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Today the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in the NOW v. Scheidler case. From the National Organization of Women 's website: On Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 10 a.m., Scheidler et al. v. National Organization for Women et al. and Operation Rescue et al. v. National Organization for Women et al. will be argued before the Supreme Court. These cases relate to stopping illegal violence directed against women's health clinics, abortion providers and their patients. NOW initiated this case nearly 20 years ago in an effort to stop anti-abortion extremists from continuing to plan and organize violence at women's health clinics. The self-described "pro-life Mafia" planned to end abortion by closing every clinic that provided abortion services. Over the past 19 years, the violence has included invasions, violent blockades, arson, chemical attacks and bombings of women's health care clinics, assaults on patients, death threats and shootings of health care workers and adm

I'm not responsible for the bad pun at the top of this post; blame Jon Stewart. Last night The Daily Show led with - guess what? - the Canadian election. It wasn't all that funny, really. They mostly played to the truism of Americans not knowing anything about Canada - including where it is - and closed with a lame "eh" and "aboot" joke. But it was still fun to see! I actually said, "Hey, we made The Daily Show!" Yes, I said we ! Which brings me to today's milestone: we've been here three months. What a lot has happened. Our lives in New York feel so long ago. * * * * On "The National" last night, they recapped the results of a poll of Canadians' top concerns for the election. Health care was number one. Number two, however, surprised both of us: trust. I just don't get that. When I consider what's important to me in elections, trust doesn't even enter into the picture. On a list of 1 to 10, it's an irrelevant

I wasn't going to mention this... but hey, I'm a writer, we like to be read, and we can't resist a prize, no matter how meaningless. In the spirit of "it doesn't mean anything if you lose, but it's still fun to win," perhaps you would like to vote for we move to canada for the 2005 Canadian Blog Awards. A kind reader nominated it in the Best Personal Blog category. Right now, in Round One, you can vote once per day. You don't have to vote in every category, but you do have to make all your selections (one per category) before you submit your vote. Vote here. Thanks.

We visited the Mississauga YMCA yesterday. It is amazing - huge, sparkling clean, loaded with stuff to do, and as spacious as any decent health club. I never belonged to a really high-end health club in New York City - which you've really got to see to believe, they're more like luxury resorts than gyms - this Y is easily as nice as any gym I've ever belonged to. The main thing, for me , is the pool. I swam for years in New York, slowly working my way up from not being able to swim for 5 minutes, to swimming 40 continuous minutes, several times a week. This solved a major issue for me: how to get enough exercise without brutalizing my weak joints. However, I haven't been in the water in more than a year, and it'll take some time to work my way back to speed. The Y also had a complete range of all the other exercise equipment and facilities, so there's plenty of variety if the pool is crowded or I'm bored. It's about 10 or 15 minutes from our place. Havi

Last night Allan and I got our first view of parliamentary democracy, and it was fascinating. Before we moved, people tried to explain the parliamentary system to me, but I never really understood it. But living here, reading the newspaper every day, and now, seeing a call for an election and the fall of a government, brought it all into focus. Peter Mansbridge and the CBC team helped a lot, too. Few viewers could have learned as much as we did last night. We were chuckling over seven weeks being called "a long campaign". Of course, when a government is in power for 17 months, you can't have an eight-month election campaign. More generally, the CBC rocks. A news show with context : imagine that. Here's a question we haven't had answered yet. We've heard (repeatedly) that this was the first time in 25 years that a government has fallen on a strict no-confidence vote. Got it. So how else does a government fall? What other circumstances lead to an election? I don

Where have you gone, ALPF? Are you boycotting wmtc because it no longer accepts anonymous comments? Email me, eh?

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm an intrepid urban explorer . Since moving here, however, I haven't seen all that much of Toronto. I was more focused on our house and our own neighbourhood here in Port Credit. And who could blame me: our first house, first yard, first life in suburbia, our incredible proximity to the lake and the waterfront trail. There's been so much to enjoy right here. Now, after three months, I'm feeling the urge to see more of Toronto. I've done a handful of things in the city, seen a few neighbourhoods, maybe more than many suburbanites do in a year. But for me, it's next to nothing. I'm ready to start. By the way, I did get that Soulpepper subscription I mentioned earlier , so that guarantees a certain number of city days. But now I'll start flipping through my Time Out Toronto and randomly picking things to see. As always, I'm open to all your suggestions. I may not hurry off to do them right a

I'm excited about today's no-confidence vote . Only three months after moving here, we'll get to see a government fall, a campaign, and an election, in a system very different from what we're accustomed to. Even the expression "the government will fall" strikes us as oddly dramatic and revolutionary. My sense of current Canadian politics, for what it's worth, tells me that very little will change from the upcoming election. I'd be surprised if the Liberals didn't win. So it's kind of cool to see this happening without a lot at stake. On a semi-tangential note, have I mentioned I'm completely down with "Corner Gas"? Excellent show; I love the deadpan humour. (Great website, too; check it out .) So was that really Finance Minister Ralph Goodale ragging on Brent Butt's camera last Saturday night?

