I'm back from a business trip to Canada

Sleeplessly, I had to leave the morning after the election and couldn't get my internet connection to work in the hotel Delta Centre Ville in Montreal.

SHEEZ, my Canadian cousins (Mom is an Acadian from Nova Scotia) are totally wacked out by our glorious elections.  Everywhere I went, as soon as they found out I was an American I heard expressions of incredulity and outrage.  The entire Socialist world is angry and upset at us "stupid" Americans.

However, being half French Canadian and a certified lover of that delightful country, I found myself being much kinder than I would be with my American Lefty friends.

I took the position in my responses that they couldn't think any differently given that their news sources are so totally and completely slanted against Republicans and all other non-socialists. They are basically ignorant of how the US really works and how we are so much more successful than they are in every measurable way.

Because of our Republican Party we -

1 - have much better health care than they do,

2 - have 50% higher disposable income per capita on average than they do,

3 - have twice the living space per capita than they do,

4 - are much more entrepreneurial than they are

5 - and, most importantly, we are a much more high achieving population than the under-achievers in Canada and Socialist Europe.

Is there any wonder that the Socialist dominated media in America, Canada and Europe can't afford to tell the truth and thus condemn their readers to a life of ignorance, relative poverty and spiritual emptiness?

Pity the fools, for they are blind to reality.

Comments

[susie]

No one could have said it better than you.

[Cypherpunk]

Adrian Spidle asserted:

Because of our Republican Party we -

1 - have much better health care than they do,

I'll give you that one for now, as the last great push for socialized health care came in Clinton's first semi-term (before the mid-term elections), and it was indeed the Republicans who held them back. However, if Bush trots along and expands on his Medicare prescription drug program, you may have to qualify that statement.

2 - have 50% higher disposable income per capita on average than they do,

I'm afraid I can't just grant you that one. Our disposable incomes started to diverge wildly under Clinton (not Bush Sr.), but it wasn't Democrat policies which were responsible; it was the gridlock between the Legislative and Executive branches of our government (something which is not possible under parliamentary systems). It may have been partisan politics which allowed us to pull away from the Canucks, but without gridlock, the Republicans have proven just as spendthrifty as unchecked Democrats.

3 - have twice the living space per capita than they do,

Now wait just a minute. Are you talking house size or yard size? Because if it's house size, I thought that was due to the practical considerations of heating that much space.

4 - are much more entrepreneurial than they are

I'm not sure you can credit Republicans in general with that. You can certainly point at the Reagan Revolution for freeing up venture capital, but Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. have been clamping down on that. Ironically, Clinton had better financial policies than either Bush.

5 - and, most importantly, we are a much more high achieving population than the under-achievers in Canada and Socialist Europe.

That may be more cultural than political. Even Australia has that damning "tall poppies get cut down" attitude. Of course (as I hinted at in another Thread) these cultures wind up feeding and informing the politics, so there may be a correlation with the Republicans.

Is there any wonder that the Socialist dominated media in America, Canada and Europe can't afford to tell the truth and thus condemn their readers to a life of ignorance, relative poverty and spiritual emptiness?

How do you mean "Socialist" in this context? Are you referring to the CBC, which is a government-run "company"? Or are you referring to the jackasses who majored in journalism and thus never had to test their lame political theories against the real world?

[anymouse]

"Because of our Republican Party we -

1 - have much better health care than they do,

2 - have 50% higher disposable income per capita on average than they do,

3 - have twice the living space per capita than they do,

4 - are much more entrepreneurial than they are

5 - and, most importantly, we are a much more high achieving population than the under-achievers in Canada and Socialist Europe. "

wait til you have to pay the bill...for all of the above...

[joenov]

I agree, my relatives were down from Canada (Toronto & Montreal) in August for my Dad's funeral. One night someone said something about George Bush and the "merde" hit the fan! They made no bones about hating George Bush (they actually believe he created their mad cow problem) and their dislike for America and her policies. They had no problem though shopping for car tires, and loading their cars beyond capacity with the plentiful and nicely priced goods we have available to us here. Must be that artic cold... ay

[Stephen Downes]

"Because of our Republican Party we - 1 - have much better health care than they do,"

Really? One wonders, then, why American infant mortality rates are higher, life expectancy is shorter, and 45 million people are uninsured.

"2 - have 50% higher disposable income per capita on average than they do,"

which they mostly spend on health care. Less flippantly, prices are also 50 percent higher in the United States. I paid $100K (Canadian) for my four bedroom house - how much did you pay?

