# Politics and News > Rants, Opinions, Observations >  Embarrassment At The Grocery Store

## Cat

As you know, I am an immigrant and a recent American citizen from Brasov, Romania. I don't have welfare because I don't need these. I receive a monthly stipend from a trust fund and I'm learning of very good money management. I live upon only 55% of what I am given. I save most of the rest of this, and Papa is helping me learn of investing of the remainder. He is a very good businessman and he understands how to invest so that the money works for me.

I've been very successful from learning, and I've made very good choices. My savings are still growing very well, and Papa and I have come to make investments together and this is very well! Airbus was one investment, for they had Quantas ordering many of the Airbus a380s. The stock I bought at the beginning of Airbus's new a380 has tripled. I sold a little of it, invested in other things, etc., etc. I'm being taught smart money management. 

Yes, I am a foreigner. I'm an American citizen, but still a foreigner to very many Americans. I think the Mexicans and the Hispanics at times are more welcome than me. Many Americans view Romania as an eastern European (not Balkan, as Romania IS) third-world country from where wealthy, ugly, fat, bald men buy wives and bring them here. Sometimes when I am asked of where I come from because of my accent and I say I'm from Romania, Americans sometimes ask if I am an "overseas" bride, and ask who or where my husband is.

When I tell them I'm a college student sent here to take care of my elderly great-aunt and to receive my education, some don't believe me. They say they know better, and men get Romanian brides all the time, so I am called a liar. One woman said she felt sorry for me because she "knew" I was one of those women and she felt sorry for me because I didn't have a wedding ring. 

Americans seem to be very confused when it comes to these things. 

I handle those issues well. Today, however, was a bit difficult.

I have a Discover credit card. NO, my parents do not pay off the balances! I do with my monthly stipend. Having credit cards also teaches one to live well under their means and use these credit cards very, very carefully. And no, I don't have any outstanding balances! I pay my Discover and my American Express and my Visa off every month, if I use them. Many times I don't use them. 

But today, I was very certainly put in my place as an immigrant. I had bought some expensive food, a very nice pork tenderloin, and some nice thick steaks, a bag of potatoes, milk, Doritos, Velveeta sharp cheddar cheese and jalapenos(for nachos).

When I paid for these things, I went into trouble. My Discover credit card (NOT a food stamp card) looks much like this:

Attachment 2061

The North Carolina food stamps card looks much like this:

Attachment 2062

That cashier saw me swipe my card, and when it appeared as "credit" on her screen, she said, "No, you can't run that as credit." I asked why, and she said, "You have a food stamps card. it's used as a debit card and you have to run it as debit."

I said, "It's not a food stamps card. It's a credit card."

The cashier said, "No, I know what a food stamps card is. Now try it again as a debit card."

I said, "I can't, I don't have a PIN for it. It is a credit card."

The lady next to me in line said, "Honey, I can tell by your accent you're probably new to all this. Let me help you. You have a food stamps card. Now what is your PIN? I'll show you how to use this."

I became frustrated and I said, "This is a Discover credit card. It has no PIN!"

The cashier said, "Oh well, it looks like a food stamps card. Give it to me and I'll go to a manager."

I gave it to her and we waited. The lady next to me said, "Well, great. Now I have to wait forever for this crap."

The manager came back with the cashier. The manager was so very nice, and she apologized for the misunderstanding. Then she gave me 10% off all my purchases. I wonder if others experience anything like this, just because we have an accent.

I emailed my Discover card website and suggested they get rid of the flag design and replace it with cute kittens and puppies.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

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Coolwalker (01-23-2014),Mordent (01-23-2014),patrickt (01-23-2014),Perianne (01-23-2014),Rudy2D (01-23-2014),sotmfs (01-23-2014),thedarkdaimon (01-23-2014),usfan (01-23-2014)

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## BleedingHeadKen

> As you know, I am an immigrant and a recent American citizen from Brasov, Romania.


I spent some time near Brasov in 2001/02. My girlfriend was from Satu Nou and her parents and many cousins still lived there. She was ethnic Hungarian and had moved to Budapest in the early 90's.




> When I tell them I'm a college student sent here to take care of my elderly great-aunt and to receive my education, some don't believe me. They say they know better, and men get Romanian brides all the time, so I am called a liar. One woman said she felt sorry for me because she "knew" I was one of those women and she felt sorry for me because I didn't have a wedding ring.


