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Texas is bigger than France


HtownWxBoy

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Not being a native Texan, I don't get the whole "Texas is bigger than France" thing. I see it on shirts and bumper stickers a lot. I guess people who use that phrase think that b/c Texas is larger than France... it's better than France? If that's true then I guess they would also have to agree that China and Russia are better than Texas since they are larger.

What a stupid way of thinking. :rolleyes:

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Not being a native Texan, I don't get the whole "Texas is bigger than France" thing. I see it on shirts and bumper stickers a lot. I guess people who use that phrase think that b/c Texas is larger than France... it's better than France? If that's true then I guess they would also have to agree that China and Russia are better than Texas since they are larger.

What a stupid way of thinking. :rolleyes:

By that logic than there are some real hellholes that are bigger, and therefore better, than Texas:

  • Russia
  • Canada
  • China
  • Brazil
  • Australia
  • India
  • Argentina
  • Kazakhstan
  • Sudan
  • Algeria
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Greenland
  • Mexico
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Indonesia
  • Libya
  • Iran
  • Mongolia
  • Peru
  • Chad
  • Niger
  • Angola
  • Mali
  • South Africa
  • Colombia
  • Ethiopia
  • Bolivia
  • Mauritania
  • Egypt
  • Tanzania
  • Nigeria
  • Venezuela
  • Namibia
  • Pakistan
  • Mozambique
  • Turkey
  • Chile
  • Zambia

If someone's wearing a slogan on a shirt, chances are they're not all that familiar with logic in the first place.

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Texas: 261,797 sq. mi. (U.S. Census Bureau)

France: 211,209 sq. mi. (CIA World Factbook)

According to this, we're 24% bigger than France. But I concur with HtownWxBoy and Editor that geographic area is a terrible determinant of betterment. We're definitely more than 24% better than France.

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Texas: 261,797 sq. mi. (U.S. Census Bureau)

France: 211,209 sq. mi. (CIA World Factbook)

According to this, we're 24% bigger than France. But I concur with HtownWxBoy and Editor that geographic area is a terrible determinant of betterment. We're definitely more than 24% better than France.

It really is a stupid way of thinking. I saw that one truck commercial (I forget if its ford or chevy or whatever) where they actually show a "Texas is bigger than France" bumper sticker on a truck and say how Texans like use their trucks to tell people what they think... I actually cringe when I see that... it's embarrassing to think that people actually think that way.

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It really is a stupid way of thinking. I saw that one truck commercial (I forget if its ford or chevy or whatever) where they actually show a "Texas is bigger than France" bumper sticker on a truck and say how Texans like use their trucks to tell people what they think... I actually cringe when I see that... it's embarrassing to think that people actually think that way.

I'm not sure that anybody really does think that way, though. Aside from the occasional American flag, a hunting/fishing association sticker, or the little-boy-peeing-irreverently sticker, I don't see too many trucks with political or cultural statements on them.

I'd be willing to bet that less than 10% of new truck buyers in the Houston media market will ever actually take their trucks off-roading in dusty places with big boulders, use them for heavy construction or agricultural/ranch purposes, or would ever actually want them to be similar to a rock (seeing as how rocks don't have internal combusion engines, wheels, or air conditioning).

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If we had rail connecting our cities like France, and maybe a few nude beaches, then we would be better.

We do have a few informally designated nude beaches.

As for French rail network, it wouldn't impress me if applied here. It'd need to be faster.

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We do have a few informally designated nude beaches.

Isn't there a big, or at least popular, one in Austin? Are there any in the Houston area?

As for French rail network, it wouldn't impress me if applied here. It'd need to be faster.

I've used the French rail network about eight or nine times, and found it quite zippy. TGVs go from 186 to 200 MPH, the same as Germany's I.C.E. trains. Amtrak maxes out at 86 MPH, and then only in the Northeast.

Pride is not a virtue.

THERE'S your bumper sticker. But I don't think you'll see it in a truck commercial.

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Pride is not a virtue.

Was anybody claiming that it were?

