Travelling in the US for a few days makes for a lovely break from blogging, despite the fact that I have so much catching up to do when I get back. It’s not just that there’s no news from Canada – whether the discussion is focused on the economy, foreign affairs, politics – there are no comparisons of America to Canada on any topic at all.
For all intents and purposes, Canada ceases to exist.
Which, all things considered, is about what this insipid little excuse for a country deserves.
Canadians believe U.S. President George W. Bush is almost as great a threat to our national security as Osama bin Laden, according to a government opinion poll obtained by the National Post.
Words fail.
By the rationale used by skysaxon et al the world order would be that once a dictator and murderer came to power, then they would be there for life, because nobody should overthrow them. Talk about a selfish act of humanitarianism, watching people die throughout the world without lifting a finger. Oh wait that is what Canada, France, and Germany are doing already.
Skysaxon, I hope you don’t have any children. If you do, give them my sympathies.
Read carefully, Greg(outside Dallas) above and become instantly wiser.
This is a real American speaking.
When I lived in Corpus Christi Texas for about one year, I enjoyed the company of many Real Americans.
His post should be printed off and hung in every Computer room in Canada.
73s TG
The people Jay Lenno interviews on the street are a minority who have not found their calling in life as yet.
“America is a wonderful place, I agree. 48% of the people are fantastic, optimistic, generous, and intelligent. Too bad that the remaining 52% seem intent on scaring the bejesus out of the rest of the world.”
Where did you obtain these numbers, Skysaxon?
I lived ten years in Dallas. Yes, those people Jay Leno interview on the streets are truly indicative of of residents of Dallas and especially its surroundings (except maybe Addison). One boss made us pray before meetings!
As to my figure of 52% of Americans scaring the world, I was wrong. Old figures. Latest polls indicate that number is more like 44% these days. There’s a subtle shift happening in that country as people are able to see reality without some panic being laid upon them from Cheney, Rummie or the chimp. But wait, as those poll numbers slip, just wait … there’ll be another bit of news to scare the populace into forgoing their freedom for security.
And to the person who so nicely worried if I have kids, yes I have two boys. Two boys in Long Beach at the moment. Give me a break about the spreading of freedom myth. A recent US army report stated that for each insurgent being killed, three more insurgents are created. It’s a myth, kids. And, what about the US. This admin keeps curtailing freedoms of its own citizens. Patriot Act. Increasing the war on marijuana. Sixteen senators refuse to sponsor anti-lynching resolution. And it goes on and on. Heavy censorhip of entertainment. And now they want to regulate (censor) bloggers.
skysaxon:
A world that equivocates terrorists to “freedom fighters” and “insurgents”; and a world that fetishizes the UN deserves to be scared from time to time.
On this anti-American thread: I’ve travelled some in western Ontario. If their is an anti-American sentiment there, I certainly did not detect it. The people I met were ordinary people with ordinary concerns. I have read reports of Canadian polls claiming anti-American sentiment exists. But, I consider pollsters to be clever rascals capable of extracting any desired result by manipulating the respondent.
On the other hand, I once was able to get a Canadian news outlet on my cable system (CTV?) and there definitely was an anti-American slant. Even worse than the Beebe. Blogs and person-to-person contact can act as a counterweight to this. That’s what I do.
I agree with Howard. I have family and friends in Ontario and they are not anti-American. I have never heard anyone speak ill of Americans except those polls and in the media.
It is just bs. It always has been.
jasperpants wrote: A world that equivocates terrorists to “freedom fighters” and “insurgents”; and a world that fetishizes the UN deserves to be scared from time to time.
Well, I picked the term “insurgents” from Cheney’s own mouth. Talk to him about semantics. I’m just following party line.
I agree with the posters stating they don’t find any Anti-American sentiments among the populace. I don’t see it either. I do find reservations about the current administration. But, still not as much as I found among Americans themselves.
Howard Larson: news outlet might well have been CTV. Although a private broadcaster it is just as leftish and anti-American as the state-owned CBC.
