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Sal[Au]pian 
"Four ever European"
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 Posted - 06/17/2009 : 16:59:53
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O.K., I missed what was meant by natural citizen but it's still a nonsense to make naturalised citizens be second class. Having said that, Obama's mother is American anyway so why would it matter where he was born? Or is it two American parents that are required?
And I'm afraid that this obsession that some Americans have with 'heritage' is also a nonsense. In many countries, certainly including Britain, literally or virtually the whole population have genes from outside the borders. The way in which some Americans arbitrarily pinpoint their 'heritage' to a particular point in the history of, and subset of, their family is so strange and frustrating. I want to say, "No, you're not an Irish American or an Italian American, you're just an American." |
Edited by - Sal[Au]pian on 06/17/2009 17:09:17 |
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BiggerBoat 
"Pass me the harpoon"
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Posted - 06/17/2009 : 17:15:26
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| We are all God's children. Now we have to work out which God we're talking about. |
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Sean 
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 00:31:03
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Roger Ebert wrote an interesting article on this topic a few days ago. Thanks to GHcool for the link.  |
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rockfsh 
"Laugh, Love, Cheer"
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 04:52:45
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quote:
Originally posted by duh Improper Username
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
McCain was born in Panama for example and it was never challenged.
Didn't Congress conduct an investigation of McCain's eligibility?
Whereas all attempts to confirm Obama's eligibility have so far been thwarted.
The Republican Governor of Hawai'i had her Dept of Health confirm Obama's birth certificate and then there is this link to the Honolulu Advertser birth announcement. See lower left col.
http://www.wikileaks.org/leak/obama-1961-birth-announcement-from-honolulu-advertiser.pdf |
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duh 
"catpurrs"
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 04:58:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Se�n
Roger Ebert wrote an interesting article on this topic a few days ago. Thanks to GHcool for the link.
This reminds me of something I have thought of from time to time ever since reading one of O'Reilly's books several years ago:
He told a story, while discussing "class," of having taken a date along to a dinner with friends at a fancy schmancy restaurant. He said his date was a very polite lady but that she (horrors!) neatly folded her napkin instead of crumpling it. He said that he could tell that the others thought less of her (because it showed she had less "class") because of it.
To me, that story told more about O'Reilly's own insecurity than it did about either his dinner companions or his date. How do we know for sure that the companions really thought less of his date? Perhaps he was merely projecting his own insecurity.
Does folding a napkin really indicate that the folder of the napkin has less "class" than do those who crumple their napkins? What if the folder came from a region where all classy people fold their napkins but unmannerly people crumple them. If she was mannerly according to the customs that were part of her culture, then why would she suddenly be considered to be "classless" just because the region she was presently in had the custom of crumpling napkins?
And wouldn't the very truly "classy" person ignore altogether whether napkins were folded or crumpled?
Note to self: If ever dining at a fancy schmancy restaurant, be sure to blow nose on the napkin. Or the edge of the tablecloth. |
Edited by - duh on 06/18/2009 05:00:21 |
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thefoxboy 
"Four your eyes only."
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 05:40:17
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quote:
Originally posted by rockfsh
quote:
Originally posted by duh Improper Username
quote:
Originally posted by turrell
McCain was born in Panama for example and it was never challenged.
Didn't Congress conduct an investigation of McCain's eligibility?
Whereas all attempts to confirm Obama's eligibility have so far been thwarted.
The Republican Governor of Hawai'i had her Dept of Health confirm Obama's birth certificate and then there is this link to the Honolulu Advertser birth announcement. See lower left col.
http://www.wikileaks.org/leak/obama-1961-birth-announcement-from-honolulu-advertiser.pdf
I'm keeping that number of the car rental for next time I visit Hawaii..cheap as!!
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 06:50:55
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quote:
Originally posted by duh Improper Username
And wouldn't the very truly "classy" person ignore altogether whether napkins were folded or crumpled?
I think this is correct. Someone born into nobility (e.g., someone in the UK with a "Lord" or "Duke" in front of their name) would not give a crap about used-napkin etiquette. Why would they bother noticing or caring about something so trivial?
Whereas a snob (derived from the French sans nobilit� or "without nobility") will worry about paltry details while they try to jump up a class. One could assume that an attempt at class-jumping is likely to be a result of insecurity to some extent.
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BiggerBoat
"Pass me the harpoon"
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 13:14:47
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I was introduced to Bully Reilly by an American friend a few years back in the aftermath of 9/11. Having been on the anti-war marches here I couldn't understand why Americans were so keen to go to war with so little justification. I watched one of his rants aimed at the French for refusing to join the 'Coalition of the willing' (because they weren't convinced by Colin Powell's 'evidence' that Iraq had WMDs. Justifiably of course.). I couldn't believe the pro-war bias, xenophobia and crass simplifications that erupted from his mouth. It was only then that I began to understand the effect of Fox's propagandizing slant on an angry American public. The anti-French feeling that was propagated after that (and other right-wing) broadcasts astounded me, such was the lack of logic in their conclusions.
Needless to say I haven't watched him again since until seeing those videos on the Ebert page. I see he's stil the same ignorant, knee-jerk reactionary bully he always was.
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RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 06/18/2009 : 15:48:34
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I agree that napkin story says more about the teller classlessness than the folders.
I'm reminded of a similar story where a well-off family had a poor or unsophisticated guest at dinner. The storyteller was the daughter of the rich family. In the story, the guest pulls some faux pas like drinking from the finger bowl. The daughter looks aghast, then waits to see what her father will do. Without a word, the father drinks from his own finger bowl. Afterward, the father tells the daughter that the purpose of manners is to make other people comfortable. |
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Nut At The Museum: Battle Near The Smithsonian
