8...February 4, 2009

God, I know it is unfashionable to say good things about politicians and even more unfashionable to say good things about American pols but, boy oh boy, I am watching MSNBC's Hardball With Chris Matthews and the Republicans truly are giving President Obama support. Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, who campaigned like a madman for Senator McCain last year, just told Mr. Matthews that, and I am paraphrasing "...Obama is my President, our President, and I wish him nothing but the best and support...". He is not the only one on Team Elephant wishing and working for the new President; the honeymoon period is no joke in the United States.

Of course, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter haven't come onside and, frankly, it ain't gonna happen. In fact Miss Ann, who's hottness is inverse to her intellect, refers to the new leader of the free world as B. Hussein Obama.

Closer to home, many of the stars of the Ottawa political scene were at a multi party fundraiser/cocktail party last night in the West Block, Parliament Hill. The fundraiser was for the Ottawa Food Bank and raised thousands of dollars, my source told me over ten k, dollars that the Ottawa Food Bank can quintuple through their purchasing power. Plus the beer was two bucks.

Bonus.

Later this morning, live from the campus of Canada's 46th best university I will be talking to Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre [and, personal friend of mine] about SCAN, [Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods] an iniative that I don't quite understand. Marcus McCann, in Capital Xtra's November 19, 2008 issue summed up SCAN in this manner:

A bill to give the province the power to evict sex workers and drug users from their homes passed second reading Oct 31. Critics say it lowers the burden of proof for eviction, circumvents criminal law and could leave landlords on the hook for tenants' bad behaviour. The sweeping bill allows people to make anonymous complaints about their neighbours to a quasi-judicial body, who has the power to forbid people from returning to their houses.

Theoretically I will have someone from the other side, perhaps Yolanda Saito, in studio to argue the issue with Yasir, live, coming out of your clock radio, 93.1CKCU.

WFDS