...er, turkey that is.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Showing posts with label Election '08. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election '08. Show all posts
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday Morning News Bites
Here are a few bits & pieces in the news this morning.
From James Travers in The Star:
"Political purpose is admirable when it's transparent. What's worrying in this election is that the extreme effort to hide that chaos beyond the campaign bubble radically changes how those purposes can be pursued. Deficit is such a dirty word that party platforms are built on the now ludicrous growth, revenue and surplus projections of the February federal budget. Chances are between slim and none that even Conservative promises, the most modest of the bunch, can be kept without raising taxes or slashing programs."
More vandalism done to Liberals in Toronto ridings:
"Senator Jerry Grafstein woke up yesterday morning to discover he had become the latest victim of election vandalism in the St. Paul's riding.
The Liberal senator and his wife, who live on a highly visible property on Spadina Rd., had their Cadillac's dashboard pried open, wires pulled apart and the remaining interior vandalized."
And more on the illegality of Harper calling this election:
"The unfairness of allowing Prime Ministers unfettered discretion to call an election seems to be universally accepted; it provides another ground for finding this election to be illegal. In several recent cases (e.g., Figueroa, Harper), the Supreme Court of Canada has held that section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to vote in "fair" elections. The unfair advantage that the Prime Minister has obtained for his party by choosing the election date might well be found to contravene section 3 of the Charter."
Finally, Ex-NHL' er, Mike Danton, who's in prison in the U.S., wants to come home to serve out the rest of his time here. The Cons Stockwell Day won't let him.
"The Ottawa Citizen has learned that Anne McLellan, the former public safety minister under the Liberal government, approved Danton's transfer in June, 2005, on the condition that U. S. authorities agreed.
The U. S. Department of Justice approved the Danton transfer in May, 2008, but Stockwell Day -- the Tory minister who assumed the public safetyportfolio-- has not, according to the jailed hockey player, Canadian prison officials and U.S. authorities."
From James Travers in The Star:
"Political purpose is admirable when it's transparent. What's worrying in this election is that the extreme effort to hide that chaos beyond the campaign bubble radically changes how those purposes can be pursued. Deficit is such a dirty word that party platforms are built on the now ludicrous growth, revenue and surplus projections of the February federal budget. Chances are between slim and none that even Conservative promises, the most modest of the bunch, can be kept without raising taxes or slashing programs."
More vandalism done to Liberals in Toronto ridings:
"Senator Jerry Grafstein woke up yesterday morning to discover he had become the latest victim of election vandalism in the St. Paul's riding.
The Liberal senator and his wife, who live on a highly visible property on Spadina Rd., had their Cadillac's dashboard pried open, wires pulled apart and the remaining interior vandalized."
And more on the illegality of Harper calling this election:
"The unfairness of allowing Prime Ministers unfettered discretion to call an election seems to be universally accepted; it provides another ground for finding this election to be illegal. In several recent cases (e.g., Figueroa, Harper), the Supreme Court of Canada has held that section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees Canadian citizens the right to vote in "fair" elections. The unfair advantage that the Prime Minister has obtained for his party by choosing the election date might well be found to contravene section 3 of the Charter."
Finally, Ex-NHL' er, Mike Danton, who's in prison in the U.S., wants to come home to serve out the rest of his time here. The Cons Stockwell Day won't let him.
"The Ottawa Citizen has learned that Anne McLellan, the former public safety minister under the Liberal government, approved Danton's transfer in June, 2005, on the condition that U. S. authorities agreed.
The U. S. Department of Justice approved the Danton transfer in May, 2008, but Stockwell Day -- the Tory minister who assumed the public safetyportfolio-- has not, according to the jailed hockey player, Canadian prison officials and U.S. authorities."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Harper Side-Steps a Question
At Harper's photo-op at a Con rally this morning, after his speech, he was asked, by 2 different reporters, if he was re-elected would he be "appointing" anyone to his Cabinet or the Senate. This was in reference to him having appointed someone to the Senate after the last election who was an unelected person. In both instances he answered: I will not answer who I would name to my Cabinet during an election. If I'm re-elected then I will answer.
