Talk:United States/Archive 5

message: The previous poster was absolutely correct. Now the info box says "None, several states specify. English de facto nationwide, Spanish spoken by growing minority." The infobox is ONLY ASKING FOR THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (if there is one, which there is NOT). The USA never has had an official national language, and every word in the info box besides "None" is completely irrelevant and misplaced. The part about the states is irrelevant because the article refers to the entire country. "De facto" does not equal "Official", so it has no place being there. And the most absurd addition is the part about Spanish being spoken by "a growing minority"; not only does this not have the most miniscule relevance in an article about the official national language of the United States of America, but the same thing could be said about hundreds of languages, like Chinese and Arabic. If you want to discuss the different languages that are spoken within the United States, there is a separate article for that. However, the only thing that should be said next to "Official Language" is "None". It needs to be permanently changed ASAP.
:1) Always sign your comments.
:2) Please calm down.
:3) It's not irrelevant; in some states, there are official languages. Due to the federal system, this is just as relevant as if there were a federal official language. And I do mean official; not merely de facto. Spanish is spoken primarily by a full 10%, and seconarily by many many more. Spanish is becoming a de facto official language, not just in some neighborhoods, but in some states. All I will agree with you is that Spanish might be better removed from the chart; but the fact remains, some states have official languages. I'll try a mix...
:4) De Facto DOES belong there; observe other articles. What matters is both what is official, and what is spoken. 
:5) Permanently? You want us to lock the page?
:6) You're welcome to change it yourself. --Golbez 04:16, Sep 26, 2004 (UTC)
:: the box should just say none.  You are right in that, in my opinion.  The official language of California Republic is Spanish., so the thing about spanish is not trivial, however the datum: "The official language of California Republic is Spanish." belongs in the California Republic but apparently the very existence of California Republic is POV.:
from California Republic:
"The republic's first and only president was William Brown Ide. Its independence ended on 1846 July 9 when a U.S. Navy battleship, commanded by John D. Sloat, docked in Monterey, routed the detachment of the Mexican Coast Guard garrisoning the port in a minor skirmish (the Battle of Monterey), and alerted Frémont and his men that the Mexican-American War had begun. The "Bear Flaggers" joined the war effort and replaced their flag with the Stars and Stripes. Under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico formally surrendered its claim over the territory; the State of California was admitted to the Union two years later."
::California Republic still has a constituion, duly ratified, never superseded by the 'later constitution'.  I myself am a Sovereign Citizen of California Republic.  California Republic and the State of California each exist in a jurisdictional nexus located in geographically similar, possibly identical with the exception of federal lands within California, areas.  We can never completely settle the question of 'what the US is and what it's attributes are', without addressing the issue of these "duplicate states" and "duplicate unions".  So it will never happen... see how tense just reading THIS makes you?  Imagine being a Citizen of a State that "ended" 100 years before you were born.  I'm not the only one by any stretch of imagination either.Pedant 16:56, 2004 Oct 16 (UTC)
:::I'm sure the Soviet Union still has a constitution, but that doesn't mean the Soviet Union still exists. At what point do you consider a particular government entity dead? --Golbez 21:32, Oct 19, 2004 (UTC)
::::The Soviet Union was officially dissolved on 26 December 1991 by the last meeting of the Supreme Soviet, by the same authority which established it in the first place.  The California Republic has never been dissolved. --xoddam 01:18, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Official Language 

message: I've started a section on human rights in the United States. Please feel free to add to it. Shorne 02:44, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Human rights 

message: "Social issues" states that there is a McDonald's outlet in every capital city in the world except Pyongyang.
I rather doubt that. There could hardly be one in Havana, for example, owing to the US's embargo against Cuba. And I remember when, about ten years ago, McDonald's announced that it had achieved a presence in one hundred countries. There are about two hundred countries in the world, and some of them (Libya, Liberia, Iran) seem very unlikely to have a McDonald's. (More power to them.) Shorne 02:35, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  McDonald's