My Prediction May Come True

I commented on this months ago. The new Pope, Benedict XVI, is convening his first synod. And one issue/proposal for discussion is the refusal of Communion for Catholic politicians who support Same-Sex Marriage.

I made that prediction/statement back in July. Let's see what happens with this one.

Another Positive Poll

And of course, it's just a small footnote in the MSM; no big headlines here.

See it here.

More on Dingwall / Liberal Corruption

Yikes. I'm not so bothered by his spending at the Mint; don't get me wrong, I think it's a little excessive, but the golf course, for example, really is a place where business happens. But, all of it put together is a little excessive.

The REAL problem is the other stuff. There's TPC, ACOA, VIA, ETC.; take your pick of the acronym. And that's just what we know about Dingwall's involvement. As for the Liberals, we know about Gomery... then Earnscliff, which, of course, most Canadians have NO CLUE about, thanks to the Liberal MSM... hey media, why isn't that link directly to the PMO getting ANY headlines? And you have the GALL to say the media is not biased? Now I hear about the $171 million to Canada Steamship Lines. Or we could talk about the HDRC fiasco, or the good old $2 BILLION+ gun registry. (hey Toronto... how's that working out for you?)

What will it take for the Canadian people to realize what has been and currently is going on here in this country? We're being held hostage by the Liberal Party of Canada, who, by draping themselves in the Canadian flag, seem to be able to get away with anything and everything!!!

Don't you see it? Can't you see it?

What is it going to take? To all in the media... how about a one day insert filled with an entire shakedown on what's been going on for the last 12 years? I'm willing to bet that whatever paper did that would boost circulation INSTANTLY. I'd go out and buy that edition... and I NEVER buy the paper. They could double their output for that day and it'd be a sellout for sure.

Hey Gloria... you up for the challenge? I'd be one of your biggest fans if you did!

Can you say "OOPS"!

On the main page at Canada.com, there was a picture of the PM flipping a burger. The story entitled "Parliament hosts Katrina fundraiser BBQ" is here. Check out the story before reading further...

But when I clicked on the photo of the PM (and other party leaders) to read the story, it took me here!

The Power of the Blogger...

David Dingwall RESIGNS from his post at the Royal Canadian Mint.

Could this have been due to the persistance of the blogger that all this stuff got dug up?

We need to have little buttons to wear at events that says "I'm a Blogging Tory" or something as such. How about it Stephen? (Taylor I mean...)

The Current vs. The Next Finance Minister

Wow; Monte took a huge swipe at Ralph today. Take a look at this post on Monte's website.

The little guys just keep getting stepped on. People in this country seem to think that the Conservative Party is the party of the rich. Amm, people, try checking the who's who of political donations at Elections Canada. I think you'll find the "elite" of this nation by and large support the Liberal Party of Canada. Most of their donors are big dollar ones, most of the Conservative donations are peanuts... but when you multiply it by 5-10 times as many people, you get the massive fund raising that the Tories have been doing.

NOTE: Interesting... as a bunch of us Tories have been doing some donation digging of late, the Elections Donation search tool is down...

More former Cabinet involved in TPC

Another former Liberal Cabinet minister, Susan Whelan, is involved with the growing TPC scandal. She was hired by DAIMLERCHRYSLER CANADA to lobby TPC on their behalf. Toque tip to SoapBox22.
Evidence here.

And guess who Chrysler has contributed to? From Elections Canada:
DaimlerChrysler Canada Ltd 2000 Business Liberal Party $14,458.30

The most recent contributions for 2005 are not up yet... would be interesting to get a look at those...

Say you own a company...

Say you're the owner of a large and sucessful company. Say you did really well, and had a whole lot of employees. And a HUGE annual budget, say, worth several billion dollars.

Now, in the daily operation of your company, you discover something rather disturbing. You discover that over the course of the last few years, hundreds of millions of dollars, your hard earned dollars, have gone missing. As you start digging, you discover that things are even worse than you first thought... some of this money has ended up going to the friends of several of your employees!