Mark
Ottawa
Kate – have you thought about contacting FoxNews for a job? The current insipid little excuse for a Canadian reporter on O’Reilly is truly an embarrassing bimbo. You would be so much better.
I worked with a bunch of raving anti-US lefties in Toronto for a few years (it was torturous). Want to know where the anti-US prop is having its effect? In “vote-rich” Ontario. That is, in 905 (Praise be) and 416.
Kate,
As a Canuck living in Texas for the past 3 years I must say that more than a few of your guests are out to lunch (at least the lefties). Moving to the US is not always an anti-Canadian thing but sometimes an economic thing. Sitting down here keeping up on the Canadian news and views I am sometimes very embarassed at what some Canadians perceive as their “truth” and for that matter, most of my Canadian friends down here (and there are a lot of us). Historically, the US and Canada should be the closest of allies but sadly this does not seem to be the case. In the good old days, one could tell Yank Hunter jokes, Newfie jokes and everyone enjoyed ice fishing at the rink. Now, people like spysaxon spit out pure venom and have a real hate on. It is a sad statement really.
And in case anyone out there questions my loyalty, I did spend over 22 years defending my country, have you?
Keep up the great work Kate.
Texas Canuck
Gar, I assume bumface’s 48%/52% numbers were in reference to the last election.
Boy, skysaxon, have you hit the NAIL on the head about the bimbo Canadian commentator on O’Reilly. This one is well known in BC for her rather regular habit of taking men to court over ‘sexual harrassment’ but when facts are known seems something quite different is going on. When we first saw this on O’Reilly we e-mailed that there were so many others in Canada so very much more qualified to be a spokesperson.
Well, there you go. He is a sucker for a pretty face. I guess O’Reilly ain’t all that different from most men.
Yank Hunter jokes? It’s not the one about the green horn that shot a mule and thought he bagged a mule deer, is it?
Jay, I had figured that’s where he derived his figures. I was hoping to have him defend his assumption that, if I voted Republican in the last election, that I was not “fantastic, optimistic, generous, and intelligent.”
Thanks for your help, though.
Kate, if you move down here, you would be very welcome in Texas, but I can see how the states you mention might be more desirable. If you’re not used to it, Texas summers can be murder. (Even if you are…)
It’s worth noting, that when you leave out the legal requirements, from a US point of view relocation isn’t as big an issue as it seems to be for Canadians.
Hypothetically, if a Texan wanted to relocate to Canada for other than ideological reasons, most Texans would merely find it interesting.
As our Canadian reference is still mostly to a post-World War II Canada, we see a move to Canada as less of a contrast than, say, a move from Tucson to New York City.
The truth is that we see the difference between our peoples as greatly exaggerated by anti-American Canadians. We see ourselves as the historic allies that Texas Canuck speaks of in an earlier post. It looks to us as if the anti-Canadian Left tries to take a small and interesting difference and exaggerate it beyond all proportion to try to tarnish our good relationship.
The last decade of government has not been kind to Canada. All of the worst possibilities have been evoked, and a wonderful people are being exploited by a corrupt regime.
Our point of view would not see a change of residences as too much different than the move from one state to a more desirable one.
The number one national security issue facing Canadians is the lefties. I am far more scared of what they are doing to the social fabric of the land than anything else in the world. Hell, even Osama Bin Laden doesn’t try screwing up Canada because he knows the lefties (and the Liberals) do a good job of that.
Spooky, I definitely know what you mean about being outraged by the cheering that went at 9/11. I spent 2 weeks around 9/11 in New York. Originally it was to be a 1 week trip but I was stuck.
When I finally came back (to my much relieved wife) we went out to a local Toronto restaurant. I was sitting down eating when I heard some people talking (mid 40’s) about how the US desrved what they got. She practically had to drag me out of the restaurant before I got up ready to punch someone out.
With regards to average anti-americanism, I hear a lot of it. I am Canadian (living in TO) but work for a large US company. So I get pay and benefits out of the US (taxes are a son of a …, but that is what accountants are for) but go into the local Canadian branch office for mail and such. I notice that the cowards at work never slam the US when other americans are around, only when they are around other fellow Canadians. They seem to have the idea that all Americans are stupid. They never like to hear that the Americans I know are some of the smartest, nicest people I have known on both sides of the border.