Tresy, are you there? A long time ago - before we even moved - I had some questions for you, but I didn't have your email address. I posted trying to find you , but you weren't reading. Now, every time you leave a comment, I leave a comment after you, asking you to email me... but you must not check back for replies. So Mr Tresy, if you are reading this, would you please email me????

My sister-in-law, who posts here as mkk, and my brother will be visiting Vancouver this spring, with an eye to possibly moving there one day. Yes, more of my family is considering emigrating to Canada! I know several of you live in BC - Wrye , the Canadian Surfer , Cin , and Expat Traveler , for a start. Other friends of wmtc are originally from that area, among them teflonjedi . Of course mkk is doing research and will have a guidebook and all those sorts of things, but there's no substitute for local knowledge. Let's use this post as a place for thoughts and suggestions about their visit - and possible relocation - to Vancouver.

I have tons of writing work coming up. At this point it looks like I'll be on continuous deadlines from now until the beginning of April. The bestest part is I'll be writing full-time - no need for a day-job anytime soon. The months since we moved have been the first time in my life I've written full-time. I'm still amazed and thrilled about it. As usual, it's feast-or-famine. If you freelance, you're undoubtedly familiar with this syndrome. I had a cute little plan to avoid a massive work pile-up, but Real Life looked at Cute Plan, laughed mockingly, and tossed it aside. My second Ancient Civilizations book assignment was supposed to start in early September. The Plan was to keep my work for the Winter issue of Kids On Wheels very light, concentrate exclusively on Ancient Civs, then write a big chunk of the Spring KOW. However... the Ancient Civs calendar was greatly delayed, and I'm only now getting my assignment, in late November. Meanwhile I'm comm

We got back yesterday evening. There was snow over all of upstate New York, and a light covering here, just enough to turn the lawns white. Very pretty. We had a lovely time in New Jersey - saw lots of family (some people several times, which was a real treat), ate, drank, hung out, told stories. The large gathering was also a little bittersweet, as we won't all be together again any time soon. With my mom spending the winter in Florida, two nephews and a niece living in the western US, and my sister touring universities with another niece, there isn't a lot of family visiting on the horizon. All the more reason to enjoy it when it's possible. Cody is the perfect traveler - easy-going, well behaved and always up for a road trip. That's a little bittersweet, too, of course, since traveling with her is made possible by Buster's absence. Although Buster was extremely well behaved, his anxiety and aggression issues made traveling with him impractical. And even without t

Today is Thanksgiving in the US. Here are the headlines on the front page of the New York Times from Tuesday, November 22, the morning after we arrived. "G.M. Set To Drop 5,000 More Jobs And Shut Plants" "Louisiana Sees Faded Urgency In Relief Effort" "Cheney Sees 'Shameless' Revisionism On War" (My pick for Irony of the Year Award) "Iraqi Factions Seek Timetable For U.S. Pullout" * * * * I am thankful I don't live here anymore. I am thankful for Canada.

Allan, Cody and I are heading down the highway this morning, sleeping tonight in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The change of scenery and the time with family will do us good. We're back on Saturday night. Since we didn't take a sizeable vacation while we were saving for the Big Life Change, I believe this will be the longest I've been away from blogging since I started posting regularly. I could blog from my mom's house, but I don't think I'll have anything interesting to say. (Like that's ever stopped any of us before.) Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves while I'm gone. It will only further my education when I return.

