Johnny: I was being flippant, responding to a question about why didn’t I leave Canada if I didn’t like our government. I made the same point you’re making - people aren’t just free to move from country to country, unless they have specific skills that the country wants, or a lot of money.
Sam Stone: Sorry, I wasn’t trying to single you out. It’s just that I work “Behind the Orange Curtain” (Orange County, CA – “Reagan Country”) and I’m surrounded by super-patriots. I seem to be the lone “L.A. liberal”. The “America – Love It or Leave It” thing has bugged me for a long time, and it just happened to be your post that caught my attention. The thing is, my co-workers can’t understand why anybody would want to leave the U.S. (A friend of mine is so fed up with our government that he wants to leave – but is finding it difficult.)
Personally, I’d love to move to Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England… Just because I like the cultures. I’m not rabid about leaving, but I think it would be great if people could live in the country of their choosing without too much hassle.
As for annexing Australia… No. Absolutely not. I have too much affection for the Australian people to subject them to us.
I don’t really even know any Australian people.
Me? I’d like to be able to pick and choose where I live, and move on a whim. I like living here, though. Not oerfect by any means, but it’s ok. We do seem to have a pretty wierd government. And old or poor people are pretty much treated like shit, but I’m lucky enough to have a pretty good paying job so who cares. Let 'em eat cake, eh?
Anyway, I think Puerto Rico and The Philipines are tops on the list of population percentages who want to become states of the US.
Is Australia ever going to go crying back to the UK, pleading for forgiveness? 
**We’re all having great fun with this proposition, but perhaps it should be noted that the American academic who gave the speech the subject of the OP was plainly JOKING.
Mosler’s presentation was supposed to be entertaining. It was a humourous speech was aimed at provoking debate; it was not a serious representation of his thoughts on Australian statehood. (Unforunately, the gent has been since deluged with hate mail…)
**
**Yes, because then all the boat people arriving on Ashmore will have to apply for refugee status in America.
We don’t need forgiveness! We left when we came of age, its you runaways that need forgiveness! Honestly all that fuss, rebellion, teenage rebellion more like. But let us speak no more of this, it’s not too late to make amends and I am sure Her Majesty will let you off with no more then a good talking too if you are sufficiently grovelly.
I shall nuzzle Her Royal Ankles.
Least we have our own flag. Mama’s boy.
I think it’s cute that the aussies call university ‘uni’.
That’s all I have to add.
Indeed, it’s a beautiful flag. A gorgeous flag of which you’re rightfully proud. It’s part of the reason why you get so wounded when you see footage of Iranians and Iraqi’s and Palestinians burning your flag in public as they gleefully jump amongst the flames.
That’s a dreadful burden. We Aussies don’t give a shit about our flag. Let it be someone else’s property. Go ahead and burn it. We’ve got barbeques to go to… slabs of beer to crack… chunks of steak to sizzle… waves to catch… parties to organise… long summers to prepare for… who wants to get hung about a flag?
Hey! Just like the Outback Steakhouse commercials.
If you say so! 
I wouldn’t know about that personally. Why would I know about TV ads for a bland American restaurant chain when I can have the real deal? Indeed, I live the real deal!
Don’t believe me? Check this out.
This is the view from my balcony - no shit… The little beach you see out front is maybe 15 yards from my balcony.
Ask me, honestly, do I care if there’s a Union Jack on my flag with THAT view? It extends north south 180 degrees. The dolphins swim by every morning. Never gets colder than 65F. In winter if it gets really cold I have to put a pair of socks on.
In summer, cool ocean breezes all day long.
Man, trying to hang shit on an Aussie by pointing to our flag? That’s funny. It’s the least of our concerns. We’re more concerned about when’s the next full moon to go fishing.
Interesting how Australia, which is nearly the size of the U.S., if it were to be admitted as a state, would only be fifth in population size – after California, Texas, Iraq, and Canada.
hey BOO, go easy on the Americans huh?
they dont know any better, from the day they take thier 1st breath, they are bathed in thier flag. - in thier every waking moment, thier flag is in thier face., you ever been there?
dammed flags everywhere you look, hundreds and hundreds of them, and at every moment they are all too ready to bow, salute, stand tall, be ready to die for it at the drop of a hat.
i see it as total indoctrination, as in, we, our nation, are the greatest, strongest, most powerful, etc etc ad neuseum, and all others must bow, pay homage to our glory and imagined rightousness.
me, i live in the land of the free, free of Americans, count myself unfortunate if i even have to see one of our nations flags in one 24 hr period, let alone thier flag!
its, any flags, joke is its illusion of seperatness, that one nation or any person on this planet, is inherantly much diff than any other, or the created, differances we impose on each other, is worth a drop of any of the other nations peoples blood, it is simply not worth the spilt blood, either thiers or our own.
best version, i ever heard, the only one that made me sit up and take notice, of the star spangled banner, was done by Jimi Hendrix, live at the original Woodstock, 1969, you could hear the falling napalm, screaming bombs, cries of pain, as they fell, as the allmighty USA, inflicted its destruction on another nation, laid it waste but couldnt annihalate its peoples wish to be free.
so, whose moral fibre is more worthy?.
more worthy of respect?
the answer sure as heck wont be found in subservience to any nations flag, by anyone, this much is plain.
Zanthor
… not to mention New York, which has a very similar population to that of Australia.
We’d may have to settle for sixth place.
I like the fact that the Union Flag is on the Australian one. I used to rail against it until I came to my current opinion on it:
Getting rid of it would mean paying attention to it. Doesn’t bother me either way. The sun is shining, it’s warm ( it’s winter), and I’m wearing a T-shirt and drinking cold beer.
Check out http://www.ausflag.com
The best Australian flag I’ve ever seen this* It has the Southern Cross and the Kangaroo, the two most popular images for a new Australian flag. It’s the coolest flag ever, too.
*Pardon the URL, it’s the only place I could find the flag, given I don’t know the name of the flag itself.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rave on. I’ve heard about the friggin bugs, but that’s ok. They add flavor to the steaks.
What I want to know is, what the hell is “slabs of beer to crack”?
Cracking a slab of beer? You’ve never done THAT? Well suck me off with a yabby pump!
I’ve probably done a lot of things I’d rather not put a name to.
Please tell me you don’t freeze your beer. It’s barbarous enough that you chill it.
Barbarous = Goes to lots of bar-b-ques.
Heh Heh Heh.
Fear not… I’m just playing with words.
A slab of beer is merely 2 dozen cans or stubbies.
A stubbies is a half pint bottle of beer. A can is the same amout.
The packaging is usually a cardboard packaging - ergo the 2 dozen cans appear somewhat slab like.