Hey MAV, nice to see you back! I thought Spaw had driven you away in a fit of pique. (Well, no, I didn't really think that, but it's fun to say I did...)

One thing I can tell you for sure: The American Civil War never ended. It continues to be fought out in the political arena, in the newspapers, on the TV, on the talk shows, and on Mudcat.

Of course, the issues have changed (somewhat...), and the geographical divisions have shifted. It's now the denser population centers (like New York City and California) against the rest of the country.

The world outside your borders watches and chuckles. You are still "a house divided", despite Lincoln's efforts to avoid just such a situation.

And it's a damn good thing. If you yanks (excuse the term) ever got totally united you would be damn dangerous and would probably take over the entire world, and we'd all be forced to eat McDonalds hamburgers and have a TV in every room, and watch "Survivor" 6 days a week and then pray like hell on the 7th for an invasion from outer space or some divine intervention by the deity of our choice.

As long as you Democrats and Republicans continue slinging mud at each other, however, and wasting your energy in that fashion, there is some hope that we in Canada and other small countries may yet cling to some small vestiges of cultural autonomy.

Bravo! Let the battle rage, I say. :-)

- LH