02-23-2004, 04:07 PM | #1 |
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Can films tell the future?
I'd almost forgotten how funny Demolition Man was, but there was one small joke in it, that today is pretty scary.
"The Schwarzenegger library?" "Yeah, it was named after the president... He was elected after they amended the constitution to allow the candidacy of non-americans." "Wasn't he an actor?" You have to wonder if this is where the governator got his ideas. Interesting how this, through passage of time, has become a ripoff of much the same joke in Back to the Future. "Then who's vice-president? Jerry Lewis?!" |
02-24-2004, 05:37 AM | #2 |
Whinging Pom
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I don't see why non-american-born citizens should be prohibited from standing. President Schwarzenegger, has a nice ring to it. I reckon the republicans may well try to amend the consitution
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02-24-2004, 07:01 AM | #3 | |
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That said, I don't think people who weren't born in America should be eligible for president. I realize that Schwarzenegger is who they have specifically in mind, but you also have to think about how such an amendment might be used in the future. Just think. If this amendment had happened say 50 years ago we might be looking at President bin Laden. After all, the 9/11 terrorists lived just like any other American. They blended into society. Nobody noticed them, even when they learned how to fly without learning how to land. Now we're talking about opening up the highest office in the land to such people. All you really need to completely sabotage the entire nation is somebody who's willing to lay low for 20 years. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't like giving those kind of people that kind of opportunity. I want whoever is president of the United States to have a vested interest in making sure the United States turns out okay. mag |
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02-24-2004, 07:50 AM | #4 | |
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But the issue isn't whether immigrants should be allowed to be president. The issue is that there is actually a remote chance that the governator could become president. That is a very scary thought. |
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02-24-2004, 10:07 AM | #5 | |
Whinging Pom
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My post was firmly tongue in cheek. But to answer a few of your points, personally I don't want to have a say in how america is run, I just want an equal say on how the whole world is run. We already have something set up to help do that - the UN. All we need is for it to be given some proper power and respect. Secondly, for a country made almost entirely of immigrants of one kind or another it does seem a little strange to me that you have to be born there to become president. I'd have thought that any citizen of the US has a vested interest in it's future, and should have a right to represent the people. And I honestly can't see an international terrorist duping people and taking the white house. The idea that immigrant citizens shouldn't be allowed to be President in the name of "national security" not only makes me laugh, but scares me that it can be even seriously considered. Even if you do consider that to be remotely possible, consider this - there are already alot of american citizens who are entitled to stand for president yet are members of extreme organisations like the KKK. Expanding the entitlement to citizens not born in the US is not going to have much effect in that respect. But I can see something of what you're talking about - Presidential power is very great indeed, so you need to ensure you have good people getting the job - I'd perhaps be a little paranoid if I lived under the worry of hoe to deal with a dodgy president. Personally I'm against the presidential style government. I don't like them; presidents have an almost unopposed absolute form of power, and the only way you can get rid of them is via an election or the legal process. You only need a small majority (or in the US case not even that) to win an extraordinary amount of power. Granted the US has some very good checks and balances in place, but in the end it is still 1 man with alot of power and resonsibility. I prefer our system, where a prime minister is only an MP who can be got rid of by the rest of parliament whenever they feel like it. Even better, an election can be called and conducted in 4 weeks. It may not be perfect, but at least the power is shared by 600+ people and not 1, and if those 600 people can't form a simple majority the other 60million people automatically have their say.
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02-24-2004, 10:26 AM | #6 | |
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02-24-2004, 10:45 AM | #7 | |||||
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Of course, that is obviously an extreme example. But it makes my point. We've already seen that people can integrate themselves into a society and live there for years without being discovered. All it would really take is somebody with enough patience who knows how to work the American political system. Quote:
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02-24-2004, 11:04 AM | #8 | ||||
Whinging Pom
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Incidentally, we have a strange situation at the moment, where any EU citizen can vote in a British election (and stand as an MP I think, and thus potentially be PM) yet still not technically be a british citizen. I think it's great that we can now move around europe freely and we automatically get full rights where-ever we are. But the worry here, and I agree with you here, is that if things go tit-up here people don't have a vested interest and so can leave for a more prosperous part of the EU. On a side note, I don''t think that'll be a problem in the UK, but I can see problems in the new Eastern European countries that are about to join, with some of the most talented and educated heading west in search of higher pay. Quote:
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02-24-2004, 01:24 PM | #9 | |
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As Domst said, almost all Americans are immigrants, the only difference being the amount of generations since.
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Bin Laden is not evil... he's a terrible person with serious anger-management issues who's using his expert CIA training to get back at the people he hates most. This is the problem with many americans. They don't understand that they're not "the good guys", and that their enemies aren't evil. If they did, they'd know how to stop terrorism. I'll give you a hint... it's not war. |
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02-24-2004, 01:27 PM | #10 | |
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Still, I agree with the first second point made, it should really be okay for a non-US-born person to be the president. If at all he wins the election it may be for a very good reason, the least of which may be that he's a very capable man. (I use he and man, loosely.) Before any radical changes, though, I believe we'll see a female president and a 'colored' president before a non-US-born president. |
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02-24-2004, 01:35 PM | #11 | |
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Scarcely any different.* * - Note I'm exaggerating, but you get my point. Bush is a greedy fascist bordering on nazi... or to be more precise, the advisors controlling puppet Bush are. Plus Bush is really as much of a religious extremist as Bin Laden. I'm sure the current adminstration would love to get rid of all muslims... They just won't out of practical geo-political considerations. |
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02-24-2004, 04:28 PM | #12 | |||
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Another good example is Saudi Arabia. The US set up the kingdom there so they could get the oil, and now everybody's complaining about how Saudi Arabia isn't cooperating. I don't like Saudi Arabia, but I do find it somewhat amusing that we basically tried to make it our pet and now complain that it's grown big enough to bite back. Quote:
mag |
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02-24-2004, 04:51 PM | #13 |
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02-25-2004, 04:52 AM | #14 |
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"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, fool me once -- shame on -- shame on you... You fool me, can't get fooled again." - Bush demonstrating his way with words
http://www.dubyaspeak.com/audio.shtml |
02-25-2004, 05:02 AM | #15 | |
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02-25-2004, 07:41 PM | #16 | |
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02-26-2004, 12:32 AM | #17 |
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I think (oh great... how to spell it?) Schwarzenegger has been planning to be the president of the U.S. since he was a little kid in Austria. But he'll never be because we will definitely not amend the U.S. Constitution. It's just too hard to figure out what the heck this means:
"The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate." And even if someone can figure it out, it would never get enough votes |
02-26-2004, 02:58 AM | #18 |
Whinging Pom
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Frighteningly I actually understand what thats on about... where the hell did I learn to read jibberish?
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