Clear Conservative Thought

CCT Official Launch

2008-11-23T18:47:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone,

So I've been talking about this expansion for a while, but I'm finally at the point where it has come to fruition. Head on over to clearconservative.ca to check out the new site.

I am still in the process of moving over all the feeds etc.. But clearconservative.ca is going to be my new home.

You will notice that the site is not a lot different from the current one, but I am going to be adding features through the coming week and month. I did add a nice feature to share posts on facebook- so if you read something you like, you'll be able to post it directly to your facebook.

This site will also have several additional static pages where I will be placing additional information pertaining to the conservative movement.

I got a little back-tracked on the second site in the CCT network, but stay tuned, it's coming.

Don't forget to change your RSS feeds.
New feed info:

Entries Feed
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From Bad to Worse

2008-11-23T18:39:00.006-05:00

For many of us welfare is something of a burden, something that most think is taken advantage of and used to substitute work and earning a living. From a distance this could be true in a lot of cases, and indeed many do use it for that purpose. But there are cases where it is needed, and the last hope for many families, especially in these times of financial downturns. Personal experience finds me in that situation now, due to recurring problems with my back. I can no longer work and have been forced to turn to the welfare system to supplement my wife's part time income while we sort out the mess we find ourselves in.

But this is no easy task, and one would think with the government assisting it should be an easy problem to correct. Hardly, and exactly the opposite. The welfare system is not designed to replace a lost income no matter what the reason or circumstance is. And any income brought in to the house is deducted $ for $ off of whatever amount the recipient is entitled to. Which means, if you work they take off any money you bring in off what they give you. They do not replace the money you have lost. So, that means as we try to pull ourselves out of this mess we are only getting deeper and deeper in debt and now on the brink of bankruptcy.

I know that many people have had to do that, and that today many more are going through very similar things as we are. But that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. My wife and I have 5 children, and two of them are under 4. We have been faced with watering down their milk to try and make it last, and let me tell you as a father nothing hurts more, than knowing you are unable to provide for your family better than that. We are trying to get in to emergency housing before the bank forecloses on our house and forces into something even worse than we can imagine, but we are not getting much help from anyone, or any agency. This has been a big wakeup call to me. I thought the welfare system and social programs in Canada were the best in the world, but it is hard to imagine any place having a worse system than this one.

A major part of the problem is living in a rural area and my inablility to drive due to the pain medication. Which means I can't even look for work without driving, and therefore risking my life and others by being on the road impaired on narcotic pain killers. So, not a good plan. Hopefully we will get into housing in the city ASAP so I can use public transit and get back to work. Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted.

"Liberal Supporter" - the life of a modern Canadian Troll

2008-11-23T12:18:00.001-05:00

I've picked up a rather persistent troll in the last couple days. I am sure that this same troll is venturing through other BT Blogs. It can be identified by the scent of self-righteousness and a noticeable lack of intellect. Rumours abound about it's preference of meals, though some have suggested it feeds on brown paper envelopes stuffed with cash, taxpayer dollars flushed down the toilet, and failed carbon tax plans. I recently made changes on this blog that will be reflected in the new site to require logins (anon. posts are just becoming too big of an issue, and I don't want to have to deal with deleting a lot of the offensive ones) and the result definitely helps to level the playing field a bit.

Well, "liberal supporter" had his/her own blog, which I have copied a very interesting quote from(I know, shouldn't be feeding the troll, but I've just got to):

"
The anonymous commenters have won, and dragged me kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Not planning to actually log in unless I have to in order to comment someplace.

I have set up comment moderation here for now because I want this blog to be "low maintenance" for me. Even though I make fun of other people who moderate. Tough. I may turn moderation off from time to time.
"

Oh, the irony... it hurts.

And the environmentalists remain mum...

2008-11-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

With the exception of greenpeace, I have yet to receive word from any of the environmental groups in Canada on the issue of Dalton McGuinty's new young drivers legislation and it's potential impact on the environment that they claim to be so concerned about. It strikes me that this law counteracts any of the various carpooling initiatives that these same organizations have promoted in the past. At the time that they were trying to encourage carpooling, they were all too happy to request funding from the government, or new legislation.

When it comes time to defend the environment in this case, however, the best answer I get is that the only organization who is willing to take the time to respond doesn't believe that carpooling is a big issue. Instead they want to advocate hybrid vehicles. Well, it seems to me that two hybrids on the road is worse for the environment than one... Further, most people don't drive hybrids - particularly young people with no money. So what greenpeace is saying is that they don't really care if there are more gas guzzling, super polluting, teenage-owned cars on the road - they would rather focus on forcing people to buy hybrids, restrictive environmental legislation and perpetuating the dangerous myth that GHGs are the biggest threat to the environment...

Please note that I truly appreciate Kevin Gamble's personal response to the question. I am impressed that Greenpeace had the courage to respond to a tough question, even if I don't agree with the answer.

The following cowardly organizations have still not responded, two days later... and I'm not expecting any miracles:

> David Suzuki Foundation
> Sierra Club of Canada
> Earthwatch.org
> Canadian Environmental Network
> Sierra Youth Coalition
> Toronto Environmental Alliance
> Friends of the Earth

Feel free to attempt to pull any responses you would like from these guys, maybe you will have more luck.

** NOTE: As part of the CCT expansion, I will also be introducing another key element of the CCT Network - a site dedicated to drawing attention Dalton McGuinty's reckless and failed policies. I managed to grab a perfect domain name for it(I was shocked it was available to be honest) - More to follow on that, as well as the introduction of the CCT Network. ***

Greenpeace responds to Dalton's Driving Law... sort of

2008-11-21T16:00:00.004-05:00

Pretty much what can be expected... no surprises here.

At least they responded... unlike the other 10 organizations I contacted - more on that later.

"
Dear Jordan,

Thank you for contacting Greenpeace. Greenpeace is for the use of increased and more accessible public transportation and for less use of the private automobile. So we would encourage people of all ages to make greater use of public transportation. If automotive transportation must be used, increased use of alternative renewable fuels and increased fuel efficiency would be our second choice. These things should be happening, and Greenpeace is trying to bring them about, irrespective how many passengers, no matter what their age, are in any given car.

For Greenpeace International’s European Transportation campaign, Greenpeace in North America does not have a similar campaign at this point in time, please go to the following link:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/cars

I hope the above provides you with an answer to your question.

Kevin Gamble
Greenpeace Canada
"

** UPDATE **

And the environmentalists remain mum...

Deficit time.. or time for some real conservative policy?

2008-11-20T23:23:00.000-05:00

With all this talk of deficit for 2009-10 it occurs to me that this is the perfect time for the Conservatives to be pushing more fiscal conservative policies. I know where you could get at least $1B.

Others are quick to attack the GST cut as a major contributor to this potential problem. While the absence of that money from government coffers may be an issue, I think these people are also forgetting that we will have a continued drop in corporate tax rates, as well as planned spending increases going forward. The corporate tax cuts in particular will assist in the creation of additional jobs, and increasing confidence for investors in those companies as many will see additional revenues. This is a good sign for Canadians, and the reduction in the GST means that Canadians still have a little more in their pockets to infuse into the economy.

None of this finger pointing is really very helpful at times like this. What we need right now is a strong, fiscally conservative approach - more than ever. I'm calling on the government to slash spending, freeze it where it can be frozen, and cut out the waste and mismanagement that continues to plague our government. I'm calling on my fellow bloggers to get behind this, to stand up for small-c conservative ideals.

Let's not be a group of disgruntled hacks, lets be a group of concerned Canadians who want action - we want reductions in spending, we want privatization of organizations like the CBC. We don't want Billions going to bailouts, and we don't want left-wing "make jobs" initiatives.

We elected this government to get us through tough times, and we expect them to do so without sinking our country back into the hole we just started to crawl out of. Trust me, if this party cannot do it - we will find one that will, but it has not come to that point yet... and we owe our PM the chance to do things the right way.

Stephen Harper has shown himself to be a great leader, a brilliant man, and a true conservative; let's not all turn our backs on him, let's make sure he understands what we want... fiscally responsible government.

We're tired of bloated spending... reign it in.

** As a side note... the CCT expansion should be complete by the end of the weekend, I've got the domain set up and I'm just in the process of building the site. Official announcement and re-direction to follow. It's an exciting new project combining the blogging I have done here for the past years, and a broader scope of strengthening the conservative movement in Canada. Stay tuned. **

Could Dalton's Driving law be contrary to the charter?

2008-11-18T23:26:00.001-05:00

This issue of young drivers has me concerned more than many youth issues have in the past while. I notice as I get older that they seem more and more trivial, but this one hits a sore spot. Having moved from Alberta when I was 15, I had already been driving with my Learners permit since I was 14. In Ontario that all changed, I was no longer allowed to drive even with my Mother, and that year and a half of driving experience meant nothing under Ontario Law. Despite considering going back to Alberta to obtain my license then having it transferred to Ontario, I stayed and completed the steps once again, and today I have my full G class license.

The process was tough, and seemed to be rife with undue stresses - most of us saw the whole graduated licensing thing as a money grab by the MTO, and I think that would be a reasonable suggestion to this day.

As I have studied a bit of law in my days, I have been thinking about how this fits into sec. 15 of the Charter

"
15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
"

The law would explicitly target individuals with the same credentials (G2 license) differently based on their age. It occurs to me that this is discrimination based on age, as a driver under 20 is subject to different laws than a driver who is 20 or older, even if they have the same license class. It is almost certain that Sec. 1 would be invoked in any case against such a claim against it:

"
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
"

ie. the violation of sec. 15 is reasonable in order to protect the lives of citizens, and can be demonstrably justified.

Although, I'm not so certain that it could be completely justified; that any empirical or other data would stand to support these claims, and I am almost certain that no such data exists that could prove so effectively in a court of law.

Of course, you would have every advocacy group fighting for their day in court, and MADD(who normally I support to great extent) has plenty of resources to get their voice heard that the other side would likely not.

But there is a strong political positive for this, should conservatives choose to seize it. We are talking about a lot of angry young people - many of whom will be voting in the next elections... This is a great opportunity to show young voters that Conservatives believe in their freedoms, and that restricting them shouldn't be done unless their is a VERY strong argument for it - as exists with the argument to crack down on alcohol in the blood. If we as conservatives can make our voices loud about the passenger issue in particular, many young people may start to see that our views are not necessarily out of line with their own.

Some food for thought...

Dalton to teens: Drink and Drive or you're breaking the law...

2008-11-18T18:53:00.006-05:00

That's right... the new limitations on young drivers will be forcing young people to limit passengers in their vehicles. The intent is of course to limit crazy racing and drinking and driving. The result will be that of making Dedicated Drivers essentially illegal for anyone under the age of 20. Doesn't seem like a very appropriate message to be sending kids that will inevitably still go out and drink with friends (from 16 and up reasonably).

Nevermind picking your friends up for school in the morning, or carpooling to work. This is definitely an environment friendly policy, as it forces every kid to have a car - instead of the one driving their friends around.

As a teen, I was a very responsible driver(still am). I never got into trouble, never drink and drive, and I always had other people in my car. It was rare that my seats weren't all full - I'd pick up my friends for school, or at lunch we would drive up to another school to visit our friends. On weekends we would head to Port Dover or take a trip into Toronto for a day, never less than 4 in the car.

And what is so bad about that? Why should a couple of bad apples ruin the bunch? And will it even have an impact? Not likely! If a kid is willing to down a bunch of beers and hop behind the wheel, do you really think they are going to care if it is illegal for them to have passengers? If those passengers are willing to get in the vehicle with a drunk driver - think that they will care if they are breaking the limit of passengers? And it goes beyond drinking, it goes to racing etc...

Well, kids will race with just one passenger in the vehicle, they will race when they are alone. If you take their friends out of their car and put them in their own, they will race AGAINST their friend.

Ridiculous law.

Well, that's what happens when you vote Liberal...

** UPDATE **

Looks as if even some of the "other guys" agree:

Here

Also:

Sign the "NO" Petition Online Here

Join the "Young Drivers Against New Ontario Laws" Facebook group Here

It occurs to me that a promise to repeal the age limits(if the motion turns to law), would be a good plank for the Ontario Conservatives in the next election - Are you listening Mr. Tory et al?

CCT: Could Dalton's Driving law be contrary to the charter?

Right as Rain: McGuinty Thinks we are Stupid

Considering that G2 drivers are already restricted to 1 passenger between midnight and 5:00AM, it seems unlikely that it will stop many drunk drivers in particular. It occurs to me that I can probably count on one hand how many times I've left a party before midnight...

The REAL inconvenient truth

2008-11-18T00:57:00.003-05:00

"I'm the oil company, and I used to be the next environment destroying enterprise"

"
Statistics Canada says the country's oil-and-gas extraction industry spent $2.8 billion to protect the environment in 2006, more than any other industry.
"

And those damn Albertans.. just can't seem to get it through their heads that paying 49% of our bills just isn't good enough!

"

Capital investment by businesses in Alberta for environmental protection amounted to nearly $1.9 billion in 2006, almost 49 per cent of the capital expenditures nationally.

So long as they take care of our air and water supply...

In other news...

A new study suggests that what we all knew already may just be true..
Next, scientists will be shocked that Depression is over-diagnosed, and Ritalin over-prescribed!

Is there a god? Or was it just one big "gotcha"?

2008-11-15T14:55:00.001-05:00

Head on over to the way the ball bounces - where RkBall plays a trick of sorts on the religiously inspired(or uninspired). In the process gets pelted by rhetorical stones . . . It's like the Planters Factory, nuts all over the place.

The whole thing is an appropriate reminder that all too often many people will take out of context the meaning of something said or done. This can be particularly true online, where it is more difficult to read emotion than in person.

It is incredibly aggravating to see the same argument played out over and over again by the "two" sides. More often than not, I find the arguments to be caused by who I call "militant atheists". This unique breed of atheists are not content in simply not believing in god themselves. No, absolutely not; you need to be converted, or you are stupid for believing in a higher power.

Of particular interest is how these same militants will continue on at great lengths about the punishing bouts they have had with theists who are trying to bring them to their religion, all the while they are doing the exact same themselves. It seems to me that every atheist on the left is keeping tabs on the Blogging Tories in particular, lashing out with vicious attacks against members who express religious thoughts - providing unsolicited opinions from their high horses.

Now, I generally try to find fault with both sides in this particular conflict, but I must say I have seen an ever-growing monopoly of hate from the atheists abound. Rk's post has served to remind us of this twisted and dark side to the religious debate.

If you cannot get through an argument without sinking to the level of calling someone stupid because they don't believe everything you do, then you have some serious problems - problems that seem to be commonplace in the left wing community. (An excellent post over at Conservative Minded on this topic).

It occurs to me (and I commented on this to some extent when I was interviewed about the US Election) that we on the right are particularly targeted with this type of mean-spirited and dishonest attack (Good post at Celestial Junk). Never have I seen a right winger say any such thing to someones face; not a single time. On the other hand, I have been called every name in the book by "compassionate" liberals and socialists. Somehow my thoughts make me some form of political anti-christ, on the levels of Bush and Harper. I am a barbarian of sorts, who wants to steal from the poor and give to my rich buddies (never mind that I would fall into that "poor" category, that's an inconvenient fact). I have no conscience, I have no compassion, I am a monster - plain, simple.

The irony being of course, that many of these leftist loons are the same people who blather on endlessly about the "stupidity" of believing in god because it has no basis in fact. This is in contrast, of course, to their "based-in-fact" views on the evils of capitalism, conspiracy theories of big corporations and government, and racism/sexism etc.. of those who are conservative thinkers. (please note, it is rare to find an atheist Conservative who is so disparaging of Christians... an odd trend I have noticed, although I don't know of any studies to back up my statement).