Story behind the story… MSM Bias
That’s as far as I’m going to go. Keeping such biased and inaccurate news stories on my screen for too long makes the computer feel all “icky”.
capt joe, The anti- American ignorance is taught in our schools by ‘processed,indocternated, teachers and profs. Today, in Canada, unless you are in agreement with the left-wing wacko methods of non-education, you will not have a job for long. I know this because I lost my job as a instructer for ‘special needs’ childern. My students were not disfunctional, they were bored; It only took two months of learning facts instead of social behavior and they were instucting the teachers. I was not popular for my views, my smoking habit or my success. My students loved my class, not me. Teachers want to be friends with their students much more than they want to teach them some useful facts; hense, students make the calls and teachers jump. The anti- Americanism is a by-product of the social agenda. Canadians are not prepared to grow up and make their own minds up about what is fact and what is fiction. They are childern with wrinkles – look at paule – he has not grown past the age of 25 – he still thinks he is the young guy with a lot to learn. At least that is the impression I have of him. The left wing wackos make men of women and mice of men. I must give Mrs. Laura Bush credit for recognizing that trend in America and further, for doing something about it. America has left wing wackos too, fortunatly they are not in power anymore. For this, I say God Bless America and God Bless The President, Mr. George W. Bush. I’m all ready to be the first to write God Bless The Prime Minister, Mr. Stephen Harper, so that I can ,with a clear consience write , God Bless Canada. I hope that day is soon. We will all have a new country and a better life to look forward to..for ourselves and our childern.
Words do indeed fail.
http://novascotia.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ns-gay-military20050614
” Military performs first gay wedding
Last updated Jun 14 2005 08:40 AM ADT
CBC News
HALIFAX � Two men were married at the chapel on the Greenwood base in May, in what’s being called the military’s first gay wedding.
Lt.-Cmdr. David Greenwood, the base’s head chaplain, said a sergeant and a warrant officer were married May 3 in front of about 45 guests.
“This couple had been waiting a very long, long time,” said Greenwood, declining to give their names because he hadn’t asked for permission.
As an Anglican, Greenwood could not perform the marriage. He made the arrangements for the service and a United Church minister from nearby Wolfville performed the vows.
“I looked after the co-ordination in accordance with our military policy of receiving the couple with dignity and respect,” said Greenwood.
“I was there to preach and welcome the community on behalf of the base chaplaincy.”
Greenwood said the ceremony was relaxed and low key, and there was no dry eye in sight when the couple signed the marriage documents.
Last September, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled that banning same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, effectively changing the definition of marriage in the province to “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others.”
The military has said it’s willing to host gay weddings in jurisdictions where it’s legal.
Greenwood said he has been told that a second same-sex marriage may be in the works at CFB Valcartier later in the year.”
Mark
Ottawa
Yank Hunter jokes?
You mean like the greenhorn that shot a mule and thought he had bagged a mule deer?
Hey all, good comments, skysaxon excluded of course. Still delusional.
There ain’t no anti- Americanism were I am, there is only anti-Canadianism. In fact we have people driving around in trucks with old glory on it just to see if they can draw any looks… no takers yet. All purchasing, for the last year or two has been done south of the border due to eastern holy then thou attitudes, and it’s never been better. We even have one supplier that will sponsor all the key people if the country collapses, which is totally cool! Moving south is not as easy as it sounds from here, if there’s a short cut, bring it on.
The word is spreading faster and faster, and people like skysaxon, are becoming more and more minimized, here in Alberta anyway. This could be settled in a few hours, but the left always comes up with a reason to stick it’s tail between it’s legs and run and hide whenever things might get hostile.
To all the Americans here, you guys are the best, and most compassionate people on the damn earth, don’t ever change.. and God Bless America. Ignore the few slimy Canucks making waves, there looking for attention to hide there inadequacies and insecurity. After all, the reason for socialism is so these people can hide behind the government and live off everyone else so they don’t have to face reality.
