On Arrogance - It's no big secret that I'm not a huge fan of the current American administration (or perhaps I should say " 'Merican 'Ministration" to fit in with the times). When I've traveled abroad in the past, I've often tried to distance myself from other American tourists, who are often boorish and embarrassing. Let me tell you there's nothing like watching a bus load of women from Texas descend upon some European gift shop with three poor employees who look as if they are witnessing the Chainsaw Massacre right in front of them.

Anyway, now that I'm living in Canada and am seeing America consistently through a different set of lenses, I find that I'm more abhorred than ever before about how we Americans conduct ourselves in arenas much larger than an unsuspecting boutique.

Here's the latest example which was all over the news recently in Ontario. An American citizen was convicted in Buffalo of a sex crime (apparently he couldn't keep his hands off his 15 year old female students)and was given 3 year probation. However, without checking with Canadian immigration, the man was told by the U.S. judge he could serve his probation in Canada, where is family lives. Gee, that's a little presumptuous isn't it? Can you imagine the uproar if it was the other way around and other countries were wanting to send their convicted sexual predators to the U.S. without asking because they had family?

The man was stopped at the border and given an immigration hearing because it turns out he has permanent residence status in Canada. The person in charge of the hearing went against all the other Canadian officials and let him in (which of course is something the Canadians will have to sort out) but, I still can't believe the audacity of the judge to put this sentencing forward without consulting with the Canadians.

*sigh* Ya know, as of late, when someone up here asks me where I'm from, I taken to saying, "So before I tell you, I'll just say up front, I'm sorry, for everything. I'm American." I just wish those with some political clout could take some ownership too.