What Can You Buy For $90M Dollars?

When a state of emergency was declared this week in the Northern Ontario Aboriginal community of Attiwapiskat due to deplorable living conditions, the initial response was anger at the government for neglecting the people. Then we find out that this small community of 2000 people has received $90 Million dollars in funding from the Harper government since 2006, prompting most logical people to ask the most obvious question, what the hell did they spend that money on? Today's poll question; should $90M over 6 years be enough money to lift a community of 2000 people out of "3rd world" living conditions?

What can you buy for $90 million? As the government is sending in a team of auditors, we should soon find out. There is a very good chance we are going to find that the leaders of this community in charge of spending that money did not spend it wisely. They are saying that nearly all of that money went to education. Somehow I seriously doubt that, but I will allow the auditors to do their work before making my own allegations about local corruption. For all those attacking Stephen Harper as being responsible for this state of emergency, remember that the McGuinty government in Ontario has a Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. What do those people do for their 40 hours a week? What responsibility for local mismanagement falls on the Ontario government?

We are going to find what happened to the money. Speculating that it was spent on beer and popcorn at this early stage isn't helping anyone...

Shinning A Light On The CBC's Flawed Decision Making

There are only two days remaining to vote in the webpoll for which CBC employee you think tested the worst with focus groups. As of right now Terry Milewski has a large lead over his colleagues, followed by Stombo, Mary Walsh, and Soloman. Now that the CBC has been ordered by the courts to hand over internal documents such as focus group data, we may finally get a chance to shine a light on some of the Broadcaster's inner machinations for evidence of flawed decision making at the programming level.

Many of us would also like to see what programs lose the most money so we can start trimming the fat. Meanwhile, there is at least one group fighting to save the CBC's tax payer subsidies. The "Friends of Canadian Broadcasting" are launching an ad campaign targeting the Tory government on the CBC issue. The objective is to protect the flow of tax money to prop up a public broadcaster notorious for putting untalented people on the air. Somebody needs to fight for the right of Mary Walsh to get paid to be on television, because otherwise no network would hire "artists" like her. Generally you have to be funny to get a gig as a comedian, unless that employer is the CBC.

Liberals Surge In New Poll

Don't look now, but the Bob Rae Liberals are surging in the polls up to 28% support, putting them in 2nd place, 7% behind the Tories. The question on everyone's mind, does this mean that the opposition will pull the plug on the government and try to force an early election? Hurry, get the buses ready and the lawn signs out of storage! Oh that's right I almost forgot, the Tories have a stable majority government...we no longer need to get election ready every time a good poll comes out for the Liberals. People like Nik Nanos still need to remain relevant somehow, though it is difficult for them when we do not have election speculation at every turn. You'll have to forgive our media, they still have a hangover from 6 years of minority Parliament.

What this poll means, should Bobby's Liberals hold some of this ground they've gained on the NDP, is that it will be more likely Rae breaks his pledge and runs for full time leadership when they finally get around to having a convention. A question I'd like to ask as I watch The Soloman Show, why do the Liberals send Holland, Findlay, or Kennedy to do the majority of their press spots on the politics shows? Not much talent on the actual elected team, eh? Because what I really needed today was Mark Holland getting sanctimonious about the Wheat Board. Bob probably wants to keep potential leadership contenders out of the spotlight.

Dropping Out Of Kyoto?

How is this news that Canada is withdrawing from the Kyoto protocol? It will certainly be used as a point of criticism by the opposition, but isn't Kyoto already dead? Surely a Liberal or NDP leadership hopeful has already named their dog Copenhagen. Even CO2 Armageddon activists have to admit that the Kyoto treaty was fatally flawed by how Russia, China, and India fit into the equation. That's why they needed the "Copenhagen Accord". Of course the reason this is news is because there is a new conference planned where they intend to extend Kyoto. Canada won't be playing along, and there will even be a pre-Christmas press conference to formally announce our withdrawal. That will be a nice little Christmas gift for the base, but ultimately meaningless.

Even if the world spends trillions of dollars to meet the targets, the end of the world will only be postponed for a few years. True, those few years might give us the chance to start a new civilization on Mars or in a parallel dimension.