After too many distractions and not enough time spent reading, I've just finished the final book in Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy , World Of Wonders . Although the second and third books in the trilogy occasionally felt like essays on Jungian psychology and performance theory shoe-horned into novel form, the subject was so compelling that I didn't mind. I found these books extremely engaging, and I loved Davies' writing. I'll definitely read more from him. Next up is something by Pierre Berton. You know I love history, and I've gone on several historical odysseys in my reading: Ireland, 19th Century New York City, the civil rights movement. The first two, especially, became somewhat of a reading obsession, to the point where I can't read another book about either for a long time. (Since someone will ask, no, I am not of Irish descent. I just have a thing for Ireland.) Now I want to learn about Canadian history, and from what I know of Pierre Berton , he

If huge numbers of Canadians are not around at Christmastime, that's one thing . And I realize that my perspective is different because I don't celebrate Christmas. But I don't come from Mars, I come from a country that goes insane during the Christmas season, and I still have trouble envisioning people actually getting too busy to vote . When discussing the voter intimidation and disincentives in Ohio in the 2004 US "election," Canadians told me it takes them 10 or 20 minutes to vote. We can all find 20 minutes. We're not talking 20 minutes a day, just 20 minutes, once . And how much time does anyone really spend reading up on the issues? If you follow the news all year, you probably continue to follow it during the holiday season. If you don't, then the holidays aren't making any difference. Some people said voting was just one more thing to do when they should be spending time with their family. One more thing to do? You are talking about voting as

As I'm sure you all know, last week the US Senate voted to cut off habeas corpus petitions by prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp. The amendment they passed, sponsored by one Senator Lindsey Graham (R - SC), nullified the 2004 Supreme Court decision that said, because the Guantánamo base is under American control, the prisoners could challenge their detentions in federal courts. The Senate passed John McCain's proposal to outlaw inhumane treatment of prisoners, by the wide - but not unanimous - margin of 90 to 9. However, the Graham amendment to that proposal effectively neuters that vote. Put more simply, the majority of US Senators said: it's not ok for the US to torture prisoners, but if we do, there's nothing they can do about it. Here are two perspectives on those votes. The first is from Anthony Lewis, a former New York Times columnist and a Constitution historian. Lewis, via Common Dreams , offers a relevant history lesson. Prisoners of the Se

What is the big deal about a Christmas election??? Will someone please explain this to me?

I won't put you through a blow-by-blow of our grief. Everyone knows: it just sucks. But I would like to share a few thoughts. It amazes me how much the support from family and friends, most definitely including all of you, has helped. It doesn't take the pain away, but it makes living with the pain easier. That's something to remember every time someone we know is hurting. Your little gesture, your reaching out - it's important. It's worth it. I thank every one of you for the caring and understanding you've shown us. Because of Buster's fear and anxiety, very few people really knew him. We had to keep him away from most people. It took repeated contact in a controlled setting - and the special training we learned - for Buster to gradually trust. It was a time-consuming process, and the person had to be highly motivated to bother. So mostly, when someone Buster didn't know was in our house, we kept him on a leash, and one of us would always take care of h

December 14, 1999 (adopted) - November 16, 2005

Allan and I both thank you all so much for your heartfelt comments. The outpouring of support - understanding, sympathy, kindness - from this community has been tremendous, and we are deeply appreciative. Last night we spent the evening alternating between sobbing, reminiscing, laughing over stupid things, and stroking and loving B. We drank wine, and stayed up late. J, our former dogsitter from New York, one of Buster's best friends, called. We all talked for a long time. She loves him very much and was full of support for our decision, and praise for our efforts all these years. It was good to talk to her. (DK, I know you're there, too. You are in our thoughts.) Allan and I are both sick with grief. I'm very aware that I am doing this earlier than many people might. (Not that that matters.) But my gut, my heart, my bottom line, says: don't let him go through surgery, especially surgery that has a less-than-50% chance. The little voice, the guiding light, whatever you

He does that spontaneously, by himself - just puts his paw or chin on us.

We've just made the arrangements for Buster. Tonight is our last night with him. We're both wrecks. The pain is very intense. It's also confusing because Buster, right now, seems happy and well. To look at him, you would think he's totally fine. But glaucoma has no outward symptoms. According to the readings, he'll soon be in serious pain. The surgery doesn't seem like a viable option, given the chances of recurrence and complications, and given Buster's general health. In my head, I know it's the right thing to do. My heart, however... Here's a story. In all my years with our dogs, through all their health care and surgeries and recoveries, there was only one thing I ever regretted. When our little terrier Clyde got sick, we were away on vacation. We never learned the seriousness of the illness, and didn't come straight home. By the time we returned, she was desperately ill. She was hanging on til we got back. We rushed her to the hospital, and

