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Month: June 2004

Black Tuesday

What a disappointment. Make no mistake about it: last night’s win for the Liberal minority government was a victory for sleaze and lies. The Liberals ran on a platform of fear and half-truths and innuendo and the people of this country have bought it hook, line and sinker. The Liberals have certainly lowered the bar when it comes to campaign tactics in this country, and have proven that we are not immune to American-style politics. Who needs the hearts and minds of voters when all you’ve gotta do is sling around as much mud as you can and hope some sticks.

Hold onto your wallets folks, because the only way the Liberals will be able to hold onto power is to belly up to the left-wing social programs of the NDP and Bloc. Remember what the NDP did to Ontario? Mr. Layton is promising to keep Paul to the promises he made during the election. Something tells me people may have actually been hoping the Liberals would break their promises this time… y’know, as per the status quo.

Think we’ll ever get to the bottom of the Adscam scandal now? Think again. We just gave the Libs a healthy pat on the back for stealing millions of dollars. No one will go to jail. The judicial inquiry will be hampered by uncooperative Liberals who have nothing to say now that the electorate has all but forgiven them.

Any bets on what the next boondoggle will be? I’d bet the national daycare program funnels at least a few billion dollars into the pockets of Liberals. Wonder if the NDP will see any of that action?

I suppose we get the government we deserve… I just have a hard time grasping just what it is we did to deserve this Liberal government? Must be bad karma from another life…

Unfairenheit 9/11

The Lies of Michael Moore.

Just a little reminder to all those who have been coming out of the theatres all outraged and incited, Michael Moore does not have the final word on all this. He is a man with an agenda and a tendency for sensationalism who is out to sell you movie tickets.

His films have always been a great way to spark dialogue on controversial subjects, but there is danger in the way that people have been interpreting his films as straight-up documentaries. Sure, he makes a lot of good points and has a knack for loosely connecting dots that help forward his message, but remember that Moore’s word is not the word of God. There is as much significance in the things he chooses to leave out of his film as those he leaves in.

I’m not saying this film is all wrong… and I’m certainly not chiming in as onside with the American Right. I’m actually a fan of Michael Moore’s and am looking forward to seeing this film. I just think we’ve got to remember that his business is, ultimately, entertainment.

VOTE

Many Canadians are cynical and disillusioned with the electoral process in this country, so much so that in the last federal election, only 61% of the electorate bothered to show up to vote. Many feel they haven’t been given any real choice, and are so distrusting of politicians that there really is no one to vote for.

Today could be one of the closest elections in Canada’s history and today every single vote will count. In a race that has been in a virtual dead heat almost since the get-go, for the first time in over a decade there is no clear winner going into the vote today.

Anyone who has read this blog recently knows who I’m supporting. Whatever your politics, I hope you get out today and exercise your hard-fought right to vote. It’s important.

Reason #23654

Security experts have issued a warning not to use Internet Explorer due to recent security vulnerabilities that could relinquish control of a user’s computer.

Like I didn’t need need another reason to pontificate on the wonders of Firefox. Seriously people, STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER! Firefox is quite simply the best browser going. Unless you’re on the Mac, where I’d say Safari and Firefox are in a dead heat (with an edge up going to Safari because it’s a native application).

Here, take the first step. Go ahead, I promise you’ll like it.

The Calgary Sun: Taxing Future

It would be a hilarious coincidence if it didn’t hurt so much.

Not only is June 28 the date of the federal election this year, it is also the day Canadians can start working for themselves. According to The Fraser Institute’s annual Tax Freedom Day calculations, all income earned by the average Canadian family prior to June 28 was used to pay the total tax bill imposed by all levels of government: Federal, provincial, and local.

Tax Freedom Day falls one day later than last year, nationwide. When the Liberals came into power back in 1993, Canadians could celebrate tax freedom on June 10.

What a difference a decade makes as Canadians who struggle to save for their retirement and put their children through college stagger under a mounting tax burden.

On a provincial basis,Tax Freedom Day actually fell six days earlier than it did last year in Alberta. But before any provincial politicians trip over themselves in the rush to take credit, the improvement is skewed by oil and gas revenues, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Albertans actually work longer to pay off their taxes than they did back in 2001, before Ralph Klein hiked health fees, tobacco and alcohol taxes and licence fees.

Compared to the federal Liberal regime however, Klein is a tax slayer of the first order.

Thanks to a steady increase in federal taxation, we get to work for the government 18 days longer than we did back in 1983.

They promised lower taxes, but instead we got the HRDC billion-dollar boondoggle and the $1 billion gun registry.

Then there’s the AdScam scandal that has prompted the Liberals to resort to a smear campaign as they teeter on the brink of defeat .

If voters buy this campaign of fear and intimidation, they might as well toss their wallets into the ballot box at the same time.

This is the cynical regime that has abused and misused taxpayer funds for more than a decade while allowing our health-care system and military to become threadbare.

Returning them to power is like writing them a blank cheque.

If you think the tax hikes we suffered under a decade of Paul Martin as finance minister were bad, just wait until they realize they’ve got away with their plunder of the public purse Scot-free.

Wake the hell up, Ontario!

What the hell is wrong with people in this province? According to the latest polls, the Liberals are riding a surge in support in these last few days before the election. This Liberal government could potentially be rewarded for 11 years of corruption and mismanagment with a minority government this coming Monday.

What the hell is going on? Doesn’t anybody realize that a minority Liberal government would likely be propped up by the other two parties on the left, the NDP and the Bloc? We’ll have tax-and-spend governing not seen since the NDP under Bob Rae ruled Ontario.

Guess I won’t be needing this silly wallet anymore…

Thoughts on the debate

So the english language Leaders Debate was held in Ottawa tonight. Just a few thoughts..

Overall, not much of a debate… more of a series of speeches and a lot of ignoring. The moderation was pretty poor, and the leaders rarely seemed to listen to what others were saying and rarely got into any real meaningful discourse.

I think Stephen Harper did quite well. Whereas Paul Martin was often on the defensive and even seemed to get frustrated and flustered in debate, Harper was overall collected and clear in his arguments.

For a guy who was so obviously over-coached and instructed to stick to a very specific script, Martin made a lot of references to other leaders’ (specifically Layton’s) handlers. I’m not so sure that Martin’s boys at Earnscliffe have much to be proud of in their boys’ performance tonight. He never really faced off with any of the other leaders, always choosing to address his remarks to the camera, ostensibly to make a connection with the voters. Personally, in a debate, I’d like to see the leaders addressing each other and responding to each other. And to me, his tactics just came off as transparent and forced.

Stephen Harper had a great line at the beginning about how this election is about choosing a government, not a country, at which point he turned to Martin and said, “we’re all Canadians here…” I think he made some good dents in Martin’s “Campaign of Fear.”

Layton really just comes off as a car salesman. I kept waiting for him to say, “What’s it going to take for me to get you into this car today.”

I always enjoy Duceppe in the debates. He had a few great moments tonight calling Martin to task about the sponsorship scandal and his government’s credibility.

I would have liked to have seen Jim Harris of the Green Party included in the debates, if only because it really gets me that a group of broadcasters can get together and decide who will be heard in one of the pivotal moments of an election campaign, especially in a year when the Green Party has representation in just about every riding and look to be poised to take somewhere in the neighbourhood of 5% of the popular vote. He was a guest on Mike Duffy’s Countdown on CTVNewsNet after the debates and had some great contributions to that discussion. I’ve had a look at the Green platform, and I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with them and think that in a decade or two, they could well be a contender on the national stage.