Leave it to to Jr. to find this story for us to see

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Is still here
Drakside

Heh!

I think I'll run for class president next year, and my campeign will be "I've never really done anything... you pro'lly shouldn't vote for me"

I imagine that Reublicans as well as those Damocrats could do it. Usually the party that wins the particiular election but not necessarily.

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Well.. Tipper and I have decided that we wont leave the White House. Thats how Ill do it mr smarty pants

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This is silly. The country didn't clearly elect either Bush or Gore. Whoever gets it loses in my book.

I say let the Bush baby have it...

Gore 2004-2012!!!!!!

The thing is Gore knows he won't get in office if he doesn't do it this year. Ever.

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Is still here
Drakside

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Joke From 40

VP Gore is out jogging one morning, notices a little boy on the corner with a box. Curious he runs over to the child
and says, "What's in the box kid?" To which the little boy says, "Kittens, they're brand new kittens." Al Gore laughs
and says, "What kind of kittens are they?" "Democrats," the child says. "Oh that's cute," Al says and he runs off. A
couple of days later Al is running with his buddy Bill Clinton and he spies the same boy with his box just ahead.

Al says to Bill, "You gotta check this out" and they both jog over to the boy with the box. Al says, "Look in the box
Bill, isn't that cute? Look at those little kittens. Hey kid tell my friend Bill what kind of kittens they are." The boy
replies, "They're Republicans." "Whoa!", Al says, "I came by here the other day and you said they were Democrats.
What's up?" "Well," the kid says, "Their eyes are open now."

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Joke From the Asmo

Differing Views

The two major presidential candidates agree Americans are seeing too much inappropriate material in
popular entertainment, but they deagree on details. The Republican candidate, George W. Bush, states
there is too much bloody violence in the movies and on television. Vice President Al Gore, his
Democratic opponent, states that the media presents Americans with too much sex and frontal nudity.

In other words, Bush says there is too much gore and Gore says there is too much bush.

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LOL!

Merry X-Mas!!!

I think both of these guys should both step down. Cause really, it is tainted. ALL AROUND. If Bush gets it it wasn't a "true" victory, if Gore gets it, he is a fucking whiner...either way 50% of the population is not gonna like the president. 50%!!! I thought our political system was bad...

BTW, this is intended to ruffle feathers and have fun doing it. Have a nice day

If we didn't have the electorial collage, then chances are that we'd have 7-8 ppl running at once, and the winner would only win by 20% or so. How would THAT be?

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hell, it's all the parties fault imo. Our founding fathers warned AGAINST political parties.

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Without political parties and political representation to the view of more people, how is deomcracy aquired? See, in a parliamentary format, there is a Party and their leader. You vote for 1 particular candidate from a party in your "riding" and the party with the most seats in parliament wins. Better than voting for just a man...IMHO. Especially when you glorify him as "da man" and all that shit. If our leader is on the news it is more like "who did he hit now?" or "how did he insult the west this time?"

ed: put quote in html format hehe

But I do recall reading that the founding fathers did not advocate politcal parties.
I forgot exactly what they said was good.

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Also, how many Canadian TV stations do you get?

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Uh,none since Iam not in Canada. Are you going somewhere with that?

Some people think that something has to be done to make this system better.
The problem with this election has slipped the attention of all but a few open-minded thinkers. Many people think that it is the fault of the Democratic Party for trying to re-arrange the election results in their favor, undermining existing electoral and constitutional law. They are wrong.

Others believe that it is the Republican Party who is at fault, they seem shady in their resistance to accept a re-count to find the truth about the election whatever that may be. They are mistaken as well.

Still others think that our method of the Electoral College is antiquated and outdated. They think that we should alter our existing system, or with a constitutional amendment, abolish that system. They too, are incorrect.

The root of the problem lies just below our noses.
The answer is not in whom is right or who is wrong, or even who is right and who is left.
It is not about laws, or a failure of how our country is run fundamentally according to the United States Constitution; the Constitution is a masterpiece of compromise that has survived the test of time. Changing it could cause more problems than it may solve.
No, the problem lies with the Parties themselves.

I’m not talking about Republicans or Democrats specifically, they just happen to be the parties in power right now. It is not the fault of the Democrats or Al Gore for the way they are behaving in this election. Nor is it George W. Bush and the Republicans, for the way they have reacted to objections and pleas for re-counts.

What I’m saying is that it is the institution of the political party that is the problem. I argue that this institution by it’s own nature, is flawed. It harbors too much power that is corruptive and does little in the way of representing the people of the United States. The parties are only interested in gaining and retaining political power for themselves, while at the same time neglecting the reason they supposedly exist in the first place. That is why they are fighting so bitterly over this election. It is in their very nature to serve themselves.

It is only becoming so apparent now, because the election is so close. It is bringing out the essence of what the parties really stand for, themselves, not you or I.

Our founding fathers had foreseen a problem similar to this at the time our Constitution was written. James Madison, author of 25% of the United States Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights, foresaw this problem over 200 years ago. In his entries of the Federalist Papers, written during the Constitutional Convention, Madison warned of political factions that would corrupt government.

