I wonder, if you take an older baby, like 10 months old, and show it a newborn baby, does it think "Yeah, there's a little kid".

So what should be next for Canada in light of Bush's re-election?

I think the most important thing Canada can do for its citizens, and for defining its own unique place in the world, is not attempt to placate the US any matters that do not directly involve the US. Our domestic policy should be set without any consideration for what effect it will have on the US. For example, when deciding whether marijuana should be decriminalized, Canada should take into consideration what is best for Canada, and what is best for Canadians. If the US brings up something about how decriminalization in Canada could increase the flow of drugs to the US, we should dismiss it with some mention of how they aren't controling their firearms enough to decrease the flow of firearms to Canada.

Our foreign policy for all countries other than the US should take into consideration things like the UN, NATO, and other organizations to which Canada belongs, but not the US as its own entity. If the US wants to convince Canada of something, it should have to convince the UN. Otherwise, Canada's relations with other countries will be between Canada and the country in question, with no US influence whatsoever - like our current relations with Cuba.

As for US citizens in search of Canadian vaccinations and medications, they should be treated like any other foreign national who comes to Canada and attempts to obtain prescription medication. I don't know what happens when a foreign national attempts to obtain Canadian medication, but it would behoove us at this point not to treat Americans any differently.

We should not, especially not now, be getting involved in missile defence. I'm not saying this because I'm a pacifist, I'm saying it out of pure pragmatism. It's like that episode of MASH where the hospital was getting bombed because there was a tank parked nearby. Militarily, the US is far more aggressive than we want to be as a country, and we don't want to give the impression that we are an accessory to this behaviour.

And that's it for US politics for me!

A survey, based on a real-life occurrence:

You get a message from a trusted friend warning you NOT to look at a particular page of that day's newspaper.

What do you do, and why? What do you think is in the newspaper?

This post is going to be a roundup of miscellany from the US election. My next post is going to be about what Canada's next step should be. Then I'm going to get off the topic of US politics for a while, because I've given it far too much attention.

1. Apparently, the US fulfills all 14 points and seven warning signs of fascism. I'll leave it to you to decide how much value to give this, but it's interesting.

2. A fascinating discussion from Metro Morning this morning about the gap between Canadian and American values. (Direct link to a Realaudio file).

3. I took the US Presidential Candidate Selector while watching the election. Here are my results:

1. Your ideal theoretical candidate. (100%)
2. Cobb, David - Green Party (99%)
3. Brown, Walt - Socialist Party (92%)
4. Nader, Ralph - Independent (91%)
5. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (70%)
6. Badnarik, Michael - Libertarian (20%)
7. Peroutka, Michael - Constitution Party (13%)
8. Bush, President George W. - Republican (2%)

I find two things rather interesting about this:

a) There are three candidates who are so very close to my ideal theoretical candidate. I don't know if any of the Canadian parties are that close.

b) Bush and Kerry are so far apart. When I look at their platforms together, they seem much closer.

Approximately how many voters vote at one US polling place? If you can't
answer that, how close is a polling place generally to one's home? Can
everyone usually walk there? Or is there one per small/medium town? I'm
curious because I read about there being line-ups. I'm hardly an
experienced voters, but in the six elections I've voted in, I've never had
to wait in line to vote.

The American public seems to be very particular about its irst ladies. I've noticed that, while the first lady is expected to be a public figure and sometimes speak out on certain issues, too much outspokeness or independence seems to be frowned upon.

I wonder how accepting they would be of a noticeably shy first lady - someone who does her job, but you can tell that she feels kind of nervous or awkward?

The strangest thing about the whole US election is that they kept getting people on TV who would say "I voted for Bush because..." and then proceed to list a personal circumstance that, from my perspective as an outsider, would make Bush the least desirable candidate.

I've never seen that in a Canadian election. I've seen people say "I voted for this candidate because of this policy" and proceed to name a policy that I disagree with, but I've never seen "I voted for this candidate because of this personal circumstance" and mention the candidate who I would find least helpful if I were in that particular circumstance.

I'm going to bed. I call it for Bush, since I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm of no influence whatsoever.

Incidently, to be a born-again xian, do you have to have not been xian at some point in your life? Can it be hereditary? Like if your parents are born-again xians are you automatically one too?

