Shawn Brant: "Dissident" Mohawk Group

That's the word the CBC has used to describe him... and I think the shoe fits.

Shawn Brant is NOT helpful to anyone's cause. I think native leaders would do well to distance themselves from him as much as possible, as many have already done. He has indicated that he will turn himself in to the OPP at the end of the day.

I hope our judges are smart enough to keep him locked up.

(and just to be clear... I'm using the "terrorism" tag below in relation to Shawn Brant alone, NOT the native protesters in general)

Dion using NDP slogans?

Just got this desperate plea for funds from the Liberal Party of Canada... yea, right... I've already "donated" plenty over the years through my stolen tax dollars, thank you very much! (interesting how they're desperately pointing out that Liberals get to donate up to $3,300 a year, due to their leadership race last year, whereas we can only donate $2,200 a year. Typical Liberal... always looking for a way around the limits...) ;-)

Noticed something interesting in reading Mr. Dion's plea though... humm, where have I heard this slogan, "Bringing results to the People", before?

OH YEA! He got it from the NDP!

See? Joe Commuzzi is right... Dion really is steering the Liberals to the hard Left! ;-)

Gloria Galloway Watch VII

Gloria strikes again!

A big story happens about a 19+ year veteran Liberal MP, a guy who was recruited by John Turner, and the second floor crosser to have served in Paul Martin's Cabinet, joining Stephen Harper's Conservative Party, and how does Gloria headline it?

"Liberal dissident denies Harper bought his loyalty". Come on Gloria... taking a biased pot-shot at Mr. Harper, instead of covering the news... how about "Veteran Liberal MP Joins Tories", or "Longtime Liberal Turfed by Dion Joins Tories", or "Harper wins another disillusioned Liberal MP", or "Liberal recruited by John Turner joins Conservatives".

Nope... you had to take the low road. Instead of just reporting the news, you had to score a blow against the Conservatives. Well, you scored alright... another point on the "Gloria Watch" scoreboard...


TODAY'S UPDATED GLORIA WATCH SCORES:
Negative - 7 (+1)
Positive/Netural - 3


To see most of Gloria's history, check here.

Interesting

Could the IPCC have faked some of their data?

So, for example, those people in the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change], choose Hong Kong, which has six tide gauges, and they choose the record of one, which gives 2.3 mm per year rise of sea level. Every geologist knows that that is a subsiding area. It’s the compaction of sediment; it is the only record which you shouldn’t use. And if that figure is correct, then Holland would not be subsiding, it would be uplifting. And that is just ridiculous. Not even ignorance could be responsible for a thing like that.

Draw your own conclusions.

h/t to Celestial Junk

Ex-Liberal to become Tory

PomoChristian, a member of the CPC EDA Board in Joe Commuzzi's riding, has confirmed that the switch will indeed take place.

Always glad to welcome another MP to the good guys side.

However, like I said to PomoChristian, I understand his initial hesitation... if my Liberal MP wanted to switch, I think our board would tell the Party brass that we didn't want them!

Sweet Fred Thompson '08 Shirt!

Just looking at the Fred Thompson '08 Facebook group I joined, and someone posted a pic of this sweet looking shirt...

I thought I was the only one who remembered that he did a cameo in Tom Clancy's "The Hunt For Red October" back in the early 90's. And I like the play on it... "The Hunt for a Red November"! Hear hear!

Kinda tempting to get one...

At least someone is listening

Well, it turns out my post on the Ontario PC's new private Education idea has gotten some attention... though it was from Warren and his pals in the Ontario Liberal Party. (of course, they were using it to try and embarass Mr. Tory... hey, whatever gets the point across that this is a BAD idea)

Here's the quote they lifted from my post...

On Friday June 8, 2007- the Christian Conservative wrote:

“In an effort to throw a bone to a part of the PC base who support faith based education, he may have inadvertently thrown them a bone of contention instead... and since these parents are willing to sacrifice to send their children to these schools, you can be sure that they're going to do whatever it takes to ensure that the government doesn't get control of their schools.

This is a really bad move that may just be enough to cost him the election.”

Yep, that's what I wrote... and I stand by it.

It's a bad idea that needs to be thrown out the window. I've talked to my PC MPP candidate about it, and let him know where I stood on it. We're going to talk again about it, and I want him to assure me that he won't support it if it becomes a campaign pledge.

Adler: "There is no joy in Dipperville"

Normally, I try not to point out negative things that the NDP does, because I want them to do well so they can siphon votes on the left. However, since they're trying to bash us, instead of the Liberals, I'll post this... courtesy of my EDA President...

There is no Joy in Dipperville
by Charles Adler
June 20/2007

Is the NDP sincere about its concerns about Global warming? Or is the party more concerned with keeping its Anti American fires burning? On the day after Jack Layton's hissy fit about the Conservative Party's choice to sponsor NASCAR, his finance critic, Judy Wasylicia-Leis joined me on the Corus Radio Network program, "Adler on Line."

"Why did the Tories take a page out of George Bush's playbook?" I asked the honourable member whether she was serious in tying yet one more issue to George W. Bush. But that only encouraged her to blather on about how Nascar is an American sport, one that burns too much leaded gasoline (For the record: Nascar doesn't use leaded gas.) and attracts too few Canadian viewers. When asked why the Tories would take their cues on advertising from the NDP, she responded with, "Why should they take their cues from George Bush?"

