Monitory Problems

[martymas]

a friend sent this from the usa

claiming the problems wti the dollar note

as a supporter of obama winning the election

i thought it was in bad tase

to show a president elect as

an unreadable $note

however judge for your self

[JDoors]

VERY bad taste.

It's an old (and derogatory) joke from like the 1920's or 30's or thereabouts.

BTW Marty, you were worried we couldn't elect an African American without some kind of incident? We managed to do it before any industrialized country, didn't we? Any blacks running Germany? France? England? Any European country? China? Japan? Canada? Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope and nope (unless I've forgotten someone somewhere).

Does New Zealand elect indigenous peoples to high positions in government? Sorry about being so uninformed about NZ's political scene.

[martymas]

hi

yes you are correct

you have done what the rest of the world didnt expect

but remember blacks are citizens of the usa

and up until now they have never been

treated as sutch

ye we have a

indigenous members of parliment

maori is the ethinic group

and they are allowed to have thier own party

who get elected by their own people

we dont have presidents

the prime minister is the highest in the land

but we have many ministers in high places

our foriegn minister is a native of nz

and travels all over the world

meeting leaders

he was intervied by bush

he was appointed because we wanted to make the world see we are all one

irrespective of our color or creed

and i can tell you we are so proud of the usa

for casting their predjduice aside and elect a non white

and i speak for people

outside of the usa

there is still some negitive flo back

i have a friend in florida

who sends me many letters and articles

and not in favour of obama

but the american public have spoken

by a landslide

today is our election day

and i was so wrapped up in the usa elections

i for get who to vote for

any how good luck

to all you electors

and i feel you have made

a good choice

tho time will tell

marty

[irregularjoe]

a friend sent this from the usa

claiming the problems wti the dollar note

as a supporter of obama winning the election

i thought it was in bad tase

to show a president elect as

an unreadable $note

however judge for your self

Marty:

That is about as base, hateful, ignorant, racist, wrong, stupid, prejudist, hurtful, harmful. (I can go on but I think you get the gist of it) as anything I have seen in a LONG time.

When I was a child my family took a trip to Florida. 1960. I was six. While passing through the south I witnessed first hand the "White Only" signs at places that we stopped along the way. Restauarants, bathrooms at gas stations, etc. Although only being six years old, I knew that something was very wrong with that. I asked my parents about it. They said what most parents probably said in those days: "that's just the way it is down here".

That picture of the acceptance of hate and ignorance always stayed with me. It made me want to know WHY that kind of organized pathological behavior was the norm in so many places.

Things in this country have definately changed for the better in the past 48 years. The change has been seismic in scope. It has not been easy. And it has come only because of a lot of sacrifice from a lot of people.

I am proud of this country. I haven't been able to say that for a long time. It feels good!

Joe

P.S.

If I were you, I'd have a talking to with that "friend" of yours that sent you that picture.

J

Edited November 8, 2008 by irregularjoe

[JDoors]

hi

yes you are correct

you have done what the rest of the world didnt expect

but remember blacks are citizens of the usa

and up until now they have never been

treated as sutch ...

No wonder "the rest of the world didn't expect" an African-American leader with that attitude. Until NOW blacks have NEVER been treated as CITIZENS???? That's so wrong I don't even know what to say.

I vaguely recall knowing about the Maori and their "separate but equal" party. Thanks for the additional info.

[Bubba Bob]

but remember blacks are citizens of the usa

and up until now they have never been

treated as sutch ...

Is this a common sentiment over in NZ?

[martymas]

unfortunately

many people round the wprld have this perception

that americana dont treat their ethnic groups so well

and i read one was the native americian

i have to admit before i joined boards like this and others i also had the perception

but after communicating with many of you

you are the same as me

and many of you treat me as an equal friend

at one time we had the same problem

here

when the white settlers

invaded the country

they took over all aspects of our daily lives

and i hated them for it

it has taken many years

to find there are many good people in the world

and boards like this

has helped me to ,understand other peoples view

but it is better now

and i think it is because of our emergration policy

we are meeting more diverse peole

and it is broadening our

perception

on others in the world

i have many friends who were anti american

but electing obama

has moderated thier views

in this short time

so hope fully it will unite your people for the better hope so

as ive come to regard many of you as my best friend

tho ive never met you

thanks for letting me air my views

Edited November 8, 2008 by martymas

[irregularjoe]

unfortunately

many people round the wprld have this perception

that americana dont treat their ethnic groups so well

and i read one was the native americian

i have to admit before i joined boards like this and others i also had the perception

but after communicating with many of you

you are the same as me

and many of you treat me as an equal friend

at one time we had the same problem

here

when the white settlers

invaded the country

they took over all aspects of our daily lives

and i hated them for it

it has taken many years

to find there are many good people in the world

and boards like this

has helped me to ,understand other peoples view

but it is better now

and i think it is because of our emergration policy

we are meeting more diverse peole

and it is broadening our

perception

on others in the world

i have many friends who were anti american

but electing obama

has moderated thier views

in this short time

so hope fully it will unite your people for the better hope so

as ive come to regard many of you as my best friend

tho ive never met you

thanks for letting me air my views

Marty:

I didn't realize that about New Zealand. I definately need to learn more about your national history. Hopefully you can help me with the details?

