Socialists of convenience.

It has been an interesting time in the financial world of late. As the old curse says, "May you live in interesting times". Americans in particular are rabidly capitalist and scornful of anything that smacks of socialism or government intervention. Companies don't want government regulation or interference in their affairs saying that they could do better than government regulators.

So here we are... one of the largest financial meltdowns in modern history. A tale of greed, dishonesty and outright fraud. Fund managers demanding more and more profits and driving companies to make riskier and riskier loans. People were lent money they could not repay on the irresponsible advice of greedy loan financiers.

So now, President Bush wants the government to bail out his friends. Congress has baulked over payouts to millionaires and billionaires who made these bad decisions. People are loosing their homes, jobs and going bankrupt - meanwhile the people who caused this mess will likely walk away with a windfall from the bailout. By buying the bad debt they are effectively nationalising the money market and bailing out the people who made the mess.

The same government that won't bail out individuals or claims that it can't afford Medicare is preparing to spend approximately $700 Billion on the bailout. It appears that if you're poor or middle-class the government won't help you, but if you are rich you can expect a bailout.

Socialism for the rich. Everybody is capitalist when they're doing well, but when things go bad they want the government to step in. If the true test of a system is how it handles adversity, I guess US capitalism is an abysmal failure.

I know you are, but what am I!

Wow! Do Republicans ever get upset when you insult one of theirs. Our very own Heather Mallick of the CBC ruffled a few feathers with her critique of Sarah Palin (Link: Heather Mallick's Blog on CBC). They are very good at insulting opponents... I believe it was a Republican who coined the pejorative phrase "Libtard" -- but not so good at taking fire. I believe the phrase is "If you can't take it, don't dish it out".

Now, don't get me wrong -- I am by no means a fan of Liberals or the left-wing -- but, people are allowed to express themselves. If you get upset by a little name calling you're not cut out for politics. Actually, FOX seemed more upset than the GOP itself!

FOX interviewed a journalist from the Ottawa Citizen. The interviewer peppered him with questions and kept talking over him. Could it be the reason the interviewer was so upset is that she herself seems to favour the "toned-down version of the porn actress" look? Heather Mallick was accused of calling Bristol Palin unmentionable names in her blog - "pramface" - I guess they don't know that "pram" is English for "baby carriage". Now, it might have been worse if she commented on Bristol's Bristols... (that one is cracking up the UK as I write!)

As they say, "Suck it up, buttercup".

Price of Fuel

If you are like most people you are suspicious of the oil companies and the way they do business. Most people are in favour of free-enterprise as long as it benefits them and don't want the government interfering in their lives. However, as soon as something occurs they don't like they start clamouring for government controls and interference. Interestingly, most people don't see the inherent hypocrisy in this.

Where the oil companies really shoot themselves in the foot and raise the ire of the citizenry is the duplicitous way in which they raise and lower costs at the pump. It seems that when the price of oil drops, the decrease has to work its way through the system. This at least makes sense as the cost of the fuel in on-site storage has not changed as it has already been paid for.

But, when the price of oil goes up, the price of fuel at the pump is immediately raised with the company citing "market forces". Hmmm.... using the argument that the oil company used to keep prices up whilst the price of oil worked it's way through the system -- should not the increased price have to work it's way through the system?

Therein lies the essential dichotomy and hypocrisy of the pricing of fuel - going up always responds immediately to the price of oil and going down has to work it's way through the system...

This is what raises the ire of the citizenry. In addition, when you then consider this against the backdrop of the profits made by the big 5 oil companies:

Center for American Progress - 20080207

Comparing the profits of the big 5 oil companies and then considering the pain felt by the citizens at the pumps, it is no wonder that people hate and consider the oil companies to be dishonest. To top it all off, there was the effort by the automotive sector to eliminate or reduce public transit to drive people into the car and you can see how we ended up in this situation.

Oh Canada.... oh boring..... thankfully!

According to the press Canadians are bored by our election, to quote Lee-Anne Goodman of the The Canadian Press

(CP: "American election making Canada's seem tedious by comparison")

"...it's more of the same - four aging white guys who led their parties in the last Parliament once again making the same old appeals to election-weary Canadian voters..."

"But the American election is hard to tear myself away from. History is in the making no matter which way it goes. It just makes ours seem so meaningless and boring by comparison; just the same old, same old. I'd love it if we had some actual personalities with something to say trying to win the election."

Fortunately, she is right. Usually when an election is tumultuous and exciting it is because the country itself is going through difficult times. All of our really exciting elections have been around crisis - Meech Lake, Quebec Separation, Free-Trade, economic downturns, etc. There is an old curse that says, "may you live in interesting times".

