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Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,852 posts, read 10,460,349 times
Reputation: 6670
Quote:
Originally Posted by BruSan
All world leaders of late have been able to operate under the umbrella of common sense prevailing lest a nuclear exchange render their little fifedom a smoking pit.
Iran is possibly the only exception to this. They're just plain nuts; with their belief being that reducing the world to a cinder is the fruition of their stupid book stating 'he shall ride in on a flaming steed" or some other bunk in their book they'll mis-interpret like all of the rest of it.
Your country has been the worlds watch-dog now for 5 decades. While engaging in some questionable forays into other countries affairs you have generally been exercising restraint in your incursions that have resulted in relatively few embarrassments (Somalia) and fewer still charges of expansionism (Iraq) coming at you.
Here's what this foreigner would do if he were to be the grand poobah:
Reduce military standing numbers. Quietly, selectively and carefully add to your mothballed fleet in Bremerton. Reduce the pentagon to a triangle. Take the funds saved in the foregoing and instead funnel them into military research and developement(jobs creation) with a view to expanding the useage of remote items to both patrol and prosecute military requirements.
I know, I know; there's no replacement for boots on the ground, BUT given the last few brooha's that you've been involved in, having four times as many drones in the air may have saved a bunch of lives from those dang IED's and allowed you to keep the AlQueda and Taliban afraid to come out of their caves.
Illegal immigration: Why has it become necessary for various states to craft their own laws and then be subjected to Washington's throwing them under the bus of the supreme court? Must be a need somewhere else it wouldn't be happening, right? Tracking down and deporting them should be a priority based simply on the rule of law that they have already broken; easy-peasy. All this debate over "they're simply seeking a better life" is bull-c**p! You would no more tolerate 12 million Canadians swimming across the great lakes than you would a lye enema! The economic burden these place on you is atrocious. So you end up cutting your own lawn, all well and good to get your obese arse out in the sunshine.
Trim welfare by forcing both means tests AND drug testing across the board. You force a bus driver and sports figures to give urine samples but a mother who had three children out of wedlock from different fathers or a guy who'se unemployable because he routinely shows up drunk for a job interview should be immune? Prioritize, prioritize should be the watchword for your budget development. A valid disability precluding useful employment should be paid a living pension OR welfare but not BOTH!
Lobby groups should be banned from even entering the parking lots of Washington or States Legislatures. Major pharmaceutical corps. should have controls placed upon them that guarantee's the costs of drugs go down throughout the life of a patent IF the costs of producing that same drug have gone down through expansion of consumer market base. Further; they say they need unrestricted profits so that research and development of new drugs can happen, oooopsy; I wouldn't merely take their word for that but enact legislation that actually requires and oversees it; I mean if you can take over GM, you should be able to make affordable drugs for all a reality, right?
Require all oil companies to pay into a fund at a higher rate to forestall the inevitablility of a spill anywhere within your borders. the tobacco inustries were required to contribute to a fund to be paid out upon successful suits agaisnt them why not BP or Shell. Spills are gonna happen regardless of all attempts to prevent. The nature of the beast, we keep sucking on that particular teat and it's inevitable we're gonna slober some milk down our bibs.
Universal health care would flow from some form of controls placed on all to pay a deductable based on their income tax rate. Now of course this would assume a fair tax rate be developed that eliminates loopholes. This would, of course, require the elimination of the current mish-mash of health care insurance systems that have your congressmen receive one type of health care and your counter worker in an auto-parts store, another. ALL should be provided with a basic level of health care that negates the going bankrupt due to an unforeseen catastrophy happening to any member of a family. BASIC being the operative word here; you want a better level, you're free to pay for it through any optional top-up insurance programs.
Foreign aid: this one would of nature include the funding provided to the U.N. as that is the worst type of foreign aid, to-wit: You throw a whole pile of money into a bottomless pit to watch it go to the benefit of countries that have already espoused a mandate to target your a**'es through terrorist or economic actions. Country's like Haiti, et al would be required to display an embracing of the very basic of corruption retraints, rule of law along with human rights, among other considerations before they get dime-one from any pool of money you've contributed to.
Kyoto, Durban, Geneva, Kalamazoo or any other pollution accords agreed to would include ALL polluters and not merely serve as a wealth re-distribution system to enable the buying and selling of carbon credits on the open market like an estate auction of your grandma's silverware.
You're never going to be a second-rate country as virtually all out there are trying desperately to emulate you, but a major shift to leading by example is necessary. Why put yourselves at risk by hamstringing your ability to respond to ANY of the worlds tests by sinking any further down the budget abyss.
Canada is actually a pretty good example of the OP, but even living next door to a relatively benign "1st power", notice just from your own post how much y'all get sidelined, and end up in the position of simply "giving advice" (or donating troops)... instead of getting to "call the shots".
