Friday, January 27, 2006

Is it Notwithstanding or Not?

I've been really confused by Stevie's proclamations about using the notwithstanding clause to eliminate my rights under the Charter. And now I know why. He really has been saying two different things. Check out this article by Brenda Cossman, a law professor at U of T. It finally makes sense.

Keep saying you're a moderate, Stevie... Maybe you can sell some bridges while you're at it.

Secret Harper/Bush Call Revealed!

Harper's been saying that his private phone conversation with Bushie was nothing more than simple congrats... But now we know the truth! Click here for the actual transcript!!!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Betrayed by the Globe and Mail

Ok, so far Harper has:
  • demonstrated his "family values" by stiffly shaking his kids hands as they went into school,
  • had a private heart to heart with Dubya,
  • and vowed to secure the artic for Canada.

Oh - and this: (from the Globe and Mail) "Asked for a timeline on his promise to revisit the same-sex-marriage debate, Mr. Harper said he expected to revisit the issue "within the life of Parliament."

"I would prefer to do it sooner rather than later, but not immediately," he said.

A statement issued by Vote Marriage Canada — a group devoted to having the traditional definition of marriage restored — said that "as many as 45 per cent" of the members of the new Parliament may support its position."

(get the full article here)

What I want to know is WHY THE HELL is the Globe and Mail quoting the shit spewed by Vote Marriage Canada??? Are they now an objective news source?! What the FUCK???

Take an actual poll, G&M - I dare you. 45%?? Bullshit.

We know the media behaved like it was Harper's love slave during the election. Looks like they are still blowing him.

And we're still getting screwed.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

You think?

A New Day


Ok. It's a new day. Harper is PM - with a government that is more minority than the last one...

You could hear the collective sigh of relief at about 10:30 pacific time last night, as Canada proved once again that we are a country that loves the middle ground. Talk last week of a possible Conservative majority was enough to make us start thinking again. Sure - everyone is sick of the Liberals. But giving the Reformers the keys to the kingdom? Nope - not quite ready to go there.
Today national thinking seems to be on two tracks:
  • That the allocation of seats will ensure that the Harperites will be unable to annex us to the US, and that women, gays and lesbians, and the poor are safe for now...
  • OR, that because the seats are allocated as they are, Harper, et al will push harder than ever to annex us to the US, gut our social programs, and make my legal marriage disappear.

Can you guess which track I'm supporting??

Everyone keeps assuring me that the Liberals and the Bloc will keep Harper in line. But what if the rumours are true, and Harper has bought the Bloc?

Fingers crossed...

Sunday, January 22, 2006

We're being watched...

Michael Moore Statement on Canadian Election

Michael Moore is currently in production on his next movie. As an avid lover of all things Canadian, he has issued the following statement regarding Canada's upcoming election on Monday:

Oh, Canada -- you're not really going to elect a Conservative majority on Monday, are you? That's a joke, right? I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny. Maybe it's a new form of Canadian irony -- reverse irony!

OK, now I get it. First, you have the courage to stand against the war in Iraq -- and then you elect a prime minister who's for it. You declare gay people have equal rights -- and then you elect a man who says they don't. You give your native peoples their own autonomy and their own territory -- and then you vote for a man who wants to cut aid to these poorest of your citizens. Wow, that is intense! Only Canadians could pull off a hat trick of humor like that. My hat's off to you.

Far be it from me, as an American, to suggest what you should do. You already have too many Americans telling you what to do. Well, actually, you've got just one American who keeps telling you to roll over and fetch and sit. I hope you don't feel this appeal of mine is too intrusive but I just couldn't sit by, as your friend, and say nothing.

Yes, I agree, the Liberals have some 'splainin' to do. And yes, one party in power for more than a decade gets a little... long. But you have a parliamentary system (I'll bet you didn't know that -- see, that's why you need Americans telling you things!). There are ways at the polls to have your voices heard other than throwing the baby out with the bath water.

