Anyone here want to leave the country? (or lives in another)

[Family Hoof]

Gentlemen & Ladies of this board -
I am proud to announce that New York City has decided to secede from the Union and will be it's own "Free City" from this date forward.

I've been thinking this for a long time. It's so strange to leave and realize you're part of the same state or country as these other people. Sure doesn't feel like we are. No offense to all my favorite out-of-towners, it's just a very unique to place to grow up or live.

[bigtoe]

in new york, ego is like a commodity. I think you can buy food with it!

OK- i'm out to drown the sorrows.

Peace
Mike

[Family Hoof]

in new york, ego is like a commodity. I think you can buy food with it!

I wish! That would be great. I'd save a lot of money.

[greatmagnet]

As may have already been stated, the problem with "staying and fighting" is that you're not really fighting an evil dictatorship alone...you're fighting an entire nation of idiots. Even in a more fair election than we had last time, over 50% of our populace voted for a person so incredibly stupid that every time he appears on television he comes of like an unemployed fry chef drunk on moonshine. This election, even more than the last one, SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN CLOSE. Any human being so stupid that they can't easily see that they are being manipulated for the profit of a small powerful few and their global agenda should be thrown into a rendering pit for lack of societal contributions. And it seems 50% of our populace is indeed that useless. They are breathing our air and consuming our resources (with unbelievable selfish gluttony) and there's not much we can do about it but shove off and let them reap their own eventual "rewards". The amount of stupidity, complacency, and willingness to believe anything that one is being spoonfed belies a populace that has been so dumbed down by years of mindless consumerism and television that it almost defies comprehension. How do you fight that? Perhaps the easier way to "win" that fight would be to ship out and wait for them to all exterminate themselves through sheer Darwinistic behavior. The self-serving world-cop P.O.V. can only lead to one eventuality: war and disaster. We can move back in after all the morons that supported the conservative regime have died from bio warfare, pollutants, and dirty nukes.

[stillafool]

I'm not kidding. It's the bad stuff that makes America good. Comfortable, well-fed people have never produced anything worthwile. And I'll take our "bad guys," even Rumsfeld and Bush, over any peanut-headed Europeans anyday.

Funny you mention it, because I was feeling the same way ... until I went to Europe. And then I realized, there's no where else that has a millionth of what America has -- not just in terms of resources, but above all in people. I love America. I even love the bad stuff. If there was no crime, I wouldn't have great shows like the Forensic Files and Cops. If everybody was happy and well-fed and warm you wouldn't have jazz, the blues, and all those great rock and roll bands that we've given the world. If we took away all the guns, we wouldn't have outlaws, and bullshitting lawyers to defend them when they shoot somebody. You can take France, and that fat slob Michael Moorer and his Cannes Film Festival anyday. I love America.

I want to get out of the states. This election really disenchanted me. I can't live here anymore. Looking for a roomate, or someone in like...sweden, who will let me stay for a while.

But if you didn't have Forensic Files and Cops, you'd get more work/recording done, read more, and be a better off person. That being said, your post was an enjoyable read. Made me laugh, which is hard to do today.

[bigtoe]

in new york, ego is like a commodity. I think you can buy food with it!

I wish! That would be great. I'd save a lot of money.

if you nyorkers should come up with some energy/fuel that could run off your egos - that'd be cool.

Mike

[greatmagnet]

If we could come up with engines that ran off of stupid we could finally invent the perpetual motion machine and solve all our problems.

[JASIII]

I'm intrigued by Prague. Seems like a beautiful city, great beer, and lots of hot czech girls seem to be doing porn these days. An angry expatriate American artistic type ought to score some major action! I've got a good friend in Poland, maybe i oughta drop him a line

[stillafool]

You guys are a bunch of pussies. Fuck Europe. America Rules.

[bobbydj]

Bollocks.

[greatmagnet]

You guys are a bunch of pussies. Fuck Europe. America Rules.

You are either messing with us and thereby proving our point most elegantly, or you really mean it and are thereby proving our point most elegantly.