"3 - have twice the living space per capita than they do,"

Not sure what the evidence is of this. It could be true, I just don't know. I wonder whether the statistic includes homeless people. I doubt it.

"4 - are much more entrepreneurial than they are"

Could be. We're more interested in enjoying life that squeezing every last dollar out of things.

"5 - and, most importantly, we are a much more high achieving population than the under-achievers in Canada and Socialist Europe."

Well, 'achieving' is one of those unmeasurable buzzwords that could mean anything. By sheer dint of population, the US is going to achieve more. That said, I think Canada plays above its weight when it comes to achievement

[scs]

One thing that needs to be said about the Canadian and European obsession with our election results is that it shows they seriously need to get a life. It must be sad to live in a nation that so strangled by socialism and irrelevancy that they look to the leadership of another nation as more important than contributing to their own society.

[cdude]

Live in Mississippi but am in Michigan traveling. Not sure where the Kerry voters are in Michigan, but they are not in Central Michigan. I can not believe how positive everyone here is about the president

[Cypherpunk]

Downes answered and asked:

"One wonders, then, why American infant mortality rates are higher, life expectancy is shorter, and 45 million people are uninsured."

Infant mortality rates and life expectancy can mostly be attributed to our more-open immigration policy, where people from other cultures who are starting closer to the "ground floor" experience these unfortunate effects.

As for "uninsured", do we want to get into the differences between "health insurance", "health coverage" and "health care" here, or in another Thread?

"Could be [that Americans are more entreprenurial than Canadians]. We're more interested in enjoying life that squeezing every last dollar out of things."

It's a lot easier to enjoy life when you have a means to support yourself. Please try to defend Canada's infamous barriers to market entry and protectionist policies. I double-dog dare you.

"'achieving' is one of those unmeasurable buzzwords that could mean anything. By sheer dint of population, the US is going to achieve more. That said, I think Canada plays above its weight when it comes to achievement "

I don't have time right now to check that out, but I'd like to later.

[gt66]

This Canadian is not upset. Not by a long-shot. Matter of fact, my wife sent W a congratulatory note to the White House.

Canada is full of Sociaists, but we're not all wackos.

I take great pleasure in rubbing people noses in it.

[dixie]

Born and raised in Detroit and am used to Canadians from Windsor Ontario knocking our country all the time. That is when I learned to dislike them.

Granted there are lots in the west who don't feel that way but their voice doesn't seem to count.

HOWEVER being on the road (we're traveling) I saw dozens of cars, trailers and RV's with Canadian plates all headed southwest. I wanted to tell them off but hubby wouldn't let me. So I just ignore them. Heaven help the idiots if they dare to mention the election to me.

[Adrian Spidle]

In a moment of candor I replied to a Canadian Bush hater -

"We are not stupid, we didn't get to be America by being stupid!"

[Canucklehead]

"This Canadian is not upset. Not by a long-shot. Matter of fact, my wife sent W a congratulatory note to the White House.

Canada is full of Sociaists, but we're not all wackos."

I take great pleasure in rubbing people noses in it.

Ditto: I have some single-malt and Cohibas for my own little victory party this weekend.

BTW: I think that I may be an American trapped in the body of a Canadian - sort of a TransNational, or something. So if there's anything that I can do to drive a stake through the heart of the hippie generation, you just let me know.

[neocon316]

I drive up to Vancouver, BC to do some business twice amonth and the downtown core has more panhandlers per street corner than skid row in LA and Seattle. The CBC for 2 years has always shown (I mean always) shown anti_US programs/docs but never show anything bad against their own "pure" and "perfect" cdn country. The western part of cda has been paying an extra 7% in taxes just to appease their eastern counterparts and that's a no-no to some of my cdn fishing buddies in Prince George.

The younger generation don't stand a chance with all these leftwing slants--but then again, socialism hasn't helped anyone either...

[Mac43]

The Canadians I have dealt with all come from Alberta and they are staunch pro Bush. They detest the policies and laws oozing from Ottawa.

[Doc Rampage]

Since no one who would actually know has commented on this, I thought I'd throw this in: I've read that Canada is a lot like the US politically. There are a few big cities with very liberal voters and lots of "flyover country" with more conservative voters. Unfortunately for Canadians, their parlimentary system gives the big cities far more political power than they would have under the US system.

[Joe]

Like most of us Americans, you seem to think that ours is the very best of societies. LOOK AROUND...we are overwhelmed by fraud, cheating, thievery, lying, from the very top to the street kids...plus HOW MANY HAVE NO HEALTH CARE, JUDICIAL ACCESS, JOB, ETC ETC....face it, we are a bankrupt society in more ways than monetarily.