8.09.2005

the return of kyle couch

Our friend Mr Couch is back.

For your reference, I had replied to Kyle:
Last time I checked, leaving a great job, a great place to live and all one's friends and family, and starting over in a new country with no contacts and no employment was not cowardly. I wonder what brave things you do for your great country, Kyle. I wonder, too, if your grandparents, or great-grandparents, or great-great-grandparents (whoever) were cowardly when they left the country of their birth.
Today, he writes:
You liberals puzzle the hell out of me. You said it yourself,a great place to live. Why would anyone w/ any brains leave their family and friends just because they don't agree w/ the Administration's policies. Cowardly? Maybe not. Stupid? definitely. Selfish? absolutely.

As for my ancestors they came here and built what you are leaving. No they were not cowards because they were leaving an oppressive gov't. Last time I checked this was the most free natiion in the world. You can worship or not worship. Vote or not vote. Join the military or not. You can work or not work. ThiThis is a country of individuals doing their own thing. Socialism has no place in this land, and you are going to find out all about socialism the first time you go to the doctor and told you need a hospital bed or surgery and then put on the waiting list. But if you are wealthy you won't have this problem because you'll come back to America to get your treatment just like wealthy canadiens do today.

My bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me. I very much understand and appreciate that fact unlike you and your type of over-sensitive, uninformed, politically belligerent socialistic comrades.

Good luck learning French . france and canada joined at the hip. How fitting.

Scoop that snow!
Kyle
My reply doesn't begin to rival Crabletta's classic response to Joe Blow, but I did dash off this missive.
You are spectacularly uniformed. Amusing, but still ridiculous.

I am not a liberal. Liberals don't leave the US. They vote Democrat. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican.

I was leaving the US no matter who was elected in 2004 (as is clearly stated several times throughout my blog).

I am not leaving because I don't agree with an administration's policies. I don't agree with the US. Period. I haven't for most of my life, including when Democrats were presidents.

They speak English where I am going, as they do in all of Canada, including the parts that also speak French. Although I'm not sure why you assume I don't speak French. I might be fluent in French for all you know. France and Canada are not so much alike, though both countries have much to recommend them.

As far as health care, you also haven't the slightest idea if I even have health care in the US, and you obviously know nothing about the Canadian system. That is not unusual. Most Americans' impressions of the Canadian health care system are based on myth and misinformation. Canadians are proud of their health care system, and justly so. I look forward to my taxes supporting universal health insurance instead of useless wars.

Politically belligerent?? You email a stranger to insult her and criticize her choices and I am belligerent? I'm not bothering you about how you live your life. I'm just leaving.

Imagine that you are reduced to such clever quips as "scoop that snow". How nice that you are proud of the weather where you live. I'm sure it's the greatest weather on the face of the earth, as is everything in the US.

Thanks again for writing. Please do not do so again.

L.

P.S. The "great place to live" I referred to was just my apartment! A great apartment in NYC. Not the whole damn country!
Well folks, feel free to fill in anything I may have missed!

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

My bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me.

Tell that to Cindy Sheehan.

Good luck learning French . france and canada joined at the hip.

Anthing else you need to pull out of ass.Oh wait there was

and you are going to find out all about socialism the first time you go to the doctor and told you need a hospital bed or surgery and then put on the waiting list. But if you are wealthy you won't have this problem because you'll come back to America to get your treatment just like wealthy canadiens do today.

Hey Kyle Boo

LOL

allan said...

Kyle, you ignorant slut!

We hated Clinton's policies! Hated!

ThiThis is a country of individuals doing their own thing.

Uh, that's exactly what we are doing. So what's your fucking beef?

My bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me.

That's what we thought. .. Enjoy the increased chocolate rations.

allan said...

I know for a fact that there are at least 50,000,000 Americans who would LOVE to be on a waiting list for medical care.

Because they have ZERO medical care now.

Not that Kyle knows or cares anything about that. He's too busy in his mom's basement jacking off to Fox News.

I hope L uses "scoop that snow" as her new all-purpose blow-off comment from now on. High comedy.

laura k said...

Ewww, did you have to put that image in my mind? I'd rather not think about what that guy does in his basement.

barefoot hiker said...

Last time I checked this was the most free natiion in the world. You can worship or not worship. Vote or not vote. Join the military or not. You can work or not work. This is a country of individuals doing their own thing.

How is this different from any other Anglo-American or Western European nation on Earth, exactly?

Socialism has no place in this land

In other words, "you're 'free' to bankrupt yourself if your child gets leukemia or your husband develops lupus". God bless the US (America is a hemisphere).

barefoot hiker said...

france and canada joined at the hip.

If it weren't for France, Dave, you'd still be answering to London. Tell it to the Redcoats.

