Hate Trumps Love

"The civility we need will not come from 

watching our tongues. 

It will come from valuing our differences."

Parker J. Palmer

And words from Yeats:

The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, 
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Prime Minister,

Your voice will become more important on the world stage now. Your job is not to preserve the traditionally strong relationship between Canada and the States; that is far secondary to remaining true to the values of a Prime Minister who went to Pearson Airport to welcome the first Syrian refugees. Be that man. That is who Canada and the world will need.

Bon courage.

BREAKING NEWS: Harper and Obama Agree to Exchange Supreme Courts

In an unprecedented move of executive cooperation, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced in a shared press conference this afternoon that they have agreed in principle to exchange Supreme Courts.

Pleased with the Agreement

In a move to more appropriately align the executive and judicial branches of governments, the exchange was hailed as a win-win for both countries.    

“I look forward to bringing the judicial wisdom,” said Harper, “of such men as Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas to Canada.” Harper had requested that U.S. Justice Sonia Sotomayor not be included in the exchange, but the Obama administration believed that this opened up the process up to unnecessary “horse-trading.”

“I think we all know” began President Obama, “that Prime Minister Harper is less than pleased with the way the Canadian Supreme Court has stymied important aspects of his agenda. And it goes without saying that the Roberts court is—how should we say this?—not particularly aligned with my vision for America.”

Harper and Obama clarified that the shift would be done in stages. Next month Chief Justice John Roberts and Chief Justice Beverley Mclachlin will switch their roles to initiate the exchange.

Ralph Nader on Why the Canadian Single-Payer System beats Obamacare

Here's Ralph's article, offered without commercial interruption:

21 Ways Canada's Single-Payer System Beats Obamacare

By Ralph Nader, The Nader Page

01 December 13

Canadian style single-payer healthcare is simple, affordable, comprehensive and universal—dream on, America.

ear America:

Costly complexity is baked into Obamacare. No health insurance system is without problems but Canadian style single-payer full Medicare for all is simple, affordable, comprehensive and universal.

In the early 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson enrolled 20 million elderly Americans into Medicare in six months. There were no websites. They did it with index cards!

Below please find 21 Ways the Canadian Health Care System is Better than Obamacare.

Repeal Obamacare and replace it with the much more efficient single-payer, everybody in, nobody out, free choice of doctor and hospital.

Love, Canada

Number 21:
In Canada, everyone is covered automatically at birth – everybody in, nobody out.

In the United States, under Obamacare, 31 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2023 and millions more will remain underinsured.

Number 20:
In Canada, the health system is designed to put people, not profits, first.

In the United States, Obamacare will do little to curb insurance industry profits and will actually enhance insurance industry profits.

Number 19:
In Canada, coverage is not tied to a job or dependent on your income – rich and poor are in the same system, the best guaranty of quality.

In the United States, under Obamacare, much still depends on your job or income. Lose your job or lose your income, and you might lose your existing health insurance or have to settle for lesser coverage.

Number 18:
In Canada, health care coverage stays with you for your entire life.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for tens of millions of Americans, health care coverage stays with you for as long as you can afford your share.

Number 17:
In Canada, you can freely choose your doctors and hospitals and keep them. There are no lists of “in-network” vendors and no extra hidden charges for going “out of network.”

In the United States, under Obamacare, the in-network list of places where you can get treated is shrinking – thus restricting freedom of choice – and if you want to go out of network, you pay for it.

Number 16:
In Canada, the health care system is funded by income, sales and corporate taxes that, combined, are much lower than what Americans pay in premiums.

In the United States, under Obamacare, for thousands of Americans, it’s pay or die – if you can’t pay, you die. That’s why many thousands will still die every year under Obamacare from lack of health insurance to get diagnosed and treated in time.

Number 15:
In Canada, there are no complex hospital or doctor bills. In fact, usually you don’t even see a bill.

In the United States, under Obamacare, hospital and doctor bills will still be terribly complex, making it impossible to discover the many costly overcharges.

Number 14:
In Canada, costs are controlled. Canada pays 10 percent of its GDP for its health care system, covering everyone.

In the United States, under Obamacare, costs continue to skyrocket. The U.S. currently pays 18 percent of its GDP and still doesn’t cover tens of millions of people.

Number 13:
In Canada, it is unheard of for anyone to go bankrupt due to health care costs.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health care driven bankruptcy will continue to plague Americans.

Number 12:
In Canada, simplicity leads to major savings in administrative costs and overhead.

In the United States, under Obamacare, complexity will lead to ratcheting up administrative costs and overhead.

