The week of essentials Nov 9-14

Ashcroft is leaving, Colin too!
Seems like nobody wants to be in for Bush 2!
Celine sang loud for friendly skies,
Canada paused in honour of those who died!
The Canadian Buck goes up and up!
For Arafat his time was up.
Seven more days they flew right by,
We recap them with this try!

9-Nov-04 On the outside, the days of Colin Powell
9-Nov-04 Follow the money from Ramallah
9-Nov-04 Turn back before you hit the border
9-Nov-04 Singing the praises of Celine
9-Nov-04 Breaker, Breaker: Blogging noting but glorified CB radio
10-Nov-04 The Lightning rod steps aside
10-Nov-04 A uniter not a divider
10-Nov-04 Chocolate supplies could tumble!
10-Nov-04 Is a fox about to enter the Microsoft hen house
10-Nov-04 Barnstorming the Blue States
11-Nov-04 Lest we forget
11-Nov-04 Arafat is Dead!
11-Nov-04 No wonder Mr. Bush won!
11-Nov-04 Showing the colours to the Queen
11-Nov-04 Elevators all over the world are sad today!
12-Nov-04 In praise of the Northern Peso
12-Nov-04 Sorry, sorry, sorry, we now return to regular programming
12-Nov-04 So much more than politically incorrect
12-Nov-04 24 hours they'll never get back
12-Nov-04 Moore deals with loss, by making another movie
13-Nov-04 First the Flag, now the Loonie!
13-Nov-04 Ashcroft 101
13-Nov-04 Gonzales 101
13-Nov-04 If not a poodle, then what?
13-Nov-04 And yet Dan still keeps HIS job!
14-Nov-04 See Dick sneeze, See Dick cough
14-Nov-04 World Wide War Web
14-Nov-04 Confused, Innacurate, Advice
14-Nov-04 Canada to fill Sudanese void
14-Nov-04 Look out Petey, like JD, here comes George

A little light reading!

Having spent the morning at our local court house observing Remembrance Day ceremonies, I felt it might be helpful to offer up some background information for those that may not quite understand the importance of November 11th. For the benefit of Andre Bellavance and his fellow travelers in the Bloc Quebecois, a thumbnail guide to sacrifice, commitment and love of country.

Pierre Berton -- VIMY
Pierre Berton -- MARCHING AS TO WAR
Jeffy V. Brock -- THE DARK BROAD SEAS
Jeffy V. Brock -- THE THUNDER AND THE SUNSHINE
Terry Copp -– FIELDS OF FIRE: THE CANADIANS IN NORMANDY
Romeo Dallaire -– SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL
Julie H. Ferguson -- THROUGH A CANADIAN PERISCOPE
Strome Galloway -- BRAVELY INTO BATTLE
Commander Tony German -- THE SEA IS AT OUR GATES
Major General Lewis MacKenzie -- PEACEKEEPER
Desmond Morton and J. L. Granatstein - - MARCHING TO ARMAGEDDON
Desmond Morton and J. L. Granatstein - - A NATION FORGED IN FIRE
Mark Zuehlke - - JUNO BEACH
Mark Zuehlke - - ORTONA

Just a small list, but enough to give Mr. Bellavance and others a better understanding of the reverence that many Canadians hold their veterans in, and the spirit of which we honour every November 11th. Should you know of a book that is a must read simply leave us a note in the comments, we look forward to your additions.

LEST WE FORGET!

The 11th minute, of the 11th hour, of the 11th month. A simple refrain to remember, but one steeped in the history of a nation and its people. We pause every November 11th to commemorate those that made the ultimate freedom on our behalf in the past and to give thought to those that serve for us today.

For many the idea of remembering long ago wars seems to be the thing of their parents and increasing their grand parents generation. But yet perhaps it’s the younger generation who most need the touchstone to their past. When one does not take time to remember, we neglect our responsibilities as citizens of a free nation. One built upon a foundation of sacrifice, desire and pride of place.

There’s a fascinating site to explore from Veteran‘s Affairs Canada, where you can learn so much more about the sacrifices made by others on our behalf. Take a tour of the virtual war memorial, enter a name and trace your family’s involvement in the gallant campaigns for freedom, explore the book of condolences, learn the stories, understand their sacrifice. Relive the Italian campaign or the Liberation of Belgium, step onto a beach at Normandy and share in the horror and the eventual victory of D-Day. It's a wonderful compilation of our nations participation in World History and beautiful commemoration of those that sacrificed on our behalf.

There are far too many features to list here and really it is simply a site best explored by clicking from one place to another. But by far the digital reproduction of the Books of Remembrance is one stop all should make. Like the books at Parliament Hill the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are listed in alphabetical order, from year to year.

There sadly seem to be far too many names in those books, sons and daughters who left our land at an early age never to return, for them and those that have followed over the years we take our pause.

At the 11th minute, of the 11th hour, of the 11th day, take your moment to remember and thank those that gave us the gift of freedom that we far too often take for granted.

The Questions Wolf didn’t ask

CNN is busy these days keeping up to speed on Yasser Arafat and the hostilities in Fallujah, so perhaps it’s to be expected that simple things slip by the wayside. But Wolf Blitzer, the seasoned international reporter and now Uber host on CNN really should take the gift horses when they arrive.

Blitzer was interviewing the latest General to offer up some armchair quarterbacking on the workings of the US military in Iraq. Today’s analyst Major General Charles Swannack was a striking man, authoritative, impressive and informative. He briefed us well on the state of readiness of American forces, gave us some idea as to what they may face in combat and even ventured a few suggestions on possible military scenarios for us to ponder.

The Major General comes by his knowledge honestly, for as Wolf explained in his opening remarks, the Major General was but only one day into his retirement from the US Armed Forces. Certainly a major coup (if we dare use such an expression) for CNN and its stable of war analysts.

Yet that one detail, the Major General’s retirement should have given Wolf more than enough questions to fill up the entire hour. For instance how about for starters, a simple explanation why, on the eve of perhaps the “greatest urban battle since Vietnam” the US military is allowing its upper level management to leave the field of battle, while at the same time it’s extending the tours of duty of it’s National Guard and regular army units.

While I’m sure the Major General has put in more than his fair share of tours and no doubt served his nation with great honor one wonders how he truly feels. And while he most assuredly deserves a quiet and well compensated retirement, it seems a tad strange that he be moved out of theatre just as things begin to heat up extremely.

Then again his comments to the Boston Globe earlier this year probably helped to propel the retirement papers. With a bit of dedication perhaps Wolf could have allowed Major General Swannack to expand on his thoughts of Iraq and the state of the US military at the moment.

While Wolf would be on that topic, perhaps he could have expanded the theme for us here in the office of armchair military planning. It’s always struck me as unusual that the reserve units and guard units are being taxed to their limits in tours of Iraq, while other military units tend to their duties in distant lands. One wonders why the US military is not cycling in units from Korea, Germany, Japan and whatever other outposts they may be stationed in, to help share the load and relieve the burden of those that have been there from day one of the Iraqi adventure.

Through the last three months unit after unit in Iraq, seems to have had its tour extended, yet the large American presence in Korea for instance has not been moved. Would it not be fair to rotate those forces into Iraq for six months or so, and send the battle weary forces there now to Korea, or back home to rest? Now I’m the first to admit I’m not to up to speed on how Donald Rumsfeld and his military managers are planning things, but it would seem that an already trained and well rested force from Korea might be a better bet than dragging on the tours of already weary and frustrated Guard units.

