Today is depressing for two reasons. The first is that our apartment, along with 14 others, was flooded with water. Fortunately the damage was only to the walls and the floors and not to any of our property, and it all managed to dry now. The management office is going to replace the floors and what not – remember how prompt they were last time?

And the second reason is a conservative minority government. Shit. I did not predict that – I thought the conservatives would gain seats, but I didn’t think they’d take the lead. I voted for the NDP in my area, but the win went to the liberals (which I can live with). Boy, I’m excited to have a free vote on whether or not people of the same sex can marry though! Maybe next year we can vote on whether or not black people can. That’s progress.

In all seriousness though, I hope that this government doesn’t last too long. Fingers crossed and all that.

P.S.: Canoe.ca’s election tool is fantastic. One of the best uses of Flash I’ve seen yet.

I was talking with Robin today about the upcoming election and half-jokingly told him how I wanted to vote for Gilles Duceppe because he always manages to match his striking green eyes with an article of clothing. Observe the first image I just found of him:

Coincidence — or good planning?

Finally there’s news article that doesn’t make me want to kill myself – the federal judge on the Dover evolution/intelligent design case ruled that I.D. will not be taught in the schools (you can also read the full PDF here). What’s more interesting is that the judge even pointed out that the proponents of intelligent design were lying by claiming that their motivations were secular when they were obviously religious in nature.

Of course, they’ll probably try to win on appeal, but this was definitely a move that gave me a little faith (so to speak) in the legal system down there.

Wow, nobody saw this coming.

“A beleaguered Michael Brown said Friday he doesn’t know why he was removed from his onsite command of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts…“

I do, you dumb bastard! Anyways, I can’t help but wonder though if Brown’s going to be the scapegoat for the whole fucking shebang. No no, I take it back – I’d put money on him being the scapegoat. Though it’s incredibly refreshing to see blatant cronyism being covered by all of the major media outlets (even Fox!)

“These are leaders who won re-election last year largely by portraying their opponents as incapable of keeping the country safe… It has just proved that it cannot save its citizens from a biological weapon called standing water.“

The link goes to a (sadly WMV) video clip of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann going crazy with frustration and anger.

That thing I said about the American media growing a spine; I take it back now. CNN this morning is covering two more missing white girls, and is now interviewing the doctor who operated on two American girls (also white) who were on the trains in London. This, in the midst of the Rove scandal. Good job guys!

At least the New York Times is giving the story more than a cursory glance.

Sorry for so much early morning rage; it’s just frustrating to see what the “mainstream media” decides to cover.

Since when has the American media had a spine?

Bill C-38 (same-sex marriage) finally passed today – 158 for and 133 against. Excellent!

Paul Martin – a leader who I was pretty apathetic towards until today – gave a speech earlier about his support for bill C-38, which would give equal rights to gay couples. His support isn’t crucial to the bill being passed, but he’s still the leader of the country voicing his support for not only gay marriage but true equality among the people:

The rights of Canadians who belong to a minority group must always be protected by virtue of their status as citizens, regardless of their numbers. These rights must never be left vulnerable to the impulses of the majority.

To me that’s some inspirational stuff. And more so, near the end of his speech he indicated that his opinion on a subject is dictated by situational events and knowledge as opposed to being an immutable belief:

Four years ago, I stood in this House and voted to support the traditional definition of marriage. Many of us did. My misgivings about extending the right of civil marriage to same-sex couples were a function of my faith, my perspective on the world around us.

Let me say that again: our Prime Minister stood up and said that four years ago he was against this – and attributes at least some of the basis of that opinion to his faith. Then he stands up and says that he was completely wrong on the subject. He had faith, but then realized he was wrong. Awesome.

This genuinely makes me proud. The only downer is that most of the Canadian news sources are covering the hockey season’s cancellation more than this. Yet that too kinda defines us, doesn’t it?

Update: The Wikipedia has a page with recent numbers for the bill.