These factions, or interest groups, have manifested themselves in such organizations as the NRA, AARP, ACLU and so on. Madison was against these for one simple reason: that they would try to manipulate government for their own purposes. He was right, they do. They use their power, usually money for campaign purposes, to “gain an ear” from the political parties they represent.

Then, these groups are catered to in forms of legislation, and the administration of law. These interest groups, or factions, as he called them, by nature, do not support the opinion of the public; they support their own interests.

You may remember how big tobacco has protected it’s own interests in regards to the government in the past. It is this same argument Madison used against interest groups that I have with the dominant political parties that are currently warring with each other over the presidency of the United States. The candidates, Gore and Bush? They are just puppets, at the tip of and iceberg of power hungry committees.

The real power lies beneath them, in the parties themselves. I ask each and every one of you if you actually believe that either party is representing your best interests. Who are they representing by fighting this battle? At best, they represent the interests of the interest groups that support them. But the truth is that they only represent their own interests. It seems entirely reasonable that most of the American public is to the center of what either party would have us believe. There are those of us that are to the extreme left or right, and that’s fine, but I don’t think the general public is as divided as the parties themselves.

In their effort to differentiate themselves from on another, the parties are spreading further and further apart. Now, who is to blame for all of this, it certainly isn’t the candidates, as I said they are only symbols, front men groomed by the parties to hold the office that they seek. The parties, with their own self interests? No, not them either.

We are to blame. We The People are responsible, not We The People, as outlined in the United States Constitution, there is not anything wrong with our Constitution. It is We The People, who are ignorant and apathetic to the goings on in our government. Many of us had never heard of the Electoral College until this election. That unveils a flaw in our own education system in a matter so important as this. And then there is We The People that are educated and possess a good understanding of how our electoral process works, we are to blame too.

Most of us have registered as Democratic or Republican Party members, giving power to those entities. What happens, is our own sense of individuality is taken from us. Who of us supports all of the Democratic agenda? Who supports the entire Republican’s Rhetoric? I, for one, don’t want to be labeled on either side just because I support one issue or another, I want to be an individual, and want to vote as one. To vote my conscience, not vote to keep out the lesser of two evils (whatever your ideological beliefs are).

I’m not proposing a total solution to the problem. For example, adding more parties to offset this two party system could possibly create even more gridlock. What I propose is this: Change your party affiliation and register as an independent and take power away from the self-serving political parties. This is not a plea to join another party labeled “Independent” it is a plea to think for ourselves. Making a move such as this will at least take some power from the parties, maybe even force them to come up with stronger candidates.
The goal here is what our founding fathers wanted, to make the government more accountable to We The People. Education about issues such as government, its functions, and how it is made up, is sorely lacking in this country, only adding to our ignorance and apathy. I hope that this political crisis has awakened many people to the fact that these parties are not necessarily representing them. I think it’s great that they both have egg on their faces, and you have to admit that they both do.

Issues such as gun control or lack thereof, or abortion, or many others that so many Americans have passionate feelings for, are the reason many people support the parties. It is part of being an American that we have the ability to stand up for what we believe in.

But let’s stop being sheep. It’s time we thought for ourselves, this will do wonderful things, as we force our government, on all levels, to be more accountable, to We The People. It’s time for us to take responsibility for our government.

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Is still here
Drakside

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But what I don't understand, is why does everyone from other countries complain about the US, when the ppl in the US don't complain about the other countries?

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Also, how many Canadian TV stations do you get...i rest my case

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Canadians are for the most part more knowledgable of the U.S. than Americans themselves

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b) are presented on a daily basis with American news, from American stations...of our 50 some odd channels, there is only 3 local stations, 3 canadian sports channels, and 2 canadian music video stations. Virtually all the rest are american. NBC, TBS, WGN, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN and more CNN...about 80-90% of our stations are American. Now take into consideration that Canada also has the highest per capita internet users. Americans have a false sense that they know what Canada is about. I lived 15 minutes from the US border this summer. Went to a town 15 minutes across the border into the US. We told them where we were from. A town 30 minutes away had never heard of another town 30 minutes away. Border or not that is retarded. What added to that is they knew there was only a half hour drive, and they were foolish enough to say: Does it get really cold there? You get lots of snow? I mean, 30 miles don't make THAT much of a difference. Furthermore, there is this sense of national pride in the US. That is great. But where does that national pride come from? Honestly. Another thing that must be asked is what truly is democracy? Now, you say you are a true democracy. Sounds good to me. But what kind of democracy do you have? your forefathers warned you against political parties?? So what, individuals are supposed to run without a specific platform? Leave it all up to one man to devide the fate of the country? Leave it to one man to change the platform on which they gote elected? Even now the US does not have a true democracy. You want democracy, then take the veto out of the presidents hands. One man makin all decisions or having the end all be all say and the power to overal dozens upon dozens of other politicians is not democracy. You may not think Canadians know squat about America, but lemme ask you something? Do you know what the prime mininister of Canada's name is? You would be President Bush doesn't? A Canadian from a show called This Hour Has 22 Minutes (a current affairs spoof show) went to the George W. Bush and said "The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. John Poutine (pronounce "poo teen"...which is actually french fried with melted cheese curds and gravy) wishes you good luck in the up coming election." You know what Gerorgie said? "Why, thank you very much Prime Minister Poutine." Now, if you are running for president, should you not know the ruler of you #1 trade partner and closest neighbor?? Makes sense to me. Canada has been made the brunt of jokes from the US for years. Oft laughed off by Canadians. Some of it is our own doing (Canadian Bacon for example). But all in all, Americans seem to perceive the rest of the world as ill informed. Everything you get on the news, we get too. Had to laugh, when Israel got a new PM, it was all over CNN. When Canada held an election, not a thing was mentioned on CNN. When Pierre Trudeau died, all over Canadian TV for days, not even a blurb on any American news I saw. Nothing Canadian is on American news. Unless it the next big thing that Canada has that the US wants. Because of this, Canada is seen as inferior. Often our own politicians are to blame for this. Back in the midst of the cold war, Canada had plans for a jet fighter/interceptor called the Avro Arrow.