You call in an investigator, who finds several individuals who coroborate the details of what happened. Money was funneled from a little known project, to friends of your employees who were working on the project; of that, there is no doubt. So, naturally, you start to ask questions of your upper management. You want to know how on earth something like this could be missed.

So, you speak to your former CFO, who happens to now be your CEO. He's the one who signed the cheques... when you're talking about this amount of money, he must have noticed something. He claims to have seen nothing, heard nothing, known nothing, about any of this money. However, for some strange reason, some of his friends had also benefited from this fiasco. Coinciedence?

After all your months of digging, you've exposed a host of corrupt employees, and discovered where millions of missing dollars went; to their friends. Then, you discover that there is more... where does it end? An investigation is made into a company where some of your present CEO's friends work... and you're blocked at every turn. Some members of your staff, upon word that their jobs are at risk, spend billions on a short term corporate alliance with a rival company. Naturally, this should alarm you... they are, after all, using your money for their gain. You hold off on the pink slips for a while, and start to dig into more projects... and what's this? Your present CEO and his staff cancel another big multi-million dollar project that you've just begun to investigate. Why would they do that, you ask yourself?

All of this doesn't add up somehow. So, the question is, what do you do with these employees?

You have the power, and every right, to fire them all. The end of their contract is approaching, and you can decide whether or not not to renew it. There's another member of your Board of Directors who's equally qualified, and has proven himself capable; maybe you think he's a little wooden, but he knows his stuff... he's a former economist, and well versed in all the major issues your company is facing; he and his staff are ready to run the ship.

Your present CEO, fearful of being fired, calls a meeting. And he says "Trust me, I'll fix it."

Do you trust him, and renew his contract? Or do you fire him?


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any parallels to any national situations or individuals is purely deliberate, and is intended to wake you up to the reality of the situation. But, ultimately, it's your company... you decide.

The Scope of Scandal Grows

This is unbelievable. First, we heard about AdScam. Then Earnscliff. (The MSM is still late to the party on that one) Then TPC. And now, it appears there's going to be a whole lot more. $7.7 BILLION given, in advance, to UNACCOUNTABLE FOUNDATIONS?!?!?!? Foundations, registered non-profit corporations, at ARMS LENGTH FROM PARLIMENT?!?!?

WHAT HAPPENED TO GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE? THIS KIND OF SET UP IS GOVERNMENT BY THE LIBERALS, NO MATTER WHO IS IN POWER!!! UNACCOUNTABLE, UNAUDITED, OPAQUE!

More on this later. Toque tip to SoapBox22.

TPC - The Scandal Grows

Man oh man. The Globe has exposed more in the TPC fiasco. The Opposition better be grilling the government on this one. We don't need a multi-million dollar inquiry... just open up the files! Access To Information requests, and let the media do it for free.

David Dingwall, former Chretien cabinet Minister, is right in the thick of this one.

How many other cases of this are out there? How many will it take to get Canada's attention?

Gasoline and Rumors of Gasoline

Excuse me while I wipe the egg off my face. Funny how rumours start. I heard that gas was up to $2.25 in Cambridge from a co-worker, who was on the phone with a friend in Cambridge. I figured she (this friend) had seen the signs herself. But alas, having been to Cambridge and back tonight, I have seen no postings for gas over $2.00. Nor have I even seen any over $1.10... yet.

But, to pre-empt the Oil execs from gouging me... I went and spent their upcoming annual profits that they expected to collect from me. That's right... I ensured that their profits by-passed their pockets, and I redirected them to the pockets of a small local business man. Yes execs, you heard me right. Your efforts to grow your bottom line have finally pushed me to the brink... I went out and bought a bike.

A nice bike. One that will get me from my work to downtown to the store to home. One that will let me leave my car in the driveway four or more days a week. One that will stretch a tank of gas to two or three weeks.

