My Absence

I apologize for the delay in updating my blog (to those of you who are
reading it) but am having some very personal issues which have delayed my
lunatic ravings.... but rest assured. I will return..

Emerson: No Ethics Without Laws

David Emerson says he would support legislation to force party-hopping
MPs to run in a by-election. However, without such a law in place, he's
not willing to face voters in the Vancouver-Kingsway riding. He
apparently does not see a need to run again. I would like to provide him
with a few. First, he completely lied and deceived his way to election.
By this I'm not talking about broken promises like promising money to
parents, promising a higher level of integrity in government, making our
votes matter. Not small lies like that. He actually campaigned promising
his constituents that he would help reign in a scary Conservative
government. He asked his constituents to vote for him to ensure that
those Conservatives did not receive a majority. Not enough reason? Well,
many of those constituents (I will try to get the exact number for all
of you as soon as possible, although I hear it is a majority of them)
have signed a petition DEMANDING a by-election, as is their democratic
right. Hmm, democracy still not a good enough reason? How about this. He
said himself that he would support legislation that would have meant a
by-election for him. So he himself believes what he did was wrong. Three
very good reasons for him to step down right there.

WHERE IS HARPER?

But since we all know that Mr. Emerson has absolutely no concept of
honesty, democracy, or ethics, ine has to wonder where Harper is in all
this. In fact, where is the rest of the Conservative Party? The begged
and moaned and pleaded for us Canadians to elect them, and get rid of
the dirty, lying, corrupt Liberals. They begged us to bring integrity
back into Canadian government. I guess maybe we should have listened
closer. Either the entire party is corrupt, egotistical, and dishonest,
or they were hoping Canada would vote for someone else. So which is it
Mr. Harper? Are you just hoping that all Canadians will keep you in,
like they did the Liberals, because you're already there? Are we all
supposed to forget the lies, the deceit, the backstabbing? What of
elevating the government? What of the Liberals not being morally and
ethically entitled to run our nation?

Truthfully Yours

Superficial Criticism

"I think I was clear what I did, and why I did it" Harper states when
confronted about his Cabinet APPOINTMENT (not election) of Michael
Fortier. "Superficial Criticism", he comments about those uprising
against the defection of David Emerson. Let's not forget the comments
from the rest of the Conservative Circus. It has recently been noted (to
death) that there is no longer any reason to question why so few
Canadians vote. Yes, it is apparent that you really can't trust anyone.
Liberal or Conservative. In essence, they really do seem to be one and
the same. Sure, the Conservative Party claims to be the more eithical of
the two, but hell, anybody can say that. One week in, it's apparent that
they don't intend to uphold it. So now what? As Canadians, what do we
do? We can't topple the government already. After all, who would we
elect? The Liberals have no leader, and have not proven to anyone that
they are capable of leading honestly anyway. The Conservatives have
proven that they are liars, cheats, and hypocrites all in one week, and
still have not UNPROVEN that they are right-wing zealots bent on turning
us into America North. The NDP don't even believe that the NDP can win.
So what do we do? We have truly reached a crossroads in Canadian
Politics where we are damned no matter what road we choose. We have
reached a place where there really is no preferred choice. I refuse to
believe that there is no hope for us. There has to be a true leader out
there somewhere. There has to be someone that Canada can relate to,
someone that will lead us back to where we should be. Someone who will
say to the US 'Hey, we love you like a brother/sister, we're gonna be
there anytime you truly need us. But if you're acting like an idiot,
we're gonna tell you.' Someone who can say to BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, Ontario, and the Atlantic, 'I understand, I've been there.'
Someone who can say to Quebec 'You are Canadian, we want you to be
Canadian, and yes, we know that you are different. We love and respect
that about you.' Who is this person? Who is this mystery leader that
could take Canada where it should be? Who is this down to earth, Western
Prairie man who can bring us together (except maybe Alberta)? Ralph
Goodale, will you please stand up? I am calling right now. I don't care
if I have to join the Liberal Party myself and nominate him. The man is
totally electable. He represents everything I like to think a Canadian
should. Hell, his name even sounds Prime Minister-ish. Pair him up with
a good french Canadian (who he could even announce BEFORE the election
as his soon to be DPM) and I'm telling you now, the Liberals SWEEP
Canada. I know that he may be slightly tarnished by the Chretien regime,
but let's be honest here. How much do you really thik Ralph had to do
with Adscam?