Now, as a "devout" agnostic, I can appreciate the situation that atheists find themselves in; they live in a religious world and are surrounded by those who for one reason or another don't seem to see the light (Or should I say insist on seeing the light?). I too, have acted out against the religious. I was about 7 years old when I crossed a line between distaste for religion and downright contempt and rudeness towards it. This phase lasted about two years. I have grown up since, into a man who is capable of disagreeing with someone on matters unprovable and maintain civil discourse and respect. Perhaps this is just a matter of setting the men and women apart from the boys and girls. Some of us grow up, and some continue to live their lives as children - blaming everyone but themselves, attacking instead of listening, and perpetually increasing their overall irrelevance.

Knut news

2008-11-15T10:45:00.003-05:00

It's been some time since I've looked for updates on Knut the polar bear, made famous after his mother rejected him and animal rights activists determined it would be better to euthanize him than leave him alive in custody.

Obligatory video of cute baby polar bear, Knut:

Well, I thought it a good time to update everyone who hasn't been paying attention(like me), as to what is going on.

Sad news, his keeper died at the end of September. Thomas Doerflein had raised Knut, and spent almost every moment with the bear. He died of a heart attack.

There are conflicting opinions about Knut's state of mind; one keeper has suggested that he is attention-starved, even labeling him as a "psychopath". Another has said that he is doing just fine, and he is growing up well. Of course, ordering his "father" to stay away from him probably didn't help the situation much..

I suppose only time will tell how things go for Knut, but there is talk of moving him to a different zoo.

CPC convention '08

2008-11-13T23:17:00.001-05:00

Ok... so there's no mountains in Manitoba.

I must say that I am disappointed that I am unable to attend the convention in Manitoba this year. I have been reading through blog posts and facebook entries from my blogging colleagues and friends, and I must say it seems as if this convention has an incredible amount of energy behind it. There are a good deal of serious issues being discussed, and a lot of intelligent and influential people participating.

One of the voices in the mix is the founder of the Reagan-Goldwater Society, Derek Fildebrandt. Derek and I worked together last year, I developed the original RGS website(and admittedly had to leave because professional and educational responsibilities trumped my ability to dedicate the time required). In my time working with Derek I found him to be an intelligent thinker, a dedicated small-c conservative, and a fine leader. Well, Derek has moved beyond the days of campus activism, but he is still an active conservative and remains a man deserving of great respect. Derek has put together an excellent list of the proposals being voted on, in the light of strategic voting. I would check it out at his new blog, Conservtive Demablog.

Another of these voices is that of Stephen Taylor, the well known co-founder of the Blogging Tories. Stephen is somewhat of a blogging celeb, he created what is arguably the most influential blogging community in this country. I've also worked with Stephen on several occasions, most notably in my time moderating the Blogging Tories forums, and I can confirm what most all of us already know - he's the guy to watch during this convention. If something is going on, be certain he will know about it, so head on over to his blog and see what he's saying.

Andrew Lawton is another voice to watch, both during the convention as well as following it. Andrew is the President of the UWO chapter of the Reagan-Goldwater Society, and an intelligent conservative thinker. He has just started a new blog, Pundit Central. Be certain to check out his blog as well.

And of course, there is no ignoring my friend over at OfficiallyScrewed.com. He has been giving his take on the event so far, as well as the lead-up. For tales of the events, head on over and see what he's saying.

All of this action keeps me thinking about the importance of the blogosphere in today's political environment. Not just our importance to ourselves, but also to the greater conservative movement in Canada. We cannot allow our Conservative party to be hijacked by centrist voices again, because we cannot afford another splitting of the right. We have to be louder than the voices that are calling for pandering to the center-left; we have to make the leaders of the party understand that we will not stand for "conservatives in name only" leadership - and that without the small-c conservative base, the party is nothing.

Now none of this is to say that the party is in imminent danger of becoming this, but certainly there appear to be seeds of this in some of the proposals that have been brought up in this very convention.

While we must remain strong as small-c conservatives, I think it is important for the movement to focus on matters of the mind, and not of the heart. We must keep the voices of strong social policy moderated, much as we must keep the fringe capitalist thoughts moderated. I think it is important to keep the conversation on moving this country to the right, without appearing scary. Important issues like senate reform, tax reduction with spending cuts/freezes, two-tier health care, equalization reform, responsible environmental protection, and building trade partnerships are all such issues.

These are the issues where conservatives stand a chance at gaining ground and changing minds. And if the CPC decides to move away from their traditional stances on these issues, they will not stand apart from the Liberals in the next election nearly as much as they might like.

More importantly, we must find outlets to get these words out, beyond the blogosphere. If we are honest with ourselves, we will know that our words online only go so far; we miss a huge chunk of the audience. The best way to combat this is to ensure we get ourselves into the public eye - work with small-c conservative organizations like the Manning Center, or Taxpayers Federation. Start your own local movement- gather friends, family, or just like-minded thinkers, start meeting and formulating plans of action to promote issues important in your community. Get out and protest - all too often we sit back and let the left trump us in this. And don't forget, to show support for your party of preference - organize a rally-in-support of a decision or project. No matter what you decide to do, just keep doing it... keep pushing grass roots reform, it's the only way to achieve what we desire.

Yet another failure of the Justice system

2008-11-12T20:50:00.002-05:00

Quebec prisoner released from prison early... because he's FAT.

In yet another in a long line of ridiculous criminal-friendly court decisions, a Quebec judge released a gangster from prison early because he is considered obese. The reasoning is that the prison cannot accommodate his stature, and therefore his rights cannot be upheld.

This is absolutely ridiculous; the fact that this kind of thing can occur underlines a big problem in our judicial system. That problem is lack of accountability of the judiciary. This would never happen in a place where judges were accountable to the public - instead, these judges make these decisions and put Canadians at risk.

The situation becomes overly clear when one delves into the crimes he was convicted of: "conspiracy, drug trafficking and gangsterism". Yet another instance of the rights of prisoners trumping the rights of the law-abiding public. I understand that his sentence would have ended in February, but the very fact that this was allowed to occur sets a dangerous precedence.

I would say this should go to the supreme court, but that probably wouldn't do much but waste buckets of money - and likely end up with a ruling forcing our prison systems to accommodate the obese.

Give me a break.

CCT Welcomes New writers

2008-11-12T20:07:00.003-05:00

In preparation of the coming expansion of the site, I opened blogging to new voices. One of those voices is Sean McAllister. Sean will be posting here, along with another potential writer - and likely more in the long-term.

The new site should be ready to go in the coming couple of weeks, and All I'm going to say is that it is going to be a much more comprehensive site - one that will have a good deal of content, and a focus on building the small-c conservative movement in the country. Stay tuned!

Canada, Interrupted

2008-11-12T09:08:00.002-05:00

I don't know when it happened or what event transpired bring us to where we are today. It may be that we were blind or unwilling to believe that such things could happen in our Country, that it could only happen somewhere else. We would never allow such things to happen in Canada, because we are civilized, tolerant, and just. Yet it is happening, right here, right now, in the true north strong and free. I think perhaps it has been a long time that most people have said those words, or perhaps don't remember were they came from even.

Our Country, our home and native land, is being subverted and destroyed right before us. Our values, laws, and dearest beliefs are being challenged and squashed without a fight. In 2007 a young 16 yr old girl was murdered by her father because she wouldn't wear a scarf around her head. Not that a young woman being murdered by her parents is a unique thing, it does happens and the reasons for it are varied, and horribly wrong. But this is different. Apparently it is justified. By them, and us. We did not arise in outrage that a life could be taken for such reasons.
It is argued that her crime was against God and that punishment was mandatory. Any god that demands death for such actions is no god in my mind. But alas, I digress.

There are many who believe that this is right, and many who say otherwise. It is not up to me to force my beliefs on another being. But it is up to me, and all of us, to decide what we will allow in our Country, and what we will not. The killing of any human being, for any reason, is a crime, Period. I'm not going to get into discussions about war or abortion, that is a whole different subject. We are dealing with the killing of people over religion. It doesn't matter what religion it is, it is unacceptable. Across the world in history such things have happened, but not as a way of life. The hijab is a word that most of us have never heard until recent years, and to now know that is a reason to kill just makes me want to vomit. Just exactly why are we in Afghanistan again? Are we not there fighting and dying to stop exactly this sort of thing? And now it is happening right here on our communities and we do NOTHING! I believe it is time we stood up and said no, not in Canada.

The Kalb Report: with Bill O!

2008-11-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

Excellent...

Audio available here

The folly of Blog wars..

2008-11-11T07:40:00.002-05:00

Much like any other war, these blog wars that have been starting of late are not only divisive, but unlike many real wars are fought without cause or reason. What drives these participants to such viciousness? Is it simply an attempt to slow their own decline into irrelevance? Or is it more?

One thing is certain; we can hardly expect our politicians to get along(or our children for that matter), so long as we cannot have even a modicum of civilized discussion. Can we not disagree without resorting to ad-hominem attacks, or worse yet, comparisons to tyrants? Perhaps Godwin's law holds some water; the eventual decline of discussion will reach a point where someone will be compared to Hitler. It seems all too often that this particular attack is leveled on those on the right(despite rather obvious political and economic differences), but we are far from innocent in all of this I am afraid.

It is almost a mob mentality of sorts, a sinking to the lowest common denominator. And we, as bloggers owe it to not only each other, but also to our readers to rise above such petty and childish behaviour. It stands only to reason that engaging in such discussion(if it can be called so), does little to further our credibility, and even less to earn respect.

From our side, all we can do is ignore the trolls. Leave their pettiness and childishness on their little piece of the world, and let them sink into the bowels of irrelevance. We should not encourage these people by acknowledging them, we should ignore them simply because they have shown themselves to be petty and ignorant.

I would call upon all bloggers to take a break from the attacks, if even for only today. Today should not be a day of partisan attacks, or of personal feuds. Today we celebrate the lives of our fallen veterans, we give thanks and remembrance to those who fought(and continue to fight) to protect our rights and freedoms. The same rights and freedoms we are enjoying through our blogs. If there is a sense of decency in you, you will put aside your differences for even one day to come together in appreciation and respect of our veterans and current serving members. We owe them much more, but that would be a good start.

And who's to say... you may find that civility really isn't that bad after all.

Lest we forget...

2008-11-11T00:02:00.002-05:00

This is one of the better videos I have seen, an excellent tribute to our soldiers past and present.

While we are always supportive of the brave men and women who serve and have served, today is a particularly important time to show it.

We are all proud of you, we will never forget.

Betting on the Canadian Dollar...

2008-11-10T21:18:00.004-05:00

2009 may prove to be a good time to invest in American stocks, assuming the Canadian Dollar remains low. While currently the stock market in the United States is extremely volatile, many commentators are suggesting that it should stabilize in the first quarter or second quarter of 2009. If this begins to ring true, it may be a good time to invest in American stock - particularly strong, stable stocks (XOM - Exxon Mobil is one of my favourites). Indeed, with Exxon, this investment would be worthwhile right now, with oil prices low. As the economies of the world begin to heat up again, the prices will rise and along with them, profits.

The real key will be holding on until the Canadian dollar can come back up to par (down), a 5% gain could quickly turn into a 20-some % gain. Just something I've been pondering about for the last while. Any thoughts?

**UPDATED**

Thanks to Reid in the comments for pointing out the error I made. This should have read more along the lines of buy while the dollar is up, and sell when the dollar is low(hence looking forward to 2009, when the prospects of our dollar going up are better). Apologies for the mix-up, and thanks to Reid for keeping me on my toes!

Video: Con te Partiro

2008-11-10T21:16:00.000-05:00

Just because it's a great song...

Video: What we Remember: A tribute to soldiers everywhere

2008-11-09T01:30:00.001-05:00

Constitutional Reform and the 21st Century

2008-11-09T00:28:00.002-05:00

21 years ago, with the formation of the Reform party, the idea of real and valuable constitutional reform was invigorated. Although it took several years for the Reform to gain a footing as a powerful voice in Canadian politics, much of what they put forward has remained dominant in the small-c conservative political world of Canada. Among them, the idea of a triple-E senate. Equal, Elected, Effective. Yet, 21 years later, we still see no real action on this front.

Even at a time where we are facing our second Conservative government, we see little real action on the constitutional reform front. That is not to say that the topic has faded, in fact, it has gained strength to the point of gaining mainstream notice. It has moved from a western desire to a populist talking point.

For all the talk of senate reform, you would expect that some actions were being taken to finally create a truly democratic senate, free of the political cronyism and ineffectiveness that plagues it to date. The Prime Minister has expressed his full support for the principles of a triple-E senate, even finally appointing the second elected senator(after appointing another of course). But for all his purported support, he has failed to even convene a discussion on the topic with provincial leaders. He hasn't proposed a referendum on the topic.

With the events of the 2008 election, it is becoming glaringly obvious that Quebec is maintaining it's irrelevance through their continued support of the Bloc, and no amount of pandering to them seems to make any difference. There is little doubt that such changes would be difficult to achieve with Ontario and Quebec in the equation, but the fact that discussions have not even taken place on the topic is somewhat disappointing.

I understand that there may be some political implications in raising the prospect of another constitutional debate, but it is high time that the conversation begins in earnest. This is not another Charlottetown accord, and nor should the discussion have anything to do with Quebec's specific wants; this is simply about repairing our senate, improving accountability, and protecting democracy. I am calling on not only the PM, but the leaders of all parties, to get these talks moving. And to the Premiers, who will without a doubt play a critical role in the process.

Term limits for senators sounds nice, but it really isn't changing the reality of appointments of party-friends to what is supposed to be a place for "sober second thought". It is my hope that the CPC convention will make this point obvious to the party leadership.

It is important for us all to continue our work towards this goal with grassroots movements. This should be a corner-stone of our talking points, something that we believe in, something that is right, something that is horribly overdue.

Over-compensation used to mean buying a muscle car...

2008-11-02T15:58:00.004-05:00

Now it's litigation...

"
Red Tory said...
Ehh. whatever. I've already capped everything here and will likely file suit next month.

I'm quite looking forward to exposing this dickweed and costing him a pile of money for his malfeasance and stupidity.

But in the meantime there are more interesting and fun matters to attend to.

Don't think however for a moment L4E that you're off the hook. We'll get back to you in due course...
"

H/T to Raphael (with some thoughts on the whole situation)

The ever so kind and caring Red Tory... "looking forward to exposing this dickweed and costing him a pile of money for his malfeasance and stupidity." Because you know... those lefties are so compassionate. Ridiculous? Just read the other comments, it gets better.

Liblogs... Always good for a laugh, be it toward tired talking points or over-the-top rhetorical fights.

I suppose I had best consider retaining counsel now... or finish that law degree pretty fast!

Sad day when you have to threaten legal action over some pathetic comments on a blog. Sad, but all too common these days. Although RedTory has every right to be upset, this threat of litigation seems rather over-the-top. Then again, my skills and abilities sell themselves, and googling my name and finding Canadian Cynic's harsh words against me hardly concerns me... Maybe it's just a side effect of ridding myself of fragile ego at a young age?

