Mike Farwell

A story that we told you on the Afternoon News yesterday was bugging me all night. What we told you was the tale of two teens from Tennessee, described as “white supremacist neo-Nazis,” who had allegedly hatched a plot to kill dozens of black Americans, culminating with presidential candidate Barack Obama. To say that there is still racial tension in the United States is an understatement. We all know that some people will not vote for Barack Obama simply because he is black. But what’s worse is that I don’t believe this alleged plot to kill the would-be president will be the last such plot we hear about.

I can’t be the only one who has thought about this. In fact, I know I’m not after catching up on my weekend reading over breakfast today. Check out Saturday’s Globe Essay, penned by Timothy Garton Ash. I think it takes courage to write what many of us are thinking, but too afraid to speak. I think it takes even more courage to run for President in the face of such a possibility.

I was doing my grocery shopping yesterday and thought I’d pick up some Hallowe’en treats while I was out. The candy was easy enough to find, but imagine my surprise when I was cruising one of the aisles and found that it had been coverted to a “seasonal” aisle. Yup, festive wrapping paper, all manner of decorations, even special “holiday” containers to store all those holiday goodies. The story was the same at the hardware store this morning. Right at the front of the store, a full “seasonal display.”

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Christmas is only 59 days away. But couldn’t we just take things one holiday at a time?

I’ll give Ontario’s government credit for this much — when it breaks its promises, it doesn’t mess around. After famously promising not to raise our taxes in 2003, Dalton McGuinty & Company promptly handed us the healthcare “premium.” Still, we seemed to forget well enough that McGuinty was elected to a second majority last year, when his campaign included a pledge to “balance budgets.” Yet yesterday, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced that the only responsible thing for this government to do would be to run a 500-million dollar deficit.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Queen’s Park for those conversations. One of the things that will suffer, as a result of the recession we’re in, is the programs that will hire more nurses and family health teams. Those programs have not been cut, but their implementation will be delayed — and Duncan is not saying til when. Talk about your double whammies. Let’s go back to that pledge not to increase our taxes, the pledge that still led to the healthcare premium that now generates 2.6-billion dollars in revenue for the province. Where is this money, and why can it not be used to keep these programs to hire nurses and family health teams on track? And at what point did this government decide this would be an idea that Ontarians would accept quietly? Or maybe I’m the only Ontarian that is so angry today. The way I see it, though, there had to be other options that would not seem to be such a blatant, in-your-face, we don’t care what we do with your money sort of statement by our provincial government.

Oh, and one more thing. I can’t run my household for very long by spending more money than I bring in, can I? Running a government deficit should be illegal. Period. It’s time to get our provincial house in order. Dalton, don’t let your nose get caught in the door as you exit Queen’s Park. It’s growing by the day, along with our deficit.

I know, I know. Who are “they” and what makes them think “they” know so much? Well in this case, “they” were right. The early bird really does get the worm.

I developed some very bad habits in the run up to this past federal election. Elections, in a newsroom, are akin to the playoffs for an athlete or tax season for an accountant. So I used that as my excuse for not getting up as early as usual and not getting to the gym as often (if at all). I was just too busy at work, I kept telling myself.

That all changed this morning. And it’s amazing what you can do with all those precious hours before arriving at the office. I realize that one day does not a habit make, but I’m encouraged by the start down the path back to the way things used to be.

And if I doze off during the Afternoon News, I’ll just have Kate nudge me.

It seems to me we skip the seasons from time to time these days. I seem to recall a gradual progression from winter to spring, then onto summer and into fall. But, looking back, did we even get a summer this year? Nary a day reached that magical mark of 30 degrees in Waterloo Region and it was wet enough to make you think it was still spring. Maybe summer was the Thanksgiving weekend, when bright sunshine carried us to balmy highs in the mid-20’s with no rain in sight. Then again, if that was summer, how do we explain today? The first snowflakes have been spotted nearby, with flurries reported north of Guelph in the Erin and Elora areas. Whiteouts were making driving an ordeal in Collingwood while Barrie is being blanketed by snow today and up to five centimetres is expected in parts of eastern Ontario.

