2012 US Election

Did anyone else watch the US election the other night? I spent most of the day fretting when the polls would close and how Hurricane Sandy would affect voters in New Jersey and New York.

I was glued to my computer, watching live results on the Guardian's website. They're a British website and just happened to be the site that popped up when I was looking for results. I stayed with them the whole day and had great time. Their results for various states updated every minute, they had correspondents all over the country providing updated information about polling stations, cable news coverage and random tweets about the election. PBS Newshour had live streaming coverage, breaking down the results for the presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate (Who knew PBS had a news program?)

When polling stations finally had something to report, the board took on a red tinge. Only very slowly did blue states begin to pop up. My main concern was which way the 'swing' states would lean. The further we got into the night and as red and blue crept over a map of the US, we got closer to that magic number of 270 votes which is the minimum required of electoral votes to win the presidency. Then, shortly after 8pm the majority of the cable news shows and polls called the election for Barack Obama. Votes were still being counted and Florida was switching between the two candidates every half hour or so.

Everyone expected Romney to make the obligatory phone call of congratulations to Obama and then his concession speech. Instead, we had to wait almost two hours before he arrived and gave a speech about how he wished he had been America's choice and how everyone should pray for the president. Pundits thought perhaps the Romney camp was waiting on more results from Ohio as evidenced by Karl Rove on Fox News.



Or perhaps it was because Romney hadn't written a concession speech and was instead, hurriedly writing something down.

“I just finished writing a victory speech,” he later told reporters aboard the Romney plane for its final flight. “It’s about 1,118 words.”

What about a concession speech?

“I’ve only written one speech at this point,” the would-be next president said.

Now it would be simplistic to say that you can see the differences in these two men from the speeches they made. I will say however that the speeches elicited different emotional responses from me. Romney's speech felt short, rushed and inelegant but generous. In contrast, Obama's speech was elegant, inspiring, gracious and heartfelt.

For your own edification, here are both speeches.





Apart from Obama getting re-elected there were a lot of other amazing results to come out of that night, especially for women.

Wisconsin elected their first openly gay senator, Tammy Baldwin who also happens to be the first female to hold that office in the state.

New Hampshire will be sending an all-female delegation. This includes newly elected House Reps Democrats Carol Shea-Porter and Ann McLane Kuster, Governor-Elect Maggie Hassan and Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat and Kelly Ayotte, a Republican who weren't up for re-election. This is absolutely awesome for women in politics. Unfortunately by next year Hassan will be the only female Democratic governor in the country as of the four female governors, the two Democrats will be stepping down after 2012.

Women will take a record 20 Senate seats, all formerly held by men.

Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren beat out Republican candidate Scott Brown in Massachusetts, making her the first female senator from the state.

Click here for more information on how well women did in the election.

The first Asian-American was elected to the Senate. She is also Hawaii's first female Senator.

Both Senate candidates who made controversial statements about rape were ousted from their seats.

Republican congressman Todd Akin lost his seat to Democrat Claire McCaskill in MissouriAkin claimed that female victims of “legitimate rape” rarely experience pregnancy from rape: “First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down.”

Click here to watch the interview in which he makes this statement.

Republican candidate Richard Mourdock lost the race to Democratic congressman Joe Donelly in Indiana. Mourdock claimed that pregnancy resulting from rape was “something that God intended to happen”: “I believe that life begins at contraception. The only exception I have to have an abortion is in the life of the mother. I just struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God – that I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”

Click here to see video of Mourdock making this statement.

It should be noted that Joe Donelly is also against abortion.

Also, both Washington and Colorado voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use for those 21 and over.

Four states have also voted for marriage equality. Washington, Maine, Maryland and Minnesota. This is a huge step forward in such a short span of time.

Something else you may be interested to know is that Puerto Rico voted to change their status. When asked how they wanted to change their status, a majority of Puerto Ricans voted that they wanted statehood, as in, become the 51st state of the US. They are currently a US territory. They are Americans but do not vote in elections or have representatiion in the government. They govern themselves but follow American laws.

