Monday was interesting.
So I get out of my Monday night history lecture, and my buddy and I decide to go to one of the campus pubs for a pint or two... or three...
We get there, and they're clearly setting up for some kind of shindig. I ask around, and turns out Jack Layton was here on campus doing a Q&A session. After that, they came down to the pub for a few drinks and a presentation from a former U.S. army 'war resister' (read: deserter) named Ryan Johnson. Wearing, I might add, an 'Iraq Veterans Against the War' shirt that I don't believe he's entitled to, not having deployed.
Anyway, I'm sitting at the back of the pub somewhat bemused by the left wing spectacle unfolding in front of me, and then Jack Layton himself walks in, plus one of the local members of parliament from his party.
I went up to watch the presentation by the deserter, then asked him two polite but pointed questions. First, simply, when did he volunteer for service in the U.S. army? Second, did he not thing that it was prejudicial to the morale of the troops currently serving overseas to have people deserting and doing what he's doing?
He basically fed me some horseshit, to rousing applause, but afterwards a few of the NDPeons in the bar came up and told me I'd asked hard but fair questions. Then I went and chatted with Jack Layton. I asked him how his party reconciled their opposition to the deployment of our battlegroup with the military necessity of protecting the provincial reconstruction team that we have deployed- which incidentally operates almost exactly within the sort of humanitarian mandate the NDP hopes to see for the entire mission. Again, I was fed some horseshit that basically just exposed Mr. Layton's ignorance of tactical matters. He wants to have his cake and negotiate with it over the terms of eating, too.
I did later have a great conversation/mini debate with the Ottawa Central member of parliament, Paul Dewar. Truly an intelligent and honest guy- he has his opinions, backs them with facts and sticks to them. Our disagreement lies simply in our respective political philosophies, but he did strike me as a man of credibility. His knowledge of Afghan history is much better than mine.
The funniest bit was at the end, when Mr. Layton was giving his 'farewell' speech; he specifically thanked the 'serving member of our forces who treated us to an intelligent and democratically minded exchange of views', or some such. Never in my life did I dream I'd be publicly praised by the leader of the NDP, or get a round of applause from his followers. I almost spit out my beer laughing while all these pinkos up front applauded. Fortunately I was inconspicuously at the back of the pub by this point, so they didn't see me laughing at them.
If it wasn't so hilarious I'm sure I'd feel some sort of shame.
Good ol' Carleton University...
Edit to add: Not as good a story without a photo op. I'm on the right. How could I resist? Please forgive me.
So I get out of my Monday night history lecture, and my buddy and I decide to go to one of the campus pubs for a pint or two... or three...
We get there, and they're clearly setting up for some kind of shindig. I ask around, and turns out Jack Layton was here on campus doing a Q&A session. After that, they came down to the pub for a few drinks and a presentation from a former U.S. army 'war resister' (read: deserter) named Ryan Johnson. Wearing, I might add, an 'Iraq Veterans Against the War' shirt that I don't believe he's entitled to, not having deployed.
Anyway, I'm sitting at the back of the pub somewhat bemused by the left wing spectacle unfolding in front of me, and then Jack Layton himself walks in, plus one of the local members of parliament from his party.
I went up to watch the presentation by the deserter, then asked him two polite but pointed questions. First, simply, when did he volunteer for service in the U.S. army? Second, did he not thing that it was prejudicial to the morale of the troops currently serving overseas to have people deserting and doing what he's doing?
He basically fed me some horseshit, to rousing applause, but afterwards a few of the NDPeons in the bar came up and told me I'd asked hard but fair questions. Then I went and chatted with Jack Layton. I asked him how his party reconciled their opposition to the deployment of our battlegroup with the military necessity of protecting the provincial reconstruction team that we have deployed- which incidentally operates almost exactly within the sort of humanitarian mandate the NDP hopes to see for the entire mission. Again, I was fed some horseshit that basically just exposed Mr. Layton's ignorance of tactical matters. He wants to have his cake and negotiate with it over the terms of eating, too.
I did later have a great conversation/mini debate with the Ottawa Central member of parliament, Paul Dewar. Truly an intelligent and honest guy- he has his opinions, backs them with facts and sticks to them. Our disagreement lies simply in our respective political philosophies, but he did strike me as a man of credibility. His knowledge of Afghan history is much better than mine.
The funniest bit was at the end, when Mr. Layton was giving his 'farewell' speech; he specifically thanked the 'serving member of our forces who treated us to an intelligent and democratically minded exchange of views', or some such. Never in my life did I dream I'd be publicly praised by the leader of the NDP, or get a round of applause from his followers. I almost spit out my beer laughing while all these pinkos up front applauded. Fortunately I was inconspicuously at the back of the pub by this point, so they didn't see me laughing at them.
If it wasn't so hilarious I'm sure I'd feel some sort of shame.
Good ol' Carleton University...
Edit to add: Not as good a story without a photo op. I'm on the right. How could I resist? Please forgive me.