Wolf would have done us all a service by asking that question. Better yet, he could have asked the newly returned and retired Major General what will come after Fallujah and when the best case date for all forces returning home may be. That possibly would be the most productive bit of armchair planning that we could use.

There certainly is no doubt now about the resolve of the US to finish off the current mission, one truly hopes that they find a solution to this situation as soon as possible. Allowing not only the Major General to enjoy his retirement, but to allow those serving in Iraq and those that will have to live there afterwards to find a sense of safety, comfort and most importantly Life in the very near future.

Bobby or Bourque?

Kevin Dupont of the Boston Globe treads where few would dare go with his latest article for the Boston paper. Dupont risks the wrath of many as he suggests that Raymond Bourque, former Bruin and newest member of the Hockey Hall of Fame may be the better of Boston’s two highest profile defencemen.

Comparing the two beatified Bruins takes a lot of courage, each has his own den of fans, each holds a special place in Bruin lore. Dupont tries to base his case on statistics, suggesting that Orr had the opportunity to pad his numbers at the expense of palookas from Minnesota, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oakland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, comparing the line ups offered to the hockey gods of the day as nothing but tomato cans waiting to be crushed. Add with the arrival of the WHA, Dupont suggests the points were there for the taking. Of course many will counter that argument by pointing out that Bourque plied his trade in an NHL expanded many times over, the whiskey watered down year after year, during his patrol of the Bruin blue line.

Mr. Dupont also states that Orr’s Bruins were a much stronger team than the one that Bourque was saddled with, Orr skating with the likes of Espositio, Bucyk, McKenzie, Cashman, Hodge and Cheevers to name a few. Bourque’s days significantly filled with interchangeable talent with the notable exceptions such as Cam Neely and Adam Oates. A valid point no doubt, much of Bourque’s time in Boston was spent on teams that seemed to have no desire to improve their standing, nor challenge for the Stanley Cup.

But in the end the fans of Orr will point out that not only did number four rack up the points, show leadership and lead the Bruins on to great glory. He also changed the game, the rushing defenceman of the eighties through the nineties and to this day all can trace their ascension to the talents of Orr.

There are hundreds if not thousands of defencemen who watched in wonder as Orr wound it up in his own end and took the puck from end to end normally finishing off in a flourish and a flashing red light.

His heart and desire was surpassed by only his pure talent. He defined all that was great about hockey in the late sixties and through the seventies, his career ending far too soon, robbing millions of hockey fans of one of the great talents of the game in the prime of his career.

I admire Ray Bourque consider him to be one of the best defencemen to ever put on skates and chase a puck down the ice. But Orr defined the game, made the game his own and will forever be known as the best to ever ply his trade on a blue line. There were many to follow him that surely starred, but never eclipsed. With respect to Mr. Dupont and his carefully crafted dissection of the two talented B’s, but I’ll cast my vote for Number 4.

I’ll respect Ray Bourque for the true talent that he was, a bona fide all star, deserved Hall of Fame member and one of the most impressive defenceman to ever pull on a pair of skates. But I’ll cherish the nights gone past where I sat in front of a television set and watched in awe a guy named Bobby weave his magic on the ice. Orr revolutionized a position, giving fuel to the explosion that would follow in offensive defencemen. For my book there never was and maybe never will be anyone of his equal.

His short time in an NHL line up gave us an indication just how exciting one person can be to a game. Like Gretzky, Lemieux, The Rocket and Lafleur there was something about him on the ice that made you watch with wonder. The mark of greatness is the company you keep; Orr’s place is forever placed on the same list as the greats. And that’s more than good enough for me!

The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!

The week of essentials November 2-8

Our neighbours to the polls they went
Casting votes with goodwill sent
Democrats and Republicans gave a push
But in the end its four more years for Bush
The left wing they are crying foul
The right side says thank you all
Some on the losing side say they'll stay to fight
Others to Canada they will take flight
Another seven days went by
Some have laughed and some did cry

2-Nov-04 Election Day: The Moore perspective
2-Nov-04 Election Day: The Limbaugh perspective
2-Nov-04 The Man in Full, Wolfe on the election
2-Nov-04 The first returns are in
2-Nov-04 Lawyers to your battle stations
3-Nov-04 To the recount table
3-Nov-04 Martin hedges his bets
3-Nov-04 Watching the electors
3-Nov-04 In numbers large, they cast their vote
3-Nov-04 Down at the boys club
4-Nov-04 The Victor's text
4-Nov-04 The farewell from the vanquished
4-Nov-04 Parrish pops off again
4-Nov-04 Think we'll move north of Montana
4-Nov-04 Michael Moore's silent protest
5-Nov-04 BONEHEADS in the Bloc
5-Nov-04 The Stone in Martin's shoe
5-Nov-04 Breakdown of a failed campaign
5-Nov-04 The Arafat watch continues
5-Nov-04 Movie pirates beware, the lawsuits are on the way!
6-Nov-04 God's flying picket squad
6-Nov-04 Clicking for Canada
6-Nov-04 Moby's cry: annex us for our own good
6-Nov-04 We suggest eights in the Chinese lottery
6-Nov-04 This could explain the lack of food on the airlines
7-Nov-04 America's message to Europe
7-Nov-04 How the Brits helped re-elect George Bush
7-Nov-04 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
7-Nov-04 Looking for a place to rest their weary battle scared bodies
7-Nov-04 What if they came knockin'?
8-Nov-04 Bonehead Blocheads back down on flag stand
8-Nov-04 They know when you are sneezing, and when you're in the can
8-Nov-04 Eggheads for Canada
8-Nov-04 Reality TV goes to the depths
8-Nov-04 Perhaps a lunch with Parrish might be an idea, or not!

Winnipeg bids adieu to faithful old barn

They’re holding a wake this weekend in River City, with an eye on a brand new downtown arena the hockey faithful took their final seat in the Winnipeg Arena on Saturday night and said farewell. Filling the venerable old building to the very last of the nosebleed seats arching high to the roof the cheered and cried, memories of many a famous night rushing back to their eyes as if they happened only yesterday.

After 50 years of some form of frozen shinny, the Winnipeg Arena will go dark and take with it countless memories of good times and bad. It was an AHL game on the schedule but for all intents and purposes this was one more chance to salute their Jets, the team that sent Winnipeg to the big leagues, a team that still has a torch burning so many years after their departure. Many of those attending the match were decked out in their finest Winnipeg Jets memorabilia. A testimony to how deep the scar of losing their NHL team still burns into the soul of a Manitoba hockey fan.

This weekend featured a number of the old Jets back one more time to celebrate all that was good about Hockey in Manitoba. They celebrated past Allan Cup winners, remembered the joy of a Memorial cup championship and the path to the big leagues through the Avco Cup years of the WHA.

From the days of Canada’s National team to the Team Canada stops against foreign competition, the Barn has seen its share of great moments. It’s also seen some sad ones as well, the gathering also commiserated at the lost chances of a Stanley Cup, gone seemingly at the time forever with the departure of the Jets for the desert of Arizona. But in true Manitoba spirit, Hope springs eternal, perhaps goes the wish a newly retrenched NHL will once again return to its Hockey Roots and once again call Manitoba home, it’s always next year country in Manitoba!

In one of those delicious ironies of life, the competition for the Manitoba Moose on this final night of the Maroons Road barn was the Utah Grizzlies, farm club of the Phoenix Coyotes nee Winnipeg Jets. Gone but not forgotten, Manitobans saluted their former heroes, their ghosts soon to be left behind to a wrecker’s ball.

