Being robbed again (Page 4): I still don't see what the border issue has to do with Ukraine ? If you don't help Ukraine then the border issue will be such a miniscule concern compared...

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

clint f. wrote:

The border issue exploded when the executive orders from the previous administrations stay in Mexico policy along with following the laws in existence created the lowest number of illegal entries. Presidents Clinton and Obama both spoke out against illegal entry and promoting securing the border..................

I still don't see what the border issue has to do with Ukraine ? If you don't help Ukraine then the border issue will be such a miniscule concern compared with what is happening in the rest of the world and that will affect you far more than 1 mans ego is in the short term. One of your political parties needs to look at the rest of the world and also look back at the USAs isolationist attitude before joining WW2.
At the moment the world is looking at potentially a very long period of political tension and America won't come out of that looking good.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

Texcaster wrote:

... and the US primaries for candidate selection are a massive waste of time and money. In the parliamentary systems, you vote for a party and it's platform. The party picks the leaders/candidates and can change leader at any time. Every vote counts, minor parties can take their votes to the party most sympathetic to their wishes. And ... an election can be held in 8-12 weeks. Constantly getting ready for an election every two years out is mind-numbingly tedious.

We are accustomed to our system and it works for us. We don’t find it a waste of time. You feel the same about yours. We have a two party system yours isn’t. I don’t have the chutzpah to say yours are wrong. But I don’t have any “ dog in that fight.”

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

clint f. wrote:

We are accustomed to our system and it works for us. We don’t find it a waste of time. You feel the same about yours. We have a two party system yours isn’t. I don’t have the chutzpah to say yours are wrong. But I don’t have any “ dog in that fight.”

But it is debatable whether it is working for you. And it is a waste of time. When observed from the outside. Americans are very insular and just hate criticism. I note in passing that Karens seemed to have started in the USA.
It should be compulsory that every US citizen is forced to take at least one trip overseas to see reality.

Kraken Loc: Barry's Bay

chrissybabe wrote:

But it is debatable whether it is working for you. And it is a waste of time. When observed from the outside. Americans are very insular and just hate criticism. I note in passing that Karens seemed to have started in the USA.
It should be compulsory that every US citizen is forced to take at least one trip overseas to see reality.

They don't have to go that far, Canada has their federal elections

every four years for 630 million and 36 days of campaigning.

Verses 14 billion in the US and what amounts to 4 years of

campaigning. Just ask Trump who has never stopped.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

chrissybabe wrote:

But it is debatable whether it is working for you. And it is a waste of time. When observed from the outside. Americans are very insular and just hate criticism. I note in passing that Karens seemed to have started in the USA.
It should be compulsory that every US citizen is forced to take at least one trip overseas to see reality.

I am very interested to hear whet you have to say. Can I PM you to continue the conversation?

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

chrissybabe wrote:

But it is debatable whether it is working for you. And it is a waste of time. When observed from the outside. Americans are very insular and just hate criticism. I note in passing that Karens seemed to have started in the USA.
It should be compulsory that every US citizen is forced to take at least one trip overseas to see reality.

The most shocked are the Southerners when they find out they're Yanks just like the rest of us (me).

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

clint f. wrote:

I am very interested to hear whet you have to say. Can I PM you to continue the conversation?

You may. Note that I am away on holiday shortly so replies may be sporadic for a couple of weeks.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

chrissybabe wrote:

You may. Note that I am away on holiday shortly so replies may be sporadic for a couple of weeks.

I’m leaving too. Mexico, Costa Rico, Panama, Columbia and Cozumel on a Viking cruise for 18 days. Obviously not a very cultural exploration but we have to spend the kids inheritance some how.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

allan catt wrote:

Next year the British Goverment are allowing Gas &Electricity company’s to charge every household in the Uk £16 to cover the debt of non payment by people who have not paid their utility bills,surely it’s the responsibility of the utility co.to recoupe the debt not pass it on to the rest of the country,they are making millions of pounds a year let them take it out of their profit.

The customer always pays. Decades ago I Rembrandt when they were putting the streetcars underground in downtown Pittsburgh. Of course many things were damaged including trunk lines for telephones and both gas and water mains. One incident caused flooding. one of TV commentators remarked…” I wonder who is going to pay for all the damage, the telephone customers, the water customers, or the gas customers?

Wyantry Loc: SW Colorado

Vladimir200 wrote:

Actually, we can be critical of anything we want and mostly that that does not make sense. I will agree with you, however on our bizarre way of electing a President using the Electoral College instead of the popular vote. In fact, I think I read somewhere that we (USA) are the only first-world country that does not elect their chief executive by popular vote.

Dependency upon the popular vote would be a submission to rule by the mob.
A mob of generally liberal socialistic persons who have expressed an avowal to destroying certain facets of the Constitution.

You appear to be incapable of comprehending the ultimate FAIRNESS of the Electoral College (EC) system. Without the EC, elections would be decided by about seven states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio.

The balance of the entire nation would have essentially NO VOICE IN THE ELECTION!

Certainly not a fair or equitable assesssment of the wishes and concerns of the balance of the nation.

Effate Loc: El Dorado Hills, Ca.

Wyantry wrote:

Dependency upon the popular vote would be a submis... (show quote)

In California alone Biden won by 5.1 million votes.

Vladimir200 Loc: Beaumont, Ca.

Wyantry wrote:

Dependency upon the popular vote would be a submis... (show quote)

Yep, you got it; majority vote. All people of all states get to vote and majority gets it. Please get your head out of the bucket. EC solved the problems of late 1700s, not 2024. Yikes.

Vladimir200 Loc: Beaumont, Ca.

Effate wrote:

In California alone Biden won by 5.1 million votes.

A lot of traditions of late 1700s when our founding fathers were putting all of this together, made sense for that time. For example, voting on Tuesdays made sense for then but not for now. Saturdays would be better. No school in the summer. Great for 1700s farming environment; not now. And, etc etc.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Wyantry wrote:

the EC, elections would be decided by about seven states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio.
The balance of the entire nation would have essentially NO VOICE IN THE ELECTION!
of the balance of the nation.

The USA should by now be one nation, not a collection of squabbling smaller bits. Some of those bits happen to have more population than others but that is not important. The concept of those smaller bits has run its course. The ancient idea of the EC effectively means that the US can be ruled by a minority. And this is how dictatorships start. Going back 200 years when anybody, and everybody, emigrated to the US you ended up with possibly a larger collection of certain types of human traits who left other countries maybe a little poorer in those same traits. One of those traits was stubbornness and another was desire for independence. These traits combined can cause a certain degree of not being able to work together for the greater good and leave a lot of room for selfishness and intolerance to become the norm. I think that Joe Biden would like to retire but feels he can't because it is leaving the nation exposed to a fate worse than death. Which is now looming with more certainty daily.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

Im reminded of the rules for building federal buildings. All had to have a fireplace per a formula by square footage. Key West has a federal building wit lots of fireplaces. In a subtropical climate. Brilliant. The squabbling you decry doesn’t happen between the states, the states quarrel with an overburdening and punitive federal government. If there was an attempt by the federal government to eliminate there would be 50 countries. The civil war, perhaps you’ve heard of it, was fought over states rights. The issue that sparked the issue was slavery. You are correct that citizens desire autonomy and freedom. If you have a shred of evidence based on actual facts that there is a chance of a dictator running the Us you need to share it. That’s just delusional. We do have a feckless administrator who is allowing unfettered invasion of unvented illegal aliens but he’s not a dictator, just an adalpated old fool who won’t even debate his potential. opponent. Say the name Lanken Riley out loud a few times. How does NZ deal with illegal immigration?