Maybe it's where you are living. I meet Romanian immigrants here in California and I doubt that they have the same trouble.




> I emailed my Discover card website and suggested they get rid of the flag design and replace it with cute kittens and puppies.
> 
> Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!


I could see how that would be annoying!


I liked Romania a lot. I am sorry for the poverty there, considering it is such a resource-rich country.

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## OceanloverOH

Stop it,   @KarlChilders.  Cat IS a citizen of the United States.  She CHOSE to be a citizen of this country.  She adopted it because she believes in America and American ideals.  She had to study hard and pass a difficult test to be a citizen. I'm proud to know someone with the conviction, and the moral fortitude to do that.  I'll bet the average native-born U.S. citizen would have trouble passing a citizenship test.

  @Cat, don't let the prejudices of a few get you down. You can be proud of your heritage and proud of your citizenship all at the same time.  So what if you have an accent?  Just because some ignorant people chose to put you down.....to heck with 'em.  The ignorant put people down because somehow this makes them seem a better person in their own eyes....and that's false.  What matters is who YOU are, what YOU have accomplished, and what you are doing now to better yourself by completing your education and helping your family. There are ignorant people everywhere.....and all you can do is believe in yourself and realize that the ignorant have no control over you.

Hang in there, sweetie.  Even though your grocery store experience was uncomfortable for you.....it's still experience that helps you grow as a person.

Hugs
Ocean

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Cat (01-23-2014),Perianne (01-23-2014),usfan (01-23-2014)

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## BleedingHeadKen

> So let me Get This Straight
> 
> You a Rich Foreigner with a Stipen but. You gonna come to America and bitch about a guy laid off collecting some unemployment and foodstamps a Citzen of the USA eh @Cat


Sounds like she's a citizen herself.

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## Perianne

> So let me Get This Straight
> 
> You a Rich Foreigner with a Stipen but. You gonna come to America and bitch about a guy laid off collecting some unemployment and foodstamps a Citzen of the USA eh @Cat


Terribly rude post.

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BleedingHeadKen (01-23-2014),Cat (01-23-2014),OceanloverOH (01-23-2014)

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## OceanloverOH

Why are you guys being so mean tonight?  Cat did nothing to you.  This young woman is working hard to better herself, and doesn't deserve the kicks in the shin.

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BleedingHeadKen (01-23-2014),Cat (01-23-2014),Perianne (01-23-2014),Rudy2D (01-23-2014)

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## BleedingHeadKen

> Why are you guys being so mean tonight?  Cat did nothing to you.  This young woman is working hard to better herself, and doesn't deserve the kicks in the shin.

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## Cat

> Tests?
> 
> Why didn't she just crawl under the fence or hide in the back of a semi-trailer full of lettuce like everybody else?


I was too young to go there. I was found in a trash can at maybe two or three days old.

Goodbye.

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## Perianne

I simply cannot say clearly enough how angry I am at this moment.  I don't know what is wrong with you guys.  Cat is a sweet girl and all you wish to do is insult??????  

If this is the type of posters we are going to get here, then this is not the place for me.

I am SO PISSED OFF I COULD SCREAM!!!!!!!

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OceanloverOH (01-23-2014)

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## Trinnity

You men have been terrible to Cat. I AM PISSED.  :Angry20:

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shaarona (01-25-2014)

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## lostbeyond

> Romania is a melting pot of very many cultures from different places. She has her poor issues, the orphan issues, (which both have improved very much), and she taxes the rich very severely. It is the way of life there. 
> 
> While Romania seems to be very modern, do NOT drink water from the tap and watch your rear backside when touring towns and cities. You men who foolishly carry your wallets in your back pockets are the first to freak out when you discover your wallet missing. You must carry your wallet on an inside front pocket. 
> 
> Women who leave their purses on a table to look at a cute baby find their purses gone. Cute babies are a distraction. They will snatch your Iphone, and anything else on a table in a restaurant. Purses, laptop, tablets, everything.
> 
> Back to the original topic, I had to go there to shop today. I'm so mean. I went through that cashier's line again. She looked at me, gave me a very nice middle finger gesture, and said, "Sorry. I'm closed, bitch."
> 
> I had to go to another line. I said, "Okay. Thanks. But I do hope somebody will give you a very nice roll in the hay, for you are in desperate need of it."


