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I have Canada Lust again. It's a bad case this time.

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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:53 PM
Original message
I have Canada Lust again. It's a bad case this time.
I watched "Bowling for Columbine" tonight for the first time in a long time. The section about Canada made me wistful. When he asked them about healthcare, they acted incredulous that anyone would have to PAY for healthcare and some teenager said "That's a human RIGHT."

Sigh. The "slums" looked nicer than some nice areas in the US.
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rockymountaindem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:56 PM
Response to Original message
1. There are areas of Toronto that I have visited that are not slums
that are not as nice as the supposed "slum" that's in Bowling for Columbine. What was shown there was a new government housing development. We have those in the US, but they are often taken over by drug dealers. I don't know if it's different in Canada.
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Zuni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:57 PM
Response to Original message
2. Sorry. Canada has slums, bad ones
You should check out Vancouver. I saw junkies shooting heroin on the fucking street, walking around with needles in their arms.
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sasquatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:05 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. Perhaps Rush is holding out on them, you thought about that?
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Zuni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:14 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. Rush the band or Rush the pill popping fat man?
Do you think Rush is Vancouver's drug king pin?

I do, now.
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sasquatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:29 AM
Response to Reply #8
20. Rush the pill popping fat man
They shut down his supply in Florida so he needs to learn to speak Canadian and get his fix north of the border.
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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:58 PM
Response to Original message
3. Avoid the Canadian butter tart
I've heard horror stories. And people think absinthe drinkers are weird...
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Sufi Marmot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:21 AM
Response to Reply #3
16. You think butter tarts are bad?...
...Don't ever, EVER eat a Nanaimo barf, er...bar. Gack...a year's supply of sugar and fat...

-SM
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Lisa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:49 AM
Response to Reply #16
22. especially the ones purchased at church bazaars and yard sales ...
They look so small and innocuous -- but the cholesterol seeps right into your tissues, bypassing your stomach and intestine, and begins to harden like Krazy-Glue almost instantaneously.
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derby378 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 09:12 AM
Response to Reply #22
25. There's a rumor going around...
...that some Canadians actually put lead in their butter tarts. Sounds pretty far-fetched to me, but US News and World Report mentioned it as if it were fact. Can any Canadians confirm or deny this one?
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:58 PM
Response to Original message
4. Aren't those 3 kids in front of the Taco Bell in Canada just great!
They're like the Greek Chorus in the classical dramas, laying it out, telling the truth of the story. And they were skipping school. Imagine that, Canadian slackers are brighter than our policy leaders. Surprised...I didn't think so.

:hi:
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 10:59 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. I LOVED them!
They made me laugh.
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Zuni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:19 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. The interview seemed so staged
Something didn't seem right. It was either staged or so heavily edited that only what Moore wanted you to hear was shown.
Either way, I have been to canada, and it is not the fairy tale land of yore that MM makes it out to be. It has crime, poverty, drugs, racism, pollution, seal clubbing. It even has FReeper types.

That is not saying i don't like canada---the several times I have been north of the border were all quite pleasant and I have had no problems worth mentioning.
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:20 PM
Response to Reply #9
10. Well there ya go then.
I live in Texas. I bet Canada WOULD seem really great to me. Heck the healthcare ALONE is a major draw, in my mind.

I can like Canada and want to live there if I want.
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autorank Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:27 AM
Response to Reply #9
19. Canada is no Nirvana but I loved that interview...those kids were for real
they rocked. Often times 'the slackers' are the kids with the greatest insight. They realize that sitting in a prison-like building for 40 hours going over rote material is burdensome...so...they skip class and eat junk food. I'll pay more attention next time I watch it but the entire film is a gem. And what's this about them growing houses in Canada?:shrug:
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sasquatch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:08 PM
Response to Original message
7. Eat something with mayonaise in it, that will make it go away.
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Lisa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:44 PM
Response to Original message
11. I'm just amazed someone could use "Canada" and "lust" ...
... in such close proximity, let alone in the same sentence!

I'm flattered, though.

We do have our problems (like Vancouver's Lower East Side situation that Zuni referred to earlier). But hearing such praise from Bouncy makes me want to work that much harder to address them. In fact, I believe I'll go help with our provincial election campaign, in the hopes of getting a "kinder, gentler" government installed this spring.
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:51 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Aw, that's great!
The healthcare alone makes Canada, in my opinion, light years ahead of the US. I never said Canada was perfect (some Americans get touchy when Canada/US comparisons come up), BUT I do fully believe that the standard of living is MUCH better in Canada than here. Especially where I live.
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Lisa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Apr-04-05 11:56 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. plus I got a giant cheque from Revenue Canada (our version of the IRS) ...
We don't have to file our tax returns until April 30th, but my parents, being retired and bored, have been at me to send in my paperwork early. I have heard that we tend to pay higher taxes up here, but a lot of people I know have also reported getting a big chunk of their payroll taxes back (and I thought that having an extra job last year would mean I'd be writing the feds a cheque for sure!).

So that was nice. (And I probably could have gotten more, but I didn't spend a lot of time looking for deductions.)
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GOPBasher Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:21 AM
Response to Reply #11
30. That always happens to me, too. n/t
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R. A. Fuqua Donating Member (281 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:03 AM
Response to Original message
14. my family lives in Vancouver.
we imigrated to Canada from India when I was very young. Most of my family is still in Canada but I came to the US the second I got a chance. Job opportunites and stuff SUCKED in Canada compared to what was available to me in the US.