Hey, who said a Tory can't be eco-friendly? I certainly am, I just know Kyoto is bad for Canada. But I'm still planning on, and always have been doing, my part to save the planet. But Kyoto is just an all around bad deal for Canada, and if you support it, then you really have no idea about what you're talking about. Any agreement that exempts high polluting countries because they aren't "First World Nations" (read China and India) is a world plan for wealth re-distribution, NOT a plan to save the environment.

Excuse me, I have to save the world by biking to my place of capitalistic employment now...

GAS AT $2.25!!!

I just caught word that gas is at $2.25 a litre in Cambridge, ON!

Time to start mass protests in the streets! Oil is STILL under $70 a barrel... what could possibly justify that 100% price jump!?!?!?!?

Toronto Tory's 30 Day Challenge

You've heard of the "One Ton Challenge", right? How about a "30 Tons of Corruption" challenge?

Toronto Tory has indicated that he will be posting a new example of Liberal Party corruption DAILY for the next 30 days. Likely will be links to people and companies who donated to the Liberals, and who have recieved some sort of funding in return.

This oughta be good stuff. I'll be checking daily, you can be assured of that.

Here's the main page where you'll find the goods.

MSM - Inventing their own stories

Did you ever watch James Bond in "Tomorrow Never Dies"? Yes indeed, the media DOES invent their own stories. The headlines today prove it.

This most recent hub-bub about Carol Jamieson (who, prior to this, was virtually unknown) and her open letter to Tory supporters everywhere is a prime example. In it, she calls for Stephen Harper to step down, saying that "he's dreaming" about moving into 24 Sussex.

This story was created, start to finish, by the Globe & Mail's Gloria Galloway; it's a self fullfilling prophecy of a Conservative Party implosion, orchastrated by someone in the media. First, four low level Tories in Quebec make a stink, and Gloria picks up on it. She adds to it some questionable material about candiates resigning in the GTA, (as for one candidate, it was 100% UNTRUE, he was still running) and makes another of story out of it.

She then uses these things as a base for another story about a "mass revolt" in the Tory party, in which she quotes an anonymous Tory "insider", who turned out to be an area organizer named Carol Jamieson. It gets some media coverage, so, for reasons known only to her, Carol decides to write a posion pen letter, and single handedly attempts to scuttle the Party by openly calling for Harper's resignation, (or execution) which then gets, of course, mass media attention.

Now, where did this all start again? Oh yea, four guys in Quebec, making their voices heard. Nothing big, I rolled my eyes, but that was it. But then Gloria, the Liberal media spokesperson, goes to a former Belinda cheerleader, Carol, to try digging for more. Makes sense... when you know someone is cranky about how things have gone, go to them for more dirt to keep the snowball building. I wonder... did she offer any resistance to her interogator? Did she even realize that she'd been duped by the enemy?

You have to remember... Carol is the one who helped to give us Belinda Stronach. Do we REALLY want her advice on the Party Leadership? That's smart thinking... last time, she not only picked a dud, but she picked the horse who decided to run the track IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. And in all that she's done, she claims it was for the good of the Party. Hummm... where did I hear that one before? Oh yea, I think Belinda said something like that at her turncoat press conference.

You know what's good for the Party? Fewer destructive people, and more people who will take what they percieve as a bad situation, and make it better. KILLING THE LEADER RIGHT BEFORE AN ELECTION IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT! If she was any kind of political organizer worth her salt, SHE'D KNOW WE'RE LIKELY GOING INTO A FALL ELECTION! Why on earth would she give the media this kind of a frenzy to feed on? She must have known there would be no chance for us to win if she pulled this stunt... so why did she do it?

It can't be for the good of the Party... because she's just taken us four steps back. The Liberals are starting their chant... "Four more years!" Thanks a lot Carol.

UPDATE: A really good post on this is at Stephen Taylor's website.

Carol "Trojan Tory" Jamieson

Harper won 85% support at the leadership convention. Which means 15% didn't support him. Which means that there is a fringe within this 15% who care nothing for the Party, and are willing to scuttle our chances for their own selfish ambitions. Which explains blowhards like Carol Jamieson. Carol, were you there at the Convention in Montreal? 85%, remember? WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US? Why are you deliberatly attempting to hurt our chances? Every time you open your mouth, you give the Liberals a boost in the polls. Funny, you seem to accuse Harper of the same thing...