Although gotta love the irony of a conservative-talkin' Canadian preaching about "Illegals", who also obviously spends a fair amount of time in Mexico! BTW, like a lot of other Canadians, do you wear a Canadian flag when you travel so as not to be confused with us?
Canada is actually a pretty good example of the OP, but even living next door to a relatively benign "1st power", notice just from your own post how much y'all get sidelined, and end up in the position of simply "giving advice" (or donating troops)... instead of getting to "call the shots".
Although gotta love the irony of a conservative-talkin' Canadian preaching about "Illegals", who also obviously spends a fair amount of time in Mexico! BTW, like a lot of other Canadians, do you wear a Canadian flag when you travel so as not to be confused with us?
I have vacationed in Mexico years ago but learned more about it from six years of snowbird winters spent in Yuma Az; now that was an eye opener!
Canada has played a relatively important role on the worlds stage over the preceding century but we must also realize as a nation of relatively small population (less than Cali) with limited military resources that we do not want or deserve the right to "run the show".
We benefit greatly having a neighbour with a population of over 300 million in terms of a trading partner and a safety umbrella provided by a nation whose beliefs and aspirations are based and governed on democratic principals and rule of law.
We were perhaps even more involved in the original conceptual thinking for the creation of the U.N. with it's original charter meetings at St. James Palace and it's lofty intent. We now get to watch it being used by despotic regimes to play political games on a grand scale. It's lost it's direction and relevance now. A complete overhaul or disbanding should be the only two options for it today.
Canada is actually a pretty good example of the OP, but even living next door to a relatively benign "1st power", notice just from your own post how much y'all get sidelined, and end up in the position of simply "giving advice" (or donating troops)... instead of getting to "call the shots".
Although gotta love the irony of a conservative-talkin' Canadian preaching about "Illegals", who also obviously spends a fair amount of time in Mexico! BTW, like a lot of other Canadians, do you wear a Canadian flag when you travel so as not to be confused with us?
We were really a call the shot kind of nation since the Britsh empire called the shots dring our days as colony and later a dominion they were dominate super power nation during the late 1700's to the early 1900's
then after WW2 the Britsh empire was in collapse abnd the torch was passed on to the US to lead the westren world and we followed your lead because after WW1 and WW2 we wanted to become independant also and the US was the first country we had done a trade deal with out the apporval of the britsh which lead to us fighting even harder to gain our freedom and in 1982 we became a soverign nation...
Ever since our country has been around we were led by the largest most powerful, World Chaging super power nations on earth and the best part is we all have deep histroical ties and are each other best allies and share the same Culture and values and no other nation in the world share the close ties the US and Canada do.
The only thing the US and Canada have where we put our long time friendship aside is when we play go to IIHF Olympic Hockey that is they only real modren thing where we battle it out and go to war on the Ice.
Since Canada and the US play real NHL style hockey which was is the way it was made to be played and not the IIHF European style hockey where when it first came to Europe they were shocked we woul;d drop the gloves and get into a hockey fight.
Canada vs.USSR Hockey Brawl - YouTube
It's how Canada fought the soviet Union and the commies in the summit series..
in soviet russia, you dont beat up canadians, canadians beat you up
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,852 posts, read 10,460,349 times
Reputation: 6670
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTOlover
It's how Canada fought the soviet Union and the commies in the summit series..
in soviet russia, you dont beat up canadians, canadians beat you up
LOL! BTW, luv the Canadian's down-to-earth attitude. Was snowmobiling near Banff a few years ago, and when we rented the machines, there was no safety lecture, no signing an armful of legalese, nuthin'... just "here's how the controls work, bye!"
Later, at lunch they gave some demonstrations on the higher-powered snowmobiles, and as we watched one fellow who was doing stunts way up on the mountainside, it suddenly looked like he was unintentionally headed straight for a huge boulder and was going to crash! He finally managed to narrowly avoid it, but just beforehand one of the lead guides who was watching this with us, rather matter-of-factly remarked, "uh-oh, it looks like John's gonna have an 'owie', eh!"
In another thread I saw a person mention something about the US becoming a "second-rate world power" like the UK. And it got me thinking... how bad could that actually be?
Most people in the UK seem to enjoy the same standard of living that we enjoy. They have cell phones, computers, running water, electricity, etc. Yes, they've even got McDonalds and Starbucks and Chipotle! I get the feeling that a lot of people think anywhere that's not the US is some sort of backwards dystopia, but a lot of countries really aren't that different from us in terms of standards of living. Hell, some are better.
Thoughts?
In fact many European countries have freeish education and universal health care, combined being able to buy anything you want, just like the US. I have always thought what exactly is higher about the standard of living in the US? And how exactly is it more free? Seems much like anywhere in Western Europe - difference perhaps you pay less tax, but pay for by having to pay for your education and health care.
As for the Military side of things - perhaps European countries could take some of the load of the US, and share costs more.
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