Most likely 51st US State

[Kuciwalker]

Canadia

[Dinner]

A) Neither L.A. nor any of the the other large coastal cities in California are in a desert. It is classified as a mediterranean type climate similar to Italy and the south of France.

B) California's gross state product exceeds $1.3 trillion, making it the world's 5th largest economy. By comparision the most developed New England state, Massachusetts, can only manage a poultry 285 billion. So who doesn't create anything?

C) California has a population of about 35 million yet you are characterizing all of us baised on a few crack pot movie stars? I was going to take a handful of ignorant celebs who live in Boston and try to generalize about all of New England but then I remembered no one famous lives in New England.

D) You're right about this point. We really don't deserve to have weather this wonderful but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth either.

Originally posted by Thud
Entirely seriously, us conservative New Englanders can hardly wait for California to split off the continent. Los Angeles is an aberration:
a) a city in the middle of the desert that sucks up water for lawns and pools
b) even though it sucks up resources, it doesn't put anything out except for bad movies and actors
c) most celebrities are the shame of America. Commie, and mind-numbing. more teens know who's !@#$ing whom in Hollywood than where Iraq is.
d) they have no right to such warm weather. us good New Englanders deserve it more.

[Master Zen]

Originally posted by Thud

And now its time for: THE MONROE DOCTRINE! (Yay!)

El Presidente Monroe came up with this snazzy document that essentially prevented Europeans from gaining and holding land in the New World.

Yet considering how many colonies the europeans had/have in the hemishpere, methinks it was just another tool for yankee imperialism

Spanish-American War: There was a whole bunch of liberation going on here! Just look at Cuba! But, seriously, don't. I've had enough of looking at Cuba recently.

Mexican-American War: Erm... *cough* Uh... We liberated y'all from that evil Santa Anna dude! (just because we made a deal with him and let him in doesn't mean anything )

Oh yeah, real liberation....

Nicaraguaictator out of commission.
Panama: Dictator out of commission.
Chile: Dictator out of commission. (we wished really, really hard for Pinochet to go away, and he did!)

All democratic nations:Liberation from poverty at the hands of tourists!

what part of SOUTH America don't you understand? All these countries besides Chile are NOT in South America. Then again, most USians ain't too good at geography...

Pinochet...you wished him to go away...

[Master Zen]

By the way, I'd prefer New England to California despite the weather...

More picturesque... less fake.

[ixnay]

California was nice the one time I visited. I'm planning to move there this summer.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Master Zen
Yet considering how many colonies the europeans had/have in the hemishpere, methinks it was just another tool for yankee imperialism

The previous poster got the details of the Monroe doctrine wrong. The Monroe doctrine said the U.S. would see it as a threat to it's national security if any European power attempted to recolonize or subjugate any of the newly independent Latin American states. All currently existing colonies are permitted but they may not create new ones.

As a Mexican you should get on your knees and thank Monroe because it was largely the American threat to us it's million-man army, and not the native revolts, which made the French finally leave Mexico in 1865. Napoleon III felt that his puppet Maxamillion could put down the internal revolts but the French couldn't do that and fight a war against the US at the same time.

[Odin]

I think If the US becomes more liberal I wouldn't be suprised if Americans and Canadians (maybe except Quebec) wanted to become a single nation, We and the Canucks are pretty much the same culturally. I propose the unified country be called the Federal Republic of North America. We won't have to worry about each other's rude boarder gaurds. I am thinking that in the near future more nations will form EU-like groups, such as: Latin America, the UK and other English-speaking nations (US, Canada, Australia, etc.), SE Asia, Africa, and Polynesia.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Master Zen
what part of SOUTH America don't you understand? All these countries besides Chile are NOT in South America. Then again, most USians ain't too good at geography...

Pinochet...you wished him to go away...

I'll spank you in Geography any day. BTW in 1903 Panama was a part of Colombia. The Americans wanted to build a canal across the ismthus but the government in Bogota made absolutely unreasonable monetary demands so the U.S., AHEM, "liberated" Panama from it's evil Colombian overlords.