My guess for the future of the Republican party is that they’re going to have to evaluate their position on a myriad of topics including immigration, abortion, health care, etc. They must embrace female voters, young voters, African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans. If they steer the course they will continue on a losing trend as their core of dependable voters shrinks in the face of growing diversity. The party of old, white, rich men cannot succeed. That time in history is over.

I foresee the party breaking in two if they don’t agree on what values to hold. I don’t see how the moderates can countenance the vitriolic remarks made by those who lean more to the right on social issues.

The US may be in store for a three party system if the moderates and far right supporters go their separate ways. It would definitely may American politics more interesting! A two party system is a boring system. Look at Canada for instance. We have four major parties and you never know what's going to happen.

I had a great time watching the US election but I am supremely happy that it is finished for a few years. What did you think of the 2012 US election?

The 2008 US Election

Yesterday I was witness to history. I spent the night watching poll results. I listened to news filtered through a Canadian lens on CBC. I heard the rousing cheers given after Barack Obama was declared the next President of the United States.

Things changed yesterday. The first African-American in the history of America will advance to become the Commander in Chief of a world superpower. And when Obama walked out onto that stage in Chicago, the crowd was ecstatic. His speech reached back into history, pulling Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy to his side. His tone was subdued, telling Americans of the trials that lie ahead, of the problems that need to be solved. He may not have been triumphalist with his win but still there was an undercurrent of that constant word in his campaign, hope.

I don't know what his election to office means for Canada. So often are we affected by the decisions made in the country to the south that I can only hope great things will come of this.

I found a post written by Bob Greene "What the silence said" that I think perfectly and beautifully evokes what happened last night. Here is an excerpt:

"It may have been his own version– intentional or involuntary– of that sudden silence that fell over the crowd. He can’t be silent, in any sense of that word– he is going to be the president. But during that same span late last night when the audience, in its brief hush, seemed to be acknowledging that everything– everything– had just changed, so, too, Obama appeared to be sending the signal, to the rest of us and maybe to himself, that he was well aware of the change, and was already beginning to deal with it."

Minute Men line up on Canadian border

The Minuteman Project was a top news story some time ago so I decided to see how things were going considering the time of year and the weather.

This project was started by a group of Americans, led by a man named Jim Gilchrist, who wanted to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican-US border into Arizona. Apparently the 2000 mile southern border of the state is very easy to cross. Mr. Gilchrist found volunteers on the internet and way back in April he had about 900 people lined up along the border and some of them were armed.

Since then it's gained the attention of the media and government, thought the US Border Patrol said that they were more of a hindrance than a help. There have also been rumblings that this group is motivated by racism and anti-Semitism.

So how does this all tie in to Canada? Well, in October a group of volunteers decided to patrol the Canadia-US border. They actually set up "border checkpoints" and said they were watching for people who were attempting to enter the US illegally.

I didn't find any information that said the group patrolling along our shared border was armed but let's say that at least some of them were. I want to know what they plan on doing with those guns. If they see somebody illegally crossing the border are they going to shoot them? Are they allowed to do that? I don't have the answers so if someone else does, please let me know.

Am I happy about these private citizens who are possibly armed patrolling the border? No, six ways to h-e-double hockey sticks no. But the good news is that the Minutemen took down the checkpoints a little while ago but said they'll be back in the spring.

This is what I have a problem with. You're dedicated enough and willing enough to patrol the border yourself and set up your own checkpoints but you aren't willing to patrol through the winter? Look, if you're that paranoid about illegal immigrants then you have to be willing to stick it out. Also, now that this has been printed in the media, wouldn't now be the opportune time for people to illegally cross the border?

It sounds to me like this project hasn't been completely thought out. I mean, as we speak, think of the wave of illegal immigrants that must be sneaking into the US. Those poor border states, especially Idaho. If it wasn't for that tiny little corridor, they wouldn't have to worry about illegal immigrants.

My message to these Minute Men. I don't really understand your concern with the Canadian border but it's just too bad that you couldn't stay, at least for a minute or two. It would have been fun to see all of you freeze your little heinies off.

