On Canuckistan and combustion

Peter Tertzakian talking to Jon Stewart on the Daily Show:

Tertzakian: Canada is your largest supplier of oil--or, in the addiction metaphor, your pusher, I guess.

Stewart: Why haven't we invaded them?

Man, you guys have such short memories.

The War Of 1812

In 1812, Madison was mad,
He was the president, you know
Well, he thought he’d tell the British where they ought to go
He thought he’d invade Canada,
He thought that he was tough
Instead we went to Washington....
And burned down all his stuff!

And the White House burned, burned, burned,
And we’re the one’s that did it!
It burned, burned, burned,
While the president ran and cried.
It burned, burned, burned,
And things were very historical.
And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies
Waa waa waah!
In the War of 1812!

(etc)

Ha ha ha! It's been almost two centuries, and it's still funny.

But not just funny. If not for the bravery of the British and Canadian troops (and the incompetence of the Americans) in that war, Bush would now be our president, too (ohgodohgodohgod).

Some War of 1812 trivia: Jefferson predicted that invading Canada would merely be "a matter of marching"; the Americans thought that, once the British troops were taken care of, the population of Upper Canada would just let the American invaders parade through the streets of York--but instead they met with armed resistance from the Canadian militia. Plus ça change....

Anyway, on the topic of stuff Americans don't know about Canada, we recently treated some of our American friends to some insight as to how Canadians view the way that Americans view Canada. Recall: the Golden Age of Rick Mercer.