joe75 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 were arguing whether we should be talking about god in a science classroom for gods sake.... Very good, for gods sake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 God dammit, Jesus Rules! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39thRonin Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Wow, so many people hating America. I vote to be come more European or Latin American - Right Now! Yeah, so we too can have: 30% unemployment Stagnant Economies Government Intrusion into every area of our lives A lack - yes, a LACK of freedom And to you spoiled brats who live here and are Americans, try speaking out against the Governments of Pakistan, Iran, China, Argentina, Mexico, or just about anywhere else, like you do so FREELY here - see ya after a few years in jail - or worse... Like the guy said in a prvious post - don't like it here - LEAVE... While I'm on a rant, we here in the US are raising the most spineless pussy men around. So afraid of everything. There are women around the world who show more bravery on a daily basis than most of these namby-pamby, PC, girlie-men living in the US today... Where is John Wayne when we need him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killbot1000 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Wow, so many people hating America. I vote to be come more European or Latin American - Right Now! Yeah, so we too can have: 30% unemployment Stagnant Economies Government Intrusion into every area of our lives A lack - yes, a LACK of freedom And to you spoiled brats who live here and are Americans, try speaking out against the Governments of Pakistan, Iran, China, Argentina, Mexico, or just about anywhere else, like you do so FREELY here - see ya after a few years in jail - or worse... Like the guy said in a prvious post - don't like it here - LEAVE... While I'm on a rant, we here in the US are raising the most spineless pussy men around. So afraid of everything. There are women around the world who show more bravery on a daily basis than most of these namby-pamby, PC, girlie-men living in the US today... Where is John Wayne when we need him? I realize that the USA is one of the best places to live on the planet, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have problems, just because something is the best doesn't mean its great (if that makes any sense at all). My point is that even WE have A LOT to improve on, and the only way these problems are going to get fixed is if we address them rather than sweeping them under the carpet like they don't exist. I'm not a whiner or pussy, I love my country, but I have quite a few ideas on how to improve it, is there anything wrong with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe75 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 And to you spoiled brats who live here and are Americans, try speaking out against the Governments of Pakistan, Iran, China, Argentina, Mexico, or just about anywhere else, like you do so FREELY here - see ya after a few years in jail - or worse... That is the very reason no one should talk about being AMERICAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniFilth Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 I'm from germany. I'm not proud of being german, but I think, the system in germany is quite okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oregano Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Yes, good idea. Let's just replace all the street signs, recall all the cars, and spontaneously convert all US Customary units into metric. Are you going to know how to deal with those units? yeah, actually, we should not right away, but slowly true, i agree with wildcat69410, it would be agrivating, but in the end it would be rewarding think about this: how will history look at us stupid americans if we dont convert? and life is very good in the u.s. (if ur white, have money, and live in a good neighborhood) its really not any better than europe guys but its much better than south america., africa, and most of asia/middle east Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 I dont see the great reward. And I seriously doubt that history will judge the United States negatively over a paltry thing like weights and measures. I can see the textbook now: "The great experiment, that was the United States. Glorious in almost all respects, it nevertheless collapsed due to the inability of the American citizen to convert ounces into decagrams." Besides, anyone who's involved in the narcotics trade is quite familiar with the metric system. Good Job! EDIT: So, you're saying that life in South America isnt as good as life in the US and Europe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgrimes80 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I dont see the great reward. And I seriously doubt that history will judge the United States negatively over a paltry thing like weights and measures. I can see the textbook now: "The great experiment, that was the United States. Glorious in almost all respects, it nevertheless collapsed due to the inability of the American citizen to convert ounces into decagrams." Besides, anyone who's involved in the narcotics trade is quite familiar with the metric system. Good Job! EDIT: So, you're saying that life in South America isnt as good as life in the US and Europe? When I was referring to the use of the metric system, I was explicitly implicating business. Specifically, the tech sector. For example, when dealing with an international consumer base, it's definitely not in your favor to have something manufactured and assembled with Imperial based parts and fasteners... Any Non-American probably doesn't have a 1/2" - 20 laying around to fix his bike; an M6 pitch 1.25 can be found at his local hardware store and ours. In addtition, it's cheaper (believe it or not) to buy metric fasteners than imperial in bulk because there are WAYYYY more vendors to choose from. [rant] @ work I demand stuff done using the International System of Units. It's not complicated, hell with the use of computers, it's a click of a ****ING button away to convert. But NO!!! We want to print out drawings with imperial and have them delievered; Better yet, hand draw and deliver! Email is just too complicated for some people... [end rant] A flat out metric adoption would definitely be wasteful... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Business can do whatever they want. If it's more effective profit-wise to adopt the metric system, let them. What "adopt the metric system" generally means is scrap the US Customary system from society as a whole. Pointless. So illegal aliens can better navigate themselves to a welfare office? (Sorry if "illegal alien" offends anyone, but that's exactly what they are) The US Customary system works perfectly fine in day to day life. Not to say it's better, but the metric system wont make your car go faster, or bake a cake for you. While it probably should be emphasized in education for later adoption, it's not a huge priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe75 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 how will history look at us stupid americans Your just filled with all kinds of patriotism "Patriotism consists of a both rational and emotional support for the local civic or political community, perceived to be distinct from the whole world-wide community." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zealot Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 why dont you call your self gringos ? that way you all could be a litle more "united" to the rest of the continent.i mean the south part of the continent yes! it is a south part of the continent (OHHHHHHHHHH).And guest what we are americans too (Shoking!).just jokin. but i want to make myself clear about one thing, i think that is kind of anoying that you (i mean people who live at the states) call your selfs like that "americans" . its like german people call them self "europeans" , then the rest of europe should be called ? MHH....SOUTH EUROPEANS. think about that greetings. saludos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 We call ourselves Americans because our country is the United States of America <----- Doi. Aside from being a source of drugs, worthless people, and excess garbage, the southern part of the continent isnt good for much, and oughtn't be taken into consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killbot1000 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 We call ourselves Americans because our country is the United States of America <----- Doi. Aside from being a source of drugs, worthless people, and excess garbage, the southern part of the continent isnt good for much, and oughtn't be taken into consideration. Seriously, people are the same no matter where you go, alot of these people were just born into a bad situation and want a better life, you would do the same. The only thing their countries need is a change of management, seriously... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 So, what you're saying is that the natural solution to living in a place where you cant get ahead is to flood a place where you can. I thought it was to change where you are, so it better suits your needs. If the southern nations are so much better than the US, why dont their citizens stay there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killbot1000 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 So, what you're saying is that the natural solution to living in a place where you cant get ahead is to flood a place where you can. I thought it was to change where you are, so it better suits your needs. If the southern nations are so much better than the US, why dont their citizens stay there? They're not better, that was my point, people are literally the same, everywhere on the planet. Everybody who lives on the North American Continent are descendants of people who wanted a better life, and moved somewhere else (immigration). Even the native Americans, it just happened thousands of years before Europeans. Thinking along the lines of "I'm better because I'm born here" is what has led to many of this world's problems... I'm all for changing the place where you live I encourage it most of the time, but the reality of life is that thats not a realistic option for some people, its a group effort, its hard for one person to change things and get ahead (although not impossible), the whole of the population has to want it. If only one person wants a better life, or only one family wants a better life, they move. My descendants did it, your descendants did it, and many more people will continue to do it. It's a fact of life, not a good or bad thing. I say, let people come here, but put them through a system to where they become integrated into American culture and actually BECOME American, not treated like criminals, and not swept under the rug as if they don't exist. Teach them English, teach them the ideals of America, make them American. If we pretend they don't exist (they do) then before we know it, we have a new third class of people living here that drag down our nation because they never learned how to properly integrate in the first place. And if you're asking where this money is coming from to fund this, all the money going into our useless war and the huge wall were building on the Mexican border could help. More people here (at a reasonable rate) means bigger economy, meaning better living conditions (if we integrate them) for the simple reason that if they become citizens, people wanting cheap labor will have to pay them minimum wage, instead of 2 dollars