Number 11:
In Canada, when you go to a doctor or hospital the first thing they ask you is: “What’s wrong?”

In the United States, the first thing they ask you is: “What kind of insurance do you have?”

Number 10:
In Canada, the government negotiates drug prices so they are more affordable.

In the United States, under Obamacare, Congress made it specifically illegal for the government to negotiate drug prices for volume purchases, so they remain unaffordable.

Number 9:
In Canada, the government health care funds are not profitably diverted to the top one percent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, health care funds will continue to flow to the top. In 2012, CEOs at six of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. received a total of $83.3 million in pay, plus benefits.

Number 8:
In Canada, there are no necessary co-pays or deductibles.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the deductibles and co-pays will continue to be unaffordable for many millions of Americans.

Number 7:
In Canada, the health care system contributes to social solidarity and national pride.

In the United States, Obamacare is divisive, with rich and poor in different systems and tens of millions left out or with sorely limited benefits.

Number 6:
In Canada, delays in health care are not due to the cost of insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, patients without health insurance or who are underinsured will continue to delay or forgo care and put their lives at risk.

Number 5:
In Canada, nobody dies due to lack of health insurance.

In the United States, under Obamacare, many thousands will continue to die every year due to lack of health insurance.

Number 4:
In Canada, an increasing majority supports their health care system, which costs half as much, per person, as in the United States. And in Canada, everyone is covered.

In the United States, a majority – many for different reasons – oppose Obamacare.

Number 3:
In Canada, the tax payments to fund the health care system are progressive – the lowest 20 percent pays 6 percent of income into the system while the highest 20 percent pays 8 percent.

In the United States, under Obamacare, the poor pay a larger share of their income for health care than the affluent.

Number 2:
In Canada, the administration of the system is simple. You get a health care card when you are born. And you swipe it when you go to a doctor or hospital. End of story.

In the United States, Obamacare’s 2,500 pages plus regulations (the Canadian Medicare Bill was 13 pages) is so complex that then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said before passage “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

Number 1:
In Canada, the majority of citizens love their health care system.

In the United States, the majority of citizens, physicians, and nurses prefer the Canadian type system – single-payer, free choice of doctor and hospital , everybody in, nobody out.

One Big, Bad Ass Rock

As fear of a terrorist attack subsides in the States, the search for The Next American Fear has finally been solved. Not yet a reality tv show, The Next American Fear has had a number of contenders. Serial killers have frequently been on the docket. Another recession has, of course, been eager to rise up from mere chronic anxiety to claim the big title. Even the recent asteroid that lit up a town in Russia seemed about to triumph. But make no mistake, a clear winner has now popped up right under our feet. Ladies and gentleman, fear of—look out!!—sinkholes has the U.S in its grip.

From that poor bloke in Tampa whose bedroom disappeared with him in it to a 43-year-old mortgage broker who was swallowed (w)hole while golfing in Illinois to the U.S congress where compromise and common sense haven’t surfaced in years, sinkholes seem to be everywhere. A 9 acre sinkhole appeared in Assumption Parrish, Lousiana, and a 17 foot deep sinkhole got rave reviews in Mount Holyhoke, Massachusetts.

This is great news to Canadians, who finally have confirmation in their belief that the U.S. has long been a sinkhole eager to bury Canadian independence and culture and healthcare and….But Canadians need not fret. It just so happens that geologists have recently declared much of Canada nearly sinkhole-proof. From the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, Canada has a great layer of igneous rock acting as a vast, unyielding—you guessed it!—sinkhole shield. 

So far as I know, no one has ever called it the sinkhole shield; rather, it is known as the more prosaic Canadian Shield. And ever since I have been up here, no one has been able to tell me, in plain, straightforward English, what exactly it’s shielding us from. Until now.

My inquiry, I realize, was thwarted by a single assumption. Shields, I had assumed, tend to be above us. As an example, I offer the Missile Defense Shield, birthed in the deep recesses of the Reagan brain to address one of the all-time big winners of The Next American Fear (with an honored spot in the American Fear Hall of Fame).* But the Canadian Shield is down there, at our feet, watching over us, or in this case, under us. Low and beholed,  Canadians need not fear being gobbled up in the bowels of the earth,  and it's due to one big, bad ass rock.

So my apprehensive fellow Americans, I suggest you relocate north of the 49^th parallel. Canada is the cure to your latest fear. Come on up before it’s too late, yikes, looook out, oh nooooo…

* past winners include natives, negroes, alcohol, communism, blacks, Fidel, hippies, drugs, deficits, Hussein, Muslims, presidents born in Kenya…

Inaugural Balls and Oaths of Office

I was invited to an inaugural ball! Little ole me.