Ah, Glenn Beck back when Glenn Beck was cool. I miss those days, before he went bat shit crazy.

Grey Cup Sunday: Don't Worry Vancouver

On CTV News tonight the anchor expressed concern that there could be riots following Sunday's Grey Cup in Vancouver. Don't worry people, the Lions do not enjoy the same level of widespread committed fandom as the hockey team. The Lions have their fans, but in much smaller proportion and passion than with the Canucks. They aren't going to burn down the city if the Lions lose, so everyone can relax. Besides, playing in an 8 team league means every team makes it to the championship every few years, whereas in the NHL it could take the Canucks another 15-30 years to make it back to the big show. Losing in the finals is not nearly as devastating in the CFL.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be watching the Grey Cup. I work early in the morning and only have a fleeting interest in CFL football, preferring the NFL instead. 4 downs and 32 teams provides much more variety and a better game. Though 32 years ago today, my mother went into labour with me at a Grey Cup Party, so I do have a nostalgic connection to the big game. Mike Harris was also at the same Grey Cup Party where I started being born, but that was before he entered politics.

I'm predicting no riots on Sunday.

Court Forces CBC To Hand Over Focus Group Results For TV Personalities

The CBC lost a court appeal forcing them to answer Access to Information requests that they had previously ignored on the grounds of protecting artistic secrets. Among the documents ordered be turned over are focus group results regarding CBC personalities, something that the CBC did not want to be made public. Many of us would love to see the results of this ATI request published in the media. Infact I hope that they have focus groups results for every single television personality, and that they become public information. If the CBC would like to keep this information private, they should stop taking money from the government.

This begs the question, which CBC personality has the most negative or damaging focus group results? On the news side it has to be Milewski or Soloman. The CBC repeatedly airs commercials for the Soloman Show with Evan pleading with viewers that he's "tough, but not unfair", over and over again. I wonder if that's what his focus group said? The most negative results probably come from their regular television programming, where they have some absolutely atrocious TV shows.

Which CBC TV personality has the most negative focus group results will be a future poll question, after a sufficient nomination period. Who do you think tested poorly, but kept their jobs anyway? The lead actor in Little Mosque is reportedly an alpha male within CBC ranks, so if he tested poorly it is plausible the results would be disregarded.

But even more than focus group results, the information I want to see the most is how much each show cost to make, and how much revenue each produced. Who made money, and who lost money? And how much?

"If being a grumpy old man makes you an expert"

Didn't Jack Layton promise after the election to bring a new level of decorum to the House of Commons? Didn't Jack Layton proclaim that Canadians don't like insults? Weren't NDP MPs wearing "civility" buttons at the beginning of the first session in June?  Perhaps Megan Leslie did not get the civility memo, after today she started a question with "if being a grumpy old man makes you an expert" before being cut off. That's pretty classy coming from a party that has accused the Conservatives of "ageism" for criticizing the youth and inexperience of the new Dippers in caucus. By NDP standards discriminatory "ageism" only applies to comments against young people, not older people. It is okay if the target is a "grumpy old man", but try to say that a University student lacks the experience for elected office and suddenly you've committed a despicable act of age based discrimination.

It certainly seems of late that Megan Leslie is getting more face time than NDP leader Nycole Turmel.

NDP MPs Require Help With Oh Canada Lyrics

Tonight CTV's Lisa LaFlamme Tweeted @LisaLaFlammeCTV "Just watched HoC vid of NDP MP's using cheatsheets to sing the National Anthem. Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. We'll air at 11." Isn't that sweet, members of our official opposition require assistance to sing Oh Canada. I'm not quite as shocked as Lisa LaFlamme. Can anyone really be surprised? Patriotism has never struck me as a strong suit of the Dippers. Maybe it isn't fair to poke fun at them at them for needing cheat sheets; it isn't like their caucus is fully bilingual and knows how to sing the English version. Their leader can barely speak English and often has to read from a script to ask questions in the House.

Today's poll question: do you know the lyrics to our national anthem? What percentage of Canadians can actually get the words right? There has been polling on this. 62% of French Canadians report that they can sing the french version without effort, so the percentage of francophones who can sing the English version is probably below 50%. The older you are, the more likely you are to know the lyrics. 77% of Canadian born respondents said they knew the words. 64% of foreign born Canadians knew the words. Immigrants report to have better anthem knowledge than francophone Canadians.

When I'm at events and our anthem comes on, I just shut up and listen instead of singing, but I do hold the song in reverence.

Who Should Be The Premier Of Alberta?

With a left leaning Alison Redford now leading the Alberta PC Party, the next general election in Alberta should be very interesting. Today's poll question; who should be the Premier of Alberta? Is everyone just waiting for the acclimation of Danielle Smith? Should Gary Mar, Doug Horner, or Ted Morton have won the PC leadership and be leading the Progressives into the next election? The early consensus on the Redford administration is that the party is now more progressive than conservative, and that Wildrose might be the only Conservative party left to vote for. With Redford as Premier, Ed Stelmach has to be looking pretty good right about now...

What about Naheed Nenshi or Monte Solberg? Wayne Gretzky? I'm just throwing out names.

Occupy Vancouver Peacefully Dismantles, Before Moving A Block Away

This morning in Vancouver the talk of the town was that the protest at the Art Gallery was closing up shop, that the clowns were choosing to leave peacefully instead of defying a court order. So what did they do? They took down their tent city in front of the Art Gallery and moved it behind the Art Gallery to the provincial courthouse. Classy. To add insult to stupidity, they decided that it would be a good idea to block a major traffic corridor on a Monday afternoon while they were relocating around the corner. Nothing wins the battle for hearts and minds quite like making commuters sit in gridlock.

The new location is also on public land because they seem unable to find a private land owner who is willing to host them. Really, if you are the kind of person who wants a heroin party on your front lawn, you probably don't have a front lawn. Even our left wing Premier Christy Clark was pissed off, suggesting that the next court order will be coming a whole lot faster than the last one. Granted, this sounded a lot like her demand for swift justice for rioters back in June, so I won't hold my breath.

Occupy Evictions

This morning as snow hit the lower mainland, Occupy Vancouver protesters were packing up their junk and putting it in storage for another day. They will leave peacefully, but their comrades in Occupy Toronto might be getting ready for a fight. Both have been ordered by the Courts to vacate public property, as freedom of expression does not include freedom to squat in public parks. While it is great that the law has finally taken action against these clowns, these evictions should have come when the first tents went up. Hopefully next time we'll learn our lesson and evict them on day one, and trust me there will be a next time. The hooligans who do this seem to very much enjoy civil disobedience.

Ironically last week CBC reported a "major victory" for Occupy Toronto when a judge delayed eviction notices to allow arguments to be presented. It did not take long for the judge to reach this decision. It was strange that the CBC reported a short delay of eviction notices as a major victory, especially considering the evictions were eventually upheld. Vancouver is dismantling peacefully, Toronto may be gearing up for a fight. I'm sure that has nothing to do with Vancouver having a left wing Mayor and Toronto having a right wing Mayor...

UPDATE: So after all that, the Occupy clowns in Vancouver didn't leave, they just moved a block away to the courthouse. Please, start arresting people.

Canada Votes 2011: The Year Of The Incumbent

If the world were indeed collapsing around us as the Occupy Canada protesters believe, you'd think that this year would present a difficulty for all incumbents seeking re-election. That has not been the case (federal Liberals and Bloc Quebecois notwithstanding), and it started with Stephen Harper getting a majority mandate in the spring. Dalton McGuinty was re-elected, Brad Wall cruised to a giant majority, Selinger won in Manitoba, Ghiz swept PEI, and Saturday greater Vancouver voted strongly incumbent in municipal elections despite the unpopular gas tax. This has been a good a year for incumbents, even those with popularity problems. Canadian voters have not been voting for change, which you'd expect if things really needed to be changed.

Perhaps the strong performance of incumbents this year is a sign that things aren't all that bad in Canada? Yes the United States and Europe have their problems which will likely hurt us, but Canada is not heading to ruin because Canada is broken. We'll feel the pain when our allies run into trouble, however global financial markets are not falling based on news coming out of Canada. There's a reason incumbents are being re-elected.

