Will it be a crime to say the president is a crook

[Rinnhart]

Americans aren't known for their acceptance of outside advice on their internal affairs.
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As a voter who's told at least two aussie and three japanese friends where they could stick their... energetic opinions on American politics, I'd like to field a little defense on this point.

It's easier to ignore foreign opinion as a whole than filter the good advice from the bad.

The truly savvy points are as rare from foreign commentators as they are from domestic. Generally, you get the same poorly informed bile the register bisquit at the Shell station regurgitates at you over your Times and Coke. Listening to three hundred million people point at a photo of GW beneath a bold-faced headline and vomit rhetoric they heard on the Today Show is enough.

Additionally, those "taxes suck and so does the government" jabs between friends at the pump tend to mutate into "your government sucks and so do you" when coming from our international voice. No, I didn't vote for him. No, I'm not happy with the direction of the government. No, I don't want American soldiers murdering everyone in Iraqi, but at this moment New South Wales is looking like a good alternative- thanks, would you assume some more facts about my political inclinations?

When it can't be kept constructive it just turns into so much more tiring, boring, circular bull#$%& that I really don't want to deal with. I get home and I don't care how "OMG DUM" Bush is- I care how much my taxes are going to cost me and wonder if the counter jockey could ID me if I didn't pay for my gas the next time I needed a fill-up.

That having been said, to ignore all foreign opinions is a pretty bad idea. That's why I rely upon my government to filter and hand feed me only the ripest, juciest tidbits of pro-American propaganda the intelligence bureaus can get their greasy little hands on.



...What?



However, to presume to impose this upon a public forum (using the term broadly) is simply bad form. I don't think anyone here would do it. I know I visit the Lounge because I am curious what eloquent, semi-delusional banter about a wide variety of topics by a wide variety of people has been taking place.

And here, at the end, I look back to the post that spawned this spiel and realize I may have read it entirely wrong and wow it's late/early.