Roosevelt paid a few local officials to declare Panamanian independence and then sent a fleet of warships to sit off the Colombian coast and prevent the Colombians from sending in reinforcements by sea. The U.S. Marines then rounded up the remaining loyalist troops and the new Panamanian government then signed the canal treaty with the U.S. for terms that were less then a tithe of what the Colombians were asking.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by PLATO1003


Ned, you may well be correct! IIRC it was supposed to be a fantastic tourist destination in the 1950's. We might as well collect the taxes!

Cuba still is a fantastic tourist destination -- mainly because it remains somewhat undeveloped compared to the rest of the region. canadians flock there and I can tell you there is a very different feel there as opposed to islands which Americans may visit

[Japher]

On California:

I truly would love to see California split (not into the ocean), but into two states. Why?

The wonders of California is that it contains many different types of terrains, job fields, interests, etc... As someone born and Fresno, went to school in Davis, and now live in San Jose, my interests differ from those in So. Cal. Two seperate state governments could do wonders to giving everyone in each area what they really want. From Shasta to San Diego their is too much for one ignorant governor to deal with. From water to tourism, from agriculture to entertainment... California is too great and too powerful for the actual people to get what the deserve from their government and elected officials.

While I love California, and feel that it is the best state in the union, we can still have enough to make two great states... Hey, at least by doing so we will make NY third in the list... (a little lash out for those ripping on us in the thread on "how you seem")

[Dinner]

You only get a sessionist desire from a minority of, mostly left leaning, folks in north Cal. I suspect these desire to split the state stems from the fact that the southern portion of the state is fairly concervative with strong capitalist tendencies while much of the northern part of the state is filled with leftist/socialists.

The south has about three times as many people as the north so every time the socialists try to set up their Swedish style socialist state they get out voted by the centrest & right of center voters from the south. Thus the left wingers keep trying to push for session hoping to get ride of the voters who disagree with them.

[Master Zen]

Originally posted by Oerdin


I'll spank you in Geography any day. BTW in 1903 Panama was a part of Colombia. The Americans wanted to build a canal across the ismthus but the government in Bogota made absolutely unreasonable monetary demands so the U.S., AHEM, "liberated" Panama from it's evil Colombian overlords.

Willing to bet on it?

FYI the territory of Panama, whether or not it belongs to Colombia or not is geographically part of Central not South America. That is like saying the European portion of Turkey is part of Asia just because politically it belongs to a mostly-Asian nation. Geography does not respect political boundaries.

So no, you have not liberated an inch of south american territory. (oh, and just by dropping silly marines anyware does not equate to liberation)

[Master Zen]

Originally posted by Oerdin

As a Mexican you should get on your knees and thank Monroe because it was largely the American threat to us it's million-man army, and not the native revolts, which made the French finally leave Mexico in 1865. Napoleon III felt that his puppet Maxamillion could put down the internal revolts but the French couldn't do that and fight a war against the US at the same time.

You gobbled half our territory and now we should thank you for supposedly saving our ass 20 years later??

While I am not denying US pressure contributed to the French withdrawl you should know that this was a WAR and the French were slowly losing it. And in the end, whatever happened, the events of 1870 would have made the whole point moot.

BTW, why is it all you USians expect nothing but gratitue from everyone else yet expect us to forget all the crap we've had to put up from your ****-brained policies? Sorry pal, you ain't getting any gratitude from south the border so take your arguments somewhere else, perhaps the Iraqis will be more gracious....

NOT!

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Odin
I think If the US becomes more liberal I wouldn't be suprised if Americans and Canadians (maybe except Quebec) wanted to become a single nation

Here's a secret: we don't want in.

[LoneWolf]

Here's another secret: Iraq is already in (to their great benefit), we don't want the NK's or the Quebequious, and Cuba would be very lucky to get in.
The UK is obviously very capable and independent, but a true and reliable ally.
Oh, and I think many English -speaking Canucks would rather be Americans, especially after your new gun laws, which are killing your hunting industry.