Happy 4th Everybody. USA is now 250 Years old and our Republic will be here for a long time.

Have fun everybody and keep your fingers today, don't mess around too much with fireworks.

Have a smashing 250th Birthday cats ! ! !

Remember America is an agricultural nation, give a farmer a high five this summer ...........

And do not forget Treason is the reason for the season ! ! !
Those rebels risked land, lively hood, and family to be hung if caught that summer of 1776.
And ....
Many loyalists went to Canada to avoid being seditious to the Crown of England.

The experiment continues .....

Cheers to the membership ....

Nice country. How could they vote for such a turd for president though? One might have hoped for a little more wisdom after 250 years...

Couldn't agree with you more on that. Hopefully the Democratic experiment doesn't suddenly end in the next few years. I don't personally think so but a major reboot is sorely needed .

Well, so much for manners eh ?
Perhaps you may recall the toxic asset payout in 2008 in which the usa gave over 700 billion dollars to banks " too big to fail" that got burned ripping off america at their own game. You old enough to remember reading or listening about that disaster ?

Obama oversaw the second payout after GW had his go at giving away the first payout of350 billion with no reckoning on where it went.
NO RECKONING.

Democrats and Republicans had the biggest grift of the new century.

In my opinion Genghis Khan could have gotten elected after the dust settled from that theft of the piggy bank and the Obama two terms.
Tea Party was born amid the occupy wall street protests. Middle class is still reeling from that financial disaster nearly twenty years ago.

This history lesson is to enlighten how Trump got in. Middle class wanted someone outside the swampy lobbyist infested beltway.

This epoch also shall pass. No matter your opinion of American politics across the Pond, Trump, bash him or praise him, has changed the states forever.
That is why people voted for him the first term in my opinion to answer your very rude question.
Second term was a no mystery...

Oh now we are comparing leaders.
At least we don't have 4 decades of rape gangs in the USA, while you have Government and monarchs to cover it up.
Like him or hate him we only have him for 8 years now, unlike the UK where you have a King and you are his property.

What experiment??? we've had our Republic for 250 years.
Even Benjamin Franklin said so.

American democracy has always been considered an ever changing experiment.

I don't understand what you are saying, we aren't a democracy.

Good point.

So let’s vote logically and move ourselves in a direction that changes our government for the people.

We have currently a Constitutional Republic in the U.S.A.

Hmmm, although at least the UK doesn't see 2,500 of its children die by gunshot every year, while you have the gun lobby to ensure this never changes.

Some figures:

US, 2023:

2,566 gun deaths among young people including

• 118 from ages 1–4
• 116 from ages 5–9
• 530 from ages 10–14
• 1,802 from ages 15–17

Total number of gun homicides, across all ages: 17,927.

England and Wales, 2024:

Total number of gun homicides, across all ages: 32.

yaffle2345, you seem to weigh in negatively in a thread that was originally celebrating the 250th anniversary of our independence.
Are you still bitter about losing the U.S. as a colony ?
Perhaps you are jealous of our 1st and 2nd amendments which your country is clearly lacking....

Your statistics are truly regretful. Our nation has been saturated with firearms since inception.
In my state, if children live in or visit a home with firearms, the firearms must be locked and inaccessible under penalty of a felony.
I do not know why you are comparing our 2023 firearm deaths to anything really.
Our constitution guarantees the right to breathe. If someone attempts to take your life we are allowed to defend that right to breathe, with lethal force if necessary.
That is why murder is not illegal when defending oneself.
Premeditated, involuntary, and negligent homicide are illegal and punished severely in most states.

Perhaps if your citizens were armed there would be less stabbings and rapes.
One can only speculate.
Gun safety and responsibility is on the shoulders of the individual.
Parents hopefully instruct accordingly.
Still, the number of E.R. visits where I work from people being shot, cleaning and mishandling firearms is way to high.

As usual, education and training is the answer to firearm accidents involving gross negligence.
As far as crimes involving firearm deaths, I for one am open to any societal remedies you may care to offer.
Do you have any ? Or do you just throw rocks at windows ?

Well now, let's look at stabbing deaths for 2023.

USA: 1,688 (0.49 per 100K)
UK: 31 (0.045 per 100K)

So adjusted for population size, it seems you're about 10 times more likely to die of a stabbing in the US than in the UK?

So maybe the guns aren't keeping people quite so safe after all?

Do you sometimes think the sources you go to to find things to get angry about, might have some agenda other than openness and accuracy...?

Well this thread went to s**t quick.

You assume alot. And no, not at all. You mistake me for someone that gives a $*it.

I am not angry much at all these days. Did you not hear that life is too important to be taken seriously.
If you have an axe to grind have at it mate. Too bad its on this forum crapping on people.
I always push back against peeps with bad manners, always.
Maybe learn some,

Invigorating to type the least. Keep throwing those rocks.

Yes it did

Besides all the gun and stabbing statistics, can we all agree a pedophile shouldn’t be in a position of power regardless of political affiliation and shouldn’t enrich themselves but instead serve the people he/she was elected to do?

I think that really sums up the opinion of the majority of the good people of this country.

I do not agree that anything went to $h*t.
However ad hominem attacks should be beneath members here.

A modicum of decorum would encourage civil discussions even if agreement is not reached.
Who knows, perhaps we could learn something that we did not know before...

I am optimistic ....

Hippiedalek, how are things going, haven't seen your posting in some time.
Hope you're doing well.

Hi, thanks! You too.

I'm still here, though not as much as I used to be. I mostly lurk and keep up with topics that catch my eye. Still collecting.