Crabbi said...

Um, wow. I'm awed by your excellent response and skillful dissection. I'm awed by Kyle's stupidity, but I have one question. Does he come by this naturally, or is it willful ignorance? Hmm...

bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me.

...definitely willful. Kyle, others may call you a lazy mofo, but I know it must be hard work to ignore all the bad news these days. However do you do it?

barefoot hiker said...

the first time you go to the doctor and told you need a hospital bed or surgery and then put on the waiting list.

You mean like my friend Georgette who went into Women's Hospital in Toronto for a triple bypass, only to wind up with a quad when they discovered a fourth blockage, and who was presented with a six-figure "bill" she didn't have to pay because it was taken care of by the province, and who is still living today as a result, still in possession of her home, which she did not have to mortgage to pay for her life? You mean that kind of socialism, Dave? God forbid that US citizens should be so oppressed. Oh, God, no.

allan said...

You can work or not work.

Kyle also loves people who choose to live on welfare! Yay!

laura k said...

Excellent, LP!

Just to let you know, it's Kyle Couch you're speaking to. Dave stopped by just to laugh at the silly monkey.

Thank you, Crabletta! I'm awed by your awe. :)

Now I must go to sleep.

Anonymous said...

lone Primate

Where the hell did you learn your history from.
Tell me this
The Plains of Abraham was what again?


We still have a Govener General
& I do believe There a Queen on my Lonie

barefoot hiker said...

This last quote is kind of ironic. LK, if I might ask a boon of you, could you please quote a link to this for me? "http://cityinthetrees.blogspot.com/2005/08/what-is-your-legacy.html"? It's something I'd like to share with all my friends, here among your readership. :)

barefoot hiker said...

Where the hell did you learn your history from.

Never mind history; I'm learning current events from people like you.

The Plains of Abraham was what again?

A non sequitur to the discussion we're having, if I'm not mistaken?

We still have a Govener General
& I do believe There a Queen on my Lonie


Slave hard then, you worker bee, and get a clue: you're apparenly not living in the same Canada with the other 32 million of us.

Anonymous said...

Look at me Mom Im Blogging

Primate Im sorry I think I put Kyle words as mine. DUah

Im new to all this Compputerr stuff.
Oh & I cant spell for shit.

James Redekop said...

Socialism has no place in this land

Better tell Bush that! All those government handouts to profitable energy companies &c are going to have to be stopped.

You *are* aware that, between tax breaks and handouts, giving money to companies that already have plenty costs the US more than helping citizens who don't have enough, right Kyle?

the first time you go to the doctor and told you need a hospital bed or surgery and then put on the waiting list.

You know, of all the times I've been to hospital (twice for treating a life-threatening condition, once for surgery to correct a chronic condition, and any number of times for treatment of that chronic condition and another), I've never had any trouble. Sure, when I show up with a gallstone, I get in line *behind* the guy from the car-wreck. I may be there for hours while they deal with the heart attack victims &c. But, somehow, I can't begrudge that. When I showed up unable to breath because my throat had swollen almost shut, I got to go *before* the gallstone guys. It's only fair.

About 20 years ago my family came up to Toronto to see Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at the Okeefe Centre. About half an hour before curtain, I realized that I had come down with one of my chronic ear infections. So I excused myself, caught the subway up to Toronto General, had it looked at, and was back to the opera on antibiotics in time to see Papageno taking credit for slaying the dragon.

Sure, when it came time to have my gall bladder removed, I was put on a waiting list -- had to wait all of two months, I think, for that elective surgery. Hardly a hardship.

My bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me.

Translation: "Let someone else do the work for me."

Anonymous said...

You go girl!

Just think in 19 days you won't have to deal with it anymore :-)

Anonymous said...

Socialism has no place in this land

Weather Kyle Couch wants to beleive it or not the United States has socialist policies in place.

Welfare, Social Secuirty, workman's compensation, FHA Loans, Federal Student Loans, Medicare, Medicaid...

NEWSFLASH Kyle - these are all socialist programs. Maybe not as fully funded as their Canadian and European counterparts, and definitely slashed and gutted under CLinton and Bush, but socialist in their origins none the less. (You can thank FDR for all of that BTW.) Think about that the next time you get an FHA loan for your first new home after you move out of your bunker.

laura k said...

Niko, excellent stuff, and you are wise and extra-cool for including Clinton there.

It reminds me of a labor saying: Unions, the people who brought you the weekend.

I just emailed you about another couple who needs some info. I sent the email, then checked mine and saw your comment. :-)

Rognar said...

I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me.