an hour, making the playing field level for Americans born here (if they want agricultural jobs ha ha ha (jk)). But seriously, theres only two options that will work, getting everybody out (which is impossible and generates hate). Or integration into society, which means more taxes for the government, more people buying things, and ultimately a better economy FOR YOU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 I have no objection to people wanting a better life here. I have an objection to people coming here and abusing our system illegally, then complaining how bad it is here. I dont have an objection to cultural integration. I have an objection to cultural isolation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consolation Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 they built some sattelite or something-it was a collaboration of many countries, and the u.s. used their system and evryone else used metric, and it was all ****ed up That was one of the mars probes, one person decided to use imperial all of the sudden and it crashed and burned... Wow, for once, I find myself agreeing with gwprod. A conversion to metric in the US would simply be a pointless, and aggrivating affair. Sure, it is obviously a much easier system, but the effort and money required in converting every form of measurment to metric would be enormous, and for what gain? So I could more easily calculate distance and weight? The only field where metric is actually important is Science, where metric has already been generally adopted in the American scientific community. As long as the scientific community, as well as the technological community has a standard system of measurement, then we're fine. However, to change simply for more easily pronouncable increments of measure, or for a slightly lower percentage of error, then I don't really see the point. Every commonwealth country did it in the 60s, after the initial - oh no it will never work etc etc, it only took a couple of years and everyone wondered what the fuss was all about. It really is not that much of a big deal as long as it's done gradually and consistently. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadsport Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Yeah, I'm from the 'states. Pretty cool to see how diverse InsanelyMac is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consolation Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Wow, so many people hating America. I vote to be come more European or Latin American - Right Now! Yeah, so we too can have: 30% unemployment Stagnant Economies Government Intrusion into every area of our lives A lack - yes, a LACK of freedom so maybe you'll have: Free comprehensive health care And free higher education And parental leave for everyone And reasonable work hours And guaranteed paid holidays And guaranteed retirement income And employees that have rights... etc.. etc.. all those nasty pinko socialist rights that guarantee everyone the same opportunities... That "government intrusion" is there mostly to protect your rights; those "higher taxes" mean you have more money in your pocket because you don't have to spend a fortune on health insurance, retirement savings, college funds for your kids etc etc. What lack of freedom; the freedom to get fired on a bosses whim, the freedom to live on the street...? Because when it comes to be able to make choices such as whom to marry, wether to have kids, or what to smoke etc; USA doesn't come off that well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwprod12 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Well, everyone has their system, and it works for them. If it doesnt work for them, they go somewhere that has a system that works for them. We mock the Soviet system, but it actually worked well for the middle class people. You do the job you like, and you live a basicly care-free existence. Kinda nice, I guess. Most Canadians love their free healthcare. And why shouldnt they? They can afford it, since they dont have a gigantic defense force that they have to pay for. 38% of all government spending in Canada is on healthcare. Canadians pay about 35% of all of their income in taxes, Americans pay about 30% (Americans and Canadians make about the same amount of money). So, let's crunch the numbers. 38% of spending in the United States accounts for about 85% of the Armed Services (or about $550B each year). There are 300 million people living in this country. If we deduct 47 million who receive medicare and medicade, we're left with 253 million people. About 20 million people in the US are illegal aliens, but since we're a benevolent nation (until we go bankrupt), we'll pay for them too. 500 billion dollars costs each "American" about $2000 in medical care each year. Yay. I can tell you one thing. If we spent all of the money on healthcare that we spend on the Military now, we wouldnt be in Iraq ;-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat69410 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 so maybe you'll have: Free comprehensive health care And free higher education And parental leave for everyone And reasonable work hours And guaranteed paid holidays And guaranteed retirement income And employees that have rights... etc.. etc.. all those nasty pinko socialist rights that guarantee everyone the same opportunities... That "government intrusion" is there mostly to protect your rights; those "higher taxes" mean you have more money in your pocket because you don't have to spend a fortune on health insurance, retirement savings, college funds for your kids etc etc. What lack of freedom; the freedom to get fired on a bosses whim, the freedom to live on the street...? Because when it comes to be able to make choices such as whom to marry, wether to have kids, or what to smoke etc; USA doesn't come off