Describe the United States in a sentence.

unclepercy

Electoral Member
Jun 4, 2005
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Baja Canada
I received this speech in email from a good friend. I have no source, and I am posting it here because it seems to fit into a far corner of this conversation. I simply thought it was an interesting perspective <but I did not write it>:

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?

My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq. This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short. The United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hellholes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France.

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home. On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France, or maybe China.

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bon chance, mes amis.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York.

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra tank and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we'll be drilling for oil in Alaska - which will take care of this country's oil needs for decades to come. If you're an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there. They care.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, "darn tootin."

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won't forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America. Thank you and good night.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

Uncle
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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Or Rather: WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?

Fellow citizens of the world, we would like to take this opportunity to apologise to you all for being the arrogant pigheads we are. We are very sorry we lied about the WMD and we want to make a special apology to the tens of thousand of innocent Iraqis that we killed so we could control their oil.

A special note to Canada. Since you are the biggest supplier of oil to the U.S., we will try not to piss you off. Starting now, California will pay their power bills to Canada on time.

To all you countries that jumped into Bush's illegal wars, next time read the small print. Think before you leap.
 

zoofer

Council Member
Dec 31, 2005
1,274
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Special note to BC .
Thanks for the $300 million downpayment on refunding Cali for fleecing them. The $9 billion suit was scary.
http://www.calfree.com/4-16-01_EL01-65FERC_BCHydroComplaint.htm

http://www.forbes.com/2001/07/10/0710topnews.html

A federal administrative judge says California businesses and consumers were overcharged by about $1 billion since October 2000. Gov. Gray Davis and California power officials want $8.9 billion in refunds for overcharges going back to May 2000 and they have vowed to go to court if they don't get it.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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State likely to be paying for California's power mistakes

This story was published 12/31/2000

By Chris Mulick

Herald staff writer

n Editor's note: This is part one of a three-day series. On Monday, the Herald examines controversial BPA contract negotiations that have divided the Northwest.

Benton City's Earl Penor says he saw this one coming.
When construction stopped on four much-maligned Washington Public Power Supply System nuclear plants in the early 1980s, Penor scoffed at those who said the power wasn't needed.

Since then, energy surpluses have decayed so far as to leave supply and demand nearly identical in the West, with little left to spare.

"I knew this would happen," Penor said this month after reading reports power managers are worrying about blackouts. "It was just a matter of time."

But a simple supply shortage only partly explains the power pains straining the entire West Coast. The 1998 deregulation of California's retail electricity industry is widely considered a massive failure that has raised rates and closed businesses from Bellingham to San Diego.

And Washington, which is boasting its decision to keep its industry regulated, is taking note. "We're being very cautious," said Dave Danner, who advises Gov. Gary Locke on energy issues.

California deregulation
plan 'catastrophic'

Most consumers haven't yet felt the brunt of the electric storm brewing. All except customers of San Diego Gas and Electric Co. are served by private utilities with regulated rates or by public utilities that buy inexpensive hydroelectric energy from the Bonneville Power Administration.

But forecasters say rate increases are on the way. Private utilities already are asking for significant rate hikes, and even customers of public utilities may see double-digit increases within a year.

That's because it's become astonishingly expensive for utilities to keep the lights on. Two of California's three largest utilities are near bankruptcy, with combined debts of more than $9 billion just to buy power off the market to meet energy demands this summer and fall.

For comparison's sake, the combined debt of those two utilities alone is twice the value of the infamous Supply System bond default when adjusted for inflation.

Worse yet, the WPPSS default was several years in the making. The California debt was amassed over a matter of months and still is building.

As embarrassments go, the California fiasco is putting WPPSS to shame, according to industry analysts.

"I'd say it's 10 times as big," Gary Saleba, a Bellevue-based power consultant, said of California's faulty deregulation plan. "This is a serious policy faux pas."

The state agency California established to run its market and another that operates its transmission grid are being widely criticized.

The California Power Exchange serves as the state's computerized trading floor, where most transactions are made. Sellers tell the agency how much power they'd like to sell the next day and at what price. The sellers offering the lowest prices are accepted first until there is enough supply to meet demand.

The highest price accepted then becomes the market price for the day, which is paid on all accepted offers.

But Mike Warwick, who advises governments on energy issues for the Battelle Memorial Institute, said power marketers realized they could jack up prices if they withheld some of their available power.

