Ignatieff Wins Me Over. Again. For Now.

I'm taking a little break right now between the Ignatieff's speech and the treasurer and VP Organization speeches. And practicing my thumb-typing. And avoiding the undoubtedly mind-numbingly boring regional meetings.

Ignatieff's speech was excellent, BTW. In fact, I just told him so as he walked by right now. I've never made any secret of my reticence towards our leader. It's a feeling that comes and goes, but I really liked what I heard today. So for now at least, he's got me back.

I told him that, too.

A question has come up amongst our group regarding the constitutional amendments we're supposed to be voting on later this afternoon. Specifically, where the hell are they? When I was at the federal convention last spring, we got the amendments weeks in advance so we could study them and decide.

Here, not only are they absent from our delegate packages, they aren't even on the LPCO website. At least not that I could see.

How hard is this, guys?

Doin' the Windsor LPCO AGM

It's day two of the Ontario Liberal AGM, and I'm wishing I were still in bed. Yet here I am in Windsor, up earlier than I've been in a long while, getting ready to head over to the conference centre at the casino.

Must. Caffinate..

Yesterday was a lot of fun. Well, not so much the speeches - although Alf Apps was surprisingly articulate and passionate. But was fun getting to socialize with my fellow Halton Liberals as we wandered the halls looking for the next hospitality suite.

BTW, James Curran still throws the best party. Maloney's reception had us all packed in like cattle, barely able to hear each other, but Curran's was in a much nicer room, better layout, and it was a much younger crowd. And there was pizza. I'm not saying that's necessarily a reason to vote for Jim for VP Organization - I'm just sayin'...

I must be getting the hang of this whole convention thing - or maybe it's from becoming a candidate myself - but I'm finding it a lot easier to mix and mingle and not just hide out with people I know. I met a bunch of terrific people last night, including candidate Christine Tabbert from Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. That's Chalk River, AECL country, so she was very familiar with my blog and a big fan. Well shucks!

I'm doing my best to NOT talk about my municipal campaign with everyone, but I'm not succeeding very well. Hopefully immersing myself in training sessions and constitutional amendments all day will shake all that out of my head for a while.

BTW, I do not recommend the Days Inn on Goyeau. Just sayin'.

The Bread That Wouldn't Die

I was in Florida over the holidays, camping with my family. During the course of the trip we learned more than we ever wanted to know about Southern American cuisine (here's a tip: never order the Sweet Tea - get the Unsweet Tea instead and add your own sugar).

At one point towards the end of our trip - it would have been a day or two before New Year's - we bought a loaf of bread. I wanted to avoid anything resembling Wonderbread, but I found something called "Nature's Own Butterbread" which claimed to have "No Artificial Preservatives, Colors or Flavors" and "No High Fructose Corn Syrup".

Excellent! I thought. So I bought a loaf, we used a few slices, and brought the rest home with us.

As of today, that loaf was exactly one month past it's best before date. And yet...



... it's as fresh and spongy and mould-free as the day it was baked. My husband just made a sandwich out of it the other day.

That is just so wrong in so many ways.

The company's website claims that the only preservatives they use are natural ones including vinegar and "cultured wheat flour", whatever that means. I suspect they are talking about the four lines of chemical-sounding ingredients on the label that are categorized under "dough conditioners" - one of which is something called azodicarbonamide. Go read the Wikipedia article. I dare you. I couldn't bring myself to look up the rest of the list.

So now this is an experiment: how long can a loaf of bread possibly continue to exist before going mouldy?

I'll keep you updated.

Rocco Rossi's New Friend

You know, I really didn't mind Rocco Rossi so much while he was Fundraiser-in-Chief for the Liberals. Although I did raise an eyebrow when the big cash influx from the Convention was being touted as proof of his powers.

Then he started running for Mayor of Toronto, and it's like any semblance of Liberalism just seemed to fall away like a lizard skin.

But just in case any Liberals out there still feel the need to continue supporting our former National Director just because he's a good guy, consider who else is supporting him:

This Tory is backing a Liberal
by Michael Taube

I've written many words and phrases in my career, but I never thought I'd write this next line. Yet it's true: this November, I'm going to vote for a Liberal.

After some reflection, I've decided to cast my ballot for Rocco Rossi to be the next mayor of Toronto. I believe he's the best choice for Toronto-area conservatives and libertarians and I hope other like-minded individuals eventually reach the same conclusion.

Good enough for me. Then again, I don't live in Toronto anymore.