They'll put one on? Why wouldn't they?

First: the item must be marked by an assay office (after the maker's mark is applied by the manufacturer). Secondly, since this isn't a traditional gold alloy, traditional methods of assaying the gold may not work, thirdly, traditional methods of applying the hallmark may not work.

That right! Earl Tomblin (D).

Just goes to show that personal enrichment is higher on the average policician's priorities than ideology for all parties.

Just create two other "car companies" that sell re-branded Tesla cars and have the three of them open up a permanent auto trade show in which they would be allowed to sell directly.

Why bother creating other companies? Just create a trade show for electric-only cars. If Nissan and Fiat (is there anyone else selling 100% electric cars?) don't show up, it's still a trade show. Tesla doesn't compete with the Nissan or Fiat electric cars, yet.

Are they going to have sweeping powers to break https so they can check the legality of all your web pages and downloads? Outlaw encryption?

That's what they want. Have you been living under a rock?

Actually, to run for president it's not enough just to be a citizen, you have to be born in the US

Not true. You have to be a "natural-born citizen", but no-one really knows what that means. Ted Cruz was born in Canada and there hasn't been much questioning of his status as a natural-born citizen. McCain was born in (or near) the Panama Canal Zone and the Senate agreed that he was eligible to be President.

Sorry Ahnold, no naturalized citizens in the White House!

You got that part right.

Whining about an absurdly uncommon occurrence, while ignoring the people who are being robbed every day,

There is plenty of evidence that it isn't "an absurdly uncommon occurrence" , but instead in some parts of the country it is routine. And, actually, he his "whining" about the same people, because many of those civil forfeitures are state-sanctioned (often highway) robbery.

I suppose one way to explain it would be that it might cause some minor political embarrassment if it were revealed the head of state / elected leader didn't have a passport, and therefore, technically speaking, was actually breaking the law when traveling abroad.

British heads of state (currently Queen Elizabeth II) don't have passports. A British passport is a document in which the Queen requests that foreign counties allow the holder to pass. The Queen can ask in person and so has no need for a passport.

McCain was born in the Canal Zone

Got a cite for that? There are people claiming that he was born in a hospital outside the canal zone.

He was born in Canada. But, his mother was a US citizen and only there due to her husband's work, and I think as a result he does qualify as native born

Obama was born in Hawaii, but even if he had not been born on US soil, he still had one parent who was a US citizen. So, all those people who were questioning the legitimacy of Obama as President, where are they now, since Obama has a stronger claim to be a natural born citizen than Cruz has.

You don't have Class Actions in the UK? How telling...

It's not so simple. The following is an amateur explanation of how things work. Perhaps someone can explain it better?

The UK has loser pays on legal fees. Once one person wins a lawsuit on a common basis, others can expect to win also. If the company lost those cases in court (as would now be very likely), the company would be liable for both sides' legal bills in lots of individual cases. So, after losing one representative case in what would be class action in the USA, a defendant has a very strong incentive to settle the others. People who would be in a class in the USA can band together to fund the initial representative case.

If I were a betting man I would think Ted Cruz will be our next president.

I think that Ted Cruz is only the stalking horse. It's easy for him now while he is appealing to his base, but if he wins the primary, he will be easy to portray as a right-wing nut.

Are they really stupid, or smart people playing stupid?

Perhaps it doesn't matter. All that matters is how they act and if they act stupid ...

Why would you expect two languages separated by an ocean, as well as several centuries (mostly ones where long-distance communication was extremely limited), to still remain similar?

Because, unlike English, the French language is not defined by use, it is defined by the French Academy.

If your proposal were implemented, the best possible outcome for the company is that they simply discontinue providing coverage maps for the country, and require you to call in

It's not so simple. Large ISPs are always touting how much coverage they provide and how many options people have for broadband Internet service at their houses. Without the maps, they won't be able to make these claims and their political ability to suppress competitors (especially competition from city-owned infrastructure) will be at risk.