When there wasn't enough energy bid in to meet demand, the marketing arm, known as Cal PX, would alert the California Independent System Operator, the agency that runs the transmission system.

Without enough electricity, the Cal ISO would declare an emergency and effectively abolish price caps so more power would be bid just to keep the system from collapsing.

Emergencies were called in one of every three weekdays during June, July and August and were often upgraded to more serious alerts during many of those days.

"That's a lot of emergencies," said Robert McCullough, a Portland-based energy consultant.

Officially, many of the alerts were called because of unscheduled power plant outages. But many analysts suspect the outages had less to do with mechanical failures than market gaming.

"Plants were broken down all the time in California to a point never before seen," McCullough said. "There was no emergency. There was a public policy failure."

Though their practices of withholding generation was not illegal, it certainly was unethical, Warwick said.

As a result, some power marketers in and out of California made a killing. The Vancouver-based B.C. Hydro, for example, reported average prices for power sales tripled for the six-month period ending Sept. 30 compared to the same period last year.

Even Bonneville got in on the action, selling spare megawatts to California in the name of helping the state out of a tight spot while being handsomely compensated.

Utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison in the south and Avista Utilities in the north, were hammered by the skyrocketing prices.

Without seeing sufficient bidding data, Dick Watson won't go so far as to fully subscribe to McCullough's analysis.

Even so, the power planning director for the Northwest Power Planning Council says there is "clear evidence the incentives that operate the market worsen the volatility."

While others remain confident market forces will ultimately stabilize prices, some California lawmakers are calling for re-regulation, hoping to put an end to the fiasco.

The effects of the catastrophe don't stop at the state line. Washington already is paying for California's mistake.

And though there is talk of re-regulation in California, it's not guaranteed and won't necessarily come without drawbacks. A return to regulated prices could leave utilities there stranded with massive debts with little means to pay them off.

And with an integrated market up and down the coastline, trouble in the south means trouble in the north.

n Reporter Chris Mulick can be reached at 582-1521 or via e-mail at cmulick@tri-cityherald.com.
 

the caracal kid

the clan of the claw
Nov 28, 2005
1,947
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www.kdm.ca
Re: RE: Describe the United States in a sentence.

Daz_Hockey said:
CanEcosse said:
For some reason there are a lot of people living in the UK (and Ireland as seen with Bono) who are just amazed by America.

Who are these people?...I wanna meet em!! :twisted:

most of the people I meet seem to usually have the following opinion of the states (without ever going there of course):

"Americans eat too much, are too fat, only care about themselves, polute the planet without a single thought about the rest of us and are brash and incredibly arrogent"

I don't 100% disagree with that statement, it would depend on the person you meet.....but thats the same the world over

you mean like this:
 

cortez

Council Member
Feb 22, 2006
1,260
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36
For me, thec choice is very clear.....I like the idea of wine in the picnic basket on the left.......

I assure you that the ass on the right is NOT my missing ass........
 

I think not

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 12, 2005
10,506
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The Evil Empire
I would describe the United States as being in a constant state of reinventing itself, wrapped in opportunity, sprinkled with sweat and tears, leavened with imperfection, infused with grace, and garnished with freedom.
 

Daz_Hockey

Council Member
Nov 21, 2005
1,927
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RE: Describe the United S

sorry about that, that's the only thing that winds me up about America is their insistance that they are free and blessed with liberty......Now, I know they dont mean to or are not realising they are doing it, but are they suggesting I am not free?...that I, or any country in the world doesnt have liberty, and that my ancestors didnt sit our king down and force him to sign the magna carter?.

I personally think the UK and the other western countries are as free, if not more so than the US, freedom to me is to: pay the prices advertised on billboards (without paying more tax, funny that eh?...hidden taxes), freedom is being able to see a doctor free of charge, freedom is knowing that if I am homeless my government will provide me with shelter and not leave me on the street to rot...and in my opinion those are things sadly lacking in "the lnd of the free"
 

I think not

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 12, 2005
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The Evil Empire
Re: RE: Describe the United S

Daz_Hockey said:
sorry about that, that's the only thing that winds me up about America is their insistance that they are free and blessed with liberty......Now, I know they dont mean to or are not realising they are doing it, but are they suggesting I am not free?...that I, or any country in the world doesnt have liberty, and that my ancestors didnt sit our king down and force him to sign the magna carter?.