I hear Belinda is looking for an organizer. Carol, please feel free to jump ship anytime... I hear that Canada Steamship Lines has a really great gravy train...

You know what? Just to tick her off, I'm going to show my support for Harper and renew my membership for another 2 years.

Then, Angus Reid releases this poll. Read the comment after the question CAREFULLY...

If federal elections were held today, for which of the following political parties would you be most likely to vote for?
(Leaners included)

LEANERS INCLUDED? I'd like to see a more accurate question, which allows people to indicate they are split/undecided!

But, of course, the MSM will take both these stories and predict doom and gloom for the Conservatives.

UPDATE - Touque tip for the "Trojan Tory" nick goes to Stephen Taylor

TPC - I've heard NOTHING from the MSM

But this thing just keeps getting bigger and bigger. (link is to an old report, but that's the best overview I could find) How many other slush funds are out there? What about Earnscliff? Why is this not being reported? Where is Gloria when Canada needs her? She could make her carrer if she started digging into these.

And now the program has been cancelled. I sure hope this does not get swept under the rug.

PM - The Jedi Master

It seems our PM may be well trained in the Jedi arts... though some may argue that he's really a Sith Lord...

(touque tip to Progressive Right)

Sheila Copps - Star Reporter

Can you imagine Sheila Copps grilling Paul Martin in the media scrum? That's would be GREAT FUN TO WATCH!!!

A small blurb from the Hill Times. (Subscription required to read full article)

Gloria Interviews(?) a Liberal

Interesting... Gloria seems to have been very merciful to Health Minister Dosanji on Friday in their "exclusive" interview with him. I wonder how easy it was to set up this interview, being that she's a Liberal public spokesperson... the Liberals had no problem setting up the interview because they knew there would only be a positive spin on it.

Nice try Gloria. We're still waiting for REAL journalism. Now, if your story had attacked the slow pace of progress charted by the Liberals, you may have begun to redeem yourself... but, sadly, the hole has been dug further.

Protesting Gas Prices

Most media, surprise, surprise, won't be covering this, but CFRB 1010 and 680News in Toronto are reporting that various Conservative MP's, candidates, and volunteers in the GTA are at several gas stations to protest the exorberant Federal taxes on gas.

Read all about it here.

Quebec Dissenters & good old Belinda

I thought I smelled something... it appears, though it's not proven, that the "dissenters" were Stronach supporters. From Politics Watch:

"Party officials told the Canadian Press the four individuals that signed the e-mail appeared to have supported Conservative defector Belinda Stronach during last year's Tory leadership race."

Uh-huh. I thought so. I knew I shoulda put money on that bet.

My first choice during the leadership race was Harper... my second was Tony. I just never had a good feeling about her all along. Star candidate indeed.

My Letter to the Globe & Mail

I encourage you to do the same. Here's my message sent to them today:

I have been reading several stories by Gloria Galloway this week, and I am shocked by the lack of credible source information upon which she builds her stories.

Who is Gloria Galloway? I've been searching online and I can't find any info on her. Could you provide some details about who she is? Also, her "investigative" reporting has been extremely biased this week... could you comment on this? I am very disappointed in the lack of truth and perpetuation of falsehood that has been characterizing her reporting of late.

Now, true, if there is a major breakup of the Conservative Party, that would be news. However, she is using the dissent of 4-6 people, and making it sound like half the Party want Harper out. How on earth does one come to such conclusions? There is just as much, if not more, bickering in the Liberal Party, and that is much more public. (re: Warren Kinsella, etc.) Yet Gloria keeps harping on Harper.

Is this journalism? Or does she have a biased and hidden agenda to perpetuate the myth?

I look forward to your response. You may reply via e-mail or online at "http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com", where a copy of this letter will be posted.

