you twinkle above us, we twinkle below So I'm fighting my way through the Dief paper. It was actually due today but I'm going to be a bit late handing it in (what else is new, eh). After my early ambitious researching back in January, my work ethic got a little slack, so I've been getting re-acquainted with Dief these past few days. The research question is primarily, "does Dief deserve the harsh criticism he's gotten?" And without having read altogether very much, I decided to play a sympathetic part in my review of his prime ministership. Because, after all, Dief was an early champion of individual rights and helped create the predecessor document to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And to hear George Grant tell it in Lament for a Nation, Dief was the last defender of Canadian sovereignty. Dief is well-known for disagreeing with JFK on the role of Canada within NORAD, and probably reacted childishly when he wasn't consulted on issues during the Cold War, but in a way you could interpret that as defending the right of Canadians to make defense decisions for ourselves.

Some recent literature on Dief reports that, rather than through his own missteps, Dief found himself in an unlucky time in Canadian history where he was forced to deal with issues of importance, and definitely pissed off a few of the wrong people. But who's to say that he was wrong, precisely.

I was amused to read that his state funeral, conducted according to his wishes, was one of the most expensive in Canadian history. I found this funny after reading about his general frugality while in office: "For a week-long state visit to Mexico, he submitted a personal bill of $102.04; following a four-day sojourn in Washington he turned in a voucher for $5.68."  | ¶ 11:58 p.m.