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and sympathy. It really means a lot. We've been treating Buster for two chronic eye conditions, glaucoma and uveitis, for about 15 months. It was a stroke of luck that we caught the glaucoma at all; the disease usually has no symptoms until it's in the very advanced stages. Usually by the time someone brings their animal in, it's too late to save its eyesight. Buster was having a problem with his eyes that kept recurring, no matter what our family vet tried. We took him to a specialist, a veterinary ophthalmologist, and she discovered the glaucoma. The original problem turned out to be unrelated. This began a long series of trips to the eye doc, tests and various medications. Every trip was very stressful for Buster, and expensive and labor-intensive for us. In New York, we had to rent a car each time, although finding Zipcar did help a lot. At first the visits were weekly, then every-other week, then monthly and finally every-other

It's Buster. His glaucoma has taken a sharp turn for the worse. I think it may be the end of the line. I'm too upset to write much more. Be back with the full story when I can. Thanks in advance, I know you are pulling for us.

Remember back in the old days, when I used to post Paul Krugman columns all the time? Lest you think I've abandoned my columnist-hero, today our friend Mr Krugman is writing about health care. But first, a few statistics, brought to you by the World Health Organization , courtesy of James, in comments . WHO Core Health Indicators, US/Canada US: $5,274 on health care / $2,368 is government spending Canada: $2,931 on health care / $2,048 is government spending US: Infant mortality rate, both sexes (per 1000 live births) 7.2 Canada: Infant mortality rate, both sexes (per 1000 live births) 5.1 US: Under-5 mortality rate, both sexes (per 1000 live births) 8.0 Canada: Under-5 mortality rate, both sexes (per 1000 live births) 6.0 US: Adult mortality (per 1000) males 139 Canada: Adult mortality (per 1000) males 93 US: Adult mortality (per 1000) females 82 Canada: Adult mortality (per 1000) females 57 US: Life expectancy at birth (years) total population 77 Canada: Life expectancy at birth

I just watched the season opener of The Rick Mercer Report that Allan taped for me. The nicest thing I can say is that I'll give it several episodes, and not make up my mind based on this one. It was just... nothing. As far as Mercer's famous rant segment, you folks who post here at wmtc are at least as smart and funny. Hell, Lone Primate and G could whip Rick's ass from here til next Tuesday. But don't worry, I'll keep watching and see how it goes. Some observations unrelated to quality. The "My Riding" segment actually went somewhere I've been, the Danforth, which is an amazing coincidence, because I've mostly only been within a few blocks of my house. Mercer and Jack Layton also had a beer at a pub Allan and I have been to (and really enjoyed), thanks to a great recommendation from Marnie . We've been to like four places in all of Toronto, and this show goes to one of them. I thought that was great. (Thanks for not giving that away, you

Two Israeli same-sex couples who were married in Canada are petitioning the Israeli high court to recognize their marriages. In the Globe And Mail story about it , the couple credits Canada with lighting the spark in their quiet revolution. It's a court fight that has already caused a kerfuffle in the more conservative corners of Israeli society and one that is sure to cause a much larger uproar should they win. Thanks to the liberal leanings of Israel's Supreme Court, the two men expect to do just that, and they are looking forward to the fallout. They credit Canada for giving them the chance to battle for their rights. The court challenge touched off a heated call-in debate on Voice of Israel radio last week, with all agreeing that Canada had set something big in motion. Lawyers for both couples "praise Canada's decision to allow gays of any nationality to marry in Canada as "inspired" and something that will end up advancing gay rights around the globe.&

"The riots have done for France what Hurricane Katrina did for the United States: They have revealed the existence of a huge, frustrated and hopeless underclass. What is most shocking is that France's social divide is, in some ways, worse than the one in the U.S." * * * * The American right, which hates all things French, and the right in general (including Canadian), which hates all things Muslim, has been foaming at the mouth about the Paris riots. Apparently they are "Islamofascist" in origin (love that word! can we call the Cheney junta Christofascists?) and if the media isn't telling you that, it's because they're a bunch of liberal pansies afraid of offending the Muslim world. Or some bullshit like that. Naturally the right (and most of the center) must automatically condemn riots of any kind, and immediately demonize the rioters. There couldn't possibly be anything to their anger. Nah. They're just trying to take over the world, but t

More thoughts on sacrifice. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. -- Wilfred Owen. Read the whole poem here. Many thanks to orc of This Space For Rent .