Uhm...When Canadians say they are free does it equally "bug" you? Are they alluding that no one else is free? Or are they simply stating what they feel about their own country? Sorry Daz_Hockey, but I have come to realize that those that perceive Americans proclaiming themselves as free and equally arrogant about it, have issues of perception.

Daz_Hockey said:
I personally think the UK and the other western countries are as free, if not more so than the US, freedom to me is to: pay the prices advertised on billboards (without paying more tax, funny that eh?...hidden taxes), freedom is being able to see a doctor free of charge, freedom is knowing that if I am homeless my government will provide me with shelter and not leave me on the street to rot...and in my opinion those are things sadly lacking in "the lnd of the free"

You have a right to believe what you want, you don't hear me saying the US is more free than any other country, now do you?
 

Daz_Hockey

Council Member
Nov 21, 2005
1,927
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RE: Describe the United S

I'm fine with all that...and I'm not trying to insult you I think not, Canadian freedom, does that bug me?...nope not at all, cus I think you'll find it's a little bit different to your type of freedom "freedom and the rule of law".

Freedom is not something you can force into people.....which is a bit of a sore point at the moment with the iraqis and the afghans.

As I say, I dont have a problem with americans saying they are free and have liberty as do the rest of the western world....it's just everytime you mention freedom...it's usually as opposed to being oppressed by those evil english ppl, which frankly I find to be a ridiculous statement when fighting a war alongside the english in wars like WW2, WW1, the gulf war etc.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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ITN wrote:
You have a right to believe what you want, you don't hear me saying the US is more free than any other country, now do you?

No, but you hold your so called "freedom" up like a banner, suggesting that you are some how, "more free" than others. I'm not sure you are as free as you say you are. The morning after the French president threatened to veto American aspirations in Iraq, as he had every right to do, your whole country was singing about "freedom fries" and "freedom toast", and stamping on French flags like some great " ring bell, salivate" Pavlovian reaction.
 

I think not

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 12, 2005
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The Evil Empire
#juan said:
No, but you hold your so called "freedom" up like a banner, suggesting that you are some how, "more free" than others. I'm not sure you are as free as you say you are. The morning after the French president threatened to veto American aspirations in Iraq, as he had every right to do, your whole country was singing about "freedom fries" and "freedom toast", and stamping on French flags like some great " ring bell, salivate" Pavlovian reaction.

In many respects we are, in others we aren't. If you don't want to hear about it, turn off American television, that's not my problem.

And I think it is rather HILARIOUS trying to refer to American nationalism when you have your very own home grown version of it.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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I know, but I had to pull your chain a bit. I got up too early.
 

I think not

Hall of Fame Member
Apr 12, 2005
10,506
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The Evil Empire
Re: RE: Describe the United S

Daz_Hockey said:
I'm fine with all that...and I'm not trying to insult you I think not, Canadian freedom, does that bug me?...nope not at all, cus I think you'll find it's a little bit different to your type of freedom "freedom and the rule of law".

Explain.

Daz_Hockey said:
Freedom is not something you can force into people.....which is a bit of a sore point at the moment with the iraqis and the afghans.

I'm not turning this into a conversation about Iraq

Daz_Hockey said:
As I say, I dont have a problem with americans saying they are free and have liberty as do the rest of the western world....it's just everytime you mention freedom...it's usually as opposed to being oppressed by those evil english ppl, which frankly I find to be a ridiculous statement when fighting a war alongside the english in wars like WW2, WW1, the gulf war etc.

*sigh* This oppression was over 230 years ago. You say you have visited many states, and you sit there and try to tell me that Americans think of the Enlgish today as the tyrrants across the ocean?
 

Said1

Hubba Hubba
Apr 18, 2005
5,336
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Das Kapital
Re: RE: Describe the United S

Daz_Hockey said:
I'm fine with all that...and I'm not trying to insult you I think not, Canadian freedom, does that bug me?...nope not at all, cus I think you'll find it's a little bit different to your type of freedom "freedom and the rule of law".

I'm not following with that last part, are you refering to Locke's freedom and the rule of law which in short means consent to be governed, free from coersion and tyranny(sp)?

"Freedom of men under government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, and made by the legislative power erected in it." - John Locke