In other words, by side-stepping, he has basically said, to my view, yes I will appoint anyone I want to. Which means that if he wins this election we can be sure to see Michael Fortier back in the Senate & back in a Cabinet post.
Some things never change.
UPDATE: This brief article from the Canadian Press, in The Star, shows exactly what I'm talking about.
"Stephen Harper has refused to rule out appointing another Quebec senator to his cabinet if Conservative election results in the province are as dismal as indicated by recent polls.
Campaigning yesterday in Brantford, Ont., the Prime Minister would not exclude a replay of his decision after the last election to name the unelected Michael Fortier to the Senate, and into his cabinet. That move gave Harper his only cabinet minister from the Montreal area, and added to his relatively tiny roster of caucus members from the province.
Harper was asked twice at a news conference if he would rule out installing another senator in his cabinet. He twice declined to do so."
In other words, by side-stepping, he has basically said, to my view, yes I will appoint anyone I want to. Which means that if he wins this election we can be sure to see Michael Fortier back in the Senate & back in a Cabinet post.
Some things never change.
UPDATE: This brief article from the Canadian Press, in The Star, shows exactly what I'm talking about.
"Stephen Harper has refused to rule out appointing another Quebec senator to his cabinet if Conservative election results in the province are as dismal as indicated by recent polls.
Campaigning yesterday in Brantford, Ont., the Prime Minister would not exclude a replay of his decision after the last election to name the unelected Michael Fortier to the Senate, and into his cabinet. That move gave Harper his only cabinet minister from the Montreal area, and added to his relatively tiny roster of caucus members from the province.
Harper was asked twice at a news conference if he would rule out installing another senator in his cabinet. He twice declined to do so."
Prejudice, hate, & rascism - alive & thriving in Canada
This morning I got up to the whole Dion, CTV video debacle. I do not watch Duffy, can't stand him, or CTV newsnet, & shamelessly admit I mostly watch MSNBC in the evenings. Or a movie.
Being an immigrant myself, from England as a young child, with a British father & a Polish mother, my parents decided to come here to have "a better life". And that they had - their dream come true for themselves & their 4, then 5, children.
My mother has a strong Polish accent, speaks fluent english but on occasion has difficulty, still, understanding some things, as do many other Canadians to whom english is a 2nd language. Mostly because of the way that they are phrased.
We kids grew up in La Belle Province on the outskirts of Montreal. Then after leaving home I moved into the city itself. I love Quebec & all Quebecoise even though I no longer live there. It's the most multi-cultural province in all of Canada - Montreal especially, & has been for a very, very long time. Now Toronto has about a 50% multi-cultural population. And is continuing to grow in that vein, as are many other areas of Ontario. And B.C. has an extremely large Chinese & East Indian immigrant population.
Since Stephen Harper came to power I seem to see divisiveness, hatred, & rascism growing & getting stronger by the day. His comments in the past on the Asian & East Indian immigrants here, that they should be separated from the rest of the country, "the Northern welfare state" & so many other nasties, to this day, are appalling.
He, along with many others of his party, seeks to divide this nation on many different fronts. Not just different ethnicities but also poor vs rich, corporations vs social programs, "straight" vs "gay", & on it goes.
Even his so-called First Nations policies have not been put into action. Yes, an apology but that's all. He's all talk. And talk he does. Now he has the audacity to criticize M. Dion for not understanding a question due to the confusing tenses used within this question. And Harper uses it to state that M. Dion cannot possibly lead this country as he isn't quick enough on his feet, so to speak. Ridiculous!
We are a 2 language country. English is not everyone's 1st language. This continues to show how prejudiced this man really is. He doesn't care about anyone who is not of his own "race", of his own financial income, or an Albertan. And no, I am not prejudiced against Alberta or Albertans. They, too, are "us".
