Tim Horton's Expands further into the U.S.

They are dotted throughout New England and big in Rhode Island (right next door to me) but now they're hitting the REALLY big time. There are not enough Canadians to make 12 outlets of Tim Horton's work in NYC. So, some New Yorkers will have to buy some Timmys coffee and donuts if this is to work: http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/about/nyc.html

My guess is that this will flop. My Yankee friends dig on Dunkin or Starbucks, don't really eat donuts and are not likely to drink coffee that in fairness, really just isn't that good. Now give me a blueberry bran muffin and...well that's different.

Canada - U.S. Gas Price Comparison - Version #6

It's been a while since I have updated this so....here it is:

Effective July 12, 2009

Since there are 3.785 litres per U.S. gallon (forget about Canadian gallons as they are irrelevant in this context), and gas is about $0.87cents/litre in Canada (Toronto this weekend), and the Canadian Dollar is at .87 U.S., we can calculate the price of gas in Canada at about $3.78 US/gallon. In the U.S., the average price is about $2.53.

Another way to describe it would be that gas in the US is currently selling for about $0.77 Canadian/litre. This is calculated with the US dollar at 1.15 Canadian and recognizing that 1 litre equals .2642 gallons.

So...if you live near the border and your tank is empty AND there are no tolls and NO lineups, you're going to save $10-$20 per fill up by buying your gas in the U.S, even with the weak loonie.

Thanks be to God - Palin not Leaving Politics

I am not sure what would inspire me to post anything over the next three years if not for the reassuring news that Sarah Palin is not leaving politics. I was particularly heartened by this:

"I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation," she said during an interview published Sunday in The Washington Times.

You know, because there are just so many non-Republicans out there who would welcome her endorsement that, well, I am sure she hardly will have time to get to them all. Let's keep track of how many candidates she endorses who aren't crazed, christianist right-wing lunatics.

The Choice to Live in Canada or the U.S.

As a dual citizen, I have the privilege of choosing where I live - in Canada or the U.S. Since I finished graduate school, I've spent 13 years in Canada and 13 years in the U.S. I am currently living in Massachusetts and suspect I will never leave. My Canadian friends sometimes ask my why. I find it hard to explain.

This article actually encapsulates part of what I feel. Canadians grow very comfortable with poor service, high prices and government intrusion into most aspects of their lives. It's "normal" and everyone complies. But once you're in the U.S. for a while, it's very difficult to adjust to this when you go back to Canada. I fully understand the trade-offs and in many ways I really miss Canada. But when it comes to getting a driver's license, buying some beer, selling a house, accrediting an educational institution, paying my taxes, banking, selling stock, getting a loan, getting a mortgage, insuring one's home or property, and on and on and on, it's all cheaper, better, easier and less of a hassle here. When I lived in B.C. and told my friends that prices (for everything) were outrageous, they shrugged. I got in my car and drove across the border and bought milk, eggs, butter, chicken, cell phones and plans, gas, beer, bread and almost anything else, for half price or less. I just could not give my money to a grocery store that wanted $5 for milk that cost $1.79 in the U.S. Clearly, this is complicated by all sorts of factors including dairy marketing boards, living wages and on and on. But the big bulk of what is wrong is government intervention in the marketplace. A smaller piece is lack of competition.

So in the end, I prefer it here. It's selfish. It's whatever you want to name it. It is...a choice.

And, since I can do this in Massachusetts where health care is mandatory, everyone can get married and the general atmosphere is supportive of diversity and human rights, the things I value and care about most in Canada, are not missed so desperately. I'm not sure I could survive in Texas or Tennessee.

John Mayer...wonderful, classy, tasteful rendition of Human Nature

I was moved by John Mayer's performance at the MJ memorial. What a beautiful choice. Soulful, respectful...understated. Appropriate.

Progressing this Blog or how Sarah Palin goes fishing in a pair of totally hot hipwaders...

Most of my blog has been devoted to consideration of serious political questions but as you can see below, I'm now shifting more towards an entertainment focus. I do want to "progress" this blog.

Sarah Palin Skewered Again by Maureen Dowd

Sarah's follies are such ammunition for the likes of Dowd. This is pretty entertaining:

As Alaskans settled in to enjoy holiday salmon bakes and the post-solstice thaw, their governor had a solipsistic meltdown so strange it made Sparky Sanford look like a model of stability.

On the shore of Lake Lucille, with wild fowl honking and the First Dude smiling, with Piper in the foreground and their Piper Cub in the background, the woman who took the Republican Party by storm only 10 months ago gave an incoherent, breathless and prickly stream of consciousness to a small group in her Wasilla yard. Gobsmacked Alaska politicians, Republican big shots, the national press, her brother, the D.C. lawyer who helped create her political action committee and yes, even Fox News, played catch-up.

What looked like a secret wedding turned out to be a public unraveling as the G.O.P. implosion continued: Sarah wanted everyone to know that she’s not having fun and people are being mean to her and she doesn’t feel like finishing her first term as governor.

Despite Jesus' Words, Christians are Not Pacifists in Kentucky

This is, to say the least, more than troubling. And yet, I am not surprised to see this ongoing enmeshing of "God and Guns" in America. We can all give thanks to Karl Rove, the NRA and the ongoing right-wing nutbag media for stoking this kind of bile.

The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama’s election in November.

Can we have some high profile Christians stand up and denounce this idiocy?