Miss USA

[Brian MacKenzie]

They don't have to be pretty AND smart I guess ?!?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

[MuniAddict]

I've seen that a couple times now and the first viewing was so painful I couldn't watch all of it! Here's a funny video "response" to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzDS3i4vv6w&watch_response
"Such as Maps!" Gold haha!

(YES, I checked it to make sure it's the right one haha!!! :) )

[kerosian]

(YES, I checked it to make sure it's the right one haha!!! :) )

hahaha good one :D

[Rubix]

They don't have to be pretty AND smart I guess ?!?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

Sadly, i just became a citizen of this state. Be ware if you come down here to visit, and you have out of state tags, specially from the north, people tend to cut you off in traffic more times than not.

[habbywall]

Did that make sense to anyone?

EDIT:
She was later on the today show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIaxf5HFnCo
It makes me said to admit that I want to do the same thing as her after high school.

[harper]

Hey, she was cute. Did she say something?

[spyder]

Ya, but look where she gets it from.

Her parents (http://www.break.com/index/proud-parents-of-miss-south-carolina.html)

[monkeyman]

What a freakin' moron.

[johnfoss]

That's why I'll never enter a beauty pageant (aside from being aesthetically unqualified). Misunderstand *one* question, then get flustered and totally blow the answer anyway, and everyone thinks you're an airhead.

When you only *might* be an airhead.

In other words: Yeah, she messed up really bad. Yeah, she didn't seem to grasp the question in the first place and yeah, it's kind of a tough question for one of those interviews, because it's impossible to come up with a very positive answer. Americans are pathetic when it comes to geography.

Do people in other countries brag about not being able to read a map, or wave you off when you try to give absolute directions (telling people to turn West instead of Left, without giving a point of reference for "Left" to be meaningful). No. Instead they tell you to turn left and then get confused/annoyed when you ask which direction you're coming from...

[wickedbob]

I saw this on tv and almost died! How could anybody be such a retard.

[MuniAddict]

Ya, but look where she gets it from.

Her parents (http://www.break.com/index/proud-parents-of-miss-south-carolina.html)Haha that was good!:p

[JJuggle]

Where's your other wheel?

[JJtheunicycle]

Ahhhh, that was great :D

[leo]

Do people in other countries brag about not being able to read a map, or wave you off when you try to give absolute directions (telling people to turn West instead of Left, without giving a point of reference for "Left" to be meaningful). No. Instead they tell you to turn left and then get confused/annoyed when you ask which direction you're coming from...
Is blind use of GPS navigation like TomTom or NavMan equal to being blond in a beauty-competition?
I think those kind of devices make people stupid. Just like calculators did.
And I bet Harper has someting to say about iPods.

[GILD]

And I bet Harper has someting to say about iPods.
Tell me if you can still get good odds for that bet.
I'll lay some money down.

[harper]

Is blind use of GPS navigation like TomTom or NavMan equal to being blond in a beauty-competition?
I think those kind of devices make people stupid. Just like calculators did.
And I bet Harper has someting to say about iPods.

Preach it, brother.

[leo]

Preach it, brother.
Since when did you turn into iPods?
Did the podfather got grip on you?

What's next? Harper posting a poll "what generation iPod do you have?"?
Or did he already do so?

[harper]

Is blind use of GPS navigation like TomTom or NavMan equal to being blond in a beauty-competition? I think those kind of devices make people stupid. Just like calculators did.


Or, just like iPods do.
There. Fixed it.
Preach it, brother.

[BillyTheMountain]

Or, just like iPods do.
There. Fixed it.
Preach it, brother.

Or, just llike SpellCheck does.
There. Fixed it.
Preach it, brother.

[UniBrier]

Miss USAAhem, That's Miss Teen USA. The Miss (non-teen) USA pageant is much better.

[The UniSLAB]

Hahah oh my god! Her parents must have been on crack! I take that back...her mom was one x, the dad was on pcp.


Ya, but look where she gets it from.

Her parents (http://www.break.com/index/proud-parents-of-miss-south-carolina.html)

[john_childs]

Is blind use of GPS navigation like TomTom or NavMan equal to being blond in a beauty-competition?
I think those kind of devices make people stupid. Just like calculators did.

It is funny when you read news stories about people getting stuck on completely unsuitable roads or even taking a turn that doesn't exist because they trust their in-car navigation systems too much.

The sign said: Don't trust satellite navigation (http://news.com.com/The+sign+said+Dont+trust+satellite+navigation/2100-1041_3-6204920.html?tag=nefd.top)
Britain's first official road signs to warn drivers about the dangers of trusting their satellite navigation devices were introduced on Tuesday in a Welsh village.

