OUR CANADIAN NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS

I do hope that the results of the election were satisfactory to you. Sometimes the old adage "a new broom sweeps clean" is true of newcomers to power. In a rush to prove their worth to the constituency they make an effort to root out the entrenched ills of the previous administration. Perhaps this will be true in this case.

I do not mean to sound like a Cassandra, ever crying prophecies of gloom and doom, but I would suggest a caveat to our neighbors: be warned by the mess we Americans find ourselves in with our government and be alert for the slightest hint that Canada may follow suit.

Power is a deadly addictive drug, and most politicians who get a taste of it become hooked. And like a drug addict, they come to want more and more. We must remember, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Our president has been encroaching upon the liberties of the people in the past but since 9/11 he has used the Patriot Act as a springboard for a more overt grab for power.

Was the Patriot Act passed in Canada also? If so, be very alert and watchful. Some leaders try to attain too much power with a bludgeon, like Bush, although he has been quite sneaky in many ways. Others are more discreet, carefully seizing it in small increments, little by little so as not to alarm the populace.

Support good politicians but also be alert and on watch.