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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
While generally speaking, i don't consider the US to be part of The Commonwealth countries, we do share:
language
common law-(US common law, in 49 states and at federal level is based on English common law
(2 point for knowing which state doesn't have most of its civil and criminal code based in english common law)
there is some commonality in government structure(sure we got rid of aristocracy and royalty, but we still have '2 houses' for government)
and
our current system of measurements:yards/inches, pints/gallons, quarts/pecks/bushels, rods/acre's etc are based on the old standards of the English.
(even the most widely practiced religions in US are ones that got started in UK!)
Its a bit of an exageration to say we are part of the commonwealth.. but we do still have a special relationship with UK..
(Websters says this about commonwealth)
commonwealth
• noun 1 an independent state or community, especially a democratic republic. 2 (the Commonwealth or in full the Commonwealth of Nations) an association consisting of the UK together with states that were previously part of the British Empire, and dependencies. 3 an aggregate or grouping of states or other bodies. 4 (the Commonwealth) the republican period of government in Britain between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. 5 (the commonwealth) archaic the general good.
it really a matter of which date you pick for #2--as to whether or not we should be considered a member of the commonwealth.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 87 |
I think the state in the USA that does not use English common law is Louisiana; but maybe it's Texas...
Or I could be completely off which isn't unheard of...
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? -Ursula K. Le Guin, author (1929- )
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
I'm pretty sure it's Louisiana -- they use the Napoleonic Code.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Yah, the code used in Louisiana is different. For example, the code for the letter "F" is pronounced deet-deet-dah-deet, after the French fashion.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273 |
>other parts of the Commonwealth. Excuse me? The US has never been a member of "The Commonwealth", that social/trade club for former component states of the British Empire. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/HomePage.asp?NodeID=20593
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 273 |
In reply to:
While generally speaking, i don't consider the US to be part of The Commonwealth countries, we do share:
language
Yes and no. In many, if not most, Commonwealth countries English is neither the official nor the majority language.
It is not "an exaggeration" to say that the US is part of the Commowealth, it simply wrong. The Commonwealth did not exist until after WWII, nearly 200 years after the US had left the clubhouse. The date is not open for one to pick as you state - The Commonwealth came into existence on a specific date. Prior to that, there was no "Commonwealth of Nations" for any country to be part of.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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I forget which one (Romania?), but one of the Eastern European countries has joined La Francophonie despite having no historical connection with the former French Empire.
So, no doubt the USA could apply to join the Commonwealth, and might even be accepted.
Bingley
Bingley
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Joined: Jun 2001
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2001
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>So, no doubt the USA could apply to join the Commonwealth, and might even be accepted.
Why not? A cuople of African countries with no historical ties to the old Empire have been allowed in. Mozambique is one, so maybe Mrs Heinz-Kerry could sponsor the US application.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
etaoin sez: "the Padre was kidding."
And the Old Padre responds: "worked, too, didn't it."
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