Anyway, anyone who agrees with me, let's hear it.
Ralph Goodale for PM

Truthfully Yours

The Childcare Subsidy That Never Was

Chock up another unfulfilled promise, one way or the other. Sharp on the
heels of Harper's special deal with Quebec, the other provinces are now
lining up to save their own daycare programs. Before the election, each
of the provinces had arranged special deals with the Liberals for
Daycare programs. Many of those provinces (not very wisely given the
precarious situation of the government,) started up those programs. Now
that Harper is in power, many of the provinces fear that the funding
will not be there for their programs. After all, Harper was going to
institute a subsidy instead, a cash payment to all parents, giving them
the choice to do with it as they please. Now he has himself stuck
between a rock and a hard place. Does he break with Child Care promise
to Canadian parents and fund the Liberal promises, or does he do what
many in Alberta have been complaining about for years, and give Quebec
preferential treatment, like the Liberals? Either way, chock another
mark up for good Ol' Stephen. I'd be surprised if even HE believes
anything he says.

'They Were Comfortable Having Me There'

Despite a poll stating that only 20% of residents in Vancouver Kingsway
knew who David Emerson was before the election, the new Trade Minister
insists that the people voted for him, and not for the Liberal Party.
Because of this, he does not feel the need to step down, or for a
by-election. He claims that he was never a partisan, and therefor never
REALLY a Liberal. Funny how just before the election he was asking NDP
supporters in the riding to lend their votes to him to 'keep the
Conservative party out of power.' I guess they're not so scary when
they're offering you power. I also suppose that Mr Emerson really has no
respect for the people who believed anything he said before the
election. So much for government accountability.

Truthfully Yours

What's The Difference??

The parallels between our government, and the circus to the south continue. Mr. Stephen (Duh, what promise?) Harper has named Gordon O’Connor as our new Defense Minister. This is the same O’Connor that represented Airbus (Mulroney’s best friends), Atlas Elektronik, BAE, you name it. So I guess there will be no surprises come time to big on the countless useless military projects Lord Harper the magnificent plans to thrust upon us. If there is big money to be made, why not make sure you have a lobbyist on the inside right? Gotta wonder if Harper himself has any stake in these companies.. Hey, I don’t think it’s far out of the realm of possibility for Mr. Harper to take the GW Bush approach to finances down the road. Less public programs (for those that actually need it) in favor of more guns (in case he needs more oil). Maybe Ontario had it right after all….

What Did I Do?

So David Emerson and Stephen Harper cannot understand the fuss behind the whole bait and switch that took place. Well, let’s take a look. The election is less than a week old. David Emerson (financed by his Liberal counterparts, campaigned for by his Liberal devotees) has just finished a strenuous week of campaigning on the evils of the CPC, about how dangerous electing them would be. His (arguably the Liberal Party’s) faithful concur with him. In fact, they give him, and his party, a resounding 43.5 percent of the vote. The NDP candidate makes a run of it, getting 33.5 percent. The Conservative candidate’s total reflects a reality that is already well known. Metro Canada has no intention of ever voting CPC. So he gets what he wants from his people, right? Apparently not. You see, apparently, Stephen Harper is no longer the ultimate evil. In fact, apparently, David Emerson, and all of the people who voted for him, were wrong about the man. Thank the lord that Emerson discovered this. He quickly righted this wrong, and ensured that the people in Vancouver-Kingsway were set on the right path, the one chosen by the obviously more intelligent, 18.8 percent of the population. He is, after all, doing it for the good of the riding. What would the 77 percent of the population who said no to Harper (many thanks to him) know about their needs anyway? Welcome to democracy, Harper style. I hope that you read this, and that eventually, you get it.

Truthfully Yours

How Young Is Too Young?

