Congratulations

I just want to congratulate Americans for proving me wrong. In previous posts I had written that I didn't think that Americans would elect an African-American President and I have been proven wrong. Thank heavens!!

My cynicism has been beaten by the hope of the American voters. Congratulations America and congratulations Barack Obama.

Stephane Dion

Stephane Dion has resigned as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I like Mr. Dion and I'm sorry that he had to resign but he did have to resign. He didn't have the support of the Liberal caucus and despite what a good many bloggers might believe, I don't think that he had the support of the majority of the membership of the Party.

What does Mr. Dion's failure have to say about the state of politics and the state of Canada? I believe that Mr. Dion has the intelligence and honesty to be a great leader of Canada. I also believe that an anti-french sentiment in English Canada is partially to blame for his failure on election day. Another source of his failure is that the Conservative Party was very successful in portraying a negative image of Stephane Dion this also fed into the anti-french attitude of many people. The media was also seduced by the negative image of Mr. Dion. My experience as I have written before is that the media is very lazy unwilling to do any work to get to the truth so if you provide them a story that is easy to report they will run with it. We live in a very instant society so rather than going past the 10 second clip on TV, the headline in the newspaper or online most people will accept what they are bombarded with and won't take the time to explore the issues.

The Liberals failed to counter the negative advertising until too late and Stephane Dion was doomed. I want to make it clear that I don't think that the Conservative Party did anything wrong, it is the CPC's job to win and it did its best to do just that. It is the voters of Canada who have to demand better from their political parties, go past the negative advertising, read the party platforms, listen to the politicians, read the entire article and not just the headline, read an opposing viewpoint and most importantly of all get out and vote.

The Canadian Election

I am deeply troubled by the current climate in Canadian politics. All the Political Parties are to blame, no Party has said to its supporters stop this nonsense and talk issues. I believe that vandalism has been committed by the supporters of all the parties, Greens, NDPers, Liberals and Conservatives.

When I say supporters I don't mean members of the political parties because for the most part I believe that it is not those people who are involved in the election vandalism because they recognize that the best way to get your view point across is to join the Party that reflects your views and work to get your representative elected. I think that the vandalism is being committed by those who don't know how or don't want to work within a Party structure and feel that they are somehow helping the Party that they support by committing vandalism on the supporters of other Parties.

What has caused this downturn in Canadian politics? I believe that it starts with a general lack of civility in today's society and is exacerbated by the adoption of dubious political methods from the United States and other parts of the world. The media hasn't helped in fact I recently came to the conclusion that the media has been seduced by the 30 second clip and sensational headline. There is no unbiased reporting going on each media outlet has a bias either political or commercial. They either want to sell the most newspapers, internet ads or tv commercials they won't report unbiasedly because that doesn't help their ratings, internet hits or sales. From their very beginning the blogs were all about bias and I don't have a problem with that because that is what blogging is all about. But bloggers have to be careful about the potential libel and slander that is appearing in some blogs and in particular in their comments sections.

Do I have a solution? I think that the Parties must all denounce any and all vandalism and I think that the Canadian media needs to start reporting the news and examining the issues and stop filtering the news and dumbing down the content. But most importantly the Canadian public must become engaged in the political process, read the Party platforms, ask the politicians questions, denounce negative advertising, follow the issues and most important of all vote. Is all that a solution I hope so, will it happen I doubt it.

The Future

Obviously I'm not posting on this blog very often and I think that I have identified why. One reason is that by nature I'm not a verbose person I tend to be short and to the point. So after I write a post I tend to think that it isn't very good because it isn't very long. Another reason is that I'm not sure that I have anything new to add to the blogosphere and quite frankly I think that applies to a great many bloggers. Most blogs are a rehash of either the so-called MSM or of other blogs. Does that really add anything to society?

The Price of Oil and other Commodities

I have linked to this fascinating article in The Times .

As I have no investments to speak of and I do consume commodities so I hope that he is right and the bubble bursts soon.

However, it would devastate the TSX and other stock exchanges. I would like to find a counter argument to this article. I would also like some analysis on how the bursting of the bubble would affect the Canadian economy. I'll keep looking.