One can choose to believe that the NDP's problem with Nascar advertising is that it promotes an activity which damages the planet. But isn't it more likely the NDP is simply trying again to rev up it's base of voters by driving the oldest political clunker of all, anti Americanism?

When you check out the demographics of NASCAR, you quickly find out how mass appeal it is. More than 5 million Canadians watch it. Don't take it from me. Ask the people who advertise their products on TSN. Did Nascar originate in the United States? Yes. So did baseball, Pepsi, and American Idol. Canadians are no different than people anywhere else on the planet. When free to make their own choices, they choose involving themselves in activities that the NDP elite opposes, living in the suburbs, driving cars and watching really talented Canadians, like Pierre Bourque, driving them really fast around a track.

In the NDP's world there are no suburbs, there are no malls, and there are no cars. The NDP has this myopic view because it wears lenses that filter out those parts of Canada where it does not harvest very many votes. The average Canadian driving the S.U.V. to Canadian Tire on a Saturday is simply invisible to the NDP. To the extent that the party acknowledges their existence it is only to exist to use them as objects of bigotry. They are to be lampooned and dismissed as people who are American wannabes or people who have no regard for their community or their planet. The NDP would impress many as an honest organization if it were to adopt the slogan "Think Globally. Hate Locally." There would be some truth in that advertising. Sadly, there is so little of it in the name of Jack Layton's sorrowful bunch. New Democratic Party? In what way is its "Let's go back into the jungle where we came from" approach something that feels new? In being a mouthpiece for tenured professors, and overfed public sector union leaders, how does this group really expect to connect with real people, NASCAR fans, if you will? And then there is that nettlesome third word in its brand, "party." When you think of party, you think of a joyous activity. But in the history of this country, has anyone ever met a more joyless aggregation of human beings than those who we hear on radio and see on television speaking for the NDP? There is no joy in Dipperville. As the American poet would say, "The NDP has struck out!"

Conservatives are Nerdy?

I don't know why I didn't think of linking to this sooner... the other week, the Liberals created a bunch of videos that implied that all Conservatves are nerdy.

Ammm, just who's the nerd here?

Don't forget to join the "I'm a REAL Young Conservative" Facebook group! Now over 100 members! (and the second hit when you search for "Conservative" groups in Facebook!)

Three Words: LOCK THEM UP

Another man is dead due to moronic street racers. This will not end until these punks start doing serious time.

Take notice judges... house arrest won't do this time, so don't even think about it.

Dion opposed Atlantic Accord

Okay, maybe I'm behind and this was reported already, but I was away for a week.

This is a shameless plug of official Party talking points... so sue me!

Dion Opposed the Atlantic Accord

Today Liberal leader Stéphane Dion pretends to care about the Atlantic Accord. However, Dion’s record was clear – he fought tooth and nail AGAINST Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador receiving any benefits at all from their offshore resources. How does Dion explain his record?:

The facts:

- Stéphane Dion and the Liberals have always denied that the fiscal imbalance even exists

- Dion voted AGAINST the implementation of the Atlantic Accord on November 15, 2004

- The federal government says it no longer wants to talk about Nova Scotia's so-called "campaign for fairness". Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Premier John Hamm yesterday, and told reporters the campaign is over. Dion says it's only fair that as provinces take in more money on their own, they receive less in equalization transfers. (BN, May 15, 2002)

- Premier John Hamm's Campaign for Fairness on offshore royalties was flawed from the start, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said Tuesday. "I suggested to stop arguing about the past," Dion said after meeting with Hamm for more than an hour. "It's a mistake to link (the offshore) to equalization payments, because then other provinces want to be part of it." (The Daily News (Truro), May 15, 2002)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says Ottawa has had enough of Nova Scotia's campaign for fairness. The province wants to keep equalization payments, even as it takes in new revenues from offshore development. Dion told reporters yesterday that wouldn't be fair to other provinces. (BN, May 15, 2002)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says he's fed up arguing about Premier John Hamm's ``campaign for fairness,'' (Halifax Daily News, May 15, 2002)

- Dion said he doesn't like the name of Hamm's campaign, or its insistence that Nova Scotia got a raw deal in the past. (Halifax Daily News, May 15, 2002)

- Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, who stated the federal Liberals see no need to amend the equalization formula to accommodate the Atlantic premiers' wish to keep all their oil and gas booty (Report Magazine, August 20, 2001, quoting Globe and Mail op-ed by Dion)

- “Look, we have received two requests from some premiers. Premier Hamm has requested to not take into account his offshore revenue in the equalization payment formula. We have explained why it would be unfair for the provinces.” (CBC Radio, The House, August 4, 2001)

- Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said last week that ``goes against the whole idea of equalization'' and could cause resentment among the ``have'' provinces, such as Alberta, that pay into the fund. (Edmonton Journal, April 18, 2001)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion argued recently that it would be unfair to allow provinces such as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to hang on to both equalization payments and their oil and gas revenues if that gives them fiscal capacities surpassing those of British Columbia or Ontario (Ottawa Citizen, July 19, 2001)

Anybody able to get ahold of some of those published articles? ;-)

Ontario Liberals running on 2003 Platform!

