Yes... I am watching Oprah.

[demmiblue]

I usually don't, but it caught my eye.

She is discussing what makes the Danish people a happy people. They have the highest tax rate, however, they get free health care, low-cost preschool/Kindergarten, free college (in fact students are paid a small sum to attend), 90% pay for up to 4 years if you lose your job, up to one year paid maternity leave, etc. Very enlightening.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. No Faux news and no LimbaughHannityBeck is probably a start!

[Warpy]

2. I think people who are well cared for are always happiest

In this country, only the richest are ever that well cared for.

[joeybee12]

3. Why does Oprah hate America? n/t

[TheCoxwain]

21. she is a pinko, commie, nazi - scholiast

[joeybee12]

23. Amazing that constitutional is spelled correctly...

...even if the nitwit probably doesn't know what it means.

[TheCoxwain]

26. "Constitutional" is a very big word ... so they probably used a dictionary...

On the other hand - they were a little too confident with spelling socialist.

" I know aaaaaawl 'bout them - scholiasts" ... "Heeeull ! I can even spell the dayum thing"

[demmiblue]

4. They do not consider themselves "socialized," they consider themselves civilized.

[tridim]

5. Unfortunately I saw this sickening article this morning..

Police seal off neighbourhood in drugs hunt
Tuesday 20 October 2009

Police sealed off an area of some 140 houses in the Limburg town of Hoensbroek near Heerlen on Tuesday in a major hunt for marijuana plantations.

By mid-afternoon, 13 people had been arrested and 13 plantations had been found, Nos tv reported. The action involved over 200 police officers, including 75 riot police. Dogs and a helicopter were also involved in the search.

Police moved in at 7.45am, placing the Kastelenbuurt neighbourhood under emergency rule and only allowing people to leave their homes if they had to go to work or take children to school.

At least 35 homes were searched.

News agency Novum said the search had been prompted by a 'bizarre' surge in electricity usage in the neighbourhood since the summer - usually connected to wide-scale indoor marijuana growing.

The national crime hotline had also received several tip-offs about illegal activity in the area, Novum said.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/10/police_seal_off_neighbourhood.php

How very un-Dutch.

[mrsadm]

13. The Danes are not the Dutch

The Danes live in Denmark; the Dutch live in the Netherlands.

[tridim]

15. Damn, I always make that mistake.

The article is still disgusting though.

[TeeYiYi]

16. Denmark and Holland. Apples and Oranges...

TYY :shrug:

[DJ13]

6. what makes the Danish people a happy people

My guess is that they're happy because they dont get Oprah on their TV's.

:yoiks:

[Mari333]

7. and they dont start HUGE UNWINNABLE ILLEGAL WARS

which makes all the difference.

[demmiblue]

8. Can't argue with that!

[demmiblue]

11. On to Dubai!

Ummm...

The dark side of Dubai:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html

[CurtEastPoint]

9. I visited Denmark last month and I can attest...

They seem to be happy, fun-loving, hard-working, EDUCATED, English-speaking people. They were most accommodating and I felt at home. Terrific little country.

[rucky]

10. Schnapps!

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Darn Danish Socialists!

[Aviation Pro]

14. As George Clooney said in Ocean's 13.....

...*sniff* "I just bit into a pepper."

However, Rusty (Brad Pitt) wasn't buying any of it.

[leanderj]

17. My best friend is a Dane

who married an English girl. She has applied for Danish citizenship for the above listed reasons. Denmark is indeed a great place to live and visit. Norway too.

[demmiblue]

18. One of the things lacking, however...

is the lack of diversity.

[demmiblue]

20. Forgot to say... Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[leanderj]

22. Thanks!

:)

[Rebubula]

19. Just as a logical side note...

..it is silly to compare the quality of life in the US to that of Denmark.

5 Million people vs 300 million
41,000 sq KM vs almost 10million sq KM
Pretty homogeneous society (90% Dutch) vs hundreds of cultures


It is not nearly as hard to deliver high qualities of life when only dealing with an area the size of Georgia.

We, The US, can certainly do better at providing for our people (need to lessen military and foreign and assistance budget) but if we continue to compare us to Denmark is not helpful.

[Libertas1776]

24. I tend to agree with your sentiment

In fact, I would expect a country the size and population of Denmark, or Norway, or Finland etc. to have a very high quality of life. If you have a population of about 5 Million (the pop of some major cities in the US) and your people are not living like veritable kings, then you really have a crappy government. Not too mention, like you said, that they are a very cohesive, homogeneous, mostly ethnic Danish society (Which I don't think is a good thing IMO) That is why these countries are currently struggling to handle great influxes of immigrants, mostly Muslims from the Middle East and Africa, something they're not used to.

And I agree, that the US can still do a shit load better. Our pop size and land mass doesn't take the government completely off the hook. Although, I myself wonder if we really want to prevent ourselves from becoming a true third world nation in the future as our population increases, if the US should "reorganize." Some would say let the whole damn Union dissolve, but I tend to think that forming more autonomous regions (Northeast, Cascadia, the South etc) possibly bound together by a loose confederation could be a solution.

[Sebass1271]

27. I actually agree with your point.

Denmark is a very small country to compare to our way of life. Also, oprah was showing the day to day life of a professional woman in Dubai. Dubai praises itself of providing for its people where no one, not the most multi-millionaire family pay for electricity. If no ones pay for electricity and ppl do not pay taxes in Dubai where the hell the government gets the funds to cover all those expenses that are not charged to the citizens. Obviously, OIL. Bought from us, the american people.

We americans need to become inventive, innovators, and produce something., become good at it and sell it around the world so our government can actually provide its citinzens with meaningful basic needs.

[valerief]

25. There is nothing like a Dane! Nothing in the world!

There is nothing to complain (about)
When you are born a Dane!

Nothing,
Nothing,
Nothing...

Courtesy of Rodgers and Hammerstein.