I'm back! (like Garibaldi returning to Italy!)

To my regular readers: Sorry for the long pause. This past week was my last in Toronto for a while, and as you can imagine, I had other things (read: better things) to do than blog. BUT the John Lennard Experience is back and will be posting with a vengeance from now on. A few quick notes on a Monday morning:

1. I thoroughly enjoyed my summer internship. From a political standpoint, it was a tremendous learning experience. I've learned more things in the past four months than I have in the previous seven years of being involved as a Liberal. That's saying something. From a social standpoint, it was truly a transformative experience. I know the friendships forged over the summer will last me a lifetime. Thanks for everything, guys, and let's keep in touch.

2. I read the Hilary Clinton article in Time magazine the other day. I like. Very much. If she runs, I'll do everything I can do to help her out.

3. I like Michael Valpy. He's written a great and insightful... um, dissertation on Michael Ignatieff. More than anything, I think the article serves to reinforce people's positive and negative views about Michael. I still admire his deep intellect and have a growing appreciation for his past careers. He's done a lot of impressive things in his life and we should be happy to have him back home. That said, I'm still put off by his pomposity and the arrogance of those who surround him. I mean, this says it all:

• "For those Liberals seeking the messianic new face last provided by Pierre Trudeau four decades ago, Mr. Ignatieff -- who worked as a student on the Trudeau leadership campaign -- is the prize. "It's like Garibaldi returning to Italy," enthuses one of his supporters, referring to the great 19th-century patriot and soldier who brought about the unification of Italy."

MESSIANIC NEW FACE!?!!!? IT'S LIKE GARIBALDI RETURNING TO ITALY!??!?!? WTF??? Come on, enough with the hyperbole. Sheesh!!

Anyway, that's enough for me today. That last one got my blood pressure up a little too high. I'm going to take a chill pill.

Garibaldi. Pfft.