Yet somehow one knows that the spirit of the Barn will carry on, many more chapters of Manitoba hockey are to be written. A new palace of hockey opens shortly, it one day will have its stories to tell, its history to recount. If it even has half the memories of Maroons road then it too will have lived a full and productive purpose for Hockey fans in Manitoba.

On Saturday night the home team lost in overtime, but really nobody was watching the score. The actual game itself, was just one of a number on the AHL schedule, the event though was one for fans to remember forever.

The Lights may go off for good, but its history will carry on forever!

The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about Hockey check things out.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well never mind your Sear's Wish Book, your Santa Claus Parade or the suddenly overwhelming amount of Canadian Tire ads on television. The real sign of Christmas is here and right on schedule.

Shop Early and Hand deliver!!

And yet he still will cash a cheque!

The Bloc MP that has refused to distribute Canadian flags to veterans has seemingly hit upon a very raw nerve in the Canadian psyche. Resulting in a an outburst of disgust, that may give him cause to rue the day he made his little petulant stand, for whatever it is he believes in.

Andre Bellavance, the MP for the Quebec riding near Sherbrooke, has refused to provide veterans on the local Legion with flags to commemorate Remembrance Day. Claiming he doesn’t feel comfortable with distributing flags with the Maple leaf embossed on them, Bellavance recommended that the local Legionnaires look to other sources for their desire du drapeau! Helpfully, their MP provided them with a toll free number from which to find a flag on their own.

The outcry has been loud, clear and hopefully bowel flow inducing for Mr. Bellavance. Outraged at the Bloc MP's disinterest in not only helping out a constituent but a veteran, other Parliamentarians have come to the aid of the vets! Conservative leader Stephen Harper has provided flags for the veterans as has Prime Minister Martin as well as other MP’s famous or not.

Even former Bloc founder and now Liberal lieutenant to Martin, Jean Lapierre has expressed his outrage at the pettiness of Monsieur Bellavance. As Lapierre points out quite correctly, Mr. Bellavance has no problem accepting that cheque every two weeks with the little Canadian Flag in the corner. Touché! Game, set and freakin’ match!

The Bloc MP and any other of his consorts who feel the same, should remember one simple truth. The only reason they have the freedom to espouse their pathetic bromides upon the nation, is due to the sacrifice of countless hundreds of thousands who sacrificed their lives to protect their right to speak. Including thousands of whom were even from Quebec and had no problem fighting and in many cases dying for Canada and it's flag (even the Red Ensign had a Maple Leaf there Andre!).

One suspects that he probably won't want to open up his e mail in the next little while, as I'm sure that Canadians will want to share their thoughts on his ahem, stance!

Politics has no place in the commemoration of sacrifice, much the same as common sense apparently has no place in the offices of the Bloc Quebecois!

A flickering light in the window

While the Democrats begin the process of trying to figure out what the hell went wrong, they find themselves in a bit of disarray. Suddenly quite leaderless and aging rapidly, they will drift for a bit trying to find their feet in the suddenly changing landscape they find themselves in.

Having lost the Presidency, the House and the Senate, the leader of the Senate himself being sent off to the glue factory, they now must worry about a Supreme Court that will be Republican tinged for many years to come. With a four year mandate and control of all facets of American governance, the Supreme Court may very well be the lasting legacy of the Bush years.

Dark days indeed for Democrats, who had such high hopes for this election and a chance to reverse many of the machinations of the Bush regime. The mourning period will not doubt carry on for a fair amount of time, before they begin the fight for the Senate once again in two years.

While they compose themselves and begin to sort out their various tasks. They will need to provide Americans (and indeed the rest of the world) with some tangible proof that they still carry on the fight for justice, for common good and responsibility to all.

The list of possible shining lights is slim at the moment, Hillary Clinton has been mentioned frequently as a legitimate voice for Democratic principles and she surely will have her message delivered. But of all the Democrats on Tuesday night that managed to give cheer to broken hearts Barack Obama seemed to hit the right notes.

Below scalped from the Daily Kos, is an excerpt from his speech to his supporters in Illinois. For Democrats in America and observers beyond it's a flickering light of hope for a party that right now could use as much hope as they can muster. Mr. Obama delivers a fine message one that should be repeated time and time again. For those of heavy heart, he offers a lift of spirit, a chance to dream again, the opportunity to offer a sense of purpose to those seeking a reason to get back to work.

The Democrats would be wise to highlight his talents in the next two years and beyond. He's the hope of a better day to come, for those that must surely feel as though better days are but a distant memory!

From the Daily Kos:

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible. Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams of its people, the insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe or hiring somebody's son. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted--or at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations. And fellow Americans--Democrats, Republicans, Independents--I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father I met who was losing his job and choking back tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to go to college.

Don't get me wrong. The people I meet in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks, they don't expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted by a welfare agency or the Pentagon. Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice [...]

A belief that we are connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandmother. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It's that fundamental belief--I am my brother's keeper, I am my sisters' keeper--that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. "E pluribus unum." Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America--there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America [...]

In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; the belief in things not seen; the belief that there are better days ahead. I believe we can give our middle class relief and provide working families with a road to opportunity. I believe we can provide jobs to the jobless, homes to the homeless, and reclaim young people in cities across America from violence and despair. I believe that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices, and meet the challenges that face us. America!

A nation most divided

That map on all the networks, whether it was the fancy NASDAQ one at CNN, the Skating rink motif of NBC or the various versions from FOX, CBS AND ABC had one recurring trait. There was blue at the far right corner, blue on the far left side and with the exception of lonely ole Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota and uh that’s it, Red everywhere else!

The Question for Democrats is how the heck they ever expect to hold the Presidency if they are pushed to the virtual margins of the country.

With the re-election of George Bush in both the Electoral College and in the popular vote, he finally receives the legitimacy of his Presidency that many said was lacking in his first term.

With a key win in Florida which was not a terrible surprise and another in Ohio which was, Bush found enough votes to put him over the top and claim a second term. The Florida vote was less controversial than last year, while Ohio became ground zero in this years struggle. Provisional ballots, absentee ballots and challenged ballots all direct our attention to a system that seems um, a tad flawed. When is a winner not a winner, when is a loser suddenly back in the game? It all makes for wonderful theatre, and the stumbling, fumbling and bumbling of the network talking heads gave proof that live television still can offer its great moments (I was particularly interested to learn that President Reagan would be making an appearance shortly, now there’s a network exclusive for ABC). But the way this election began to unravel as the hours went by, you began to wish that the folks at Comedy Central would have let Jon Stewart stay on a longer with his election special! Electoral Farce deserves satirical input!

With lineups of over ten hours at some locations reported and that unusual procedure known as the “provisional ballot” (we’ll count them if we have to but, if it’s not close why bother?) the actual task of voting seemed to require all the dedication required to preserve democracy. A national voters list seems to be a much needed item in the USA, if for no other reason than at least they would have a head start when it comes time to count the ballots. And is it not possible to have an earlier deadline for absentee and overseas ballots, having them back in the country well before the actual voting day, treat it like a mailing deadline for Christmas presents if you have to! The whole world was watching last nights demonstration of democracy warts and all, the folks in Iraq probably paying more attention than most, since the Bush government has said that they intend to send Iraqi’s to the polls in January (as if they don’t have enough problems at the moment!).

International observers to the festivities were at many voting stations, especially in the controversial state of Florida, as the day went on the observers began to long for the days of vote counting in such long time democratic states as Serbia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan!

