Joyner is an ass. He isn't worthy of a proper retort.

I'll just say that the left has inconsistent definitions of both "Rich Jerks" and "Fair Share" which generally equates "Rich Jerks" to everyone else and "Fair Share" to "Gimmie more of your money, I want it!"

A hilarious farce.

Happy 4th of July United States of America!!!

Don't let the "revolutionary leftist" fireworks ruin your day. :)

Boston Tea Party is on, English cakes and crumpets anyone? Tax this George III.

Oh, and BTW let the US 3rd Infantry Honour Guard sharpen up their bayonets while on duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; we would want any drunken pissants to sully the day. Step lively gentlemen and show them the sharp end.

I know this is picky, but I can't help commenting. Only the British navy is allowed to call itself the 'Royal' Navy, because it remained loyal to Charles I in the English Civil War. The army did not, and is therefore not the 'Royal' Army.

The US is a great power, and in the 20th C a vastly beneficial power. That century was probably the bloodiest and most diabolical in history, and would have been far worse without the US's arms and example.

That said, from a Canadian perspective it was formed in rebellion illegal in every regard, We never had any particular difficuly with Britain, or with George III; the casus belli for the Revolution are farcical. When the Revolutionary gov't attempted to occupy Quebec they were soon sent packing.

So let me say, God save the United States of America! Long may she prosper, and serve as a beacon of liberty to the world! But Americans would do well to keep their foundation myths to themselves.

Agreed, John. And funny that the satiric fisking actually sounds alot like pre-Trudeau, pre-multicult Canadian histories of the American Revolution.

"Foundation myths"? ... Like "Canadian values"?

The US Decleration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, along with the English Magna Carta, are the most important political documents in the history of man.

Happy Independence Day, America.

As it is pointed out at the end of that blog entry, I can olny imagine that a socialist reading of that declaration would be far worse...

"what's with the "all MEN"? shouldn't it say "womyn"?"

"life, liberty...? what about state-run daycare?!"

"Revolution?! But where will we get peacekeepers?"

..etc

vitruvius. I fully agree. The US Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta. Those are the prime documents in the history of man.

Happy Independence Day, USA, and God Bless America.

"Only the British navy is allowed to call itself the 'Royal' Navy, because it remained loyal to Charles I in the English Civil War. The army did not, and is therefore not the 'Royal' Army."

This is also because the Royal Navy has been one institution from the start, whereas the British Army came together somewhat organically as a collection of individual regiments generally raised by their own colonels rather than by the Crown. Thus, some British and Commonwealth regiments have the appelation "Royal" in their names, but most do not.

My great-grandmother was American and some of my best friends are: So, I add my voice to ET's and Vitruvius' in wishing family members, dear friends, and the best neigbours Canada could ever have:

Happy Independence Day, USA, and God Bless America!!

itlog95 and Dave J you are forgetting the Royal Air Force along with other Air Forces around the world that have Royal in their names. RCAF RAAF RNZA

Happy Birthday USA!!
To my friends across the states and cousin in Montana,have a safe and fun day...

Now,how about demanding your government give us back the ENTIRE 5 Billion(and counting)they STOLE from us with their illegal softwood tariffs?

I will also add my voice. The US Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Magna Carta. Those are the prime documents of freedom in the history of man.

Happy Independence Day, USA, and God Bless America!!!!!!!!!!!

Canadian observer, those tariffs weren't illegal. They weren't stolen. But, our low stumpage fees amounted, effectively, to the Canadian gov't subsidizing our forestry. That was the reason for the tariffs. And, it was a good reason.

For example, the big BC forestry companies were obtaining much of their lumber from the BC gov't for 25cents per cubic metre of wood (eg a telephone pole), or, a cost of about $9.00 a truckload. It then resold the lumber for up to $300 a cubic metre. (Nat. Post Feb 6,2001)

Now, to my knowledge, the gov't is selling off the stumpage rights at fair market price. So, tariffs won't be necessary.

Of course, we in Canada still charge enormous tariffs on their poultry and dairy products, don't we?

Just watching the Independence Day celebrations in Washington DC. Boy, those Americans know how to celebrate their identity, and sing it loud and clear. It's about freedom, freedom. Freedom for the individual to think, to speak, to be. Freedom for Americans. And, a responsibility for freedom for others. And a tremendous sense of cohesion and love for their country.

And no inhibition about singing 'God Bless America'. I'm an atheist, but I sure applaud that acknowledgment of powers stronger than the individual.

