January 13, 2006 [LINK]
While most Americans' security fears are directed toward the southern border, our northern frontier cannot be ignored either. Sadly, public opinion in Canada is turning against the Good Ol' U.S.A., to the extent that cooperation on security matters may be hindered. Prime Minister Paul Martin, who is fighting for his political life amidst a massive corruption scandal, recently warned that his fair country might become susceptible to "right-wing extremism" like the United States. [See CNN.com.] Say it isn't so! Coincidentally or not, the Washington Post recently published an amusing feature story in the Style section by Peter Carlson, "Raiding the Icebox," which described the contingency plans for a U.S. invasion of Canada, since 1930. Surprisingly, Canada had developed plans for an attack against the United States nine years previously!
Michael Ignatieff, a Canadian professor of political science who currently teaches at Harvard, has gotten into trouble in his home country by defending, with some reservations, U.S. policy in Iraq. Daniel Drezner discusses this case.
You may notice that I don't spend much time bewailing the idiocy of various nitwits who say obnoxious, absurd things just to attract public attention. To be perfectly clear, the following individuals are considered "beyond the pale" of rational discussion and will henceforth be ignored on this blog: