It is just a hobby

[Lord Jim]

You know, if we're going to start looking around for another country to try to talk into becoming a state, I'd suggest Germany....

That way, they could help bale out our debt rather than Europe's....

[Scooter]

It is never a good idea to sell one’s soul to the devil no matter how pretty his communist lies are. Once he owns you there is no free will.

So Hondurans deserve self-determination, but only according to the value that you would choose to impose on them.

How is that not but another form of slavery?

[dales]

You know, if we're going to start looking around for another country to try to talk into becoming a state, I'd suggest Germany....

That way, they could help bale out our debt rather than Europe's....

Canada, Jim.

Customs, language, etc.

eh?

[Scooter]

Actually we'd be happy to annex part of you using this map as a starting point:

The rest of you we don't particularly want.

Although I would also amend it by giving Alberta and Saskatachewan to you. They have more in common with the so-called "Jesusland" states. And it would be easy to append Iowa to us as well; a state that has legal same-sex marriage can't be all bad.

[loCAtek]

You'd deprive yourselves of New Mexico?

[Scooter]

If it meant having to take any of the surrounding states in order to get to it, then I guess we'd just have to do without it.

[BoSoxGal]

I think we should keep Montana, Wyoming, Colorado & New Mexico. There are more cows than people in MT & WY, and we are not terribly Jesus-freaky. Colorado & New Mexico have lots of liberals - and all four states are lovely geographically-speaking. We could send the weirdos to Jesusland.

[loCAtek]

You might wanna wait till after 2012, to take liberal New Mexico. On Dec, 21th we're planning on sacrificing the hearts of virgins, to feed to the sun; in order to keep the world from ending in earthquakes...

After, that our calender is clear.

[Sean]

The fact that the average American doesn't know about it doesn't mean that the Honduran leadershipdon't know about it. That makes no sense!

I am not really concerned with them they are not going to miss any meals. They will not watch their children die from diseases caused by malnutrition.
I am concerned with the poor of the country, especially the rural poor. There are men in Honduras that have only a few poor mountain acres of land on which to feed his family. They are the poor brown trash of Honduras; they remind me of my own ancestors, very proud but very poor.
I want to offer them the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family if they are not interested that is their business.

I'm guessing that it would be the Government who would make any request to the US. The fact that they haven't would suggest to me that they wouldn't do it whether the poor of the country wanted it or not.

[Scooter]

He has already made it clear that he sides with the oligarchs of Honduras against the people so he should consider the matter closed.

[Lord Jim]

Canada, Jim.

Customs, language, etc.

eh?

Well, the Anschluss of Canada goes without saying Dale....

It's just a matter of time before Old Glory flutters atop Parliament Hill.....

And of course, we'll always have room for Australia, I've even come up with a great state motto for them:

"Australia: the G'day Mate State"....

As Randy Newman so movingly observed:

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

[Sean]

lol - Randy ought to visit the Gold Coast. We've already got amusement parks coming out of our ears! The Amerification process is well under way.

[Scooter]

Well, the Anschluss of Canada goes without saying Dale....

It's just a matter of time before Old Glory flutters atop Parliament Hill.....

If Stephen Harper remains Prime Minister for much longer, you're probably right.

ETA - come to think of it, he probably has too much of a hard on for the Queen to agree unless you become a Commonwealth realm.

[liberty]

Actually we'd be happy to annex part of you using this map as a starting point:

The rest of you we don't particularly want.

Although I would also amend it by giving Alberta and Saskatachewan to you. They have more in common with the so-called "Jesusland" states. And it would be easy to append Iowa to us as well; a state that has legal same-sex marriage can't be all bad.

It doesn’t work that way. As anyone who has listened to the pledge of allegiance can tell you our nation is indivisible; if a state attempts to break away it is an act of war. In your country, that is not the case. Your provinces have the right to leave anytime they want…
As matter of fact we should see if we can lure British Colombia way. It would be good to have a pipeline all the way to Alaska.

[Scooter]

Someone seems to have left their sense of humour switched to "off" when he got up this morning.

Seriously lib, get yourself a life, if that is in any way a realistic proposition. And if your first reaction to that is "I already have one", think again.

[Sean]

When the new pledge of allegiance (to Canada) is brought into effect the word 'indivisible' can easily be removed.

[Guinevere]

I just want the Canadian National Anthem!

[Crackpot]

SO the nation is indivisible but we can just dump Puerto Rico?

[liberty]

SO the nation is indivisible but we can just dump Puerto Rico?

Yes, states are permanent or at least until they can fight their way out of the union, but territories are temporary. They have no rights other than those granted by congress. They, the territory no the individuals, can be bought, sold, traded or freed.

[Andrew D]

Puerto Ricans will take anything over remaining a US Commonwealth. According to the data presented:

1998- On December 13, In a non-binding referendum, which offered Puerto Rican voters will have five choices, which included: (1) remaining a U.S. commonwealth, (2) entering into a "free association" with the United States that would be somewhere between commonwealth and independence, (3) becoming a state, (4) declaring independence, and (5) or none of the above. The option 5 "none of the above" obtained the majority of votes.

Option Votes Percent
1 993 0.06%
2 4536 0.29%
3 728157 46.49%
4 39838 2.54%
5 787900 50.30%
Others 4846 0.31%

only six out of every ten-thousand Puerto Ricans want the arrangement which we have now. That's lower than every other option presented to the Puerto Ricans.

It is true that only a small percentage of Puerto Ricans in the 1998 plebiscite voted for independence. It is also true that the percentage of Puerto Ricans who voted for independence was more than forty-two times the percentage of Puerto Ricans who voted to continue the present Commonwealth.

The independence proposal as stated on the 1998 ballot was such a screwed-up mess that Puerto Rico's pro-independence party exhorted people to vote against that independence proposal. When a pro-independence party exhorts people to vote against independence, something about the particular independence proposal at issue must have serious problems.

What would happen if statehood were not among the available options? How would Puerto Ricans vote, if the only available options were (1) the current Commonwealth status and (2) independence?

No one knows. And Congress has been doing its damnedest to make sure that no one finds out.

Given the options:

(1) remaining a US Commonwealth, (2) Free association with the US, (3) statehood, (4) independence, and (5) none of the above

none of the above and statehood were nearly tied (50.30% and 46.49%).

The option receiving the lowest percentage of the vote (0.06%) was remaining a US Commonwealth.

It is difficult to find out exactly what most Puerto Ricans want. The options presented to them in plebiscites are garbled. Congress messes with the options made available.

But one thing is crystal clear: The last thing that most Puerto Ricans want is what they have now. Independence may or may not be popular -- we have yet to see what most Puerto Ricans would choose if presented with an honest choice -- but remaining a US Commonwealth under the present arrangement is the stinking turd of Puerto Rican electoral politics.