This is becoming rather funny... Dalton McGuinty's Liberals are starting out their 2007 campaign by RE-PROMISING 2003 CAMPAIGN PLEDGES!

This time, they're promising to close Ontario's coal fired power plants by 2014. Hang on... haven't we heard that one before? Wasn't that supposed to be done by 2007? Oops, hang on, that's this year... and it still hasn't happened. Well, at least he's learned one lesson... make sure your promise targets don't occur during your mandate, so you can't be accused of breaking a promise!

So, to recap...

McGuinty 2003 - "I won't raise your taxes... but I won't cut them either"
Healthcare "Premium" introduced in 2004 Budget, which has increased all our tax burdens by hundreds or thousands of dollars over the last three years... sounds like a tax increase to me!

McGuinty 2007 - "Premier Dalton McGuinty says there'll be no new taxes if he's re-elected premier in October."
Mr. McGunity, we've heard that one before.

"In what could turn out to be a defining moment in the campaign, McGuinty showed up at a downtown Toronto hotel Thursday to sign a pledge drafted by the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation that committed the Grits to standing by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act, which was passed by the Conservatives when Mike Harris was still premier.

"I, Dalton McGuinty, promise that if my party is elected as the next government, I will not raise taxes or implement any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters," the Liberal leader vowed."

(From the CBC's Ontario Votes Election 2003 page)


McGunity 2003 - "We will close Ontario's coal fired plants by 2007"

McGuinty 2007 - "We will close Ontario's coal fired plants by 2014"
Mr. McGunity, again, we've heard that one before.

CC's Excellent US Adventure... with pics

Yea, corny title... I'M BACK! Had a great trip in the US of A, attending a missions training conference, and took a side trip to "The District"... first time to DC!

Our missions conference took us just outside of Gettysburg, so we couldn't pass up taking a whirlwind visit... the place is HUGE, takes a full day to really do it justice. Photos of two highlights...

General Lee's Headquarters, occupied after the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863, and vacated on July 4.

The "High Water Mark"... the target of the Confederate advance on the key day of the battle, and the spot marking where their advance was halted. This one piece of ground is one of the key spots in world history... had the Union soldiers failed to hold this grove of trees, and the rest of this hilltop, our entire world would be radically different.

Then, it was off to Washington, DC... first stop, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

The Apollo 11 Command module... as viewed from the heatshield side.

Now THIS is a WMD... a Soviet long range ICBM, handed over to the US (and disarmed).

And this is one of the "original" WMDs... a Nazi V2 rocket, captured in Belgium and brought back to the US to take apart and figure out... the information from which became a critical part of the Saturn series of rockets which put the above Apollo 11 module in orbit around the moon.

Then, it was on to the political tour... this is "Christian Conservative", coming to you from Capitol Hill... don't I look thrilled? (no clue why I'm not smiling in most of my pics...)

My buddy George wasn't home, so he couldn't vouch for me at the gates, so they wouldn't let me in... had to settle for a pic outside... ran into a couple of Canuck here from Thornhill... should have reminded them to vote for Peter Kent...

They say that perspective is everything...

Now here's a pretty cool shot... who's that sitting in the car?

And while driving over to the next stop, I found proof postive that Democrats are a little slow... check the bumper sticker...

News flash... they lost over two years ago... GET OVER IT!

And what trip would be complete without a little momento?

Mmm... coffee tomorrow will be extra yummy...

Liberals want Constitutional Crisis

Unelected Liberal Senator George Baker has publicly stated that the Liberals are willing to cause a Constitutional crisis over the Federal Budget.

Tradition mandates that the Senate does not normally oppose a Government's Budget. However, by holding up the duly elected Government's Budget, they are indicating that they have no confidence in the Government... causing a Constitutional crisis that may result in the fall of Parliament, or force the GG to intervene.

"Historic" says Phil Fontaine

This announcement is important enough for me to break my blogging hiatus... "Harper promises bill to 'revolutionize' land claims process".

I like how CBC emphasises this point, showing how even they recognize the importance of this announcement...

"He [Stephen Harper] was joined by Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, who shook Harper's hand after the announcement was made.

(it's always been assumed that Mr. Harper and Mr. Fontaine don't see eye to eye... I don't think Phil would have so openly shown his support if he didn't truly believe in this plan)

I've been looking forward for several months now to see this announcement, ever since I heard that something big was in the works.

It's about time. I'm glad to see this major first step that has been taken. Many more will be required, to be sure, but every journey needs a first step. It's time that we Canadians finally deal with some of these long-standing issues. No more sweeping things under the rug... let's see some real action.

There will be pain involved, to be sure. Canadians will have to accept some cost in this. There will likely be some fair sized chunks of land involved, but here's hoping that some realistic agreement on their use can be found... not just a partitioning of nation such that we have a post-war Berlin like situation.

Here's to moving forward... finally. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of this summer's discussions.

John Tory and Faith-based Private Schools

Well, turns out where I'm staying has a wireless connection! I'll be too busy to really make use of it this week, however, I felt I should chime in on John Tory's upcoming campaign proposal regarding faith based education, since I went to a Christian elementary school for five years.