Thanks,

Joe

[JDoors]

... the american public have spoken by a landslide ...

Landslide, huh?

He did get a large majority of the electoral votes, but I bet 99% of the world's population can't explain what an electoral vote IS.

[martymas]

sorry what i shoild have said the party obama represents

has won hands down

they are in control of the white house

sorry bout that over site

marty

[JDoors]

No apology necessary. I saw the word "landslide" in print, right next to the number "51%" (not sure if it was later raised to the 52% seen in that cartoon or what). I was scratching my head. I ASSUME it means a large number of electoral votes, but that's not the usual number used when describing a victory as a "landslide."

Just heard (in a podcast) that in a poll in Canada, 80% would have voted for Obama. Now THAT would be a landslide!

[irregularjoe]

365 vs. 173 = Landslide

Popular vote doesn't matter. Remember 2000? Florida? Gore /Bush? Gore won the popular vote but Bush was appointed anyway.

Edited November 12, 2008 by irregularjoe

[JDoors]

365 vs. 173 = Landslide

Popular vote doesn't matter. Remember 2000? Florida? Gore /Bush? Gore won the popular vote but Bush was appointed anyway.

I already said he got "a large majority" of the electoral votes (67.84% to put it another way). I understand how the electoral college works and how that determines who wins, so the only relevance of bringing up another election's results would be to unnecessarily point out that the popular vote does not determine the winner.

And thank goodness the popular vote DOES NOT determine the winner: The population of just a few of the largest cities could negate almost everyone else's votes.

[irregularjoe]

365 vs. 173 = Landslide

Popular vote doesn't matter. Remember 2000? Florida? Gore /Bush? Gore won the popular vote but Bush was appointed anyway.

I already said he got "a large majority" of the electoral votes (67.84% to put it another way). I understand how the electoral college works and how that determines who wins, so the only relevance of bringing up another election's results would be to unnecessarily point out that the popular vote does not determine the winner.

And thank goodness the popular vote DOES NOT determine the winner: The population of just a few of the largest cities could negate almost everyone else's votes.

You are right JDoors. I wasn't quibbling.

The number of state electors will no doubt be reconfigured before the next presidential election. The migration of jobs (if there are any left) and people from PA., Ohio, Michigan, to the south is just one example. It's pretty clear which political party will benefit.

Currently only Maine and Nebraska can split up electoral votes among the competing candidates. All the other states are "winner take all".

Not sure if I completely disagree with the popular vote concept. After all, it's what most people incorrectly believe to be the deciding factor.

It's going to make an interesting debate if it ever gets that far.

Edited November 13, 2008 by irregularjoe

[hitest]

a friend sent this from the usa

claiming the problems wti the dollar note

as a supporter of obama winning the election

i thought it was in bad tase

to show a president elect as

an unreadable $note

however judge for your self

Marty:

That is about as base, hateful, ignorant, racist, wrong, stupid, prejudist, hurtful, harmful. (I can go on but I think you get the gist of it) as anything I have seen in a LONG time.

I agree marty and Joe! This is in very bad taste.

[JDoors]

... The number of state electors will no doubt be reconfigured before the next presidential election. The migration of jobs (if there are any left) and people from PA., Ohio, Michigan, to the south is just one example. It's pretty clear which political party will benefit.

Currently only Maine and Nebraska can split up electoral votes among the competing candidates. All the other states are "winner take all".

Not sure if I completely disagree with the popular vote concept. After all, it's what most people incorrectly believe to be the deciding factor.

It's going to make an interesting debate if it ever gets that far.

I don't understand how population migration will benefit one party over another -- How's that gonna work? Will people change their allegience solely due to a "new" location?

One problem with "winner takes all" is people who vote against the majority in their state sometimes think that vote is "wasted." I disagree, but I don't know how to explain why it matters. Many may not vote at all, which just increases the influence of the majority.

I don't know that "most people" think the popular vote determines the winner, the media talks about electoral votes throughout the election. Most people may not FULLY understand how it works, but with, for instance, the example you gave, I think people "get" that the poplular vote isn't the entire story.

Every four years talk arises about eliminating electoral voting but it never gets anywhere, though probably not this year since the popular vote was close, the electoral votes weren't, but the results would have been the same -- the controversy usually arises when when the two don't correlate at all. Thank goodness people's attention spans are so short! It's even harder to explain WHY "popular vote" would be a disaster than it is to explain why electoral voting is a better solution.

-----

Edited November 13, 2008 by JDoors

[sultan_emerr]

I just hope they don't eliminate QVC!!!

Edited November 16, 2008 by sultan_emerr