Vic Toews, our new Justice Minister (who seems to have trouble with our
laws himself), is getting the gang worked up already. It seems that one
of the campaign promises he plans to tackle soon is the Age Of Consent
law. Vic plans on raising this from fourteen, to sixteen years of age.
In theory, this might be a good idea. I agree that at the age of
fourteen, many teens are not able to understand the actions, the
significance or the consequences of those actions, and therefor are not
equipped to handle the many situations. However, what we see happening
more often than not, is sixteen year old boys getting charged with
statutory rape, for having intercourse with consenting 14 year old
girls. This is not what the law is intended for, However, let's be
honest. How many parents look at it that way, when it comes to their
daughters? How many teenage boys, being teenage boys, are going to have
statutory rape on their records for the rest of their lives? Whether
statutory or not, the word rape looks just as bad on your record. Just
something to think about today.

Harper Upsets His Buddies

Well, depending on who you read, the current CPC MPs were either livid,
secretly miffed, or rather indifferent. You can probably guess who says
what. I guess the only point to make here is that any CPC member who is
not upset with the appointment of Fortier is either lying, or totally
dishonest. When a Party campaigns as hard as the CPC did for government
accountability, and against government corruption, and power mongering,
and yet simply appoints unelected officials to the Cabinet, someone
should be upset. When a Party lambastes a former member who crossed the
floor, attacks them personally, and demands investigations while
labelling the other party as corrupt and elitist, then turns around and
hands a cabinet post of their own to a member of that same party, as
compensation for crossing the floor, someone should be upset. Just
because the Party's leader is a two-faced, moral-lacking liar, does not
mean the entire party is. For those who see where this is taking them,
it's not too late. For the rest of you, thank you for proving exactly
what those of us in Ontario already knew. One, that ethics is not
something you really value, but a catchphrase, a boogeyman term you
throw around to elevate yourselves, while doing exactly what it is
you're condemning. Normally, these people are called hypocrites, but
when they abuse religion and it's values while playing the game, I'd say
plain evil is the term I'm looking for. For two, it really is a case of
same crap, different pile. The main difference? At least the Liberals
saw most things the way we did. So much for that chance at a majority,
Mr Harper.

Truthfully Yours

The Double Standards Of Stephen Harper

Remember the name Belinda Stronach. Remember the insults, the degradations, the downright nastiness that accompanied her switch of allegiances, from the Conservative Party of Canada, to the Liberals. Remember the cries for a by-election, and an investigation into her defection. Remember the complaints that she was given a portfolio right away. Now remember the name David Emerson. After winning his seat in Vancouver on election night, AS A LIBERAL, he was given a seat in Harper’s cabinet, as a Conservative. I look forward to Harper’s explanation of this one.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do…. Part Three…

Harper stated before the election that he would only appoint elected senators and officials to his Cabinet. Well, that promise lasted an entire two weeks. With the appointment of Michael Fortier to the Cabinet, and to the Senate yesterday, Harper proved that the Liberal Party is not the only one capable of abusing it’s power, and that his word is about as valuable as a Stockwell Day quote. So let’s see, since being elected, Harper has proclaimed more government accountability. How does he do this? By ignoring the Ethics commissioner, stating that SMS is not a priority while saying he’d like to get it out of the way as soon as possible, decrying the Liberals bribing elected officials to switch sides, and then nabbing one of his own. He has even decided that the Senate (that he advised all Ontarians not to worry about as they are Liberal biased) needed a little unelected flavor. Oh yes, and our new Justice Minister? You may remember him leading guilty to breaking Canada’s election laws. Yup, definitely morally superior to the Liberal Party of Canada. Seriously, can we trust anything this guy says??

The Outcry Over Mohammed

Many have to be asking, why aren’t more Christians, and Westerners more upset by the depictions in this cartoon? Well, over the years, we have come to recognize that nothing is sacred and safe anymore. They, quite frankly, are no different to us than seeing a depiction making fun of Santa Claus. What does bother me, however, is the reaction in much of the Middle East. I ask these people that are looting, and attacking the Embassies and Communities of Christians around the world. Are you stupid? Seriously. With these events, they have just proven every stereotype that has ever been applied to them. They have proven that they are nothing but Barbaric, violence-addicted criminals, who only want to hurt God fearing people. They have played right into Dubya’s hand. I’d feel sorry for them, but as anyone who reads this knows, there is nothing I hate more than hypocrisy. And I’m pretty sure they are not innocent of ridiculing Christianity themselves.