And the reply when I hit "submit":

Thank You!
Your request has been filed, as request number -585-NF-357754.
Please note this request number for future reference.
Thank you for subscribing to The Globe and Mail.

Awaiting the response.

Gloria Strikes Again!!!

What is going on over at the Globe? Talk about a vendeta! Who's the one with the Hidden Agenda? Gloria Galloway, card carring Conservative-Basher, is publishing more tripe! Read this story carefully... HAS SHE IN FACT UNCOVERED MORE DISSENT? No, in fact, she's just repeating what she's already said, and using that as the foundation for this new article!

Contact the Globe, and ask for answers. They are perpetuating the myth of a split Party with NO EVIDENCE!!! There is JUST AS MUCH STRIFE in the Liberal Party of Canada (enter the Chretienites like Warren Kinsella), but Gloria has convinently and consistantly missed this fact!

GLORIA, when will you start giving us some REAL journalism? How about the latest Liberal scandal, the TPC fiasco at Industry Canada? If she dug into and blew the lid off that story, she'd prove that she's a truely unbiased journalist. But then again, that wouldn't fall in line with her hidden Liberal agenda, now would it?

Healthcare - "Fixed for a Generation"

Remember that tagline? Global National tonight had a GREAT review of the Liberal promise from the last Federal Election, which has had virtually NO progress since it was made.

They reminded everyone that the long wait times started AFTER Healthcare funding was gutted by the Federal Government of the 1990's. (who's idea was that anyway?) They exposed that the $41 Billion promised in new health spending is to be implemented over the NEXT 10 YEARS, with only $2.2 billion next year; thus, no short term relief is in sight. They exposed the fact that the issue of wait times is STILL BEING STUDIED, with no reports due until DECEMBER. And no deadline for implentation until MARCH 2007.

So, you REALLY wanna talk Healthcare?

Mulroney was right on one count

Much of Mulroney's criticism of Liberals are centred around former prime minister Jean Chretien and the so-called Parliamentary Rat Pack, which included then opposition MPs Sheila Copps, Brian Tobin, Don Boudria and John Nunziata.

"The Rat Pack? These are Nazis," Mulroney said in his interviews of the group of opposition MPs that tormented him during question period.

"They deal in lies and calumnies. They are the worst kind. The Liberals developed this Nazi-style caliper - tell a lie often enough about somebody and people will believe it." Original link here.

Sound familiar? Yea, "Hidden Agenda" and all...

The Galloway's - Random Speculation

In the well established journalistic tradition of the now infamous Gloria Galloway of the Globe & Mail, I have slapped together some pieces of truth, added my own speculation, and come up with a whopper of a story...

I did some digging on the Elections Canada website, and ran a donations search on the last name "Galloway". I came up with a consistent Liberal Party of Canada donor named "David A. Galloway". Now, I will be very careful here, and I make no confirmed accusations of any kind whatsoever, as Mr. Galloway is the former CEO of the Torstar Corporation, CEO of the Bank of Montreal, and is presently on the Board of Directors at the Hospital for Sick Children. He is also a well recognized donor to several Universities and charitable causes. I do not want to mess with this distinguished gentleman.

I've noticed in the publicly available records from Elections Canada that he has donated over $2400 to the Liberal Party of Canada over the last 10 years, and he lives in Toronto. In reading his BMO bio, it says "Mr. Galloway is married with two children and lives in Toronto." Now, in further digging, I've discovered that his wife's name is July; I thought maybe it was Gloria, but, alas, it is not. I did however notice that he has two children, and I have not been able to determine their gender, or their names.

I've also noticed that Gloria Galloway is in the media. Interesting... so was David. How old is Gloria? I can't find any bio info on her anywhere. So, could she be one of the kids? Or a cousin? Maybe a sister or niece? Therefore, could she be using her post in the media to espouse her family dedication to the Liberal Party of Canada?

Again... just wild, random speculation. However, no better or worse than Gloria's recent journalist endeavours.