America does not have a monopoly on sacrifice. This week, Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith, the last Canadian soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the nation's highest military honour, is lying in state in Ottawa. It's a reminder to all of us that two generations of Canadiens, one in the First World War, another in the Second World War, risked everything and in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice, for freedom. It is probably an uncomfortable fact for Mr. Couch that the Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth was a little slow in joining the fight against tyranny in each of those wars.

laura k said...

It is probably an uncomfortable fact for Mr. Couch that the Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth was a little slow in joining the fight against tyranny in each of those wars.

Ah, but you're assuming he knows that fact. It's a safe bet that he doesn't.

Do you think he knows that once the GNotFotE joined the Great War, thousands of Americans protested and refused to fight, and many were thrown in jail for speaking out against the war...?

No, I didn't think so.

James Redekop said...

It is probably an uncomfortable fact for Mr. Couch that the Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth was a little slow in joining the fight against tyranny in each of those wars.

"Pushy Americans, always late for every war" -- Fowler, Chicken Run

Anonymous said...

Hey L-Girl
ALPF

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/canada/article.jsp?content=20050815_110483_110483

-----------------

"It reminds me of a labor saying"...

Remember if you are going to be a true Canadian -- "Labor" is "Labour"
"Center" - "Centre"
"Color" - "Colour"

------------------------------

Of course here I go again

http://www.cornerstoneword.com/misc/cdneng/cdneng.htm

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Dave s:

"Look at me Mom Im Blogging

Primate Im sorry I think I put Kyle words as mine. DUah

Im new to all this Compputerr stuff.
Oh & I cant spell for shit."

Always put other people's quotes in quotation marks, or people might get confused. It was hard to tell apart what you were writing from (the other) Kyle's words.


I think you're original post was

"My bravery? I don't have to do much because of the sacrifices made by American generations before me."

Tell that to Cindy Sheehan.

"Good luck learning French . france and canada joined at the hip."

Anthing else you need to pull out of ass.Oh wait there was

"and you are going to find out all about socialism the first time you go to the doctor and told you need a hospital bed or surgery and then put on the waiting list. But if you are wealthy you won't have this problem because you'll come back to America to get your treatment just like wealthy canadiens do today."

Hey Kyle Boo

LOL

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Or better yet Italicizing:

<i>The stuff I want italicized</i>

will get published as
The stuff I want Italicized

Anonymous said...

Thanks Kyle
I will

laura k said...

Hey Dave S, welcome to the blogosphere. What brings you to wmtc? Just curious.

laura k said...

Remember if you are going to be a true Canadian -- "Labor" is "Labour"
"Center" - "Centre"
"Color" - "Colour"


I'm waiting til we're there, then I'll try to make the switch all at once. Right now I'm just getting confused!

Thanks for the links... of course.

barefoot hiker said...

Hey, Dave, you need to learn to tag your quotes better; you're throwing off my chi. :)

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Now might be a good time to leave, it seems the U.S. is adopting the shoot-to-kill policy for suspicious transit passengers, which obviously worked so well in Britain.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

I'll say one thing in Mr. Couch's defence. At least he actually gave his name.

As for "Selfish, absolutely", what's wrong with that? If I left Canada and moved to California to get a higher paying job, would he be calling me selfish? If you were moving to Canada for a better paying job than what you have in NYC, would that be selfish in his mind? Again no. So why is moving to Canada for, er, cultural reasons selfish?

laura k said...

I'll say one thing in Mr. Couch's defence. At least he actually gave his name.

Well, we assume he did. We don't know.

So why is moving to Canada for, er, cultural reasons selfish?

Exactly.

The selfish accusation is also strange because he just finished describing the US as a place where every individual is "free" to do what s/he wants, without heed to society. That sounds pretty selfish to me.

Anonymous said...

The US exists because of French military support in the revolutionary war, is what LP was getting at, Dave S. Thus it's ironic that Kyle Couch (definitely not Chesterfield) thinks that France constitutes some kind of insult.

When the current state of US diplomacy is telling western democracies and NATO allies to fuck off because they have new best friends like Kyrgyzstan, I'm not sure calling attention to that fact is a good rhetorical strategy.

James Redekop said...

When the current state of US diplomacy is telling western democracies and NATO allies to fuck off because they have new best friends like Kyrgyzstan, I'm not sure calling attention to that fact is a good rhetorical strategy.

Especially when the US can't hold onto "new best friends" like Uzbekistan.

Anonymous said...

Hi L girl
I stumbeled on to the Technorati
site & found wmtc.
I have never been in a chat room or blog before. I thank you all for your help & realy didn't mean to muk up anybody's chi(sorry again Primate)

My wife & I were thrilled to see she was not alone.Her dicision to leave the US Navy & move to Canada was & continues to be very hard.
She loves her country but feels she can best serve it from a far.
She is very busy this week but I know she wants to say a few things to you all before you move up.
Look for her to send you an email soon. Ill let her speak for her self.

