Michael Hardner

Olive skinned ? South Asian ? Cafe au laid ? Barack ? Why do you keep asking me what you "should" do ? It's unAmerican ! You should have planted a flag Iwo Jima style and waited for them to come to your trailer to apologize.

And ? Ok. I guess you're right. I don't hear the term 'diversion' very often so I guess I assumed it meant cutting off programs somewhere... allocation/prioritization/diversion... all the same I suppose.

Maybe nobody else thought so. How dark is your skin ? Certainly there were/are places where skin tone makes a difference. That would be about the dumbest thing I ever heard, unless you were moving there from Albania.

Nobody is telling you how you "should" feel. I've seen Americans so comfortable with themselves that they were trying to order in English in non English speaking countries. But you might feel like an outsider there, or elsewhere - maybe even at a leftist rally in America itself for example. Maybe keenly aware of your foreign status translates to feeling like an outsider. If you didn't blend in, it wasn't because of your nationality, unless you truly stand out, i.e. distinct accent, large T-Shirt of Dale Earnhardt riding an eagle to heaven etc.

I don't imagine there are good references for the amount of money spent on the arts in the USSR, spent on urban beautification and the like. This is what made me think you were talking about diversion of funds, rather than prioritization:

I expect extremists are monitored according to the scale of the threat. How else would it be done ?

The OK City Bomber blew up a daycare, remember ?

There are some differences. At the core they're resentful luddites who believe that violence is a correct response to the loss of their way of life.

Of course people hide this fact, much as people hide their religion or odd hobbies such as hunting beaver. Only elusive to those who have never played the part of outsider. Stranger still to discover that the oft-cited differences between your country and another just aren't there. Well... have you been to Canada ? Don't you find it odd to be in a country so much like your own that you blend in with residents without effort. That locals may stop you to ask directions ?

To get approval and recognition from Americans, as always. ( I am naturally obsequious and self-deprecating. ) To mollify your continued pressing on this: ...and to provide a measure of explanation as to why that might happen. You have already acknowledged that you have no idea what it's like to be marginalized.

Ok, I guess I took my stupid pills today. If this is what it is: Then everyone is socialist. If socialism is determined at a certain tax rate, then tell us what that is. It sounds, though, like it means any resistance to lesser government control and lower tax rates - making it a relative term.

Right... so it seems that we agree. The only thing you're not convinced on is that I know America as well as my American friends do. I invite you to associate freely with me on my next US trip to prove me wrong.

Bush_Cheney Ok. I just got it with the help of Google... it's Gomer Pyle. Fine, I did watch this while I was a kid but... that's a tricky one... I would have got it with an audio clip. I failed your test, but it was a tough one and - there isn't even an equivalent Canadian quote that I could test you with, or that I would have a hope of getting myself, i.e. a mid-60s Canadian sitcom with a catchphrase that a typical Canadian could hope to remember.

Ok, I concede. Will you be gracious now and provide the source of the quote and educate me ? To say I don't know as much as I think I do, that may be proven, but to say that I don't know as much as my American buddies... you really have no choice but to believe me on that one. And... these assertions aren't about me as much as they are about living next to a cultural beacon that is close (geographically, democratically, demographically, historically and otherwise) and 10X the size. So, although you're right to knock down my hubris on my knowledge of the US, the point here is still that our culture is washed out by yours. And so it's not surprising that you encounter cultural confusion and resentment from Canadians is it ? Can you relate to being marginalized at all ?

Your disdain for our system matches those who would bring it down. In fact a pluralistic society that allows for maximum freedom continues to be the system of choice.

You're making a mistake when you say 'oppression of white males', because that implies that all white males are complicit. This is akin to calling terrorism Islamic terrorism when only a tiny minority of that group is involved in the acts described. You could use a more generic term such as 'the patriarchy' which recognizes that while the system was piloted by white males, not even a majority of white males would have profited from it.

I don't know the quote. She's waiting for you, should you need her services again. Looks better on the money than Washington. BTW, when I hang out with Americans (very often) I explain to them that I know as much or more about their country than they do. They never believe me but I usually prove them right.

Which quote ? Please. You're the 13 colonies plus 37... Basically the same place, only a little more disloyal than before.

Firstly, I think it's likely that US culture dominates these places too, but I don't have enough knowledge of those countries to say for sure. In fact, the only country I can likely comment on with confidence is the US itself. I do know a lot about that place. Furthermore, Canada and the US were both part of British North America, so we share a heritage. That indeed makes us American junior. Far from making that mistake, I think I said this above.

I only come here to learn, at the very base of it. But when I was younger, I was far more clever and didn't need to learn anything.

While it's true that this is lame, it's also understandable for a country that exists as a sidekick to the world's cultural behemoth. And by the way, asking the average American about their national identity will produce something definite but equally lame, like "freedom" or some catchphrase. If you're going to slag a country, slag all countries.

I don't see this board changing his opinions. I read books at his age. I don't think I would have wanted to stay on a board like this.

How is it complete nonsense ? From what you're saying, a Socialist is someone who resists tax cuts. Shouldn't the definition of a socialist stay the same as time goes on ? But then again, we wouldn't be able to call Obama a socialist.

This sort of blank platitude is found all through the 'new world order' comic book scare mongering. A few things come to mind: 1) Tax revenue doesn't always expand, nor do tax rates go up, nor are taxes popular or even tenable in the long term. 2) Tax rises don't usually benefit the wealthy, and in fact they often push for less government and lower taxes. 3) Taxes are unpopular, and often result in tax revolts which are democratic movements of free expression to 4) The UN is already a form of world government. Furthermore, the countries of the world are all governed separately today under treaties and alliances watched over by the UN. 5) The UN gives a voice to countries in the world that challenge the richest and most powerful nations, so presumably a world government would put more responsibility for more of the world's problems on the wealthiest nations. I should hope not. Lloyd Robertson would probably keep his mushroom trips off the air, probably not even on his blog. You are a young poet full of lament and angst. This board doesn't seem like a good place to get such things heard. It's a place of numbers, logic and convention. You should go and find yourself.

In the 1970s, the NDP was calling for nationalization of industries. I think Layton was pushing for a corporate tax of 22%. Reagan cut corporate taxes to 34% in 1986 according to this CATO institute. So taxes under Reagan were 55% higher than they would be under Layton the socialist. The term 'socialist' has proven to be a relative term. Reagan would be an arch-socialist compared to Layton. Ike would be Stalin.