Today is Canada Day….the equivalent of America’s July 4th. From visiting Canada a few months ago, here is what I’ve learned.

• Canada is much like the USA, except it is a bit more multicultural. From what I understand Canada is a bit lax on its immigration laws compared to the USA, so that most anybody seeking asylum can get in. At the Toronto airport almost the entire security team was staff by Arabs.
• Canada is rabid about hockey. Here in the south, some of us (including myself) have not watched an entire hockey game from start to finish. Many of us don’t know the rules of hockey. I’m not even sure what a “power play” is.
• While I was in Canada I asked a Canadian coworker of mine if Canadians feel bullied around by the 500 pound gorilla to their south. She said in some instances they do. In Canadian elementary schools, they learn both Canadian and American history. Their history maps don’t stop at the border. They show just about all of North America including the US..
• Many Canadians speak French (it’s their second official language). It is not unusual (at least in Ottawa) to hear both French and English spoken in public.

Newsflash….my sister finally updated her weblog. Posted to it just yesterday.
At some point this weekend I became acutely aware that I’m embarrassed to be a Tennessean. Our state legislators cannot seem to pass a state budget. Some salivate everytime they hear the word “income tax” and are bound and determined to pass one. There is plenty of pork still around in the state expenditures. Plenty of non essential programs that could be cut. Yet the state governmental leaders don’t want to cut their pet projects. It’s all wasteful governmental spending.