[ieatonlyshelfish]

subatomic pieces:

Your statement that the younger demographic turnout was equal to 2000 was flawed. What the reporters were saying was that percentage wise...effect on the outcome-wise...the turnout was the same...you indicated that the amount of young voters was the same, while the amount of votes grew. Not True. That statistic is strictly ratio - based. I paid particular attention to this because i am 20 years old. Id also like to add that with the exception of ONE of my friends, all of my friends voted, and voted Kerry. I live in PA, and perhaps that has something to do with it, but I really felt like our age bracket would have more of an influence, too. While there wasnt a SPIKE in young votes to sway this election more than 2000, the bracket grew with the rest of the country as far as votes go, contrary to what has been said in this thread.

[rubykeeler]

This election, even more than the last one, SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN BEEN CLOSE. Any human being so stupid that they can't easily see that they are being manipulated for the profit of a small powerful few and their global agenda should be thrown into a rendering pit for lack of societal contributions.

I agree with this, but we need to acknowledge how easily this rage can be translated (and broadcast all over the damn country) as more out-of-touch ravings of the "elite."

Which is BS, I agree, but it is not hard to understand how easily Fox News and others are able to "sell" their version of the truth. Like it or not, we need to start thinking about ways of existing and speaking outside of the realm of our circumscribed "communities."

It should not be so hard to demonstrate that it is not the Left that is "immoral." But since those are the terms of debate, we need to deal with them.

[wedge]

The most disturbing thing after this election will be the positioning of the Democratic party in '06 and '08 for the Congressional and Presidential races. The party has already abandoned many of the left's core values, perhaps with good reason as shown by this election. In order to be competitive they are going to have to go further right, but how much more can they go and still give us viable choices? Already both parties are being ruled by the same big businesses and special interests. I'm worried the next 'choice' will be no choice at all. Tough, tough day.

I actually see the opposite. And here's why: Bush's victory or not, our military is stretched thin. Assuming that the Bush administation's neo-con policies of pax-romana continue -- and they most probably will -- there'll either be a giant financial toll put upon our nation and/or a draft instituted; either scenario will open a lot of eyes that voted for Bush this time around (or should I say Cheney... let's get real here...).

If you heard the details of Osama's latest video spiel, he said that the ultimate goal is to bankrupt the US. One reason the USSR fell is because it couldn't keep up with the US's military spending. Osama and his ilk apparently learned from this lesson, and are planning a prolonged terrorist campaign in order to squeeze our military and financial institutions to the breaking point.

So consider this probablity over the next four years: More terrorist attacks in the Continental US; the institution of a draft; and huge streams of revenue going to the military, totally bypassing basic social services, creating waves of dissatisfaction for millions of Americans. This could get really messy and set the stage for a truely progressive Democaratic candidate, instead of a red-headed-step-child-of-the-right Democratic candidate...

The silver lining for us intellectual liberals -- if I may be so bold -- is that this could precipitate the rebirth a true, sustained progressive political movement, once Bush's militaristic and oil-grubbing policies run our country into the ground...

[underthebigtree]

The thought of expatriating to Canada has been in the back of my mind for months. As a left coast, Berkeley-educated liberal approaching my 40th birthday, I just can't do the fight anymore. The last 4 years have been so emotionally exhausting - marching in peace rallies, screaming about Bush to anyone who will listen (all of whom agree with me anyway), educating myself on the internet, following polls for months, and somehow kidding myself into believing that Kerry would pull it off.

Bush just won the largest popular vote in the history of the country. Repubs strengthened their holds on the House, Senate, and governorships. Bush will appoint as many as 4 judges to the Supreme Court. For life.

But the worst part, the very worst part, for me, is that the people knew what he was about, they knew what he did in Iraq, and they elected him anyway.

My first child is due this January. I don't want to raise him in a country that is so diametrically opposed to my way of thinking. Call me a pussy, call me a quitter, call me whatever the fuck you want. I'm done with this.

Next month, I'll fly to Vancouver and start exploring the job opportunities in the film industry up there. Hopefully there is some room for a once idealistic American ex-pat who wants to raise a family somewhere else.