The signs, introduced by authorities in rural St Hilary, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, to warn drivers about placing too much faith in the directional gadgets, could be brought in across the country if the trial is successful.

Course, if you can't read maps to begin with or even follow directions then you might be immune to this problem. Miss Teen USA South Carolina might get the last laugh.

[jagur]

Miss Teen USA South Carolina might get the last laugh.and the rest of us U.S.Americans too.

[Racenut]

All your maps are belong to us!

[monkeyman]

Hahah oh my god! Her parents must have been on crack! I take that back...her mom was one x, the dad was on pcp.
....please tell me you're kidding. Please.

[Jerrick]

All your maps are belong to us!

Hahaha, yes!

[henkka]

What? Did I understood question correctly? Fifth of americans can't locate U.S. on a world map. Are they blind or what? :p

[JJuggle]

Why the hell would we want to be able to locate the U.S. on a map? We're already freakin' here. It's not like we need to find it.

In fact, it provides us with plausible deniability when one of you ferners asks us how to get here. We really don't know.

[johnfoss]

What? Did I understood question correctly? Fifth of americans can't locate U.S. on a world map. Are they blind or what? :pI'd start off by questioning the statistic, though I don't disbelieve it. Is it true? Under what conditions? Probably a satellite-type image of the world, with no borders marked.

Yup, we Americans are that bad at knowing where stuff is on a map. Same goes for the individual states. People in New York know where New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida are. Tell them you're from a state that starts with M, other than Maine, and they'll mix it up with the others.
"You're from Montana, right?"
"No, Michigan."
"*Not* whatever. Do you even know the difference?"
Usually not, nor do they care.

Same applies for Minnesota and Missouri, so don't feel left out.

[johnfoss]

Oops, double post due to server freeze...

[Mikefule]

It is strange that any significant percentage of Americans can't find America on the map. America is big enough, and the American people are famously/notoriously patriotic.

Being unable to find particular American cities or states on the map woud be more understandable.

However, in the UK, 20% of adults are functionally illiterate. We are about the 4th richest nation in the world, and we've had compulsory education for a very long time, so that's appalling.

The girl in the video: it's not so much that she can't answer the question, as the fact that she doesn't display any intelligence or normal human interraction. She speaks like a faulty robot. (This based on my extensive knowledge of faulty robots, of course.)

Our former deputy prime minister was about as inarticulate. I can think of one major western power with a head of state who displays similar difficulty with spoken communication.

All stereotypes come from somewhere. The bimbo in the film clip is a fine supporting example for a certain unfavourable stereotype of white America.

[Borges]

She demonstrates the ability to keep her composure even during a mental blackout and to keep talking even though she has absolutely nothing to say.

Add some knowledge or, failing that, a teleprompter, and she'd be a good TV-journalist.

[brendan]

and americans wonder why europeans laughs at them....

[MuniAddict]

I guess not everyone can be as articulate and intelligent as Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens, for example. Logic & common sense has found its champions!:D

[harper]

and americans wonder why europeans laughs at them....

Americans don't care if or why Europeans laugh at them. But it's OK that the Eurocentrists think that. They'll believe just about anything.

[brendan]

Americans don't care if or why Europeans laugh at them. But it's OK that the Eurocentrists think that. They'll believe just about anything.

just makes me laugh americans (or at least more than 50% of them (or kindof)) voted for a guy who didnt have a passport before getting into office

and americans dont care, but they do when they are on holiday. They get all upset.

[harper]

just makes me laugh americans (or at least more than 50% of them (or kindof)) voted for a guy who didnt have a passport before getting into office

and americans dont care, but they do when they are on holiday. They get all upset.

And so we have come full circle. Here is a post that reads very much like a youTube video I saw a few days ago.

[jamessd]

So, has anyone seen the Americans are NOT stupid video?! don't give me a bumrap about it, but it is funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

[john_childs]

just makes me laugh americans (or at least more than 50% of them (or kindof)) voted for a guy who didnt have a passport before getting into office

and americans dont care, but they do when they are on holiday. They get all upset.
Why should we care? Why is it even an issue that many Americans don't have passports? The only reason we'd need a passport is to travel to Europe. A trip to Europe is an expensive vacation.

We're able to travel to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, the continental US, and other places all without a passport. That's changing now and we're going to need a passport to travel outside the US soon so everyone is getting passports now.

