Environmental Radicals

Today Natural Resources minister Joe Oliver released an open letter about the development our oil infrastructure which included the "controversial" statement; "unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this opportunity to diversify our trade." I'm not sure that the minister was trying to characterize all environmental groups as radical, but that is not how the CBC's Evan Soloman saw it today. This topic consumed most of his program with their question of the day being "is it fair for Joe Oliver to characterize environmental groups as radical?" Eventually it led to speculation that the government is waging war on the environment. Elizabeth May and Stephane Dion were lead guests, and Mark Holland even showed up for a rant.

For my poll question, I'd like to know if you think Elizabeth May is a radical. The word radical doesn't imply violence, but rather a person who advocates far reaching opinions. Certainly conservatives are often characterized as radicals by the left, so their furious response to the minister's statement is somewhat hypocritical. Stay tuned, Evan insists he's going to be following this story very closely this week, as parliament is in recess and he has precious little else to talk about. You might remember Mr Oliver from Meghan Leslie's "if being a grumpy old makes you an expert" comment in Question Period not long ago, though sources tell me he has not yet been called a piece of shit.

Please Sort Your Garbage

Today at work we removed all the garbage and recycling bins, replacing them with a more complex waste disposal/recycling system. We generally get about two thousand people per week come through our facility (sometimes more), and the municipality decided this green initiative was of critical importance. There are now different bins for several different types of waste, which requires the public to participate by sorting their garbage before tossing it out. Food items go in one bag, containers another, napkins another, etc. Will the public do their part? Unlikely. The old system had 2 different bins, garbage and recycling, and people would very frequently throw garbage in the recycling bin. Some people care, many don't.

I was often reminded today of the "Green Police" Super Bowl commercial, joking with my boss about waste disposal infractions and our authority to enforce a moral responsibility in the general public. This disposal system will not produce the intended results unless there is some kind of enforcement policy in place. We need badges and the authority to issue fines. Throw a bottle in the paper bin, $50 fine or a night in jail!



Today's poll question; how much of a priority do you place on recycling? Is it very important, something you only do when convenient, or no concern at all?

This Penn and Teller Bullshit episode is priceless...

Saanich Gulf Islands Byelection?

With rumours swirling around the internet that Green Party MP Elizabeth May could be defecting to Papua New Guinea, the local Tories in her riding should start preparing for a possible byelection whenever that might happen. Even if the byelection is years away, there is a benefit to cold calling constituents to identify possible voters. Is it fair to engage in such activity before the MP has officially resigned? If there is a plausible basis for the speculation, then why not? Elizabeth May has started working on behalf of the government of Papua New Guinea, so it is entirely plausible that she might defect. Call it wishful thinking if you will, but we should start working the phones on Vancouver Island.

I have to take a principled stand on this issue, and do what's right. Identifying supporters allows you to offer help getting them to the polls at election or byelection time. This is furthering the cause of democracy by trying to get as many people as possible out to vote. Getting people out to vote is morally sound and should be embraced, not confronted with outrage and self important righteousness...some assholes are just completely irrational...

Elizabeth May Representing Papua New Guinea

Excellent news that Elizabeth May has opted to represent the people of a foreign country at an international symposium. If we are lucky, her return trip from the conference will be to Papua New Guinea instead of Ottawa. Seriously Elizabeth, you should consider taking up residence in your new country. It is a tropical climate and word has it that the local people are very friendly. You can swim with sharks, forage with tree kangaroos, and enjoy everything their ecosystem has to offer.They even recently introduced a Limited Preferential Vote system for elections that is similar to how the Liberals elect their leaders. Very exciting, right? I would support the Prime Minister making her our ambassador to Papua NG, allowing her to reside there year round.

Moving to Papua New Guinea is something you should seriously consider Elizabeth. Many people would love for that to happen, even if the happiest people would be in Canada.

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.