If you haven’t already, it’s probably a good time to get that snow brush back into the car.

I was waiting in a crowded room at the Ministry of Health this morning, trying to get my Health Card renewed. And I couldn’t help but overhear a father behind me, passing time with his daughter by playing “I Spy.” Two things.

First, it’s reassuring to know that those traditional children’s games have survived another generation. And second, I’m still amazed at the sense of wonder you can hear in a child’s voice while the simple game is being played. After all these years, and in this age of video games and big screen TV’s, it’s still an amusing way to pass the time. I even found myself playing along from my own spot in the waiting room.

But a quick note on the idea of waiting. I was given a number upon my arrival and told it would take 15 minutes to be called. Even the little piece of paper with my number on it said the wait would be 14 minutes. After half an hour I had to leave to get to work, and my Health Card is still not renewed. I don’t mind waiting my turn, but let’s be honest about it.

For the past 48 hours, most every conversation I’ve had has been about Tuesday’s election, and with good reason. There are so many subplots to this most recent vote, not the least of which was two big upsets right here in Waterloo Region where longtime Liberal MP’s Andrew Telegdi and Karen Redman were defeated.

In a conversation this morning, a friend of mine said to me that “this is not his Canada.” At first blush, it’s easy to dismiss the comment as the partisan bitterness of a Liberal supporter whose party took a beating. But there’s a little more to it when you scratch beneath the surface because the fact of the matter is, regardless of your political stripe, he is absolutely right.

Unless you’re approaching your 120th birthday, much of your life has been lived under Liberal rule. The Grits held power in this country for 75 of the 100 years that made up the 20th century. I’m not saying that this made the country better than it would have been under Conservative control. But I am saying that the Canada we all knew was one that leaned at least a little to the left. So my friend may well be speaking for all of us. Even if you prefer the shift to the right, this is no longer the Canada we grew up in.

Is there any other way of describing the results of last night’s federal election from the Liberal perspective? The party held 103 seats in the House of Commons following the federal vote in 2006, when Stephen Harper was handed the reins of his first minority. By the time Parliament was dissolved last month, the Liberals were down to 95 seats. And after the votes were tallied from last night’s election, and Stephen Harper had his second consecutive minority, that number had dropped to 76. Twenty-seven — or more than 25% — fewer seats than at the end of the last federal election.

Stephane Dion is likely to become the first Liberal leader to be ousted following just one election. And with that ouster, he will also become only the second Liberal leader to fail to become Prime Minister (Edward Blake was the other). But it seems to me that the Liberals have little choice. The party just best play nice and not make Dion’s departure take on the air of an execution.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks and despite today’s market rebound, the crisis in the economy has dominated the news. Many of us are concerned about our savings, our retirement plans and, in the worst cases, our next pay cheque. It just hasn’t been fun and, to be honest, I don’t blame you if it gets difficult to listen to. It can be just as difficult to read.

But we do have a responsibility to share the news with you, to let you know what’s going on, and to help you plan accordingly. We can’t suddenly make things better, but we’ll also be the first to let you know when things do improve. A friend of mine once said ‘if you’re not angry or depressed, you’re not paying attention.’ While perhaps a little extreme — and definitely tongue-in-cheek — it’s not far off the mark. Life is not all sunshine and roses, especially when the economy is in a tailspin. But the recovery will come. In the meantime, use what you learn in the news to make smart decisions for you and your own family. And remember that we’re all in this together.

Say what you will about Christmas, this is far and away my favourite holiday of the year. The rules are the same — get together with family, share a big meal, converse, catch up, and generally just have a good time. The only difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas is that at Thanksgiving, we don’t get involved in finding that perfect gift or rushing out to grab something last minute for the person who unexpectedly bought a gift for you. Christmas could take a lesson from Thanksgiving about what a family holiday should really be about.

Enjoy those turkey sandwiches this week.