I know this'll turn into a flame war. But..

[Mandos]

Reading that left me with an overwhelming feeling to live in Finland.

[mrfridays]

[b]
MYTH 5: The US government loves to help other countries.

TRUTH:
This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

For you self-congratulatory, redneck-inspired conservative fuckwads who will start to say, "B-b-b-but you're anti-American! M-m-m-moonbat! G-g-g-god bless the USA!" I answer, "Go fuck yourself. We can do better." Stop blindly believing everything your president tells you. Come back to us only when you start realizing that the $400 billion your president has allocated to his Roman Empire-style military overstretch could be better spent on correcting the sociopolitical and economic problems in the arenas that I've listed above.

To prove how fucking stupid this statement is, lets look at how much the US gives to foreign aid in comparison to the rest of the World. To derive these figures I used your percentages mixed with the 2003 GDP figures of the respective countries (Data source: 2003 CIA World Factbook). Let's take a look, shall we?

Country	         GDP		       % of GDP given   Foreign Aid Total
USA	       10,400,000,000,000		   0.10%		  10,400,000,000
Denmark	      155,500,000,000		   1.01%		   1,570,550,000
Norway	       143,000,000,000		   0.91%		   1,301,300,000
Netherlands	  434,000,000,000		   0.79%		   3,428,600,000

If you give me your address I'll send you a brand new shoehorn so you can attempt to dislodge your head from your ass.

[Krylanna]

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%.

I didn't believe that. I didn't think we'd given shit to anybody in a long time. We've spent a lot of money redeveloping all the stuff we blew up in Iraq, but I'd hardly have counted them as a poor, developing, or third-world country before the war. Backwards, but not in need of aid.

All in all, that is an extremely biased article. I agree somewhat with it, but that's kind of like sometimes Michael Moore manages to make a valid point amidst all the propaganda spilling forth from his fat lips. We should be more concerned and we should strive to be better, not just assume that America is great and always will be. If we become complacent, we will cease to be great and we will have even more freedoms taken from us than we have already lost to the current administration. Never be satisfied with what you have.

[Kiro]

[b]
MYTH 5: The US government loves to help other countries.

TRUTH:
This is a myth. The US government tends to be motivated by interests, not humanitarian principles.

Denmark gives the most amount of its GDP (1.01%) to developing countries; Norway gives 0.91%; the Netherlands give 0.79% and so on until the end of list, where the USA sits. Yes, America ranks DEAD LAST in foreign aid at a pathetic 0.1% of its GDP, compared to the other 21 nations listed as developed nations. The idea that the US government is a heroic bunch that runs around the world helping the poor and the disempowered is not backed up by the evidence. We have one of the stingiest governments on earth.

Most Americans believe the US spends 24% of its budget on aid to poor countries; the actual amount is well under a quarter of 1%. Our country also ranks #5 on asylum-seeker acceptance rates (#1 is Denmark and #2 is Canada).

For you self-congratulatory, redneck-inspired conservative fuckwads who will start to say, "B-b-b-but you're anti-American! M-m-m-moonbat! G-g-g-god bless the USA!" I answer, "Go fuck yourself. We can do better." Stop blindly believing everything your president tells you. Come back to us only when you start realizing that the $400 billion your president has allocated to his Roman Empire-style military overstretch could be better spent on correcting the sociopolitical and economic problems in the arenas that I've listed above.

To prove how fucking stupid this statement is, lets look at how much the US gives to foreign aid in comparison to the rest of the World. To derive these figures I used your percentages mixed with the 2003 GDP figures of the respective countries (Data source: 2003 CIA World Factbook). Let's take a look, shall we?

Country	         GDP		       % of GDP given   Foreign Aid Total
USA	       10,400,000,000,000		   0.10%		  10,400,000,000
Denmark	      155,500,000,000		   1.01%		   1,570,550,000
Norway	       143,000,000,000		   0.91%		   1,301,300,000
Netherlands	  434,000,000,000		   0.79%		   3,428,600,000

If you give me your address I'll send you a brand new shoehorn so you can attempt to dislodge your head from your ass.

Oookay, you're acting like I wrote this. Note how I said "Found on craigslist <gheyface>" at the top.

[MisterBob]

It's presented in a bias fashion yes, but a lot of it is quite true.

America indeed was not founded on Christianity.

Liberals are not Anti-American (however I believe Conservatives are also not Anti-American). America was founded on the rights to speak your opinion and try to change things you think are wrong. Both Democrats and Republicans do that. And yes, some Republicans are trying to silence our rights, but Democrats can (and have done in the past) the same thing.

America really isn't on top in many respects, HOWEVER part of that is due to our population. Of course some smaller countries have better literacy rates and such, it's easier to educate less people.

A large % of soldiers in Iraq really do believe they are after revenge for 9/11. (However, I greatly question that 85% figure). IMO any soldier that is in Iraq that believes this should be removed immediately, because dipshits like that cause more problems than they solve.

[Cleveland]

MYTH 6: Even though I hate America, its policies, its people, and its leaders, I am forced to live here against my will.

Truth: Wrong.

You have the right to get the fuck out anytime you like. In fact, go be one of th elite 18%, get a passport, and exit the US. But lets take it one step further. Be original....don't come back. I am sure the uber-countries of Finland and Denmark would love to have you as citizen.

[Shaede]

MYTH 6: Even though I hate America, its policies, its people, and its leaders, I am forced to live here against my will.

Truth: Wrong.

You have the right to get the fuck out anytime you like. In fact, go be one of th elite 18%, get a passport, and exit the US. But lets take it one step further. Be original....don't come back. I am sure the uber-countries of Finland and Denmark would love to have you as citizen.

It really irks me when people say, "Don't like America? Then leave."

Try this instead, "Don't like America? Then change it."

[mrfridays]

Oookay, you're acting like I wrote this. Note how I said "Found on craigslist <gheyface>" at the top.

I meant "you" in the sense of the author of the article, not you personally. I should have written it more clearly, but I was in a rush at work. Sorry about that.