Free Republic

You sound like you do not think these kind of assh*les exist south of the border, or even in N.C, or Durham maybe. This may come as a bit of a surprise. It is not about Canada/USA,it is about liberals vs conservatives which are not defined by borders. You kicked yours out of office, our election is yet to come. So save the sarcasm for the real enemy and don't insult our country. We are relevant and the same applies to the Germans and to a lesser extent,the French. This scrap is a loooong way from over and while I have no doubt America could go it alone, having allied supporters is better.

Might it be possible that the inquiry could save future lives since there was an obvious screw up.This is a U.S. Military Tribunal and international politics has nothing to do with it.With 300,000 coalition troops massing in the middle east as we speak, the info gleaned here could be very useful. Nobody on either side of the border has called for the scalps of these pilots.

My e-mail to the good Doctor.

I do not wish to sound disrespectfull, but unfortunately, since the 9/11 disaster, the world has changed for all of us, and in particular for those of the Muslim faith. Ongoing complaining about the current status quo, as you did in the above editorial, may resonate in the Canadian Muslim Community, but falls on deaf ears outside that group. It is not a right to become a Canadian citizen, it is a priviledge, one which has been taken advantage of by many honorable Muslims who have greatly improved their lives since immigrating to Canada. Unfortunately,Muslims attacked WTC and killed 3000 people, my son was one of the lucky ones that escaped this inferno by the skin of his teeth. Muslims have proclaimed a holy war against Christians, It was a Muslim that murdered three American Doctors over the Holidays for the sin of being Christians trying to dispense medical aid to a Muslim Community in Yemen. So, instead of whining about the length of time it takes for you to cross the border, you could try and convince your fellow Muslims that have joined the Jihad that Christian Massacres are only going to make things for difficult for you law abiding Muslims of North America and that maybe they should explore a more civilized approach to airing their grievances against us Christians. Failing that, you could alway return to your country of origin where only Christians get singled out for special treatment, like Daniel Pearl or the Aussies in Bali. Get my Drift Doc.

What possible reason could you drum up to illustrate why any Canadian would wish any American dead. You pencil necked geek, who would buy all our surplus maple syrup and back bacon.Who else but America would accept our cold weather exports without a whimper and finally, getting into a fight with a next door neighbour 10 times bigger and 100 times more powerful is insanity. Of course, that gives dolts like you the courage to spout off doesn't it.

Thanks pal, well said. We have enough on our plate right now and do not need this type of infighting. Strengthening the Canadian - American Alliance is the goal of most Canadians, as is demonstrated in these articles.

It is basically caused by the ongoing pandering from Central Canada to Quebec in order to counter separatist threats. Electing a Quebec Liberal as Prime Minister guarantees that Quebec will stay within Confederation. Ergo, Central Canadians hold their noses and vote in another slate of Liberal Socialists as an act of appeasement. Here in Western Canada, we we are fed up with Quebec, it's hypocritical blackmailing tactics and would not be unhappy to see them go. Canadian politics is a classic example of Political correctness and affirmative action policies gone mad, supported by a gutless Eastern based media and an effective Liberal propaganda machine.As this article points out, many think it is too late to repair the damage these Liberals have done to a very fragile Country. If you were to design a modern Nation based on geography,ethnicity linguistic, economic and religious foundations, it would not look like Canada. It worked while Canadians were supported by strong ties to Great Britain and until recently, Uncle Sam. Britain no longer cares and the minority Socialist Anti-American elements have seriously alienated America.The upshot is that the electorate fears that if they do not vote the status quo, Canada will fragment into a series of vulnerable mini states.Western Canadada, being more Conservative, wealthier and self reliant could manage on it's own as could Ontario. As for the rest, they would quickly adopt third world status without federal economic support programs and Robin Hood transfer payments which have long guaranteed their standards of living.

That is the problem Snowey, easterners think that there is some sort of "glue" that binds this nation together. For us out west, there used to be but it has been replaced by eastern liberal policies such as forced bilingualism, multiculturalism, metrification, diversity, inclusiveness, employment equity etc. ad nausium, all designed to appease Quebec because they live next door . We do not give a damn about Quebec or the rest of that nonsense. The true glue, the Monarchy, has been deemed irrelevant and the Liberals want to do away with it. The fact is,culturally, we in Western Canada have more in common with our brothers in western U.S.A. than we do you easterners. Sorry but thems the facts.

You cannot trust liberal socialists. They lie, cheat and steal while mouthing a bunch of feel good B.S. that the ill informed want to believe.It is only when thier lives are seriously disrupted and thier loved ones are threatened do they move to action, usually after it is too late. In the meantime, the lefties try to shove Jimmy Carter and bent willy down our throats while denouncing GWB as a warmonger.

Chretien and his merry band of thieves and liars are classic examples of how to lull the masses while picking their pockets. No refom will be undertaken that does not strengthen their polling base. Only when the masses wake up will Canada be free again.

Your theory sounds great, unfortunately it is all bullshit.

What two Canadian Provinces blamed America. Get real and stop allowing some stupid frog politico, elected by a minority vote and who just annnounced his retirement, destroy 150 years of close co-operation. The terrorists are jumping for joy when they read this quarrelsome crap between us.

The Patricia's were named at a time when honorable men showed their respect to women and were proud to honor Princess Patricia and carry her name into battle, something you obviously will never understand.

