Today is the 227th birthday of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Happy Birthday to the USA, and may our American Cousins enjoy the holiday! As to getting back to business, why? It's so much more fun to bash our politicians! And they are so wonderfully bashable, aren't they? Oh well, I suppose that if we must, we must. Jeff

Now, now, could you expect any politician for the great, and wealthy country of Canada to NOT spend a week at the Ritz in Paris, to recover from Jet Lag? The poor baby was sooo tired! Back in the days when I attended International Medical Research Conferences, I gulped many a cup of burnt coffee, in order to stay alert. I did NOT stay at 5 star hotels, or even 4 star. Jet lag was just something that one had to put up with. Of course, I started traveling before jets, when it took 5-7 days before one was in Europe. Very seldom did we travel Internationally in those days, but there was no "lag" at all. More than once, I found myself in a place where one shared the w/c down the hall. That was because I had to account for every penny of my expenditures. No frills allowed, unless I paid for them. Believe me, I was much too frugal to splurge very often. I wonder if I would have, if it was someone else's money? I don't think so, I was not raised that way. I remember reading a book by one of my favourite authors, Robert Heinlein. His "juvenile" books inspired me as a young man (they are still a great read). In any case, he once gave a wonderful definition of an honest vs a dishonest politician. An "honest politician" is one that stays bought! A "dishonest politician" is one that is for sale to the highest bidder, and is subject to sale more than once on the same issue. How many of our politicians would fit either of those definitions? But then again, we only deserve what we, as a people, elect in a government. It was not JUST Quebec and Ontario that elected our present government. It was all of us, most especially those that were too lazy to vote. Hmmmm, something else we have in common with our American Cousins? Jeff