BC Votes: Remember The Gas Tax

On Saturday the voters of British Columbia will be voting in municipal elections, and everyone should get out and vote. If you live in Vancouver, you need to vote against Gregor Robertson. He's a blowhard idealist who promised to solve all the world's problems when he was first elected. Here we are a few years later, and there are far more failures than successes. For those who aren't voting in Vancouver proper but rather a greater Vancouver municipality; I'm encouraging everyone to vote against any incumbent mayor who voted to jack up the gas tax when we already have a carbon tax. Vote the bums out of office!

The mayors primarily responsible for the gas tax are:

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore
Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart
District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton
West Vancouver Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones (not running)

Do not vote for any of these people who might be running for re-election. Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie voted against the gas tax along with the Mayors of Burnaby and Delta, so keep that in mind if you are voting there.

As for city council, I don't have much of an opinion. If you happen to live in West Vancouver, do not vote for Bill Soprovich. Two years ago I attended a city council meeting regarding the Olympics, and one of the notes I wrote in my notepad was "do not vote for Bill Soprovich". I didn't elaborate and don't even remember why I wrote it, but I'm sure I had a good reason...

Ibbitson: Blame Tories For Martin's F-Bomb Tirade

According to the Globe's John Ibbitson, NDP MP Pat Martin's F-Bomb tirade was justifiable considering the Tories management of the Parliamentary agenda. As the headline goes, "NDP profanity marks Parliament’s hastened decline under Tories". As Ibby puts it, the tweets were "in poor taste. But he makes an important point." The theory goes that given how the Tories have handled debate in Parliament, we should expect opposition MPs to express frustration. If you have to drop a few F-Bombs to get people's attention, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe it is in poor taste, but you have to make an important point, right? Can you really blame Pat Martin for being frustrated with the Conservatives, who have been limiting (though not eliminating) debate in order to speed up their parliamentary agenda to fulfill election promises?

How much more debate exactly are we supposed to have regarding the gun registry? Parliament and the media have already dedicated thousands of hours of televised debate on this subject. The Tories campaigned on scrapping it, and they were elected to a majority. Should we shut down the rest of the Parliamentary agenda to rehash a debate that we've already had nationally? It is called fulfilling election promises, not justification for temper tantrums.

That's just my opinion. Today's poll question; are the Tories responsible for Pat Martin's F-Bomb tirade?

Megan Leslie Goes To Washington

The NDP has sent their environment critic to Washington with the purpose of lobbying to kill the Keystone pipeline. Normally I'd be a little miffed to have a far leftist down in the USA claiming to speak on behalf of Canada, but I did get a good laugh from her interview on Power Play Wednesday. She hasn't actually been able to change any minds, and her most profound "observation" is how many people she's met who are shocked that there are any Canadians who care about the environment. While I can't produce an itinerary of the people she's meeting with and talking to, the majority of those people seem to think our entire country is hell bent on destroying the planet. She did meet with Nancy Pelosi's office. That much she confirmed today.

To any Americans out there reading this, Megan Leslie speaks for a far left party in Canada, not the majority. The majority of us do indeed yearn to destroy planet Earth...

(ps: that's sarcasm by the way)

Megan Leslie could become Prime Minister of Canada, if only she spoke French. That's so sad that she doesn't...

CBC's O'Malley Mocks Government On Access To Information Diligence

It's ironic that a CBC journalist blogger would direct mocking criticism at the government for their diligence in responding to Access To Information requests; when her own public tax funded broadcaster frequently refuses to respond to ATI requests about how they spend those tax dollars. Perhaps it is as they so often say, "takes one to know one". Oh that's right I forgot, the CBC has the moral high ground because they are protecting their "artistic integrity" (I know, calling anything produced by the CBC "art" is objectionable).

Kady's original post mocking of the government on this matter came a few weeks ago after an ethics committee hearing investigating the CBC questionable practices regarding ATI requests. She was trying to deflect criticism away from the CBC by throwing mud at the Tory government under the title "OpenGovWatch", questioning the gov's sincerity on posting ATI request results online by the end of the year. Today the government announced they would do exactly that, so Kady re-posted her original negative post from a few weeks ago, scratched a few words out, and added an update at the bottom. Is that her way of printing a retraction? Or did she use the announcement as an excuse to re-post her original mocking criticism?