The Green Jobs Delusion

You've gotta love Dalton McGuinty running television commercials bragging about his "green jobs economy", which according to David Suzuki is a model for the rest of the world to follow. I'm not so sure the world would be advised to follow the Pied Piper on this one, as his beloved solar panel factory has had to shut down production due to lack of demand for what they produce. They didn't just slow down production, they shut it down entirely. Workers will have to wait at home indefinitely hoping that the company actually gets a few orders before they can return to work. That looks really bad for the man on television praising himself as a visionary. I guess Dalton thought it would be easy being green, but unfortunately nobody wants to buy this overpriced crap. What's really frightening for Ontario voters is that Dalton is promising to create even more of these inefficient and impractical green jobs.

How many more tax dollars can Dalton piss down the rabbit hole chasing a delusional pipe dream of producing inferior products nobody wants to buy? If you vote for him, maybe you'll get to find out.

"Energy is climate change" - David McGuinty

The Canadian Minister of Natural Resources is in Washington promoting Canadian energy contracts, and Liberal MP David McGuinty is angry! He's upset that the Minister is even there, and he's upset that he's not there to discuss climate change. As he so succinctly put it "energy is climate change and climate change is energy". You shouldn't be allowed to talk about energy without holding a symposium on greenhouse gases. David didn't miss the chance to pump up his brother's controversial green energy program in Ontario, the success of which has yet to be determined. Today's poll question; is it acceptable for our Natural Resources Minister to travel to the United States to promote Canadian energy?

What Minister Oliver should be doing is talking about new fines and penalties we can levy on our dirty exports before they are shipped to the United States. Isn't that right David? Or would we be cool if we just bought billions of dollars in carbon offsets from Al Gore?

Green Party Fighting To End Wireless Internet

Look out WiFi, Elizabeth May is coming to get you! The Green Party is now fighting to end the destructive evil of wireless internet before it kills all our children and insects (those are the two demographics that Liz is most concerned about, children and insects). Today's poll question; should wireless internet be illegal? According to the World Health Organization electromagnetic frequencies are a "possible" human carcinogen. As a wireless internet user, I hope she's right so that I can sue the manufacturer for millions of dollars! While we're at it, we should also get rid of all cell phones and wireless devices. Your I-Phone might be killing butterflies. Let's go back to good old fashioned wires, stringing millions of miles of cords and cables throughout the country. Technology is evil. We might want to consider outlawing electricity, but I'm sure Elizabeth will take her crusade one step at a time.

Wind Turbines On Juno Beach???

When I saw this story on the news, it felt like an April Fool's joke made in really bad taste. The same beach where Canadian soldiers landed on D-Day to help liberate Europe is set for the construction of a thousand new wind turbines courtesy of the government of France. A revered historical site is going to be littered with a thousand giant spinning turbines? Gee won't that be a lovely backdrop for our future D-Day commemorative ceremonies. What else can I say? This is ridiculous. Show some gratitude for your freedom France. Build your wind farm somewhere else.

Green Party In And Out Controversy?

Exactly how much money in the 2011 election campaign was diverted from other ridings to elect Elizabeth May in Saanich? All we know so far is that it was a lot of money, but as soon as Elections Canada calls the RCMP and raids Green Party headquarters we should get some answers. I will hold my breath in anticipation for this inevitable investigation into this possible subversion of the very foundation of our democracy.

The "Elizabeth or bust" strategy of the Green leadership might have won May a seat, but nationally the Greens received 40% fewer votes than they had in the last election. All those brave Green Party candidates coast to coast to coast paid a hefty price for Lizzy's success and were forced to suffer at the hands of this authoritarian regime. Great strategy. If we still had $2 vote subsidies, the 2011 results would have cost the Party a lot of money.

All that being said, as a Conservative I wish the Green Party all the best. I hope that they rise to %15 nationally. If the Greens can hit double digits in 2015, then we will get a second Conservative majority. Elizabeth May is a far greater threat to Jack Layton than to Stephen Harper, because the Greens and Dipps are competing for the same naive youth vote, communists, and anti-globalization activists.

Go Greens Go!

