Update - Reasons to leave the U.S. - political extremists

I haven't added to my pantheon of reasons why I'm glad to be leaving the United States in favour of Canada, but currently another one has raised its head: political extremists.

This nation is one-week away from losing the financial confidence of the world because political extremists on both sides of our two-party system have convinced themselves that compromise equals failure.

Politicians in the U.S. only get elected these days if they cater to special interests. The average cost of a House seat in the 2008 elections was $1.1 million dollars. Some campaigns cost up to $15 million. With those kinds of price tags, Congressmen and women have their minds made up for them by their supporters long before they reach Washington. And if they want that money again, they better play ball.

Congress in the U.S. has forgotten who it is there to serve. They operate in a bubble; drink their own Kool-Aid; you pick the cliche. In the current financial crisis the mantra on the left is "no cuts to entitlements" and on the right, it's, "cut the debt but don't raise taxes."

The only way they can even begin to get anything done is to actually circumvent the U.S. political process and convene a Soviet-style central committee to try and reach an agreement.

If this is the state of democracy, you can keep it. Despite some of the inertia that can come with a Parliamentary system, if the Government loses the confidence of the people, in general, you throw them out. What happened to the Liberals in the last election in Canada was good for democracy. It will never happen in America.

America is bought and sold. And I don't have stock in it. So I don't have a voice. The country is being run by the same people who are listening to the same advice that led us into the crisis that they aren't interested in getting us out of.

Get me out of this place.       

Thrown together

I'm in pretty good shape. The pictures have been taken, the lists are ready to commit, I've even packed a bit. But the stress is coming.

"Where are we going to put this stuff?" "Do you need to bring that now?" "We still have things to figure out before we add anything else to the mix..." When the rubber hits the road, sometimes there are skid marks.

So we're working it out, this coming together and this moving across the continent and from one country to another. It's not easy. But immigration isn't easy. If you're on this path too, then keep this fact in mind and be patient, be slow to get excited and be deliberate in your thoughts and responses.

When couples or families are apart, the normal, organic way lives come together does not apply. Lives in this situation are held apart by the process, then thrown together when its all over. I have to be reminded of this and to be extra thoughtful of my Love, who has been building a life in Toronto all these years we've been waiting; one that from her point of view I am been suddenly thrust into the middle of.

As happy as we are that this is happening for us, there is no getting past that reality.

But we'll be fine.  

The Star - Immigration to Canada drops by 25 per cent

What's going on now that Harper has his majority? Was last year's record immigration level simply a campaign ploy? Is the $50-million that was cut from resettlement services just the tip of the iceberg? Or should we benchmark anything by the 2010 numbers? How can the CIC make up for the lost ground in the first quarter of 2011? More importantly, what role does immigration play in an aging Canadian workforce and what are the Tories planning to do to see that immigration policy fulfills its promise?

Read the Star article for some answers.

Countdown

It's t-minus one month and counting. I'll be immigrating in August. I'm getting nervous. So many things to get done. Though I'm well ahead of the tasks at hand, I wake each morning feeling far behind. I have a to-do list I am checking off as I go. I know I'll be okay. I also know there are some sleepless nights ahead of me.

I still pinch myself when I think of finally going home to Toronto again. I'm excited to discover the city once more. I know there will be some sadness for things that have changed, but that's the nature of life. There is far more to be happy about and anticipate.

For now however, there's a list to get through. So little time, so much to do.