Good rundown of the Canucks. Enjoyed it thoroughly and found it to be extremely accurate!

Just one small thing...it's not a hockey strike, it's a lockout. Seems like a small thing (either way, it means there's no hockey), but really, it's a pretty important difference.

Canada sounds pretty nice....

....so now it AMAZES me that asshats like Bill Maher, Peter Jennings, Melissa Barf-der-Maur, etc., run across our borders and tell us how we should run things....all the while gobbling up our money.

They never criticize our money.

TJ, you're absolutely correct. It isn't a strike, it's a lockout. I guess I'm still high on poutine.

I'll make that change asap.

when i flew to toronto back in 2000 i got "detained" by canadian customs for like 1/2 hour. i showed up without a passport and without a birth certificate, and apparently that rubbed the woman at the gate the wrong way, b/c she made a really big deal about canada being "a different country."

"i didnt realize that i needed a passport to come to Canada, here is my driver's license."

"didn't realze? it's a different country! what did you think, eh?"

"well, i was under the impression that i only needed to fill out a form, and to prove that i was an american citizen....."

"right! and how does your driver's licence prove that? do you have to be a US citizen to get one of those?!? you should have a passport! this is a different country!!!"

"umm, no, but since you accept a birth certificate, and those aren't exactly hard to fake, i don't see what the big deal is..."

"it's a different country! what do you mean you don't see what the big deal is!?"

"well, i could drive across and show only my license, and it wouldn't be a problem."

"but you're not driving, you are flying! to a different country!!"

on and on it went. i had to sit there for a long time in a special little room while she called someone to come down and help "resolve" the situation. after about a half-an-hour of waiting, the person still hadn't showed up. i remembered that i had my selective service registration card in my wallet and i showed her that - placated, she quit her power trip and let me in to canada.

whatever this woman's problem was, i have no idea, but her attitude wasn't represenatative of the other canadians that i met. they were mostly very friendly, as you described.

my favorite things about toronto:
1. clothing seemed to cost the same amount, only in canadian. so you'd pay $30 canadian for a shirt that would cost $30 in the US - a net savings of about 35%.

2. metropolitan city - very cool downtown area.

3. cheap sushi!

least favorite parts:

1. lots of shoe stores. if you're traveling with a woman, this can be a problem.

2. asking for "dressing" on your salad gets you a huge wallop of mayo smack in the middle of it. they should tell you this at the border.

"'right! and how does your driver's licence prove that? do you have to be a US citizen to get one of those?!? you should have a passport! this is a different country!!!'"

Doesn't that kind of capture the essence of our problems with drivers licenses as ID? When Canada....CANADA....recognizes the shortcomings of that as an ID, why the outrageous rhetoric from the Left condemning the Federal Government's recognition of the same thing?

Wait, how can "Oh, Canada" not be one of your favorite things about Canada? I seem to remember getting a very late night call down in Texas with some very drunk "singers" attempting a rendition of the song.

Just a clarification. RRSP's are not a cross between 401(k) and Social Security, its better. No government involvement whatsoever. Basically its a tax deferred account you can put money into, which is 100% tax deductable, and which grows tax free. The limits are pretty high also. Currently at 17% of your total income or $17,000. The limits are also trasferable year after year if you don't max out your allotment. You can invest in stock, bonds, whatever.
My 401(k) accoounts and the IRA system are much weaker than Canada's RRSP system.
Why does Canada have this system? Because our Canada Pension Plan system is much less intrusive than your Social Security System and demands much less tax. Generally half of the USA's social security tax. It also pays out much less, so people in Canada usually save for retirement themseleves if they don't have a work plan (becoming very rare).
In Canada our "third rail" is Medicare not Social Security.

As for our national press, all of our national papers editorially endorse Marijuana Legalization as does 50% of the people.

Jim, thanks for the clarification on RRSPs, although to be honest I'm not sure I'd consider a tax exempt plan to really have "no government involvement whatsoever." By being tax exempt, the government is at least tacitly encouraging it.

Anyway, I called it a cross between a 401(k) and Social Security in order to put it in terms most US readers would easily understand, aware I was skipping a fair bit of detail. But your points are taken and I think we both agree it would be nice if US Social Security morphed into such a system.

Let me explain something to folks....

My mum is from Canada, I have family in Canada and I was in Toronto myself just a couple of years ago.

I will attest to the fact that the Maple Leaf Flag, Canada's National Flag IS everywhere.... It has always always been this way but the way it is flown is not so obviously IN YOUR FACE as the US Flag is.

