Only In America

[BLAZER PROPHET]

This was sent to me by a co-worker...

TOP-10 "Only In America" Observations - by a Canadian:

1) Only in America, could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.

2) Only in America, could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General, and roughly 18% of the federal workforce is black while only 12% of the population is black.

3) Only in America, could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner, the head of the Treasury Department and Charles Rangel who once ran the Ways and Means Committee, BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

4) Only in America, can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

5) Only in America, would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege while we discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.

6) Only in America, could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

7) Only in America, could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.

8) Only in America, could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

9) Only in America, could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

10) Only in America, could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

 

[Natebishop3]

1) Only in America, could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.

5) Only in America, would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege while we discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.

9) Only in America, could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

10) Only in America, could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

These are the ones that ring true to me.

 

[ABM]

9) Only in America, could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

I heard similar complaints made by my ex-wife. Ay Yi Yi!! :MARIS61:

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I heard similar complaints made by my ex-wife. Ay Yi Yi!! :MARIS61:

The fleecing of ABM.

 

[julius]

shoot, I was hoping this was a Jay and the Americans video.

This was sent to me by a co-worker...

TOP-10 "Only In America" Observations - by a Canadian:

1) Only in America, could politicians talk about the greed of the rich at a $35,000.00 a plate campaign fund-raising event.

that one always gets me.

2) Only in America, could people claim that the government still discriminates against black Americans when they have a black President, a black Attorney General, and roughly 18% of the federal workforce is black while only 12% of the population is black.

Well, that seems a little strange. Who claims that the government discriminates against Blacks? I've heard that there is discrimination against blacks (and hispanics, and gays, and women, and many others), but not that it's GOVERNMENT.

3) Only in America, could they have had the two people most responsible for our tax code, Timothy Geithner, the head of the Treasury Department and Charles Rangel who once ran the Ways and Means Committee, BOTH turn out to be tax cheats who are in favor of higher taxes.

good ole boys network knows no party.

4) Only in America, can they have terrorists kill people in the name of Allah and have the media primarily react by fretting that Muslims might be harmed by the backlash.

well, thats not "only in America".

5) Only in America, would they make people who want to legally become American citizens wait for years in their home countries and pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege while we discuss letting anyone who sneaks into the country illegally just 'magically' become American citizens.

well, thats not actually what happens, but go on.

6) Only in America, could the people who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

Well, only in America can people actually throw out the "Constitution" argument, and not actually know what the fuck they're talking about.

7) Only in America, could you need to present a driver's license to cash a check or buy alcohol, but not to vote.

again, not really the issue.

8) Only in America, could people demand the government investigate whether oil companies are gouging the public because the price of gas went up when the return on equity invested in a major U.S. oil company (Marathon Oil) is less than half of a company making tennis shoes (Nike).

....do they really think this is a valid point? This is why I hate these kinds of emails/forwards. The point they're trying to make isn't made by these kinds of analogies.

9) Only in America, could the government collect more tax dollars from the people than any nation in recorded history, still spend a Trillion dollars more than it has per year - for total spending of $7-Million PER MINUTE, and complain that it doesn't have nearly enough money.

10) Only in America, could the rich people - who pay 86% of all income taxes - be accused of not paying their "fair share" by people who don't pay any income taxes at all.

Although I think this might be wrong (what I'm about to say) and it might've been answered/addressed before, isn't the reason why they pay 86% because they own more than 86% of the wealth?

Also, couldn't the issue not necessarily be that the "fair share" argument as much as they benefit the most from tax cuts and also that the person who sent this email (and you yourself) is not one of the "rich who pay 86%" of all income taxes and really should just shut up about it?

 

[Denny Crane]

So Julius, is it it only OK for Obama to have a hit list and send drones to kill americans overseas (without a warrant or trial), or should it be OK for the next presidents, too?

 

[julius]

So Julius, is it it only OK for Obama to have a hit list and send drones to kill americans overseas (without a warrant or trial), or should it be OK for the next presidents, too?

Nope, but how does that make that email any less bullshit?

 

[santeesioux]

I thought the Canucks were all soviet commies!

 

[Denny Crane]

Nope, but how does that make that email any less bullshit?

You better know your constitution if you're going to throw it out there as a defense against this sort of thing.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

 

[julius]

You better know your constitution if you're going to throw it out there as a defense against this sort of thing.

You seem to be confused with what I said and what you wanted me to say.

 

[Denny Crane]

You seem to be confused with what I said and what you wanted me to say.

You seem to agree that those who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

The ones I see who talk about sticking to the constitution are the tea party/libertarian types and sometimes the ACLU.

As I see it, you can't claim it's a "living" document and then whine about your civil rights getting stomped on.

 

[speeds]

I thought the Canucks were all soviet commies!

Sounds like that one's a little jealous of you Yanks.

 

[julius]

You seem to agree that those who believe in balancing the budget and sticking by the country's Constitution be thought of as "extremists."