This site here explains all about the Arrow, as well as the US. It sheds a little light on your "Great Country"

Only in WW2 did the US stay out of the affairs of other countries until they were dragged into it (Pearl Harbour).

j/k, just having some fun, now.

And as far as you quoting facts and me opinions, maybe so. But I could just as easily find 'facts' to support those same views, but about Canada, if I was so inclined. If you want to take the fact that I am NOT inclined to as further evidence to support your theory of the US, so right ahead.

And as far as friends, I have a few 'friends and aquaintences (sp?)' from Canada, and I would say the percentage of those that 'have a clue' are no higher than the people I know from the states.

Again (yes, this is just my 'opinion'), but I really don't think that you know more about my country than I do. You've 'watched TV'. You've 'had classes'. Well, I LIVE here. BIG difference.

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Again (yes, this is just my 'opinion'), but I really don't think that you know more about my country than I do. You've 'watched TV'. You've 'had classes'. Well, I LIVE here. BIG difference.

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I don't have to stick my hand on a hot stove to know it fucking hurts

BTW, I am not a US basher...just trying to make you realize your country is not the greatest place on earth as you so proudly proclaim. Nor is it the one that traditionally exhibits an understanding of what they themselves stand for.

If I gave you the impression of being a US basher, hey, all I can say is that, well, we don't have anything quite as big as Hollywood to make us feel small...

The only thing I truly have against the US, is try ordering fries and gravy...see what happens. I mean, went to Burger King and asked for gravy. They asked why? I said for my fries. I get this look as though I just escaped from a mental institution

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That's why I used to skip school when I was 17 an drive to Canada for lunch!

At what rate are you taxed in Canada?

The biggest thing I notice while in Canada is that it is much cleaner than most areas in the U.S. and instead of saying "police" on the side of the squad cars it says "O.P.P."

Canadians say funny stuff like "take off, eh" and they have stronger beer.

Why do Canadians do it doggie style? So they can both watch the Hockey game on TV at the same time.

I like Canada. The outdoors are relatively un-spoiled. I drove to Alaska and had to spend a few days driving through BC. The people were friendly but the have some weird way of measuring gasoline and it ends up being more expensive than in the states. Toronto is also pretty cool except for all the fuckers speaking French. We should have chased them right out of North America after we won the French and Indian war.

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Originally posted by jondster:
Max ~ maybe cuz it's over 4 years old

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You think?

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this
pron. pl. these
1.
1. Used to refer to the person or thing present, nearby, or just mentioned: This is my cat. These are my tools.
2. Used to refer to what is about to be said: Now don't laugh when you hear this.
3. Used to refer to the present event, action, or time: said he'd be back before this.
2. Used to indicate the nearer or the more immediate one: This is mine and that is yours.

adj. pl. these

1. Being just mentioned or present in space, time, or thought: She left early this morning.
2. Being nearer or more immediate: this side and that side.
3. Being about to be stated or described: Just wait till you hear this story.
4. Informal. Used as an emphatic substitute for the indefinite article: looking for this book of recipes.

adv.

To this extent; so: never stayed out this late.

[Middle English, from Old English. See to- in Indo-European Roots.]

Usage Note: This and that are both used as demonstrative pronouns to refer to a thought expressed earlier: The letter was unopened; that (or this) in itself casts doubt on the inspector's theory. That is sometimes viewed as the better choice in referring to what has gone before (as in the preceding example). When the referent is yet to be mentioned, only this is used: This (not that) is what bothers me: we have no time to consider late applications. ·This is often used in speech and informal writing as an emphatic substitute for the indefinite article to refer to a specific thing or person: You should talk to this friend of mine at the Department of Motor Vehicles. I have this terrible feeling that I forgot to turn off the gas. It is best to avoid this substitution in formal writing except when a conversational tone is desired.

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