Happy Fourth of July to our American Readers! I am doing a bit of research that points to our fair town being something of the refuge of the first terrorists of your fair land. Bands of Tory and Mohawk Loyalists in the 1780s left here, for example, to destroy all before them led by John Johnson, step-son of Molly Brant. Somewhere I read that of the 100 flour mills between Albany and Syracuse NY only one was left in operation that fall. These efforts kept the US army out of northern NY through lack of supplies and, hence, made a buffer that kept our small Loyalist fringe alive. In many ways, Kingston is Ontario's Plymouth Rock but also factually related to New York. We should celebrate our own Ontarian (and therefore western Canadian) survival on this day as much as our southern pals do.

• Speaking of our near neighbours, I came across this website of abandoned buildings of northern New York. Note LaFarge mansion to the lower left.
• Two archeology blogs.
• I have negotiated a 8000 character limit for blog comments. Please use these wisely as there us a character limit globally being studied by the UN.
• I think it is time to agree with Harper's point made yesterday - the founding of Quebec is a founding moment in Canadian history. We suffer from divisions that really are only in the mind. The idea now that there are two solitudes should be strange to us all - we have that egality now that was missing. Canada needs to understand itself to be French and English as well as First Nation, Scot and those who came after as well - not as 1970s multiculturalism but just as neighbours together. We need to find our own haka, remember and play baseball, cricket and rugby as well as lacrosse and snowshowing. And be thankful for Halifax, Quebec and Kingston, the three citadels that protected one young nation.
• Darcey notes the passing of Bozo.
• Wine is being grown by Lake Huron. What's so wrong with global warming?
• Gee, I sure hope the rude stuff I looked at on YouTube when it started up doesn't come out in court documents.