Here's the brief overview that I got from the CBC on the road today... John Tory supports a parent's right to opt for private faith-based education, but rather than doing so via a voucher based tax credit, he favours providing direct funding for these schools, provided that they in some measure come under the authority of their local public school board. At the same time, he favours increasing funding to the public system, not taking from the public system to fund faith-based education.

According to the CBC, Mr. Tory is planning to release more details on this tomorrow. However, based on the details mentioned by the CBC, here's my take on the idea... IT MIGHT JUST COST HIM THE ELECTION. Most of the people I know, who sacrifice to send their kids to private Christian schools, will never support such a plan... and might just be willing to actively campaign against it. (despite the common stereotype that they're rich... trust me, my parents are not) Here's just a few reasons why they'll never support it...

Firstly, people who choose to send their kids, like my parents, often do so to REMOVE their kids from the influence of the public system, and the boards that run them. These boards are the same ones who are implementing immoral sex education programs, and ramming humanistic philosophy down the throats of kids. Parents of faith often remove their kids from the public system in order to protect them from being overtly converted to humanism by the world.

Secondly, in order to receive funding, some degree of the school's autonomy will most certainly have to be given up... there's no way they'll be able to get at this money without the government attaching strings. Most parents greatly value this autonomy, which enables the schools to select the curriculum, the teaching staff, etc. Parents aren't likely to give that up willingly.

Thirdly, and what should be most important to John Tory, for many parents who support faith based education, this idea may just be enough for them to NOT vote for Mr. Tory, and just choose to stay home... or, if they're really bothered by it, as I'm starting to be, may just be enough for them to vote AGAINST Mr. Tory, by supporting Dalton McGuinty.

In an effort to throw a bone to a part of the PC base who support faith based education, he may have inadvertently thrown them a bone of contention instead... and since these parents are willing to sacrifice to send their children to these schools, you can be sure that they're going to do whatever it takes to ensure that the government doesn't get control of their schools.

This is a really bad move that may just be enough to cost him the election.

Tax credits are what these parents want, since they're having to pay TWICE for their children's education, once via property taxes, and once via private tuition fees. Rather than try to put forward an idea like this Mr. Tory, I would have done nothing about the whole private school issue. If I were you, I'd just try to forget this idea and let it quietly die between now and the October election.

Let me be crystal clear... if my local PC candidate supports this idea, I'll likely be staying home come election day. That's how important this issue is... Mr. Tory, you need to drop it NOW, otherwise you put your electoral chances in severe jeopardy.

We'll see what the details of the plan are. Please post links to anything you see in the comments, as I'll have a hard time following this while I'm away.

I'll say "Hi" to Dubbya for you all!

Heading off to the US of A tomorrow for a week, and will be dropping by his place late next week. To all my Liberal friends, I'll wave to him for you... "with all five fingers".

Hey, what can I say... actually, I'd drop by there no matter who was in the Oval Office, as I'm a big history and an all-thing-politics-in-general buff. To be honest, I just chose that as my title because I figured it would drive more traffic to my site... and I was right, wasn't I? ;-)

Washington D.C. is a significant place of power and history, and I've wanted to visit for years. Will be doing all the tourist stuff... the Capitol, the Mall, Arlington, the Pentagon, the J. Edgar Hoover building, etc. Photos to follow, to be sure.

Besides... it will be fun to imagine the place as it was almost 193 years ago, way back in August of 1814... all nicely lit up and ablaze, thanks to my ancestors in the British Army! (and their Loyalist forces from Upper Canada) The attack was partially intended as revenge for the torching of York (present day Toronto) the previous winter. (and I'm sure there are many Canadians, mostly on the left, who would love to see an encore right about now...) It was, and likely still is, the largest invasion the United States has ever seen... and likely ever will see, for that matter.

Please behave while I'm gone... I wouldn't want anyone to say anything that will get me picked up at the border when I try to come back. But just in case, I'll be farming out some comment moderation, and may even allow a guest post or two.

Until then... keep on working towards a greater country! (and I mean that for both my BT readers and my Liblog readers... I'm an optimist, what can I say... I still have hope that the blogosphere can be used to broaden understanding, and foster compromise, when the right players are involved)

Feel free to leave links to major stories in the comments... I'd like to keep up with what's going on and what all happened when I get back.

Have a great week... and BEHAVE!

Civic Hybrid - thoroughly impressed!

So, I'm out helping an older gentleman with our parking system, and he drives to the gate in his Hybrid Civic. I can't recall even hearing the thing start. No kidding, I'm standing no more than five feet away from the thing, and I can barely hear it... it's running on batteries, and it's no louder than a small fan!

I think this is actually my first close encounter with a hybrid. I've seen tons of them on the road, but have never really seen it in action, so to speak. I was impressed.

I honestly think that if Toyota put their Camery hybrid technology in the Matrix, (the car my wife and I have settled on as our next purchase) they might be able to sell me one... in a couple of years, when the technology is a little more mature. I'm still waiting to see what issues arise from the first generation Prius when they get towards the end of life.

