A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
To the citizens of theUnited States of Americafrom Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of theUSA, and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice ofthe revocation of your independence, effective immediately.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (exceptNorthDakota, andUtah, which she does not fancy).
Our new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will appoint a Governor forAmerica without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senatewill be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
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1. The letter 'u' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnutwithoutskipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary toacceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
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2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form ofcommunication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjustedto take into account the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of '-ize.'
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3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
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4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapistsshows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suingsomeone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
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5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will berequired if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
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6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, youwill go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understandthe British sense of humour.
7.You will learn to make real chips. Not French fries. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressednot with catsup but with vinegar.
8.Hollywoodwill be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywoodwill also be required to cast English actors to playEnglish characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to havingone's ears removed with a cheese grater.
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9. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, intime, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty secondsor wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
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10. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outsideofAmerica. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, andwe will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
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11. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
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12. An officer from HM Revenue & Customs(i.e. tax collector) will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all moniesdue (backdated to 1776).