And they want their wages raised to $15/hr.  Only in America ... .  HEHEHE

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Cat (01-25-2014)

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## lostbeyond

> *THAT'S* when it's time to flag down a manager and register a formal complaint,  @Cat.  Service employees can NOT be allowed to talk to customers in this manner....and there's no doubt any halfway decent manager would be mortified at her behavior, and rightly so.  That having been said, I LOVED your answer!


And what makes you think that the manager would care.  He is happy that he has a warm body running a checkpoint and reducing the queues a little, the manager doesn't want to spend extra time with looking for someone to hire for a replacement.  The street/block is most likely territorially divided between the grocery stores, as usual, so they all have their daily cash flow, a very predictable constant.  That is all that they care about.

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Cat (01-25-2014)

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## lostbeyond

Actually I have an idea how to deal with such a store.  Don't contact the store, but the head office instead.  Mention your particular store to them, and how much better it would be if they had those automatic self-checkpoints where you check yourself out.  With those, one chief cashier remotely oversees 8-12 checkpoints, and if you follow the machine's procedure, you need no human contact.  The store chain will listen to you for this, because this reduces their operating costs.  

You can mention that the existing cashiers lack training and aptitude to deal with many customers such as your credit card provider. 

The only way this can go wrong is, if the new chief cashier to oversee the new automatic checkpoints will be that incompetent one you had the problem with at the beginning.  Not likely, but God has a sense of humor, and you start betting that this will be the case.  HEHE

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Cat (01-25-2014)

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## Cat

> Why?  The South West used to be Mexico, before the war.  And Texas was a Spanish speaking country too.  There is a Russian paper written by an internationally famous political scientist, and he writes, that a modern state that wants long-term durability, must be as hands-off as possible.  (I forgot his name, unfortunately.)  But when welfare policies are introduced and tax legislation games are played, then the state is nothing but the strong arm of an expedient elite.  This redefines the state as a conflict creator for no other purpose than to hold you down as a disposable cash generating asset for the political class.


NO! I speak English and I am sick of having to accept other's laziness and ignorance of speaking English in America. No. Make them learn English as I did!

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GreenEyedLady (01-25-2014),OceanloverOH (01-25-2014),Trinnity (01-26-2014)

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## Ghost of Lunchboxxy

> NO! I speak English and I am sick of having to accept other's laziness and ignorance of speaking English in America. No. Make them learn English as I did!


You must find Italian and Spanish fairly easy to learn.

I was fooling around with Google Translate the other day and I was amazed at how similar Romanian is to Italian, which probably accounts for the close to one million Romanian immigrants in Italy.

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Cat (01-25-2014)

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## GreenEyedLady

I'm sorry you had to go through that. You need to formally report her for her behavior. There is no retail business that wants that type of disrespect for their customers, and if they have a cashier that has that type of attitude, she needs to be transfer back to the stockroom instead of dealing with the public.

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Cat (01-25-2014)

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## Cat

I speak five languages! I won't force Americans to speak anything but English, as so many Mexican immigrants have. You respect a country by speaking its native language 

That is proper, and that is very important.

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## Cat

And whoever unbanned my new friend, @KarlChilders, I thank you. If he wishes to visit here, he will, and if not, I understand. He and I had had a bad day, is all.

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## OceanloverOH

> I speak five languages! I won't force Americans to speak anything but English, as so many Mexican immigrants have. You respect a country by speaking its native language 
> 
> That is proper, and that is very important.


FIVE languages!  What an outstanding accomplishment, @Cat!  I learned Spanish in high school; now I speak a little Spanish, enough to get by when in the company of a person that speaks Spanish....but I understand it a lot better than I speak it.  I lived in Germany for 6 years and tried very hard to learn the language but just could not manage it.  I think the younger you are when you are instructed, the better you learn and process language.

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## Perianne

> FIVE languages! What an outstanding accomplishment, @Cat! I learned Spanish in high school; now I speak a little Spanish, enough to get by when in the company of a person that speaks Spanish....but I understand it a lot better than I speak it. I lived in Germany for 6 years and tried very hard to learn the language but just could not manage it. I think the younger you are when you are instructed, the better you learn and process language.


Spanish is easy.  Just take any English word and add an "o" to the end of it.

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## liberal_hack

> Spanish is easy.  Just take any English word and add an "o" to the end of it.


If only it were that easy. Spanish en Espana is different than Spanish in Colombia is different than Peru is different than Venezuela is different than Mexico

I learned the hard way when ordering in restaurants.

