Nationality...

[Warrior of Death]

I love how the threads in this forum start out in one spot and very quickly turn into something different. Are we ever off topic... Not that I really care, as long as I'm learning and/or having fun.[/QUOTE]


Yeah, I'm surprised too

Can't really imagine AA so famous in Croatia and America and elsewhere, when they are so rare here, man!

 

[Celtik Militia]

yeah its not "stupid" that the US doesnt really have a name like other countries.. how can you call the US "stupid" in general when they've succeeded to be the 1rst economical power in the world?

anyway, in france some "intellectuals" call americans (from the US) United Statians (if i translate the french word litterally). but that word is hardly used and it would sound weird to a random frenchman if you use it. everyone just says "americans".

 

[Thrymfal]

So, T., at what point did it become a country, with a sovereign (federal) government and all? Or didn't it? I thought that it must at some point have become that, because at one point you had certain things, such as a military draft and bussing of black children to schools, where what the federal govenment says over-rules what the state legislation says. Or am I wrong? I am not sure if there is a point when the state over-writes the federal government... Canada was known as The Dominion of Canada back then, but we also have/had a system of more or less independent provinces with their own governments and laws under one federal government. Our system is different, though, as we were subsidiaries of the British crown that whole time. We still have QEII on out coins, and she still has a representative here (let's not even start on that st#&%* f*"#%& institution, OK?) and has to sign all amendments made to certain types of laws etc for them to take effect. I'm just curious of how that works in the US...

Well, after the revolutionary war, the states existed under the loose alliance outlined in the first grand document of law, The Articles of Confederation. Under the articles, the federal government lacked the power to tax, draft, etc. After a few skirmishes and territorial disputes, as well as an uprising over taxes on whiskey, a meeting was called to ammend the articles, and the continental congress was assembled. However, and rather illegally I might add, it was decided instead to toss out the articles, which each state had ratified, and to draft the Constitution, which was designed to grant the government the ability to levy taxes, conscript soldiers, etc.

There was a huge divide among the delegates, many of whom feared that the federal government was being granted to much power, thus eliminating much of the freedom they had just gone to war for. Those who opposed a strong federal government, the Anti Federalists demanded a bill of rights be added to the constitution to ensure that the federal government could never grow too strong( and look how well it worked...). Anyway, The Constitution was eventually ratified, making the united states subservient to the central government. (I'm not going to go into the separation of powers and the establishment of the branches of government, but suffice to say, what had been called as a brief assembly turned into months of secret debate).

National law does indeed trump state law, however the constitution says that all powers not delegated to the federal government by the constitution shall be considered powers of the states, however these days the government more or less ignores this...along with the bill of rights.

 

[Tyra]

So I can say that the USA has been a country since 1789, when the constitution took effect, without lying?

 

[Thrymfal]

yes, in the modern sense of the word anyway. We'll always celebrate 1776, because the independence is more important than the paperwork.

 

[GONE Ridin' Hood]

The country does't have a name because at the time of it's creation all of the states were individual colonies, each with their own name, virginia, mass, new york, etc. Each colony had it's own government and customs, and as is still present today, dialect. When the colonies became independent from england, they chose a loose alliance of sovreign states, known as confederation. As such it was not one country under one government, but several equal states agreeing to defend and trade with one another, and allow open passage from state to state for citizens. Essentially, however each state was it's own country, and so wouldn't have any business in changing it's name, a sign of the fierce individualism upon which the country was founded. This is the same reason our capitol is not in a state, but it's own district, because allowing any one state to have the capital of our country would elevate that state to the most important instead of one among equals. I don't think it was particularly stupid at all.

Haha ok, that's interesting. But then again, that was a long time ago, and now the US is one whole country! A nameless one hehe .

National law does indeed trump state law, however the constitution says that all powers not delegated to the federal government by the constitution shall be considered powers of the states, however these days the government more or less ignores this...along with the bill of rights.

I always wonder how you manage, you know without having basically no freedom at all? :zombie: :Smug:

 

[Thrymfal]

Haha ok, that's interesting. But then again, that was a long time ago, and now the US is one whole country! A nameless one hehe .



I always wonder how you manage, you know without having basically no freedom at all? :zombie: :Smug:

Man, things aren't that bad here, shit, i can go buy booze porn and a gun right now, probably from the same store. I can say whatever i want, i'm not forced to go to any church, i can choose which doctors i want to visit, taxes are relatively low. We're creeping towards a more authoritarian society, it's true, but it isn't as bad as the world thinks.

btw, the official name of the country is "The United States of America", and seeing as they were the first western style states in the americas, there wasn't any confusion at the time of its christening, besides, australia is a country and a continent, so why can't america do the same.

of course we could always go back to calling it Vinland

 

[Tyra]

besides, australia is a country and a continent, so why can't america do the same.

