blog.shrub

Your generation had John Kennedy and Pierre Trudeau. My generation has checked out of politics for the longest time. We’re jaded. We’re cynical. We’re tired of spin and sound bites, tired of talking points, tired of being talked at.

We want authenticity. We want an end to corruption. We want inspiration.

In 1961, John F Kennedy said we could put a man on the moon in ten years. Look what happened.

In 2001, George W Bush told Americans to go shopping. Look what happened.

We deserve better. We can do better.

Barack Obama is our generation’s Kennedy or Trudeau, inspiring millions of people to get up and do something. Go look at an Obama office — it’s a hugely diverse group of volunteers — young black
men, twentysomething asian women, 50-something white women, Indians, white kids from the suburbs like me — everyone.

You should be proud to have a child who cares so much — one who’s politically active and not a slacker, stoner, ignorant or a cynic.

Great work, Samantha!

Two weeks ago, US customs held up a fire truck, and a hotel burned to the ground. How do you top that? Delay an ambulance with a heart-attack victim.

The incident happened last Monday, when 46-year-old Rick Laport needed emergency angioplasty — a procedure that couldn’t be performed at his Windsor, Ont., hospital.

Medical officials rushed Laport to the border, expecting to be waved through so they could take him to Detroit’s Henry Ford medical facility

Instead, U.S. customs asked the male driver to exit the vehicle and show his identification card. Another border official opened the back of the ambulance to confirm a patient was inside, and asked Laporte to verify his name.
…
The ambulance workers were only delayed by five minutes, but Laport’s heart had already been re-started twice by paramedics.

Some Québec firefighters tried to help save a burning building. They didn’t get there in time. Why? US customs.

Six volunteer firefighters rushing to assist a small-town fire department in upper New York State, part of a long-standing mutual-aid agreement, were held up while being grilled about their identification by a U.S. Customs official this week….Meanwhile, the landmark Anchorage Inn in Rouses Point, N.Y., burned to the ground.“I’ve been crossing this border for 30 years, and the only question we were ever asked was: ‘Where’s the fire?’” Lacolle fire chief Jean-Pierre Hébert told The Globe and Mail Wednesday.

Jon Stewart: “So in summation, the bill takes money from cigarettes and gives it to poor sick children.”

George Bush: “That’s why I’m going to veto the bill.”

Following up on an earlier story, George Bush appointed Lauren Caitlin Upton as a foreign policy advisor. (credit: GH)

Sen. Barbara Boxer is having email problems:

From HDNet:

Dan Rather Reports presents conclusive evidence of the failure of touch screen voting machines across the country. The episode, “The Trouble with Touch Screens”, is an entire hour devoted to new information on this story. From scientists involved in testing the equipment, to manufacturers in third world countries who shipped these defective voting machines to the United States, Dan Rather Reports presents new information showing that these defective machines may have altered the outcome of multiple elections.