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## Perianne

> If only it were that easy. Spanish en Espana is different than Spanish in Colombia is different than Peru is different than Venezuela is different than Mexico
> 
> I learned the hard way when ordering in restaurants.


Did you try adding an "o" to American words?

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## OceanloverOH

To translate English into Italian, throw as many "a's" into the conversation as possible.  Unless you're talking about food.  Then everything ends in "i".

"Imma needa to cooka soma spagetti, ravioli, anda rotini."  Voila....Italian!

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## countryboy

Y'all weird.

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## Ghost of Lunchboxxy

> If only it were that easy. Spanish en Espana is different than Spanish in Colombia is different than Peru is different than Venezuela is different than Mexico
> 
> I learned the hard way when ordering in restaurants.


Columbia, Peru....?!

I think we can guess what you do for a living.

Was 'Miami Vice' you all-time favourite TV show?

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## Ghost of Lunchboxxy

> To translate English into Italian, throw as many "a's" into the conversation as possible.  Unless you're talking about food.  Then everything ends in "i".
> 
> "Imma needa to cooka soma spagetti, ravioli, anda rotini."  Voila....Italian!


And you have to do it in a wife-beater shirt.... :Smiley ROFLMAO:

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## liberal_hack

> Columbia, Peru....?!
> 
> I think we can guess what you do for a living.
> 
> Was 'Miami Vice' you all-time favourite TV show?


what would happen to a guy today if he were caught dressing like they did in Miami Vice? How about wore his hair that way?

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## lostbeyond

> I speak five languages! I won't force Americans to speak anything but English, as so many Mexican immigrants have. You *respect* a country by speaking its native language 
> 
> That is proper, and that is very important.


By what logic do you require Mexicans to respect us Americans, considering that we have robbed them off of their personal property, using war?

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## Perianne

> By what logic do you require Mexicans to respect us Americans, considering that we have robbed them off of their personal property, using war?


Geez.  Loser pays.

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## Irascible Crusader

> By what logic do you require Mexicans to respect us Americans, considering that we have robbed them off of their personal property, using war?


Actually, we made an offer on that land and the offer was accepted.  Yeah, we paid for it.  Oh, and the land didn't belong to Mexico, it belonged to Spain. Your view of history is warped by your Leftist ideological upbringing.

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Cat (01-26-2014)

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## Network

Harassment at the Rosary Store
The mother goddess was upset with what I planned to do with those beads.  
She read my mind with some ancient pagan witchcraft

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## Rudy2D

> Spanish is easy.  Just take any English word and add an "o" to the end of it.


Rudolpho the Red-Nosed Reindeero.

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Perianne (01-26-2014)

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## Perianne

> Rudolpho the Red-Nosed Reindeero.


lol, good one

Spanish 101

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## Perianne

> To translate English into Italian, throw as many "a's" into the conversation as possible.  Unless you're talking about food.  Then everything ends in "i".
> 
> "Imma needa to cooka soma spagetti, ravioli, anda rotini."  Voila....Italian!


lol... it's funny because that sounds just like them!

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## lostbeyond

> Y'all weird.


Okay.  How much is the going rate for translators from English language to Canadian language?  And will I have to respect Canada by learning Canadian if I go there?

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## lostbeyond

> Geez.  Loser pays.


But what if they just decide to flood you with their garbage? 



> Actually, we made an offer on that land and the offer was accepted.  Yeah, we paid for it.  Oh, and the land didn't belong to Mexico, it belonged to Spain. Your view of history is warped by your Leftist ideological upbringing.


I am getting to the level where I believe less and less in what I learn on TV/school.  If the West was Spanish, and we simply purchased it like we purchased Florida, then the whole thing is ours, fair-and-square, we have paid compensation.  But then what do we do with the Mexicans who seem to say that Spain didn't have the authority to sell it to us?

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## Ghost of Lunchboxxy

> Okay.  How much is the going rate for translators from English language to Canadian language?  And will I have to respect Canada by learning Canadian if I go there?


All you have to do is love Tim Horton's Coffee...the universal language in Canada.....

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## Irascible Crusader

> But what if they just decide to flood you with their garbage? 
> 
> I am getting to the level where I believe less and less in what I learn on TV/school.  If the West was Spanish, and we simply purchased it like we purchased Florida, then the whole thing is ours, fair-and-square, we have paid compensation.  But then what do we do with the Mexicans who seem to say that Spain didn't have the authority to sell it to us?