Unfortunately it wasn’t one where the first couple would grace us with their presence. No, this ball was called Ottawa’s Second Inaugural Ball. The invitation was “calling all Democrats Abroad in Ottawa-Gatineau (and their friends)” and urging us “to celebrate this historic event with fellow Americans, dual citizens, and their Canadian friends.” I have a sneaky suspicion that there might have been more parties in Canada for Obama's recent victory than for Harper when he won the last election.  And even if there weren’t, tell me, which would you rather go to, an Obama party or a Harper party?...Me too.

Not knowing about this “Democrats Abroad” group, I did some surfing and found its on-line home: https://www.democratsabroad.org/. It has a drop down menu to select your country and, once at Canada’s page, you'll find ten Canadian chapters. The global head of the organization, Ken Sherman, is even based in Canada and looks like a kind-hearted former hippie. The U.S. being the U.S., it’s not a big leap to assume there is an equivalent group for the Republicans. Why would one party cede those overseas votes to the other? No sirree, THAT would be un-American.

And so there is: Republicans Abroad  with a Canadian chapter http://www.republicansabroad.ca. I’m glad to say they didn’t have an Inaugural party but they did have an election night party and its invitation is available on their website as a downloadable PDF. Republicans Abroad listed its election night party as having a start time of 7:30 pm and then stated the party’s end time in bold letters When a Romney victory is declared! I might be wrong, but doesn’t that mean they’re still partying? Their party, by the way, cost 20 bucks at the door; the Democrats inaugural party cost 4 bucks and proceeds go to the band. I dunno but maybe that’s why the Democrats won, people can afford their parties.

     *             *             *             *             *

I confess I didn’t watch this inauguration. I earned my stripes by going to the last one and didn’t need to earn my stars by paying attention to this one. The change we can believe in never happened and I figure that if he could disappoint all those people who were on the mall four years ago, my presence—live or sitting in front of the tv—wouldn’t make a difference this time. I figure he had a four year presidential apprenticeship and now he’s got two years to make things happen. I’m pulling for the man. I really am.

Plus, how can you not root for a guy who decides to get sworn in on 3 Bibles. That must be one serious oath. I read that he was sworn in on Lincoln’s Bible, Martin Luther King’s Bible and the Obama family Bible (by the way, isn’t that called the Koran?*) Anywho, that has me wondering what happens with a new Prime Minister of Canada?  Does he take an oath? I’ve been up here twenty years and I don’t have a clue. It just isn’t a big deal. The Prez of the U.S. is, on certain occasions, a kind of sacred, symbolic God-King prone to be treated like dog-meat the rest of the year. But the PM, he’s a kind of bureaucratic, intelligent, schlemiel who oversees the party that got the most votes. Do we really care how he gets sworn in?

Here’s what it says on the Governor General’s website:
The Oath of Office is administered to the prime minister designate by the Clerk of the Privy Council at the commencement of the swearing-in ceremony. The prime minister, the governor general and the Clerk of the Privy Council sign the Privy Council Oath Book. If the prime minister designate is not a member of the Privy Council (Privy Councillor) he or she will be sworn in as a member of the Privy Council before the Oath of Office is administered.
Well, boys and girls, I can’t wait to go either! And just think, we can even watch it again on Youtube.

What keeps me awake at night is wondering which 3 items the Prime Minister of Canada should use at the swearing-in ceremony. The first one is obvious: a new Prime Minister simply has to be sworn in holding the NHL Rules Book. After that, it’s a toss-up. The Articles of Confederation? A Hudson’s Bay blanket? The Charter of Rights and Freedoms? A novel by Mordecai Richler or a bra of Pamela Anderson’s? A plate of poutine? A photo of the Avro Arrow? Leonard Cohen’s guitar? The possibilities are endless. Just not a Bible. That much is clear. Thank God.

*okay, so I’ll admit he’s Christian, but he was born in Kenya.

Where the Deer and the Antelope Roam

On my way down to South America, I change flights in Toronto. In the terminal I take out my iphone to catch up on the news. Roaming fees? Well, what do you know—there’s free airport wi-fi. Ten days later on my way back, I have a long layover in the Miami airport. I take out my iphone to catch up on the news, ready to tap into the free airport wi-fi. Instead I find an invitation to pay a local provider to have access to their network. “Never!” I cry (not out loud thankfully, though I do think a little “arrgh” might have escaped my lips), “for I am an ex-American Canadian who expects free airport wi-fi!” My smug indignation takes hold, as America proves once again it is about nothing more than the almighty dollar. I’ll show America, I think.