Vote it off

2008-10-24T16:58:00.001-04:00

Have your say on which of the list should be removed from the list:

"VOTE IT OFF! We invite you to tell us what topic from this list of 101 people, events, places, symbols and accomplishments that you think does NOT deserve a place on this list. View the list below and "

1

Stephen Harper (78 votes)
2

Céline Dion (29 votes)
3

Pierre Elliott Trudeau (28 votes)
4

Don Cherry (17 votes)
5

David Suzuki (9 votes)
6

René Lévesque (7 votes)
7

Olympics (5 votes)
8

Tim Hortons (5 votes)
9

Fleur de lys (5 votes)
10

Anne Murray (3 votes)
11

Peacekeeping (2 votes)
12

Toronto (2 votes)
13

Snow (2 votes)
14

Jean Chretien (2 votes)
15

Queen Elizabeth (2 votes)
16

Canadian Beer (2 votes)
17

Canadian Flag (1 vote)
18

Canadarm (1 vote)
19

Universal Health Care (1 vote)
20

CN Tower (1 vote)
21

Diversity / Multiculturalism (1 vote)
22

Vimy Ridge (1 vote)
23

Quebec (1 vote)
24

Grey Cup (1 vote)
25

Avro Arrow Project (1 vote)
26

Hydroelectricity (1 vote)
27

Medicine / Science / Tech. (1 vote)
28

Immigration / Policies (1 vote)
29

Bluenose (1 vote)
30

Bombardier (1 vote)
31

Friendly / Polite Country (1 vote)
32

Canadian Elections (1 vote)
33

Maple Leaf (0 votes)
34

Hockey (0 votes)
35

Beaver (0 votes)
36

Canada Day (0 votes)
37

Niagara Falls (0 votes)
38

The Rocky Mountains (0 votes)
39

Wayne Gretzky (0 votes)
40

Parliament Hill (0 votes)
41

Ottawa (0 votes)
42

Frederick Banting / Insulin (0 votes)
43

RCMP/ Mounties (0 votes)
44

Quebec City (0 votes)
45

Terry Fox (0 votes)
46

Confederation (0 votes)
47

Bell / Telephone (0 votes)
48

World War One and Two (0 votes)
49

Constitution / Charter (0 votes)
50

Stanley Cup (0 votes)
51

Calgary Stampede (0 votes)
52

Canadian National Railway (0 votes)
53

Plains of Abraham (0 votes)
54

John A. Macdonald (0 votes)
55

Montreal (0 votes)
56

Wilderness (0 votes)
57

Tommy Douglas (0 votes)
58

Loonie (0 votes)
59

Freedom (0 votes)
60

Maple Syrup (0 votes)
61

Moose / Caribou (0 votes)
62

Wildlife (0 votes)
63

Lester Pearson (0 votes)
64

Expo 67 (0 votes)
65

Bilingualism in Canada (0 votes)
66

Vancouver (0 votes)
67

Democratic Nation (0 votes)
68

Quebec Winter Carnival (0 votes)
69

Banff National Park (0 votes)
70

St Lawrence Seaway (0 votes)
71

Curling (0 votes)
72

Rememberance Day (0 votes)
73

Maurice Richard (0 votes)
74

Trans-Canada Highway (0 votes)
75

Canada goose (0 votes)
76

Great Lakes (0 votes)
77

Chateau Frontenac (0 votes)
78

Environmental Conservation (0 votes)
79

Oil (0 votes)
80

1972 Summit Series (0 votes)
81

National Anthem (0 votes)
82

Montreal Jazz Festival (0 votes)
83

War of 1812 (0 votes)
84

2010 Vancouver Olympics (0 votes)
85

Charlottetown (0 votes)
86

Repatriation of Constitution (0 votes)
87

Victoria Day (0 votes)
88

The Prairies (0 votes)
89

Polio Vaccine (0 votes)
90

Winter (0 votes)
91

Halifax (0 votes)
92

Hudson Bay (0 votes)
93

Pierre Berton (0 votes)
94

Victoria (0 votes)
95

Quebec Referenda (0 votes)
96

National Parks (0 votes)
97

Olympic Stadium (0 votes)
98

Juno Awards (0 votes)
99

Rideau Canal (0 votes)
100

Aid to Other Countries (0 votes)
101

Space Explorations (0 votes)

Bill O'Reilly on the View..

2008-10-22T22:05:00.001-04:00

Its a cut in a couple areas... but a great watch

Canada's overlooked health care problem...

2008-10-22T21:38:00.002-04:00

Scraped knees and other nonsensical reasons to visit a hospital.

If you've been to a hospital in the past year, and had to wait in long lines to get the privilege of seeing a doctor, you know that there is something wrong in Canada's wondrous State-provided health system. It is not only systemic disarray, or a crippling lack of doctors. Nor is it solely due to power-hungry unions and hospital staff eager to get rid of you. It is at the same time all these things, but hiding under the surface is something even more sinister... hospital misuse at the hands of the citizens who use them.

Imagine for a moment you are sitting in a hospital waiting room, vomiting into a plastic bag, speaking incoherently, and suffering from an extreme headache. The doctors are concerned enough that they ask you to stay, but you are forced to wait in the line behind some irresponsible parent who brought their little boy in because he fell and scraped his knee. The knee has stopped bleeding and the boy is alright, even cheerfully playing with a toy his parents brought for him. The doctor patches it up reluctantly, and he escorts the family out. That kid got a lollipop for the traumatic experience, and all you get is a cat scan and a spinal tap.

You would be pretty upset at those people wouldn't you? And you know that doctor is... he has better things to do with his time than patch up frivolous wounds that are best left to polysporin and a band-aid; like ensure that you don't have spinal meningitis, or an aneurysm, or any other multitude of potentially life threatening afflictions.

These types of occurrences happen on a daily basis, and you can verify that with any front line medical workers you may happen to know. The reality is that these types of ridiculous hospital visits are exacerbating the wait-time problems that exist in hospital emergency rooms. They are encouraging doctors and nurses to push people out the door instead of ensuring that they are cared for properly. In addition to the above experience in the 90's, I was forced to insist on an ultrasound last summer because I visited an Ottawa-area hospital after having been vomiting for over 72 hours straight. I had sharp pains in my stomach that had radiated to my lower-right quadrant. An immediate relative of mine had undergone a similar set of events and I had read up on the problems with the help of google; and I had diagnosed myself with appendicitis. The doctor figured I was just another case of "not that sick", and attempted to usher me out with a prescription for antibiotics. It was my insistence that he conduct the proper test that may have very well saved my life.

And you may be saying that this is a rare circumstance. Well, I'm here to tell you that it is not. Many people I know can tell you similar stories, some with much worse outcomes. Now, far be it for me to suggest that this is caused simply by frivolous hospital visits. Doctors need to be responsible for their diagnosis of health problems, or at the very least the attempt to find the causes before dismissing patients. One cannot, however, overlook the added stress that these patients put on the already ailing health system.

This topic came up most recently(and inspired me to write this long-winded affair) in the Blogging Tories Forums, and I set down a proposal for reducing this. I am sure that others have made similar (possibly even identical) proposals; but that is simply because the system makes sense. It may not be the nice thing to do, but it is the right thing to do. The betterment of the many is superior to the betterment of the few.

The proposal is simple; start charging user-fees (say $20-$25) for hospital emergency visits that do not result in hospitalization. Hospitals can offer pre-pay service through an account at the hospital if they so desire, ensuring that those who need the hospital services will be able to obtain them. In addition, the fee would be waived with a referral note from a physician.

There are real benefits to this aside from the obvious reduction in wasted hospital visits. The economic side of this is positive, in that unlike publicly run hospitals, most physicians offices and walk-in clinics are privately operated. This means that the amounts earned here are directly taxed by the government, so the government can recover some of the tax money that was spent for service delivery. Secondly, this provides these doctors with opportunities to make additional revenue; something that could have a profound effect on keeping them from jumping south.

Regardless of whether you agree with the proposal, something needs to be done about the wait-times and substandard service Canadians are receiving across the country. This is a provincial problem and it needs provincial solutions. The federal government cannot keep dumping money down the drain into a health care system that is fundamentally broken, and getting worse year after year. With the baby boom generation reaching retirement age, the strains on our health care system are bound only to increase; while the collective input to the tax system is going to only decrease. This may be a drop in the pot when it comes to the overall problem, but it is something that can help nonetheless. If you disagree, don't just troll my comments section; tell me your solution.

I don't see any peg-legs or eye patches...

2008-10-21T23:06:00.004-04:00

And where are the rapiers, cannons, and parrots?

How dare they call themselves pirates without the proper garb? I'm sure that respectable pirates around the world are offended by this whole debacle.

Been looking for an update on this one; I've heard rumours that these tanks may have been destined for the Sudan, but haven't seen any news on this since the 9th of October.

Anyone know anything?

Time to ban knives I suppose...

2008-10-21T16:43:00.002-04:00

A rash of recent high-profile knife related acts has washed over the world... Strangely silent are the normal crowd of fanatical gun-control advocates. One has to wonder what the difference is?

Here and Here

I can hear it now:

"Knives don't kill people, guns do"

What does Elections Canada and a Football Ref have in common?

2008-10-21T16:02:00.001-04:00

Draw your own conclusions ;)

Oh this is classic!

2008-10-21T14:30:00.003-04:00

Leave it up to a commenter on the CTV website to have the stupidest comment of the day:

"
Bread is now almost 4.00$ a loaf.....last year it was 2.69$????? You tell me what the problem is?
"

$4.00 a loaf!? One has to wonder where this joker is buying bread; mine costs around $2.50(tops) a loaf. Shouldn't buy that bread with gold flakes :)

The initial article is about "poverty and inequality", with a complete emphasis on the latter. In fact, it basically states that the poverty determination is complete and utter garbage. Yet another OECD bogus study. All these OECD studies are socialist-driven; you do better as a nation if you have more socialist schemes.

Gotta love the time frame though: 1995-2005 . . . but I thought the Liberals could do no wrong??

hmmm...

**UPDATE**

A close second place finisher:

"Kev
I went $30k in debt and 3yrs of my life getting an education in a highly techical field. So far the best thats been offered is $8.75 per H by your beloved hiring agencies. I'm back diggin ditches for $9 fully qualified in the electronics industry...still hungry and now in debt...yea that worked!
"

$8.75/hr? I haven't made that little since I was a part-time automotive tech at Walmart... at the age of 18! And I don't know a single person who makes that much. I've made over twice that, and I haven't even finished University! I think its pretty hard to find a job at less than $10.00/hr. - particularly after having been on the job hunt just this summer. But maybe it is just me...

Our slanted schools, and one step in the right direction

2008-10-21T12:44:00.003-04:00

We all know that schools in Canada are institutes which further propagate liberal thought. It is of little surprise to any who have attended a Canadian school that I would make that assertion; there is a systemic monopoly of thought in Canada's Secondary and Post-Secondary education institute. This problem is a direct result of a number of factors: Course availability/requirement, a near-militant teachers union which insists on becoming political, a break-down in the management structure and refusal on the part of the governments of this country to enforce reasonable working practices in cases where educators inappropriately advocate political positions to young and impressionable pupils.

Despite my frustration as a post-secondary student with the overwhelmingly left-wing attitude at these institutes, it is not of great concern to me. I do feel that young people will tend to be more idealistic, and notice that many of those rabid left-wing students do eventually moderate or change their views once they enter the real world. Of greater concern to me, are the problems with political positioning in Secondary schools.

From 2000 to 2003 I attended Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School, a Secondary(9-OAC) school in Brantford, Ontario. I ran into good and bad teachers, those who encouraged free thought and those who stifled it. Although I was perhaps not the most "dedicated" of students (I didn't like homework much), I consistently behaved in class, and always did well in tests. I managed to finish in Feb. of 2003, half a year ahead, by finishing OAC classes a year early. I spent a good deal of time in BCI arguing with teachers who insisted on pushing their political views on myself and my fellow students. I often found myself being attacked by several of my peers for my views, and several teachers encouraging them or even joining in. I had tough skin, and I wasn't about to let any of them dictate my viewpoints. In more than one class I was punished for my political views, something I later proved by submitting the same paper to both my Grade 12 and OAC English classes (I took them concurrently), receiving an A in OAC, and a D in Grade 12. I brought this to the attention of the administration, which looked into the matter, and eventually forced the teacher to re-evaluate(ending the situation with a result of a B-) My sister also attended this school for a brief time, getting stuck with this same teacher who punished her for my earlier actions.

This kind of thing happens all too often in our Secondary school system, but the worst part is that most of the time this goes un-noticed by administrations. Further, many of these young people simply don't feel they can argue their own beliefs and are thus suppressed. Even I felt quite alone in my ideals until I started blogging here, which I think has solidified my confidence. There is little that can be done about these types of things, short of reducing the effectiveness of the teachers unions; they hold entirely too much power and that makes it almost impossible to rid schools of bad teachers. Parents need to encourage their children to respectfully stand up for their positions on topics, to not just blindly follow everything teachers tell you, and also talk to them seriously about their own political beliefs and offer them a foundation(although I would avoid trying to force particular beliefs on them).

Now there is one way that we could benefit our nation, and also build the foundations that would help support more right-wing thought in these schools.

The compulsory credit system in use in Ontario offers the following:

4 credits in English (1 in each grade)
1 credit in french
3 credits in math
2 credits in science
1 credit in Canadian History
1 credit in Canadian Geography
1 credit in the Arts
1 credit in Health and Physical Education
.5 credit in Civics
.5 credit in Career Studies

1 additional credit in English, or a third
language, or social sciences and the humanities,
or Canadian and world studies

1 additional credit in health and physical
education, or the arts, or business studies

1 additional credit in science (Grade 11 or 12)
or technological education (Grades 9–12)

It is interesting to note the disproportionate focus on the Arts, and this is something that was pointed out to me by a fellow blogger this past weekend during our Blog get-together. I would propose that there be a requirement to take either Economics OR Business studies. By grouping Business Studies with PhysEd, it reduces the likelihood of students choosing it.

Studying business or economics is important, if only for strengthening the abilities of those who decide not to attend post-secondary school. Perhaps more understanding of business/economy would encourage more young people to start their own businesses, particularly those who choose to take technical studies. Further, these classes are more naturally geared to right-wing thought, as opposed to the arts which are geared more to the left. This is not only a good way to balance the monopoly slightly, it is more about improving the state of students who graduate.

Times like this indicate how little people understand about the economy. If this were something that all students studied in high school, at least that understanding would increase. I think our whole country would be better off if everyone had a better idea of how our economy and business works.

There are many other steps that need to be taken, and I think only legal action will be able to make this happen. It is difficult, as I find that those on the right tend to be less litigious, but Canadians are paying for our students to attend schools, and that money going to political advocacy should be something all Canadians are concerned about. The attempted brain-washing going on in some of these schools is disgusting, politics has no place in our Secondary schools. All the more reason for parents who have the option, to choose charter schools. I attended the first in Canada, the format is excellent for ensuring curriculum is followed, but with parental oversight.

Want a majority?

2008-10-18T13:48:00.002-04:00

A little prep work wouldn't be a bad thing... and here's just one Idea..

It's simple really; cut your own pay.

MPs are currently receiving $150,000, with ministers receiving an extra $72,000, plus a whole host of bonuses available for other positions such as whip, committee chair etc..

The average Canadian is making around $20.00/hr (roughly $41,000 Annually).

If the CPC were to propose right now a shift in the pay scale to about twice that average wage (lets say $85,000), this could play well in their favour. Table a bill to reduce your own wages during economic tough times... it's perfect.

Now, as part of this, also propose a bill(confidence motion preferably), that changes the way that MPs wages are determined. Start by setting them at an arbitrary number(whatever it is). Follow this by proposing that MPs salaries can only be changed by the electorate, during an election. Index the first number by inflation, so that the overall value does not decrease, but put the question of pay raises on the ballot during elections (limit the increase to something reasonable, several percentage points). Let the people decide how much they feel like paying their leaders.

One of the big advantages of this, is that it would bring the "politicians" down to the same level as every-day Canadians; it would also hold them accountable that much more, but most of all it would be a completely unexpected political move that would almost guarantee the CPC a majority in the next election(if they played it out properly). Take that cost savings from the reduction of salaries (lets assume $50,000 * 308 : $15 Million) and put it into a tax credit for Canadians.

Might not be the status-quo response, but it sure would ruffle some feathers, and it could very likely secure an almost guaranteed majority(and of course, its kind of a legacy thing as well). Extend this to the pay rate of Senators as well for an even bigger savings and political points. Being in the middle of an economic down-turn, this would be a perfect time to show that you do politics differently, that you are putting country above self - and I suspect Canadians would appreciate that.