It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, but that's something we've come to expect from the journalistic blogging world of Kady O'Malley...

A History Channel Thanksgiving

This has not been a great season of South Park, but their most recent episode "a History Channel Thanksgiving" was good for a hearty laugh. It pokes fun at what is now considered "history" on the History Channel, such as the show Ancient Aliens which speculates extra terrestrial involvement in pretty much every significant event of human history. The episode also ridicules the people who pass for experts on some of these outlandish documentaries. Was the first Thanksgiving catered by aliens? You decide!

Personally I used to be a big fan of the History Channel but rarely watch their regular programming anymore. Brad Meltzer's Decoded had potential, but I've been watching that and it's a joke. They rarely figure out anything substantive and they are too easily seduced by conspiracy theories. Was the Statue of Liberty intended as a symbol of devil worship? Stay tuned! Did a cult in the Southern USA successfully predicted the end of the world? Maybe! We'll find out when the sun explodes! The channel has made some terrible programming decisions. Ice road truckers? How far can you pushed this? Seriously? One episode was all that anyone needed to see.

Fact and Film is always fun, and most of their military programing is well done; but there is a lot of crap on the History Channel these days. That was the basis for the latest episode of South Park.

Where There's A Gas Tank, There's A Way...

A message for the many voices trying to end the Keystone and Kitimat pipelines; you can kill the pipelines, but you can't stop the flow of oil. We have substantial oil reserves and the world has an insatiable appetite for the substance. Short of the NDP forming government and making it illegal to harvest oil, it will continue to travel by the old reliable methods, tankers, roads, rail, etc. Do you think that a fleet of tankers is safer and cleaner than a pipeline? Seriously? That is today's poll question.

The people who are fighting to kill the pipeline from Edmonton to northern BC, the alternative is the status quo, an aged pipeline that runs under metro Vancouver. Do you think that is cleaner or safer? Pipeline to Kitimat, or pipeline under greater Vancouver that carries oil to Vancouver harbour? It is a no brainer. And if you kill the existing pipeline that will just mean more trucks and trains traveling through the mountain passes. Great, that never turns out badly...

You can't stop the flow. Your best hope is diminishing demand through technological innovations, but that won't stop demand to the developing world anytime soon. Perhaps we could put an electric car in every Canadian driveway (though watch what that would do to the price of electricity), but you can't deliver that to the whole world within a plausible timeline. Demand will continue, and even if it slowly diminishes, as supply diminishes prices will remain profitable.

We have trillions of dollars worth of this stuff under the ground. That value leads to jobs, which leads to economic activity which supports countless supporting businesses. It also funds billions of dollars in tax revenue for the government. The oil sands in Alberta helps pay for health care in Quebec and Ontario. How much money does the Canada Pension fund have invested in Canadian Natural Resources? Billions. How many Canadians collect cheques from CPP?

Should Canada build more oil refineries? Yes, absolutely. But if you shut down oil production, the economic consequences would be catastrophic. Come on people; give your heads a good shake!

Who Should Be The Republican Nominee in 2012?

Today's poll question; who do you think should win the Republican nomination to run against Obama in 2012? Of the current candidates running in the race, Herman Cain is leading in the polls with 18%, followed by Romney and Gingrich with 15% a piece, the absent minded Rick Perry has 8%, Ron Paul has 5%, Michele Bachman has 4%, Santorum and Huntsman round out the field with 2% and 1% respectively. Undecided and none of the above are also options in the poll.

I'm not sure that I like any of the candidates currently in the field, and if this is the final list of choices I'll probably end up endorsing Newt. He's really the only one on that stage I trust, but age could become an issue. Romney might be the best business man among the group, but I'm not sure America is ready for a Mormon President. I don't understand the Herman Cain phenomenon. He came out of nowhere and suddenly was the favourite before anyone really knew all that much about him. He's certainly the most entertaining of the bunch. The brain fart pretty much eliminates Perry as a contender. Ron Paul is older than John McCain, and McCain was too old 3 years ago.

