What we call Veteran's Day in the States is called Remembrance Day up here. The Canadians seem to do a better job of honoring their soldiers, getting a 3 day weekend (I can't even remember if they do in the States) and having lots of ceremonies. Remembrance Day is Nov 11th, which I think is the anniversary of the end of World War I (thank you Kerrie). During the week leading up to the 11th, everyone wears a little red plastic poppy on their lapel as a reminder of the sacrifices that gave and protected our freedoms. I am very grateful for all the men and women who are willing to put everything on the line for others. While I desperately wish we didn't have wars, and I don't agree with the cause motivating most of the world's current conflicts, I am so grateful for the Americans and Canadians who love their country enough to go where their commander in chief sends them. As Remembrance Day approached, one of my assignments in my internship was to write a newspaper column for Rob Merrifield, the Member of Parliament I work for. It's kinda tough to write a newspaper as if you're someone else, but it was a good experience. It went through a couple revisions by the rest of team after it left my hands, but I'm still proud of the final product. Go to his website to read the article and scroll down to the Oct 26th posting. Here's a copy of the draft I wrote.
Tuesday was a very big day as the Democrats won control of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about this development. I like the way David Brooks summarized the implications of the election saying it was a victory for moderates and centrists. Pres. Bush has been in power for 6 years and has had a Republican congress to go along with whatever he wants. The American system is designed so that the three branches provide checks and balances on each other, making it difficult for any one person to get too much power, and it will be refreshing to have some balance back. I'm so glad that so many Americans saw that Pres. Bush has led us on a wrong path in Iraq, federal spending, health care and stem cell research. A Democrat congress will require all sides to work together and will lead to more intelligent legislation. I'm also excited that Charles Rangel, the man I interned for over the summer, will become Chair of the very powerful House Ways and Means Committee and that Harry Reid, who I met in January, will become Senate Majority Leader. I'm kind of proud that the person with the highest elected office in the country (outside the executive branch) is a Mormon and democrat. He's a great example that Democrats can be principled and Christian. Now that he and Nancy Pelosi (first female Speaker of the House) will soon be in power, the pressure is on them to live up their word. I'm very happy to hear that their first initiative will be to limit the power lobbyists have to influence legislation. The other side of the fact that the election is over is that it's basically the unofficial start of the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Already, Governor Thomas Vilsack of Iowa has announced he's running for President, and Senator John McCain of Arizona has set up an official exploratory committee about whether he could win.
Over the weekend, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley became the oldest man to serve as prophet in modern history. The most impressive thing about this distinction is that he is the only one of the 6 pictured to have a very vibrant and aggressive presidency into his 90s. These two factors combined speak volumes about how good a leader he has been. I have never met him, but have been very close to him on a number of occassions. Being in his presence and hearing his teachings has had a profound impact on me. I love him very much and truly believe he is a prophet on the earth, doing God's work.
On Tuesday, Americans will vote in what we call the "midterm elections." This is halfway between a Presidential term, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and one third of the 100 Senate seats, are up for grabs. The Republicans have controlled the Congress since 1994 and while there is an incumbency retention rate of something like 90% (meaning that the guy who is already in Congress only loses an election for that seat about 10% of the time, very rare) this year's race is wide open. I am very frustrated by the Bush presidency and the 109th Congress, which did much more rubber stamping than providing "checks and balances." It will be really healthy for the country to have a very different 110th Congress. Most predictions are that it will be close, but that the Democrats will gain a majority in the House and maybe even the Senate. You should check out the really cool election guide on the NY Times website, which lets you profile races in any state. You can also make your own race by race predictions and it will calculate the implications for you. When I made my very conservative predictions, the Democrats won the House by about 5 seats, and the Republican majority in the Senate was narrowed to 2. I've already sent in my absentee ballot, and therefore have already voted. I voted for Elliot Spitzer (Dem) as NY State's Governor, Callaghan (Republican) as Comptroller, Hillary Clinton as US Senator, Charles Rangel as Representative, Eric Schwendiman as State Senator and Herman Ferrell as State Assemblyman. If the Dems win control of the House, then Rangel will probably become Chair of the very powerful Ways and Means Committee, which will be somewhat of a boost to my resume, since I interned with him this past summer. Do you have any predictions for Tuesday?
Last weekend, Emilie (Sarah's sister) celebrated her birthday by coming to our place with her boyfriend Sergio. We had a fantastic time playing games, eating good meals, and even performing in our Ward's talent show. We also went across the river to Ottawa and we gave them a tour of Parliament. Technically the building was closing to the public, but whenever the guards saw my badge, they let us walk around freely. It was fun.
Last night Sarah and I explored more of the Parc de la Gatineau, the stunning provincial park that is literally just minutes from our apartment. We love this area so much, and can't believe how close we are to a center of international diplomacy on one end, and a nature at its best on the other end. I'm not feeling well and wasn't sure I was up to the walk (and am paying a bit of a price now), but I'm glad my wonderful wife suggested we do this. I love her so much and feel so lucky to be with her. Do you like the haircut she gave me? We bought clippers for the price of 1 haircut, and will now be able to do it ourselves for free. Truth be told, I did most of my own haircut!
Sarah and I went to Edmonton, Alberta (in western Canada, right above Idaho and Montana) for about a week in the middle of October. Sarah lived there for 6 years and has lots of friends and family there, so of course we had a blast. Among the highlights was the night we spent at Melinda and Tony's cottage (really her parent's cottage). Tony made us the most incredible meal, we played with their 20 month old son Dallin for hours, and we laughed all night. I feel so lucky to have inherited such great "friends in law."
While staying at the Mo's cottage, we went on a little canoe trip. It was pretty cold, and we didn't all have our winter gear, so we wore whatever was around, resulting in a pretty funny picture. Our life jackets didn't fit outside of our coat, so we wore them under. The result was having stomachs so big we could hardly kiss! The third picture is at Suzy's house. She and Sarah worked together and are great friends. She came all the way to Montreal for our wedding, and was kind enough to feed us a feast when we visited her. As a side note, Suzy is from North Carolina and is serving a vital role in mentally preparing Sarah for her upcoming transition to Chapel Hill. Then again, when I check the weather report and see that while it's snowing here in Ottawa, it's in the 60's in NC, the transition doesn't seem too hard anymore. Meanwhile, I realized how well my current transition is going (staying a bonus year in Canada), because I had a great time talking Canadian politics and hockey with Tony and Suzy's husband Dean.
While in Edmonton a couple weeks ago, Sarah and I really enjoyed the morning we spent cleaning the Temple. As silly as it may sound, I learned a lot about the importance of taking constant care of my marriage by taking close care of a Temple that's exactly like the one we were married in. If we work at it, this relationship really can be eternal. And yes, that is snow in the picture. It snowed two of the 5 days we were there.