I also hated the cold--I LOVE living in the warmth and sunshine California. Everyone in my family who is still stuck in Canada envies the crap out of me. I like to visit (VERY occasionally) but I wouldn't go back permanently for a bazillion dollars.

Why is it that the grass always looks greener and people always want what they don't have?
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:08 AM
Response to Reply #14
15. It'd be awfully nice not to pay $168 every time my daughter is sick
because my husband's "health coverage" sucks so badly doctor's visits aren't even covered under copays. She has asthma and allergies and is on five medications a day to help her breathe.

So you tell me. I wonder why the grass in Canada would look greener to someone like me? Hmmmmm.

Good for you if you like it here. I'm still free to want to move elsewhere. Just like you were free to.

And the cold wouldn't bother me. It'd be an nice change from summer lasting from May to November with blistering heat and drought most of that time. So hot you don't even GO outside in the worst part of it.
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Dez Donating Member (826 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:23 AM
Response to Reply #15
17. I'm a Canadian wannabe
since first going there in 1984! And someday I hope I can emigrate there too! I love it! Especially BC (I've only seen BC).
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rockymountaindem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:40 AM
Response to Reply #15
32. On the other hand
don't forget that there is 15% sales tax on every purchase in Canada (including food) that goes to pay for health care. Costs are costs, the only difference is that you pay for those visits a little at a time instead of all at once.
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CaliforniaPeggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:50 AM
Response to Reply #14
24. WELCOME TO DU! And to the California branch, also!
You don't say in your userprofile where in California you are. So, where are you? This website is very friendly and quite the place for intelligent, thoughtful people. You will most likely have a very good time here...

:hi:
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R. A. Fuqua Donating Member (281 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #24
33. Thanks for the welcome!
(and also for the implication that I may fit in with intelligent thoughtful people!)

I like that!

I am in the Bay Area --just a little out of San Francisco. I love it here--but I am very into an outdoor lifestyle. I like biking, skating, scuba, windsurfing, paragliding--all kinds of great outdoor activities. So for me California represents the fun in the sun lifestyle. And I love the California attitude too.

Where are you CaliforniaPeggy?

Hopefully I will get invited to a DUer get together somewhere around here--I would love to meet some DUers!
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CaliforniaPeggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 02:32 PM
Response to Reply #33
36. Alas, I am in SoCal.
And of course you'll fit in with intelligent people...Because you are one! There are ways to find DU groups in your area, but I don't know how. Perhaps someone who does know, will spot my message to you and take pity on both of us...by telling you the link. Anyway, WELCOME!
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R. A. Fuqua Donating Member (281 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 07:15 PM
Response to Reply #36
37. thank you so much--very nice to meet you.
I have been to SoCal--and I loved it--last summer I went on a Sea Kayaking trip down near Carlsbad. (I am a California kind of a guy!). Hopefully we will both get to meet lots of great DUer's in our futures.
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Ladyhawk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:26 AM
Response to Original message
18. I get NZ lust.
Sometimes I wish I could be as far away from America as humanly possible. I also understand NZ is one of the least religious "Western" countries. I am SO GODDAMN SICK of religion and the dumbass fundies and neocons in this stupid little town.

The town is nice...it's just the people I can't stand. :mad:

It's a wonder I don't have high blood pressure...doncha think? :)
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:19 AM
Response to Reply #18
29. NZ is even more stringent about their immigration
requirements. There's no way I could get in. But look into it, maybe you could. My best friend's mom went there on a Lord of the Rings two week tour and absolutely fell in love and didn't want to leave. But she had to.
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Wapsie B Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:35 AM
Response to Original message
21. Yes healthcare IS a human right.
Edited on Tue Apr-05-05 12:36 AM by bushwentawol
We've just got too many righties here who think otherwise. Funny though, their convictions stop at the mention of abolishing Medicare.
They drone on and on about how no one in this country has a right to free healthcare. Unwitting stooges for the medical industrial complex in this country. Or maybe they're paid shills. There's a special place in the fiery depths of hell for people like that.
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redacted Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 12:50 AM
Response to Original message
23. watching Le Point
News from Montreal.

That's sad . . .isn't it?
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:18 AM
Response to Reply #23
28. I watch the CBC News on one of the channels we get on cable.
It's quite good, I think.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 09:43 AM
Response to Original message
26. I'd NEED the free healthcare if I moved to Quebec...
with its bountiful supply of poutine and Michigan Burgers, all so close at hand...

Redstone
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Bouncy Ball Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:17 AM
Response to Reply #26
27. LOL!
I can see your point!
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purr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 10:30 AM
Response to Original message
31. My aunt lives in Mississauga, Ontario
and I'd LOVE to live there. Its beautiful, the times I've been there everyone has been nice, never seen any trash on the road or crummy houses, kids were respectful, and the kicker that shocked me.. the neighbors were nice and social!!

Course, I'm sure the whole Country isnt like that, but it seems a lot better than the old, grumpy rich snobby people I live by who sit there and watch you play with your kids and call the cops on anyone who looks at them wrong.

I'd move but then my ex would take me through a bitter and ugly custody fight, and my hubbys ex would hang him by his balls if he'd move.
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hippiechick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 02:12 PM
Response to Original message
34. I have Canada Lust, but for a different reason ...
:evilgrin:
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Bok_Tukalo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Apr-05-05 02:22 PM
Response to Original message
35. Going to Toronto this weekend
I'll look for slums.
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