But if you think about it, I'm guessing that there's not going to be as many problems as one might expect. I mean, these things are engineered in Japan, by high quality auto firms Honda and Toyota... these guys aren't known for their design flaws, like their North American counterparts.

Not that it's the Big Three's engineering departments fault... I'm sure they're often rushed into production before they've had the chance to work out all the bugs, by Boards that seem to be more interested in the bottom line than they are in product quality. It's going to take at least 10 solid years of stellar performance from automakers like Ford before I ever even CONSIDER taking a second look at their product lines!

It will also take a change in attitudes from the union folks that build them before I trust them either... sorry Buzz! I just have more faith in the non-union types at my local Toyota factory (soon to be "factories") than I do in your Oshawa, Oakville and Windsor boys. (and girls, of course) The guys and gals on the floors in Cambridge (Toyota) get a higher degree of confidence from me for a couple of reasons... one, the lack of major recalls we see from Toyota, and two, the fact that these workers DON'T have a union covering their butt. Here's how I look at it... if they consistantly screw up, there's no union to step in and protect them from getting taken off the line. Oh the horror stories I've heard out of GM, and the antics that go on in there! (and I took the inside tour of the Oshawa plant too) Protecting workers that should have been fired eons ago... I'm sorry, but if I know that guys like that are building the car I'm looking at, I'm more inclined to look elsewhere.

I'd personally prefer to buy a car made here in North America in order to help our economy, but when it comes right down to it, I want to protect my investment and make sure that I get the best quality, longest lasting vehicle that I can. Often, that "Made in Japan" (or "Made in Cambridge, with a Japanese-like ethic") label instills in me a higher degree of confidence in their product. The work ethic of the Japanese culture is inspiring, and I think our CAW workers could learn a thing or two from them.

Hey Buzz, here's an idea... not that I think you're actually going to take it, but here it is for what it's worth... work with the NA auto-makers, and try to implement programs to break the lazy union slob stereotype, (NOTE: NOT that I believe it... these days, I'd say it fairly represents no more than 10-20% of the CAW workforce) and instill a more Japanese-like work ethic here amongst your CAW workers. If it results in things like better quality control, then the consumer confidence in your product lines might start to come back up from the basement, where it currently resides. If you really want to protect Canadian jobs, then that's one place where I think you'd be prudent to start.

Okay, observations/ranting over. This thing started as a complement on Honda's product, and turned into a summary on some of my issues with the North American auto industry... boy, I do get sidetracked easily! Comments please! (and let's try to stay focused on cars and the auto-industry, shall we?)

Students suing for "Technology Fees"

Two students launched a class-action lawsuit yesterday against Ontario colleges for charging extra fees for things like "Technology Enhancement". They say these costs ought to be included in their tuition, and are trying to make the case that charging extra fees is illegal, under the Ministry guidelines.

Okay... fine. As someone in the I.T. industry, who worked for a while for my college IT department while I was going to school, I know at least a little bit about the situation.

Since the costs of upgrading the IT infrastructure are not covered by tuition fees, I'll propose a deal for you suing students. The colleges will complete their IT upgrade projects they already have the monies for this year, and won't charge any more fees. Of course, this will result in a "what you see is what you get" situation, where the PC that presently sits on the desk in the computer lab will still be sitting there five years from now... if it's still working, of course. No more upgrades, and when a system breaks down, it will just be scrounged for spare parts to try and keep the other thousands of PC's going for as long as possible. But hey, you'll be a winner, because you won't have to pay that pesky $107.10 "Technology Enhancement" fee anymore.

Having worked in the computer labs before, I can tell you, charging $107 bucks a semester is a very reasonable thing to do. Most students abuse the systems like there's no tomorrow, wreaking keyboards, screwing up the OS with all sorts of bugs, with a really selfish and abusive attitude of entitlement towards the equipment. The costs of maintaining these systems alone is huge... and that's just the cost of paying a student to do most of the work.

If these two sue happy students would work at changing the culture of their own generation, instead of joining the sue-happy lawsuit after lawsuit activist generation, maybe the schools would be able to cut the fees significantly, through a massive reduction in the labour costs of maintaining these systems for the student population.

Here's some irony for you... I remember how ticked off students were when they couldn't get access to a computer when the labs were full. Imagine how ticked off they're going to be if these two activist students are successful in their class-action suit.

Who knows, they might even be ticked off enough to, I don't know, suggest a new fee be added to their annual costs to enable the school to provide better computing facilities...

"Dion en chute libre"

Translation: "Dion in free fall"

Hey, I didn't say it... that was the headline in "Le Journal". Take your pick of which set of numbers to look at... they all say the same thing, from multiple polling firms. (Leger, CROP, and Angus Reid)

Here's the Montreal Gazette's headline: "Quebec polls should ring alarm bells for federal Liberals".

First, a set of Leger numbers, commissioned by Le Devoir:

"A Leger survey in Le Devoir last Tuesday had the Bloc at 36 per cent, the Conservatives at 28 per cent, while the Liberals were at 17 per cent, only four points ahead of the NDP at 13 per cent.