In the end, the Democratic contender, after taking the night to sleep on it and hope for some kind of vote count change, offered his concession. Kerry not only lost the Electoral College and the popular vote, but watched as his running mate failed to deliver one single southern state including his own. The news got worse as the night morphed into morning, as the Republicans picked up seats in both the Senate and Congress. The long time leader of the Senate Tom Daschle even ended up losing his seat in the Republican onslaught. In short despite a massive increase in the participants to the process, the result not only improved Bush’s standing from four years ago, but finally added legitimacy to his office.

Earlier in the day the likes of Ted Kennedy, Al Sharpton and such seemed positively giddy at the possibility of chasing The President out of office. Exit polls apparently leading them to believe that they were on the verge of reversing four years of Republican rule and perceived tyranny.

The handlers, pollsters and political machine workers seemed to want to hang on til the last bitter moment. Only James Carville, the raging’ Cajun of the days of Bill Clinton could read the tea leaves properly. As the hours moved on Carville was working his contacts in Ohio, glumly he told his Crossfire panel on CNN that it was done, the Democrats could not make Ohio work and that was that. He basically said then and there that the Bush Presidency was on to a second term, you almost saw a glint of sympathy in the eye of Robert Novak, either that or a look of glee, fine line between the two there.

The Kerry folks should have listened to the wise Cajun; he did the math and realized that the Kerry numbers weren’t going to get him over the top no matter where they tried to shuffle the figures. Game, set and match for the forces of Bush!

For the Democrats the events of last night will signal an internal struggle worthy of the Conservatives in Canada. They need to try and figure out why they are merely a coastal party with a few outposts in the heartland. They need to understand why they couldn’t win support in a state like Ohio. A state where 16% of the jobs have disappeared, sending over 200,000 people to the unemployment lines, if the Democrats couldn’t win a state in economic and social distress what hope do they have in states where economic times are brighter? There is much work to do in the Democratic Party the message never found a home with over half of the American voter.

The win should however not be taken by the Bush administration as an endorsement of their policies. The fact that a bit over 49% of the electorate chose not to support the President should be a cautionary tone for those in the White House. They govern over the most divided nation since the Vietnam War and possibly on a parallel with America of the Civil War era (the split of the North and those West Coasters and the Rest seems to be an ominous reminder of times gone by). Large tracts of the American population don’t feel comfortable with the direction the President has been taking them; he ignores that message at his party’s peril.

Four more years of Republican rule. We wonder if it will be four more years of more of the same, or Four years of new directions and new agendas. More disconcerting for the American’s who did not vote for Bush, will be the awareness that with his success may come even more troublesome legislation destined only to divide the nation further. In 2000 Bush ran under the slogan of being a “uniter not a divider”. With the results of 2004 he will be given one more chance to prove that those words were much more than just a slogan of convenience.

A song on their lips and a ballot in their hand!

With the influx of musicians wandering the USA this year as part of the presidential election campaign, it gave one pause to wonder what are some of the great songs of a political nature.

Bob Dylan of course has to be high on any list of political music, there’s much to mine in his library but with Political World, Dylan explains the politics of our times.

Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop will forever be identified with the Clinton/Gore campaign; it seemed to bring with it a sense of hope and optimism. When they first recorded it off the Rumours album, politics probably was the furthest thing from their minds, but when Bill and Al took on George and Dan, Don’t Stop seemed to be the tune that boosted the troops, made for a great convention song.

Bruce Springsteen has had a number of his songs used in a political vein, Ronald Reagan was trying to use Born in the USA as a political theme until the Boss put out his cease and desist edict. No such worries for John Kerry, not only has Springsteen allowed Kerry use of his music, he’s travelled far and wide to play songs and help get out the vote. His No Surrender seems to have become an unofficial theme for these times.

John Kennedy used High Hopes to define the dreams and aspirations of the Camelot era, a brief golden era of American politics that was brought to a dark and tragic end in November of 1963.

John Mellencamp has given us a number of common man anthems, but Down and out here in Paradise perfectly caught the spirit of those that didn’t benefit from the trickle down era of economics of the Reagan/Bush doctrine.

The turbulent sixties brought forward many songs of protest and declaration of concern, The Beatles Revolution seemed to sum up the ear quite nicely.

Not to be out done, the Rolling Stones found the changes of the sixties to be a mother lode of material, their Street fighting Man with images of rioting in the streets seemed to serve as a soundtrack for all that was the sixties.

Billy Joel’s Allentown gave a vivid portrait of the American dream gone wrong, when used in a political context it certainly hits a chord with the unemployed and the under-represented.

U2 reflected the frustrations of the troubles of Northern Ireland with their Sunday, Bloody Sunday, in a province that has marching seasons and no shortage of political discord, this anthem screamed out for some justice in a land where the concept of voting still exists in a very fragile state.

After every election there’s some constituency that can proclaim its allegiance to The Who, their anthem of desperation Won’t get fooled again, contains one of those all time great lyrical contributions “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.

By no means is this a definitive list, but merely just a few tunes off the top of my head that certainly represent the political landscape in the world of music. No doubt you can think up a number of your own personal soundtracks to the democratic process

Their Democratic Duty

I'm not George W. Bush, nor John Kerry, but I endorse this message!

It’s almost Election Day for the USA, as our neighbors wander off to the polls in the morning, they no doubt will keep a wary eye on those around them. What must be going through their minds, as they make their way to the polls? The specter of some disruptive event still hangs over the country, will Osama Bin Laden engage in some nefarious activity to disrupt the process, or will they be left in relative peace to cast their ballots, watch their returns and await the inevitable legal challenges to their collective efforts?

Considering the fact that their nation has existed under some cloud of expectation of terror for three years now, mostly proclaimed by its own government, one could understand if your average American just decided to take a pass on the voting booth. The Vice President himself has constantly reminded American’s that the terrorists will try and try again, the administration seemingly trying to instill the fear of God in the people to be ready to be a target again. With that never ending hammering on the psyche, we have to wonder how it impacts on a person’s very private choice in a voting booth?

But vote they will, despite roadblocks that would deter many a hardy soul they will vote. Despite registration snafus, missing names on voting lists and seemingly anarchistic voting regulations that change from state to state and district to district they will vote. They will mark an X, punch a chad, and pull a lever. Whatever method used, they will cast a vote in a display of their faith in the democratic process, despite its warts, corruption and never ending battles long after the votes are counted and counted again.

So what of the choice itself, the race for the White House is the closest one that America has ever seen. The polling numbers indicating neither George Bush nor John Kerry can go to bed this election eve and feel secure that in 24 hours they will be the President of the United States and leader of a good part of the free world.

This election would seem to fit the billing as the most important American election in recent times. The nation itself seems unsure as to where their loyalties should go, a dead heat as they say, almost a 50/50 split, a nation divided in opinion, divided over what’s important to the nation and divided even on the war that continues endlessly on, even as the voting begins.

It’s a curious situation this election eve, normally a sitting President is given the benefit of the doubt, a comfortable lead to work with. But the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania has not seen that large a margin of comfort. With the underlying fear of more terrorist attacks on the American homeland, President Bush took to heavy polling over security issues. Americans apparently believing he’s more qualified to take the fight to the terrorists wherever they are, despite the evidence that the administration seems to have become sidetracked in that fight with their excursion in Iraq.

With an unpopular war ongoing and casualties reported daily, one would think that John Kerry’s numbers would be higher, yet they too are stuck at less that 50%. Why is it that American’s don’t feel comfortable with the abilities of Kerry to keep them safe from terror and find an exit out of the morass that has become Iraq?