Should Occupy Camps Be Dismantled?

Today's poll question; do you support your local mayor ordering the dismantling of an Occupy protest near you? Is it time for Rob Ford to call the police on Occupy Toronto? These protests have been allowed to continue for far too long, and now with a growing epidemic of drug overdoses, it has become dangerous. Perhaps the question is not whether or not they should be dismantled, but what degree of force the police should use to shut them down. Tasers or no tasers? Some police officers have been assaulted or bitten when they have intervened, as these clowns don't want to go peacefully. They want to be dragged away kicking and screaming like little children, and if that's the case, then so be it.

"The 99%" Really Likes Their Heroin

The Occupy Canada "movement" has now experienced its third drug overdose in a week, this time in Toronto. It would seem that "the 99%" has a bit of a heroin problem. When the initial day of protest cleared and the comparatively normal people went home, those left behind pitching tents were not exactly the bright young minds of tomorrow. Maybe I'm just part of "the 1%" that does not enjoy shooting heroin, but they need to shut down this camping trip ASAP because it has become dangerous.

I'm sure there are some people at these Occupy protests who have good intentions, but what they have created is not what they intended. Some might say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, which is how I feel about extreme socialism in general. When the safety net becomes a magnet, the downward spiral is soon to follow.

Liberals To Hold American Style Primary To Select Leader?

The Liberals are considering an American style primary process to select their next leader, where they would hold individual votes in a number of different cities to see who comes out on top. Today's poll question; is this a good idea? The alternative is a flawed convention process that last produced the futile and inept Stephane Dion to run for Prime Minister. Perhaps the results of the last Liberal leadership convention justifies the impetus to alter the selection process. The big question will be whether or not you'll have to be a paid card carrying Liberal to vote. In many American primaries, declared Democrats can vote for Republicans and visa versa.

Would I show up to vote for the next Liberal leader if they held an open primary in Vancouver? Probably, but I'd much rather vote in the NDP leadership race. Thus far the NDP race has a greater number of candidates who have a 0% chance of being elected Prime Minister in the next election. Having survived Bob Rae's Ontario, I could never mark his name on a ballot, even if I expected him to lose.

The Death Of Occupy Vancouver

While I can't speak for all Occupy camps near you, judging by what's been going on at Occupy Vancouver, this so called "movement" is dying and will soon be at an end. This downward spiral of childish imbecility was entirely predictable when the decision was made right from day one to make it a permanent live in protest. You were sure to get big crowds on opening weekend with people of various left wing associations supporting any number of complaints against "the system", but you knew the people pitching tents would not be the sane and rational people from the original group. Some might call them the lunatic fringe, I prefer to call them clowns. In Vancouver it tends to be the same people, and I've seen their protests before.

Then, when the normal people went home to their jobs after their symbolic appearance on opening weekend, the people left speaking for the entire movement were the least desirable spokespeople you could possibly leave in charge. The inmates took over the asylum, and the tent city protests got substantial media coverage. Here's an idea, let's start a protest movement and leave the craziest among us in charge of it when we go home and see what happens! Now it has degraded to the point where they damned near need a mobile safe heroin injection site just to keep the protesters alive! There are a number of left wingers who are now frustrated, even angry, with the Occupy Vancouver protesters for taking legitimacy away from the original movement. People like my friend who initially supported the protest, but now believe it needs to be shut down because it has started hurting the cause.

If they won't leave peacefully. Make them leave. If the nuts throw temper tantrums, then deal with them accordingly. That's what tasers are for.

Should CSIS Conduct Operations Abroad?

Today's poll question; should CSIS conduct operations in foreign countries? This question has now been introduced to the media conversation and I'd like to know if you think our Secret Service/CIA should be conducting operation abroad (not counting trips by Canadian officials and diplomats). Normally I would defer to the Americans to fight the intelligence battle, but I'm curious about the idea of CSIS performing a similar function in order to protect Canadian interests. If foreign spy services conduct operations of espionage against Canada, would our interests be better protected if we had field agents operating in those countries? Our spies don't need to kill people or blow things up, but the art of collecting intelligence can be a very valuable commodity.