Isn't there a big, or at least popular, one in Austin? Are there any in the Houston area?

McFaddin Beach, east of High Island. I've also come across topless folk (that were actually attractive) on Follet's Island and (less attractive folks along) the northerly reaches of South Padre Island.

I've used the French rail network about eight or nine times, and found it quite zippy. TGVs go from 186 to 200 MPH, the same as Germany's I.C.E. trains. Amtrak maxes out at 86 MPH, and then only in the Northeast.

Not fast enough.

THERE'S your bumper sticker.

Wouldn't that be ironic!? :blink:

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Other than Lee Greenwood and Ford, not really?

I don't follow. Lee Greenwood sang that he's "Proud to be an American..." yada, yada, yada. "And if you aren't proud too, you're evil and I'll kill you, delicate flower," was not one of the lyrics.

The truth of the matter is that anybody with the least bit of self esteem can't help but be prideful. And whether that entails pride in a traditional sense, false modesty kept private, false modesty rubbed in someone's face, or whatever, it all comes back to the same thing...pride. Is it good, is it evil...does it look like I care? :shrug:

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Not being a native Texan, I don't get the whole "Texas is bigger than France" thing. I see it on shirts and bumper stickers a lot. I guess people who use that phrase think that b/c Texas is larger than France... it's better than France? If that's true then I guess they would also have to agree that China and Russia are better than Texas since they are larger.

What a stupid way of thinking. :rolleyes:

You do realize that it's a joke right?

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Not being a native Texan, I don't get the whole "Texas is bigger than France" thing. I see it on shirts and bumper stickers a lot. I guess people who use that phrase think that b/c Texas is larger than France... it's better than France? If that's true then I guess they would also have to agree that China and Russia are better than Texas since they are larger.

What a stupid way of thinking. :rolleyes:

Or it could be that Texas is bigger than france as far as our values or sense of pride. "Bigger" doesn't have to translate as size, you know.

As far as Canada being better, whatever. The right of being able to smoke weed and get healthcare doesn't make it the best country in the world.

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Or it could be that Texas is bigger than france as far as our values or sense of pride. "Bigger" doesn't have to translate as size, you know.

As far as Canada being better, whatever. The right of being able to smoke weed and get healthcare doesn't make it the best country in the world.

Didn't say it was "the best"... but you bring up good starting points... a couple of areas where they have us beat... among a list of others...

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Didn't say it was "the best"... but you bring up good starting points... a couple of areas where they have us beat... among a list of others...

I know a few folks who are constantly jocking Canada who have lived there, I ask why and the answer is always health care...I have no problem with the healthcare I receive in this country, I ask them to name something else, they say it is cleaner :rolleyes: ....

But back on topic....these statements and stickers are tongue in cheek to a certain extent...although many Texans have a certain distaste for the French, they are just trying to think of a simple way of extolling the virtues of tough, hard working, patriots over wussy, lazy, nihilists expanding on the "everything is bigger in Texas" mantra...

NOTE:::we all know this is not who the French are...but it is a stereotype propogated by the type of people that have these bumperstickers....

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I know a few folks who are constantly jocking Canada who have lived there, I ask why and the answer is always health care...I have no problem with the healthcare I receive in this country, I ask them to name something else, they say it is cleaner :rolleyes: ....

One of my best friends who I went to college with now lives in Canada... he loves the whole free health care thing up there... he just says it's great not having to worry about $$ if you ever have to go to the doctor or to the hospital. He does say that Canadians have a bit of a fascination w/ America... and for some reason American road trips. He said they think we all take road trips across the country all the time. ha ha Him and his boyfriend (who is Canadian) came down to visit a few months back and they had to go to Florida to visit relatives after visiting Houston and his boyfriend made him rent a car and drive there even though it was cheaper to fly and they both hate driving.

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One of my best friends who I went to college with now lives in Canada... he loves the whole free health care thing up there... he just says it's great not having to worry about $$ if you ever have to go to the doctor or to the hospital.