We have witnessed, during this election, vandalism to people's cars, spray painting of hate graffiti on people's houses, destruction of election signs, threatening phone calls - all to supporters of the Liberal party. I'm not saying this is a concerted "Con" effort but it's the Con, & Harper, message of hatred that has instilled this in certain people so that they act out their thoughts & feelings. And those are some VERY strong feelings. Dangerous to life & limb. And Harper still has not spoken out against these actions. Not a single, solitary word. By not condemning these practices his silence gives tacit approval to them. In my riding, Perth-Wellington in Ontario, signs haven't just been bent, toppled over, or removed, they have literally been BURNT - over & over. The hatred is astounding.
Is this what we want to have continue in this beautiful country of ours? Prejudice, rascism, & hatred? If so then vote Harper & his Cons. If not then vote, strategically, to defeat these goons. M. Dion is a deep, caring man who loves this country - as a whole. Not as some divided up oil patch, tar sands horror. Let's give him a mandate to put this country back together for us - the people!
Being an immigrant myself, from England as a young child, with a British father & a Polish mother, my parents decided to come here to have "a better life". And that they had - their dream come true for themselves & their 4, then 5, children.
My mother has a strong Polish accent, speaks fluent english but on occasion has difficulty, still, understanding some things, as do many other Canadians to whom english is a 2nd language. Mostly because of the way that they are phrased.
We kids grew up in La Belle Province on the outskirts of Montreal. Then after leaving home I moved into the city itself. I love Quebec & all Quebecoise even though I no longer live there. It's the most multi-cultural province in all of Canada - Montreal especially, & has been for a very, very long time. Now Toronto has about a 50% multi-cultural population. And is continuing to grow in that vein, as are many other areas of Ontario. And B.C. has an extremely large Chinese & East Indian immigrant population.
Since Stephen Harper came to power I seem to see divisiveness, hatred, & rascism growing & getting stronger by the day. His comments in the past on the Asian & East Indian immigrants here, that they should be separated from the rest of the country, "the Northern welfare state" & so many other nasties, to this day, are appalling.
He, along with many others of his party, seeks to divide this nation on many different fronts. Not just different ethnicities but also poor vs rich, corporations vs social programs, "straight" vs "gay", & on it goes.
Even his so-called First Nations policies have not been put into action. Yes, an apology but that's all. He's all talk. And talk he does. Now he has the audacity to criticize M. Dion for not understanding a question due to the confusing tenses used within this question. And Harper uses it to state that M. Dion cannot possibly lead this country as he isn't quick enough on his feet, so to speak. Ridiculous!
We are a 2 language country. English is not everyone's 1st language. This continues to show how prejudiced this man really is. He doesn't care about anyone who is not of his own "race", of his own financial income, or an Albertan. And no, I am not prejudiced against Alberta or Albertans. They, too, are "us".
We have witnessed, during this election, vandalism to people's cars, spray painting of hate graffiti on people's houses, destruction of election signs, threatening phone calls - all to supporters of the Liberal party. I'm not saying this is a concerted "Con" effort but it's the Con, & Harper, message of hatred that has instilled this in certain people so that they act out their thoughts & feelings. And those are some VERY strong feelings. Dangerous to life & limb. And Harper still has not spoken out against these actions. Not a single, solitary word. By not condemning these practices his silence gives tacit approval to them. In my riding, Perth-Wellington in Ontario, signs haven't just been bent, toppled over, or removed, they have literally been BURNT - over & over. The hatred is astounding.
Is this what we want to have continue in this beautiful country of ours? Prejudice, rascism, & hatred? If so then vote Harper & his Cons. If not then vote, strategically, to defeat these goons. M. Dion is a deep, caring man who loves this country - as a whole. Not as some divided up oil patch, tar sands horror. Let's give him a mandate to put this country back together for us - the people!
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