The Canada Thread

I saw a documentary on Rush. And although I never cared for their sound I admire their stubborn pursuit of their own path; ignoring the lure of million dollar sales and rock star status.

All three of them are remarkable musicians.

I've never been able to listen to Geddy Lee sing. His voice is like chewing metal.
My brother was a huge fan. Used to play them on repeat. I didn't mind the instrumentals, but that voice...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/video/henrygoldman/is-it-actually-possible-to-piss-off-a-canadian

As everyone should know... there is more to Canadian Rock then Rush. Here is a brief (yet awesome) sample:

You know that Ted Cruz was born a (((((((GASP))))))) Canadian.

((((((shudddddddddddderrrrr))))))

Look on the bright side--if true, that means he'll never be president.

Both of big bad Ted's parents were US citizens when he was born.

I need to see that birth certificate.

Cruz -- full name: Rafael Edward Cruz --was born in Canada in 1970 because his father was working for the oil industry there. The senator’s recently released birth certificate shows his mother was born in Delaware and his father was born in Cuba. The Cruz family left Canada a few years later. Cruz grew up in Texas and graduated from high school there, later attending Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

By virtue of his American-born mother, Cruz, 42, considers himself a natural born citizen and eligible to run for president.

So is he eligible? The vast majority of legal thought and arguments indicate he is.

Is there the tiniest sliver of uncertainty? Yes, there’s that, too.

Constitutional requirements

The Constitution says any candidate for president must be 35 years of age, a resident within the United States for 14 years and a "natural born citizen."

We’ve looked at the question of natural born citizenship before. Back in 2008, people raised questions about the "natural born" citizenship status of both major party candidates.

We’ve fact-checked several statements about President Barack Obama’s place of birth and his birth certificate. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his mother was a U.S. citizen. His father was Kenyan.

We also looked at the case of John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal Zone because his American father served in the military. McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, saw his standing briefly challenged in court.

Interestingly, both of McCain’s potential Democratic opponents -- Obama and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton -- co-sponsored Senate legislation to settle McCain’s eligibility. The April 2008 resolution said, "John Sidney McCain, III, is a ‘natural born Citizen' under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States."

Defining "natural born"

So what is a "natural born" citizen? The Constitution doesn’t specifically say.

In 2008, we reviewed research and polled several legal experts. The consensus was that someone is a "natural born" citizen if they have citizenship at birth and don’t have to go through a naturalization process to become a citizen.

If that’s the definition, then Cruz is a natural born citizen by being born to an American mother and having her citizenship at birth. (This same logic would apply to Obama, even if he were born in another country, which he wasn’t.)

The Congressional Research Service published a report on the issue after the 2008 election; the agency is tasked with providing authoritative research to all members of Congress. It, too, supported the thinking that "natural born" citizenship means citizenship held "at birth."

But the Supreme Court -- the ultimate arbiter of constitutional questions -- has never ruled on the matter. And that means a note of uncertainty remains.

Sarah H. Duggin, a professor of law at Catholic University, has written about and studied the issue extensively. She told us in 2008 that the question of what natural born citizenship is "one of the most deceptively simple, complex issues."

We reached her again this week to ask about Cruz’s eligibility. "It would be reasonable to interpret the Constitution’s natural born citizenship provision to include children born abroad to U.S. citizens, including Senator Cruz, for a number of reasons," she said.

But is it 100 percent sure?

"Unfortunately, we cannot say for sure without either a definitive Supreme Court ruling, or an amendment to clarify the Constitution."

It's too bad he wasn't raised here. He might have turned out to be a nice guy.

Or he may have been born an a*hole and Canada 'sphinctred' him out like **** through a goose.

More than likely. lol

Im just finding it kinda funny that the GOP will now shut up over Obama.

Sorry to glom your thread Ceili.

If I posted it in some political thread I would get all dumped over. This way I am received rather politely.

Are you saying that Canajuns are more polite than them 'Merkins, eh?

Congratulations to our Canajiun Cousins





Now if Robertson Davies.....

she writes mostly short stories no?

Wasn't Saul Bellow an Candian