"The Elizabeth May Party"

Full marks to Kelly McParland for his article this week suggesting that the Green Party should change its name to the Elizabeth May Party, as she has transformed them into a one person show; great for Lizzy, but to the detriment of every Green member outside of Saanich. The Greens nationally saw their vote cut nearly in half, as their leader spent virtually all her time in Saanich trying to win the one riding. Being the leader afforded her media attention, which she was unwilling to share with other candidates. I also recommend Rex Murphy's latest piece about the "historic" Green victory in the election.

"Ms. May was supposed to bring the party a higher profile and greater credibility. She has succeeded in the first, although party members have to wonder exactly who is benefiting from the extra attention: the Greens or Elizabeth May. To a large degree their party leader has succeeded in establishing the Elizabeth May Party as a regular fixture, and has her seat in Saanich-Gulf Islands to prove it."

-Kelly McParland

Elizabeth Gets Lucky

After watching all the publicity that Elizabeth May has been getting since being denied a seat at the debates, you have to think this was really the best thing that could have happened to her. Basically right now she is getting plenty of air time on every radio and TV show talking about a single issue, her participation in debates. She's not out there lobbying for a carbon tax, shutting down the oil sands, or any of the nutty pieces of the Green platform. Her entire campaign has become solely about the debates, and she is getting far more time on the air waves than she otherwise would have.

I listened to her on Tuesday and a big part of her argument is that if the Bloc is in the Greens should be in. My contention is that neither should be in. Let the Bloc do the French debates, but not the English debates. I'd like to see the NDP dropped from the French debates. The all inclusive debates last year were convoluted. And I reject the idea that May should be there because Duceppe is there because I do not think the Bloc should participate. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Speaking of respect for Democracy, why isn't anyone in the media asking Elizabeth why she foricbly avoided a leadership review for two years? A leadership review was not in the best interest of Lizzy's Democracy. By the way, Green poll numbers have stayed flat since the announcement that the Greens were not invited to the debates. I don't think anyone really cares, and the people that are most likely to care vote Liberal or NDP. Jack and Iggy are taking her side, but the stronger the Green Party is, the worse it is for the other left wing parties. Jack won't come out and say he'll do better if Elizabeth weakens, but it is still true.

Dude, Where's Our Carbon Offsets?

The Conservative Party is not buying carbon offsets for the 2011 election campaign, and they are the only Party not to do so. Oh the humanity! That sounds like a great idea for a poll question; should taxpayer subsidies go to buying carbon offsets for political parties in election campaigns? The Liberals, NDP, and Bloc are largely dependent on vote subsidies from tax payers to fund their campaigns, and they are buying carbon offsets. Frankly, I don't really care what political parties want to do with their own money, but once vote subsidies are involved, I become a little more frugal. It is best if we just cancel the vote subsidies altogether.

Why Don't We Have All Inclusive Leaders Debates?

If we want to truly respect the spirit of democracy, we should have one televised debate with the leaders of all 19 parties that ran candidates in the last election. Tens of thousands of people vote for "other" and they are not being represented. I say we either do more one on one debates with the top two parties, or we do debates with every single party. Let's get our Rhinos, our Marxist Leninists, Animal Alliance Environment Voters, Christian Heritage, First People's National, and so on and so forth. 7,000 Canadians voted for 26 Libertarians in 2008. Why isn't Dennis Young in the debates. Would Elizabeth say that Dennis is too small? Why not even more than just her? For all the media attention she's getting, why doesn't anyone ask her that question? If we are going to have the Green Party, why not the Marijuana Party? Is it that the Greens have a bigger budget that they should be allowed to crowd out the smaller players?

Let's allow no one party to ever really be allowed to talk for more than short sound bits in our debates. Maybe the more fringe elements you include the more the debates dilute the messages of the only two parties capable of forming government, but listening to Elizabeth May, you'd think everybody should be there. So screw it, let's have one with everybody. Then do the rest on demand.

