Senator Andrew Bartlett
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
 
End of year lunch
Yesterday was the regular staff end of year Xmas lunch, which we'd set the date for some weeks back. My lovely staff had even kindly picked a vegetarian restaurant for me. So I had the rather unusual experience of sitting there watching everybody else eat Xmas lunch whilst asking me how my fasting was going.

Still we had a good time and people were certainly pleased that the last day or so had seen much more success than usual in getting the refugee issue into the media. I got more details on the number of phone calls we'd been getting about the issue, with the tally at lunchtime standing at 25 in favour and 15 against. The emails continue to come in as well.

It’s especially pleasing to hear that the extra focus on the issue has given a boost to the detainees, as well as many of the hardworking refugee advocates throughout the community who have been slogging away for so long.

It's been a hard year for the Democrats' staff. They are a great group of skilled and committed people who have made a real difference in a lot of unacknowledged and uncredited ways. Without sounding too gushing, it amazes me how harmonious the current group is in working together. It is one of those additional sad aspects of the election result that some of these people are losing their jobs as a consequence of there being fewer Democrat Senators. But it was good to still be able to be around them today at least.

These days I don't drink alcohol and on this occasion I couldn't eat either, which seemed consistent with one of my innate abilities, to bring somberness to fun occasions. However, people enjoyed the irony of the situation (and watching me suffer a bit) and I still got the satisfaction of seeing everyone eating vegetarian and enjoying it of course.

We capped off the occasion by all going to the movies together. After my slightly bizarre 'lunch without food', we saw the very bizarre Team America - World Police. This movie is by the guys who created South Park , which is a show I have long enjoyed. It is a puppet movie in the style of the Thunderbirds and, like South Park, revels in the amateur look of its effects. It gets away with language and sex scenes that would definitely have got it an R rating if it had real actors. It is in appalling taste and naturally I therefore found it very amusing.

A total gross-out vomiting scene (extra ironic for a fasting non-drinker) and a puppet of Kim Jong-Il speaking in a voice that kept reminding me of Cartman from South Park were both highlights. The final speech to a gathering of world leaders could go down in the category of great political speeches of our time (it made more sense than a lot of the stuff I hear in the Senate anyway), except that it is so filled with obscenity that it couldn't be broadcast.

Anyway, we all had fun and left with a strong urge to swear excessively and use offensive and completely inappropriate analogies. I'm sure it will wear off soon.

I ended the day by watching The West Wing . Not surprisingly I have a soft spot for President Bartlet (and Martin Sheen's birthday is the day before mine.) If you're a fan of the show, have a go at the quiz Which West Wing Character Are You? (I'll mention who I got some other time) I think it’s a great show, although not really that close to what politics is like, but still far closer than what is portrayed in Team America I guess . Then again, maybe not.

posted by Andrew Bartlett @ Wednesday, December 22, 2004
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