Insomnia, Sickness, and Hypothesizing

I haven't been sick like this in a long time. Of course, I woke up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep. I am therefore going to write the most rambling, pointless post in the long, long history of bloggery. I will then read my blah-gpost, and promptly and simultaneously kickstart my immune system and fall soundly asleep. How's that for a hypothesis?

Ok, so I thought up the most boring topics that I would like to consider: Justin Trudeau running for the federal parliament in the riding of Papineau.

Why is he running in Papineau? My answer would be that it rhymes with Trudeau, but that seems too obvious. Everytime the Speaker of the House would call on the heir presumptive of the Trudeau throne, he would say "the honorable member from Papineau"... and everybody would subconsciously be reminded of his famous last name.

Perhaps Justin Trudeau chose the riding because the name Papineau is associated with legendary Québecois political leaders of eras past? Joseph Papineau founded a political legacy in Canada East, where his two sons Louis-Joseph and Denis-Benjamin, and his grandson, Denis-Émery all held seats in legislature during their lifetimes. Louis-Joseph led the les patriotes rebellion of 1837 (and was banished from the Canadas) which led to the Durham Report, which recommended the union of Canada East and Canada West, which later lead along with various other forces to the Confederation of 1867. His brother, Denis-Benjamin, on the other hand became co-premier of the united province of Canada after the Act of Union. Peas from a different pod? Who knows. Québec families have often been rent betwixt red and blue, patriotes and vendus. One thing is certain though... When we read the bios of the decendants of great legacies, we cannot help but notice that the subject matter gets thinner and thinner the further down the line. Of course, this is no slight on the potential of todays' legacy bearers. May they lead great rebellions, or alternatively, make excellent personal compromises to achieve positions of great influence! Either way, Christmas dinner is bound to be interesting.

So hypothesis no. two is that JT is positioning himself to take on the mantle of one of Canada's greates political legacies (take your pick).

Hypothesis no. three is that the JT is making an excellent gamble... He knows that he is widely seen as riding on his fathers coat tails. He needs to shake the image of playboy, rich kid, easy life etc. He can shake that image, either by winning or losing valiantly, a difficult fight against the separatists in Papineau. Either way, he takes on the mantle of street-fighter and separatist slayer in English Canada (where the Trudeau legacy lingers, loved). This is all he needs to cement his political image and pick his seat anywhere in the country, waiting for one of the Stephens to eat the other.

Forget all the hocus hypotheses: Why not go straight to the source and consider what Justin Trudeau said in a CBC radio clip aired tonight? JT explained that "Papineau is one of the poorest ridings of the country." I did not actually catch why one of the richer Canadians should represent this poor, downtrodden riding... but I inferred that it must because the poor like being told what their opinions are by their social and economic betters.

A last and final thought. Great Britain is honest enough to admit that it has both a monarch and an aristocracy. I don't use aristocracy in any pejorative sense. But we are fooling ourselves if we think our backdoor aristocracy much different.

There, I have truly put myself to sleep.