Every so often, someone says I moved to Canada because I couldn't accept that the Democrats lost the 2004 election, that I am a "sore loser", and that no one should leave a country over who is president. Occasionally they throw in that they didn't like Clinton, but didn't leave the country when he was president. (How nice for them.) I am forever explaining that we made the decision to emigrate long before the 2004 election, we filed our applications in early 2004, and we were leaving no matter who won . Liberals who briefly contemplated leaving the US after the last election - but who feel the election of John Kerry would have solved the problem - didn't go anywhere. With that preface, I also say that the 2000 and 2004 "elections" figured prominently in our decision - but not solely because of the outcomes. Allan and I both believe that the US does not have fair and free elections. And if you don't have fair elections, what makes it a democracy ?

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has become the first female elected head of state in modern African history. Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia yesterday. New York Times story here. Liberia is a very poor country, only beginning to recover from decades of civil war. Charles Taylor, the former Liberian dictator, lives in exile in Nigeria. He has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Of course it's November 11, Armistice Day, Veterans Day (US), Remembrance Day (Canada) . It's understandably a much bigger holiday in Canada than in the US, since Canada really fought that nightmare war, not just popped in for a quick appearance at the end. I'm not much for honouring veterans, although my heart is filled with sympathy for what they've endured. I've read a lot about World War I, mostly in novels like All Quiet On The Western Front , and Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy , among others. The war commemorated on November 11 is the perfect example of the utter futility of war, the utter horror it inflicts, planned by a ruling elite for their own purposes, but shouldered by working people, on both sides. (Remember Geoffrey Palmer scooping up those tin soldiers in Blackadder Goes Forth ? The most heartbreaking bit of comedy I've ever seen.) The best thing we could ever do to honour veterans to stop creating them. Work for peace.

As of right now, we move to canada will no longer accept anonymous comments. I'm sick of these stupid anonymous comments. I used to enjoy responding to them, and didn't mind deleting them if I found them early enough, but now I'm just finding them tiresome and irritating. I'm sorry if this inconveniences anyone. ALPF, please register! As ALPF, of course. I'll see how this goes, and if I don't like it, I'll change it back. Thanks for understanding.

New York City is still there. It's still big and noisy and dirty, and I still love it, even though New Yorkers re-elected a mayor who seems to have nothing but disregard for them. It was great to see friends and family. Everyone is doing well and I had fun all around. But I loved coming home. Home to our cozy little house, home to my loving partner and our wonderful dogs, but also home to Canada. I like showing my Permanent Resident card at the border, seeing the Maple Leaf, driving back on the QEW. Nice. Two good things happened while I was gone. V, our new dogsitter, had another successful Buster session. She came in while no one was home, leashed up the dogs and took them for a walk, all with no problems. This means Buster has fully accepted her - which means we're all set, we can go away for US Thanksgiving. Hooray! Patience, plus the advice of our great trainer in New York, paid off. It's important for us to be able to go away without the dogs, but it's also wonder

I'm off this morning for my first trip back to the Old Country. I'll be staying at my mom's, also seeing my sister and her family, my dear friend NN and a certain dog-loving fan of wmtc. Poor Allan, after working a 14-hour shift yesterday (and that after two 11-hour days) now has to drag himself out of bed to drive me to Buffalo . When I made the reservations, he didn't have the job yet. So what will Redsock do while I'm gone? Will he (a) paint the accent wall in the bedroom, (b) attach the blades to the ceiling fan, (c) rent every episode of South Park on DVD, or (d) never leave his computer except for dog-walks? My guess is some combination of the above, involving South Park, computers and maybe, just maybe, a can of paint. We have a love-hate relationship with South Park. He loves it. I hate it. Have a good week, everyone. I'll be back Thursday afternoon - and Allan is taping Rick Mercer.

"The last time Canadians so disliked a U.S. president, the Americans were shooting at us," says pollster-author Michael Adams. Lone Primate sent me this link about some smart Canadians . America and the U.S. government are less popular in Canada today than any time since polls were first conducted in this country in the 1930s. To find similar anti-American sentiment, you'd probably have to go back to the federal election of 1911, when Wilfrid Laurier's espousal of trade reciprocity with the United States cost him re-election. The public-opinion trends do not augur well. In 1981, the year Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, seven per cent of Canadians told us they had an unfavourable opinion of the U.S., while 10 times that proportion (72 per cent) reported a favourable impression of our southern neighbour. Today the proportion reporting an unfavourable impression is 48 per cent, and the proportion reporting a favourable opinion is down to 50 per cent. We are talking here o