The questions for the Kerry campaign are many, for it has been a campaign that hasn’t really caught the imagination of the American people. There is no wave of excitement at the Kerry possibility, instead more of a wishful hope that somehow he manages to outlast Bush and take the Presidency. Surely that itself must send alarm bells in the Democratic Party machine.

There really should not be any reason for Kerry not to have passed the 50% level and rendered the Bush neo-con forces to the one term history books. Beyond the Iraqi situation, which has been bungled badly of late by the administration there are other points that the Democrats should have been far and away ahead of the Republicans on and somehow never got the message across properly.

The economy of debt currently being created by the Bush forces was begging for a debate, the Bush administration has ratcheted up a horrendous national debt in its pursuit of Homeland Security and various International adventures. That debt is going to have to be paid back somehow and sometime, more than likely on the backs of the middle and lower classes of American society, how come they never got that message across? The American economy is starting to slow down, the jobless rate increasing, and the stock market erratic to say the best. There’s the skyrocketing price of oil providing a bad omen for a cold winter ahead. The economy was a Bush weakness, yet Kerry remained below 50%! Are American’s willing to give the President a pass on his economic agenda, purely because they are afraid of Osama Bin Laden?

Why has Kerry’s constant hammering on the job loss crisis in America fallen upon deaf ears? Why did the Bush Tax plan not get the roasting that it deserved, on one hand the Administration runs up astronomical debt, on the other hand they suggest that the highest end taxpayers need not necessarily carry a share of the burden. Could the Democrats not explain the problems with that math? Did the messenger not deliver it properly or do Americans close their eyes when matters of economy come to their attention. Regardless, with his numbers below 50% Kerry failed to make the economy an issue.

The Patriot Act was never once discussed in this election; it was given as just the way the American’s will do business now. Where was the Democratic Party on this issue, where was John Kerry? There are far too many worrisome aspects of this legislation that should have had civil rights activists out on the trail, every day of the campaign. Yet it was never mentioned in the debates and if it was it surely was only as a quiet aside. The culture of fear seems to give the Administration draconian rights of investigation, yet no one seems to think that a land that has opposed tyranny over the years might succumb to that same attack on democratic rights that Americans have long taken for granted. Somehow the concept is out there that if you have qualms about the Patriot Act, then perhaps you’re not a patriot! With that theme playing out in the US, the Democrats seemingly chose the easy route of ignoring the issue completely. You eventually have to stand for something other than political expediency, yet that seems to have been the talking point on this campaign; don’t say anything to call the Democrats loyalty into question.

Guantanamo Bay is another issue that never once was mentioned in this campaign, with the American government running a secretive prison with apparently no due process required, the debate on the legalities let alone morality of that never was made. Now the people currently incarcerated there, may very well be the evilest of the evildoers, but how would anyone know? Proceedings are never recorded, we don’t even know if they have anything resembling a trial there. The United States is a nation built upon the rule of Law, yet we have no insight as to how things are handled on the fringes of Cuba. At what point does someone ask what’s going on there. Perhaps that is the reason the Bush Administration chose a territory off of the American mainland for their detention camp, out of sight, out of mind. Yet one wonders why alarm bells don’t go off in America. A country which is quick to hold public hearings into the various personal habits of elected officials, somehow can’t find the time to delve into the happenings at a top secret prison where people have been held without any sense of process for over three years! One wonders why the Democrats never seemed to approach the entire Guantanamo issue in the campaign. Would it not be beneficial to find out what those being held in detention knew and what the American people needed to know about how and why they got there. The Democrats took a pass on that issue as well; perhaps fearful that standing up for due process and the American constitution might somehow be perceived as anti American.

An isolationist foreign policy of the US government got a short shrift as well, Kerry seemed afraid to tackle the US image abroad. While Americans have long been a stand alone kind of nation, they must at times wonder why the vast majority of the nations of the world seem to think they are on the wrong path. There are times when the American beliefs and actions are justified, there are also times when they act impudently and not concerned with the long term effects of their actions. They regularly have taken to tuning out any dissenting voice or discarding advice from formerly dependable allies. Shortly after the tragedy of 9-11, the vast majority of the world’s nations stood with the American’s in empathy to the horrendous attack on a nation that many feel holds the candle of liberty. How in three short years has that tide gone so far out? Why have the Democrats not explained how they would recapture those sympathies and more importantly how they would recapture the spirit of co-operation the US once had with many of the countries of the world. They touched on the issue, but never really delivered a comprehensive answer as to how they would bring America back to the world.

There were many International issues that just never got discussed; perhaps for fear that the American public is just too weary to ponder their responsibilities. North Korea, Iran, the crisis of Africa, health concerns worldwide and domestic just never seemed to make it onto the agenda. Or maybe despite what seemed like an endless campaign, they just ran out of time. Kerry the Internationalist got bogged down with the American agenda, which is to be expected, but never really gave anyone any sense of what he might accomplish on the world stage.

The simple fact for Democrats is that in a situation where they should have had a much wider margin, their candidate has not found a home in the bosom of the American voter. The Bush forces have held their own in a scenario that for all intents and purposes should have led to a crushing defeat.

The closeness of the polling information, the perception of a dead heat, it plays well for a second term for George Bush, by not having to be held accountable on their record, they never had to admit that things had gone wrong. The current high anxiety of a wartime America, gives the incumbent an edge simply by the fact that nothing has been challenged. By treading the muddled middle, afraid to offend or appear to be questioning America itself, the Kerry team fumbled a chance to give the average American a chance to speak out about these troubled times.

Regardless, the American public casts its vote on Tuesday, with billions of proxy voters hanging on to their decision. It’s a testimony to America’s place in the world that people worldwide are following this election as if they had a vote themselves. They of course won’t be taking too much time to weigh their vote on how the world is thinking; they will however, take the measure of the men competing for the office.

The election has been fought mostly on the agenda put forward by the Bush team; the Kerry handlers never seemed able to change that situation from day one. In effect they have made the election a referendum on the governance of George W. Bush. His handlers may have placed him in the spot to achieve what his father could not, a second term, one that will certainly see the United States carry forth with the agenda it has formulated in the previous four years.

We await the voter’s judgment and wonder what kind of world we will have after the votes have been counted, recounted and maybe even sent to the courts. Democracy is a wonderful gift to the world, flawed at times but still yet an expression of free will. May our neighbours vote in good conscience and be guided by their inner voice as to what is right for us all.

The week of essentials October 26-31

Election Day is approaching fast,
Kerry and Bush their die is cast,
Paul cut some cash with his fellow leaders,
Though that young guy from Newfie called him cheater,
The Red Sox were champs under a blood red moon,
While Sheila Copps found her book lampooned,
Seven days they have come and gone,
We recap them all, except for one!