Oct 2011 Polling

Here are the results of your poll questions from the month of October. There were questions regarding the Occupy protests, the new ship building contract, should the Progressive Conservatives dump the word progressive, and whether or not it is acceptable for comedy troupes to film surprise/uninvited live sketches at the homes of politicians. And no, Halloween should not be a stat holiday.

SHOULD THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE ACCEPTED FOREIGN BIDS ON THE NEW SHIP BUILDING PROJECT?

No (81%)
Yes (14%)
Undecided (5%)

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT SPEND $33 BILLION TO UPGRADE THE CANADIAN NAVY AND COAST GUARD?

Yes (94%)
No (6%)
Undecided (0%)

WHAT DEMAND DO YOU MOST EXPECT TO EMERGE FROM THE OCCUPY PROTESTS?

(PS: sorry for not including free heroin as an option)

Anarchy (26%)
Income Redistribution (19%)
Minimum guaranteed incomes (14%)
Government pays off everyone's debt (8%)
Arrest George Bush (7%)
Revive Soviet Union (6%)
Free houses for everyone (5%)
Nationalize banks (3%)
Retirement at age 25 (3%)
3 day work week (2%)

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT PAY OFF YOUR LOANS AND CREDIT CARDS?

No (89%)
Yes (11%)
Undecided (0%)

SHOULD DON CHERRY BE SUED FOR CALLING SOME FORMER HOCKEY FIGHTERS "PUKES AND TURNCOATS"?

No (87%)
Yes (13%)
Undecided (0%)

IS IT ACCEPTABLE FOR WOMEN TO SHOW CLEAVAGE IN THE WORKPLACE?

Yes (75%)
No (22%)
Undecided (3%)

SHOULD THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY DROP THE WORD PROGRESSIVE FROM THEIR NAME?

Yes (87%)
No (12%)
Undecided (1%)

WHAT'S WORSE?

Liberal minority supported by NDP (61%)
Liberal majority government (30%)
Undecided (9%)

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH WAGES FOR PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS?

Reduced (53%)
Frozen (46%)
Increased (1%)
Undecided (0%)

DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD GET MORE DAYS OFF WORK?

No (79%)
Yes (15%)
Undecided (6%)

DID DEFENSE MINISTER PETER MACKAY ABUSE HIS PRIVILEGE BY CHARTERING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FLIGHTS ON GOVERNMENT JETS?

No (74%)
Yes (22%)
Undecided (2%)

IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR A COMEDY TROUPE TO FILM UNINVITED UNEXPECTED IMPROV SKETCHES AT THE HOMES OF POLITICIANS?

No (96%)
Yes (4%)
Undecided (0%)

SHOULD BANKS BE ALLOWED TO EARN A PROFIT?

Yes (91%)
No, 100% of profit should be taxed (5%)
No, the government should own all banks (1%)
Undecided (1%)

DO YOU SUPPORT THE OCCUPY CANADA PROTESTS?

No (94%)
Yes (4%)
Indifferent (2%)

HAVE YOU OR WILL YOU WEAR A HALLOWEEN COSTUME IN PUBLIC THIS YEAR?

No (87%)
Yes (12%)
Maybe (1%)

SHOULD HALLOWEEN BE A STATUTORY HOLIDAY?

No (93%)
Yes (7%)
Undecided (0%)

Occupy Heroin

It would appear that the Occupy Vancouver movement has developed a bit of a drug problem, as a woman died today of an alleged drug overdose. This comes two days after another person was rushed away by paramedics for overdosing on heroin. I'm not sure these are the kind of people we want dictating how our economy should function. At their next "general assembly", they should pool their collective minds to write the manifesto "economics for junkies" about the "evils" of capitalism. It is unfortunate that it takes the death of a young woman to expose what's really going on in tent city; getting stoned while being sanctimonious regarding something the protesters are ignorant about, our economy.

They need to shut this place down before more people die. They have proven unable to shoot heroin responsibly while deciding the future of the Canadian financial system.

Daylight Savings

It is that time of year again when most of us set our clocks back to get an extra hour, so everyone remember to adjust your clocks. Today's poll question; does the joy of getting an extra hour in the fall justify the pain of losing an hour in the spring? The "fall back" is among my favourite days of the year, especially while working on weekends, but the "spring forward" is probably my least favourite day of the year.