For those that think this is to harsh, to bad… for everyone else, get off your ass and do something about it. You have to earn the right to complain, and were still a country short of that right.
Mark Collins: WTF??? … this isn’t the military I remember… so much for good humor.
Ref Mark Collins’ post I guess I have to retract at least a few of my former comments.
I no longer want Canada to build a bigger, better miltary. I don’t want you as an ally.
It’s for your own good – your only way out is through the exit and it looks like you only have one, which involves Canada going completely down the tubes.
Check back when you release “Canada II” or “Son of Canada”.
The pause that refreshes.
Kate at Small Dead Animals mentions one of the things she likes about America:Travelling in the US for a few days makes for a lovely break from blogging, despite the fact that I have so much catching up to do…
I think anti-Americanism is probably no more prevalent in Canada than in America actually. Our left winged media just gives the impression that Canadians are anti-Bush and anti-American with their oh so first rate non-bias journalistic style. Living in a country like Canada has its costs. Things like roads which must be built to withstand extended periods of frost cost 5 times more than 60% of roads in the US. All of our infrastructure and extensive social and justice system costs way more money to operate. The benefits are a better quality of life, less chance of being randomly shot, robbed at gunpoint or sexually assaulted. The quality of life issues that have been touched on here and there in this thread are important to this cultural mosaic. I love America and think the job they do policing the world is a benefit to all. It�s a great place to visit I just prefer to live where I do. If that means I have to pay more for the privilege to have the quality of life I enjoy than so be it.
“Things like roads which must be built to withstand extended periods of frost cost 5 times more than 60% of roads in the US.”
Yes, we hear this a lot up here. And it works, so long as the listener has never driven the well- maintained highways of North Dakota and Montana.
Minnesota as well. I remember as a child semi-sleeping in the back seat I knew when we passed from Minneapolis to St Paul because all of a sudden the car was “bumpity-bumpity” (dad told me why but I don’t remember). The only bad roads in Minnesota (at least at the time, I haven’t been there in a while.
Highway quality is very readily detectable, and it’s consistent in the US. Sure, rural roads are still sometimes not paved but for the bulk of the country you know what you’re getting when you hit the freeway, whether it’s the south end or the north end.
Tho personally I have an odd fondness for dirt roads.
Like Kate, I too was in the US for a few days over the weekend. However, instead of showing dogs I had the opportunity to show off my daughter, who solo’ed the Star Spangled Banner in front of a crowd of 40,000 at her graduation from Ohio State University.
As an American forced by (irrelevant)circumstances to live in Canada, I have come to appreciate the best in each country. I will say, however, that I sometimes run into Canadians, especially in bars, who seem determined to provoke a reaction from me with various hateful comments about Americans or their leaders. I’ve learned, over many years, to not engage in such discussions, which, no doubt, proves to them that Americans are arrogant. I do know, though, that similar conversations in the US, in similiar circumstances, are a veiled attempt to provoke a barfight without throwing the first punch.
I would agree with Johan i Kanada. Canada’s system of governance and overall level of political maturity is still low. It compares to other post-colonial cultures. Indeed, the Liberals appear to apply on a daily basis the underlying maxim of the British Empire: “Divide and rule.”
Why do I stay and not return home? I have a child to protect. The judge who refused to return her to her home in the United States said it all for me: “Mr. Wild Duck, if you don’t like the way we do things here, you can return to the U.S.” I love my daughter too much to follow his advice. That judge is a senior member of the Liberal-Judicial elite that run the country. I never will be. But that won’t stop me from taking a poke at them now & then when they aren’t looking…and maybe, someday, my daughter will have the choice of living in a free country, or moving to another one.
If you engage, you most likely prove them wrong – if you don’t, you’re arrogant. IOW, you lose either way. Best to not bother.
But congratulations on your daughter’s gig.