Nuh-uh, cuz the continent is called Australasia or Oceania (depending on the system you choose), but the country within Australasia and Oceania is called Australia. There is also New Zealand and many other countries on the same continent. In other words, if you mail a letter to Australia from a European country, there's no confusion as to where it 's going, because there is only one Australia, but if you address a letter to America, you'd better hope the dude that's sorting the mail that day is in a good mood and knows his geography and recognizes a state or a city on the envelope. This generally does not happen when dealing with the Swedish Postal Service...
Either way, Thrymfal, I totally get what you're saying, and the above statement is just splitting hairs cuz I'm a wiseass. I thought that the whole line of thinking regarding what is currently "the USA" being named something for a reason was very interesting and made a lot of sense.

 

[Arch]

yeah its not "stupid" that the US doesnt really have a name like other countries.. how can you call the US "stupid" in general when they've succeeded to be the 1rst economical power in the world?

America is pretty stupid, ya know. Look who elected and-relected GW Bush? While China is exploring and applying stem cells for research, the U.S. is still making stupid laws to prevent medical advancements in this field, so people like Michael J. Fox could suffer needlessly. Just because the U.S. was/is #1 in economic power, doesn't mean it's a smart country. Most of U.S.'s economic might comes from imperialism, through wars and underhandedness. In other words: greed.

 

[Knarfi]

So who owns greenland? Danmark? And is Antartica a continent? Or what is it?!?! So many questions o____O

 

[Belgar]

You also forget to mention that the US does not do a lot of things because it is immoral ... stem cell is immoral because GW will tell you that the bible said so; just like every other nutcase christian fanatic.

But bombing a country to oblivion is not immoral ... it is a mission from god to keep our freedom. Not signing the Kyoto protocol is not immoral but polluting the world to obivion is just a natural thing to do.
Spending billions on a war while almost a 100 millions american cannot afford health care is not immoral it is just the way the gov shows they care for your freedom.
For a country that is suppopsed to be #1 world power, the USA really does have a lot of backward- 16th century type of mentality.
Just remember, land of free, so just observe, obey don't ask question ... mission accomplished.

 

[Tyra]

So who owns greenland? Danmark? And is Antartica a continent? Or what is it?!?! So many questions o____O

Greeenland falls under the Danish crown as far as the politics are concerned, but the landmass is generally considered either part of North America or the Arctic (again, depending on which system you use - North America uses one system, Europe another and the rest of the world have several other ways of divying up the world). Politically, it's Danish, though.

Very nice post, Belgar.

 

[Thrymfal]

You also forget to mention that the US does not do a lot of things because it is immoral ... stem cell is immoral because GW will tell you that the bible said so; just like every other nutcase christian fanatic.

But bombing a country to oblivion is not immoral ... it is a mission from god to keep our freedom. Not signing the Kyoto protocol is not immoral but polluting the world to obivion is just a natural thing to do.
Spending billions on a war while almost a 100 millions american cannot afford health care is not immoral it is just the way the gov shows they care for your freedom.
For a country that is suppopsed to be #1 world power, the USA really does have a lot of backward- 16th century type of mentality.
Just remember, land of free, so just observe, obey don't ask question ... mission accomplished.

It really does amaze me. We were supposed to be a place to get away from the world and it's bullshit, where people who just wanted to live and work freely could come and do so. A place uninvolved with entangling alliances and whatnot. Instead, our leaders gallavant about the world trying to bully it into submission. America is the modern Rome, which is as grim a prospect as there is.

Greeenland falls under the Danish crown as far as the politics are concerned, but the landmass is generally considered either part of North America or the Arctic (again, depending on which system you use - North America uses one system, Europe another and the rest of the world have several other ways of divying up the world). Politically, it's Danish, though.

I can attest to that, just look a few posts up. I was always taught that Australia was the name given to the the continent and the country, that's what we learn in school here.

 

[Arch]

So who owns greenland? Danmark? And is Antartica a continent? Or what is it?!?! So many questions o____O

Yes, Denmark pwns Greenland.

 

[Belgar]

Denmark owns it ... that is until the ice becomes water in a few decades.

 

[darcy]

Man, things aren't that bad here, shit, i can go buy booze porn and a gun right now, probably from the same store.

fuckin' party, man!

 

[Knarfi]

Denmark owns it ... that is until the ice becomes water in a few decades.

Lol, then there wont be a Greenland, nor will there be a Denmark

 

[darcy]

if some of greenland DOES manage to avoid getting completely submerged by melted glaciers and iceburgs, i imagine the weather up there will be quite pleasent.

 

[Tyra]

Yeah, back to how it was when Eirik Raudi first named it - GREEN! But what will the Muslims do without Danes to annoy??

 

[darkkiuban]

America is pretty stupid, ya know. Look who elected and-relected GW Bush? While China is exploring and applying stem cells for research, the U.S. is still making stupid laws to prevent medical advancements in this field, so people like Michael J. Fox could suffer needlessly. Just because the U.S. was/is #1 in economic power, doesn't mean it's a smart country. Most of U.S.'s economic might comes from imperialism, through wars and underhandedness. In other words: greed.

Arch. arch hey arch better go to my space.com and to my group.ok