Again, I’m not big on the politics on this blog and I’m not going to go overboard with reasons why this blog is endorsing Sen. John Kerry for U.S. president. Instead, I’m going to link to the Orange County Weekly’s Oct. 4 article entitled “59 Reasons Why Bush Sucks”. There’s plenty of reasons why America should not return Bush for another term in office (even if I don’t agree with all the reasons the OC Weekly article states).

I know that the article doesn’t state why Kerry would be a stronger president. Watching the debates has shown candidate Kerry to be strong debater and eliminated many of my concerns about his ability to lead. The senator seems to be willing to work with other nations to accomplish the U.S. government’s goals abroad while not conceding America’s sovereignty at home.

That’s all I’ve got to say for now. Regardless of the outcome on Nov. 2, I do encourage everyone to vote.

HANCOCK, Mich. — I’ve been out of some loops for two weeks, but apparently the big joke on the CBC’s comedy shows (Air Farce, 22 Minutes) last week was Air-Canada’s hiring Celine Dion to be a part of its new ad blitz. We’ll see if Rick Mercer’s Monday Report mentions it in a few minutes for the sweep. Edited to add — Yep, first joke on the programme.

They just announced the deal and Air Canada has already started the new commercials. I saw one tonight during The Greatest Canadian. I was surprised about how quickly they started the ads.

The ads were alright — nothing too astounding. A bunch of people doing their thing around the world with clear “airplane” window frames floated around them. Dion’s song is pretty typical of her other work. Apparently, the airline’s message is that Air Canada is the best service for travelers of all sorts.

An aside — Although I’m just getting acquainted with the Top 10 list of the Greatest Canadians, I don’t think CBC personality and former NHL coach Don Cherry merits the top spot. Cherry’s certainly a dynamic and vibrant commentator who stokes Canadians’ emotions on and off the ice, but he simply doesn’t compare to historic figures who have innovated or led the nation through periods of tremendous strife.

I’m sure I’ll change my mind a couple of times, but right now I’m leaning toward former PM Pierre Trudeau or telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell (yes, he’s Canadian).

Late at night, the lift bridge can be a welcome sight after a two weeks on the road.

Although I’ve loved all the places I’ve visited and the people that I’ve met, it was nice to sleep in my own bed.

That photo, by the way, is from Pasty Central, a nice site that provides a good insight on the U.P. They also sell pasties to boot.

In the latest segment in my series — “Briefly Exploring Other Nations” — I travel five miles into the great nation of Canada for about three hours.

HOLLAND, Mich. — I’ve been going back and forth a little bit about the fact that President Bush doesn’t seem capable of admitting actual mistakes (see his responses during the debates and during one of the two or three press conferences Bush has held in the past three years). I have an idea, but it may be a little incendiary.

If I ever cornered the president at a White Castle or something, my question for him would be “When you go to church and ask for God’s forgiveness, what do you seek forgiveness for?”

I don’t think it’s a question that would ever be asked. I don’t even know if it’s appropriate — it might even be a little disrespectful. However, if Bush is such a good Christian man (as depicted by the media and embraced in the hearts and minds of many Americans across the country), I think he honestly would seek forgiveness for something.

JANESVILLE, Wis. — I’m in the Hedberg Public Library printing some documents out. During the next few days, I’m going to be driving around the Midwest checking some things out.

There’s a saying that you can’t go home again, and that’s true to some extent. Although things change, there’s new experiences to be had. The last week with the family was a total blast — my sisters are growing up so quickly and I was glad to see some portion of their lives.

I can’t believe that they replaced the stadium turf at Poway High School with Astroturf. It’s so green and springy and fake. I guess I liked marching and running on good ol’ fashioned grass.

The UCSD Pep Band has changed a bit too. Most of the familiar faces I remember have moved on with young sprites taking their places. Still the band has the same ol’ spirit that I’m used to. Bowling was fun too, especially once I figured out how to bowl the Mira Mesa Lanes. So sorry about the recommendation to eat at the ‘bertos knock-off on the corner though.

Heading to Kenosha, Wis. on Saturday, I got to meet Olivia and her family. Olivia’s taking a new job in Connecticut and it may be one of the last times I get to see her for a while. Her family is extremely personable and polite although the conversation drifted toward politics more than a few times (BTW, be sure to vote “No” on the casino. 😉 )

Wisconsin in the fall is a beautiful sight with all the corn fields drying out and getting ready to be harvested for feed. One enterprising farmer has a “Bush vs. Kerry” corn field maze. Too bad I didn’t have time to stop — I bet it would’ve been interesting.

Time to hit the road again. Ciao.

Just taking a quick tour through the house, talking to family members to get their voices down “for posterity.”

POWAY — While discussing President Bush’s “bulge problem” with a maternal source who declined to be identified, she pointed to a likely hypothesis. She said the Secret Service placed an anti-theft tag on Bush that would trigger an alarm if the president left the area.

Taking it from there, my theory is that the president is equipped with a Lojack which the Secret Service can activate to track Bush if he turns up missing.

I’m just going to touch briefly on tonight’s debate, and not launch a liveblog like last time. Still I noticed one thing watching this debate between Bush’s bad jokes and lying — both Kerry and Bush are wearing the same tie. Did anybody else notice this?

It’s true that Bush’s tie is a little lighter than Kerry’s, but the red color and dotted pattern are the same. I would think there would be people from both camps looking out for something like this.

POWAY — Thanks to Kerry’s strong lead in California, the airwaves in San Diego seem to be clear of any presidential ads. However, this void seems to be more than filled by ads for other races including state office as well as the countless state, county and city propositions.

Going into the 5 o’ clock news tonight, I saw one political commercial after another. Since I haven’t been following local politics since I live hundreds of miles away, everything is just so darn confusing. Why do people want to close a landfill that was overwhemlingly approved by voters a few years ago? What’s up with this lawsuit reform proposition?

I’m generally a supporter of the proposition system, but I’m disappointed by so many issues that confront the voter every two years — especially when there’s two similar-looking propositions that do two totally different things. Another thing I don’t like is when voters approve initiatives that strip rights away from others.

Like many people, I think I would vote “no” on any proposition unless there’s a really, really good reason for it.

Note:I find it pretty funny that the state of California hasn’t taken my name off the voter rolls since I moved away in January 2001. I wouldn’t want to try it, but I guess the old saying “vote early, vote often” could apply to me.