A new numbers game

I love making bread. Its much easier than people think and the actual time it physically takes is pretty minimal. A couple of minutes to start the yeast .... five minutes to mix and knead the dough .... five more to turn the dough into loaves and rolls and of course the twenty or so minutes in the oven at the end of it.
The trick .... the only trick ... is to do all these things at the right time. The dough won't raise properly if the yeast doesn't 'bloom' before mixing. Dough tends to 'dry out' a bit if it proofs too long before going in the pans. Once its in the pans, if its left too long it flops around like an untrained seal and will taste 'yeasty' even if one can coax it into the oven. And of course, too much or too little time in the oven and it won't be fit to eat.
Tonight is the first of the public leadership debates for the NS election. There was no agenda anywhere yet that I could find when I was rummaging around, but I do know that the questions for this round will come from journalists ..... BUT .....on June 2nd there will be a second public debate in Baddeck... and the questions for that will come from voters. According to an article that I read on Yahoo news this morning, http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/090512/canada/canada_nsvotes2009_ns_election_debates
"The second debate will be held at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, N.S. Both the CBC and the Chronicle Herald will solicit questions from readers, viewers and listeners for the three leaders to answer. "
I know I go on like a stuck record about this, but in this ever changing world, the one constant is that politicians respond to numbers. Public concern for issues such as the environment is prompted by poll driven data. That is particularly true this close to the election.
Before the election was announced, I sent a set of questions to the NDP that were pretty similar to what was sent by ARPO. Now when I send emails to the PC's , as the governing party, they have pretty much been obligated to at least acknowledge any correspondence from me ( Not getting a satisfactory answer is a separate rant for another day ) My own MLA is a Liberal and he always does me the courtesy of responding to my concerns with a phone call .... and I'm enough of an outdoor girl that it takes real persistence to do that.
What did I get back from the NDP? A form letter asking for money! Now when ARPO sent each of the parties a set of questions after the election was announced, the NDP were one of the two parties who have already responded. Why did they do that? Because ARPO is the voice for responsible pet owners in this province.
Even so, their response is still hedged with polispeak phrases like "once there is sufficient experience with the Act it will be possible for stakeholders to determine if further legislation is necessary to protect companion animals " and "An NDP Government will endeavour to increase funding to the NS SPCA during the terms of its mandate, but within the terms of balancing the budget"
Why did they do that? Because....at this point in time, ARPO - Advocates for Responsible Pet Ownership, has 231 members. If you aren't already a member, joining would be a pretty easy and painless way to add a little extra oomph to the strength of their voice. Sometimes, ahem... size does matter .... its hard enough to get a straight answer from a politician and darned near impossible without a sizable number of voters on the membership rolls.
If you think that numbers don't matter... just look at the whole motor vehicle inspection circus .... first voters complained .... so the rules were changed ....then the mechanics started complaining and now the new rules are being 'revisited"
At the end of the day, politics is not a detached process .... it is everyday life. It is our schools and our sales taxes and every mundane subject in between. Why is that? Because our government doesn't just make the rules, they hold the purse strings that underpin it all.
What time is it? Its the right time for the animal loving community to set ARPO up for success by giving them the support needed to be taken seriously.