So, in Canada, our multiculturalism denies us a coherence, our celebration turns into 'un homme pissant'; we haven't allowed ourselves to develop an identity; we've muttered along as a member of the commonwealth, we've allowed our politicians to take power away from us (that hideous flag, that Bilingualism, that Charter); and we, the people, haven't defined ourselves. Except to say that we aren't Americans...who, young, young and old, celebrate their Fourth of July in such an incredible manner.

We can't complain that it's our youth; Australia has defined itself in a strong and responsible manner. Hopefully..we'll grow.

But in the meantime, again, I acknowledge those great documents, three of which are American, The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. And, the English Magna Carta.

And Happy Independence Day and God Bless America.

I think the American black populace might repudiate your fawning endorsement of the U.S. constitution. It does, after all, codify slavery.

ET, I have to disagree with you. Canada's low stumpage fees were not a subsidy. They were the natural economic byproduct of having a country with 50% more area and 10% of the population of the US. The opportunity cost for land in Canada is significantly lower than it is the US, and so lower rates make economic sense.

The Canadian government also has different goals. It wants the lumber resource harvested to generate jobs and income from all the levels of taxation (on worker's wages, company profits, etc.). It will want to charge low stumpage rates to maximize this other activity.

US private producers want to make a profit. Naturally, they want prices as high as the market will bear. They don't like low cost producers threatening their profits, so they resort to illegal tariffs, ignore NAFTA, and other court losses, and then don't even have the courtesy to give all the money back. Feh.

kevinb - I'll disagree with you. Because there's 'lots of land' and 'few people' doesn't justify, economically or ethically, those low stumpage fees. They were, operationally, a subsidy.

The land is public, and the charges are not at market value. In the Maritimes, the lands harvested are not public but privately owned and therefore, subsidization is not a factor. In BC, it is a huge factor.

The economic goals of the two countries are the same. Don't be naively selective - and say that Canada The Good only wants taxation to generate jobs for its people, while the USA The Bad only wants profit. What do you think taxation is based on? Air? It's based on profit.

Both systems generate jobs. I personally think that the govt-centred system generates many useless bureaucratic jobs - i.e., a top-heavy bureaucracy. Taxation generates only jobs. What about investment in future-oriented industries? Canada can't do that. Why not?

Private enterprise generates jobs and also generates more profit. That profit is returned to the country in the form of investment. Canada, since it doesn't enable profit, doesn't enable investment. That's why Canada has to go to foreign investors to come in, with their Evil Profits, and build our big industries. Canadian citizens can't. They are supporting, not infrastructures, but bureaucracies.

And, if Canada can set up a situation where it doesn't charge fair market price for its lumber, while the US foresters must pay fair market price for their raw resources - and yet both sell their lumber at about the same price, let's say $300 a cumetre, then, that's grossly unfair.

The US wanted Canada to auction off timber cutting rights at market prices. Not subsidize those rights with their low stumpage fees. NAFTA 2003 ruled that the Canadian lumber industry WAS subsidized. Got that? It still felt that the 18% US tariff was too high. The 1986 CFLI study that that the stumpage fees were a subsidy, of about 15%. The MOU between the two countries agreed to a tariff of 15%. In 1991, Canada ended the MOU, but the US, in 1992, said that those low stumpage fees were a subsidy.

I happen to agree; they are a subsidy. There's no reason to return the money. It was a fair tariff.

This has been going on for some time. The ones who insist on those low stumpage fees are in BC. Naturally, a mark up in price from 25 cents per cumetre to $300 is quite the profit, isn't it?

joebaloni. And baloney to you. That article was, as I'm sure you know, amended. The Bill of Rights is an amendment to that Constitution. That's an important FACT about the constitution; it's not the Word of God. It's written by human beings and is therefore amendable. So, don't start with any 'holier than thou' sophistry. That US constitution remains one of the key documents of our free world.

By the way, are you aware that the Canadian 'Constitution', the Charter of Rights, effectively removes 80% of the Canadian population from governmental power? Think about that. The Canadian Charter of Rights' largest section, 16-23, with all its subsections, inserts bilingualism as a requirement for decision-making in the federal realm. How about that?

Yes, the "War of Independence" WAS an illegal rebellion against the King. The war was also the first American civil war. But of course, these are all moot points from history. In this case, the rebels WON: it's only treason if you LOSE.

As a Canadian, I say Happy Birthday USA and may you have many more.

"Now,how about demanding your government give us back the ENTIRE 5 Billion(and counting)they STOLE from us with their illegal softwood tariffs?"

Fair enough. But don't be upset when the Americans present us with a bill for US$295 billion.

That's US$300 billion for defending our sorry butts during the Cold War while our Prime Minister took a break from reality and did pirouettes behind the Queen's back with a rose between his teeth.

(Minus the US$5 billion they owe us on the softwood of course.)