Things Canadian in the News Today

  So US President George Bush visited Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Ottawa today. (Did you notice that 78.6% of the words in that sentence are capitalised? I write about important stuff!) It seems he was met by as many as five thousand protesters, most of them university students who won't have an iota of a clue how the real world works for several years to come, but feel the need to impose their hopelessly naive and idealistic views on anybody who will listen. Until the police pulled out the riot gear and tear gas guns. Miraculously, the crowd disappated like a fart on a windy morning. A report I read said that three protesters were arrested. Out of five thousand. Yes, you read that correctly. Six one-hundredths of one percent of the protesters had the intestinal fortitude to truly stand up for what they believe in. The rest of them went for a latte at Starbucks in the Glebe.
  On a more serious note, and one of far more importance to Canadians, Pierre Berton succumbed to old age today. He was eighty-four. If Canadians have any kind of a national identity, it was because of Pierre Berton. His many books on Canadian history, like The National Dream, The Last Spike, and Vimy brought our past to life for people in a way no one else has ever accomplished. Every Canadian is a lesser person today.