So I call my service provider in Canada, Rogers, to buy a roaming package. I explain my situation to the customer service rep who tells me I must be wrong and that the Miami airport must have free wi-fi. Maybe I need to walk, he suggests, to a different place in the terminal to be able to pick up the free connection. I walk and talk convincing him that, no, the Miami airport does not offer free wi-fi. He’s dumbfounded. He offers me a roaming package that’s a bit more expensive than the hook up to the airport wi-fi provider. I purchase it to support my Canadian company and to show America that free airport wi-fi is a right and I will not collude in an American system that tries to extract money from helpless Canadian travelers!

Feeling self-righteous, I catch up on some Canadian news on my iphone and then decide to do some strolling around the terminal. I see several ads for cellphone providers. I recall that when my American friend comes up to Canada he never worries about his roaming fees the way I do when I go down to the States. American cellphone carriers have tolerable roaming fees. Canadian companies don’t. How do you know which foreign tourist is the Canadian, the joke asks. He’s the one not using his cellphone. But here I was, having just bought a Canadian roaming package and colluding in a Canadian system that tries to extract money from helpless Canadian travelers!

In fact, lets admit it: Americans pay a whole lot less for their cellphone usage than Canadians. Why? Because the cellphone space in the States is a competitive market. In Canada it’s sort of, well, okay, maybe it’s a bit competitive, kind of. No it isn’t. You need one hand to count the cellphone players in Canada. But hey, we do have that free airport wi-fi.

And that’s the point, isn’t it? Canada has this abiding belief in the role of a public space with equal access for all. Free airport wi-fi fits with that belief. The Rogers customer service rep cannot believe there’s no free airport wi-fi even as he collects his paycheck from a company that charges ridiculous fees for its cellphone service. America’s belief in a public space has been dwindling and under attack for years. It doesn’t matter if you’re home, home on the range, there’s no free wi-fi where the deer and the antelope roam, but its user fees are significantly less. On this difference, I’ll side with the deer and the antelope.

Surviving the War of 1812

Whew! We survived it.

Yes, the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812 is finally finished. No more tv commercials of historical re-enactments. No more ads by the Canadian War Museum.  The government apparently spent upwards of 20 million dollars from those “hard working Canadian taxpayers” they so admire to advertise the anniversary of the war, er, I mean the great Canadian victory over the American invaders.  The question now becomes "what’s next?".

Deep in the halls of the conservative government, in a small, unknown department called the Program for Upping Canadian Konfidence (P.U.C.K., for short) bureaucrats are hard at work.  Well-funded but off the rink, er, I mean radar, PUCK is scouting for the next big thing to punch up Canadian nationalism to new heights.   With the Vancouver winter Olympics, the summer games and the anniversary of The War of 1812 all in the past, PUCK bureaucrats are suffering a drop in morale. They know how hard it is to inject testosterone into the mild-mannered body politic of Canada.

The Sochi Winter Games are coming but that’s not enough. As one source within PUCK put it, “we just can’t drag ourselves from one Olympics to the next to kick start Canadian pride. We need something else. The War of 1812 was a gold mine but that’s…hey, wait a minute. Wait just a minute. Gold mine? Gold,  Mining, Canada! When it comes to mining, we rock!” He quickly disappeared down the hall lined with portraits of CFL (Canadian Football League) stars.

A former Olympian who now works at PUCK complained of having to “continually oil the engine of Canadian patriotism. Why do we let other countries flex their muscles and throw sand in our face?” Then he mumbled, “Oil, oil…sand…hmm.”  Suddenly you could see his eyes light up, “Cenovus! They have it right. Our country IS spelled with a “can” and not a “can’t. The Oil Sands ARE Canadian tenacity!”  He positively ran down the hall, the one filled with portraits of actors who made it big in Hollywood, past a smiling Jim Carrey on the right opposite a roguish William Shatner as Captain Kirk (how’s that for a Canadian hero!),  and Lorne Greene in Bonanza opposite a young Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future where he proved that Canadians really can skateboard as well as any American, regardless of their acting talent.

So you brave band of northern peoples, it won’t be long now. Sooner rather than later, PUCK will find the net and bring us a moment of Canadian pride we can’t possibly avoid even if we wanted to. And that’s your tax dollars hard at work.

NOTE:To see a government advertisement promoting the War of 1812, go here:  The Fight for Canada
To see a debate on whether or not The War of 1812 was overhyped, go here: The War of 1812 Debate
To see Cenovus’s ad on the Oil Sands, go here: Cenovus Oil Sands Ad