Spring Has Finally Sprung

I haven't been motivated to blog for a while but now that Spring has finally reached these parts I feel motivated.

That being said when I came across this article I just had to post about it. I support Al Gore's crusade against global warming but something about this article struck me as cult like. I could just see these teenagers being indoctrinated into the Cult of Al Gore.

Maybe its just me a bit too cynical and jaded, but the story still creeped me out.

John Tory and Howard Hampton

Funny how John Tory has faced a revolt in his party and Howard Hampton is seemingly safe. Hampton has had more chances why does his party let him continue indefintely?

Maybe its because they don't expect to do any better.

The U.S. Democratic Party Candidate

So its down to Obama and Clinton.

At this point in time if I had a vote in a primary, I would for Clinton. Barrack Obama has been compared to JFK, but he doesn't have the same experience that JFK had when he sought the Democratic nomination. Kennedy had served in WWII in the U.S.N and served far longer in Congress. I think that for all her faults and there are a few, Clinton is the better choice. I think that her experience in private practice, as First Lady and as Senator is superior to Obama's.

I also think that Clinton has the best health care plan of the two. To me Obama is campaigning on slogans without any substance. I don't think that he is ready to be President of the U.S.A.

Hand Guns II

I wrote about hand guns back in May/07 and now after a tragic death, I see that Premier McGuinty and Mayor Miller are in agreement.

I really hope that this goes somewhere.

The Democratic Party Nomination

I have tried not to get too interested in the Democratic Party nomination race because I find the whole thing too complicated, drawn out and media hyped, but lately I have been sucked in by the Clinton v. Obama feud.

Now I'm sure that they wouldn't call it a feud but this thing is becoming really nasty. Clinton's loss in Iowa, her surprise win in New Hampshire and now the race issue has been played by someone, Clinton says it was Obama's camp and Obama's camp says that it was Clinton's remarks regarding the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King's importance versus President Johnson's enactment of the Civil Rights Act. It seems to me that Obama's camp twisted Clinton's remarks to galvanize the African-American voters in Obama's favour.

Clinton's camp has now fired back with the founder of Black Entertainment Television making reference to Obama's admitted drug use. Then Clinton's people claim that he wasn't making reference to that at all (when clearly he was) but to his work as a community activist.

In the last two days I have noticed a strong anti-Clinton back lash in the media, blogs on the New York Times have a decidedly pro-Obama anti-Clinton spin and in today's Slate they go after Clinton. I won't say that Obama has the media pulling for him because I haven't looked into it that deeply but since Clinton's win in New Hampshire, I am starting to get that impression.

All this makes the Liberal Party of Canada's backroom intrigue look mild in comparison.

Lets all just get along

In my previous post I mused about the hypocrisy of some not all conservative bloggers. Then I went to edit the post for a typo and noticed that I had some comments in a old post that I had done. I had never noticed the comments before as I didn't think that anyone read this blog other than me, so I read the comments and they turned out to be the same comment twice.

The commenter accused me of rank hypocrisy! I was shocked so I reread the post in question and I can't see the hypocrisy but I'm willing to accept that the commenter sees some sort of hypocrisy on my part. I have tried to see all sides of polictical issues and this may have led to some postings that contradicted each other, the fact is that I sometimes change my mind about things. I continue to learn and my opinions develop; if that is rank hypocrisy then so be it.

I'm not sure what I said that set the commenter off but in the future I will try to be more understanding of other bloggers and I will watch the language I use in my comments and postings.

Hypocrisy

I have been reading a number of Conservative bloggers who use the term hypocrisy without seeming to understand its meaning, they attack other political parties (mainly the Liberals) but the Conservative Party and PMSH can do no wrong. Its like a cult and they have drunk the kool-aid.

So sad.

The Economy

I'm really shocked by how the economies in Canada and the United States are doing. The latest is that even with the obvious problems in the U.S. that the overall economic situation is good. In Canada the high commodity prices and the problems in the U.S. are pushing the dollar higher and higher. The manufacturing sector is hurting but not as badly as I expected.

Is it only a matter of time? I think so, but I hope that I'm wrong.