The United States is in a crisis. Their economy is being drained by an endless war in Iraq, industries are shutting down, there is a credit crisis due to the irresponsible actions of lenders, people are without medical insurance. All-in-all it doesn't look really good south of the border.

Why is our election so boring? Stability. Nothing breeds boredom like stability. Our economy is doing better than our neighbours, we have no credit crisis and our unemployment rate isn't so bad.

Don't wish for exciting elections - it's like wishing on a monkey paw. If you get exciting elections, you might not like the reasons that they are exciting.

Amazing Race

The United States never fails to constantly amaze me. Here we are in 2008, and Barack Obama is making history by being the first "black" presidential candidate. The part that amazes me is that it is even an "historical moment" in the 21st century! This supposedly modern nation is still hung up on matters of race. Even more amazingly, they don't even know how to define race. Some people who are called black in the US are lighter than some people defined as white. This is very confusing to non-Americans!

The US Census in 2000 listed the following as races: White, Black or African-American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoans, Other Pacific Islander and Other race. They seem to confuse ethnicity, nationality and race as meaning the same thing.

Some people argue that although race can be applied to other species, it is virtually meaningless in humans. If you look at widely divergent parts of the globe you will see differences. However, if you were to travel on foot you would see a clinal gradation as you walked. You would see no definite boundaries or differences in neighbouring areas. The definitions of race are somewhat arbitrary and based on custom and as such are a social construct.

If anything, the US Census may wish to enquire more about ethnicity and nationality of origin rather than the meaningless concept of race. Caucasian types live in Asia, yet they are not called Asian; they live in Africa, but are not called African. Various traits such as colour of skin varies by environment. With modern mobility the distinguishing characteristics of what we call "race" are blurring even more. Who knows, maybe in the future some environmental pressure will give rise to new groupings.

Our closest living biological relative is the Chimpanzee. Genetically, we share at least 99% of our genome with Chimps. They have now been reclassified as part of the sub-family Homininae to which humans belong.

The Hominids:

To me at least it seems trivial to classify people by skin colour, hair type, eye shape and facial appearance. We're not that far away as a species from our closest relatives - that 1% difference in genome separates us from Chimps! Apparently, there is more genetic diversity in the rain-forest chimpanzees than in the whole human-race!

Definition of Obscenity

Do you even wonder what standards are used for obscenity? I wonder all the time. An example is Wal-Mart. Now Wal-Mart considers itself a family friendly company and would never sell pornography or what it considers obscene material.

Recently I was wandering through my local Wal-Mart in Cambridge, Ontario. I'm looking at the DVD's available. I happen to notice displayed in a prominent position, the movie "The Hills Have Eyes 2". I have also seen the original "Hills Have Eyes" for sell in Wal-Mart.

I don't know if you're familiar with the "Hills Have Eyes" movies, but these are extremely gruesome films which are not exactly family viewing - unless of course, you happen to be the Charlie Manson family! This movie features insane killers who attack and kill tourists. There is also cannibalism and dismemberment of human bodies.

So apparently, Wal-Mart thinks families could be harmed by seeing naked bodies and sex, but murder, cannibalism and dismemberment is okay.... It's good to see corporate priorities. My guess is that Wal-Mart (and other companies) rooted in the gun-soaked culture of the US feel that violence is good and wholesome while sex and love is bad.

Hmmm.... I am so glad I live in Canada!

Meanwhile back at the ranch.

So it looks like Canadians will be heading the polls this year after all. It seems the PM will be visiting Rideau Hall at the end of the week to ask the G-G to dissolve parliament and drop the writ. Polls report that Conservatives are on the verge of a majority. It would be nice to have majority and actually get something done in parliament instead of brinkmanship. Of course, the Liberals may panic and put on a push.

In previous elections, the opposition has tried out and out scare tactics. What will Stephen Harper do with a majority??? The Conservatives will come in your house and do bad things!!!! During the last election I actually heard people say they were "scared" of the Conservatives.

So, what exactly do people think the Conservatives are going to do? End Medicare and social programs, build a huge industrial-military complex or kick puppies? Face it, if the PM was to try anything so truly radical his own party would rebel!

So what exactly is all the fuss about? Let's check their policies for signs of evil!
(Source: http://www.conservative.ca)

Health Care Policy

Canadians value their publicly-funded, universally-accessible health care system. Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government cut health care funding while patient wait times almost doubled. Conservatives have made historic increases in health funding and patient wait times are finally getting shorter. (nothing here)

What about their record on health care?