Canadians moving to America

I don't really like famous Canadians moving to the US. The reason being because people soon forget where they came from and associate them with America. Can you say Matthew Perry? Did anyone know he was Canadian? Alex Trebek, Joshua Jackson, Michael J. Fox, Kim Cattrall. Does anyone know these people are Canadian or at least once were?

It's like having someone borrow your car for a week and then everyone in the neighbourhood forgets that it's actually yours. Now, Canada doesn't "own" anybody but it kind of hurts when it seems almost embarrassing to admit you're from Canada.

Yes, I know, you can't make it big unless you make it in the US because we're just a puny little country with nothing to offer people who want to be famous. It's the truth and people move there, of there own volition, and some become American citizens. I mean, they spend all there time down there anyway so why would they want to be Canadian any longer? Ouch that stings.

Deep down inside it feels like a betrayal. They went for the big fish and left the small pond behind. I can understand why they would want to move up in the world but it makes me feel bad when they just don't want to be Canadian any longer. I think it's also jealousy. The US seems to have everything. They're big, they're rich and they had this big revolution that everyone knows about.

I suppose it's just an insecurity about being a Canadian and not really having an identity or at least, feeling as if you don't have one. I feel lost all the time but it's made worse by these neighbours who have this great sense of pride about their country, with flags and symbols everywhere. I totally don't begrudge them that; I'm happy that they have that, at least they know who they are. But it seems as if we're always trying to measure up to them, we're always in their shadow. They're Apollo goldenboy and we're not.

I mean, what the heck does it mean to be Canadian? We didn't have a big war to establish our country. Many people think Canadian history's boring because it's not as flashy as US history. We're like a teenager that's trying to find themselves, a problem I readily identify with. And I'm sure that anyone over the age of 12 can understand the problems associated with not knowing who you are.

Again it comes down to why do we care? Why do we care if a Cal-State student doesn't think about Canada? Why do we care if stars leave for brighter futures down south? Well, I suppose we want Americans to be obsessed about us as we are about them. Disgusting isn't it? We hang on every little word they say about us because we're so closely tied to them we might as well be strapped to the back of an eagle. (Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to say like a beaver in the talons of an eagle but can you really see an eagle carrying off a 60 pound beaver?) But I think one of the reasons we look to them is because we don't know who we are and have to define ourselves through them. This is one of the rare instances when Canada just pisses me off. We all have to suffer because there is no conscious identity. I have enough problems trying to figure out who I am without trying to figure out what my country is.


Quotes:

"With or without the Royals, we are not Americans. Nor are we British. Or French. Or Void. We are something else. And the sooner we define this, the better."
~Will Ferguson

"Canada is the only country in the world that knows how to live without an identity.
~Marshall McLuhan

"I guess Canada is a nice country. I've never thought much about it."
~Anon. Cal-State student

"Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians."
~Helen Gordon McPherson

Britain sold us down the river, literally

Have you ever been seriously stabbed in the back? I learned some disturbing information about my country. Bear with me, I know this was a long time ago but way back when Canada was just a baby, we got screwed over by, well, I guess, the mother country.

Britain was watching the Franco-Prussian War from the sidelines and I suppose they believed they would have to get involved or that someone would involve them in it. In any case, they supposedly didn't want to worry about having the US at their backs. It seems as if they believed the US would attack but I don't see why the Americans would. I suppose I can see that whole 'eye for an eye' thing, but I've never been attacked by an eagle before so I wouldn't know. Here again, back-stabbing comes into play but I think it's more like, backclawing. Anyway, Britain wanted to be pals with the US and so, when problems arose between Canada and their southern neighbours, Britain stepped in and a conference was called in Washington, 1871.

The reason for the conference was because the Americans wanted compensation for damage done by the ship "Alabama" during the war. They said the "Alabama
", a Confederate ship, had caused a lot of damage to Union ships. British shipyards had been contracted by Confederates to build a lot of warships and the "Alabama" was one of them. In compensation, the US suggested Britain hand over Canada, a Dominion country. (Boy do I want to smack someone with a pipe for suggesting that. Compensation my ass.)