Now, lets be clear; I understand why MPs get paid what they do currently - I don't disagree with the amount. But I also understand that they could get by just fine with less than they are receiving(plus they get their allowances, flights paid for). Even just proposing a bill that only Canadians could raise MPs wages would be a really good step for any politician looking to score some easy political points.

Of course, I don't expect this to happen... I mean, really, who's going to impose a pay cut on themselves, right?

Voter Fraud... where are the democrats??

2008-10-17T18:23:00.002-04:00

In 2000, and beyond all you hear from the left is how Gore should have won.. voter fraud this and voter fraud that. And now, in a stunning display of the left's undeniable excellence in the field of hypocrisy, they remain strangely silent as systemic voter fraud at the hands of a democrat-supported organization threatens election results across their country.

But today, the U.S. Supreme court rules that the Republican party did not have proper standing for their initial lawsuit.

Because of a technicality, widespread voter fraud could be rewarded.

If I were American, I would be pretty worried about my democracy..

In Canada, seemingly oblivious to the problems south of the border... some continue to whine about reasonable voting rules

Anyone surprised?

Disgusting.. just disgusting.

2008-10-17T17:50:00.004-04:00

The Chaffey Community Republican Women sent out this piece of filth, portraying it as legitimate commentary. It might have been so, had they excluded the watermelon, ribs and fried chicken(kool-aid, not so much). Possible replacements: ACORNs, soldiers surrendering?

It is crap like this that makes me shake my head toward - and it wouldn't be fair or appropriate to exclude this. We should condemn these people like we do when the left does something this ridiculous.

I am against obama but this is disgusting. Hang your heads in shame.

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner Video

2008-10-17T16:07:00.001-04:00

In Case you missed it: The roasts at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner. Very well done on both accounts. Elections need more moments like this... might make them a little more exciting.

Best moments of the election...

2008-10-15T01:03:00.004-04:00

My favourites:

1. Garth Turner - DEFEATED.

2. Stephane Dion Gets nasty with CTV

3. I've said it for years, but tonight NDP voters LITERALLY threw their votes away:

4. CTV acclaims it was spot on in its prediction of a minority ranging from 119 to 152 seats... Good work guys. Right...

The results were about what I had expected, and I must say I am rather indifferent about the result (neither excessively happy, nor horribly upset.) One must imagine that fellow blogger Jason Cherniak is feeling quite different after his leader's undeniable defeat. Elizabeth May and her greens defeated... shut out.

Although it surprises few of us in my riding, Brian McGarry was defeated by Paul Dewar, but not for lack of effort. Thank you Brian for running a fine campaign, a great showing in the debates, and representing our party very well in an area where there is not much sympathy for the conservative cause.

CCT Election predictions.. sort of

2008-10-14T18:14:00.002-04:00

This election is particularly hard to call.. With the vote being split so many ways, it takes a lot of time and effort to sift through all the numbers and come out with something coherent. I haven't done that (I've been just too busy I'm afraid).

What I can say is this:

I am certain that the CPC will pull out of this as the governing party. They will increase their number of seats, but not by any major stretch. The Liberals will likely lose several seats to the NDP, and the greens will be shut out, or left with only a single seat. The BQ will be strengthened slightly over the previous election.

I see the vote-split on the left as being the catalyst for the strengthening of the conservative party's seat count.

Let us hope that I am dead wrong, and a CPC majority will be the result.

Do you think its easy to do interviews?

2008-10-10T14:59:00.002-04:00

CCT expansion... anyone want to guest blog?

2008-10-08T22:41:00.002-04:00

I will be implementing an expansion of this blog in the coming month, including hosting and a full site (not just blog). I would be interested in taking on some additional help in blogging; and would like to hear from anyone who wants to discuss politics in a clear, concise, and respectful manner. I'll welcome bloggers from other blogs on a guest basis (cross-posting is not a problem with me, as long as it is done responsibly).

Guest bloggers and co-bloggers are welcome; send me an email if you are interested. Let me know what your "hot-button" issues are; if you have a particular focus, or broad-political commentary. Tell me a bit about yourself.

New: Become a fan of CCT on Facebook!

2008-10-08T22:38:00.002-04:00

If you have succumbed to the facebook fad, join me on my facebook page for Clear Conservative Thought, become a fan and receive updates through facebook, start a discussion, meet fellow CCT fans, make suggestions.

Join us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clear-Conservative-Thought/32874042273?ref=s

Almost put that mask on...

2008-10-08T19:41:00.003-04:00

Well, I upheld my civic duty and voted in the advance polls on Monday. I must say, I enjoy the option of voting early, I wasn't even intending on it but I happened to find myself at a venue that was acting as a polling station and thought why not.

It did prove to interfere with my intention to show up to the polling station wearing a rather sinister looking devil mask. Of course, voting day is about half a month early for Halloween, but you may recall that Elections Canada sent out a policy of interest to anyone choosing to wear "face coverings" for religious reasons.

It was my intention to protest the allowance of any face coverings in an election(I am certain they would have made me remove the mask), as I find it to be a grossly undemocratic policy(although a step in the right direction). I apologize to those who consider my viewpoint as "intolerance", it is anything but. I support any one's right to wear whatever they choose to during normal circumstances; this has everything to do with ensuring fair elections. It is not reasonable to have faces covered in a way that makes proving one's identity all but impossible, particularly when all it takes to vote is an oath, or an oath from another eligible voter.

The initial proposal of providing female workers to confirm identity for women was the strongest proposal I have heard thus far.

This issue is not at all about equality; it is about inequality for the rest of us who don't receive special rules. It provides a potentially unfair advantage to potential candidates at the worst, and at the best it provides the "perception" of unfair advantage.

How is Canada to maintain a strong democratic culture if we cannot even verify the identities of voters? Why must we bend over backwards for the convenience of a few, at potential expense of the many? We need the next government to stand up to the special interests, and make certain that unidentifiable voters are not allowed to vote.

Currently reading...

2008-10-08T19:36:00.003-04:00

Picked up "Stephen Harper and the future of Canada", started reading today. Enjoying what I've read so far, will follow up on completion.

** UPDATE **
Thanks to caz and matt in the comments section for their insight on the book:

caz said...
Wonderful book and should be a must for everyone. I just wish people could realize how complex, intelligent and committed to this country he is. What's happening now is very distressing to me given that most of it is based on lies. If anyone can triumph in spite of all this BS...it's Stephen Harper.

---

Matt said...
I second this book as a must read for anyone who wants to know about the Conservative Party today and it's leader. Who he is and where he came from, and how be brought together two parties that just a year earlier were at eachothers throats to form a single entity to take on the government of the time.Very insightful and very entertaining.

Elections Canada needs to be held responsible...

2008-10-03T14:42:00.003-04:00

H/T: Christian Conservative

Link

"
Elections Canada, admits an official from Elections Canada in Ottawa did tell the Liberals to take down the sign — something that should not have happened. He said Elections Canada has apologized.
"

Well I'm sorry Elections Canada, but this is apology is just not acceptable. This is but another in a long line of assaults on the Conservative Party's democratic rights. Elections Canada should not be telling party officials to remove signs, they should be investigating these things, and only then should they be instructing anyone to remove them.

It is utterly disgusting that Elections Canada failed to perform their duties and uphold the principles of a fair and equitable election in this region.

Honestly, I can't say I really blame Mark O’Halloran, or the Liberals for this fowl-up. It was an honest mistake on their part(and probably a good lesson). It would be wrong for us to jump down their throats, when the true source of this is Elections Canada.

It is only because O'Halloran was seen removing the signs that this even came to light. It does make one wonder if this has happened in other areas, without anyone knowing about it.

If I were a more litigious sort, I would suggest the CPC pursue legal action, but either way, I think the CPC majority should revamp and clean up Elections Canada, and level the playing field for ALL parties.

plagiarism non-story

2008-09-30T23:49:00.003-04:00

You know it's a bad day on the Liberal campaign when the best thing you can find to attack the CPC on is a speech read by Stephen Harper FIVE years ago, when he was leader of the Canadian Alliance. Prior to the CPC defeat in 2004, and their victory in 2006.

It's pretty bad that it happened, but the staffer resigned, the story is over - lets move on to something important. Party leaders don't write their own speeches, and anyone who thinks they do is deluding themselves.

Pretty sad that it took the Liberals 5 years to find this non-story.

Grasping at straws that aren't there I would say.

On the US bailout failure..

2008-09-29T16:27:00.004-04:00

You know, this whole fiasco is very interesting... And quite likely completely avoidable. This bill has been touted with the "gloom and doom" scenarios. One has to wonder what the impact would have been had the President not been thrown into a fit of fear by his colleagues in the fed. The market losses were quite modest initially, and it wasn't until the rhetoric really began to fly that the losses became significant.

There is a very valid question: will this plan even have the intended impact? Perhaps this will just be another band-aid solution that will have little to no effect in the long-run. This bickering back and forth is simply just making investors more edgy.

Perhaps this is a lesson for the next President: Don't become terrified and get on Television and decry the end of the American economy - He may have inadvertently made this situation much worse than it would have been otherwise.

On the Canadian Economy... PT. 2

2008-09-29T16:04:00.002-04:00

In my last entry, I discussed the importance of corporate tax cuts in maintaining a strong and stable economy. As promised, the second installment will focus on another key area; personal tax reduction.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that Canada is addicted to over-taxation, our seemingly non-stop desire to give ever more of our hard-earned money to the tax-man is posing a serious risk to the prosperity we take for granted. While our corporate taxation needs to be lowered, of equal importance is a reduction in personal tax rates. This is one area where I feel our current government needs to improve on.

While I enjoy the modest return from the reduction in the GST, it must be noted that this simple and small tax cut is hardly anything close to what Canada needs. Even the various “tax credits” that have been provided to niche voters in order to attempt to appease various groups are hardly helpful to most Canadians. The worst part of these credit schemes is that Canadians are still having their money taken out of their pockets up-front, and are forced to wait for the returns. Now, this is fine for those in the upper-middle classes and above, but it is hardly helpful for those below, many of which would be the first to feel the pinch of economic slow-down.

A fair cut in the income tax to all brackets would be an ideal solution for maintaining liquidity, as well as increase corporate profitability (and with it corporate tax revenue). Canadians who are able to keep more of their paycheques will have more money to spend on Canadian products and services. Personally, I would suggest a similar plan as the corporate rate cuts, a progressive reduction in the overall rate year-by-year. By reducing the income tax on all brackets by .5% yearly, for the next 2 years, followed by a single percentage drop for the following 8, we could reduce our personal tax rates by 9% without massively disrupting social services.

Consumption taxes should also see continued reduction, and downloading to provincial entities. This should be done relatively rapidly; 1% yearly for 5 years in the third year of implementation of the personal income taxes. The elimination of the GST would allow provinces who choose to run spend-heavy budgets the opportunity of collecting additional revenues through their own citizens.

These personal tax rate reductions will serve to increase the amount of money in the marketplace, without the negative effects of inflation. They will serve to help consumer confidence increase overall. And, these tax cuts would provide hope for those in the lower income brackets; reasons to continue working and spending. Much like the corporate tax cuts discussed earlier, this policy would also assist in keeping many more people employed, and would improve the lives of all Canadians. The massive cost of these cuts will mean that a good deal of downloading to provincial authorities will need to take place. I will tackle program cuts in my next segment.

On the Canadian Economy...

2008-09-26T14:28:00.004-04:00

With all the turmoil in American markets, and questions as to whether the United States government will be stepping in with an unprecedented $700Billion "bailout" package, the question in recent days has turned to what we will need to do with our economy.

The rhetoric from the NDP and Liberals has focused on the "failure" of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives to reign in the economy, and suggestions that his tax policy has put Canada's economic system at risk. The Conservatives have said that the economy is at risk due to the down-turn on the U.S. side, but that the system is strong and we will be able to weather it.

I would tend to agree with the Prime Minister's assertion of the situation, but I do think that we need to act in order to help our economy maintain its strength. We can do this in a number of ways, and to outline what my entire strategy would be, I will be writing about this topic in several segments. The first of these segments will be a quick discussion on corporate tax policy - where we are, and where we need to be going.

At a time like this, the vulnerabilities of Canadian businesses become even more pronounced. With a down-turn in the American economy, Canadian businesses will be hit by reduced demand from south of the border. This effects all business, not just those who export to the United States. Although those who export may experience the worst of the problems, it is important to remember that those businesses rely on other Canadian products and services to complete their tasks, and any reduction in demand for these products or services has an effect throughout the economy.

Due to the circular nature of economy, it is incumbent upon the leadership of the country and provinces to provide assistance to businesses in any way possible, to help them through these tough times. Now, many would suggest that we need to focus on individuals through our social safety net - I completely disagree. Now is the absolute worst time to make citizens more reliant on the government, it is the time to invigorate the marketplace by making business more competitive, and leaving tax payers with more money to invest into business (either through purchasing products/services, or investment).

It is at this stage that I must applaud the current Government's decision as part of the October 2007 Economic Statement, to lower the corporate income tax rate to 15.0% by 2012, providing Canada with the lowest tax rate in the G7 by the time of completion.

These tax reductions allow Canada to remain an economic powerhouse, indeed helping our nation to pull itself to the top of places where businesses want to invest. By reducing the costs on businesses to operate in our nation, we make it more attractive, provide increased liquidity, and create additional jobs(as a consequence of the reduced costs and potential increased revenues resulting from lower costs/prices).

It is interesting to note that Ontario is experiencing some more severe problems in its economy, and some are even speculating that it may lose it's "have" status in the coming years. Saskatchewan, on the other hand, is pulling itself from the grip of equalization, and is breaking in to "have" territory.

When one examines the corporate tax rates of these two provinces, it is interesting to note the difference, particularly when considering the status changes in their equalization arrangement. Even by drilling down the numbers to small business and manufacturing, Saskatchewan's level of taxation is significantly lower, while Ontario remains stagnant.

Ontario Tax Rates

Saskatchewan Tax Rates

I would suggest to the McGuinty government that it is time they seriously consider removing the barriers to business in this province. It is not unreasonable to look at tax reductions as excellent ways to improve overall government tax revenues. With increasingly competitive tax policy, more jobs will be created. This will reduce the burden of the social safety net, increase the overall taxation on both income and consumption, and increase the overall amount of business-related revenues that can in turn be taxed.

Let us use a rather simple equation to look at the fundamentals of this:

Company A has base revenues of $3,000,000. Under the current system, the Ontario Government is collecting 14.12% of this $3,000,000, equalling $423,600. Imagine for a moment that a tax cut of 2.12% were implemented(matching Saskatchewan's current rate). The government would directly collect $360,000, a difference of $63,600. If this were translated into employing a single person, at $60,000 annually(and utilizing the other $3,600 for cost-savings, infrastructure investments, dividends etc...), the initial tax recovery would be $4,281 on income taxes alone(in addition to $8,541 collected federally, which could potentially be downloaded to provinces). Combine this with lets say $6,000 annually($500.00 monthly) in taxable products and services @ 8% PST, $480.00 would be recovered here as well. At this stage, we can see the recovery of almost $5,000 from just the initial employment opportunity(and the reduction in cost of unemployment). Of course, that person has gone and spent that money on additional products and services, thus helping to:

a. retain jobs at those companies providing products and services.

b. increase taxable revenue on companies where products or services were purchased

c. potentially create additional jobs as companies have increased revenues

d. potentially increase pay rates of employees affected by increase in spending, raising revenues collected from personal taxes.

e. potentially create new markets, or increase competitiveness in markets, keeping consumer confidence high.

