The Savvy Boomer

Bringing a gun to a snow ball fight

For those of us who grew up in Canada, the right to throw snowballs at any moving vehicle is as understood as the right to fighting in a hockey game.  But it seems these rights change once you go South of the 49th parallel.  Look at this video about a cop in Washington DC who drew his gun because his Hummer was pelted with snowballs.  You think maybe this guy is a little too tightly wrapped?  If he lived in Canada he could have killed a few dozen kids by now.  Disgusting!!

Hey Canada-How do you like Obama now?

Every Canadian I know pretty much wanted Obama to win the election.  They refused to accept the fact that he didn't much care about Canada even though he admitted that he wanted to repeal parts of NAFTA.  People thought, "No, he's a good guy so he must be good for Canada."

Then he came to Canada in February for a few hours, told Canadians that he would not be protectionist, mistakenly called Ottawa, Iowa, bought a few typical Canadian souvenirs and left.  The only good that came from that visit is that the city of Ottawa settled the bus strike in advance so as not to be embarrased by people not being able to get to see their American hero.

Fast-forward 4 months and Canadian companies are being shut out of doing business with any American city, state or federal departments.  So Canada turns around and does the same thing to U.S. companies.  Problem is, the consequences are severe for Canadian companies and negligible for U.S. companies.

I think this is the tip of the iceberg for Canada.  Obama may be a great guy, likeable, personable, intelligent, etc. etc. but if you are a Canadian, this guy is going to cost you somehow and there isn't a thing you can do about it. 

This nice guy who people are starting to question whether or not he is tough enough for the job may soon become another example of the saying "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it."   Canadians are starting to realize that now, but the horse is out of the barn.  Let's hope he knows where he is going.

Canadians need a passport to get into the U.S. now

 

I vaguely remember the first time I went into the U.S. from Canada some 50 years ago.  It was a huge bridge from Windsor to Detroit and when we got to the U.S. side, the customs officer just waved us through without even stopping us.  For years, I crossed into the US only being just questioned as to my citizenship and residence and seldom had to show any ID.

Oh how things have changed.  Now Canadians over 15 need a passport or a special driver's license to enter the US.  It's sad because I used to like to tell people from other countries how easy it was for Canadians to enter the US, taking delight that as a Canadian, we were considered to be like brothers to the US.  Most Canadians used to think of going to the US the same as taking a trip to another Canadian province.

Even US citizens need a passport to enter back into the US now although since 70% of Americans don't have a passport, the rules are obviously going to have to be relaxed for quite some time until the public is made aware of it.  I'm sure though that since Americans are being encouraged to buy American, that fewer will be making their way into Canada anyway.

I understand the need for security but even as one of the 50% of Canadians who have a passport this just seems a damn shame.  Oh well, at least we don't need a visa-yet.

Bush has still got some moves

George ducked a couple of size 10s thrown at him by a reporter at a press conference in Iraq.  Say what you want about Bush, he moved pretty quickly after the guy made a couple of well aimed throws that would have hit him in the head if it wasn't for some fancy deking.  I guess those daily workouts have paid off.

US is a recommended buy for Canadian boomers

The Canadian dollar being at par with the US dollar is having some strange effects in Canada.  For example, on weekends, there is usually at least a 2-3 hour wait at the border to get back and forth.  Today, being black Friday, some Vancouver retail stores reported they didn't have a full complement of sales staff because some of them called in sick so they could go shopping in the U.S.  Best Buy, following similar policies by Walmart and Zellers stated today they are selling Canadian stock at the (usually) lower US Best Buy prices.  I bought a pair of shoes the other day and was given a 30% "currency equvalency" discount without even asking.  In short, Canadian retailers are getting smacked by the strong loonie. 

It doesn't stop there.  Many boomers are now considering vacation property purchases in the US, particularly in the markets that are suffering because of the subprime problem.  And the Wealthy Boomer is recommending US stock buys for Canadians.  Wow, what a difference a year makes but I'm not sure how long it will last.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving America-it means lots of football for Canadians

Canada celebrated its Thanksgiving a few weeks ago but we who like the NFL also like your Thanksgiving because we get to watch football on a Thursday.  Then tomorrow night is the championship game for Canadian Universities and Sunday is the Grey Cup, our equivalent of the Super Bowl.  Yeah, we start our football season a couple of months earlier than the U.S.  Then once that is over, we can concentrate on the NFL run up to Super Bowl.

If you live near the Canadian border, you'll see lots of Canucks shopping in the US as we spend our at par dollars on your black Friday sales.  Where did that term come from?  Doesn't black usually denote bad?  Anyway, enjoy your holiday and all the football.