Among francophone voters, who determine the outcome of 50 ridings outside the Montreal region, the Liberals dropped to 13 per cent, trailing the NDP at 14 per cent, while the Bloc was at 40 per cent and the Conservatives at 26 per cent. This means the Liberals wouldn't even be competitive in any of those 50 seats, except perhaps in the Gatineau and the Eastern Townships.

Interestingly, the Conservatives led the Liberals by 35 to 31 per cent among non-francophones, obviously including anglophone voters in the Liberal fortress of the West Island. This is a stunning development, and ought to be ringing major alarm bells in the Liberal Party. The Conservatives ahead, or even competitive, on the West Island? Who knew? This means if the Conservatives can recruit some star candidates on the West Island, they will actually be in the game."

Now from CROP in La Presse:

"A CROP poll in La Presse last Wednesday had the Bloc and Conservatives tied at 28 per cent, with the Liberals at 20 per cent, followed by the NDP at 15 per cent.

Among francophones, CROP had the Bloc at 33 per cent, the Conservatives at 29 per cent, and the Liberals at 13 per cent, again, not even in the race outside Montreal."

Now, the second set of Leger numbers, this time for Le Journal de Montreal:

"Leger had another poll on Monday of this week, this time for Le Journal de Montreal, reporting a slight improvement for the Liberals over the previous week, with the Bloc at 35 per cent, the Conservatives at 29 per cent, the Liberals at 20 per cent and the NDP at 12 per cent. The downside of the upside is that the Liberals are still in the teens among francophone voters, and only the non-francophone vote enables them to hit 20 per cent.

As for Dion, his leadership numbers were captured in Le Journal's banner headline: "Dion en chute libre." (Dion in free fall.) Asked who would make the best prime minister, 36 per cent of Quebecers replied Stephen Harper, 16 per cent said Gilles Duceppe, 16 per cent said Jack Layton, while only 12 per cent chose Dion. (Nationally, the numbers were no better for Dion, who scored 13 per cent to Harper's 34 per cent as best PM)."

And a third set of Leger numbers, a week old, again for Le Devior:

"The previous week for Le Devoir, Leger asked another version of the leadership question: "Which leader most deserves your confidence?" Duceppe nearly doubled his score to 30 per cent (since he's never going to be prime minister people don't see him as one), with Harper at 28 per cent, Layton at 16 per cent, and Dion at 13 per cent."

And finally, a deeper examination of the Angus Reid numbers I posted about today...

"Also, Quebeckers appear to already believe that Dion is not a good leader, no matter what the ad says. While fewer Quebeckers (11%) than in any other region say their opinion of Dion worsened after watching the ad, over three-in-five from Quebec (61%) say they do not believe Dion is a leader."

Just in case you didn't catch that... 61% OF QUEBECOIS, ALMOST TWO THIRDS, AGREE THAT STEPHANE DION IS NOT A LEADER.

The Gazette sums it up this way:

"The point is, it doesn't matter how you ask the question, Dion is mired in the teens. And this, as the leader of a national party that is to Canadian politics as McDonald's is to fast food - the dominant brand in the space."

Humm... could it be because many Canadians, even in Quebec, agree with the following statement?

"Stephane Dion is not a leader"

Nah... must be something else...

h/t to "On Liberty"

Poll: "Stephane Dion is not a leader"

Liblogger Far and Wide has posted some interesting numbers from Angus-Reid. The headline of the Angus Reid poll report is "Dion Attack Ad Hurts Harper More in Canada".

I beg to differ. Take a look at the last set of stats in the poll...

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

"Stéphane Dion is not a leader"

Agree - 52%
Disagree - 31%
Not Sure - 17%

I don't know about you, but I'd call that "Mission Accomplished".

52% of people surveyed agree that "Stephane Dion is not a leader"... and when it comes time to vote, tell me, exactly how many people amongst that 52% are likely to choose Mr. Dion to be their leader, after having agreed that he "is not a leader"?

Give it time... one of these commercials every couple of months to ensure that the point stays in people's minds, and we'll be ready to go to the polls. Who knows... by then, that percentage may hit 60%.

And before anyone comments... yes, this is a wildly partisan post, there's no denying it. But I wholeheartedly agree that Mr. Dion "is not a leader", and I don't want him to become the Prime Minister of this great nation, Canada. In my opinion, he and his party are bad for the people of this great country.

You may well disagree with me, but I personally think that Mr. Harper is by far the best Federal leader in the House, and he'll be getting my vote in the next Federal election... and I'll also be working with one of the local campaign teams to ensure that he remains the Prime Minister.

Hey, you gotta do...

...what you gotta do.

Nova Scotia Tory MP Bill Casey has said he will vote against his Government's budget implementation bill due to the new equalization formula.

I personally don't like this move, or his reasoning behind it. Here's the problem I have with his reasoning, which he actually indicated himself for the article... "Casey has said the budget effectively kills the province's offshore accord."

EFFECTIVELY... note he does not say that it actually does... he just says it "effective" does. What that really means is, "There wasn't any extra money in this deal for Nova Scotia."

In reality, Mr. Casey, it does not "kill the Accord". Nova Scotia has the option of sticking to the Alantic Accord based formula. Mr. Casey, along with Mr. Williams, would both like to have their cake, and eat it too.