Still no sign of that famous Canadian winter. Yesterday it reached a balmy 17 degrees here in the GTA. For you Fahrenheit readers, that's about 62 F, lovely weather for November. (Lovely weather for any time if you ask me!) I went for a long walk, this time following the Waterfront Trail west instead of east. I've just about reached the limit of Waterfront Trail I can explore in comfortable walking distance from our house, making a one-hour loop. Soon I'll have to start driving to different spots on the trail and walking from there. Depending on the weather, this might happen next Spring. I bought a whole set of trail maps from the Waterfront folks. Yes, I know you can print out sections from .pdfs, but I wanted the entire trail. It would cost more in ink cartridges than it would to purchase them, and the quality wouldn't be as good. They came in a spiral binder with a plastic cover. As the leaves fall, I'm making plans for winter exercise, either buying a treadmi

This Hour Has 22 Minutes is funnier than Royal Canadian Air Farce . So far I've seen three episodes of 22 Minutes, and they've all made me laugh. Air Farce is batting .000. I haven't laughed once. I hope this means I can still be Canadian? Please don't send me back there.

In a recent comment , Kyle_From_Ottawa posted a link to an essay examining anti-Americanism, nationalism and the difference between hating what a government does and hating its people. The author also looks at how the rabid right uses that confusion to its advantage. As we frequently discuss anti-Americanism here at wmtc - how to define it, whether it's plentiful in Canada - you might want to take a look. It's worth reading.

I get so tired of hearing the Canadian health care system slandered by Americans who don't know what the hell they're talking about. It's not like they make valid points that can be discussed and debated. They simply don't know what they're talking about, because they are informed solely by myths. As onomatopoeia said (I recently quoted him here ): "Sure the Canadian system has its own problems, but if you want to know what those problems are, ask any Canadian, not an American." The way most Americans talk about Canada's health care, you'd think everyone south of the 49th parallel had affordable, accessible, expert care. We know far too many lack the first two criteria. What about the third? From the Washington Post , with thanks to Redsock : Americans pay more when they get sick than people in other Western nations and get more confused, error-prone treatment, according to the largest survey to compare U.S. health care with other nations. The s

This is another post in my periodic series about Wal-Mart, and the disgusting, anti-human business practices of the US's largest employer. (My first Wal-Mart post was here , here's one that started a discussion , and here's a recent JibJab cartoon . There's a bunch of others, too. If you're a Wal-Mart Watcher, you can search the archives.) Last week, I received this email from Wal-Mart Watch : On Wednesday, the New York Times broke the story of a secret Wal-Mart Board of Directors memo obtained by Wal-Mart Watch. Today, just 24 hours later, millions of people around the world are discovering the true ruthlessness of Wal-Mart's business practices. Wal-Mart tries hard and spends an unbelievable amount of money to make us believe that they treat their workers like family. We've all seen the television commercials and will see many more in the days and weeks ahead. But we've shattered this myth once and for all. The secret memo reveals the complete disregar

Hey, it's wmtc's second hockey-related post! (I'm counting my Don Cherry post .) I read in today's Toronto Star that a former NHL coach and general manager has made what are usually called "startling revelations" in his new autobiography. Jacques Demers, a coach and later a general manager in the NHL for 15 years, admits he is illiterate. That and other revelations about the life of one of the NHL's more colourful coaches is revealed in a biography in French released yesterday called Jacques Demers En Toutes Lettres , which roughly translates as "Jacques Demers From A To Z." The book was written by Journal de Montreal desk editor and former Montreal Canadiens beat writer Mario Leclerc. Demers said at a gala book launch that his inability to read and write resulted from an impoverished childhood. His father beat and psychologically abused Demers and his mother. "All I wanted from my father was to treat me with love," Demers said. "

Congratulations, Ontario, on taking a big step towards basic equality and civil rights. Adopted people in Ontario now have the same right to know their background as everyone else. My old post about this is here. From today's Star : Supporters sobbed, cheered and embraced one another yesterday as the Ontario government finally passed controversial legislation to unseal the province's adoption records after what proponents of the bill consider 80 years of secrecy and shame. New Democrat member Marilyn Churley, a birth mother and long-time champion of changes to Ontario's adoption laws, bowed her head and wiped away a tear as the votes were counted, aware that her 10-year battle for change was at an end. "This is a very emotional issue, partly because it's an issue that we've been working on for so long and it's finally come to pass," a flushed and beaming Churley said after the legislation passed third reading by a substantial 68-19 margin. Social Se