These are no ordinary times, and as you go to the polls on Monday, you do so while a man running the nation to the south of you is hoping you can lend him a hand by picking Stephen Harper because he's a man who shares his world view. Do you want to help George Bush by turning Canada into his latest conquest? Is that how you want millions of us down here to see you from now on? The next notch in the cowboy belt? C'mon, where's your Canadian pride? I mean, if you're going to reduce Canada to a cheap download of Bush & Co., then at least don't surrender so easily. Can't you wait until he threatens to bomb Regina? Make him work for it, for Pete's sake.

But seriously, I know you're not going to elect a guy who should really be running for governor of Utah. Whew! I knew it! You almost had me there. Very funny. Don't do that again. God, I love you, you crazy cold wonderful neighbors to my north. Don't ever change.

Michael Moore

Too Little Too Late?...

I live a quiet life out in the boonies of northeastern BC. My vote on Monday is purely a statement of conscience, because I live in Jay Hill's riding, and the polls say he's leading with 55%. I've lived my life these past years trying to ignore him - and that's been entirely possible with the Reform/Conservatives in the opposition.

So the realistic possiblity of tempering a Tory landslide is not something I'm privy to outside my connection to the rest of the nation via the internet. Today I came across Think Twice and I'm glad that I'm certainly not alone in my worries about our nation's future. But is it too little too late?

Are there enough progressives and moderates in southern Ontario to make a difference? Are the Quebecers really buying the siren song of that wolf in sheep's clothing ?

My people are rushing to the alter in anticipation of the new world order on Tuesday. We know the Tory plan is reckless and will ultimately fail. But it's definitely a "two steps back" scenerio.

And all I can do is sit here in the boonies and wait, and watch...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Remember what we're choosing...

With only 2 days to go before the election, I'm resigning myself to the fact that, unless he's caught reclined nude on a pile of money with a 9 year old boy... Harper is going to win. This reality makes me very sad. I'm incredibly pissed at the Liberals for being such assholes that the average Canadian can't stomach another term of their corruption and scandal. And I'm frustrated with Jack Layton for seeming to apologize for providing the "third option." Like Oliver Twist, he begs for votes instead of standing up and fighting for the NDP. Love 'em or hate 'em, the NDP continues to be the only major party that really means what they say and says what they mean.

So because we're stuck with really no choice, Harper will win. But, dear Canadians, please don't fool yourself into thinking he has changed. He has kept the far right members of his party sufficiently muzzled this campaign. He's no dummy - give him that. But their views are the same as they always were. They are not the PC of old - they are Reformers in disguise, and will take us as far right as they possibly can. The Vancouver Sun has a great article about this very thing today. You can read it all here: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=a056990a-32cf-4e06-aabb-024f361e58f8 . But allow me to cut and paste a bit:

  • "Voters should not fool themselves into imagining that Conservatives, once in power, would not be much different from the Liberals. The electorate needs to recognize that they will be extremely different, in both good ways and bad.
    Harper will downsize government, stubbornly persist in trying to limit the definition of marriage to the cookie-cutter man/woman model, focus on promoting economic growth through the private rather than the public sector and reward citizens, as he so frequently says, who "work hard and play by the rules." His capital gains initiative would mainly benefit $100,000-plus earners.
    Harper has suggested he won't be bound by the Kyoto protocol, the requirements of which the hypocritical Liberals disgracefully ignored. This will be significant on the foreign policy front; withdrawing from a signed international accord isn't the sort of thing Canada is known for.Harper pledges to appoint judges with "a judicial temperament" -- prepared in their decisions to recognize parliamentary supremacy.And forget decriminalization of small amounts of pot.After a relatively brief fling with one of Canada's least ideological prime ministers, voters are about to embrace an ideologue."

Remember this as you vote on Monday. Because Harper will be limited only by the number of seats he holds. A majority? Can you say "USA North"?

Our next PM...?


Sunday, January 15, 2006

Does Wookiee Need a Website?



This is Wookiee, the newest member of our pack. He's a Pomchi and in this pic is only 4 month old. Just the right age to be getting his own website, don'tcha think?