I think the new formula is equitable. Again, if they don't like it, they can opt out. I think Mr. Casey has to at least rattle the saber to look good for his constituants, but in the end, I think if he doesn't like it, he should just abstain from the vote.

Harper Government one of reconciliation

The Harper Government has finally abandoned the old official Liberal policy of "No appology, No compensation" for ethnic groups that have been mistreated by the Canadian Government in the past.

That's because, despite what the Liberals may say about us, we're not "mean spirited". I support this move because there are wrongs that our Government has done in the past that need to be appologized for, and corrected to the best of our ability.

For example... native issues, which are the hot-button issue this month. I'd like to see more progress on this file, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming changes that Mr. Prentice is implementing. I've actually been thinking about joining in with some of the local events to show my support for dealing with Native claims and issues. There's a lot of things we can do... and simply throwing more money into a broken system is not one of them. (though it may involve more money, to be sure)

Mr. McGuinty, we've heard that one before

"Premier McGuinty says no new taxes if he's elected"

ROTFLOL!!!

With all due respect, I'm sorry Mr. McGuinty, we've heard that one from your lips once before... and now that I'm well over $500 poorer due to your previous broken promise, I'm not inclined to believe you this time around.

And I think a lot of my fellow Ontarians will agree with me.

Premier McGuinty says no new taxes if he's elected
Monday, June 04, 2007 - 08:08 AM
By: John Stall

Toronto - The campaigning has begun in earnest: Premier Dalton McGuinty says there'll be no new taxes if he's re-elected premier in October.

But, the premier has said that before, and has still raised taxes.

The premier has admitted to the broken promise though, claiming a $5.6 billion deficit left behind by the Eves government left him no choice but to raise those taxes even though he said he wouldn't.

This time, he says we can believe him because things are different.

"I'm not hiding a deficit, you know I'm not hiding a deficit, and furthermore, the provincial auditor will confirm that I'm not hiding a deficit - that's the difference," McGuinty said.

McGuinty's word will be up for debate throughout the summer election campaign.
Conservative leader John Tory says he'll scrap the healthcare tax the Liberals brought in. The premier says that would be a reckless thing to do.

This may be the beginnings of a rough and tumble election campaign that Premier McGuinty warned members of his party would be aggressive and nasty.

Liberals conducting American style politics

There's a real irony to this latest one. All the time, Liberals like to accuse us of using American style politics, or of employing fearmongering tactics, or, their favorite one, accusing us of being little Bush-clones.

In their most recent attack, they're trying, once again, to link us to George W. Bush. Ironic though, if you think about it... using fear-mongering tactics against those they accuse of... using fear-mongering tactics. (did I miss something there?)

Anyway, that's a sidepoint. Here's the most interesting part of their new fear-mongering strategy... they're employing American style politics in doing it. And not just any American style politics... they're using Nixon/Watergate-style, borderline illegal American style politics.

What else do you call taking photos through office windows from across the street, under the cover of darkness?

Here's the one they're showing everyone in a video right on their website...


And there's Mr. Dion, off on the left, looking on approvingly of what his little minions have come up with... a photo, taken under the cover of darkness, of a PMO staffer's wall, where someone has put up a Bush-Cheney 04 poster.

Amm, so let me get this straight... a political staffer, who appears to be just like me, a political junkie and collects political memorabilia, is the "hidden link" proving conclusively, once and for all, that the CPC is in bed with George W. Bush?

GIVE ME A BREAK. I'm a political junkie, and I got all kinds of that garbage sitting up in my office. A nice poster of the House of Commons, various campaign buttons, a signed copy of Preston Manning's "The New Canada"... so what? I even said a couple years ago that I'd like to have picked up that very same Bush-Cheney 04 poster or bumper sticker, just for postarity's sake. Actually, what I'd really like is a 2006 Stephen Harper lawn sign from Calgary-Southwest... can anyone hook me up?

Come on guys... didn't Mr. Dion himself say that he would not "stoop" to such negativity, and then to look on in approval of this sort of American style Nixon/Watergate era stunt?

Talk about hypocrisy. I'm sorry, my dear Liberal friend... Canadains are not that dumb. They're going to see this for exactly what it is... disgusting, dirty, mud slinging politics at its very worst.

For shame.


ps - by the way guys... who is the photographer? Is he on the public, or the Party's, payroll? Just asking...

Are our job losses due to USA's problems?

That's a question that I'd like to pose to everyone in the light of the protests about Canadian manufacturing job losses the other day. Many have said that we're losing jobs due to the rising value of our dollar, and want the Government to step in.

How do you propose to do that when the root cause of our dollar rising is not necessarily due to our own economic activity, but due to the falling US Dollar?

I took a quick look at the trending since 2001, and when you look at the value of the US Dollar in comparison with other currencies, you can see almost the exact same trendline in all of them... the value of the US Dollar has declined when compared with all of these major currencies:


Austrailian Dollar
British Pound
Canadian Dollar
Euro
Indian Rupee
New Zealand Dollar
Russian Rouble
Singapore Dollar
Swiss Franc
South African Rand

(the only one of note that USA gained value against is the Japanese Yen)

And that's not just with currencies... it's with precious metals too... almost an identical trendline...