Elizabeth May Denied

The leader of the Green Party has been excluded from the televised leaders debates, and I have to say I'm quite delighted. Do you think the the Green Party should be included? That is today's poll question. The debates were far too diluted in 2008, and while they're at it Gilles Duceppe should not be in the English debates. This is not an abhorrent denial of democracy, but rather good television. Personally I'd like to see Ignatieff and Harper have more one on one debates. Make it 4 Debates, the NDP gets 2 and the Bloc gets 1. We need at least two one on one dust ups with Liberals and Conservatives, because they are the only parties who ever win.

I will allow you to democratically decide if you think Lizzy should be in the debates.

Dalton's Green Energy Gone With The Wind

With all the upheaval in Egypt, you may not have noticed that Dalton McGuinty is scrapping some of his green energy projects because they just aren't feasible. Great Dalton, I could have told you this wouldn't work back when you were campaigning on the need for wind power. I wonder what other policies Dalton will back track on in the lead up to this fall's Ontario election? He already reneged on his eco-tax, so what's next?

Kelly McParland wrote a great piece in the National Post on this subject.

Iggy Visits Lizzy's Saanich

Liberal leader Mike Ignatieff visited the riding of Saanich-Gulf Island Saturday, where Elizabeth May hopes to get elected in the next election. She runs in a new riding every election as you know (she is running  in her 3rd riding, never returning to where she loses), but Iggy isn't going there to offer moral support, he's trying to get votes. Stephane Dion made a non-aggression pact with Lizzy May in 2008. Not only is Iggy running a candidate against her, he is going there on his pre-election tour to pander for votes. The only way that May could ever possibly win that seat is for the Liberals to fold their candidate. It would be stupid for the Liberals to fold Saanich to the Greens, because they were a close second there last election.

It was a ridiculously stupid move for Elizabeth May to choose a riding where the Liberals should want to win. Choosing a riding where the Liberals have no chance of winning would have been the pragmatic selection for the first Green election victory in history. Lizzy has a higher probability of converting Liberal voters than Tory voters and if the Liberals run a candidate in Saanich where the last finished in a strong second place, she just can't win.

Elizabeth May will not survive her next leadership review and will only remain as leader so long as she can delay the next leadership review.

5 Enviro Ministers In 5 Years

In the last 5 years of Tory government, we have had 5 different ministers of the environment. Do you think this is a problem? Many voices on the left hand side seem to think it is a problem. Even Rick Mercer was cracking jokes about it on Twitter. Meanwhile just saying 5 in 5 glosses over the fact that #3 recently retired from politics, #4 was a temporary fill in (and the guy who had the job previous to Prentice), and #5 replaced the guy who retired. To say 5 in 5 counts Baird twice and exaggerates the job turnover rate. But that doesn't stop Mercer from Tweeting "5 enviro ministers in 5 years. Alaskan crab fisherman is a safer job. Should be a reality show. Deadliest catch? Deadliest portfolio."

I don't know, but if I had any friends or family that died as a crab fisherman, I might not appreciate Rick's joke.

Global Warming, Europe Turns Its Lonely Eyes To You...

Where have you gone Global Warming, Europe turns its lonely eyes to you. Many North American travelers are stranded in Europe while that continent is gripped by harsh winter weather. Sadly for those somber travelers, the Earth is not turning into Venus. I will be departing soon from Vancouver for the United States where I have still not decided what pants to wear for my molestation from airport security. I don't normally wear jeans for air travel, but that is probably the least intimate clothing selection for my personal pat down.

To all those stranded travelers in Europe, may Global Warming be with you!

Canada Sweeping Fossil Awards

I am proud to point out that Canada is winning big at the climate changeology awards at their latest resort retreat. Today's poll question; are you ashamed of Canada winning fossil awards? I wear these fossil awards like a badge of honour. Copenhagen was supposed to be a big deal and it failed in the wake of the e-mail leak. Now Cancun 2010 is just a joke. That these nut jobs are singling out Canada instead of China (which contributes more greenhouse gas in a year than Canada will in a decade), just shows you their blind hypocrisy. Are you guys afraid of China? What about Russia? They crank out more fossil fuels than Canada. Isn't anyone mad at Russia?

Why aren't the worst offenders being targeted?