Of course, this may reduce the government budget in the short term, but the overall effect is likely to result in an up-turn in business, creation of jobs, reduction of cost of living, increased tax revenues, and improvements in the lives of those from the bottom of the economic system to those at the top. When business does well, Canada does well. If we cave in to demands from the left to increase taxes on corporations we will all find ourselves worrying about our futures. We will see businesses that are less willing to open-shop in Canada, and you can bet that will hit the little guys before it impacts those at the top. Let's keep the market strong by staying on track when it comes to corporate tax cuts... and Mr. McGuinty, please swallow your pride for a couple minutes and give Ontario residents a chance - cut the corporate tax rates. Or perhaps Mr. McGuinty wants to have the "honour" of being the premier that ushered in the "have-not" era.

Reminder: DemocraticSpace

2008-09-23T15:08:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder to everyone, DemocraticSpace is up and running for this federal election. I have joined on as the blogger for Ottawa-Center, but there are many many more bloggers writing for this election. Head on over and check out the talent!

And just when you thought these losers couldn't go any farther...

2008-09-17T18:14:00.002-04:00

They hack a Vice Presidential candidate's personal email account and post it for the world to see.

I'm not overly surprised that it was done, but there are entirely too many people condoning this action..

As someone who has had my hotmail hi-jacked, I must say I hope they lock whoever did this up. Oh, and I hope they nail every person that logged onto it up as well, as they also knowingly violated her privacy.

And yet, I take some comfort in knowing that this will just propel her to the front pages once again and likely drive soft-left voters away from Obama. It's the law of unintended consequences.

Climate Change postponed?

2008-09-16T20:10:00.004-04:00

New word today that Climate Change may in fact be postponed for a period of up to 10 years.

Natural cooling for the next up to a decade's time may cause temperatures to remain stable. Interesting...

All the while, we're expected to sit here and swallow this GHG-Driven furnace theory for the next 10 years while we wait to find out?

In other news... No new record for Arctic sea Ice

Hmmm...

2008-09-12T14:43:00.002-04:00

I think there will be a whole lot of "told ya so"
Goin' around..

"
Now that Green Leader Elizabeth May has locked up a spot in the leaders' debates, the Animal Alliance Environment Voters party wants in.

Parties from the margins of Canada's political spectrum are celebrating May's flight from the fringe to the front line of federal politics.

They're also clamouring for a place of their own at the big podium
"

Quick intro

2008-09-12T14:36:00.002-04:00

To:

From sea to sea to sea : Blogging Conservatives

A blog by Immanuel Giulea (my supplier of fresh facebook political news). And he usually has some good things to say!

He's also looking for partners to help him in his blogging....

Check it out!

Time for a change in the way we do things?

2008-09-12T11:34:00.002-04:00

I've been mulling over the differences between Canadian and American politics lately, likely due to the parallel elections. Although I have always preferred the Canadian style, as well as the reduced tendency toward elitist candidates, I think we might be wise to consider changing our system in one important way.

I admire the United States' Two-term policy. I think that Canada may be well served to have legislation such as this. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Stephen Harper (or any other politician for that matter) may find themselves at an advantage if they proposed this type of legislation.

A policy platform such as this would do two things: First, it would make the proposing party appear as if it did not simply want power; that they wanted to make our democratic system fundamentally stronger. Second, it could open the door to more conversation on Elected Senates, and the return of provincial powers to the provinces.

I think Stephen Harper would be well served in this election to talk about these two issues in detail. Most Canadians I have spoken with agree that we should have an elected senate(or none at all), and the concept of returning provincial autonomy is also a great talking point for national unity. The two main separatist movements in this country are in Alberta and Quebec - both want more autonomy.

Instead of tossing around cheap-shots(which has proven to be dangerous in the past, and has already created some "gaffes" for the CPC), I think it is time to attack Dion on a policy level. Tell Canadians that the CPC wants an elected Senate - tell them that they want the provinces to be able to make more of their own decisions, without having to crawl to the feds for money.

Explain that the Federal government needs to reduce its tax burden on Canadians, in order to allow the provinces to make their own decisions on funding levels for things like Education and Health care. In a nation that is split by regional political ideology, it only makes sense to have the local governments calling the shots.

That is the Canada that Canadians want... they're just waiting for someone to suggest it.

Election 2008

2008-09-10T18:18:00.003-04:00

So, the election has been official for the past several days, and I have decided to compile some thoughts and observations about the race thus far.

We have all seen the early polls, most showing the CPC with a pretty healthy lead over the Liberals. Of course, this is promising news, but we must remember that there is still time to lose this election, and complacency will not be helping anyone. The first "gaffe" of the election occurred because of a smear-site gone too far.. Now, lets be honest, the bird thing really wasn't that big of a deal. However, we must remember that tasteful ads are much more effective than simple harsh attacks on the opposition, and the Conservatives cannot afford these types of mistakes.

Stephane Dion has been all over the news, speaking here and speaking there. I would like to see Stephen Harper take a similar approach to the last election; and I think we will see that near the end of the election... timing will be essential to the success or failure of such a strategy. Of course, it will be more difficult this time around, as Harper will need to shift a lot of focus on to what has already been achieved, while Dion can go red in the face with promises.

There are several things that I see at stake in this election. We have Stephane Dion proposing what I would suggest is a very dangerous policy of carbon taxation. Interestingly, the plan doesn't tackle one of the main causes, gasoline, but instead targets other sources such as coal and natural gas. I find this to be a particularly interesting choice, as most Canadians will lack real choice when it comes to these two. Coal is a primary source of electricity in many parts of this country, and natural gas a primary source of heat in the winter. I wonder how Mr. Dion expects average Canadians to reduce their usage of Natural Gas... do we shut off our heat in the dead of winter? Obviously, we cannot do that. So what will happen is that most Canadians will be stuck paying for this tax grab without any concrete reductions in these areas.

But I've overlooked one obvious way that the plan can reduce emissions of GHGs - It can cause businesses, overburdened by taxation and a shaky economy to go out of business, hence ceasing all GHG emissions.

But if we look at this plan even closer, we can see what this really is... yet another socialist wealth-redistribution system. According to thegreenshift.ca (no, not greenshift.ca , you may remember the name theft scandal from before )

"By the fourth year of our plan, we expect that a family with two children and a combined income of $20,000 will save almost $2,500; a family with two children earning $40,000 a year will save nearly $2,000; a family with two children earning $60,000 will save over $1,300, as will a family earning $80,000."

That is very interesting indeed. Yet another take from the successful and give to the unsuccessful. As someone who is far from the top-bracket, it is rather insulting to have these handouts, paid for by people who have worked long and hard to get to where they are. Moreover, the difference in these savings is absolutely outstanding. Essentially, 12% Savings for the lowest bracket, 5% for the middle, 2% and 1.6% respectively for the final two. But, of course it is difficult to determine just how much this carbon tax will end up costing Canadians.

It is easy to say that the tax will be "revenue neutral" - Just give Canadians the money back that is collected. The worst part about this wording is that while it may be accurate, it distorts the real issue of this tax. The issue being of course, that the cost of everything that in some way relies on these sources of GHGs will be inflated. This will raise the cost of living across the board, meaning that even if some Canadians do end up "benefiting" from this, the majority will likely find life just a little bit harder to live.

One of the reason's I feel that the GST is so hated, is because it affects consumers right away; it takes money away from them initially, even if some may get back a lot of it. How are those in the lower tax brackets(those who Dion will be giving the most back to) supposed to feel about everything costing more, and having to wait until tax time to get that money that they really could have used when they had it initially? Is that what Mr. Dion calls sticking up for families? Is that how he proposes to reduce poverty? Is this robin-hood plan really going to help those at the bottom Mr. Dion? Of course it's not. So the story, at the end of the day, is yet another socialist wealth redistribution scheme that will not solve any environmental problems, nor will it be effective for reducing the situation of those at the bottom of the totem pole. It could have disastrous consequences for those near the cusp of poverty, and it certainly won't help anyone at the other side of the scale.

Mr. Dion has also proposed strengthened gun legislation. There was a time only a couple of years ago where I might have agreed with Dion about this. Those days are far behind me, as I understand how ridiculous it is to make law-abiding gun owners into criminals through ridiculous fear-based policies on gun control. Removing guns from these legitimate gun owners will neither reduce gun crime, nor the ability to acquire illegal weapons. This is not a strategy, it is a knee-jerk reaction that may even lead to more gun-related crime, but almost certainly to more property crimes. Even more disturbing is the fact that Mr. Dion is running for the leadership of this nation and he doesn't seem to fully understand the current gun control system in place.

Mr. Dion has promised increased spending on food safety, an doubling of the child-care tax credit. All the while, he promises to return us to the day of over-taxation and large surpluses. I would like to know where he plans on getting the money to do these things and get us running big surpluses again (I'm still not really certain why he thinks large surpluses are good things). Further, Dion has been very vocal about the child-care tax credit not being a "real solution" and that there needs to be a nation-wide strategy for child care space generation. Is he flip-flopping on this? Or has he just seen the light?

One way or another, this election is going to end one of these leaders' careers. It poses a danger to those of all the leaders, for if any of them take losses, there could be significant backlash from their parties. Indeed this election is the Conservative's to lose... let's make sure they don't.

Afghanistan and 2011

2008-09-10T18:03:00.002-04:00

I've seen many mixed reactions about the announcement today that Canada will be pulling out of Afghanistan at the end of the current mandate in 2011. Some have gone as far as to say that this may cause them to change their vote. I found myself wondering about the intelligence in this decision.

After much consideration, I think that this announcement makes more sense than it may initially seem.

The Taliban can hardly get excited and go in to hiding for the next three years on the word that Canada will be exiting Afghanistan in 2011. In all reality, they would not be able to do so, lest the Afghan security forces start to become better trained and more effective. That being said, if we are to remain in Afghanistan for combative purposes beyond 2011, it will be indicative of a war that will likely drag on indefinitely. A decade is a long time to be at what is essentially a civil war; and if in the next three years no real progress has been achieved, or if we cannot have the Afghan's running their own show, I'm not so certain we should continue to work toward that goal.

While I would prefer we stay until the job is done, I also have to say that sometimes that just may not be all that reasonable. At what point do we have to look at the situation and ask ourselves just how committed are these people to having a democracy, and more importantly, a stable governance?

To be frank, I feel that 2011 is a more than reasonable target for withdrawal of troops from combat action; I think we will have a better understanding of what the situation is in that country, and from the looks of it the US will be beefing up their troop counts shortly. Are our 3000 soldiers really going to break the back of the International forces? Hardly. Although not to understate the value they have been, the coalition will be able to operate without us I am sure.

From a political strategy viewpoint, this is a rather bold move. On one hand, Stephen Harper manages to remove some of the "warmonger" stigma that has been unfairly placed on him. On the other hand, he does risk alienating some of those in the base. I would hope that those questioning their vote can see the many other reasons to vote for the CPC - certainly if Afghanistan is their major concern, the CPC is still by far the best choice of the parties.

Dion and Guns

2008-09-08T14:26:00.003-04:00

Stephane Dion was on the road today, taking jabs at the CPC on gun control. In a deja-vu moment, Dion proposes that we make weapons that are designed with only killing in mind illegal.

I remember this whole situation in 2006, where Martin made the mistake of suggesting banning handguns... all the while ignoring the fact that they are pretty close to being banned as it is. These types of weapons are known as restricted. Some, may already be on the prohibited list. This smoke-and-mirrors long-shot didn't work for Martin... and he was a lot better at this game than Dion is.

So what Dion is showing us: Same lousy Liberal policies, weaker leader. Just what Canada needs.

Other news, Stephane Dion claims to have a hearing problem... Doesn't know what it is called, but he has a hard time hearing when there are many noises. Not certain why this even came up... don't know who cares... but it was an interesting distraction so that he could avoid any hard questions.

And I am reminded once again why I prefer Canadian politics to American politics. Our races always seem to have a lot more to do with policy than I find those in the States are.

DL Hughley and Jesse Ventura

2008-09-03T17:01:00.004-04:00

Well, I was pretty angry when I witnessed the disgusting retorts from these two clowns on CNN last night, and I think these two are only deserving of more criticism.

First and foremost, the topic of discussion was the "Country First" signs that were being displayed all over the republican convention floor. I think that these two men should first understand what the slogan stands for - something that really I think it was appropriate to assume that anyone over the age of say 5 could understand.

"Country First" is about serving the greater good of your country and countrymen as opposed to looking out for simply yourself. What it is describing in particular is the need for leadership that puts their country before their individual greatness. This is particularly compelling coming from the leadership on the republican side, as their ticket is made up of two individuals who have both demonstrated their dedication to this principle. This isn't some nationalism theme, as these two would have you believe.

DL's arguments were completely ridiculous, something you would expect from a "celebrity". At another point in the segment, he omitted black voters voting for Obama, instead choosing to attack white voters who wouldn't vote for Obama because of the colour of his skin. He tried to use this to argue that race would play a factor in the race. It is a valid point, but we all know that he omitted that very obvious factor and after the Nazi comment, we know why.

Ventura is hardly worth talking about. A complete failure at governing a state, he is hardly worthy of laying down his ideas on Gov. Palin's ability to lead. His record on life is not that much better, and his post-governorship days have seen him becoming increasingly crazy - perhaps a result of all the steroids he took as a wrestler? I'm sorry Ventura but I don't think too many people are willing to accept leadership advice from a man who can't lead a state, or moral advice from a man who broke drug laws to further his career. No wonder you can't comprehend the "Nation First" statement, you've been too busy enjoying the sound of your own voice to ever consider doing something worthwhile for your country.

These two are a complete waste of time, but the downside is that these people said this in front of potentially millions of viewers. This is all too typical of the "angry left", and CNN using these two to paint the nazi flag on the Republicans will likely have little real impact.

These are the types of comments that I consider out-of-bounds in our modern democratic society. Likening someone to a dictator, murderer, or the like is completely inappropriate. It's pathetic, and it definitely underlines your inability to come up with any real arguments. Moreover, it damages the very spirit in which democracy stands. These are elections, mud gets slung, but how are we to ever get the real story as voters if we keep getting the feces that jokers like this are throwing, in our eyes?

I could easily respond with similar or worse comparisons of these two men... But I think that those I'd be comparing them to deserve a little more respect than either of these two clowns.

Wow... that is pretty disgusting

2008-09-03T00:23:00.003-04:00

Was channel flipping, came across the CNN "democrats respond to the Republican Convention" coverage...

Just in time to see Jesse Ventura comparing the Republicans to Nazi's... specifically that they are taking their points from herman goering. Then, some other idiot sits there, agreeing and says that his first impression was that they looked like Nazi's!

Is that what your party considers responsible criticism!? If you ask me, that's the very hate and fear-mongering that the left has claimed the American people have been victims of for the past 8 years.

Right...

Shame on you both for being so shallow, close-minded, and downright stupid.

Will follow up with clip as soon as I can get one.

** UPDATE**
Transcript HERE
:
"
KING: Yes, wasn't that surprising, Jesse, even though you didn't see it, that the theme was "we're the patriots"?
VENTURA: Well, you know, the Republicans have been pushing really Hermann Goering on us, the Nazi, since 2001. I mean, you know...
KING: Hermann Goering?
VENTURA: Yes. He said that it's easy to take a country to war. You have to convince them they're under attack. Denounce the pacifist for being unpatriotic and also for putting the country into danger. And yet, Thomas Jefferson said dissension is the greatest form of patriotism.
I like to follow the teachings of Thomas Jefferson a little bit more than Herman Goering.
KING: D.L., are you...
HUGHLEY: To follow...
KING: I'm sorry.
HUGHLEY: To follow up on what Jesse was saying, it did remind me -- I promise you, the first thing I thought when I saw those "Country First" signs, it reminded me of Nazis. It really -- I mean they just seemed so, you know -- that seemed to be a country that I don't recognize.
"

And more qualified people...

2008-09-02T12:02:00.005-04:00

Cute kid... being exploited by his parents. Of course, if you talk to these people, they would probably assume this young man voted for Obama in the primaries.