Truthfully Yours

WHERE DID RELIGION GO WRONG

One of the most controversial issues in politics today is the role
religion plays in it. Before I start, let me say two things. One, I am
Catholic myself (although not very active), and two, I have nothing
against organised religion. I can't be clear enough about these two
things. However, the fact that organised religion is now creeping back
into federal politics is something that cannot be dismissed. Religion is
a personal belief system, used to shape your own personal beliefs, and
goals in life. Every person in our wonderful country has their own
interpretations of what it is they are supposed to do in life. Using
your politic position in life to force those views onto others is
blatant discrimination. This is exactly what religion in politics does.
It excuses discrimination for the sake of that particular group's
version of the greater good. In my version of the world, God has never
asked me to discriminate. He has asked me to spread his word, sure, and
let others know just how good things can be. But he has also asked me
NOT to judge others, and to treat them exactly as I would have them
treat me. He has taught me to look out for my brothers and sisters,
especially those that have less than I do, or are less fortunate, and he
has taught me that greed is a sin. He has taught me to be humble, and to
realise that I am no better than those I look down upon. So where did we
all go wrong with this? When did we decide that we have the right to
tell others how to live their lives? When did God decide that we should
say tough luck to those who need us most, that they deserve what they
get. When did God pass the message along that since I make three times
more money than that family over there, that I have no obligation to
share my wealth and good fortune, and instead should watch them suffer
(even though they probably work three times as hard as I do, for a third
of the pay). What would our higher power (regardless of your religion)
think of today's lack of compassion for society? Many on the right label
my views as Socialist, but what is wrong with that? What is wrong about
caring about the good of humanity as a whole, and hoping to give as many
people as possible a decent shot at a good, happy life? What is it about
Frank marrying Steve, or Jody marrying Susan that is going to harm me? I
think it's wrong, and I would never do it myself, but it is not my life,
it's not harming me. They know I don't approve of it, and leave it at
that. End of story. Sex before marriage, same thing. Infidelity? Shame
on you, but has nothing to do with me (unless it happens to be my wife,
then we have trouble). The fact is, there is nothing wrong with
tolerating views and practices that you dont agree with. There is
nothing wrong with wanting to help others achieve their maximum
potential, and giving them a financial helping hand along the way. Is
there going to be people who abuse that support? Of course there is.
There is always going to bad apples. There is nothing we can do about
that. But the strong majority of people who are receiving the pitiful
amounts we give them to live on with social services, be it welfare,
unemployment, disability, or others, are only there because they have no
other options. They feel no better about taking our hard earned dollars
than most of us do when we have to ask those we care most about for
help. Instead of vilifying these people, we should be guiding them,
getting them back on their feet, and showing them that life does go on
for them. Tough breaks happen to all of us, regardless of our beliefs.
I'm pretty sure that no matter who your God is, he would rather you
ensure that the family down the street has something to eat, than for
you to go out and buy that second Mercedes for your family. Think about
that for a minute. All of this, of course, is my opinion of religion,
and cannot be forced on you, or anyone else, even though this is what I
take religion to mean. Others take more extreme views, and believe that
if it's wrong for them, it should be wrong for you too. They would make
this law in our nation. They would take their views, and make them
yours. In the process, they would turn their backs on those less
fortunate, and those most hard done by in society, to pad their wallets.
They do these things, while stating that way back when, our society was
founded on these religious testaments. The thing to remember is that way
back when, society was different. Canada was different. Canada is a MUCH
more diverse nation today than it ever was back then. A much more
tolerant (sometimes), and accepting nation. One that, until now, has
believed in 'To each their own' and 'Everyone deserves a chance'. The
warped view that many project as religion today, picking and choosing
the passages that suit their beliefs, while ignoring those that don't,
would tear the very fabric of our nation. We need to get back to the
humanitarian, passionate society that we once were, and leave our
bibles, and judgements, at home.