Let's turn the question around. How many elected officials in Europe have traveled to the US before they were elected? If it's OK for elected officials in Europe to not have traveled to the US why is it not OK for US elected officials not to have traveled to Europe?

[Mikefule]

Your post implies that the world consists only of the US and Europe.

Our current prime minister was a regular visitor to the US before he came into politics. Our present leader of the opposition has recently returned from a high profile trip to Africa.

You don't even have to be a politician or a future politician to travel widely. As an ordinary working bloke, I have been to the USA several times, several different countries in Europe, to eastern Europe (behind the old iron curtain), Africa, the middle east and Asia. My brother who has a low paid job is on holiday in Thailand for three weeks as we speak. In fact, almost everyone who can afford to travel widely seems to do so.

[GILD]

I love the way she starts the answer by repeating and rephrasing the question.
You can just hear her coach's words running thru her head as she does that, furiously waiting for the thought to come.
If she was in radio she would've done a station ID, a time-check, a presenter ID, a throw-forward and a brief mention of next week's blood drive.

[brendan]

Why should we care? Why is it even an issue that many Americans don't have passports? The only reason we'd need a passport is to travel to Europe. A trip to Europe is an expensive vacation.

We're able to travel to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska, the continental US, and other places all without a passport. That's changing now and we're going to need a passport to travel outside the US soon so everyone is getting passports now.

Let's turn the question around. How many elected officials in Europe have traveled to the US before they were elected? If it's OK for elected officials in Europe to not have traveled to the US why is it not OK for US elected officials not to have traveled to Europe?

don't you think its an issue that the president of the most powerfull country in the world hasn't even been outside of his continent before being elected?

And i think that most EU presidents/PM's have been to the US at least once, or to a non european country.

And i agree with Mikefule, most people i know if they have even if they dont have much money have travelled. Sorry if i implied only us and europe, i didnt mean that.

[spyder]

Buy the t-shirt here! (http://www.bustedtees.com/shirt/misssouthcarolina/male)

[thejdw]

Its like she can't even talk in a stright line!

[señor coolguy]

don't you think its an issue that the president of the most powerfull country in the world hasn't even been outside of his continent before being elected?

well, it might give him a bit of a bad time in foreign policy, but nothing that would majorly affect the presidency, war, or anything of that sort, right?

[johnfoss]

don't you think its an issue that the president of the most powerfull country in the world hasn't even been outside of his continent before being elected? No fair; we already know he's an issue...

[john_childs]

don't you think its an issue that the president of the most powerfull country in the world hasn't even been outside of his continent before being elected?

And i think that most EU presidents/PM's have been to the US at least once, or to a non european country.

And i agree with Mikefule, most people i know if they have even if they dont have much money have travelled. Sorry if i implied only us and europe, i didnt mean that.
No it's not an issue.

Seems to be a bit of a double standard. If you're from the U.S. you have to travel to Europe or you're ignorant. The reverse is not considered to be true. What percentage of people from Europe have traveled to the U.S. or North America for a vacation (not a business trip)? What percentage of the politicians in Europe have traveled to the U.S. for vacation (not business) before being elected?

People in the U.S. do travel. We just travel a lot within the U.S. or go to Canada if we live near the Northern border or go to Mexico if we live near the Southern border. There is a whole lot of traveling you can do within North America where you (currently for a very short while) haven't needed a passport.

For the people living on the West coast of the U.S. a trip to Europe is a big deal. Airfare eats a big part of the cost of a trip to get to Europe and it's a long flight.

[Mikefule]

No it's not an issue.

Seems to be a bit of a double standard. If you're from the U.S. you have to travel to Europe or you're ignorant.

Simply not true. One of my most junior workmates, aged 21, has been to America twice in a year, just for long weekend trips. He is not unusual. My older step daughter went to Canada on a school trip when she was about 16. My younger stepdaughter had a week in America with her mum when she was about the same age. I've been to the USA four times. An English friend of mine who lives in England has a steady girlfriend who lives in Brazil. My brother is currently courting a girl who lives in Thailand. One of my grandmothers went on holiday alone to China. Over here, it is considered perfectly normal to travel widely, both within Europe and far beyond Europe. We regard America as just one more place to go.

[brendan]

loads of europeans have been to america. My dads first holiday on his own was to america when he was 17. Going to visit north america is probably considered one of the things "to do" and which opens you up to the world. I'm not saying everyone has done it, it is expensive, but i'm pretty sure most politicians will have.

Also bussiness trips do count in my opinion, and saying that bush hadnt been on any bussiness trips either.

johnfoss your post made me laugh