26-Oct-04 Not a great start, forgot to save the 26th before storing, bye bye essentials!
27-Oct-04 It's back to the couch for Arnie
27-Oct-04 After they count the votes, they can count the lawyers!
27-Oct-04 So sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a frigtful trip!
27-Oct-04 Cutting up the cash with Paulie and the Premiers (less one)
27-Oct-04 Sheila researches? Hope she credits!
28-Oct-04 It takes two baby, It takes two
28-Oct-04 Why a spam law in Canada is unlikely
28-Oct-04 Florida again? And before the vote!
28-Oct-04 Back to the kitchen one more time
28-Oct-04 And next week he'll get the Milli Vanilli award for musical promotion
29-Oct-04 Robbing Paul to pay Paul
29-Oct-04 Sorry Bill, but there's a spin zone a happenin'
29-Oct-04 Ebert and Lord Black exchange reviews
29-Oct-04 Hmm, ok where do we get our flu shot?
29-Oct-04 Mr. Kerry, meet Mr. Harper!
30-Oct-04 Vote Early, Vote often!
30-Oct-04 Cats scared of rats!
30-Oct-04 The King of earners even in death
30-Oct-04 We like our beer
30-Oct-04 Banned at Wal*Mart
31-Oct-04 Diva's to kiss and make up
31-Oct-04 A Yankee fan who can't forgive?
31-Oct-04 Not a half bad idea, lets all take a nap
31-Oct-04 Go to your room without any television
31-Oct-04 Doonesbury strikes a nerve, with one little word
1-Nov-04 Law and Order: Criminal Intent, woodland division
1-Nov-04 This Diamond ring doesn't shine for him anymore
1-Nov-04 You have to fight for your right to vote!
1-Nov-04 Oil Markets to see more turmoil in the shell battle
1-Nov-04 Tricks and Treats in the Nation's capital

Hey La de La, Osama's Back!

Well it’s been a while since we last saw an episode of the Osama show, and right on cue with Americans ready to vote in possibly the closest election in their history, Heeeeeeeere’s Osama!

One Part Jay Leno, One Part quasi Head of State, the apparent leader of Al Qaeda provided those hard working tape messengers at Al Jazeera with another tape to add to the collection. One wonders if this is like Columbia House (Osama House, anyone?), where you get five tapes for fourty nine cents, when you send in your fatwa stickers and join the Club.

In our latest sermon from the cave, Osama Bin Laden picks up where he last left off, issuing warnings to America that the reasons for past attacks are still there. Not really coming out directly and saying that American’s should be concerned for their safety, but certainly not saying sleep well either. In the past these addresses have foreshadowed terror activities somewhere in the world, so as the days tick down to November 2 and Election Day in the US, officials there surely must be on pins and needles. The colour coded warning system surely shading into hotter temperatures.

It was a more composed Osama who addressed the American public in this latest effort. Well dressed, looking fit and without the customary gun by his side he looked like a candidate for office, rather than a cold blooded planner of the death of thousands. Speaking clearly, calmly and devoid of his usual blood will run rantings, he tried to rationalize the murder of those of 9/11 with past events in Lebanon, Palestine and points Middle East. The tone of the presentation was almost statesmanlike, a leader addressing the people explaining a policy or possibly an election platform.

It made for a situation that adds a rather surreal atmosphere to the final days of the US election campaign. It seems to have been a rather well timed project to try and influence the upcoming election, with Osama offering the voters some food for thought that America’s security is in their own hands this weekend. Fortunately for the Kerry camp, Osama didn’t come out and endorse the Democrats, a nightmare scenario no doubt for Kerry's handlers. And regardless, both Democrats and Republicans have come out and said that they would carry on the quest to bring Bin Laden to justice, so maybe he was a Nader fan who knows!

Somehow one would like to think that if nothing else in this campaign, the American voter won’t be terribly swayed by the ramblings of Bin Laden. However, we know that somewhere in America, a focus group is already interpreting the Osama factor in their polling numbers.

The rather healthy looking Bin Laden (whatever happened to that kidney problem?) seemed to relish in tweaking President Bush’s nose in this latest pop up video appearance. He gave Sweden an apparent pass in the terror sweepstakes, asking rhetorically why Al Qaeda did not attack the Scandinavian country if it were so against free countries. Saying that Al Qaeda left alone those countries that left them alone, he seemed to be reinforcing the split or trying to create even more of one between the US and its allies in Europe and elsewhere.

Bin Laden went on to suggest that the President was the author of his own misfortune by not responding to the 911 attacks quickly enough, preferring to instead listen to a little girl talk about a goat. With that little rim shot, Bin Laden snidely referred to the President’s appearance at a school in the morning during the attacks. And the wording of this part of his video gives one some idea as to what Osama must have been doing in his spare time, he’s been watching Michael Moore videos!

The uncanny turn of phrase is almost identical to the phrasing during Fahrenheit 911 and it wasn’t the only parallel drawn by Osama that sounded rather familiar with the Moore documentary. Bin Laden recounted the voting irregularities of the last election, suggesting that Bush stole power, placed in power by his father. He also provided his take on American civics, suggesting that the American’s have now done in their own country what Middle East countries have done for years, instituted a chain of succession on family lines. All points covered in one way or another in the Moore documentary. And certainly points that are making the rounds of the right wing websites on the internet, type in any Google search the words, Bin Laden and Michael Moore and read away, your conspiracy agenda will be filled with reading material til the last Florida chad drops.

But there does seem to be some synergy between the Moore message in Fahrenheit and Osama’s Opus. Which leads us to an interesting possibility? Instead of having the CIA, FBI and Homeland folks looking for Osama, turn loose Jack Valenti and the Motion Picture Association of America. Quite obviously in addition to being the worlds most cowardly terrorist Osama is nothing but a simple video pirate, there’s no way that the Blockbuster in the local mountains on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border had Moore’s movie in stock, nor would they rent to him, so where would he get his research material. Well you don’t have to go any further than your computer folks. Was Bin Laden trolling for pics from the internet? No doubt some Al Qaeda lackey has been designated to download movies, so have the movie police search the databases, if the folks at the RIAA can track a fourteen year old girl that somehow got her hands on an Ashlee Simpson tune (and hey if you don’t actually sing would that really be piracy?) surely they can find out when, where and how Osama saw the movie.

Jack the ball is in your court, find those pirates now. Prosecute to the full extent of the law! Bring in Osama, if only to spare us of any more of his cave side chats.

If this kind of drivel keeps up, instead of being a world terrorist, his career is going to slide into that horrid fate of being the local host on Al Jazeera Movie Night. Judging by the content of Friday’s debut, the first film will be Fahrenheit 911. Osama meet Count Floyd, whoooo scary stuff kids, scary stuff!

Bumped players in Europe not at all happy with newly arrived "scabs"

The fraternity of hockey players is taking a bit of a kick these days in the solidarity department, while fellow NHLPA members debate the merits of holding fast against any kind of salary cap. The players in Europe that are getting bumped by the new refugees aren’t talking cap, their talking about being fed up with crap!

The 236 odd new arrivals have bumped a similar number of formerly gainfully employed players onto the unemployment rolls. And the situation is not sitting well with some of the newly laid off.

And while the NHL stars come to Europe for what amounts to beer money in their world, the folks that were calling the European leagues’ home are crying foul. Corey Hirsch seems to be taking the point on this battle on behalf of his recently unemployed brethren, in an exchange of e mails with Ottawa Sun columnist Chris Stevenson, Hirsch explains how the vast majority of North Americans that relocated to Europe did it to continue their careers and make some money in a game that they love. To have that taken away by the folks that “made it in the NHL” leaves a lot of them with a bitter taste in their mouths.

The new arrivals who are parking in Europe while things sort themselves out back in the NHL, don’t seem to be aware of the damage they may be doing to the players recently released. In a season to season league, performance in one year normally dictates whether you are invited back the next, the layoff of the North Americans puts their very careers in jeopardy normally when they need the money the most. When the lockout ends and the NHL resumes the vacationers will go back to salaries well in excess of the European league average, yet the now replaced players may find that their careers come to a crashing end.

And that has the now bumped players talking about returning to North America should the NHL re open with replacement players. Feeling that they have nothing to lose Hirsch says that they would just be doing what the current NHL players are doing to them.

