British Counties?

[ST GERARD]

Yes Iam proud to be from Lancashire it is the palatine county at the end of the day And the Queen is our Duke

[Horsefish]

Somerset=best county. Fact.

[Nazi Flower Power]

Very true, it wasn't very accurate, sorry for that.

American states can ignore Federal Law and the Constitution if they wanted to. The Constitution states we can not cede from the Union. However Texas is actually not a state of the United States and the Southern States proved that theory wrong in the 1860s. The States hold more power then the world gives them credit for.

For the Health Care Bill was rejected by several states in the Union and they did not get in trouble because the people of those states voted against the bill being enacted in their states. Does this make them traitors? No. Like many world organizations the states opted out of the bill even though Democratic Majority in Congress voted it in.

Texas is a state exactly like all the others. The attempt to secede in the 1860s was stopped by force. The States have power within their boundaries, yes, but are still subject to Washington. And the only thing the States are trying to ignore in the PPACA is the individual mandate. The Supreme Court will decide whether they can or not.

The U.K.'s equivalent of our states would still be England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland -- not the counties.

[The Matthew Islands]

Yes Iam proud to be from Lancashire it is the palatine county at the end of the day And the Queen is our Duke

Lul Lancashite. Yorkshire is so much better.

[Mesoland]

Somerset=best county. Fact.

No, think again. Devon, my lover.

[Coccygia]

Proud Yellow-Belly!

Can't resist:
"Yellow, Yellowbelly,
Where you gonna run to now?"
-from the SCTV sketch, "Yellowbelly"

Why on Earth do they call people from Lincolnshire (and Copthorne in West Sussex*) Yellowbellies? Did they do that badly in the (English) Civil War or something? (PS I am a USian and I know England has counties. BTW why is Hampshire abbreviated as Hants?)


*I looked this up in Wikipedia.

[Yootwopia]

How many Brits acknowledge their counties as their homes, or just write them off as ceremonial crap?

Only complete plebs go on about their precious counties, not gonna lie.

"I'M FROM YURKSHUR, I NEVER MOVED AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL (other than to LEEDS!, WHICH IS NOT BRADFORD!), BOO LANCASHIRE ETC."
"I really do love my fair Kent etc., it has many err churches and things, also a relatively expensive commute to London"
"Devon's OK."

Eugh.

[Yootwopia]

Why on Earth do they call people from Lincolnshire (and Copthorne in West Sussex*) Yellowbellies

Nobody does, except people who are from Lincolnshire and want to carve an identity out of their scrap of England whose only useful product is mashed up snouts and arseholes with a tasty blend of herbs.

[New Octopucta]

Really? I always assumed that the various countries that made up the UK were akin to more autonomous states. That's interesting though.

The counties are different to the countries.
And Kent!

I suppose that was less clear than I intended. I mean that I assumed that the countries that make up the UK were equivalent to states, and that the counties were similar to US counties

[Mesoland]

Why on Earth do they call people from Lincolnshire (and Copthorne in West Sussex*) Yellowbellies

Nobody does, except people who are from Lincolnshire and want to carve an identity out of their scrap of England whose only useful product is mashed up snouts and arseholes with a tasty blend of herbs.

Mmm, mashed snouts and arseholes.... *drools*

[Mesoland]

The counties are different to the countries.
And Kent!

I suppose that was less clear than I intended. I mean that I assumed that the countries that make up the UK were equivalent to states, and that the counties were similar to US counties

Correct. Except Scotland is angling to leave the UK, now that the SNP are in charge of the assembly.

[Yootwopia]

the counties were similar to US counties

They basically are. We have three states, basically, England and Wales (Wales not really being a real country), Scotland, and Northern Ireland. There are counties with basically no power, and "Unitary Authorities" or "Stategic Land Boroughs" or "Mid-Sized Territory Units" etc. for when governments want to look like they're decentralising power (in short they get about a tenner to spend on an 'Enterprise zone' or some bollocks, it's hailed as a success and then ignored or scrapped quietly soon after).

