I've disliked the Bush Administration as much as any other American. That being said, any such high level of fear/hatred/disgust from your Canadian friends frankly says more about them than it does about us. For almost two centuries now, we've had prosperous, peaceful relations with Canada, and yet your friends (I don't pretend to imagine that it's that widespread up there) have the gall to pretend to be afraid or disgusted with *us*? When have they been there for us? It's struggle enough as it is to keep a Canadian presence at all in Afghanistan - the country whose regime harbored the men who attacked us on 9/11. Where's the solidarity there?

By all means, the tragic blunders and crimes of our government should be called out - and who then better by but our friends - and yet, and yet, it has to be a reasonable, rational critique - and pretending that the world has more to fear from us than the myriad thugs and tyrants around the world is deeply insulting.

So if you need talking points for your next trip up north... there are plenty ;)