The 'Perspectives' columns are opinion pieces or blogs written over the past years and published on the internet news service of www.Baytoday.ca. The columns are the work of the author and do not represent or present the views of Village Media. The columns are centered in a small city where I live in Northern Ontario, (North Bay) but wander around the globe in their content. A frequent visit is to the USA, our closest neighbour (Canadian spelling!) but the characterizations are, I hope, universal to the Western world. Our political figures are similar to yours and I hope my commentaries strike a familiar note with the reader.