got those legal christian names attached to us.......

I'm really....



Like Prince, legally I cannot change who I am to a symbol.

[rockdoc123]

You can carry both Canadian and British (not Scottish) passports, and anyone with enough money can buy trinkets.

My daughter can carry both US and British passports. It doesn't make her British-American. She was born in the USA - unless she gives up her US citizenship, she's an American. You're a Scot

So apparently you are of British decent, English no doubt. If I were English I wouldn’t admit it either. The suggestion you make that Canadian or British passports can be purchased suggests you are an ass…no matter what nationality

Perhaps the concept of dual citizenship has not been something you ever became familiar with?

This from the Department of Foreign Affairs website

Canadian law permits dual or multiple citizenships: you can be a citizen of another country and still be recognized as Canadian

Under Canadian Law I am recognized as being a citizen of both Great Britain (Scotland) and Canada. I suspect your legal credentials with respect to Common Law are a bit rusty.

And I don’t seem to remember claiming there was such a thing as a Scottish passport, though the SNP would surely like to see that be the case.

[Pretorian]

You should know by now that people born in the "new world" routinely consider themselves xyz American xyz whatever.

I know. It's embarrassing when people who have never seen Ireland (for example) claim to be 'Irish Americans'. What's wrong with simply being an American or a Canadian? People should be proud of where they're born and raised. I don't think it's healthy to be claiming some sort of nationality based on a foundation passed down via genetics - it tends to give people a skewed and unrealistic viewpoint.

Do you understand the difference between nationality and ethnicity ? Some ethnicities do have their own nations, like the Irish for example, some do not. If you are not an Irish , you will never be one, regardless how many generations of your ancestors were born there. Same goes the other way.