Can't the Queen shut down your banks and all that?

Nope. Not in Britain, and not in Canada. The key thing to understand about the British royal family is that they are monarchs for as long as they do what they're told. The Prime Minister writes her speeches for her. All direct power has long since been removed. The Queen has the right to advise the Prime Minister, but has no power to tell him/her what to do. Look up "constitutional monarchy" - we aren't back in the days of King John and Magna Carta any more, you know.

As regards the coup idea, it's a bit of a no go. 3 years ago, the people of the USA chose by a clear majority to have George Bush run the country for another 4 years. And the recent Congress elections were hardly a home run for opponents of the war, were they? As sad as it may be, the majority of the USA are getting precisely what they asked for. Like Prohibition, the result may be a clusterfuck, but it's a democratically-elected clusterfuck.

Democracy may be mob rule, but the only alternative is a dictatorship. And you don't seem keen on the Queen having that power, or anyone else. Maybe anyone else except you, anyway, but you're not going to win many votes here with an anonymous login.

Graham.