welcome back, germain

if life is about achieving balance, then my scales have been tipped back a little bit in the right direction with the return of my cbc. hard rain on my skylights woke me earlier than my usual wake-up time today. i rose early enough today to listen to the glorious return of the house, and all was well with the world, at least for an hour.

those of us who were supporting the locked-out cbc workers and/or suffering the absence of this deeply important part of our lives have been glued to this site, voraciously following the ups and downs of the dispute. it was an excruciating period. in fact, to call it a labour dispute is to minimize the gravity of the situation. details of finer points of negotiation notwithstanding, the handling of the situation by management conveyed a sinister approach to labour relations, the ripple effects of which have yet to be observed. witness the lock-out in pictures.

anyhoooo, it was almost spiritual this morning to be up - neither bright eyed nor bushy tailed - but up enough to hear the incomparable anthony germain take on prime minister paul martin regarding the new york speech that has ottawa buzzing. even though martin dodged it, the question was utterly necessary: can we assume all this posturing for american political and public audiences is the birth of the long-awaited spine canada has so desperately needed, or should we just chalk it up to pre-election campaigning? regardless, i wonder if cnn audiences who saw him - or anyone down there, for that matter - gives a good god damn what our venerable prime minister has to say about the importance of holding true to nafta agreements and whatnot. the average american - from dc politicos to patriots in the deep south - is indifferent to canada in every way. the absence of access to softwood lumber sure isn't the pivotal issue that will once and for all force americans to look north and take us seriously. so too is the vague threat of turning our oil export intentions to china or india unlikely to snap the usa into attention.

our love-hate relationship with the big superpower below is polarizing and electorally convenient, but the sad truth is that no such emotional turmoil about us exists down there. it's not even that they couldn't be arsed, it's that they've never heard of us. and if they have, they have no idea that 2.5 billion worth of trade happens every day between us. and if they do, it's doubtful they believe that life wouldn't go on if anything happened to that trade. because the american life does go on, and will. besides, if we suddenly became a contender or a factor to Someone In Charge down there, they'd just kick the shit out of us with bombs and sanctions and shit. so who fucking cares.

must go prepare street sheets for the brave canvasser who i am sending into a very tough neighbourhood on behalf of our guy. today is e-22. thank god.