Jay..get used to the fact that this ain’t your/my military anymore.It is currently being led by nothing more than a butt kissing general who wouldn’t know a good plan if it bit him.Did you know that the politicos want to remove the CROSS from the chaplin/padre’s badges as it may offend some other religions?? Excuse me,maybe that diaper on your head offends me!! What about my rights?? I personally don’t care or give a damm what religion you are or practice,just don’t try to shove it down my throat or change my symbols/beliefs!!
Late to the party as usual, but nonetheless ….
First, there was an old joke that went, ” I’m not getting out of the military just because they’re letting the homos in – I’m getting out before they make it mandatory.” (Man, I can’t imagine the shame of still being in uniform today ….)
Second, in response to Momorider’s comment above that “the benefits are a better quality of life, less chance of being randomly shot, robbed at gunpoint or sexually assaulted”. I can’t point to actual references, but my understanding is that Canada has higher rates of crime (that’s rates, not totals) than the US in almost every category except murder, and that if you factor out the black-on-black inner-city murders in the US, then the national murder rates are essentially identical.
And that’s believable. Mark Steyn has made the point numerous time about Britain. People rely on alarm systems and security companies to protect their property while they are away – so the bad guys wait until people are home to invade/assault/rob/ and/or murder. They will be perfectly safe, since firearms are outlawed, and the police are more likely to charge the homeowner if he actually defends himself in any way. (Quite the opposite in New Hampshire, where Steyn lives.)
Methinks the “crime is far worse in the US” theme is another Canadian myth perpetuated by the Librano set as part of their general bash-the-Yanks philosophy.
Yes Kate but if you check over 50% of thouse States are Zone 4 or better. Roads, houses, all underground services are affected.
Doug I don’t bye you crime stats for a second.
Johan i Kanada says: “Canadians are anti-American because they lack an identity of their own. E.g. there is no defining moment, like 1776, in Canadian history, nor a defining document or idea, like the US constitution.”
This is only partly true. Canadians have every bit as much heritage as Americans. The difference is we have stopped teaching our heritage and history after Trudeau reset the calendar to Year Zero (a la Pol Pot).
However, I agree that the fact Canadians have never fought a war to defend their country** has allowed Canadians to indulge a fatuous attitude to national defence and the galvanization of a “national identity”.
** I’m not discounting the contributions and sacrifices Canada made in the two world wars but these were not wars that were fought on Canadian soil and that’s a qualitative difference. Besides, that was all pre-Year Zero and Canada is a completely different country today than it was then.
I am so sick of all the hand wringing about Iraq and 9-11 .I am an African and know that there are bad people out there that will do the West harm because of what it represents and not because of Wubya or despite Mr Dithers.
Grow up you bunch of whining first worlders – either fight these lunatics now or become extinct.
Living in Canada is wonderful , but the naivety regarding the rest of world (everyone loves us , eh)is astonishing. There are bad people out there that don’t believe in Charter or Constitutional rights and they are coming to a town near you !
John>>There are bad people out there that don’t believe in Charter or Constitutional rights and they are coming to a town near you !
Just look around, this place is full of them.
I have to agree with John in his exhortation for right thinking Canadians to fight for what they believe in. But, it will be a long, hard slog made of small steps. Individuals at the grass roots level talking to their neighbors, going to town meetings, encouraging talented individuals to run for local or regional office, writing letters to the editor. Small steps. But, if enough people do it, then, as the TV commercial goes, numbers like this can’t be ignored. It’s your country not the Queen’s or the PM’s. Be proud and go for it.
Here is a cold, hard fact for you to chew on:
Canada is a free country right now because America has not attacked you, and because America would kick the shit out of anybody else who tried. If you want to resent that, well that is your fuggin problem, ain’t it. And Georgia would welcome you with open arms, Kate, it is alot more hip than most folks know.
Utah is a nice place to live, we’re not all Mormon’s. I live here, but I’m not from here. But where ever I go, because of my Utah license plates almost everyone asks me if I’m a Mormon. The people here are friendly rather you are a Mormon or not. In Northern Utah there are place that look like Alberta. Southern Utah is amazingly beautful. Come Visit us, I think you’ll like it.