Criminals and children... Change you can believe in.

And the room just got a lot stupider...

2008-09-02T11:38:00.005-04:00

Diddy entered..

This is not work/children safe

A sad and pathetic display. A man who knows absolutely nothing about the issues rants about John McCain while propping up his buddy Obama. Promotes caring about "Black issues" and "youth issues". Sorry Combs; you're only one of those things anymore.

Expresses his concern about the state of Alaska: There is no Crime in Alaska? There are no crackheads in Alaska? There are no black people in Alaska?

Crackheads!? Seriously? And FYI - there is crime, and there are black people.

The most terrifying thing about this is(other than the colossal waste of time) that there are people out there who are stupid enough to actually take this man seriously. There are some who will vote Obama just because this idiot told them to. I mean the man should have some respect for his position...

then again, he doesn't have respect for the law, for women, or for the English language.. I guess we shouldn't be expecting much.

Stick to music Diddy... at least you are half-decent at that (had to be generous at least once in all this)

Whats with the polling around here??

2008-09-02T09:17:00.004-04:00

A couple of new polls have come out in the last couple days suggesting that the conservatives have quite the lead on the Liberals. One such poll was conducted by the Strategic Counsel for CTV and the Globe and Mail. This poll has put the CPC at 37% of the popular vote. A similar poll taken last week by Ipsos Reid had the number for the CPC at 33%, suggesting a near tie with the Liberals. Yet another poll by Nanos Research shows the Liberal number at 35%, while the CPC sit at 33%.

All these polls released within about a weeks time. Of course, it is of little doubt to me that this is a further indication that polls can't tell you much for close races. About the only time they are is when one party is significantly in the lead compared to another.

Of course, one has to wonder how exactly these firms can all come up with such vastly different numbers...

Time will tell...

**Update**

Angus-Reid - CPC 36%

Balanced? Media?

2008-09-02T08:58:00.002-04:00

What?

The thought of a balanced media in this country might just be a little too much to ask. From day to day we are bombarded with leftist-drivel disguised as journalism(albeit not very well). Perhaps this is all just natural; after all, I suppose those who are involved the in the arts are generally more "progressive". Of course, to me it seems that in 2004/2006 there was nothing "progressive" about fighting against change in our parliament... seems rather regressive to me.

I have been watching the media pretty closely for signs of this bias through the coverage of the Democratic and Republican conventions. CTV for example; Try a search for Republican Convention. Now One for Democratic Convention. Notice the difference?

But it is far deeper than simply a number on a search engine, it goes down to the programming on Television, and the makeup of their website. During the Democratic convention, the stories were taking a lot of attention; dedicated areas explained who was going to be speaking and what they expected to see. The media love-in with Obama was self evident, but when it comes time for the Republican convention this kind of attention is nowhere to be seen.

This kind of single-sided coverage of events is not good for us as a nation, or as a greater society. If we continue to get just one view of the world we will inevitably miss the greater picture; mistakes will be made. Worst, many citizens of this country could simply care less.

I don't know, I don't like it when I only get part of the story... but maybe that's just me.

Again with the Blockades...

2008-09-02T00:05:00.007-04:00

Here we go again!
"Native protesters blocked a main road in the town of Caledonia, Ont., for much of the day yesterday after three people were arrested for mischief in nearby Brantford. Non-native residents of Caledonia staged their own counterprotest later in the day, blocking the same road.

Ontario Provincial Police officers were quickly called to the scene, and spent several hours negotiating with the protesters, who removed their barricade in the early afternoon. OPP Constable Larry Plummer said the natives “got their point across.” "

hmmm... ok...

"The counterprotest by non-native Caledonia residents was broken up by police by 6 p.m. One person was arrested and charged as a young offender with mischief and resisting arrest. "

Again we see the two-tier justice system in Canada at work - The protesters who initially RAN A BARRICADE across a road were "negotiated with". The non-native RESIDENTS of the city... broken up by police. One non-native was arrested for pulling a six nations flag off of a car - no further details on that so far. Probably could have avoided it all had they just gone in and dismantled the original barricade...

Why is it that the O.P.P. is so mired in political correctness that they are neglecting their primary duty of upholding the law? I mean.. seems a little dangerous to just allow these people to block a busy highway, effectively sieging a small town. Plus you might get someone who just decides to drive right on through...

Just once I'd like to see someone arrested for these crimes. God knows if it were me and some buddies out there protesting government stealing my money in form of excessive taxation(or a green shaft if you will) we'd all be spending at the least a night in lock-up. It's a sad day when the citizens of Caledonia have to once again realize that in the eyes of the O.P.P. they just are not that important. Go figure.

Palin's 17-Yr old Daughter Pregnant

2008-09-01T14:30:00.001-04:00

LINK

And we're all waiting for the attacks from the left...

Those Lefties and their Foot-in-mouth Syndrome

2008-09-01T13:13:00.003-04:00

Or is it brain in $%& ?

Well, I am used to seeing ridiculous and nonsensical statements from the left, but only rarely do I get confirmation that there is indeed a god by the rhetorical delinquency provided by some of those on the left.

We start with incredible accusations from those over at the kos: Palin's faked "pregnancy"? Covering for teen daughter?

Throw in a dash of Alan Colmes

And you have yerself a good ole' fashion woman bashing! Courtesy: the "progressive" Left.
I can't believe that some of these idiots were actually capable of writing these things. First, they are hardly important issues, but secondly, they are pretty sleazy comments to level at a woman who is raising children who, by every indication, are perfectly normal.

Then again, how can you expect any less from people who make fun of McCain's age(there was a time when age was revered you know... when the elderly were respected for their wisdom and knowledge; or simply for having put up with life for so long... then again I suppose it was easier back then, not as many idiots to ruin your day) and you can't forget people who get their morning laughs from a Hurricane: Michael Moore and Don Fowler

People who have no real argument so they rely on cheap shots, and comparison's to George Bush. You know, there is a famous 20th Century leader I could easily make an Obama comparison with, a socialist of sorts with great charisma who could also work a crowd into an almost religious fervor. Of course, I understand that Obama is in fact NOT that man - he is an individual with his own set of ideals and his own plan. I may see that plan for what it is; terrible, misinformed and misguided. But I do respect the man enough to give him the credit for his horrible ideas - those are fully his own.

And although I've been sitting around spending my money on Beer and Popcorn, I can still see the hypocrisy at play when I am being told by the left that I need to be more compassionate, more understanding, less offensive and even half as caring as they are. Oh, wouldn't that be a day...

America: Look at Canada before you take the bait!

2008-08-31T22:40:00.002-04:00

We have all heard Obama's speech by now; all seen the "god-like" status he has obtained. We have all seen him promise one thing after another(although few of us have heard any specifics). Among those things are things that Canadians "enjoy". Things like Free Healthcare...

Free healthcare... you know, that thing that Liberals have told us makes Canada what it is.
That thing that runs so efficiently, that Canadians need not travel elsewhere for service. Certainly there are never any problems with our wonderful and free health care. All at an extremely affordable rate.

Maybe Obama wants to take some more hints from the Liberals up here in Canada on how to run the country. Certainly hard to compete with the "Brown paper envelope and Dollar Sign Bag" Boom of the early 2000's.

Could it be!?

2008-08-31T18:52:00.002-04:00

Buzz Hargrove is retiring! Without a doubt we will have to listen to this squawk-box for the next several years as opinion-hungry journalists seek his(as if it is of any importance). But to finally have Buzz out of the way is something I am quite happy to see. Maybe the Union will be run a little better... but that's probably a little too much to ask ;)

Enjoy your retirement Buzz... We certainly will.

McCain-Palin so far.. and other tidbits

2008-08-30T23:18:00.003-04:00

Looks like it may not have been such a bad choice after all . . .

Some Clinton-ites (H/T SDA)

On Facebook? Join us and show your dislike for Obama and his Anti-Canada policies: HERE (Canadians against Barack Obama)

We Will Not Be Silenced - A documentary About voter fraud in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries (what's with these democrats and vote tampering!?)

Things are looking interesting in this race. The spectre of Obama bringing his hidden agenda to the forefront is starting to fade. Lets all hope things keep swaying in the McCain-Palin Direction.

On the home-front:

Looks like another election is on the way up here! And here I thought Christmas came only once a year... This year Santa's wearing blue and comin' down the chimney with a big can o' whup *%# for Stephane Dion and his hive of scum and villainy . . . i mean Liberal Party of Canada. This ought to be fun.

On Gov. Palin...

2008-08-29T13:24:00.002-04:00

John McCain has chosen Gov. Palin as his running mate in the 2008 Presidential race. She is a little-known Governor from Alaska, a tough woman who has a record of standing up for what is right and ruffling a few feathers while she's at it.

I think that McCain made a wise decision in his pick. There is the obvious advantage of having a woman on the ticket to try to sway some of those Clinton supporters, but there is also a big advantage in having a seemingly middle-class candidate on-side. I think what we are going to see from the Republicans is a big shift to sway the center and the weak democrats by advocating "reaching across party lines".

The strategy is a good one, hopefully we will see it pay off. As a Canadian, the spectre of having Obama and his protectionist agenda in the white house makes me quite uncomfortable. We've already seen Obama come out against NAFTA(and then it was political posturing, then it was for real... etc..), while McCain has suggested that any changes cannot be unilateral.

After the last few days; the Democrat's over-the-top convention and this announcement by McCain I am definitely supporting McCain. I like McCain, he's even-handed, experienced and has a good sense of how this world should run. Then there's Obama and his elusive hidden agenda; how Americans can take him seriously is beyond me.

Bringing down the house..

2008-08-26T16:25:00.005-04:00

Last night I took a trip over to my local watering-hole with some friends and former colleagues. While we were there we got into a conversation, as we normally do, about the state of Canadian politics. One topic within that we spoke of was the "looming" election. Although I don't really think that there is an election in the works, I did think of one outstanding way to ensure the collapse of the current parliament with minimal backlash, and in a way that would make Stephane Dion and his Liberal party take a stand or get out of town.

I would suggest a confidence motion on a piece of legislation that bars governments from introducing any carbon-tax legislation. The Conservatives can position this in the light that they are protecting Canadians from raising taxes, and at the same time they will be forcing Dion to take a stand on his controversial Carbon taxation plan.

Moreover, the NDP will be backed into a corner of sorts, as they have come out against carbon taxation on several occasions.

Should this law pass, then Stephane Dion will also be forced to explain that he is going to get rid of the law, despite the fact that a majority of parliament voted for it, should he win the PM position.

The fact that both the Conservatives and the NDP voted against carbon taxation would be a huge boon to the Conservative cause, as the NDP is largely seen as one of the bigger forces on the environment in this country. Should the NDP abstain or vote against the bill, then they would be throwing their own position on the matter into question - something that the Conservatives could also jump on (and something that could potentially force an election).

Of course, lets be quite clear here... The only party that I believe genuinely wants an election is the Conservatives. The Conservatives have a strong leader, with plenty of election experience, and a strong record of keeping his word to voters. He has reduced taxes, and is fighting the introduction of more; and despite what the polls say, I've seen a lot of one-time Liberals come out and say they will vote for him in any upcoming election. Overall, the opinion of harper has only gotten better, he's seen by most of Canada as the best leader for the country, and its only the far left and partisan hacks who refer to him as the "devil" or something equally as asinine.

The Liberal party on the other hand has several reasons to avoid an election at all costs. The first and most obvious is the poor leadership from Stephane Dion. Indeed, perhaps this is more about being labeled before he had a chance to label himself (as has been done to previous conservative leaders; See Stockwell Day and Stephen Harper). The party finances are in complete shambles, and one has to wonder if they even have the fiscal capacity to run an effective election campaign. The loss of new candidates, the lingering effects of Adscam, and further elections Canada "gifts" of loose and quite frankly unethical repayment terms can also cause a lot of problems for the Liberals. And of course most Canadians, even strong Liberal supporters, are questioning Stephane Dion's ability to make smart decisions, and lead our country through tough times, global strife, and even the day-to-day of governance.

The NDP are not in any major position to want or not want an election. As it stands the poll numbers aren't anything to be overly excited about, although in general it looks as they have retained much of the Liberal population that defected from the Adscam affair. With the greens having been relatively quiet in the last while, they might be cautiously optimistic that they can bring back some of the environmentally conscious voters. Overall, the NDP has nothing to either worry about, nor be excited about.

The Bloc should be very concerned about another election; they have a weakened PQ in Quebec, and a very aggressive Conservative party trying to breathe new life into their positions in Quebec. They took a big hit in the last election, and it doesn't appear that much of that will change in another election. Following a period of many Quebec-friendly announcements, and the promise by the PM to give Quebec more autonomy, it would not be surprising to see many Quebecers wondering about the relevance of their regional party. Further, the lack of any major accomplishments in this parliament on the side of the Bloc may make them appear that much more irrelevant.

Overall, the timing for the Conservatives may be nice; but I think that it may be difficult, even if they can engineer their own defeat, to run an election that Canadians will feel is largely the fault of Stephen Harper. Poor media coverage over this issue has put the light square on the PM, and although he does provide compelling arguments about the stall in legislation; he may want to work on outlining those a little better before he jumps into the fray of another election.

We all know that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc will be jumping down the throats of the Conservatives over the "scandals" that have occurred over the past while; it may just be an idea to wait until they resolve themselves. Only time will tell where this ends up, but should we go to an election, the Conservative war machine is ready to hit the streets, of that I have no doubt. The grassroots of conservative voters in this country is fired up, excited about the governance of Stephen Harper, and even the media has loosened it's outlook on the Conservatives.

Now we start "Dion watch '08" : how long will it take Dion to crack under the pressure of his idle threats, and let the Conservatives run the country for another several months? Any takers?

More help for Students!?

2008-08-25T18:23:00.005-04:00

Oh man... just days after I defended government spending I see more of it; but this time in an area I think has already been much too saturated with taxpayers dollars...

I speak of post-secondary education. Of course, this is not in an area where it is needed, like say for example in getting young men interested:

"60 per cent of post-secondary graduates in Canada are female. "

Now, there will be a grant in place for low-income students of $250.00/month, and $100.00/month for middle-income students. I find it interesting, because those are the two groups who qualify under at least Ontario's Student Loan program. At the same time they are changing the loan repayment system for those having a hard time repaying their loans (a.k.a. Can't find a job with their useless degree).

Now lets not pull any punches; we all know what this is. . . this is a simple, and might I say quite obvious attempt by the CPC to approach young voters, an area they have a great deal of trouble with. Honestly, I see why they would try this, but I think this is not only going to fail(because lets face it, many post-secondary students these days are far-left loons who won't vote conservative because it just isn't "cool" to - even if they don't really understand who they are voting for. Doubt that? spend some time on a campus...). I also feel that this is going to become another one of those endless sink-holes. Students and the Leftist Student Federations will not be happy until school is free and those attending earn wages (bring a whole new meaning to the word professional student!). They will keep complaining about school costs, and governments will keep giving them a bit at a time to shut them up for another year.

But whats wrong with the system!? I really think that Canada does a pretty good job with it's post-secondary institutions. Why is it that tax payers have to pay even more of our hard-earned money to pay for someone else's child to go to school?

But what really boils my potato about this one is that this government just shovelled more money into an area of provincial jurisdiction. Incidentally, something that the Conservative Party vocally opposed in the past. What are you guys thinking!? I know you want to beat Stephane, and I want to see that happening, but lets not sacrifice our principles for it!

