question for the foreigners

[Gustaf]

1. The 2000 election, to some extent. But really after I read a book called "Marathon" about the presidential election of 1976. That's what led me to do some research about American politics, made me find this site and forum and got me really interested.

2. Hm. All, to an extent at least. I guess the Northeast if i have to pick one, more specifically New England.

3. Pretty good. It gets a lot more coverage than most foreign elections and people are interested since they well...dislike Bush to put it bluntly... It isn't always all that accurate, but then again it isn't on domerstic electinos either...

[Gustaf]

ok, followup question....

do the foreigners here find american politics more fascinating than their own country's?

personally, ive always thought parliamentary systems are a tad boring.  but, of course, im biased.

Of course, since the elections here in Sweden are always won by the same party...

But I disagree about parliamentary systems being boring...they certainly don't have to be.

[Gustaf]

Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow

Don't you have the highest taxes in the world?

That's us!

Oh, wait, that's a bad thing...

[Gustaf]

how did you first get interested in american politics?

which region of the us do you find most fascinating?

2. I find New York quite fascinating but haven't really a favorit. The regions that I find hardest to grasp is the deep south and the prairie.

Why is so hard to grasp the deep south and prairie? We are mainly just good hardworking blue collar types who earn a honest buck and work for our families. I'm sure you have the type in Denmark.

I was waiting for your reply I'm sure that most people in the deep south is quite nice. It's just that a lot of what is "comme il faut" like the right to have a gun is very different from Denmark. It the things that seems like obvious and absolute rights that are very different. I'm sure that many Americans would find the lifestyle of many Danes very hard to grasp. Things like our welfare system and our fairly high taxes may raise an eyebrow (oh and why the trucks and big cars. I looks so silly when some youngster byes an American (That's what we call the cars ) and tries to drive around on the not very wide Danish roads )

Very different worlds I imagine. I believe the right to gun ownership is guaranteed in the off chance that the government should become so despotic we have no choice but to overthrow it and change it back.

Congratulations on post nr 3000

I have heard that "despotic government"-argument before. I find it a bit paranoid and optimistic (you don't really grap your rifle and meet at the battlefield anymore. Those bloody tanks are in the way). But I still remember the surprice a friend of my mother had when her husband died. Hidden among his remains she found a Stengun (British WW2-weapon). She knew that he had been in the Resistance during the war but they had been maried for 30 years and lived 5+ places, but never had he told he about the weapon and every time they moved to a new place he took the weapon with him and hid it again!! Just in case the Germans returned (or the Russians - my hometown is less that 100 km across the sea from former East Germany).

My anti-state feelings make me very sympathetic to the argument, but as Jens points out it's sort of impractical.

What's so funny is that the weapons almost everyone agree to not allow (tanks, flame throwers, etc) are the ones that should logically be allowed, whereas those almost everyone agree to permit, such as hunting rifles, really have very little to do with the spirit of the 2nd amendment...

[Gustaf]

quick question-how much coverage of aussie elections is their in america? I know the USA is insular (especially in election years), but maybe there has been a bit? Maybe?

You're having elections?

I read in the biggest Swedish paper today that one of the considered VP-picks for kerry was Ohio governor Tom Vilsack. Who is this guy, I never heard of him before?