- Signed Patient Wait Time Guarantee agreements with all provinces and territories
- Implementing the 10-Year $41.3 billion Federal/Provincial Plan to Strengthen Health Care
- Provided $612 million in new funding to help provinces reduce patient wait times
- Established the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer with $260 million in funding over five years to implement a national cancer strategy
- Provided $300 million to protect women from cancer of the cervix
- Increased funding for new training spaces to address the shortage of doctors, nurses and other health care professionals

Invested $400 million in the Canada Health Infoway to develop electronic health records and reduce medical errors

Obviously evil!

Hmmm....how about Stephen Harper himself? Born in Toronto, Ontario on 30 April 1959. As a child lived in a middle-class neighborhood and went to local schools. Dropped out of the U of T and moved to Calgary. Completed a Bachelors Degree in Economics. He later completed a Masters Degree in Economics in 1993. He is the first Prime Minister since Lester B. Pearson NOT to attend Law School! He attends Church and has been an MP since 1993. Obviously a pawn of Satan. I already like the parts about NOT being a lawyer and having a degree in Economics!

Wow...Economics, actually a useful qualification for a PM. If he really needs a lawyer's opinion I'm sure he can find a few around Parliament Hill.

Child Care Policy

Many families struggle with the cost of child care. For 13 years, Liberals promised but never delivered new child care spaces. Conservatives are giving parents choice in childcare – direct support to fit each family’s unique needs – and investing in new child care spaces. Conservatives are building a stronger, safer, better Canada for families and children.
"Conservatives are building a stronger, safer, better Canada for families and children." Hmmm... all pretty standard stuff..

The Record

- Delivered choice and support to parents through the Universal Child Care Benefit: $1,200 per year in direct support for every child under six – over $3.7 billion in 2006 and 2007 to help parents with the cost of child care
- Invested $250 million per year to assist the provinces and territories in creating new child care spaces

Environmental Policy

Canadians want action on the environment; action that reduces green house gases while preserving our standard of living and way of life. Unfortunately, previous Liberal governments failed to act while Canada’s air quality got worse and greenhouse gas emissions skyrocketed. Conservatives are turning the corner with a practical, achievable plan to clean up Canada’s air, land and water and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Record.

Introduced a balanced, achievable plan to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2020 and cut air pollution in half by 2015. In this plan:

- For the first time ever, industry will be forced by law to meet tough emission reduction targets; and
- National caps for industrial emissions of four air pollutants commonly associated with smog and acid rain will be introduced.

Created $2 billion ecoENERGY Initiative to promote smarter energy use, greater use of clean energy sources, and cleaner use of traditional energy sources. This program includes initiatives like:

- Consumer oriented incentives like the ecoAUTO rebate for fuel efficient vehicles; and
- Grants to individuals and businesses to help them invest in energy and pollution-saving upgrades.

Created $1.5 billion trust for clean air and climate change in partnership with the provinces and territories. This includes strategic investments like:

- The development of an East-West electrical transmission interconnect between Manitoba and Ontario;
- Support for research and innovation for the reduction and sequestration of greenhouse gases; and
- Support for the development of a “hydrogen highway”, a network of hydrogen fueling stations for fuel celled buses and vehicles, in British Columbia.

Created $300 million Chemicals Management Plan to regulate chemicals harmful to human health and the environment

Dedicated $2 billion over seven years for the production of renewable fuels

A $225 million investment to acquire and preserve ecologically sensitive lands

After looking at the main parties I find that the Liberals make big promises and don't stick to them while the Conservatives make realistic promises and keep them. If you're more interested in appearances vote Liberal and if you want something actually done, vote Conservative.

Ooops! I almost forgot the NDP! Now I know that Jack Layton knows exactly what's right for you and the country and is willing to tell you if you will only listen damn it! Apparently, if you disagree with their policies you're obviously a right-wing tyrant intent on smashing the poor, minorities and the LGBT community. As you and I know, only the NDP could know anything about these people! You go Jack! (I mean that - GO, NOW!)

The Contenders:

Stephen Harper,
Prime Minister of Canada,
Leader of the Conservative Party
















Stéphane Dion
Leader of the Liberal Party
















Jack Layton
Leader of the
New Democratic
Party

Family Ties

The press reports on the story of the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter. Now, I believe that this is something that should be left alone for several reasons:

• Teenagers make mistakes and some of them can have pretty fair reaching consequences. Lots of people made mistakes when they were young. Leave the poor girl alone she's only 17!
• The Sarah Palin has shown herself to be a responsible and caring parent by supporting and helping her daughter.
• How would you like to be judged on whether or not you get a job based on how your kids act? "I'm sorry Jim, we can't give you that new position because we found out your son Todd gets drunk at parties".Not a pleasing scenario!

If you want to talk about Sarah Palin, talk about her qualifications, skills and experience. No matter what the family, there are always problems!