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WRT to Canadians being socialist. I wonder if this is really accurate. I myself am a small business person. I hear that our economy runs on the small business person. I feel that I am very fiscally conservative. My money is hard earned, and frugally spent. But I also co-opt the government into performing what I hope and expect are the functions required to ensure that people in this country do not suffer undo hardship. Towards this end, I pay personal tax, and corporate tax to help support a universal healthcare system, welfare system and a decent educational system.
I do believe that the US has a similar set of values. Our politics may be centrist when compared to the behemoth of the current American administration, but I don't think that it is enough to call us a socialist country. We do have strong social values, and we do recognize that inorder to fund large scale pragrammes such as healthcare, it would behoove us to enlist the aid of the government as a partner. I think that the alternative (corporate/private sector) would more likely follow the laws of economics, which may not necessarily have the individual benefits of the populace at the forefront.
As for Bush's visit, I am appalled at the simplistic, and irresponsible media coverage on the part of CNN. I thought that they were respectible. If they get so hot under their collars about protests, somebody should explain to them that Canada is a FREE country, with inalienable rights enshrined in a charter, and we are expressing our right to protest, and to free speech.
Of all the country who's media should understand this perspecitve, you would think that CNN and/or FOX would be inthe forefront with this. I think it is a case of what good for US is only for US. Nobody else is allowed to have an opinion.
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