Be grateful that you don't have a twice or thrice times bankrupt carnival
barker looking to occupy your oval office ! Don't fret about the Union Jack
.... Obama's home turf still fly it with pride as part of their state flag !
jh
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Fildes" <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2011 8:25 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] Royal Wedding in London
> Our flag is a British ensign (indicating ownership) and our head of state
> a British representative. I would have thought that the reasons were
> self-evident - mainly symbolic of course but symbols are very important.
> The selection and confirmation of the Governor General is a matter of
> supreme indifference to most so it is carried out in a fairly ad hoc
> manner.
> At the time of the debate a number of suggestions were made. An election
> for a powerless figurehead is clearly a ridiculous expense although it
> might give the position some stature. Unfortunately it would guarantee
> that a 'politician' would be appointed as it would be contested.
> There was a much more sensible suggestion that the head of state be
> selected by a 2/3rds majority of the parliament. This was decried at the
> time by some loud idiots who described it as a 'politician's president'
> and they demanded an electoral process. However, the 2/3rds rule would
> ensure that only a worthy candidate, acceptable to both sides, would
> succeed. A government could not put up a superannuated politician and get
> him/her elected.
> The reason it failed was because it was John Howard who got to write the
> referendum questions - and he was a keen monarchist. Consequently he
> muddied the waters with convoluted questions (remember the 'Preamble') and
> divided the republican movement. It's a nightmare getting a constitutional
> referendum up at the best of - it'll fail unless both sides in parliament
> are in general agreement.
> Andrew Fildes
> afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
> On 01/05/2011, at 10:25 PM, David Thatcher wrote:
>
>> I was a staunch republican when I was a vexatious youth, but now I
>> wonder what the point of the change would be - it would be a colossal
>> waste of money if the model used to appoint the GG is used to appoint a
>> President. This is was what was offered at our referendum - and, in my
>> opinion, one of the main reasons that it failed.
>
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