Meanwhile, John A. (our Prime Minister) is also at the Conference and wanted compensation for Fenian raids (a bunch of Irish guys who came up from the US and burned down houses and barns because they wanted to free Ireland from Britain). He also wanted a new reciprocity treaty. The old one had ended in 1866 and with it, the US no longer had rights to fish in Canadian waters. Anyone want to guess what the Americans actually did? That's right, they wouldn't stop fishing in our waters or sailing up and down the St. Lawrence.

So, you might wonder, what happened at this conference? Remember how I was talking about back-stabbing? Well, here is where it comes into play. Normally, one would expect Britain to support Canada because, well, hey, the US broke away and had this huge war of independence. But because Britain was freaked out about 'eagle attacks', she sides with the US, firmly cutting through flesh and muscle, to lodge a really sharp knife into Canada's back.

They gave the US pretty much everything they wanted, except the country. They gave the US access to Canadian fisheries for 10 years (for this the US gave us $5 million, ooooh). The US also got free navigation on the St. Lawrence, never mind the fees. The western border is also finalized. There were three plans for how the San Juan islands would be divided up but the US ended up getting all of them and Canada got the Gulf Islands.

What exactly did Canada get in return for all of this? The right to navigate some obscure rivers in Alaska. Alaska? What the heck?

Britain kind of bad about screwing us over so they give us 2.5 million pounds. Well, that just makes everything better, including that whole fear about sovereignty.

So, let's recap. Canada gets stabbed by parent, US comes to fish in our pond, we get pocket change and a free pass to river rafting in some place we can't even find on the map.

By the way, I couldn't find any information on eagle attacks so if anyone has any information on this, please let me know.

Why do we care?

Last Saturday I was watched "The Day After Tomorrow" with some friends. While I was watching I heard one of the news anchors mention Canada at one point and Nova Scotia. For some reason I got really excited and poked my friends.

But after I got out of the theatre I started to wonder why I cared at all. Why do I care if an American movie mentions Canada? On the way home I discovered that it wasn't just movies, it was books, tv programs, radio, newspapers, etc. I seemed to care so much about American media mentioning Canada that I couldn't get enough of it. But why was this?

Was it because I'm a very proud Canadian and want my country to be mentioned everywhere all the time? Or was there something darker and more sinister about my reasons for caring?

It seems deeply rooted in Canadian psyche to not like ourselves or to at least not acknowledge that we like ourselves. We're far too polite to 'blow our own horn'. At least, that's the stereotype and for the most part it's true. But things do seem to be changing with our Joe Canada commercial and our 'I am Canadian' commercials. I just hope that we'll eventually move away from becoming a self-loathing country.

So, because we don't seem to like ourselves, we need someone else to like us. We need someone else to fill the big hole in our country's 'heart'. Who better than our neighbours to the south? We seem to constantly look for approval and recognition from America. Then we throw tantrums when we don't receive it.

Look at Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans". Sure it's funny and we get to see how Harvard professors think that there's an annual polar bear hunt in Alberta and that our National Igloo is melting. Sure it makes them look stupid but how many right answers did they clip from the footage they took? I bet that they'd get the same answers if they came to Canada and asked questions about the US. So why do we care? Why do we have to go make them look bad?

I think that as a whole we feel very inferior to our neighbour. Even though we're larger, they have more people. They have a military, we have a boat and a gun and a guy named Bob. (Sounds like a song to me). So why do we have to build ourselves up and tear them down?

Personally, I think it's time that we finally acknowledged how great we are instead of trying to make someone else look bad. I mean, we've got hockey, and basketball (invented by a Canadian, James Nasmith. He did teach in Massachusetts but people tend to forget where he's from). We've got the Stanley cup (it's just on loan Florida), we've got Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Kiefer Sutherland, Keanu Reeves, Bill Shatner. Of course, I'm pretty sure that all of these people now live in the US but that's beside the point. The list goes on and on. We have some great stuff going for us so we should start bragging about it.

People need to know that we are a proud nation and people need to stop caring about what the US says or doesn't say about us. We need to worry about ourselves first and everybody else second because we have a serious inferiority complex in this country.

Quote: "Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians."

- Helen Gordon McPherson