Truthfully Yours

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

At a recent NPC appearance, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (yes,
unfortunately, people do still listen to this guy), compared Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez to Adolf Hitler. His reasons? Well, both were
legally elected. Hey Donald, guess who else was legally elected (well,
sorta anyway). George W Bush, and Stephen Harper. That's right, North
America's very own right wing tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum. It gets
better though. Other examples of Chavez' extreme evil are that he has 'a
lot of oil money', and is consolidating power. Oh yes, and at one point,
there was a lot of corruption in that part of the world. Now, once again
everyone, who else is trying to consolidate power around the planet?
What other nation is currently scandal ridden? What other two North
American leaders are big oil men? Sorry, there are huge differences
here, Chavez didn't bomb some poor defenseless country into the stone
age to get his oil. Chavez doesn't lock up his own citizens for years
without charging them, just because they happen to look middle eastern.
Chavez doesn't silence his own people, just for disagreeing with him, or
make them disappear. Chavez also didn't win his election by ensuring
that certain elements of the population couldn't vote, or by having his
brother rig a state, or by having certain police elements of his state
throw out unfounded allegations days before the election (right
Stephen?) Hitler's Nazi Party was also well known for their propaganda,
and hate campaigns, unfounded allegations, and outright lies to their
people to make them go along. Sound familiar? So tell me now, who sounds
more like Hitler. Chavez? Bush? Or Harper? I'll go with B, and C.

Truthfully Yours

No Matter How Messed Up You Are, The Person Next To You Is Always More
Messed Up. Words To Live By.......

The Military Triumverate

Stephen Harper, Giuliano Zaccardelli, and Rick Hillier. Canada's own war
machine. It seems now that the election is over, Zaccardelli (RCMP), and
Hillier (Canadian Forces) are good buddies of Harper's. So now one has
to wonder, was the RCMP's publicy releasing information on an
investigation into Goodale just bad timing? Or was it a good plain ol'
case of election tampering? So now we have one agency withholding
information that could be bad for the CPC, and another purposefully
releasing unproven allegations, knowing it would affect the results.
Anybody else get the feeling that maybe the CPC isn't as ethical as
they'd like to have us believe? Get the feeling maybe we were scammed
by this current government? Guess the republicans aren't the only dirty
players on this continent, the only party who has no qualms with
blatantly lying and misleading their people to get what they want.
Hopefully we wake up before we end up down the same road our buddies to
the north are.

RESTORING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

One has to wonder, last night when Harper was giving the all too
familiar 'Restoring Government Accountability' spiel yesterday, if a
single reporter brought up the Grewal Scandal. Any money says it was not
even whispered. I guess his mission is to restore accountability to a
Liberal government, while avoid it himself. Maybe someday our media will
get some guts, and actually stand up for Canada. Until then, I guess
we'll just have to be content with the CPC spin we've all come to
know as news. Once again, I ask all Canadians, does this not seem oddly
familiar to you? Do we remember what happened to the last nation that
blindly followed it's leader's blatant misinformation?

Truthfully Yours

No Matter How Messed Up You Are, The Person Next To You Is Always More
Messed Up. Words To Live By.......

The GST Fiasco

So how many Canadians know the real truth behind the GST cut? How many truly believe that they will be paying less taxes when this goes through? How we’ve all been had. Not only will our personal exemption amount be going back up, and the tax bracket expanded to include those with lower income, but now it seems that any GST cut will be met with a raise in PST. According to many pundits, this was the idea all along. This was part of Harper’s idea to download some of the power to the provinces. Funny how that little part never got mentioned in the election campaign. Funny how once again, our ‘Liberal’ media never made this part public.

Guess I won’t be saving that dollar on my new TV after all……

Democracy, American Style

They’ve done it again. The Bush administration has preached democracy around the world, even used it as a pretense for war in Iraq (after all other excuses fell flat on their faces). Meanwhile, outside the public eye, they continue to display the exact opposite. After a democratic election provided the Hamas movement with a majority in Palestine, the US is now threatening to cut off assistance to the Palestinians. Now don’t get me wrong. I do not necessarily agree with the Hamas movement, but that does not give me the right to harm them for voting the way they felt they should. I guess they only accept democracy as long as you vote for the person they want.

Kinda reminds me of the CPC over here

Truthfully Yours