I thought that you were in favor of smaller states not larger ones, as when you suggested we let Hawaii go. How about we dump Hawaii and take on Alberta; then we don't even have to figure out how to fit 51 stars on the flag...

This is the beginning of Albertan separation. My new bumper sticker that reads: REPUBLIC of ALBERTA is getting many thumbs-ups from passersby.

The animosity towards the eastern warlords from Ontario & Quebec is seething just below the service - soon to explode.

That's great, obc, but are you confident "Let My Carbon Dioxide Go!" is going to rally you all the way to nationhood?

I'm in favor of self-determination.

The issue is this -- why is Ontario exempt from these regulations? We recognize the sub rosa intent behind this - to fleece Alberta of its oil revenues.

If Ontario and Quebec were to discover oil tomorrow, you can bet there'd be no call for sharing the wealth with the rest of Canada, as there is now from the Lefty media here in Canuckistan.

And a second issue that bwill bring the separatists over the top if they choose to employ it - MANDATORY sentencing for criminals. No more 3 year jail terms for rapists and child molestors or time served for murders.

Oh, and jail time for Liberal friends of Jean & Paul who steal one & half million dollars from the taxpayers, and get a house arrest sentence while having to repay only one million of the stolen loot.

Interesting article, at least as interesting as any news about the primative tribal doings in that distant and benighted land called Canada.

Far more bothersome and intriguing to me, however, is the fact that OJ has a correspondant named Oswald Booth Czolgosz.

Question for discussion: Does current American law demand that OJ notify the Secret Service?

HD:

Even more frightening--he's only one of the two who use the same pseudonym here.

For you imperialists out there, here's a 51 star flag and a 52 star flag.

(I found the designs somewhere about a decade ago, so don't blame me if you don't find them esthetically pleasing...)

Mr. Judd;

I thought you favored nationalizing oil resources.

. . . but I'm the original!

I'm curious as to why it's not Booth Czolgosz Oswald (chronological and alphabetical order), or Oswald Czolgosz Booth (reverse chronological, and it scans a little better I think.) What were you thinking at the time, obc?

It rolls off the tongue so much easier this way.

Toss HI overboard and make Alberta an offer it can't refuse.

Keep Hawaii and take Alberta.

"Manitoba … Not sure what to do about them. Restock the province with megafauna and encourage tourism, I think. How quickly can we breed back the saber-toothed cats?" -- James Nicoll

Raoul: 13 stars in a circle and an eastern diamond-back rattle snake on the stripes with the motto: "Don't Tread on Me"

Go Paul Martin!

Anything to get the separation ball rolling is fine with me. BC-Manitoba would instantly become red states along the line of Kansas, though the city of Vancouver would probably vote Democrat for awhile.

All that is needed to grease the skids is allow the new states to buy group health insurance for their citizens, just like Taiwan does so successfully. All the aging Vietnam protesters will have to move to Toronto. BUMMER!

BC-Manitoba would instantly become red states along the line of Kansas, though the city of Vancouver would probably vote Democrat for awhile.

Randall, old buddy, I've warned you before about eating all those spicy snacks before bedtime.

Peter, have you ever been west of Montreal?

Many, many times, and the itineraries included lots of discussions about western alienation with alienated westerners.

Seriously, you must know by now that I back just about everything that comes out of the non-socialist West. This is Canada and nobody is going to stop anybody from separating if that's want they want. It's yours to blow. But take a page from Quebec's playbook and realize it is a lot tougher than you, obc and our American friends imagine. You completely forget the capacity and resolve of the rest of the country to hug you out of it if you really get serious.

Think of all those Royal Commissions, constitutional conferences, letter-writing campaigns from school children, etc., not to mention poignant declarations of Canadian pride from western artists, Olympians, public figures, etc. We'll swarm you with love and give you back your carbon dioxide with much fanfare. You dream of independance, but what you will get is endless attention, a few more tax points and a slightly revamped Senate. You know as well as I do that many westerners will live with that and bask in the glow of the spotlight of yet another inscrutable round of constitution-making. Plus the immigrants and aboriginals will want nothing to do with you.

Here's a tip. Get beyond the "Toronto sucks and keep your hands off our oil, you Eastern bastards!" stage and start articulating a vision that isn't grounded in whines and resentments. Nobody in Canada is oppressed and it looks silly to say otherwise. Quebec separatists got past that stage decades ago because they realized it didn't resonate with the daily lives of Quebecers anymore. Nobody pouts their way to nationhood.

Also, it would help to figure out who you want in and who you don't and whether you are talking independence or statehood. Those questions just might pop up once and a while during the campaign. If not even wacky Brothersjuddites like you and obc are on the same page, how are going to take the rest with you?

AOG:

Not in developed nations. It's unnecessary.

What if they secede and rename themselves CANADA. In all caps. It'll just be better Canada.

"...start articulating a vision that isn't grounded in whines and resentments."

Hey Peter, do you want to come south and work for the Democratic party? They need bold new ideas like that. And I hear they pay top dollar.

Peter, every time I state that the west is conservative, you make some snide comment; it was only natural for me to assume you hadn't been out here. The only time the socialists win is when the conservatives get too cocky.

And Toronto does suck.

(But, you're right, we won't separate; it's too easy to leave one at a time. My exit plan is simple: I married an American ;-)

Randall:

OK, I admit it. The West is conservative. Except when it is socialist.

Gov:

Do they have health benefits? We Canadians have this thing about health benefits.