that well. At the cost of what? Seriously, look at France for example (not a French-Hater, just an example). They set a law having no person work more than 35 hours per week. Originally hailed as a genius success, forcing employers to hire more people to hopefully lower unemployment, it has instead resulted in an absolute STAGNANT economy. In my opinion, that's just lazy, but it could be me. Hey, and does anyone find it funny how you just defended "government intrusion" because it "helps us", yet you condemn it when it concerns the Patriot Act and wiretapping, or more "government intrusion". One of the huge pluses of the United States is that for the most part, you are given the decision to do what you want, when you want. Rather than be restricted by a 35 hour work week, we are given more employment opportunited to achieve new levels of economic success. Seriously, at what point are they helping us, and at what point are they simply restricting us. Sure, the European system sounds nice, but it just takes away our freedom. Their healthcare system is pure rubbish, heck the majority of the stuff you mentioned is unusable. Personally, I'd trust a privately run HMO, or anything being run to earn my approval rather than a Government agency. Why? I don't feel the need to trust the government more than I have to. Hell, if we can hardly trust our Government to lead our country right, how the {censored} do you expect me to trust my retirement, my child's college fund, and my health to it? I guess you'd call that the right to get screwed over by my government, right? They're not called rights when they're just restrictions. Basically, the more the government does for me, the less I do for myself, limiting MY freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consolation Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Hey, and does anyone find it funny how you just defended "government intrusion" because it "helps us", yet you condemn it when it concerns the Patriot Act and wiretapping, or more "government intrusion". One of the huge pluses of the United States is that for the most part, you are given the decision to do what you want, when you want. Rather than be restricted by a 35 hour work week, we are given more employment opportunited to achieve new levels of economic success. It's simple one is the government working FOR it's citizens and spending common resources on public good, the other is a government spying on it's citizens and treating them as presumed guilty/criminals. How on earth you can mix the two up is beyond me. Some might say that you are given more opportunities to be exploited, thankfully I can pass on those kinds of opportunities. Seriously, at what point are they helping us, and at what point are they simply restricting us. Sure, the European system sounds nice, but it just takes away our freedom. Their healthcare system is pure rubbish, heck the majority of the stuff you mentioned is unusable. Personally, I'd trust a privately run HMO, or anything being run to earn my approval rather than a Government agency. Why? I don't feel the need to trust the government more than I have to. What are you basing that opinion on? The fact that our drugs cost a fraction of the same ones in US? Or that children's doctors visits are free? Notice that a lot of cutting edge medical work is now done outside of the US, mostly because we don't have to live in terror of being sued out of existence. (And that's another cost professionals don't worry about -liability insurance.) Hell, if we can hardly trust our Government to lead our country right, how the {censored} do you expect me to trust my retirement, my child's college fund, and my health to it? I guess you'd call that the right to get screwed over by my government, right? They're not called rights when they're just restrictions. Basically, the more the government does for me, the less I do for myself, limiting MY freedom. Well that would depend entirely on the quality of your government, wouldn't it? ;-) I think you are confusing "freedom" with "obligation." I expect public servants (i.e. the government) to earn their salaries and work for me; so that I'm FREE from worrying about my future should anything bad befall me. I can work less and I'm FREE to enjoy my FREE time, rather than SLAVING to make sure I can pay my kids doctor's bills or University education. At the cost of what? Seriously, look at France for example (not a French-Hater, just an example). They set a law having no person work more than 35 hours per week. Originally hailed as a genius success, forcing employers to hire more people to hopefully lower unemployment, it has instead resulted in an absolute STAGNANT economy. In my opinion, that's just lazy, but it could be me. I think the economic situation in France is caused by a lot more than 35hour work week... The price of oil for example is sky rocketing, who knows why.... etc... etc... Please understand, I'm not saying that a Social Democratic system is perfect, but that it does offer benefits over an American style capitalism that's "red in tooth and claw." Gross measures of economic output such as wages, GDP etc overlook the quality of life that the citizens enjoy. I may earn less and be taxed more; but, at the end of the day, I worry less and have more DISPOSABLE income in my pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSkywalker Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Who knows why? Tip: Can it be because of the situation in the middle east? I mean, the whole area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe75 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 rather than SLAVING to make sure I can pay my kids doctor's bills or University education. I resemble that Slave to Oil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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