[Fnordgasm 5]

Proud Yellow-Belly!

Woot.

[New Octopucta]

I suppose that was less clear than I intended. I mean that I assumed that the countries that make up the UK were equivalent to states, and that the counties were similar to US counties

Correct. Except Scotland is angling to leave the UK, now that the SNP are in charge of the assembly.

They can do that? Didn't the IRA have to fight a war to get a chunk of Ireland to split off?

[Mesoland]

the counties were similar to US counties

They basically are. We have three states, basically, England and Wales (Wales not really being a real country), Scotland, and Northern Ireland. There are counties with basically no power, and "Unitary Authorities" or "Stategic Land Boroughs" or "Mid-Sized Territory Units" etc. for when governments want to look like they're decentralising power (in short they get about a tenner to spend on an 'Enterprise zone' or some bollocks, it's hailed as a success and then ignored or scrapped quietly soon after).

I make that 4 states

[Yootwopia]

Scotland is angling to leave the UK, now that the SNP are in charge of the assembly.

I think the SNP's victory has more to do with their very solid administration and lack of ties to Westminster than a genuine will for independence in Scotland at the moment.

[Strathy]

Glaswegian through and through!

[Tekcirb]

I'm in annoyingly conservative Hertfordshire

[Yootwopia]

They basically are. We have three states, basically, England and Wales (Wales not really being a real country), Scotland, and Northern Ireland. There are counties with basically no power, and "Unitary Authorities" or "Stategic Land Boroughs" or "Mid-Sized Territory Units" etc. for when governments want to look like they're decentralising power (in short they get about a tenner to spend on an 'Enterprise zone' or some bollocks, it's hailed as a success and then ignored or scrapped quietly soon after).

I make that 4 states

No, Wales is not a 'state'. It's basically a very big county that likes to pretend it's important (we gave them an assembly but only to teach them about responsibility, shhh).

[Mesoland]

Correct. Except Scotland is angling to leave the UK, now that the SNP are in charge of the assembly.

They can do that? Didn't the IRA have to fight a war to get a chunk of Ireland to split off?

Yep, one of the SNP's goals is apparently to dump the UK and become independent. I don't see it myself, but if it's what they want.
And don't ask me about the IRA. I have no idea why Ireland split up.

[New Octopucta]

the counties were similar to US counties

They basically are. We have three states, basically, England and Wales (Wales not really being a real country), Scotland, and Northern Ireland. There are counties with basically no power, and "Unitary Authorities" or "Stategic Land Boroughs" or "Mid-Sized Territory Units" etc. for when governments want to look like they're decentralising power (in short they get about a tenner to spend on an 'Enterprise zone' or some bollocks, it's hailed as a success and then ignored or scrapped quietly soon after).

I would love to see the US try to get that decentralized, if only to see what ridiculous names they come up with for the new areas.

[Georgizm]

Yes Iam proud to be from Lancashire it is the palatine county at the end of the day And the Queen is our Duke

Lul Lancashite. Yorkshire is so much better.

Wasn't this settled in 1485?

[Shinjitai]

why does london have boroughs, but washington and other capitals don't? (do they?)

[Mesoland]

I make that 4 states

No, Wales is not a 'state'. It's basically a very big county that likes to pretend it's important (we gave them an assembly but only to teach them about responsibility, shhh).

Meh, I guess. On the news, when new reforms are brought in, it's all- "Scotland expect to reform next week, Northern Ireland can't be bothered until December and England and Wales are both doin it nao!"

[New Octopucta]

They can do that? Didn't the IRA have to fight a war to get a chunk of Ireland to split off?

Yep, one of the SNP's goals is apparently to dump the UK and become independent. I don't see it myself, but if it's what they want.
And don't ask me about the IRA. I have no idea why Ireland split up.

How prepared are they to be independent?