(NOTE: This is all, really, just wild speculation... don't expect me to defend it if it's inaccurate! Just hope it puts a smile on everyone's face, as this little piece of truth and fiction is meant to be humourous, nothing more)

What did "30-days after Gomery" mean?

The Right. Hon. Paul Martin made a promise to the Canadian people during his April address to the nation. He said that 30 days after Justice Gomery issues his report, "I will call an election". The Canadian people decided to support him and allow his government to continue, due in large part, to this promise. After all, that was only fair; wait for the report from the Judge who's job it was to report on and assign the blame. That's fair and rational.

He knew, at that time, that there would be two reports. The rest of Canada, the people, didn't know that. I certainly didn't. The majority assumed that Judge Gomery would hand down a report assigning blame, and we would go to the polls.

Therefore, we should be going to the polls shortly after the FIRST REPORT, the report that Canadians wanted to see. We honoured his request, and said we'd wait for Gomery to pass judgement before condemning the Liberals. So, the judgement against the Liberals will be on Nov. 1, NOT Feb. 1.

The Feb. 1 report will be the technical details and recommendations for the NEXT GOVERNMENT on how to prevent similar corruption from occuring again. If Paul Martin is re-elected this fall, then he can follow the recommendations from Justice Gomery. If he's not, then the next PM can follow the recommendations.

I vote for a Fall election. Let us see the report, then vote. No more spin, no more delays, give us the info we've been waiting for, then go to the ballot box.

Gomery - Final Report Delayed

Judge Gomery will be delaying his final report for 6 weeks, pushing is back to Feb. 1 due to the huge volume of public input. Liberals will be glad, the election won't be called until March 1. Read all about it from the Globe & Mail.

Media Reporting CBC is Biased

Yes, you heard me correctly. Global is reporting a Tory Senator who's article was published in the Hill Times. Marjory LeBreton is hoping the CBC lockout will continue, so they won't be around to espouse their bias during the next Federal election.

Will anyone notice this? Not likely. But you can read all about it here.

Gomery: This report's gonna be good

Well, we'll just see if the Globe's gonna be right. Some pundits say the Gomery reports will never see the full light of day, but you could say that I'm an eternal optimist. The Globe said this morning, on the front page no less, that senior Liberals will likely get clobbered by the first report, due Nov. 1. Here's hoping my predictions for the House falling shortly thereafter are correct. Here's the story.

NOT REPORTED BY MSM

Did any of you hear about this in the main stream media? I think not. Looks like ANOTHER Canadian pastor is getting sued for an article he wrote about homosexuality. He's being hauled in front of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, and he will most likely lose. He'll be fined $7000 and be forced to publish an appology, which he has already said he will refuse to do, even if it means jail.

Original report from LifeSite.com here.

Republished on WorldNetDaily.com here.

In cases like this, I hate being right. I've always said that this is how things would go down here in Canada. How is it that some teenage/twenty-something pundit like myself HAS BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG, when the MSM, who's been telling us over and over again that Ottawa has promised that THESE KINDS OF THINGS WON'T HAPPEN?

USA vs CANADA

Well, this cartoon is a fairly good summary of US/Canada relations...

(credit to 905 Tory)

Liberals - Banking on YOUR Forgetfulness

Here's a quote from an article on Canada.com:

"Gomery is scheduled to deliver two reports: a more sensational one at the beginning of November about what went wrong in the so-called Adscam, and a more technical one by mid-December about what steps the government should take to avoid a repeat of the scandal.

That would give the Liberals the luxury of waiting up to two and a half months, including the Christmas holiday, to let any public uproar triggered by the November report die down before an election call."

Exactly what I've been saying all along. All it takes is 2 months for Canadians to forget. We have the attention span of a two year old. That's why Mr. Martin said he would call an election within 30 days of the report... the SECOND report, of course. Then it's a full TWO MONTHS after the first and most damaging report before he even calls the election, then another 6-week campaign... ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE UNTIL THREE AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER THE EXPLOSIVE FIRST REPORT!!! Do you remember how long it was before the Canadian people had already forgotton about AdScam? By the time of the May budget vote, most people's anger had subsided... ONLY ONE MONTH AFTER GOMERY BLEW THE COVER OFF THE SCANDAL!