Listeriosis linked to . . . People getting Cash for "Distress"

2008-08-25T17:48:00.005-04:00

There was a time when I thought Canada's legal system was a little bit better than the American "litigious society". Increasingly, I am seeing that our legal system is quickly swaying the other direction. Once a cornerstone of Canadian Law, the need for a sustained loss is becoming less and less relevant. Today:

"He said the suit will represent three classes of people -- those who have become sick after ingesting the food, those who have suffered a financial loss for having to throw meat out and those who are suffering from mental distress because of the outbreak. "

Link

Seriously? People are considering legal action against Maple Leaf Foods because of "mental distress"!? Well, shouldn't the whole province get on board with that one? I can say with certainty that I consumed some of those products, but I wouldn't consider myself under "mental distress" because of it. It does however distress me that there are actually people out there considering this; trying to make money off of other people's misfortunes simply because they are "distressed"?

This is a pretty sad state of affairs - If you are that distressed over this whole event then you have some pretty hefty mental distress already I would say.

There is absolutely no way that these people deserve even a penny from Maple Leaf Foods; and quite frankly, were I a victim in this, I would be pretty upset by being grouped in with a bunch of whiners looking to make a quick buck for nothing.

The real problem with this type of gratuitous litigation is the effect it has on the legitimacy of our legal system. This can be far-reaching, coming to a point where it can significantly limit free speech. Even the Marxists out there should be concerned; after all the modern Marxist theory of law is that the legal system is in itself designed to keep the ruling class on top - that the legal system is not fully accessible to the lower class. Imagine a country where I would have to watch what I wrote on this blog in fear that someone may come after me for "mental distress". I certainly don't have the means to afford effective legal counsel(lucky me, I study it... I suppose), and I most certainly do have the ability to cause "mental distress". Because the principle of stare decisis is a major part of our legal system, it would not be hard to point to another such successful case to make a reasonable argument.

Further, what is the definition of "mental distress" - how far reaching is this "catch-all" term? One would assume that in order to apply this term one must have undergone some sort of traumatic event. One would hope that those who suffered from this "distress" are at the very least family members of victims, or victims themselves - then they would at least have a leg to stand on. Unfortunately, it is quite unlikely that those will be the ones seeking damages for distress. Instead, there will be people clawing their way into a class-action suit to seek restitution for damages that never occurred.

Well, I hope that these people enjoy any of the money they get; the rest of us have enough respect for the victims and ourselves to avoid such a farce.

Standing up for Canada...

2008-08-24T12:44:00.002-04:00

Even those who don't have all the votes...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080824/harper_arctic_080824/20080824?hub=Canada

The PM is in the North West Territories for another visit to the arctic regions of the country. I think this further demonstrates the CPC's dedication to all of Canada, not just those who can provide the most votes.

I'm glad to see that we are moving towards arctic sovereignty, an issue that is likely to be quite important in any foreseeable election campaign, and one that the CPC has a good track record on.

Although some of the proposed plans do come at a high cost, I think that assisting in reducing the dependency of these areas, and turning them into viable economies is very important. We should be utilizing the natural resources that are becoming increasingly available, helping us to strengthen our economy and expand our nation. We should be placing military presence in this area; we need to assert control over our lands, seas, and airspace. And most importantly, by introducing elements that can improve the economy, perhaps we can finally start to address the horrible crime problem in the Northern territories.

Another election?

2008-08-23T17:12:00.002-04:00

Well, we've all seen the growing rhetoric from the Conservative and Liberal parties over the past several weeks, and all signs are pointing to a fall election. Will it happen? Nobody really knows.

I must say, I hope that any election is not initiated from the Conservative Camp however. I, more than most, would love to see the Conservatives go to an election right now. I have no doubt in my mind that the party will come out on top, with an even stronger mandate than they have now - quite possibly even a majority one.

That being said, I think that the fallout from Stephen Harper dissolving parliament could be quite bad. Although there are provisions within the fixed-election legislation for a parliament that cannot function, I think that this is likely to be quite successfully twisted out of proportion by the smear-machine that is the Liberal party and it's pundits. Further, there is an overwhelming sense among many that this parliament is not completely impotent - that in fact, a lot has been accomplished.

Also, by stating that parliament cannot work together, it weakens the ability for the government to say that they got a lot done for the country.

It is important to remember the spirit of the fixed election date legislation; that is to avoid unnecessary elections brought on because of political maneuvering. I think that calling an election now would be going against that spirit.

I hope the Conservatives let the Liberals take them down on a piece of legislation; or let them back away with their tail between their legs just like every other time they have threatened to pull the plug.

This state of Offense

2008-08-23T16:40:00.004-04:00

It seems in this day and age that we are surrounded by those who are offended at the drop of a hat. Day in and day out I hear about people being "offended" by something said or done. It's all over the media, it's in our workplaces, our schools and even in our local watering-holes!

What has gotten into our society? We're becoming so afraid of offending people, that the truth is being lost in the process. Why should I have to spend my life treading on thin ice, tip-toeing around the truth simply so that Joe Blow next door doesn't get his feelings hurt? Why should I be concerned by the fact that his skin is too thin to deflect a couple of negative comments?

Worst of all, is that this right to be offended only seems to be afforded to a select few in our society. How many times have you heard an uproar because a feminist has attacked the entire male gender? How many times have you heard anti-Caucasian rants from a variety of members of other ethnicities, with no outcry from these same bleeding-hearts who would have you before a human rights tribunal for publishing controversial cartoons?

We're living in a society that is trying to atone for crimes that it committed decades, centuries, even millenia ago. Interestingly, our society is the only one doing that. The modern western civilizations are the only countries that are even attempting to atone for our actions, but we are also the only ones being targeted with this hate-filled rhetoric.

China, Russia, Iran all get away with what are without a doubt atrocities, with little or no response from the greater international community, and so-called "humanitarian" organizations. Instead, they are too busy assaulting the policies of western democracies, countries with outstanding human rights records, unparalleled freedoms, and a general care for the progression of other nations on this planet.

It would seem that we have opened the floodgates of criticism by showing that we are willing to adapt and improve; but the real question is whether that criticism is correct? Take for example the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these same bleeding hearts will argue that peaceful negotiation is the only way to get things done. While it may be true that negotiations are the preferable method, this can never be seen as the only method. In both of these cases, these were states that supported terrorist activities in one form or another. In Afghanistan there were vast training camps used to pump out wave after wave of suicide bombers, many of which were children. In Iraq, Saddam supported those families by sending the families of suicide bombers who killed Jews buckets of money. The situation with Iraq was compounded by Saddam's continual unwillingness to abide by the treaty he signed with the United States at the end of the initial Gulf War. Had we continued on a path of head-turning, who knows what the outcome could have been.

And yet, we see our own nations turning on themselves from within; questioning our own actions when it comes to situations that directly affect our own security and quality of life. It seems as if much of this is directed because of political affiliation. In our own nation, we see the uproar from the left about the war in Afghanistan - a war that the Liberals had us enter. This spitting fury was not present under the former Liberal leadership; only when they lost power was the rhetoric over this war turned up and somehow Canada's involvement became the Conservative's fault.

Why is it that we continue to question our own actions so harshly, while completely ignoring much more dangerous and flagrant abuses throughout the world?

Some would say that nice guys finish last...

that just may prove to be true if we continue on this path.

Dion whimpers, Harper Roars

2008-07-30T23:56:00.003-04:00

Well, we've all seen Stephane Dion pounding his chest about Canadians wanting an election.

He's taking lesson's from former Liberal leaders; but somehow I don't think that this is one Liberal leader who can get away with telling Canadians what they want. And maybe that's because he has absolutely no clue what Canadians want. I certainly don't know any Canadians who want an election. Most of the Liberals I know are quietly licking their wounds and keeping their fingers crossed that Dion will just disappear.

And all this in the midst of a growing scandal about Liberal Corporate donations... oops, I believe their word for it is "loans"(We'll talk about all that's wrong with that another day).

Really Dion, how do you expect to win an election if all your candidates can't even pay off their leadership expenses? The liberal war machine is in tatters, and even the media is starting to warm up to the Conservatives(ok, so we can't quite go THAT far... baby steps).

Well this is one Canadian who would like to see an election. I would like to see the Conservative majority I've waited so long for.

I would venture to say that these guys aren't too impressed...

2008-06-21T20:20:00.003-04:00

The people over at http://www.greenshift.ca/ that is...

The for-profit organization stands to have their name tarnished by a ridiculous environmental policy.

Per http://www.thegreenshift.ca/ :

"Disclaimer: This site is authorized by the Federal Liberal Agency of Canada, registered agent for the Liberal Party of Canada.It is not affiliated with Green Shift Incorporated. The following is a link to the Green Shift Incorporated website: http://www.greenshift.ca/"

UPDATE: JUNE 23rd - It looks like this story is starting to make some headway. As of Saturday, we had received confirmation that there was anger on the part of Greenshift over this, now its looking like things might just get a bit ugly. Check out the rest of the blogosphere for more info on this.

One has to wonder...

2008-06-20T12:01:00.002-04:00

What on earth Stephane Dion is thinking? This week he has gone on the offensive with his Carbon punishment system, basically suggesting that Canadians should suffer for our economic success through punitive taxation. Even more incredible, he thinks that Canadians are dense enough to assume that this whole plan will return money to the poor.

The reality of any sort of carbon taxation is that it creeps into the lives of all who use petroleum based products... meaning everyone. It is so short-sighted to say that tax breaks to the poor will somehow offset the additional costs involved.

He has stated that the major corporations who spew carbon dioxide will be paying for these taxes, so it won't impact average citizens to the same extent. I'm not sure if Mr. Dion understands how supply lines work, but it seems like a pretty simple concept. When the costs of manufacturing/delivery increase, this cost filters down to the consumer. As these companies are hit by taxes one of several things may happen.

If people do indeed cut back on things like Propane for their barbeque's, heating oil, or fossil-based electricity, the companies who provide these services will take hits in revenues and profits. In order to compensate for this, some of this cost will be shifted to other areas of their business, or prices for those goods will increase to make their delivery profitable.

And for what exactly Mr. Dion? Your plan doesn't seem to have any clear targets or aims other than to take money from the rich and give it to the poor - of course, that would work if it wasn't costing the poor more to live their day to day lives.

This is one of the scariest plans I have ever seen come from the left. It could plunge our economy into an inflation-generating monster, with no real change in behaviour. It could have significant impacts in less competitive regions, like Ontario, where unreasonable business taxes are already hampering business.

Its times like this I'm glad we have a strong Conservative government running the country the right way; now we just need to make sure it stays that way.

The obligatory Earth Hour Post

2008-03-29T10:10:00.002-04:00

Earth Hour is almost upon us, and some will be hunkering down this evening to ride it out in the dark. Some will sit in silence, soothing their fears of apocalypse with fantasies of changing the world in an hour. Others will hold elaborate parties with petroleum-based candles, drinks, fancy food imported from every corner of the globe, arriving in their expensive cars; but that's okay... they are protecting the environment.

In my little corner of the world, earth crusaders will be boycotting their hydro and nuclear based power in an epic battle against the proliferation of greenhouse gasses.

All the while, I will be going about my day to day life; continuing to be conscious of my impact on the environment and secretly lamenting my own absurd notions of a modest lifestyle. While I ride on the hydrocarbon express known to locals as the OC Transpo, or generate my colossal half bag of garbage a week, real heroes are out there making a real difference by turning their lights off in an incredible act of solidarity at 8pm this evening.

I suppose by now you have come to the realization that I am using sarcasm to highlight my distaste for this over-hyped and under-effective campaign to save the world. My views culminated earlier this week in a facebook group, "Waste Electricity for Earth Hour". The title seems wreck less and uncaring, but the message could be anything but. There is a very real risk involved with encouraging people to turn their lights off for one hour. The risk is that people will become overly confident in the changes they are making; despite the fact that they will continue to live their lives wastefully.

The group I created earlier this week offered me a dose of hope. I was contacted by a reporter from the Ottawa Citizen and asked to offer my opinion for a piece she was doing. To my surprise, the article was a refreshing look at the dissenting view on Earth Hour. (link: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/observer/story.html?id=25434d7c-77cb-465c-92cf-0a661bf37e7f ). Also to my surprise, there was a prominent environmentalist featured who agrees with my take on the situation.

There is a grim reality here: Fads such as this do little more than increase the level of apathy for any potential cause that there may be. At the beginning of the week, I thought I was one of the only people who understood that this campaign is completely useless - but by the end of it I have seen that there are a lot more who see this sham of an event as it really is; an incredible waste of time.

So if you're out there reading this... don't feel bad for keeping your lights on tonight when the clock strikes 8, you won't be alone. Hiding in the shadows will be millions of homes - lit up and going about business as usual... if only for the fact that the event happened to fall on Hockey Night in Canada.

To some I wish you a happy Earth Hour day... to the rest, have a good Saturday... oh, and Go Sens!

Time for a new Ontario Conservative movement

2008-02-25T10:34:00.002-05:00

It has become quite apparent that the conservative movement in Ontario can no longer rely on the provincial Progressive Conservative party to do it any favours. Much like the former federal party, it has demonstrated itself all but useless; and the membership has continued to prop up a leader who not only failed his party, but also blurred the lines on what the party stands for.

We are lacking true inspirational thinking in the Ontario PC party. I'm not sure if it's fear of a backlash of the sorts witnessed after the leadership of Ontario's last conservative leader, Mike Harris. Whatever the reason for this change, it is becoming more and more evident that the party offers little hope to fiscal conservatism, and possibly even less to libertarian thinkers.

The mere fact that John Tory refused to step down as party leader after his loss is evidence alone that he is unfit to lead not only the party, but more importantly the province. If we're going to be losing elections, we might as well be losing them while upholding our ideals.

I know, I know... a lot of people will be saying that we shouldn't split the right vote. After all, just look at what happened at the federal level after the emergence of the Reform party. But wait a moment, what exactly did happen? Well, an ailing party continued to lose while a new more conservative and fiscally responsible movement took hold. This was eventually followed by the emergence of a new, more powerful and coherent party, the Conservative Party of Canada(after a failed but valiant attempt by the Canadian Alliance). Look at where we sit today... a strong government standing up for true Canadian values, equality, fiscal responsibility and personal rights and freedoms.

The PCs of Ontario have lost any hope of a vote from me whenever the next election comes. They certainly won't have my financial support, and won't be getting my backing. We'll see if they can change their tune, but that will rely on the party listening to its members... something I am not overly confident about.

I know I am not alone... 33% of the party delegates voted against him. And from what I can see - that number is lower than the overall discontent with the leader. Of course, this issue goes far beyond the leadership; the party in itself has become stale, and unable to provide Ontarians with innovative and interesting ideals. It has failed to excite the public, or even its members. It has become far too progressive and decreasingly conservative. Time for some real change, some real leadership...

I may very well be wrong...

2007-11-15T00:58:00.000-05:00

But...

You have to notice the man keeps fighting, long after being tazed...

i'm not sure what the officer is hitting with the baton at the end of the video, but i would say that is most likely to be a contributing factor.

Regardless, the man was violent, refused to comply. Was the action excessive? Of course it's easy for us to draw conclusions; it could have been.. it may not have been. I wasn't there, and neither were you; I'll wait for the inquiry.

and as a note for the media; voltage doesn't kill you, amperage does ;)

Politically correct: gone horribly wrong

2007-10-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2602678&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Blind sue Target; say website is not accessible

At this point... I just have to roll my eyes.

It's only a matter of time until the deaf go after the radio stations :(

WHAT is THIS!?

2007-09-24T23:09:00.000-04:00

A Big Hat tip to Meopotamia West for spotting a Canadian Terrorism support site:

Jihad Unspun

It's purely disgusting... And as Canadians we should all be horrified by its existence.

BT 5.0!

2007-09-24T22:37:00.000-04:00

If you haven't already done so, head on over to the Blogging Tories and sign up for BT 5.0

Some pretty cool features recently added.

My Vote is Sealed...

2007-09-24T08:39:00.000-04:00

And It will be going to Tory:

Stiffer fines for illegal land occupations: Tory

enough said.