My friends who've lived there say it's great, as long as you don't actually have to use it for anything other than "routine maintenance."

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By that logic than there are some real hellholes that are bigger, and therefore better, than Texas:

  • Russia
  • Canada
  • China
  • Brazil
  • Australia
  • India
  • Argentina
  • Kazakhstan
  • Sudan
  • Algeria
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Greenland
  • Mexico
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Indonesia
  • Libya
  • Iran
  • Mongolia
  • Peru
  • Chad
  • Niger
  • Angola
  • Mali
  • South Africa
  • Colombia
  • Ethiopia
  • Bolivia
  • Mauritania
  • Egypt
  • Tanzania
  • Nigeria
  • Venezuela
  • Namibia
  • Pakistan
  • Mozambique
  • Turkey
  • Chile
  • Zambia

If someone's wearing a slogan on a shirt, chances are they're not all that familiar with logic in the first place.

Do you mean any slogan or just this one? Because I have a couple of T-shirts with slogans on them I didn't know it said anything bad about me, generally.

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My friends who've lived there say it's great, as long as you don't actually have to use it for anything other than "routine maintenance."

Not quite true. The biggest problem with the health care system here (in my opinion) is that if you get a terrible disease like cancer, insurance plans max out at some point. Mine is $500,000. What if the treatment costs a few million? The best thing about the health insurance system in Canada is that there is no maximum.

I think routine maintenance is fine here. It costs $25 per visit (for me) which is annoying but at least that's affordable. I'd have to have to get an expensive treatment here if it were above my maximum. The other problem is that some insurance companies don't like to pay for you to get certain treatments that might be more effective but also more expensive.

Here's some good info from the American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/...hemotherapy.asp

http://www.cancer.org/downloads/CRI/In_Treatment.pdf

The system here isn't all bad. I'd probably chose to be at MD Anderson than most hospitals in Canada... if I could afford it.

Another example. What happens if you have a premature baby here? It sometimes costs $5000+ per day to keep your baby alive. Let's say your baby is in the hospital for 6 months, that costs close to $1 million. What if your insurance only covers $500,000? In Canada your baby would get care for as long as it was needed at no cost. My sister was premature but born in Canada. My parents calculated that even with insurance, if she was born in the US they would still be in debt 24 years later. They were lucky to live close to one of the best neonatal centers in the world, right up there with TCH, and have free care for my sister.

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Their beefs were not in how easy it was to get things paid for, but how longit took for them to get approved.

Well you're right, its not perfect either. I've known people who had to wait a long time to have an important operation in Canada. In the US they could have probably had the same operation sooner, but it would have put them in debt for 10+ years and they would have had to sell their house. I don't think either system is perfect, but I think something in between the two systems might be nice.

I'm not sure what the rate of fatalities is because of the relative slowness of the Canadian system, but I would guess it is not be as bad as you think. I've never known anybody who has died because of the Canadian system, but I have known people who had to wait.

Coworkers in the UK said family members had to wait one year for a CAT Scan.

That's possible but I'd rather see some data than anecdotal evidence, however that's not the point I was trying to make. My point was that the Canadian system isn't just good for "routine maintenance", its also good for extreme treatments that most people can't afford here.

The US system might very well be better for less expensive diagnostics like CT scans (MD Anderson charges somewhere on the order of $2500 for one, but I'm not sure how it works with insurance). It's great that you can have a test here quickly that can detect cancer, but the treatment is another story.

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I'm not sure what the rate of fatalities is because of the relative slowness of the Canadian system, but I would guess it is not be as bad as you think.

I'm not suggesting that people die because of the Canadian system wait times. However, living with pain for substantially longer than you have to isn't nice, either.

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I'm not suggesting that people die because of the Canadian system wait times. However, living with pain for substantially longer than you have to isn't nice, either.

I totally agree with you there. That's why there has to be a better way. Neither system is perfect, neither will ever be. I do believe it's possible to improve both systems, and I think studying how where other systems work better than our own is the best way to start.

Disclaimer: I may have grown up in Canada but I am an American.

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