Conner

Excellent, James. Ok, here goes... I'm Conner and I'm a recovering idiot. Hugs, Conner

I can only offer an educated guess. The individual churches are autonomous and may leave the UCC, thus dwindling its numbers significantly. Where an individual church decides to remain within the UCC, its conservative 'straights' may well leave the church and go elsewhere. Their children and their monetary contributions go with them of course. Unless a church has a strong missionary program, I would think that children are its prime means of growth. The Roman Catholic church, for example, is growing only in areas like Africa and South America. Ultimately, I believe all churches measure their success by how many souls they bring home. On a political level, churches will therefore only support policies that allow them to do that. Hugs, Conner

Well, Mark, as one of the mottos I try to follow is "Don't get angry, get even!" I shall not take offence to the hapless reference. Good one! My best wishes to all Americans on this important day is truly heartfelt. Yes, there is much that is good in the US. The world is a better place because of America and Americans - the list is almost endless in the areas of industry, entertainment, the arts, higher level education, sports, medical research, the space program, even the technological advances resulting from your strong military spending has resulted in many positive results for mankind. Most importantly, Americans are good people. You are one of the most giving nations in the world. What breaks my heart is the number of fathers and sons you have given to protect the free world. Americans will always reward the hard working amongst us but they also champion the underdog...I've seen it time and again. Americans love happy endings. May Betty bless you all. Hugs, Conner

To all my American friends and you too, Mark, Happy 4th of July! Special Rainbow hugs and jellybeans to you, Michael! Hugs, Conner

Canadian immigration officials have to be the worst in the world. Even when I was an employee of Health Canada and traveled on a special government passport, they would still give me a hard time....and I don't mean hard in a good way. Sorry about that, Ben. Especially since the Canadian side of the Falls are more beatiful than the US side. That's the truth, too. I've been there at least 5 times. Hugs, Conner

As any Irishman would say, "It's just grand!" The water is just so blue-green, almost emerald, it's breathtaking! It's located within Bnaff National Park (the heart of the Canadian Rockies) so the development in the area is quite minimal - it's pristine as any place could be that gets 5 million visitors a year. Now I obviously have a bias, being Canadian, but it just doesn't get any better than Lake Louise. I've been there and to Jasper National Park as well (just a 3 hour drive north) three times. Lake Louise is in the province of Alberta which is right next door to British Columbia - where I live. Calgary would be the city you would want to fly into. My suggestion would be to fly into Vancouver, BC and spend a few days and then rent a car and drive to Lake Louise - about 10 hours. Vancouver is an incredibly beautiful city and the most gay-friendly city in Canada. Calgary is a bit red-neck, still lots of cowboys. Let me know if I can help in any way. Btw, we drive on the right side of the road but you've likely done that as I believe most of mainland Europe does as well. Hugs, Conner

I'm sorry for your trouble, Patrick. The last stanza of Auden's poem truly expresses the incredible sense of loss, despair and anger that you must be feeling after this senseless tragedy. Find voice for your grief and remember... 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. --Alfred Tennyson, _In Memoriam A.H.H._ (1850), XXVII. 44 Hugs, Conner

Pot, health care, and gay marriage. Conner, I'm envious Vic <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It sounds like Nirvana, except American guys are hotter (ducks as snowballs and hockey pucks fly at his head) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There's a lot more heading your way than snowballs and hockey pucks, I'll tell ya. The Mounties have been alerted and they always get their man. Hmmm maybe I'd be doing you a favour. We have our fair share of hotties. It's just that we have to cover up more to avoid FES (Frozen Extremities Syndrome). It definitely can be here. The answer for you is simple though. Emmigrate to Canada and start an importing business. Hugs, Conner

Woah, that's pretty impressive, I've been to nine of them, 10 if you count going into canada to turn our car around and then leaving again, lol. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ben - talk about missed opportunities! Let me guess, you were travelling by car from the US to Canada just so you could hit the duty free store, right? Did you get it at both ends? (Hmmmm- that question didn't come out right. ) I mean did you hit the duty free shop leaving the US and then again leaving Canada? Next time, try and stay a little longer, being the fine British subject that you are! As for me, I've been to 12 of the 30 countries listed. No sex with the locals. On two occaisions, I brought my own from home. Hugs, Conner

I agree that Canada's heathcare system has many flaws. Being publically funded, it is not always operated efficiently - even this is typical Canadian understatement. Elective surgery can take months. Yes, people die waiting. But I wouldn't change it. It's so....Canadian, eh? It's the attitude we have towards healthcare that I cherish. Access to good healthcare is more and more being seen as a basic human right that all are entitled to. Hugs, Conner

Yes, I am very proud to be Canadian. Especially today. :2hands: I must extend my kudos to Paul Martin, Canada's Prime Minister. To introduce this legislation and see it through to passage with a minority government took a lot of balls. Thank you, Mr. Martin. Minority governments generally have a short shelf life. The present government is only a year old. There will likely be another federal election in 2006. However, I doubt that this bill will be an election issue at that time. Paul Martin and his Liberal party remain in deep doo-doo on other issues - particulary with the Gomery Commission which is looking into how the Liberals systematically stole millions of Canadian tax dollars over a period of years. All that we owe to Jean Chretien, Canada's former Prime Minister and Liberal party leader. Martin could well take the wrap. So the Liberals may well fall in the next election and it wouldn't be undeserved by any means. But this issue is now decided. Canadians rarely like to re-decide anything. Besides, a year from now, when even those Canadians who opposed this bill see that the country has not gone to hell in a hand basket (what's a hand basket, anyway?), Canadians will simply shrug our shoulders and say, "Well that wasn't so bad," and move on. I love my country and the people in it. Hugs, Conner