Silver
Gold
Platinum

So, my question is this... what on earth does the CAW expect Mr. Harper, or even the Liberals should they return to power in the next few years, to do about it? Trigger a recession?

The future of this blog... what is it?

I've been thinking a lot lately, and have a lot of reasons to consider why, if at all, this "wii" little blog ought to continue.

One thing that I set out to do from the early days was to ensure that there was a forum for people of faith within the political realm to express their views and concerns regarding our political process. Canadians who are Christians have expressed to me, over the years, their concern that there seems to be no place for people with a Christian worldview within our political process. I disagreed with them, and have sought through this blog to prove them wrong. It seems, after a lot of reflection, that I may have been the one who was wrong.

I haven't come to any firm conclusions as of yet, but I do know that things will likely be changing around here in one way or another. I have had a blast doing this, and along the way, I've learned a lot. I thought I'd share some of what I've found in my two years of doing this.

1) There is significant hostility towards faith in the political sphere. Most noteably, and this fact is proven by literally hundreds of comments in my two plus years doing this, there is a latent and permiating hostility towards evangelical Christians on the part of the left, most specificially within the youth membership of Liberal Party of Canada... with even a slight (but more tolerant overall) dose of it within the youth membership of the CPC. Overall, it seems that the belief within people of all political stripes is that it would be better for everyone, in their opinion, if all of us "evangelicals" would just disappear.

2) It's easy to win the argument, but lose the war. Or, to be more precise, I may win an argument with someone, but it makes it more difficult to discuss the more important eternal matters with that person after they've been shot down politically. My online name has the order correct... I'm a Christian first, a Conservative second. I'd rather help someone be reconciled to the Living God through the Lord Jesus Christ, than convince them into taking out a CPC membership.

3) People think I'm full of hate. This is probably the most shocking thing I've discovered in my time blogging thus far. I truely find it amazing that people actually read what I have to say, then assume that I'm some hate filled extremist! Everyone I've ever spent any length of time with can attest to it, I'm one of the most happy all around people I know! Honestly, I neither hate nor even strongly dislike anyone! When I express an opinion, I'm amazed to see how many people think that I could actually ever hate anyone! Each and every one of us has been created in the image of God, and is loved by our Heavenly Father, who desires to have fellowship with all. Everyone is special and of immense value, and I want to do what I can to reach out to them and share with them God's love. In the political realm, I simply want to see the best policies put forward for this nation, policies that will solve the greatest number of problems and issued for the all the citizens of this country... and it honestly bewilders me to see how many people don't understand the ultimate goals which our policies have... not hidden agendas, but the betterment of life for ALL Canadians.

My post on Dion getting heckled the other day is a great example of this... I thought it was funny, and I thought it was nice to see that the media, for once, was covering a group that wasn't fawning over him. I honestly believe that Mr. Dion's lack of leadership, and the policies of the Liberal Party of Canada, are bad for this country. I don't hate Liberals... I just disagree with their policies. So what? The amount of hatred I've seen for the expression of a Conservative political point of view has been quite shocking. I discovered that there really are people who will go to any and all lengths prevent Conservative policies, whether they have to lie, distort, or do whatever to stop us from doing what we think is best for the people of this country. Maybe I've been nieve, but I have honestly been shocked by this. I've always heard that this is a country of tolerance, but that is truly a myth that has been propogated for years. Many of those individuals on the left, who want to change and remake this nation to fit their image of what it ought to be, are truly some of the most intolerant and hate filled people I've ever met. (not to say there aren't any on the right... but I've seen and heard many, MANY more on the left... it's about an 80%-20% left-right split)

4) I don't know if anything I've done here has actually made any kind of difference. Whenever I do anything, I want to make a difference in people's lives... I want to be a good example, I want to help them out, I want to see them succeed, I want to see their problems solved. That has always been my motivation. I've always been involved in helping others, and I even won the Town of Pickering's 1997 Citizenship award for all the things I'd done that year. (not that I wanted recognition... it was just a nice bonus) The Lord asked us, those who are Christians, to serve Him by serving our fellow man... a goal I want to achieve. One way that I thought I could do this was by trying to help people, through this blog, better understand why a Conservative government would be the best option for Canada. Along the way, I think I've ticked off more people than I've actually helped... and as that is an utter failure to achieve my goal, it causes me to rethink my strategy.

5) There are other ways that I CAN make a difference. A good friend, who has read this blog from time to time, and has seen other things I've done, reminded me that I have a standing offer to write for a small Christian magazine... and offer I have not yet taken them up on. If I spent as much time reading and writing for that publication as I have here, I might actually be able to make a difference. Also, I've been involved locally with my EDA... there's a lot of things that I could be doing behind the scenes which would have a much better likelyhood of making a difference in my community.

So, again while no firm conclusions have been made as to the future of this blog, those are some of the observations I've made along the way. I'll be spending the weekend thinking and praying about what to do, not just blogging-wise, but commitment-wise overall. Whatever I do, I want it to be said that I made a difference, not only in this life, but more importantly, the one to come.

Because when it all comes down to it, the answer to the question of life is not the Conservative Party of Canada, it is not Stephen Harper, it's not even "42"... it's Christ.