Today on The Current

[james_davis_nicoll]

Diane Francis argues that it would be best for Canada to abandon our health care system, to adopt a native relations system even more brutal than the one we have, and embrace a sky-rocketing Gini Coefficient while inextricably tying ourselves to an unstable nation forever flirting with government shut-down and default.

On balance, I am against this. Their crazification factor outnumbers Canada more than two to one.

She also advocates policies known have contributed to gendercide in China.

Comments

[mishalak]

Due to my temporary computer problems I cannot actually see the commentary. However, the crazy factor in the us is not terribly high as they only win by a margin of 2.4 percent when they have a flag waving war going on and not much more in off election years.

IF there were a serious move by Canada and America towards closer political ties I think it would shift the long term balance in the United States in the non-crazy direction. For one thing it might mean some meaningful electoral reforms that would prevent the particular brand of crazy from being as effective through gerrymandering.

I think it could also be good for Canada in getting a direct vote in the policies of the nation who's policies have the greatest impact on Canada.

But it would have to be a long term project at both sides coming together rather than just Canada just joining the us or something.

[pperiwinkle.livejournal.com]

Well, if the goal is to reduce the population, reducing the total number of all those pesky wombs will make the regulation of the aforementioned pesky wombs easier to enforce.


Did I say wombs? I meant women, because I totally wouldn't reduce a woman to a mere reproductive unit for sons, no sir, not me.

[sean9090.livejournal.com]

Nope

[david wilford (from livejournal.com)]

Evidently the concept of national sovereignty is lost on Francis. That's why the War of 1812 still matters, because you don't buy and sell nations.

[andrew barton (from livejournal.com)]

No way in hell.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

It does seem like buying trouble where you don't have to.

[agent-mimi.livejournal.com]

She seems nice.

[connactic.livejournal.com]

We also managed to export at least one brand of our nutjobs:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/02/sovereign-citizen-movement-worrying-officials-as-30000-claim-they-freed-themselves-from-canadas-laws/

What next? Confederate flags on pickup trucks?

[realinterrobang.livejournal.com]

I live just down the road a piece from James toward Detroit, and I see Confederate flags around often enough for me to notice. I'm torn between wondering why people around here do it, and actually not wanting to know.

Also, you know what? I think any of these punditoids and pols who want to turn Canada into US 2: Canadian Boogaloo should just emigrate. I'm sure, being the privileged sorts for whom eliminating Medicare et al wouldn't bother them, they'd be able to sail right through on some sort of waiver visa for the very rich or other...

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I saw a Confederate flag sticker (the "battle flag") on a New Brunswick - licensed car the other day . . .

[keithmm.livejournal.com]

The Confederate flag doesn't have the same historical connections as in the US so it's seen as just generic "rebel" imagery. It's similar to the thing you see in East Asia where there's this minor fetish for Nazi imagery: it's because the uniforms look cool and they don't have the same sort of visceral reaction because of the more direct historical connection to them as do those of us from North America and Europe.

When I idly pointed out to one guy (an Inuk, as it happens) that he was flying the flag representing slave-owning assholes on his ATV, he was taken aback because he hadn't actually thought about it. It came off immediately.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

As it happens, Diane Francis did emigrate: she was born in Chicago. Kind of like Margaret Wente, who now that I think about it comes from the same general region.

[pope-guilty.livejournal.com]

Anybody who looks at us and says "Yeah, I gotta get me some of that is so far gone you need to get an exorcist in because they are plainly a corpse being animated by a demonic possessor of some sort.

[xinef.livejournal.com]

Well put.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

That's a take on 1812 I haven't seen before.

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

But..but...the US outnumbers us 10:1. If what we have is so great, why didn't they all move here? Clearly, theirs is better because there are more of them.

Mind, if population size is the answer, we should all be emigrating to China. Clearly they have managed the correct blend of fascism...er, communism...and capitalism. [/tongueincheek]

[pope-guilty.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why Canadians look south and don't recoil in horror. We're ugly, and we're that particular kind of ugly that knows it and revels in it.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

It's worth noting that "Diane Francis" and "Diana Francis" difrancis are rather different people.

[pperiwinkle.livejournal.com]

"why didn't they all move here?"

Because it's too cold!

Couldn't you just invade us and make us South Canada?

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

As I recall from the Frantics, the Canadian Armed Forces are equipped with mud, which might be no match for actual weapons.

We will have to continue with our scheme to infiltrate your entertainment and gaming industries and bring you to a state of faux Canadian-ness. *

*Memo: If I ever write a story or book based on this idea, I'm claiming the title "Faux Canada" right now.

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

We were asked to annex a Caribbean island. For reasons that seem opaque to me, we refused.

Possibly they feared that the number of people rushing to move to the warm part of Canada would sink the island.

[(Anonymous)]

Diane Francis was the origin of the "we didn't go into Iraq because Chretien's son's father-in-law owns 6.6% of Total SA" story. Mark Steyn picked it up, but she was the origin.

And in so doing she revealed either a total inability to read simple documents, or a willingness to lie. It took me 15 minutes to prove her wrong via internet search. Maybe I should take up investigative journalism.


William Hyde

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Issues with adding another province? Issues with adding lots of dark-skinned poor people?

[(Anonymous)]

in so doing she revealed either a total inability to read simple documents, or a willingness to lie

The second. She's demonstrated it in the past.

[dexfarkin.livejournal.com]

Annexing Turks and Caicos Islands goes back to WWI. It kept popping up in the 80s and 90s as a pet project of a Conservative MP. There are close relations, and Canada has been sending law enforcement resources down to help with crime on the island.

The main issue is that the perceived benefits don't outweigh the costs, although there's been continuing studies on it over the years.