Ontario Election

I was wrong about the size of the majority but I still think that I am right about John Tory and Howard Hampton.

We'll see!!!!

The Loonie Loonie

Okay folks this high Canadian dollar is bad and I mean really bad news. A high dollar may mean that we can all go shopping in the U.S. but it also means that the Canadian economy is going to suffer because our competitive edge has been lost. Why buy Canadian goods and services if they are the same price or more expensive than other countries?
I know that some local manufacturers have cut their work weeks and laid off employees. These people are going to have less money to spend and those in the service industries will also suffer. It is a domino effect to all areas of the economy. So stop cheering for a high dollar and pray for something in the 75 to 80 cent range in comparison to the American greenback.

Outremont

Many Quebecers have told me that they don't like Stephane Dion because he lectures to them like a father lectures to a badly behaved child. I think that a by-election provides an electorate the opportunity to rebel without the severe consequences of a general election loss. Meaning that you can elect an NDPer without worrying that somehow you are electing a government. The voters can say to the LPC and Stephane Dion we don't like the way you have been treating us so we are going to elect someone other than a Liberal. When it comes to a general election I believe that the voters of Outremont will behave differently.

That being said the LPC had better examine the campaign they ran. A poor choice in candidate for the riding, poor organization and party infighting are not going to win a campaign. I can't understand why Dion would appoint a candidate who isn't liked by the Jewish community. Even if the perception of the candidate as being anti-Israel is wrong, it is a huge obstacle to overcome in politics perception is everything. Reading the post of Justin Tetrault it is clear that this wasn't a well run campaign. The party infighting is also documented in that post.

As for the Conservative gains, it is Brian Mulroney all over again bribe the separatist voters with federal money and powers and reap the dividend for your party. To hell with the country all Harper cares about is staying in power.

The Ontario Election

I am going to make a prediction now and see if it comes true, I think that the Liberals will win a small majority. I think that John Tory will be a one election leader. I think that this will be Howard Hampton's last election as leader of the NDP and I think that MMP will fail.

Lets see what happens.

The August Doldrums

Damian Cox writes about how this is a down time for sports a sort of calm before the storm.

I feel that it is the same with politics. PMSH is about to announce a cabinet shuffle but I've been hearing that for about 3 weeks. In Ontario the MMP campaigns have just started and the provincial election is coming up but there really isn't any big news yet. In Alberta Ed Stelmach is trying to sound like Ralph Klein, who whenever he was in trouble tried to sound like Peter Lougheed and Dalton McGuinty is attacking the Feds over EI, same old same old.

It is so hot and steamy today everyone should just stay cool and wait for the cooler weather to get excited about sports or politics.

Thoughts for a Friday before Vacation

Canada is an interesting country, we are talk hockey 12 months of the year, we think some one has made it only when they are popular in the U.S.A but criticize American policy on everything.
Why do we love Canadians who have made it big in the U.S. but we don't like the U.S.A.

We like Americans as individuals but we don't like the collective. I am as guilty as anyone. We want Americans to like us but we don't want to be American. I won't drink Bud beer brewed by Labbatts because of the marketing premise behind the beer is that anyone who isn't American wants to be American.

Kind of silly I know but I can be very silly at times. I won't buy Time Magazine because I didn't like the issue when they picked the Personal Computer as Man of the Year. I think it was 1980 and I thought and still think that it is wrong to treat machines as human like. That is why I enjoy books like Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut and movies like the Matrix and Blade Runner.

I am trying to avoid writing about politics because I feel like it is the same thing over and over, Stephen Harper is ruining the country and the majority of Canadians don't seem to recognize it. We have to get this man out of power.

Those are my thoughts. See you in two weeks.

Bits and Pieces

I find this sad Stephen Owen was a good MP and cabinet minister. It seems to be a step down to me.

My son has is on his second of these, it is high time that Microsoft did something about this issue.

This story says everything about the CPC's and its leaders ethics and vindictiveness.

I'm going to wait and see how this works out before I make a decision. I like that they chose someone from outside the RCMP but I am concerned about political interference.

I love potato chips but they don't love me, reading this story made me very hungry.