Topic: Governmental Support For Amateur Sport

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

That is only for a green card or visa I think, not citizenship.

[dabrock]

True, not sure INS rules these days. Not sure competition rules either, who can compete where.

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

Non-citizens can only compete as guest lifters usually, I believe. Sometimes not even allowed to lift at all, I think.

[Mike Wittmer]

Back to the topic, I would be against state support for weightlifting.  As much as we would like it, I don't think my neighbors should have to pay for my son's Elieko set or travel to national competitions.

While i dont want the government any further into our lives or pockets, you gotta admit, you right now are being fleeced for all kinds ov **** that is much worse than some weightlifting funding, even if for a few. At very least, government supporting sports is a healthy endeavor (in spirit at least) and may in some small way inspire more wheezing TV-addled slugs to do something athletic. Hell, maybe some would try it out simply because they would have a problem paying for something they're not getting use out ov. I know people like that...

I would much rather pay a tax that in some tiny way supports a weightlifter somewhere than one that pays for surgeries for the obese or golden parachutes for corrupt CEOs or better prisons for criminals or ANY sort ov middle Eastern military campaign.
[/quote]

I know, but two wrongs do not make a right.

[John Way]

Jefferson argued that the best way to prevent an aristocracy was to limit inheritance. In a 1789 letter to his friend James Madison, Jefferson wrote that "the earth belongs in usufruct to the living" and "the dead have neither powers nor rights over it" -- that is, the dead should not control the opportunities of the next generation. Every child deserves a fair chance.

The estate tax's critics claim that it violates property rights, but how can the dead have a right to property? The right to property emerges from labor, the nation's founders believed. With death, that right returns to society. "The portion occupied by an individual ceases to be his when himself ceases to be, and reverts to the society," Jefferson told Madison. It is up to citizens to determine what and how much children inherit from their parents.

Jefferson's strategy to prevent aristocracies was to mandate partible -- that is, divisible -- inheritance, apportioning estates equally among all one's children. In Jefferson's time, this was a radical proposal. In the 18th century when a man died his estate often passed complete to his eldest son. This form of inheritance, known as primogeniture, sustained aristocracies by keeping family wealth intact over generations. Partible inheritance, Jefferson hoped, would force wealth to be divided successively over generations.

By the 1830s America had become one of the most egalitarian societies in world history, at least for white men. Alexis de Tocqueville, an acute observer of American democracy during the Jackson era, attributed the nation's equality to partible inheritance. Dividing estates, he wrote in "Democracy in America," creates a "revolution in ownership" that "works upon the very soul" of American society. Rather than inherit their status, Americans must earn it anew.

[Judas]

WOW... seriously. I had no idea. It takes EIGHT YEARS to become a real US citizen...??? Thats insane. Wonder how long it takes up here (Canada)...???

Yeah, i could see that being a problem with 'buying' athletes, even if fast-tracked. And yes, a homegrown hero would always be better, but an import would be better than nothing. Hell, just give kids, or high school athletes or college athletes a shining example ov outrageous physical power and skill, all wrapped in the American flag. Show them that there is actually a sport like weightlifting. Thats got to be better than nothing. Either that or begin a campaign to outlaw the sport ov football in the USA...

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

The estate tax's critics claim that it violates property rights, but how can the dead have a right to property?

I would assume this was early in the evolution in his political theory. Can you point me to the source? He eventually decided, based on the same basic principle- that the dead have no rights over the living, that no generation should be able to bind the next by laws. This would obviously have to include the estate tax. In any case, the estate tax certainly does violate property rights, but not of the dead, as long as there is a will- a contract. In other words, it is the right of the living to decide what will happen to their property- even after death.

WOW... seriously. I had no idea. It takes EIGHT YEARS to become a real US citizen...??? Thats insane.

I guess I am insane then, because I like that fact. 

[Shaun Le Conte]

US Naturalization

A person who was not born a U.S. citizen may acquire U.S. citizenship through a process known as naturalization.
[edit]Eligibility for naturalization
To become a naturalized United States citizen, one must be at least eighteen years of age at the time of filing, a legal permanent resident of the United States, and have had a status of a legal permanent resident in the United States for five years less 90 days before they apply (this requirement is reduced to three years less 90 days if they (a) acquired legal permanent resident status, (b) have been married to and living with a citizen for the past three years and (c) the spouse has been a U.S. citizen for at least three years prior to the applicant applying for naturalization.) They must have been physically present for at least 30 months of 60 months prior to the date of filing their application. Also during those 60 months if the legal permanent resident was outside of the U.S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more they are disqualified from naturalizing (certain exceptions apply for those continuous periods of six months to 1 year). They must be a "person of good moral character", and must pass a test on United States history and government[7][8] Most applicants must also have a working knowledge of the English language.[7] There are exceptions, introduced in 1990, for long-resident older applicants and those with mental or physical disabilities.[9][10] This requirement for an ability to read, write, and speak English is not regarded as too difficult, since the test requires that applicants read and write in English.

Naturalization as a Canadian citizen

A person who is a permanent resident may apply for Canadian citizenship by naturalization (grant) after three years of residency in Canada.
The requirements in full are that the person:
is aged 18 years or over
is a permanent resident
has lived in Canada for a total of three years out of the four years preceding the application for citizenship
knows about Canada (a test is required as part of the application process, but only if the applicant is between 18 and 54 years of age)
knows the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship
is of good character
is not a war criminal
is able to speak English or French well enough to communicate with people [5]