Canadian Federation of Students: Dictating thought for 26 years

2007-09-23T21:19:00.000-04:00

In an all-too-familiar scene, the Canadian Federation of Students comes out swinging for MMP.

September 13th, the Federation sent out a media release ("Students Say: It’s Time To Change The System ") announcing that it had created "Change the System" - a website designated as a lobby for the pro-MMP crew.

"
The Federation points to lagging youth voter turn-out and the growing cynicism associated with strategic voting as issues that would be remedied by an MMP electoral system. Concern about these issues is what led students from across the province, through the Canadian Federation of Students, to research the voting system and endorse the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

The overwhelming student support for changing the voting system to MMP is based on the positive results in other jurisdictions, including greater voter choice, fairer election results, and stronger elected representation for traditionally under-represented groups.
"

As usual, a students federation is dictating to students what they do(or should be) thinking. It is completely unacceptable for these types of organizations, who speak in the name of students, to be pursuing political agendas. In particular, it is inappropriate for such an organization to advocate a decision that has no direct impact on students, and may even be against the best interest of those students.

I take no issue with these organizations advocating reduced tuition levels(although I may not agree that tuition levels are too high), as lowering tuition fees can be beneficial to students(keeping in mind it could potentially carry negative consequences as well).

The Canadian Federation of Students is at the fore-front of the anti-rightwing elements facing students around the nation. They are the epicenter of "progressive" student unions; and like the individual unions, needs to be overhauled.

Possibly most insidious is that this organization pushes its political agenda by posing as a student-interests group.

Not surprisingly they also supported the recent CUPE 2424 strike, that reduced services to Carleton Students(I may finally have tutorials and workbooks this week).

It's time for a change.
It's time to take back our schools.

Stay tuned as I will be focusing a good deal more on Canadian Student Issues (with particular focus on the Carleton University Students Association).

Be sure to direct comments and questions about the media release to:

Contact: Jen Hassum,
Chairperson Tel: 416-925-3825
Alt. tel: 416-832-9073
email: chair@cfsontario.ca

Contact: Joel Duff, Organiser
Tel: 416-925-3825
Alt. tel: 416-707-0349
email: organiser@cfsontario.ca

China objects to our PM meeting with the Dalai Lama...

2007-09-18T11:37:00.000-04:00

hmm...

that says it all really...

lefties are mum on the issue; the Dalai Lama is their pacifist hero ;)

I'm more interested by some obvious deflection tactics posted by one loon on the CTV.ca story:

"
steve

Maybe if Harper would address our aboriginal issues in Canada, we would look much better on a world stage when talking about human rights.
"

I use the term loon simply because of the poster's well-understood meaning.

However, the real concern for aboriginal issues is that of the two-tier justice system that is plaguing our nation. We cannot expect to improve the status of natives, nor society's tolerance of the group while we maintain the two-tier legal system. And therein lies the real human rights violation.

Until the law applies to all, equally, there will be no improvements. How can we come to an agreement when we constantly allow select individuals get away with crimes that would be punished if it were anyone else?

Jail the occupying forces at Caledonia, and settle the dispute in the courts. Any less is a perversion of our legal system.

And it MUST end..

And on the provincial front...

2007-09-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

A Poll has suggested that Tory and the PCs are being held back by the FBS funding suggestion

Be sure to watch the Leaders debates, Thursday at 6:30pm (runs until 8:00pm). Seen on Global, among other stations.

The EU: flexing its muscles against Canadian sovereignty

2007-09-17T21:45:00.000-04:00

The EU is set to declare that Canada should be opening visa-free travel to more of its member-states, particularly central European nations, many of which are former Warsaw pact members.

Although I agree in principle that we should be engaging these nations directly, and offering some leniency due to their participation in the EU, I disagree with foreign entities attempting to dictate our foreign policy.

The EU is apparently going to go as far as to warn punitive measures if Canada does not comply.

This is unacceptable.

Canadians will dictate who we allow in to our country without Visa's.. Not Europeans.

Of course, it would seem there is little that the EU could really do to punish Canada; meddling in Canadian internal affairs is not something I can sit around and be quiet about...

Interestingly, CTV's non-scientific poll on their website is about 75% against allowing all member-states visa free status. If there was a margin of error of 25%, this would still show strong opposition to the idea.. And quite likely most of those responses are due to the approach, not necessarily the idea.

Standing up for Canada... in Roberval-Lac-St-Jean

2007-09-17T21:43:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Denis Lebel and the entire conservative team in that riding! A job well done indeed! (with almost 60% of the vote at this stage)

And it is looking like a triple defeat for the Liberal Party of Canada at this stage!

Gotta love the leftist student unions

2007-09-16T22:47:00.000-04:00

And their reckless disregard for students' well-being.

As many of you may already know, Carleton Support staff have been on strike. Their main concern is wages of course...

I have been provided with an email sent by a member of the Carleton University Students Union (emphasis mine)

"
What: RALLY TO END THE STRIKE!

When: Tues. Sept 18th at 11:30am
Where: Bronson entrance to Carleton University

PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE AND BRING EVERYONE YOU CAN.

Support Workers at Carleton have been on strike since Sept 4th. Since the strike began the union has tabled an offer that would bring their wage demands to below the sector average and within 1% of what the University Administration offered. This should have gotten a deal done. However it has become increasingly apparent that negotiating a deal is not what the Administration wants.

Although they have stated to the community and to students that the Administration bargaining team "stands ready" to negotiate a settlement, they refused to meet the union through most of last week. As well, they posted a message on their web site encouraging employees to cross the picket line and come back to work and have attempted to have sidebar discussions with elected union leadership away from CUPE negotiators. These actions make it clear that what Carleton Administration is trying to do is bust the union in the truest sense of the term.

As the strike enters its third week tensions are growing on campus. Conservative anti-worker elements of the student population are planning a rally to condemn the union for preventing them from getting the services they want. As well, people on the picket line are starting to feel the financial pressure of not being at work.

We need to show these workers that the community understands and supports their fight and we need to show the regressive elements at Carleton that they are outnumbered and out organised. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE and explain to your respective groups, networks and friends why their participation is incredibly important on Tuesday.

In Solidarity,

James
- James Pratt
Executive Coordinator
Carleton University Students' Association
Local 1 - Canadian Federation of Students

"

And... a visit to their website provides this:

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THE STRIKE

This continuing assault on conservatism by the CUSA is an abomination. This council seeks to destroy conservatism in all its forms. It has already shut out the voice of the pro-life groups on campus, and is now vilifying conservatives as anti-worker. It is time that these politically motivated statements come to an end. There should be no politicization of students unions; they should encourage open and free thought, not segregation and exclusion. Education should be enjoyed by all, not just socialists and communists.

I'm thinking it might just be coming to the time for a change of leadership at ye olde CUSA...

hmmm..

On the bookshelf...

2007-09-16T22:34:00.001-04:00

Brian Mulroney Memoirs.

I was lucky to have a good friend pick up a copy and have it signed for me while I was stuck at work.

Although I am also bogged down with work and reading textbooks, I will be sure to share my thoughts as I make my way through.

Grasping at some non-record breaking straws...

2007-09-16T22:24:00.001-04:00

Is precisely what seems to be going on over at CTV.CA

In a year that is reportedly the "seventh warmest on record", Canada has been rocked by seasonally average temperatures. . . except of course in Nunavut, where crippling air conditioner shortages plagued the poor citizenry. How they managed to withstand their "1.4 degrees Celsius hotter than normal. " temperatures, I have no idea.

Environmentalists are alarmed at the lack of panic... and the consensus is that you should be too.

The separation of church and respect

2007-09-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

Recently I have been noticing increasing divides between many members of the BT and indeed conservatives. It would appear that this all began when the topic of Faith Based Schools(FBS) and their funding came into the equation as a hot-topic.

Regardless of where one sits on the FBS fence, one thing is absolutely necessary; preserving a level of conversation that demonstrates our esteem and respect for one another and our varying faiths.

We may not agree on religion, but we do agree on many other fronts. There is no reason that people who have a common goal of achieving reduced government, fiscal responsible government, personal responsibility and a strong moral society can't put their differences aside in order to accomplish these goals.

All too often one side or another in the religion debate reach a level of rhetoric that is not only disrespectful, but sometimes down-right childish. I see atheist conservatives clashing with christian and catholic conservatives. Sadly, some of the time they are both attacking muslims...

In reality, we are all swirling around this planet with alternate views of the way the world works, what's behind our existence and indeed how one should live their life.

At times, it is incumbent upon us to dismount our high horses and take a look inward. Instead of focusing on other people's religious beliefs, we should be taking into consideration our own. We should consider how we can live our own lives better, how we can help each other; not how we can convert someone to our religion.

If we can all just show a little respect we can ensure intelligent debate, and possibly move beyond this void and get on with pushing for the legislative change that we all dream of. After all, aren't we all in favour of free religion, freedom of speech, and respect for one another?

Its election time!

2007-09-16T15:41:00.000-04:00

And despite the circumstances, I'm starting to get the fever. After a long summer with little to write about and a whole lot going on, a fall election will be a nice addition, and a perfect opportunity to get back into writing on a regular basis.

I'll be clear about where I stand.

I came out hard against the suggestion that funding for FBS would be considered by the Ontario PCs. My dislike of that type of policy has not changed; nor is it likely to. But this is but one consideration, and is honestly not a make-or-break it issue. The financial and societal impact will be small, and it is something I oppose on principle more than on factual downsides.

I also came out hard against the first PC attack ads that were leveled against McGuinty, suggesting that several American Presidents were liars. I dislike acting like Liberals, who claim that the current president is an idiot, or suggest that conservatives are pawns of Captain Evil, George Bush. Now, this issue is one of class and respect.

At the end of the day, I have to take into consideration the well-being of the province, and that compels me to campaign for the election of the Ontario PCs. Consider this my official endorsement of the PC Party, their platform and Leader.

Of course, of great concern at this stage is also the referendum facing us... I am planting my feet firmly on the NO MMP fence. I am joined by many of my conservative friends, as well as many on the left. MMP is patronage waiting to happen; it removes accountability, encourages back-door deals and takes the idea of local representation out of the equation.

It could likely result in more fringe representation, when what we really need is more moderate representation.

After years of McGuinty inaction, it is time for a change. We can't sit back and let McGuinty take this one. Its come time to put aside our dislike for FBS funding; put our back into liberating Ontario from the greasy clutches of Liberal elite. We will have plenty of time post-victory to implement policy change at the grassroots level; and I know that there will be plenty of us that will make ourselves loud and clear about our stance.

Since I have seen the type of responses that have come from similar posts, I will make something very clear here and now; I may support free speech, but if you cross a line and get into insults; your comments will be deleted - and there will be no apologies. Criticism is more than welcome, but remain in the realm of the sane and respectable if you want your words to remain.

It's feelin like that time again...

2007-08-31T23:06:00.000-04:00

Time for...

Another National Capital Region Blog-Mafia Get together...

Who's down?

Thinking a coming Saturday, definitely ahead of the provincial elections.

Any thoughts?

Gender and Health; are you on the right side?

2007-08-30T14:35:00.000-04:00

As we already know, men are on the losing end of the health care battle in this province. It took us many years of hard fighting to get to a point where prostate testing was covered under the OHIP umbrella.

Men have a lower life expectancy than that of women, yet we continue to be overlooked by the leaders of the province.

Is this because the leaders are anti-men? No. The reason is that helping men improve their health doesn't buy you votes. Similarly, helping young boys do better in school in order to repair the now incredible gender-education gap won't buy you votes either.

About all that either would do is prompt a lawsuit from some fringe wackos who seem to think that it is sexist to offer men a fighting chance.(And we all know that this would happen)

Yesterday I was amazed to see an article about a local Ottawa University professor who has been named to chair the new women's health agency; echo.
Although it has a new name and new chair; the agency is really just a re-working of the old women's health agency. like its predecessor, the agency will operate under the auspices of the Ministry of health, and receive a hefty budget ( $7.6 million )

Why is it that we are ear-marking $7.6 million dollars towards women's health, when we have crippling wait times, a doctor shortage, and an aging population that will cost the province a fortune in health costs.

I'm all for improving the health of women in the province; but I would expect some parity. We can't continue to ignore the very real issues that face men.

But lets ignore the obvious sexism for a moment, and focus on the role of this organization.

"
Echo’s role will be to:
• Conduct, fund and partner on research initiatives in women’s health
• Provide input to government policy, in collaboration with stakeholders, to improve the health status of women, and promote the provision of accessible, effective and equitable care for women
• Collect and distribute information on women’s health through a variety of communication tools and services.
• Advise the minister on health issues affecting women
"

So basically, the role is one of advocacy; government funded advocacy.

But lets just say for a moment that the organization is going to do some very good work, spread information and encourage women to make sure they take care of themselves...

just who are they going to see for medical treatment ?

**Bonus reading material**

A Search on the Ontario Ministry of Health Website displays 37 results for "Men's Health"

A Search on the Ontario Ministry of Health Website displays 406 results for "Women's Health"

I'm sure I am not the only one jumping on this one...

2007-08-16T00:45:00.000-04:00

but... well, it has to be said:

LINK

"
NASA had said 1998 was the hottest year on record in the U.S. but later revised the statistics, issuing a new list that instead named 1934 as the hottest year on the books.
"

Sometimes you just need to kick up your feet and say "I told you so"

So much for settled science...

Not much need for any further commentary..

Are we obligated to be kind to these people!?

2007-08-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

Recently in this city we have seen the emergence of a group fighting for the "ethical treatment of homeless". "Activist" Jane Scharf has spear-headed an attack against the mayor for his comments toward homeless people, suggesting they are like pigeons.

Likely not one of the wisest things to say, but certainly not completely off-base either. Much like the rats of the sky, the homeless in this city are a nuisance. I am acutely aware of the problem, as I live in the area that they frequent most often.

I have yet to experience a trip through the market-area of the city without being repeatedly harassed for my hard-earned money. Perhaps even worse is the fact that the same people continue asking me, despite two-years worth of no's.

If I felt that these people would do anything with their lives if I helped them, I might be prompted to help them. Of course, after seeing these people on the streets for 2 straight years, This despite the fact that we are well aware of the fact that these people often make more in a day than a good portion of the working population.

These loons fighting for the dignity of people who have already given up their dignity is purely ridiculous. Instead of seeking solutions, this woman and her followers are picking a fight for the sake of picking a fight.

Its one thing to pointlessly waste your own time, but its another when you defame the name of the mayor simply because he doesn't show up at your protest lunch. And like so many of these protests, it was conveniently planned on the same day as the mayor had a major meeting with other regional mayors to discuss the state of transit in the region. A word to the wise to Jane Scharf et al. ; plan these things in advance, and don't be shocked when the mayor isn't overly eager to provide handouts and lip service to those who don't even pay taxes.

Listening to these people, you would assume that the city doesn't already coddle the homeless. Despite the fact that they have literally hundreds of options, they remain on the streets.

Give a man a fish...

I for one am glad that we have a mayor with the courage to say it as it is.. One who worries more about those of us paying taxes than those who don't.

With opponents like these, who needs allies?

2007-08-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

That's the question that Bill O'Reilly must be asking himself today, after being accosted by some of the looniest on the left.

"
I've got video of O'Reilly in his sleepwear (red shorts and a white t-shirt). I delivered the Andrea Mackris Court filings to all of his neighors - every home in his development got a copy. And I put a bunch of signs up along his street - "Bill O'Reilly: Andrea Mackris has your cash" directly across from his house; "Bill O'Reilly: PERVERT" in front of his home; "Bill O'Reilly: CHEATER" on the road he must take to exit his development and "Bill O'Reilly: Can't be trusted with your daughters" at the landmark boulder marking the entrance to his development.
"

The maturity of the left in action. . . demonstrating once again that idiocy knows no bounds in the dream-world that is the left-wing.

H/T to Damian Penny