Last year at around this time I asked the question:

DO YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME?

No (55%)
Yes (40%)
Undecided (5%)

So the majority of you would rather we scrap this practice altogether and just be more like Saskatchewan. Granted, I asked this question after the "fall back" when many were already delighting in their extra hour. If I ask this question after the "spring forward", it would probably go at least 70% no.

NDP "Whisper Campaign" Against Tom Mulcair?

Thomas Mulcair loves a good conspiracy theory. Now he believes that he's the victim of a "whisper campaign" among his NDP colleagues speculating that he has a bad temper. There is allegedly a "movement" against his leadership bid coming from within, and he's not happy about it! Is the source of this smear campaign "the front runner" Brian Topp? As Mulcair puts it, that's for the membership to decide. Considering he's being accused of having a bad temper, he certainly comes off as aggravated in the interview with left wing journalist Barbara Yaffe. (an aside: you might remember Barbara Yaffe from her op-ed in Nov 2009 fawning over the hiring of Donolo to run Ignatieff's campaign. As she put it, "he will almost certainly make a huge difference to Ignatieff's fortunes as leader." How did that work out Barb?)

Anyway, back to Mulcair. My advice to him is to relax. The NDP is a party currently built on the inherent likability of their leader. Coming off as "angry man" isn't going to deter the "whispers" coming from within his own party. That being said, as a Tory I will take pleasure in watching the NDP infighting over the drive to replace Layton.

Stay calm Tommy boy...

Tories Doing What They Said They'd Do

Now that the Conservatives have been elected by Canadians to a majority government, they are passing legislation that they campaigned on, which got them elected. Tough on crime, scrap the gun registry, scrap subsidies for political parties, no forced membership in the Wheat Board, etc, etc, all promises made well before Canadians elected them to a majority government. Now individual Premiers are revolting against this legislation, which seems odd considering the federal government was elected on promises to do exactly what they are doing. Just because left wing journalists are opposing Tory policies, that doesn't mean the current Conservative government does not have a mandate from the people enact these policies.

Seriously, how can you attack a government doing exactly what they said they'd do when they were elected to run the country? Are Tory MPs terrible people because they moved to scrap the gun registry? That's what they said they'd do, and people voted for them. Accept the mandate! It was the same thing with Mike Harris. I've talked to left leaning friends from Ontario about Iron Mike, and while they might not have always agreed with him, they all acknowledge that at least he did what he said he'd do during the campaign where the people elected him. He was very unpopular with the left, but was still re-elected to a 2nd term. I think sometimes we forget that after 4 years of Harris, Ontario wanted 4 more.

Should Rob Ford Sue The CBC?

This might seem like a ridiculous question, but one I'd like to ask; if the taxpayers didn't have to foot the bill, should Rob Ford sue the CBC? I'm not a lawyer, but between trespassing and blatant character assassination, there has to be enough to get a court date. If he were to sue the CBC, the taxpayers would be on the hook for the legal bill, so this is more of a hypothetical question. Home invasions are a little extreme even for the CBC, but I would really like to read the minutes from the meeting where they decided upon this new strategy. What was the dialogue between Walsh and her producer? Maybe I'll send an Access to Information request. They pushed the envelope farther than they ever have, and I suspect it was a deliberate attempt to force the Mayor into the most uncomfortable situation, impromptu left wing sketch comedy at his home in front of his children. Then he overreacted and called the police, prompting the CBC to ridicule him and then publish a negative story about the 9/11 calls that turned out to be totally false. That's damned near slander. You can get sued for that.

Message to anyone considering a political career, the CBC is breaking new ground where you need to be on high alert 24 hours per day. You won't be safe in your homes. Why the f**k anyone would want a career in politics with this ridiculous standard is beyond me. I guess this kind of attack is perpetrated more often against right wing politicians, who are vilified at every opportunity. Every Conservative is "the worst person in the world", right?

I have to give two thumbs up to Ezra Levant for this comedy sketch. It was brilliant and made me laugh out loud.