dianavan, now you've gone and told all our secrets!   Listen up folks; with one foot on either side of the fence, this lady knows what she's talking about ;-)

In fact seventy per cent of Americans of voting age didn't vote for Bush

Sheds a bit of a different light on the situation, don't it? Thanks for that, McGrath. And by the way, here's your attribution ...

QUOTATION: As far as criticism is concerned, we don't resent that unless it is absolutely biased, as it is in most cases.
ATTRIBUTION: John Vorster (1915–1983), South African politician, prime minister. Quoted in Observer (London, Nov. 9, 1969).

Funny, as I re-read my own words above ie People outside the US see the situation there a lot more objectively - (ie minus a whole whack of fear, anger, pride, cultural conditioning etc) I was thinking - right. We have our own whacks of fear, anger, pride, cultural conditioning to contend with instead.   *sigh*   I felt so much better when I just KNEW I was 100% right   ;-)

We Canadians in particular love to feel superior to our bigger, richer, stronger neighbours, and the making of snarky remarks is the only field in which we consistently outstrip them.

Hmmm I can think of a few more, actually;

* shovelling snow
* swearing at snow
* swearing at snow in awful to godawful French
* growing hockey players
* growing figure skaters
* growing moose
* growing polar bears
* growing beer
* growing peace
* growing pot
* conceiving kids on ski lifts
* conceiving kids in canoes
* really gettin Inuit

Ok on that note it's on with the woolies and out the door ... Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon are having this absolutely heavenly menage a trois out there, right now! I kid you not ... check it out!