Absenteeism

Where did Michael go?
We searched east and west
We searched high and low
Where does Michael rest?
We just don’t know.

And do we really care?

NO!

The end of July. Mid-way through summer. Abdelrazik repatriated, but Cons push for more alleged terrorists. White collar crime is ever present, and the Cons give in to corporate greed. The big story remains: Where is Iggy?

For the gossip-gossipy politicos, the only thing that tops election timing prediction is Ignatieff’s whereabouts. Does anyone really believe that what Iggy does with his summer months will make or break the Liberals election potential?

In his first six months as leader, he has yet to prove that he has vision, that he has interests for the country that stretch beyond his own personal aspirations. He has been reactionary, allowing the Conservatives to set the agenda while the Liberals avoid taking stands. One month without Iggy sound like a blessing for everyone including him.

Would putting Iggy on the BBQ circuit make a difference? There are certainly those who feel that summer is the time to grab local headlines and energize the grassroots. But the Liberals are not a party of the grassroots. They view themselves as the party of governance for Canada, not the party of the common citizen. Those claims are left for the Conservatives and the NDP.

Moreover, some leaders are not meant to be commoners. Dion did the BBQ circuit, but he was aloof and could not close the deal with potential voters. If Iggy is as arrogant in person as he comes across in interviews, he may face the same fate.

Canadians want a leader that inspires confidence – in whom they can believe has the intelligence and judgment to make the appropriate decisions. Grabbing a beer is not high on the list of attributes for leaders. Here is where Iggy excels –remaining the distant intellectual may actually help him. But he has to show that he offers sound judgment and not merely reactionary politicking. He has to do more than say yay or nay to potential elections.

Dear Jane, Bill, et al.

Dear Jane, Bill, et al.

Thank you for keeping me abreast of the whereabouts of Michael Ignatieff. The Globe and Mail’s story on the speech he gave in England changed my life. I am not exaggerating. I was unaware that opposition M.P.s were ever allowed to leave the country on anything short of an official junket – especially in the middle of summertime. Suddenly, being the Leader of Opposition looks like a pretty good position, I intend to apply for it should it ever come open (come on, going to England in July and calling it work – sweet!).

Also, thank you for your continuing election speculation. Without your continuous speculation, I would likely believe that Canadians don’t want an election. With a four party race and the two leaders tied, I would be liable to believe that no party would be willing to pull the plug. However, your hard hitting analytical coverage – with all the polling, poll commentary, graphing of polls, and tracking of polls, etc – has shown me how interested the parties are in having an election. Especially Mr. Ignatieff – as leader of a party that does not support losers, who knew he was so anxious to put his job on the line after just six months?

You must have a team of crack researchers, because it is truly breath taking how much ink can be spilled on election speculation. Although, I could use a bit more coverage on Harper's motivations for an election. You would think that someone up on the Hill would want to try to work together - especially considering the success that Merkel has had in bidding her time in a coalition with socialists that will likely take her to majority territory in September. However, you keep telling me that he is a super smart economist - so he must have an economic model worked out that will lead him to his covetted majority.

However, all this insightful reporting on non-elections cause me concern – what will you do when we have a majority government? I guess in many ways you have been lucky that there has only been minor news stories, such as a Canadian being denied passage to Canada, our intelligence service abusing peoples rights, the government introducing tons of crime bills that will not reduce crime, or the government giving huge amounts of money to bad boy corporations – because obviously GM knows better than the Conservatives about how to spend tax payers money (and much better than Nortel and those other hi-fi cry babies).

Finally, if you do see Paul Wells in the Press Gallery (he is the guy with the big head) – thank him for me. I am sorry to say that I was ready to leave you, until he showed me how far you have come since Phil saw fit to give Eddy the boot (and after Eddy had done so much for the paper – like create the Globe and Mails own font!). On the surface, your political coverage looks exactly the same, but since reading Paul, I now know to look deeper.

Keep up the good work!

Library Voices

WM: Wheatsheaf, where you at?
WS: I just left the Gardiner Dam. That place is frickin’ hilarious. You coast along the prairie landscape, you come to a bend in the road and suddenly there is a body of water, a dam and farm land on the otherside. No dropoff into a tiny river – just flat farm land. It is like no dam I have every seen.
WM: Do you know Library Voices?
WS: You mean like talking in library voices?
WM: No the band. They are a modest ten-piece with Estevan links. They are playing at O’Hanlon’s.
WS: Skip the fireworks and I am in.


And so commenced my love affair with Library Voices. The show that night blew me away. (check the photo from the show – the Wheatsheaf is somewhere back but don’t look too hard).

The show was loud, boisterous, energetic with sweet sweet harmonies. It was a wholly uplifting experience. I rushed the stage and bought their CD, which I promptly left in Ma Wheatsheaf’s automobile on the way out of Regina.

So I downloaded Hunting Ghosts (& Other Collected Shorts) off ITunes. The EP is a good effort. It captures the wonderful harmony of the guys and gals. The sound of the sticks hitting the hi-hats is clear and crisp. The guitar jumps in and over, while there is a hint of amusement captured in the voices.