So, the Right Hon. Paul Martin wins again. He manipulated the Canadian people with that phony act in front of the cameras during his address to the nation at the end of April. Boy, he's got some of the best spin people in the business working for him.

So, that's why I appealed to the Opposition parties, DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT! Bring down the House within a week after the first report comes out, and the only Liberal Party spin we'll see is their heads!

I never thought I'd say this... WAY TO GO DALTON!!!

Looks like Dalton McGuinty has, for the first time, done something that I REALLY like... he's launched the first salvo in an all out war on Paul Martin. He's launched a website calledwww.StrongOntario.ca, asking for Ottawa to close the "$23 Billion dollar gap" between what Ontario pays and what it gets from its annual taxes.

Now, I'm fine with the fact that Ontario pays Federal taxes that are redistrubuted to help the rest of the nation; it's part of the price of being in Canada, and I'm fine with that. So I disagree with Dalton on that point. But I just love the fact that he's stepping up his efforts, and I think many in Ontario will agree with him.

Let's see how this one plays out!

Liberal BIAS in Media - Exposed

Nice job of fact checking Globe & Mail. Here's the retraction. But, of course, the damage is done already. Here's the story at Small Dead Animals.

The Silence of Hypocrisy

Sitting at a traffic light in Canada's activist capital, Guelph, Ontario, a stunning thought came to me. It may have been prompted by the sight of a shaved headed girl and her similarly garbed boyfriend a block or so earlier, but the thought came to fruition while I waited for the light to change. I started thinking about the one group of people in Canada who have proven time and time again that they have the power to change things here in our nation. The class of people who no government can mess with... the Activists.

I remember the various anti-globalization protests for the G8 summit meetings, and various protests in Toronto over the years by my angry peers; be it against Mike Harris, homelessness, the G8, George Bush, etc. In Canada, we have a very effective activist lobby, who, when things are not as they should be (at least in their eyes), boy, do they ever speak out!

When Canada's activists want their voice to be heard, it is heard loud and clear. Every media outlet in the nation carries their message, whether or not we may agree with it. And as a result, in the past, when they speak out, things have changed. The world leaders were forced to put Africa at the top of the priority list at the most recent G8 summit, and various pledges have been made to make a difference. (we'll see if anything really changes though) Activists are well known as haters of injustice, poverty, George Bush, capitalism, government corruption, Industrial Globalization, and all the other the rich powerbrokers of the world. They want to rid the world of such things in order, they say, to make life better for every man and woman around the globe.

So, while waiting for the light, I thought to myself, "Hang on a sec. Where are all the activists, marching down every street, decrying our own corrupt government?"

Wherefore art thou, oh activist? I commend you for all your efforts to rid this world of corruption, but, why haven't I seen you on TV lately? We've got a corrupt government on our hands here, who have been exposed, and won't leave, and we need you to depose them! We know you can't stand corruption, we've seen it before, and we're so very grateful for all the times you've exposed the corruption of our neighbours to the South. (see ENDNOTE) BUT WE URGENTLY NEED YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, IN OUR OWN COUNTRY, TO HELP US GET RID OF CORRUPTION! If you guys were to hit the streets, show us your stuff, pull out all the stops, then Ottawa would listen, and we could toss out a corrupt party and start fresh! Imagine... a responsible, accountable, trustworthy government, who would have you to thank for cleaning up the mess that the last guys left! Could you imagine what sort of voice you could then have? Ottawa would know in no uncertain terms that the people have spoken, and will listen to your voice!

What was that? Did you just say "No thanks"? What do you mean? You don't want to expose and rid our nation of corruption? Oh. I see. May I ask you why? What was that? Oh, I see, the "other guy" is going to gut our social safety net, and will ruin healthcare. Amm, may I ask who told you that? Oh, you heard that on the news. Hidden agenda you say? I see. Did you hear that Mr. Harper has dealt with most of those questions? No? Amm, have you checked any of their policies? What was that? Actually, yes, they have clearly stated where they stand on all those issues, didn't you check their website? Oh, I see. I understand. Yes, the CBC lockout is upsetting to me too. What was that? "The herald of truth and all that is good in Canada"? Amm, yea, I can't, er, wait to get them back either.

