Five things to read over your Saturday morning coffee

1. This take on the uGuelph ballot debacle. Worthwhile even just for this graphic:

2. This article on the importance of being politically engaged. I'm not sure I agree with it. A friend told me I should write here about how we should vote because people DIED for our right to vote, but I don't think that's actually a super-convincing argument. Partially because, as a Canadian history major, I know way too much about both world wars and neither were really fought on the basis of protecting suffrage rights. People were more worried the country would be blown up. But that's another story. Anyway, Goetz's argument isn't that we should vote because people DIED, but rather that we should vote because CANADA. I find this marginally more convincing. Thoughts?

3. This young man's reaction to the French-language leaders' debate. Don't read the comments. They will just make you angry. In fact, never read the comments on major news sites unless you don't mind being made angry because there are always people saying angering things! In this case, wondering why teenagers are allowed to vote when they're "barely out of diapers", and kids these days don't know anything anyway, and don't vote because they can't text from the polling booth, and all other kinds of things that will make you say, HELLO HAVE YOU EVER MET A YOUNG PERSON OR DO YOU JUST SEE THEM ON TV A LOT? So, yeah. Don't read the comments.

4. This piece on the vote-swapping phenomenon. I heard about this last election, I think, but I didn't pay too much attention then. I'm kinda leery about it… seems a bit manipulative and underhanded. But then I guess so is gerrymandering…

5. "Stuff" my candidate says, which will make you shake your head.