After 9/11 I was in Scotland when it happened. I came home to American flags EVERYWHRE. I will call the flags folks fly on their cars "Flippy Flags" because they flip flap in the wind.

Suddently folks wore American Flags (Especially women and their American Flag sweatshirts and sweaters and earings and jewelry) Folks plastered their cars with tons of American Flags... Monster Trucks driving down the highway with like 20 small flippy flags hanging off every point on the vehical and one BIG monster flag in the center.. stickers of American flags all over the car... I mean, why don't you just paint your car Red White and Blue???? jeesh.

The problem is a matter of ATTITUDE.... It is called JINGOISM...

2 entries found for jingoism.
jin·go·ism ( P ) Pronunciation Key (jngg-zm)
n.
Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.

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jingo·ist n.
jingo·istic adj.
jingo·isti·cal·ly adv.

[Download or Buy Now]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

jingoism

n 1: an appeal intended to arouse patriotic emotions [syn: flag waving] 2: fanatical patriotism [syn: chauvinism, superpatriotism, ultranationalism]

Canadians aren't Jingoistic. American's tend to be. They are quick to fly a flag .... put a sticker on their car "support the troops" but they are still driving Gas Guzzling vehicals and being overall jerks, ready to pounce on ANYONE who Dares even LOOK at the president sideaways.

Any real community that came about after 9/11 was destroyed by Bush and his followers. They were Jingoistic. Ready to attack.. .ready to be angry at SOMEONE.. ready to kill, ready to fight, ready to BOMB someone or something... VENGENCE IS MINE (sayeth the Lord).

They are quick to label any one who protects the idea of Flag Burning as unpatriotic.. yet I have seen some of the most obscene abuse of the American flag by these overly hostile "patriots"... some of the UGLIEST Cloths.. the Flippy flags that are in tatters... (which, btw.. is considered NOT respectful you are actually supposed to BURN a flag when it becomes tattered or torn instead of continuing to hang it)

read:

Flag Etiquette

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STANDARDS of RESPECT
The Flag Code, which formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used. They are:

The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.
The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.
The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard
The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.
The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.
The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.

The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.

When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

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Note: Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th. Many Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Girl Scout Troops retire flags regularly as well. Contact your local American Legion Hall or Scout Troop to inquire about the availability of this service.

http://www.usflag.org/flag.etiquette.html

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So.. .there you have it...

Peace

wow, where to even start responding to people like caelidh...

ill content myself with:

"They are quick to fly a flag .... put a sticker on their car "support the troops" but they are still driving Gas Guzzling vehicals and being overall jerks"

as if somehow using gasoline and supporting troops are mutually exclusive activities...

heh.

I'm not sure I'm getting the whole point of Caelidh's response. First, he agrees with me that national symbols are everywhere, but then somehow turns that into a cudgel, as if displays of patriotism aren't valid unless they are judged tasteful.

Before I begin, I need to make the disclaimer that my recent observations are FROM TORONTO. I'm putting that out there to show that I'm not making the same mistake many people (including Torontonians) make in thinking Toronto = Canada. In my experience, Toronto just THINKS it's all of Canada. ;)

That out of the way, I saw a LOT of national pride on display during my week in Toronto (which was, aside from the NHL lockout, apparently an average week). And for the life of me, I can't figure out how a maple leaf integrated with, say, the Golden Arches logo on a McDonald's french fry box isn't "in your face." The same type of thing in the US would be greeted with derisive comments about McDonald's wrapping itself in the flag to get the redneck (or Newfie, if you're Canadian) dollar. But at least in Toronto, no one appeared to give it a second thought. In fact, it was par for the course. And I've noticed the same thing the numerous times I've been to Canada (my professional life has been intertwined with Canada for close to the past ten years now...) and the many more times I've spoken to Canadians. I'm not begrudging it at all. Far from it, I think national pride is a good thing, and Canadians have a lot to be proud about. I'm just fascinated that one of the nations the Left would like the US to be more like indulges in an activity the hard Left generally finds distasteful.

As for patriotism displays shortly after 9/11, in statistics I think we'd call that an outlier. If hijacked airliners took out the CN Tower and the Eaton Centre, I'm pretty sure we'd see something similar in Canada. My point in making the original observation is that outward displays of patriotism in Canada don't seem to be derided as much as a similar display would be by the DU crowd in the US.

taking out the CN tower.. killing tens in the process