Lord Liaden Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 In the late 1960s the Canadian government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau popularized the concept of Canadian society being a "mosaic," with many different ethno-cultural groups together making up the Canadian whole. In principle that diversity is assumed to make the whole stronger. There's explicit assurance that immigrants don't have to give up what they were before in order to become Canadian. Of course the reality since then hasn't been so simple, and in some areas there's been strong pushback to the idea; but for most Canadians the mosaic model has become as much a feature of our identity as the "melting pot" is for Americans. Joe Walsh, DShomshak and Michael Hopcroft 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 So, with the legalization of marijuana in many states, is "melting pot" taking on a new meaning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 You know, I support legalization of marijuana... but now that it's effectively legal here, so many people are using it, and it's stink. It literally reeks. And it also bothers me when people are using it while driving. Nolgroth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 I'm ambivalent on the topic of marijuana. I agree with you on the smell -- it reeks. I never used it, but in college I was around people who did. They didn't misbehave the way college students do when they overindulge in alcohol, but it was disconcerting to hear incredibly interesting things coming out of people's mouths that I knew they would not remember saying. It was a sad feeling. That said, banning the stuff has clearly not worked. The enforcement is used selectively against poor people and minorities (like most of the War on Drugs) while the upper classes are left alone. America has the highest proportion of prisoners-to-population of any industrial power, mainly because of drugs. This cannot go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Walsh Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 Banning doesn't work, but the war on tobacco shows that there are more choices available. Strictly confine where it can be used, make it socially unacceptable to be a user of it, keep the price high but not high enough to invite bootlegging, etc., and that will keep it under reasonable control. Pariah and Netzilla 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 Banning doesn't work, but the war on tobacco shows that there are more choices available. Strictly confine where it can be used, make it socially unacceptable to be a user of it, keep the price high but not high enough to invite bootlegging, etc., and that will keep it under reasonable control. This is an eminently reasonable approach. Taxes can be used as a measure of price control (as with tobacco), and used to fund other important projects. Prohibition hasn't worked, and it's past time to try another strategy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 This is an eminently reasonable approach. Taxes can be used as a measure of price control (as with tobacco), and used to fund other important projects. Prohibition hasn't worked, and it's past time to try another strategy. Agreed. Taxation has limits, though. Tobacco taxes here are high enough that there's a black market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 . . And it's Le Pen and Macron through to the Final Two. Macron is now expected to win, and the parliamentary elections will be a complete mess, so good luck with that whole "governing" thing. Angela Merkel for President of the World! Iuz the Evil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 23, 2017 Report Share Posted April 23, 2017 . . And it's Le Pen and Macron through to the Final Two. Macron is now expected to win, and the parliamentary elections will be a complete mess, so good luck with that whole "governing" thing. Angela Merkel for President of the World!I prefer Merkel to the other available options at this point. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 There's serious doubt Angela Merkel's party will form the government in the next German election; so she may be free to take up the presidency of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 . . And it's Le Pen and Macron through to the Final Two. Macron is now expected to win, and the parliamentary elections will be a complete mess, so good luck with that whole "governing" thing. Angela Merkel for President of the World! Given 'conventional wisdom's' track record recently, I wouldn't count Le Pen out until after the results are finalized. Assuming we don't have bigger problems to worry about before then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Given 'conventional wisdom's' track record recently, I wouldn't count Le Pen out until after the results are finalized. Generally, no surprises are anticipated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Generally, no surprises are anticipated. That's how they work, otherwise they wouldn't be surprises. Lord Liaden and Lawnmower Boy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Neilson Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Generally, no surprises are anticipated. That's how they work, otherwise they wouldn't be surprises. The comment was made on a news broadcast on election night many years ago, in all seriousness. Pattern Ghost 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 There's serious doubt Angela Merkel's party will form the government in the next German election; so she may be free to take up the presidency of the world. And the UK has just called a "snap election" which may increase the power of right-wing parties in that country as well. Things do not look good for reason. It appears to be in full retreat on a global scale. And given what the goals of these parties are, it seems that the world is in the process of committing suicide. I wouldn't enjoy dying in a nuclear war, but I am less upset about that prospect than about the prospect of my nieces and nephew dying in a nuclear war. If I were a parent I'd be even more frantic right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Besides having six for redundancy. (No congratulations needed. My sister and sister in law did most of the work) I've carefully stashed one niece away in 100 Mile House, so I'm good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 And the UK has just called a "snap election" which may increase the power of right-wing parties in that country as well. Things do not look good for reason. It appears to be in full retreat on a global scale. And given what the goals of these parties are, it seems that the world is in the process of committing suicide. I wouldn't enjoy dying in a nuclear war, but I am less upset about that prospect than about the prospect of my nieces and nephew dying in a nuclear war. If I were a parent I'd be even more frantic right now. If we do have a nuclear war, the radiation will be damped down by the rising sea levels. But in all seriousness, in my lifetime I've lived under the shadow of imminent nuclear annihilation, or environmental devastation from unrestrained industrial pollution. We're still here. Those things didn't happen, and may never happen. Circumstances changed. People changed. "Reason" has retreated and resurged with the times, and will continue to. I'm not saying the situation isn't potentially very dangerous, and that we all shouldn't do everything we can to make it better. But we've been here before in one way or another, and have muddled through. We keep managing to step back from the brink. There's no guarantee that we will again, but also no guarantee we won't. Once each of us has done all we can, fretting over what we can't do serves no purpose. To quote the sage Will Rogers, "Worry is like paying interest on a debt you may never owe." Hermit and pinecone 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Doesn't Macron vs LePen sound like a silver age comic book battle to you? MACRON, Lord of the Macronites, vs LePen, who is sharper than any sword! Lord Liaden and Lawnmower Boy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 All 100 senators were invited to a briefing at the White House regarding North Korea. I had no idea the White House could accommodate that. I just hope cool heads prevail here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Yeah, what do you guys think this week, government shutdown or war with the Norks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranxerox Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Can't we do both? I'm pretty sure that government shutdowns don't include the military. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Yeah, what do you guys think this week, government shutdown or war with the Norks? Why not both? CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Okay great minds think alike. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 *cough* Land war in Asia *cough* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 24, 2017 Report Share Posted April 24, 2017 Why not both? CES The thought had occurred to me. I just didn't want to say it out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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