That's exactly what is happening according to an article in today's New York Times. Parents are apparently buying up domain names for their infant (and sometimes unborn) children "before all the good names are taken." (See the URL http://tinyurl.com/78v4y for the full article.)

Good grief. My first reaction is that this is an egocentric example of the belly button gazing that preoccupies so many North Americans these days.

My second reaction, that I'm loath to admit - is that it's kind of cool... What if an internet presence is as necessary in 20 years as a phone number? And what if I don't have one? Never mind that I don't know anything about web page design. That I'm chuffed right now because I've figured out enough to add links (with pics, no less!) to my sidebar...

So I'm torn. What do you think? Does Wookiee need a website?

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Sometimes...

What my house feels like sometimes:



Thanks to Non Sequitor by Wiley Miller

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

More Harper Worries...

From Beth Gorham, Canadian Press - Washington (CTV.ca) in an article titled
"Relations with Canada in Flux as Bush Faces Political Storms"

...""The White House, upset that Canada rejected the missile-defence plan, was particularly miffed that Martin failed to personally tell the president.

And the willingness of Liberals to play against the Bush administration for political gain at home have some eyeing Stephen Harper and the Conservatives with relish.

"A Harper victory may prove to be the exception to the international rule - a rare foreign event that manages to put a smile on President George W. Bush's face," Basham wrote in a recent commentary in the conservative Washington Times newspaper.

"Move over Tony Blair: If elected, Mr. Harper will quickly become Mr. Bush's new best friend internationally and the poster boy for his ideal foreign leader.""...

Does this scare anyone else as much as it does me???

Harper denies any close ties - of course. But this article smells like more of the same smoke that has surrounded him for some time... Can you smell it?

For anyone who cares to look, the similarities between Harper's and the US Republican platform are obvious. Stephen is still dogged by the question of what he'll do about same sex marriage (which is so near and dear to my heart...) and his support of the Iraq quicksand pit is more than troubling.

More and more I wonder and worry about what will happen if the Conservatives get a majority...

Monday, January 09, 2006

January 23 - A New Hope? Or Revenge of the Sith?

"America is our Neighbour, NOT our Nation!"
~Paul Martin, Janauary 9,2006 Leadership Debate
Oh my freaking god, I'm actually quoting Paul Martin?! Crap.
I watched the debate tonight with fear and trepidation. It's no question that the Liberals, with all their back room deals and corrupt, slimy officials, have squandered whatever right they had to try and lead the country.
But Harper? Mr. Calm and Smiley and Wanting-Nothing-More-Than-To-Make-The-People-Happy? I'm sorry, but isn't he behaving much like Senator Palpatine in Episode II??? Only wanting the best... only wanting to save the nation (federation) by ending corruption (trade wars)?
Do Mr. and Ms. Average Canadian not realize that he thinks Bush is taking the US in the RIGHT direction??? (Pun intended) Does no one remember that he was/is a right-winger in the same way that Bush/Cheney and far right fundies are right-wingers??
And the Conservatives are ahead - really ahead - in the polls.
I'm getting a migraine.
I'm middle aged, middle class, and married. Just the type of Canadian that should love Harper, don'tcha think?? Unfortunately - I'm a lesbian, married to a woman. According to Harper and the Conservatives, my marriage is a threat to the very fabric of our country. I'm a second class citizen, undeserving of the same rights and protections as everyone else. How am I supposed to deal with that?
Enough about Harper.
I want to be optimistic. I want to believe that Canadians are researching each candidate's background, and not taking the rhetoric at face value. I want to believe that the NDP will actually make a decent showing on the 23rd.
But Jack was unfocused and stiff tonight. Paul was panicked and desperate. And Stephen? Stephen was eerily like Palpatine....

Sunday, January 08, 2006

The move to a Big Girl Blog...

Well, it's time I moved to a grown up blog. So here I am at blogger. MSN Spaces kept crashing and I swear I was the oldest blogger there.

They did have more selection when it came to layout. But like the evolution from Captain Crunch to All Bran, I'm feeling the need for less sugar and more substance.

Consider this blog a metaphor, because from where I sit in the middle aged section - I know I'm a work in progress...