Of course we understand it, what is impressive is that you do. That is a breakthrough that could lead to a much more mature relationship between Canada and America. Now all we have to do is boot the wimpy whiney liberals out of Ottawa..are you listening Eastern Canada?

That is simply a pile of horsepuckey.I am just one on many Canadians, extemely unhappy with our Liberal Politicos, who are working hard to make changes. Rank and file Canadians from Coast to Coast stood up and expressed their sincere sorrow and support for America's loss. We are not and have never been fairweather, having just buried some dead soldiers you guys blew up. That doesn't look like sidelines from where I sit. What more do you want. Quit whining and save your venom for the people that are really trying to kill you.

Post subject: We know who we aren't, what about who we are?

By LINDA WILLIAMSON -- Toronto Sun



When I was in university, pursuing a degree in the relatively new discipline called "Canadian Studies" (which at the time, at my school, essentially meant "a major for those who can't choose between French, English, History or Political Science"), many an academic discussion centred on the elusive "Canadian identity."

What was it? Who were we? What made us unique?

The easy answer was that we were "not Americans" - a definition that begged the question, if not for Americans, would we have any identity at all?

As a child of the Trudeau era, going to university during the '80s when nuclear war was expected (by the new-wave peacenik and disarmament crowd, anyway) to erupt at any moment, I tended then to side with those who viewed America as bellicose, imperialist and arrogant.

Like most people I knew, I bought into the orthodoxy that Canada was the kinder, gentler, more sophisticated neighbour. We had free health care and the Queen; they had Vietnam, Nixon, crime and guns.

But today? It's a new millennium, and since Sept. 11 of last year, a new world. And I'm bone-weary of this petulant, sanctimonious identity of Canadians as holier-than-Americans.

What upsets me most is self-righteous politicians - usually Liberal ones - who lecture the rest of us about "the Canadian way," implying that disagreeing with them is un-Canadian. They cement this concept by demonizing their opponents' ideas, be they tax-cutting, border-tightening or health care reform, as "American-style."

In various encounters with these folks, I've been told it's "the Canadian way" to want to pay higher and higher taxes; to waste money on government boondoggles and on reminding Quebec what a great country this is; to let refugee claimants go free as soon as they arrive here - even if they can produce no proof as to who they are; to be soft on criminals and tough on gun owners; to make peace, not war (with a military that's equipped for neither); to scream against private money going into public health care, and, of course, to have a 62c dollar.

None of this is what being Canadian means to me.

The controversy this past week over Jean Chretien's remarks on the CBC's 9/11 special has reignited this debate, as my own e-mail from readers clearly illustrated.

The following two messages arrived within seconds of each other in response to my last column criticizing the PM's comments:

"Your column is bang on. I was so disgusted by the PM's remarks. I simply couldn't believe it. I have been so ashamed to be a Canadian since Sept. 11 because of the words and actions of my government," one man wrote.

"You call yourself a CANADIAN journalist?" demanded another. "Thoughts like yours would be funny if they weren't so dangerous."

It was the same story earlier this year when I wrote that recent trips to the U.S. had left me doing a slow burn over our high taxes, low dollar and our hopeless political leadership.

While a few readers then angrily invited me to move south, many, many more shared my view - not that Canada was bad, but that it could be so much better. That didn't begin with 9/11, but it was certainly reinforced by it.

For many of us, if not our politicians, the border evaporated that day. There was no more "us vs. them." Our Canadian identity lay not in disavowing our American neighbours, but in identifying with them.

This, to me, is part of a newer, healthier identity - one that journalist Edward Greenspon and pollster Darrell Bricker defined in their pre-9/11 book on the "new Canadian mindset," Searching for Certainty (Doubleday).

"The Can-global citizen," as they call us, "pursues excellence and insists on having an impact," they write. "Comfortable in their skins, they are much less moved than previous generations - but not unmoved - by appeals to nationalism and parochialism. While clearly preferring excellence at home, they are prepared, if necessary, to select excellence over home. Unless we lift the pursuit of excellence to a national passion, the potential for Canada to lose its most talented young people ... is very real."

In other words, we think being Canadian should, and does, stand for a lot more than "not American" and "free health care" (after all, neither of those is what it's cracked up to be).

The political movement that taps into this new feeling - instead of preaching that it's somehow unpatriotic and immoral - will be the one to return Canada to greatness.
_________________
Setbacks pave the road to comebacks.

Believe me we are and we would mesh seamlessly into America, unlike some of the eastern Provinces. Make us an offer, it is, in reality, just a real estate deal. The eastern Liberals have systematically stripped away the Canadian culture under which I was reared. My son and all my grandkids are Americans living in Jersey.


Watcher 1 could be on the negotiating committee if he can find the Canadian border.Tip, wet finger in the air, follow the icy side.

Says who! Put up some documented facts to back up your assertion or withdraw it. I will be watching for your post.

You don't like it when you get your bullshit called do you .

Right on, HA! HA! HA!

I stand corrected Snowey,substitute "certain portions of inner city Toronto, Hamilton and Rockcliffe in Ottawa".Most of the rest of Ontario is o.k. In fact, Calgary relies on these districts for it's future growth.

I read the article too and it is a pile of bullshit.This idiot obviously thinks Ontario is Canada. Do I think New York is America and would I base my opinion of it's people on that premise? I had a bad experience in L.A. once so all Americans are shites? Shake your head.