Okay, so much for my fictional conversation with an activist. If you're an activist, and reading this post (which I have no clue why you may be here other than the fact that my blog angered you for some reason and you just wanted to read what filth I was spewing out today) I'd love to hear your comments. Why have the activists not raised their fists in anger over the rampant corruption in our own nation? They scream and jump up and down when anyone on the right wing of the political spectrum is guilty of any form of corruption, or even when they appear to have done something wrong. (Mr. Grewal anyone?)

Why have they been silent on what is likely the largest political theft of money that this nation has ever seen? Money taken from both the rich and the poor, that could have been used to fund so many beneficial programs that actually solved Canadian issues, rather than lining the pockets and funding election campaigns of a corrupt party?

Could we go as far as to call them hypocrites?



ENDNOTE: Oops, sorry, my error; you've CLAIMED that Dubba is a corrupt moron, but some of us have yet to see the light...

Origins of BSE?

Here's an interesting, and distrubing, theory on the origins of BSE. Not for the weak of stomach. I managed to get through it, and I'm fairly squemish, but I think something like this is to important NOT to pass on.

Bringing Down the House - The Sequel

"Anonymous" left a comment on my blog to my Bringing Down the House post:

"your theory would indicate that the conservatives control the house; in fact they do not. There may be a chance that there is a fall election but it will be because it is set up by the grits"

Maybe, but you might want to refer to my Honeymoon is Over post for clarification.

If the NDP support a non-confidence motion, (and since they stand to profit from the disillusioned left of the Liberal Party, I think Jack just might) 98 (Tories)+ 54 (Bloc)+ 19 (NDP)+ 3 (Ind.) makes 174, vs. 133 (Liberals). So, considering that I've just I've just quoted the stats for party standings in the House of Commons, and the likely totals for any confidence motion that the three Opposition parties may put together, the chance that the Opposition could single-handedly bring down the House on their own it actually quite high.
However, as you, and a friend of mine pointed out to me tonight, the Libs will likely see the report before the rest of us do, and they might cause the House to fall sooner to keep it out of the light of day, away from you and me. As my friend said, "The Liberals will do anything to stay in power". How sadly true.

Sweetness!

"You love me! You really love me!"

(Thanks for making my day Kariba!)

Today's musings

Just like Brent Colbert, I went into panic when I saw this headline, then breathed easy when I read the story: Clarke launches his third bid for leadership of Tory party. It's talking about Kenneth Clarke, of the Tory party in Britian. Well, I didn't actually go into panic, because I knew there was no chance for old Joe anyway, but still... just the thought sent me into convulsions.

On to more serious matters.

Been looking at pics from Katrina. And we thought we had it bad in Toronto. Finch Ave. will have one section closed for about 3 months. Now compare New Orleans... one of the main bridges into the city is shot; months, maybe years to fix it. I would not at all be shocked if some neighbourhoods became write-offs. I just don't see how they can reclaim all that flooded land with the water still rising.

And then there's the looting. No, I'm not complaining about those taking food and water... I'm talking about the photos of the guys with 10 jerseys slung over their shoulder, or the new TV, the cleaned out Wal-mart, or the girls swapping between their 5 boxes of shoes. Sick. I don't care what their story in life is, that's wrong. Get the National Guard out there in force. And the thugs who are shooting at the rescue choppers at the Hospital? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?!?!?!?

During most disasters, we see stories of self sacrifice and caring. I just don't get what's going on down there.

And then there's the heartbreak. The man who's house was torn in two, and his wife ripped from his grip. The photos of the now homeless. The water in the streets. The loss of life. The words end for now, because they aren't enough. Garth Turner has a link set up for those who wish to donate.