At work today, I was forwarded an email sent to my company from one of our clients. In fact, it’s out biggest client in the US, the one that kept the company alive during the years of the dot-bomb, long before I joined up just three months ago. The email was about a PowerPoint presentation that needed some updating, because it was going to go all the way to a very key executive in the company (who they mentioned by name). Something about the name rang a bell, so I did what I usually do when I hear or read a name that I think I recognize: I googled them.
One of the top 5 hits was a listing for the person at a site I had actually been to once or twice, Buyblue.org. I knew of it, because it was one of the sites that advocated putting your money (as consumers) where your mouth was, politically. To buy blue was to buy from blue states, or at least, from blue companies. My first thought was that this guy, who is in the midwest (actually in a key swing state), had signed up. “Wow!” I exclaimed. “Here’s a case of an enlightened fellow, in ‘red America’, standing up for what he believes in, and with an unpopular cause, at that!”
Not so fast, I learned after a few minutes of further exploration. Not only did the company that this executive belong to give 100% of their campaign contributions to the Republican party, but this Executive’s father was the 15th highest fundraiser for George W. Bush. This fellow was cited in Buyblue.org for the same reason that Bill O’Reilly is cited on Mediamatters,org — as someone who is against everything they stand for. What’s more, the company which my boss proudly points out benefits from our little shop’s efforts that makes them a world leader, is mainly for Bush because of his policy on air and water pollution controls (obviously, more favorable to them than Clinton, who they had fought vociferously for much of his term).
I wish I hadn’t learned this, as there’s not much I can do. I only hope that if I’m called down there to do work on-site that nobody will ask me what an American like myself is doing in Canada. Maybe if I don’t say anything they’ll just assume I’m another Canadian. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
…All Kinds of Muslim Crazies Up in Canada
Speaking of Bill O’Reilly, he let loose with another one of his absurd outbursts about Canada (which he has been known to do from time to time). On this past Wednesday, reacting to the acquisition of Penninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. of Great Britain, which manages US ports by Dubai Ports World (and resulting clamor) he said that the real danger was the US’s neighbor to the North:
You know, we do a lot of business with Canada — this is what gets me — Canada has got the easiest infiltration in the world. All you do is have to show up in Montreal. You don’t even have to have a passport, and they’ll let you in the country as a refugee. You just show up and go, “Hey, I’m here.” “Oh, OK, come on in.” And we’re doing business with Canada all the time, and we don’t have any checks up there. We don’t have any Border Patrol up in Canada. I mean we have a few, but, you know, anybody can come down. I don’t hear any big screaming about doing business with Canada. You know, if Al Qaeda wanted to get here, it’s easy. They’ve got all kinds of Muslim crazies up in Canada running around. You see? So people get emotional.
So I guess he’ll be calling for a big wall between us and the US soon. Good. I’m worried about all of those Christian Crazies running around down there.
Good one: “Christian Crazies”, and quite descriptive, also.