It makes for a cautionary tone for Mr. Goodenow and the NHLPA, should the owners wait out the union until next year, there’s a very good chance that a pool of players will readily be ready to go to work, having been sent to the sidelines by the NHLPA’s very own players. The NHL stars currently taking their skates in the European leagues may very well have opened up a can of worms from which not good will come.

The logic of the recently unemployed makes sense, in any other strike/lockout situation the workers do not go over to another company and take the jobs of those that are already employed. They take the odd jobs to tide one over until the lockout or strike comes to an end, they work the picket lines and promote their cause.

They generally don’t create misery for other workers who were only trying to earn a living. The move by the NHL players that relocated to Europe, in effect makes the newly unemployed two time losers! They lost their dreams of NHL glory and now they’ve lost their fall back plan to play the game and still make a decent living. Make a person that bitter and you may reap what you sow!

The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check things out.

Survey Says: The Game is Strong!

From it’s near death experience of the late 90’s to the phoenix like rebirth in Vancouver, Hamilton and Toronto, the signs are all there that the Canadian brand of football is back and regaining its place in the hearts of Canadians.

Confirmation of the renewed love affair between the game and its fans can be found in a survey conducted by two Sociologists at the University of Lethbridge. Reg Bibby and Trevor Harrison study trends and traditions there and recently conducted studies on Canadians and their attitudes towards the CFL.

On the Bill Good radio program in Vancouver on Friday, the two delivered the results of a market survey that shows the league is once again an integral part of the Canadian Sporting fabric.

Their findings should warm the heart of Commissioner Tom Wright, who has seen some remarkable success stories under his watch so far. Television ratings are strong, including a recent Sunday head to head where TSN’s broadcast of CFL games outpaced not only the NFL offerings that weekend but also surpassed the Baseball playoffs. As has been noticed previously attendance is another positive trend, Vancouver, Hamilton, Toronto all saw sizeable gains in at the gate and more importantly more buzz in their communities than in the past few years.

Sponsorship partnerships are beginning to develop into longer term commitments, with more and more companies looking to come on board. And grass roots interest in football seems larger than ever, from the college games of Atlantic Canada through Quebec, Ontario the Prairies and BC people are actually paying attention to the local teams, something that was mostly a family and friends activity in the past.

The survey sets up an interesting situation for Mr. Wright and his owners group, expansion can’t be that far off the horizon now that the pilings are back in place on the dock. Setting sail for new lands gives the CFL a number of options and in each location the interest in football is at an all time high. Atlantic Canada and Quebec City have both been frequently mentioned of late as possible destinations for franchise number 10. The survey gives the nod at the moment to Atlantic Canada which seems primed to welcome the league to the East Coast, giving the CFL a truly coast to coast dimension. The fact that there seems to be a bidding war developing for teams only bodes well for Mr. Wright’s stewardship and the product on the field.

Even the negatives reported in the survey can be a useful experience, some respondents and callers to the show expressed frustration at the lack of CFL memorabilia available for purchase, perhaps a more intensive marketing strategy with retailers will help get the League’s message, colours and product out into the marketplace.

Check out the entire interview for yourself by logging onto the CKNW website, their program archives page will hold the interview for one month. Click on Friday morning, October 29, 11 am for the full story. They should be downloading like mad at the CFL offices and distributing copies to one and all, the brand is strong!

The above post first appeared in my Twelve Men on the Field blog, for more items about Canadian Football check it out!

Counting Chickens before they hatch?

John, pick up the phone and call a guy named Stephen! Well it won’t happen obviously, but if John Kerry could learn anything from Stephen Harper’s campaign for Prime Minister it would be not to mention your transition team before there’s actually a reason for transition.

The Kerry forces somehow let slip that Joe Biden is going to be a member of John Kerry’s cabinet come Wednesday morning and the Bushies packing up and moving back to Connecticut/Texas/parts unknown! As Mr. Harper could advise, letting the word get out only seems presumptuous and a tad arrogant in the final stages of a campaign.

There has been a raft of other names tossed into the mix as the campaign enters the final days, but with polls suggesting not only a close result and possibly a resulting lengthy recount period, a transition team may be the last thing Kerry should be working on.

Recount adjudicators and a battalion of lawyers for the necessary court challenges might be a more worthwhile team to assemble. With visions of the Florida fiasco dancing in everyone’s head but on a grander scale, the possibility of a long drawn out process of determining the next President is very much in play.

But for Kerry keeping a low profile on the transition team stories might be a wise strategy, no one likes a guy who takes for granted the affection of the voter. For every name thrown up for consideration the Kerry forces may lose votes on Election Day. Should the Kerry crew need any more incentive to keep a low profile on transition they need do no more than give Harper a call.

At the mid point of the Canadian election he was keeping pretty close company to the Prime Minister and like Kerry in some polls actually was leading at one point. Giving him cause to discuss transition plans with party insiders.

But when it came time to swear in the new cabinet, it was Paul Martin’s name called out as Prime Minister, Harper’s transition team was left to ponder what might have been. For the Kerry gang just some food for thought, as they tread the final days until November 2.

Spinnin' with Bill

Fox TV blowhard Bill O’Reilly may wish to revisit his famous words of mid October, when informed of pending legal troubles over reputed sexual harassment charges, O’Reilly took to the airwaves with a solemn vow to his audience to fight on against the situation he described as: "The single most evil thing I have ever experienced and I've seen a lot. But these people picked the wrong guy."

With true bravado he also hitched up his verbosity and declared on no less a pulpit than Live with Regis and Kelly that: "If I have to go down, I'm willing to do it," he said. "I'm going to take a stand. I'm a big mouth on the air and I'm a big mouth off the air."

And then the big mouth went silent! Lawyers talked and no doubt exchanged phone calls, faxes, e mails and depositions. And low and behold the wrong guy chose not to go on, quietly allowing his lawyers to dig him out of a deep deep hole.

In a fascinating reversal of testosterone O’Reilly’s lawyers have issued a notice that all legal hostilities have ceased, the combatants no longer wishing to carry forward with any form of legal proceedings.

In a Thursday statement Bill O’Reilly’s lawyer, Ronald Green issued the following wonderful testimony to settling ones differences away from the spotlight: saying both sides "regret that this matter has caused tremendous pain, and they have agreed to settle. All cases and claims have been withdrawn, and all parties have agreed that there was no wrongdoing whatsoever by Mr. O'Reilly, Ms. Mackris, or Ms. Mackris' counsel, Benedict P. Morelli & Associates." The no harm no foul, as long as the bills are sequential, clean and delivered promptly one guesses!

Green's statement also said he and O'Reilly "withdraw any assertion that any extortion by Ms. Mackris, Mr. Morelli" or his law firm occurred.
"Out of respect for their families and privacy, all parties and their representatives have agreed that all information relating to the cases shall remain confidential," Green's statement said.

And so will end the salacious details of O’Reilly’s relationship with his former assistant, the bombast replaced by bromo seltzer as the folks at Fox News finally shovel their news star off the front pages of every scandal sheet and website in the nation.

Has the damage already been done? Or will O’Reilly somehow find a way to skip over a rather unfortunate bit of publicity that certainly will bring down his overheated bellicosity a few notches. It most certainly will affect his latest publication "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids", some questions Mom and Dad just don't want to answer Bill!

Perhaps he can take on the task of a study on why Right wing commentators (Calling Bill and Dr. Laura), religious leaders (Hey Jimmy oh and you too Jim) and politicians (Howdo Newt, Jack et al) always seem to be knocked down a few pegs over sex scandals, a curiosity that seems to be the frequent domain of the right!

