Second Gen (2003-2016, 2016- )
The Red Sox knew they could be in the market for a new center fielder to start the 2006 season, but that didn’t lessen the shock late Tuesday night when Johnny Damon signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the New York Yankees.
I am disgustified and bamzoobled. Tens of thousands of Christmas presents waiting for tiny Red Soxs fans in 4 days have just been thrown in the garbage.
Jumping as putting on sock late, pouring water on the cat instead of plant late, calling children wrong name as heading out the door late, Kramer entrance to 9:00 am meeting late…
Late.
Are other peoples’ elections this dull? The more I think about the two debates the more I am stunned by how ineffective they were. The Globe and Mail reports this morning:
Twenty-one per cent of those who saw the debates or heard about them afterward said Mr. Martin won, compared to 15 per cent who said Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe came out on top, 11 per cent who thought Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was victorious and 6 per cent who favoured NDP Leader Jack Layton. Still, 47 per cent of those surveyed couldn’t decide who was the victor and only 4 per cent said they heard anything that would cause them to change their votes. The debate had no impact,” said Tim Woolstencroft, managing partner of [polling firm] The Strategic Counsel. “It was a big yawn.”
I like the “or heard about them” because what other country holds the main election debate on Friday night the weekend before Christmas? What is not mentioned in the article is how many actually watched the debate. I think it was the 327 in the country people for shopping, invited to parties, having people over or napping.
It is sad because good people whose party is not catching the public imagination have had to resort to blaming the crooked media and dumb Ontario and bovine Canadian acceptance of corruption and everything else that can be dreamed up to avoid the reality that their leader is dull. Dudly deadly dull. And, in any event, what is really happening is every Canadian is remembering how they voted last time because they know if they do it again there will be a useful minority government once more and these guys will have to work together.
Update: interesting to see the old law school pal and one-time roomie Cy is “running the Liberal war-room” according to Paul Wells. I remember thinking back then that if folks like him were to be involved in politics it would be in good hands even though, when I think about it, the party membership he got me to sign up for to help Martin’s run for the leadership around 1990 didn’t get Martin my vote then or since.
Note: to date, 82 referrals to GX40 from the CBC roundtable and 28 to the beer blog. One link from the Instapundit in November was worth 222. With 270064 visits on my server stats for November, I am starting to see the importance of spam for my image of self-worth.
I finally saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and was moved. I think if I knew the soundtrack was an accoustic version of early Bowie in Brazilian Portuguese by a character called Pele dos Santos I would have gone to the theatre.
But I do not go to the movies when the offering is too close to reality. So I did not.
I am convinced there is a third or maybe fourth thread running through this time of year. The first is the birth of Christ which, for better or worse, has receded in terms of importance for most people. The second is the bacchanal of spending – the fear that you have spent too much or not enough or that the toys or pants will not suit the child or will be mocked in the playground. To my mine there is a cure for the first: get some religion of not. Either you will take to the story or you will not but make the call. For the second, all I can say is get some spine. We buy less for the kids than others but it has always been so. There is a small theme of austerity in all the largess in a Scots family Christmas, the time of excess coming later at Hogmanay just after New Years Eve has passed. The third may be the sadness and badness that happens at times like this of social pressure – if the wheels are going to come off, you can bet this is when it will come to pass. What can be done for that?
After all these, however, there is Yule. The winterfest. The longest night. Yesterday marching the seven year old through downtown shops with a list, past the new outdoor skating rinks, a Victorian choir singing carols and even a trumpeter on Princess Street, me handing her loonies to put in those outstretched hands and also treats for her own, it was about the merry – the merriness of a shared holiday. Summer holidays are the slackest time, when laying down in public space is an activity to be planned. But Yule is collective as, even if you are not gifting or not remembering, you are at half speed except in retail. My family was in retail and fifteen years ago this day I would be pushing the poinsettias, flogging packets of holly but even at that all minds on the back side of the counter were aiming towards the days of nothing when naps and sherry sips and, yes, one more small sideplate of that would be nice. All a big reward for something or other never needing being quite defined.
Sharing from you to me that is…
Iraqi security forces caught the most wanted man in the country last year, but released him because they didn’t know who he was, the Iraqi deputy minister of interior said Thursday. Hussain Kamal confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — the al Qaeda in Iraq leader who has a $25 million bounty on his head — was in custody at some point last year, but he wouldn’t provide further details.
It sure was handy that Hitler had that funny moustache so people knew who he was. I suppose these things happen. On the upside, as Jay notes, yesterday was a great day of the Iraqis.
Stephen Harper has now said he would not use the notwithstanding clause in section 33 of thge Charter to over-ride same sex marriage. He has also said he would allow those already married to remain so. This leave a really weird position where person “X” would supposedly have their rights recognized but person “Y”…or maybe “X2…would not depending on the date of application for a marriage license. Seeing as this is patently unconstitutional treatment – a discriminatory difference without a purpose – do not expect the courts to uphold it and, without use of the over-ride clause, expect it to fail. Are the socons that easily fooled? I would think this would be as offensive to them as the Tory spending spree would be to fiscal conservatives. No word yet from the neo-me-o-cons but they have a hard time breaking away from the mirror long enough to notice the real world. That is it for now and it is fairly placid. If you have some stormier issues, let’s have it.
The election is going to slide soon. I feel it in my achy joints:
Bilingualism is largely propaganda, Mr. Harper tells the group. Canada “is basically an English-speaking country,” he says. In describing Canada’s political system, he says the New Democrats are worse than a party of liberal Democrats. “The NDP is kind of proof that the devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men.” And on the Progressive Conservatives — the party that amalgamated with his Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party — he points out they were “in favour of gay rights officially, officially for abortion-on-demand.”
Harper suggested that most provincial and territorial leaders “hate” Martin with the notable exception of McGuinty. “And I wouldn’t want him behind my back,” joked the Tory leader, an apparent reference to the problems McGuinty has caused to Martin over the past two years…But, he said, he is bracing for an onslaught of attacks on himself and the party in the three weeks leading up to the Jan. 23 vote. While that worked in 2004, Harper said he doesn’t believe the Liberal strategy of personally demonizing him will be successful this time. Declining to discuss specifics, he said the Tories have a strategy to “blunt” the expected Liberal attacks. “Wait and see,” he said.
Mr. Layton, meanwhile, said it’s not [US ambassador] Mr. Wilkins, but Mr. Martin who should be blamed. “Canadians have known that Liberals will say anything in an election to get elected. I think now the ambassador has discovered the same thing,” he said in Burnaby, B.C.Mr. Layton said the Liberal Leader can’t lecture the United States on greenhouse gas reductions because Canada has done “much worse” than the Americans under the Liberals’ watch. “He talks about the global conscience. Where is his? The fact is, he’s electioneering. He’ll say anything to get elected and whipping up the rhetoric against [U.S. President] George Bush is very easy to do. The problem is he hasn’t delivered the goods.”
While it isn’t nice to be rude and going around saying other people “hate” other other people has a sort of dopey kid junior high feel to it, isn’t it about time we got back to the good old days of the shouting match? You know, Mulroney telling Turner in the debate that he has no spine after Tuner said he had no choice but to make political appointments chosen by the departing Trudeau? If we can’t expect high thought in this campaign can we at least get some nasty shots?