As for me Im amazed at the direction
your conversations go. You seem to have a very nice & well informed blog family.

Hope you dont mind if I chime in from time to time.

Like my hero Ronnie H says

Big times just around the corner

Long Fu#%ing corner though

laura k said...

As for me Im amazed at the direction your conversations go. You seem to have a very nice & well informed blog family.

Hope you dont mind if I chime in from time to time.


Ah-ha! Dave S, I just realized you are the person who emailed me, who I quoted here! How great.

I didn't realize you were the same person. Now I'm extra-glad you left comments and stuck with it, even though the initial reception may have been a little rough.

You are most welcome to hang out and gab with the wmtc family. The community that has formed around this blog is very cool. I've grown very attached to it. Moving to Canada would be a far lonelier and more frightening experience without the wmtc crew.

Like my hero Ronnie H says

Ronnie Hawkins?? Wow! Who ever quotes The Hawk? I will never forget him in The Last Waltz. (One of my all-time favorite movies, and the greatest music movie ever made...)

Stick around, Dave S. :)

teflonjedi said...

You are going to have the roughest time with words like "center".

"center" --> "centre" ... works for buildings

"center" --> "center" ... works for things like hockey, i.e. "center ice"

"centered" --> "centered" ... the verb, i.e. "centered the puck", won't work as "centred" really.

If you think that's bad, think about "meter", um, "metre". This might help.

mister anchovy said...

You will like it up here. We have loads of problems too, to be sure....there has been a bunch of ugly shootings around Toronto in the past couple weeks....and we have idiotic politicians too.....

I grew up around Toronto, and I think we have a really good place to live, all things considered. If you have any questions about Toronto, or Ontario, you're welcome to email them to me, and I'll try to give you a 'local' perspective. cheers.

Anonymous said...

Remember if you are going to be a true Canadian -- "Labor" is "Labour"
"Center" - "Centre"
"Color" - "Colour"


Don't you worry, L-girl, I've been up in this great country for 17 years now, and have never once had a problem with using 'labor', 'center', 'color', or, 'tire' for that matter.

As for the 'parler en francais', you
most definately do not need to know any to live / work in Toronto, or anywhere else except Quebec.

If you do end up in Quebec, the only phrases you need to know straight away are 'please', 'thank you', 'yes', 'no', 'beer'. and'where's the toilet?'. You can learn these phrases from a Berlitz book in a week-end or less. Being an American, the French Canadians (also known as 'Quebecers' and 'Francophones') will be more than willing to at least attempt to speak English to you. In fact, most of them speak both French and English fluently, making them a hell of alot smarter than most!

I think people might be trying to spook you or something. Be strong! It's a great move that you are making!!

More about Toronto later....

Anonymous said...

Sorry about that, dave.s doesn't know how to blog yet....


lol

allan said...

I got a personal email from Kyle!!!

"couchkyle@comcast.net"
Subject Line: "asshole"

"yeah I know your type. You root for the red sox while living in NYC so it gets you a little extra attention. you are in need of therapy. I can tell that you have been asleep and drunk for most of your existence. You need rehab as well.
The next time you resort to name calling just come on down to Texas and look me up. I will be glad to kick your canadian loving ass all the way back to the border.

your daddy
Kyle"

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

James Redekop said...

The next time you resort to name calling just come on down to Texas and look me up. I will be glad to kick your canadian loving ass all the way back to the border.

Mr. Couch is a little insecure, isn't he?

laura k said...

Why are we not surprised he's from Texas?

(Apologies to DeanG.)

laura k said...

Thanks Mister Anchovy and Teflonjedi!

Mrs Dave S, thank you!! So glad to meet another American who's made the move. They are popping up everywhere these days.

Rest assured that I am not the slightest bit concerned about trivialities such as how to spell centre. The Canadians who leave those comments are (mostly) joking. All those details will work themselves out in due time.

As for French, one of the many reasons we chose Toronto was because it's English speaking. We love Montreal, but felt we would be at a disadvantage for employment. We've been to Canada several times, so we know that you can certainly live without being bilingual (although I wish I was).

Fools like Kyle Couch don't know the first thing about either Canada or France. When your source of information is Fox News, what can you expect.

Mrs Dave S, stay in touch! Drop me an email when you have some time.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

The next time you resort to name calling just come on down to Texas and look me up.

He is complaining about your name calling?

Anonymous said...

Fools like Kyle Couch don't know the first thing about either Canada or France.

Or, I would say, America.

But they might someday figure that one out--probably the hard way.

laura k said...

He is complaining about your name calling?

Kyle: yes! These sensitive types are so fragile!

Or, I would say, America.

Ooo, Wrye, good point.