Reasons why I am grumpy:

1. I have to be on call on Remembrance Day, so I quasi-lose my day off and don't get paid overtime unless I'm actually given work.

2. My mommy doesn't want to bake for xmas, which is doubly distressing since I had scheduled my diet to end on xmas.

3. One of my pairs of good black office pants (the most flattering pair) has an unfortunate seam rip, and I can't fix it because a) I can't figure out which seam it is from the inside, and b) I can't figure out how to get the white thread out of the fucking sewing machine! There are instructions for threading it, but not for taking the thread out! (And yes, I tried doing threading instructions backwards, but that doesn't quite work).

I get to see a baby tomorrow. Maybe that will make me feel better.

So when either Bush or Kerry wins a state, do they get ALL the electoral votes in that state, or do the electoral votes get divided between the two based on the percentage of votes they got in that state?

St. George station. I get off the Yonge line train and head towards the stairs to go down to the Bloor line. There's a huge wave of people coming up the stairs, blocking my access down. I see a big bulky guy who looks like a football player also trying to head down the stairs, so I move behind him, hoping he would clear a path for me. Dude turns around, catches my eye, and gives a grandiose "Ladies first!" gesture. Gee, thanks.

I wonder if it's considered false advertising to say that something is on
sale at a reduced price when it's not - when it's really the same price it
has always been.

Spinelli Quartana Chardonnay is rather dry, so it would be good with some
creamyish food, but it's a bit too sharp by itself. It's very inexpensive
though, so worth buying for a dinner or something.

WARNING TMI POST!

For my entire post-pubescent life, I have been able to pull out hairs of any kind with little to no pain. Basically all I felt would be a tiny prick of acknowledgement. "Hi, this is just to let you know that a hair has been removed right here."

Today I attempted various types of hair removal that involved pulling out hairs at the root, and it HURT. Like it was actually PAINFUL, and I have no idea why. I hope this isn't permanent.

I probably am going to end up watching the US election tomorrow. I don't feel 100% good about this course of action - I put myself on a US news media blackout over a year ago and it made me a better person, so I really shouldn't be breaking it. The correct thing to do would be go to bed nice and early and catch all the analysis in the newspapers the next day, but I know I'm going to end up staying up late and watching it on TV. (Stupid, I know, to fret about doing something harmless in the privacy of my own home that all my friends and family and neighbours and co-workers are probably doing too, but what are blogs for if not excessive personal introspection?)

However, I have made several concessions to the fact that I should not be watching this at all:

1. I will watch only CBC Newsworld. No US stations.
2. If I turn on my TV from 8-9, I can only watch MASH.
3. If I turn on my TV from 10-11, I can only watch the Daily Show.
4. If they haven't decided who won by 11, I have to go to sleep.
5. NO EATING CAKE! Cake is reserved for elections in which I can vote myself.

How come when there are security guys running alongside a car, they always
have to have one hand on the car?

An English Gentleman by Sky Gilbert is one of those books (like What Was She
Thinking? by Zoe Heller) where the narrator ends up saying more about
himself than the topic he is discussing. The main character (narrator) is
given some letters from J.M. Barrie to his adopted son, and sets about
debunking some of the scholarship on the topic. Meanwhile, his own life
parallels what's going on in the letters, and he ends up revealing more
about himself than insight into the letters.

The letters aren't real - I had to google to find this out, which is
testament either to the author's skill or my own ignorance. Other than

Apparently my supers aren't allowed to come to a tenant's apartment unless the tenant fills out a work order. Even if the tenant is home and specifically requests that the super come by. I find that strange. I understand the rule for when the tenant isn't home, but you'd think it would be okay if the tenant is home.

I don't understand why Global Vote 2004 inspires such anger. I can totally see why an American might not care what the rest of the world thinks. What I don't understand is why, instead of shrugging it off or laughing at it, they would take the time to send an email full of spluttering vitriol. It really sounds like some of those commenters feel that their manhood has been threatened or something, and I don't understand how what is essentially an internet poll would inspire that sort of reaction. Or, if those people get that angry about something as innocuous as an internet poll, why they haven't died of a heart attack yet.

ETA: I wonder how this demographic would react if the message was just "Vote." Would they choose not to vote because they don't want any foreigners telling them what to do?