Some pretty strong words from Cipo' with regards to the pending Rock Racing deal came out today. It would be great to see Cipo' tearing it up on American soil; giving Champagne Opening 101 classes to all the domestic sprinters on the NRC circuit. Imagine the team kit possibilities that a man of Cipo's taste, coupled with the high-end jeans of title sponsor Rock & Republic, could yield! Alas, it may never come to pass...
As the temperatures around here have steadily dropped, the frenetic Presidential Primary process has truly begun to heat up. I took an online quiz to see what candidates were the best match to my opinions on various topics. Imagine my complete chagrin when my number 1 candidate match was with a guy I had never even heard of: Mike Gravel. I have been checking him out and I recognize and agree with most of his positions on the important topics of the present time. However, I am not blind to the fact that the Primary system is a pretty bogus, rigged affair that seems to be run by the National Parties as less of an open forum about what Americans wish for in a President and more about the steamrolling of revolutionary ideas in favor of finding the electable middle-of=the-road candidate. I think we are being done a sever disservice with our two party system.
When we were in Canada two years ago, it was their national election time. We watched the returns and were bewildered by the multiple party format, as there were about 6 or 7 parties involved in the election. The guy that we were renting skis from each day was more than happy to explain things and kept his ridicule of our election process to mere jovial condemnation. But the whole thing made sense. Multiple parties contest seats in the parliament. The party with the most seats is able to choose who the Prime Minister will be. Unless the party with the most seats in Parliament has won a clear majority of the seats (more than all the other parties combined), they have to play nice and try to reach consensus with the other parties. If they try to steamroll anything, the other parties just gang up on them and thwart whatever they are attempting. The beauty is that minority opinions have a voice. This is important to me because I often have to explain my own political leanings by saying, "I would have to move to the right to be a true democrat."
In this country, it seems anathema to engage in political conversation if you inhabit the fringes of our system. Way right or way left and you are pretty much a non-entity. I believe that all of those opinions should be voiced, whether I agree with them or not. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that some positions that people hold are not well thought out, mean, or just plain stupid. But at the same time, I think it is necessary to consider where everyone is coming from just in case you might be able to find common ground. I just know I'm tired of having to choose between whoever is left out of the media-worthiness scrum that we are currently embroiled in...
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