The ones I see who talk about sticking to the constitution are the tea party/libertarian types and sometimes the ACLU.

As I see it, you can't claim it's a "living" document and then whine about your civil rights getting stomped on.

I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me, disagreeing with me or making fun of me.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me, disagreeing with me or making fun of me.

Can I ask, with your initial response to #6, were you just generalizing about people ignorantly trotting out the "Constitution argument," or did you have specific examples in mind?

 

[julius]

Can I ask, with your initial response to #6, were you just generalizing about people ignorantly trotting out the "Constitution argument," or did you have specific examples in mind?

I'm saying that a lot of people who give the constitution argument don't know what that means. It's an easy talking point (for both sides) to say, because it sounds intelligent.

Much like when people would complain about Czars, not realizing that Czars were a title and not a new thing.

If you didn't complain about losing your "constitutional rights" before, it seems strange to complain now.

 

[jlprk]

Nope, but how does that make that email any less bullshit?

Exactly the word I was thinking of posting for this cowardly anonymous list of accusations copied by some anonymous chain mailer from some right wing site.

Does anyone have a link showing a $35,000 donation event with the speaker complaining to the rich donors that they are greedy...oh never mind. I don't have the time to specifically address each item on this list of bullshit.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me, disagreeing with me or making fun of me.

Yes

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Exactly the word I was thinking of posting for this cowardly anonymous list of accusations copied by some anonymous chain mailer from some right wing site.

Gee, I just thought it was clever and amusing.

 

[Denny Crane]

I'm saying that a lot of people who give the constitution argument don't know what that means. It's an easy talking point (for both sides) to say, because it sounds intelligent.

Much like when people would complain about Czars, not realizing that Czars were a title and not a new thing.

If you didn't complain about losing your "constitutional rights" before, it seems strange to complain now.

Nothing wrong with Czars. There is something wrong with circumventing Advice and Consent IN THE CONSTITUTION (Article II, Section 2) by granting those Czars the powers of "high ranking government positions."

 

[Denny Crane]

Exactly the word I was thinking of posting for this cowardly anonymous list of accusations copied by some anonymous chain mailer from some right wing site.

Does anyone have a link showing a $35,000 donation event with the speaker complaining to the rich donors that they are greedy...oh never mind. I don't have the time to specifically address each item on this list of bullshit.

Don't you hate it when HuffPost makes you look like a chump?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/04/president-obama-harvey-weinstein-fundraiser_n_1741775.html

There's no reason to expect Obama to stop talking about taxing the rich during one of those fundraisers.

And you set up a strawman by rephrasing what the OP said about those $35K/plate events.

 

[Eastoff]

this does seem odd coming from canadians

 

[santeesioux]

Sounds like that one's a little jealous of you Yanks.

Where are you from, mang?

 

[bluefrog]

TOP-10 "Only In America" Observations - by an ex-Navy SEAL business owner from Texas:

[1] Only in American can the rich increase their wealth, have their taxes lowered and complain about "class warfare".

[2] Only in American can corporations be considered "people".

[3] Only in American can the president win the popular vote and loose the election.

[4] Only in American can someone be "pro-life" and support wars and the death penalty.

[5] Only in American does the media decry "Muslims Violence" but ignore relgion's role when Christians shoot defenseless kids or Sikhs.

[6] Only in American do we cling to an outdated and inefficent system of measurement.

[7] Only in American do we rank number one in health care spending and 37th in health care service.

[8] Only in American do we waste billions of pounds of food, have half or our population overweight and still give subsidies to farms.

[9] Only in American do coporations spend more on lobbying than taxes.

[10] Only in American do we spend more money on the military than nearly all the nations in the world combined and claim we don't spend enough on defense.

 

[BrianFromWA]

[10] just because a guy's a former SEAL doesn't mean he knows jack shit about defense budgeting. And I remember when the sentence didn't have "nearly" in it.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

[10] just because a guy's a former SEAL doesn't mean he knows jack shit about defense budgeting. And I remember when the sentence didn't have "nearly" in it.

Wasn't that the point of the post. Basically mocking this "candian" and his comments on America. It's easy to make these one liners about America that sound catchy and enlightening, but they really have little substance.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Yeah, but in my defense i suck at life.

 

[bluefrog]

Yeah, but in my defense i suck at life.

That's what lawyers refer to as the "bluefrog defense".

 

[Eastoff]

Only in Canada

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

The original list was neither clever nor amusing. It is some drivel thought up by some cranky 55 year old former Navy Seal business owner in Texas (just guessing, of course) who wanted it to seem more legit, so he said it was made by a Canadian. Because liberals love Canada. So their opinions on us are more valid. Whoa, wait, a Canadian is saying that? Maybe Rachael Maddow is wrong! Maybe the angry gun owner across the street is right! I better go to church and rethink my political viewpoints.

Oh, and the "only in American(?)" list was probably written by a 27 year old college student in Montreal. Its all about who the message is coming from, not the message itself. Politics at its best.