This outing would have been better had they capture the live feel. I cannot say how good of a show they put on at O’Hanlon’s. All instruments were flowing in and out in unison, while the singers generated excited and enthusiasm. Think Arcade Fire meets Architecture in Helsinki. But on the Hunting Ghosts, it feels like the band members recorded their parts in separate rooms, leaving the songs as a collection of parts of the sum.

The band is great. Hunting Ghost is solid and definitely belongs on your IPod. For a mere $3.99 on ITunes it is huge bargain and well worth the listen. This band is only going to get better.

Encore: Library Voices plays at the Ottawa Bluesfest tonight at 7pm on the Subway stage (opening for another Wheatsheaf favourite – Paolo Nutini). Go out and sing along. Be dazzled by these guys and gals. Hope to see you there.

Sarah Palin: Still Runnin'

The Wheatsheaf had the opportunity to sit down talk with the now former governor of Alaska and talk to her about running.

Wheatsheaf: Honestly, did McCain’s people screw you over? Remember, I ask this on behalf of runners everywhere and not for any partisan reasons or to smear your good character.

SP: A great frustration I had during the campaign was when the McCain staff wouldn't carve out time for me to go for a run. The days never went as well if I couldn't get out there and sweat.

Wheatsheaf: How do you really feel about chocolate caramel ice cream bars after a long hot run?

SP: I knew my thighs were going to just throb and my lungs were going to burn, and that's what I crave.

Wheatsheaf: I have heard that you have a thing for Moose?

SP: On the routes I run in Wasilla and Anchorage, I see moose all the time. I've just learned to leave them alone.

Wheatsheaf: I hate to ask this, but since your life in now completely public and my readers want to know: your husband gave you sexy lingerie last Christmas, have you ever worn them?

SP: I've never worn them. I get spooked once in awhile when I'm running a trail and I hear a rustling in the woods, but it just makes me run faster and get the heck out of there.

Wheatsheaf: Intelligent design or Evolution?

SP: I see God's hand all over this place. As I get out there and run, I see the most beautiful signs of this evolutionary process that has created the mountains and the glacial retreats that have left the valleys and the rivers

Wheatsheaf: You pretty much prefer to be alone?

SP: I do, I do.

Wheatsheaf: John McCain completed after the November vote that you although you agreed to run with him, but then you single handily undermined him – how do you respond to this allegation?

SP: If I do a race with friends, they know I'm not going to run alongside them, but it's fun to start and finish together.

Wheatsheaf: Is your eldest son a big sissy boy?

SP: But the most precious experience I've had running was a few summers ago when I was training for a marathon and my son Track—and I named him Track for running—would drive out in front of me and plant water bottles along the route. I felt so spoiled, like the queen of the running world to have a kid who was all cool with his pickup truck, dropping off water for me on my long runs. And he'd put a note on the bottles, saying, "Love you, Mom" and "Run hard, Mom."

Wheatsheaf: I will take that as a yes. Do you think it is because you gave him a really lame name?

SP: I do, I do.

Wheatsheaf: Did running give you appropriate experience to be governor of a state?

SP: Looking back, I'm really thankful for all my less-than-pleasant running experiences because I learned through each one, and I can put it all to good use being the CEO of a state full of diverse views and personalities and issues.

Wheatsheaf: Was John McCain too old to be President?.

SP: I used to joke around with John McCain during the campaign about coming jogging with me. And once I asked him what his favorite exercise was, and he said, 'I go wading.' Wading. He lives on a creek in Arizona, so he goes wading. That cracked me up.

Wheatsheaf: Have you yet read the briefing materials on Russia?

SP: I have not because I usually sneak out to go running, or if someone offers I usually shoot straight with them and say, "I gotta go run by myself, I'm sorry."

Wheatsheaf: If you had to leave Alaska, what would you want to do?

SP: Alaska would be hard to give up because it is such a part of who I am. So much of my life revolves around the great outdoors that that would be kind of tough. But on the other hand, I think of being in D.C. and in a position to promote physical fitness and the benefits of making good decisions healthwise and being an example to others, and I know that could do some good for our country.

Wheatsheaf: Your opponents, including some in the Republican party, have called you a frigid cow – how do you respond?

SP: I'm always running about 10 degrees colder than everyone around me; I'm always cranking up the heat. I think because we do have so many cold days here, it's such a luxury and a pleasure to go somewhere warm. I think you guys who get a lot of warm weather take it for granted and you shouldn't. I thought that was a great part of the campaign—we'd be out there at events or up there on stage just sweatin' like pigs, and I loved it.

Wheatsheaf: My mistake, you are a sweaty pig and not a frigid cow. You always struck me as being twenty-five years behind the times.

SP: I have a nice routine: I kick off my runs with the old Van Halen and AC/DC, then I get into my country music, then I always wrap it up with a couple of mellow Amy Grant songs.

Wheatsheaf: Could you beat the president?

SP: I betcha I'd have more endurance. My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon. It wasn't necessarily a good running time, but it proves I have the endurance within me to at least gut it out and that is something. If you ever talk to my old coaches, they'd tell you, too. What I lacked in physical strength or skill I made up for in determination and endurance. So if it were a long race that required a lot of endurance, I'd win.
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All answers are excerpts from an interview with Sarah-with-an-H Palin in Runners World. Aside from a few amusing phrases, she comes out pretty good in the interview. She may not be knowledgable about international affairs, the economy or public policy in general, but she is great at talking about herself.