It may be a lengthy trip back to credibility (if he ever actually accomplished that in the first place) already his recreational activities are feeding the satire machine.

His latest little travails also have him the focus of those who wait for him to implode upon his own star. It will be watched with interest how the proclaimer of the NO SPIN ZONE, can deflect the issue without the benefit of a few revolutions of his own!

Reversing curses and putting ghosts to rest!

For full effect the Boston Red Sox may have wished to tempt the fates and let this years World Series go the full seven games, a feat which would have brought the last night of baseball to Halloween, a most appropriate night for the reverse of a curse or the release of a ghost.

But alas, even the bravest Red Sox heart surely would not want to risk the unmentionable, so in almost workmanlike fashion the Red Sox accomplished in four games what countless past players, managers, owners and fans have long dreamed of, a World Series championship and the long, long anticipated end of the “curse”.

In a rather boring four games the Red Sox managed to send the St. Louis Cardinals packing despite some unusual statistics that would surely spell doom to any other team trying to win a championship. In the first two games of the series the Sox, committed four errors per game, surely the first time a team has fumbled the play eight times in eighteen innings and still walked away with a victory. When they weren’t stumbling on the field they were stranding them on the base paths, countless times Red Sox runners would be left on one, two or even all three bags, as Cardinal pitchers managed to wriggle out of trouble. Any other team might find that situation a sure fire recipe for disaster, but whatever Baseball Gods were smiling this year gazed down and let the miscues slide. Never once did the Red Sox trail the Cards, never did St. Louis ever look to be on the verge of coming back. A sweep quick and simple, bringing with it the end of the longest period of hand wringing in sports history.

St. Louis came out flat and while deserving of a kinder fate in the first game, in the end they were no match for Destiny’s Children this year. St. Louis couldn’t compare on the mound which is where this series was won and lost. Schilling, Foulke, Matrinez, Lowe, they all performed well and provided the Sox with the kind of pitching they needed to put away the Cards early.

Johnny Damon broke out of a slump as the Yankee series was ending and carried his offence over to the Cards; David Ortiz made the exclamation points when they needed to be made. Over all the Sox, hit well, pitched well and despite the fielding miscues, managed to make the outs when they were needed most.

After the thrilling comeback of the Yankee series, with the drama of a game seven showdown in the house of Ruth, there was really no drama left to mine from the Sox and the Cards. It was pedestrian baseball (and not only due to the amount of walks), devoid of rivalry, rebellion or seemingly relevance. The Cards but mere stand ins for the team surely had to lose, for history to be complete!

But Red Sox fans won’t remember the details only the sweet result of a universe finally exorcising itself from the ghost of 1918. For Yaz and Clemens, Fisk and the Spaceman, Doerr and Smith, anyone really who toiled in the Red Sox Colours, closure came on Wednesday night. One can only imagine the relief, maybe even joy of Bill Buckner, never again to be reminded of that rolling ball travelling through his legs, down the first base line and forever rolling until now. Bill Buckner can rest easy, the weight lifting on that moment, as much as the spirit of the Babe has finally released its grip on 1918. From three outs away from elimination to World Series champions, an ending for the truly faithful!

Superstitions come and go in baseball, and this legend has carried more distance than a David Ortiz blast to right field. But for Red Sox fans a night that featured an eclipse of the moon bathed in what else but red, would be more than enough of a sign to reverse a curse and bust a Ghost.

The parade starts on Saturday in Boston, they may be finished with the partying by then, but then again perhaps they’ll just carry on through Friday night and onto Sunday. Trick or Treat night in Boston, is all Treat this year, its all Treat!

For the Greed of the Game?

The bright light of accountability is being flashed on minor hockey in Toronto after a weekend series in the Toronto Star highlighted some rather unusual happenings in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The well documented expose of life in minor hockey’s hottest market, opens up some eyes to a world many of us never knew existed. Robert Cribb and Lois Kalchman report on a system that seems out of control and running under its own set of ethics and rules.

It’s not a new issue; in fact the concept of the control of the GTHL was first brought up last year by Bob McCown on the Fan sports radio station. Indeed on his program Monday, McCown made mention of the newspaper article and immediately had an hours worth of phone calls from people using assumed names one suspects, expressing concern over the direction of minor hockey in Toronto.

Considered by many to be the ultimate in feeder leagues to the Junior A, college and eventually professional ranks, the GTHL is a collection of teams spread out over the vast terrain that makes up Metro Toronto. At the centre of the storm is a real estate agent, who has accumulated minor hockey teams like others would collect hockey cards. Stu Hyman has in the space of five years gone on to control over 93 teams in Metro Toronto, putting over 1500 players from age 3-20 on squads of which he has total influence. It makes for a wake up call for the romantic who thought that the minor hockey of our youth still exists today.

To read the Toronto Star series, Minor Hockey is very much a big business now, Hyman’s teams collect player fees of double the going rate for other teams, and star struck parents seem wiling to part with their monies, so their child can wear the team jacket of one of Hyman’s 90 teams. What real benefit those players may receive seems hard to fathom, but for whatever reason a sense of Omerta has descended on parents of players that toil for Mr. Hyman. Whether they are scared of his power, or worried about rocking the boat for their kids, no one seems to want to go on the record over the issue.

An interesting revelation in the excellent series is the fact that Hyman most recently attempted to purchase another minor hockey property for $300,000. One has to wonder what possible reason one man would want to have control of so many minor hockey squads, more importantly one wonders how out of whack our world is when a minor hockey team is worth over a quarter of a million dollars!

Hyman claims it’s a love of the game and a bid to benefit kids that has led him down this path. But critics and supporters continue to monitor developments and/or raise questions. The fact that he seems hesitant to address those critics in any public fashion only leads to the suspicion that things may not be as they seem.

For any parent of a player in minor hockey the article will be an eye opener, one has to believe that this is most likely the exception to the rule of minor hockey. Somehow the concept of small town hockey teams being auctioned off to the highest bidder seems to be a far fetched possibility. But in the overly competitive urban areas, it seems that the lure of a payoff one day down the line infects not only entrepreneurs, but parents alike.

The bottom line though must be this: if a kid is forced out hockey because the team he played for arbitrarily raised his fees by 100% without any explanation or accountability then the wheels have truly come off the train here. If it’s truly about the kids and for the good of the game, it seems incomprehensible that flipping hockey teams like real estate properties is compatible with that goal.

If Minor Hockey has developed (or descended) into such an industry that the parents of 3 year old children are scraping to find the funds to get their kid on the ”right” team, then we need to tear the whole structure of minor hockey apart and start over.

I played minor hockey for a few years, never made the touring teams, languishing in the House Leagues of Ottawa into the minor bantam years.. I was never under any impression that I was on a path to the NHL, eventually my interest in minor hockey waned and I like many others left the system. The talent I brought to the ice, most likely would never have brought me to the attention of the likes of Mr. Hyman, but more importantly the extortion of outrageous fees, wouldn’t have attracted my parents. It seems a sad commentary about Hockey that there are parents willing to pour that much money into a chase that in most cases will not lead to the Promised Land.

Below find links to the three investigative pieces by the Star’s writers, Robert Cribb and Lois Kalchman, read them, digest them and then wonder if the love of the game has any room in the minor hockey industry of today!

The fact that these demands are being made, is a major cause for concern and more importantly a call for a thorough examination. One fears that Cribb and Kalchman have only scraped the first layer of ice!

From Hockey Dad to Hockey Mogul.

A Looming face off over fees.

Where does money go, hockey parents demand!

The above posting first appeared in my HockeyNation blog, for more items about Hockey check things out.