Here's a great Xmas gift idea for all your liberal friends:
'Just pretend you're Canadian'
Albuquerque, New Mexico - An American T-shirt company has a solution for their fellow citizens who want to vacation in Europe without having to answer questions about United States politics - pose as Canadians.
For $24.95, T-shirtKing.com offers the "Go Canadian" package, full of just the kind of things an American traveller needs to leave their country and its politics behind.
There's a Canadian flag T-shirt, a Canadian flag lapel pin and a Canadian patch for luggage or a backpack. There's also a quick reference guide - "How to Speak Canadian, Eh?" - on answering questions about Canada.
It's the brainchild of employees at the Mountainair, New Mexico-based company known for novelty T-shirts it sells worldwide on the internet.
Offers tips
"It's not meant as a slight against the United States or Canada," explained T-shirtKing.com President Bill Broadbent. "It was meant as something Republicans could give their Democrat friends to say 'C'est la vie.' ... But maybe not c'est la vie because that's a French word."
The "Go Canadian" idea sprouted after one of Broadbent's colleagues heard of someone being harassed about US politics during a recent overseas trip.
Some people might not mind, but others "just want to be on vacation," Broadbent said. "So we were joking that they could just go as Canadians, and that just kind of evolved."
The package went up on T-shirtKing.com's website November 12 and the company had sold a couple hundred in the first two weeks or so. Many of the out-of-state buyers were in Michigan, Illinois, and the Seattle area, Broadbent said.
The package's quick reference guide offers tips in case an American in disguise gets quizzed on Canada.
When it comes to sports, the guide suggests: "This is easy to remember. There is only one real sport in Canada and it is called hockey. Regardless of any trivia question, the answer is 'Wayne Gretzky."'