Das Einhorn
Bubba Ho-Tep
WC's biggest BACON mark
Posts: 527
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Post by Das Einhorn on May 22, 2010 8:10:35 GMT -5
my great-grandmother used to think there were 52, but then again she was little when there were 48, so today you say 50 and she adds 2 (she's old dammit!). I think the most common misconception with today's kids is adding Puerto Rico and Cuba (possibly American Samoa) as states. Guam gets no-sold.
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default
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Blames Everything On Snitsky. Yes, Even THAT.
Posts: 17,056
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Post by default on May 22, 2010 9:37:07 GMT -5
Yeah, almost everyone I know knows there are 50. Now getting them to name all 50, that's a different story.
I do remember a time during Desert Storm when it was "hip" to call Kuwait our 52nd/53rd State.
As for Puerto Rico, I don't ever see them becoming an official state. Namely because they have the best of both worlds right now. They have most benefits of actually being a state, like easy travel/relocation, military protection, etc. as well as not having to pay our federal income taxes, etc.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
Posts: 63,280
Member is Online
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Post by CMWaters on May 22, 2010 11:36:24 GMT -5
Personal opinion here:
We could go to 51 states easily by splitting New Jersey into North New Jersey and South New Jersey.
The two halfs are already almost seperate states anyway.
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Post by Janitor From Mars on May 22, 2010 11:40:52 GMT -5
There are 49 states. Vermont doesn't count. Now, that's not nice. In that case, none of the southern states exist to me.
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JoDaNa1281
Crow T. Robot
Jackie Daytona, Regular Human Bartender. #BLM
Posts: 41,967
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on May 22, 2010 16:00:58 GMT -5
I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah! Dear Mr. President: There are too many states. Please Eliminate three. P.S. I am not a crackpot. Well...Texas did want to secede..
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Post by texaswhopper on May 22, 2010 17:44:54 GMT -5
I didn't get a good grade on my States test in 5th grade so I wasn't permitted to play kickball.
Alaska screwed me up. I forgot the capital. I thought it was Anchorage.
Its stinking Juneau.
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Post by Protonic Reversal on May 22, 2010 17:52:22 GMT -5
Yeah, and the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies. I just learned something new. Why are some red and some white? Red is for blood/sacrifice for creating the US. The blue field is for courage. The white is for something I can't remember.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 24,154
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Post by Bo Rida on May 22, 2010 18:00:42 GMT -5
I blame Pluto getting downgraded from being a planet, nobody knows where they stand any more, literally in some cases by the sound of it.
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Post by Free Hat on May 22, 2010 18:07:57 GMT -5
I just learned something new. Why are some red and some white? Red is for blood/sacrifice for creating the US. The blue field is for courage. The white is for something I can't remember. But weren't those meanings only ascribed years after the flag was adopted? As I understand it, there was no special meaning behind the colours when the flag was originally designed.
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Jay Peas 42
El Dandy
Totally flips out ALL the time.
Is looking forward to a Nation of Domination Kwannza Special.
Posts: 8,329
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Post by Jay Peas 42 on May 22, 2010 22:00:29 GMT -5
The Flag of the United States of America (Aka Old Glory) descended from the British Red Ensign, (Aka, Ontario's without the coat of arms) to which someone added white stripes to stand for the colonies, aka, the Grand Union Flag. After the war, the Union Jack was replaced with a blue ensign and stars for each of the states. The Stars and Stripes were increased for each state, until it was reverted to 13 stripes. The colors have no symbolic meaning.
Technically, Puerto Rico is a protectorate, not a colony. Hawaii is a colony, due to American settlement. Puerto Rico is a distinctive polity with it's own destiny, one separate from the United States, but it's foreign and defense policy are the responsibility of the United States, and it is not sovereign. My opinion is that it should be independent, as no US interest exists in either statehood or commonwealth status. DC is a Capitol Territory called a Federal District, of logic of which in a federal system, no one state should be able to control the Federal Seat, so it's ultimate source of power is congress. Constitutional, legal, and political issues aside, the District's government is the worst run polity in the nation, and any talk of statehood should be tabled until the district is cleaned up.
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