You're acquiescing! You're making me feel like an asshole for ripping into you.  Stop that!

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## Perianne

> But what if they just decide to flood you with their garbage?


They already are.

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## lostbeyond

> You're acquiescing! You're making me feel like an asshole for ripping into you.  Stop that!


Don't worry, I still keep my swastika shiny.  And ... I didn't fully agree, I questioned if Spain had the authority to sell Northern Mexico to us.  Or were we fools to pay for another Brooklyn Bridge again?  ... Although if it keeps a few punks in employment around the fence ... .

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## lostbeyond

> They already are.


Yeeppppeeeee.  I love these population control manipulations.  Typical leftist liberal dirty work.  Why do we have a 2nd Amendment if we can't use it to compete for a job at our own farm?  Because we rather pass it over to the illegals willingly?  HEHEHE  On the other hand though ... one could argue that California/Arizona has never been our country to begin with.  Now what logic will work?

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## OceanloverOH

> And you have to do it in a wife-beater shirt....


But @Ghost....a wife-beater looks GOOD on a woman!

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## OceanloverOH

> Okay.  How much is the going rate for translators from English language to Canadian language?  And will I have to respect Canada by learning Canadian if I go there?


English to Canadian is the easiest of all.  Just end each sentence with  "eh?"  (pronounced "ay").

"Let's go watch the hockey game, eh?"

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lostbeyond (01-26-2014)

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## lostbeyond

> But @Ghost....a wife-beater looks GOOD on a woman!


This is absolutely true!  I love to see it on my Ethiopian GF.  It is semi-transparent, and her very dark skin brings out the curves under the wifebeeter even better, in addition to being totally open from the sides.  By the way, I think many white outfits look great on a dark brown girl.  



> English to Canadian is the easiest of all.  Just end each sentence with  "eh?"  (pronounced "ay").
> 
> "Let's go watch the hockey game, eh?"


 :Smiley ROFLMAO:  :Smiley ROFLMAO:

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## Irascible Crusader

> Don't worry, I still keep my swastika shiny.  And ... I didn't fully agree, I questioned if Spain had the authority to sell Northern Mexico to us.  Or were we fools to pay for another Brooklyn Bridge again?  ... Although if it keeps a few punks in employment around the fence ... .


It's difficult to argue otherwise.  Spain was the prevailing empirical force, not Mexico and had the ability to occupy. But when we're talking about the Southwest, "occupied" is a relative term since no nation had fully settled those lands.  It's much like the French selling us the Louisiana Purchase territory. They certainly weren't occupying those lands except in New Orleans but they laid claim to vast swaths of the continent and then sold it to us even though it was unsettled territory.  It was certainly a winning strategy on both sides because we were able to downplay the price of land that wasn't even settled and France and Spain were able to profit on land they laid claim to but never fully possessed.

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## lostbeyond

> It's difficult to argue otherwise.  Spain was the prevailing empirical force, not Mexico and had the ability to occupy. But when we're talking about the Southwest, "occupied" is a relative term since no nation had fully settled those lands.  It's much like the French selling us the Louisiana Purchase territory. They certainly weren't occupying those lands except in New Orleans but they laid claim to vast swaths of the continent and then sold it to us even though it was unsettled territory.  It was certainly a winning strategy on both sides because we were able to downplay the price of land that wasn't even settled and France and Spain were able to profit on land they laid claim to but never fully possessed.


Very interesting.  Also, is it true, that the current US-Mexico border cuts straight across the middle of Navajo Indian territory?  If yes, how do they keep themselves as one tribe?

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## Irascible Crusader

> Very interesting.  Also, is it true, that the current US-Mexico border cuts straight across the middle of Navajo Indian territory?  If yes, how do they keep themselves as one tribe?


I don't know the answer to that.  Canada cuts across my tribe (Blackfoot) and our reservation borders Alberta. But I honestly don't know how that affected Indians living on both sides of the border.  Maybe it's an opportunity to learn something new.

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lostbeyond (01-27-2014)

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## Cat

I have received my new card. I miss my old one. I am still so proud of the flag upon it.

My new one is cute, and so I must be grateful for that I won't be embarrassed so very much now.

I glued my old card to a page in my journal and wrote of my feelings in it. That made me feel better...a little. So many nice things become ruined by ignorance and unfairness.

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lostbeyond (02-01-2014)

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