Christian Conservative Christian "Independent"

I'm an evangelical Christian, member of the CPC, but presently & unjustly exiled to wander the political wilderness.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Death of Saddam Hussein

I heard it on the radio this morning... and a wave of sadness came over me.

Some on this blogroll have joked about it, but it's no joke... I firmly believe that Saddam Hussein is in the realms of Hell at this very moment. And if you REALLY had a clue of what Hell is like, you'd feel sorry for the man too.

Many will say he got what he deserved, and I won't deny that fact. He, like you and I, was also a sinner... though indeed his sins were more obvious and heinous, to be sure.

But truth be told, in the eyes of a Holy and Righteous God, we too are no better than Saddam... sinners who continually reject Him and His Son. We all so often choose to go our own way, preferring to keep our distance from our Loving Heavenly Father.

Saddam Hussein chose his own way, and the people of Iraq were forced to suffer under his iron fist. For that, he was sentenced to hang to pay for his earthly crimes.

But his sentence to the flames of Hell is another matter altogether. From the accounts I've heard, he was unrepentant of his crimes to the very end. It's probably safe to assume then, that as he was unrepentant before men, he was likely unrepentant towards God. And as such, he is now likely an inhabitent of the infernal realms. For his sake, I genuinely hope that is not the case.

I'm a firm believer in deathbed conversions, up to a man's very last breath. Jeffrey Dahmer, so I'm told, made such a conversion some time before his execution. For his crimes against his fellow man, he paid a just penalty here on earth. But as his soul was restored to fellowship with God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, I look forward to joining Jeffery in the Glory.

I wish I could say the same about Saddam. For the terrors of Hell are horrific, and the wonders of Heaven are tremendous... and I wish the latter destination for all mankind.

Regardless of their past deeds here on earth.

Monday, December 25, 2006

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Since it's 12:02am, let me be the first to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

And if get a moment today, remember, "Jesus is the Reason for the Season".

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Wii - My wife just beat original NES Zelda

You know it's a slow blogging day when I post something like this.

On the new Nintendo Wii, you can download some of the old classics via the internet... for a price, of course. So we downloaded the original Zelda for the NES... it only cost us five bucks. Anyway, it shows you how much technology has advanced since 1985... the whole Zelda game took less than three minutes to download! You'd figure that the developers would have made the emulator work better, so that games would work a little bit better than they did on the NES... yet Zelda still lags at the exact same spots it did on the NES. (when to many things appear on the screen at the same time, like enemies and arrows and such)

Anywho, that being said, my wife just beat the game tonight. Weird... I'm the computer geek of this household, and my wife is more into this Wii than I am. Go figure.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Blogging from my Wii

Now this is totally cool... this post is coming to you live from my Nintendo Wii! Yes, we have entered a new era... blogging on your TV!!!

WOO HOO!!! And I just noticed I hit "Murauding Marsupial" in the TLB Ecosystem!

And I'm now home for Christmas!

Duceppe campaigning for Harper

How else can you explain what's been going on for the last month? Each and every time Messr. Duceppe has opened his mouth, he's been outflanked by the Right Honourable Stephen Harper. The Nation motion, and now the Afghan non-Non-Confidence motion.

The more he bumbles, the better Harper looks in Quebec... a place where we really need credibility right now. And now, the Montreal Gazette has piped up in an article entitled "Duceppe has humiliated himself on Afghanistan".

"Sovereignist leaders love to discover cases in which Quebec is "humiliated" by Ottawa. But in this case Duceppe has humiliated himself, in the process lending credibility to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's contention that Duceppe and the Bloc are "playing political games on the backs of our soldiers."

"Whatever your view on the merits of the Afghan mission - and we believe firmly in this effort - it is hard to deny that the Conservatives alone have stuck to one principled position. Harper has displayed backbone and integrity in staking his political career on the Afghan operation."
h/t to Dr. Roy.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Arrests in HRDC Fraud

I always hated the use of the word "boondoggle"... makes us sound really old.

Anyway, did any of you see this in any newscasts? Neither did I... buried online at CTV. Convenient.
Police arrest six more in HRDC boondoggle probe
Updated Wed. Dec. 20 2006 6:36 PM ET
Canadian Press

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Police have made six more arrests in a long-running investigation into the HRDC "boondoggle", and the Conservatives are drawing links between the accused and the Liberals.

The arrests by police in Peel Region, near Toronto, are the latest echo from a scandal that became known as the "billion-dollar boondoggle" when it broke in 2000.

Human Resources Development Canada, a now-defunct federal agency, made grants and contributions to projects designed to provide skills training through local organizations.

In January 2000, an internal audit showed sloppy paperwork and poor accounting in a number of project files. Auditors extrapolated their findings in 460 files to the entire program, suggesting potential problems in the handling of up to $1 billion.

However, later audits found real problems with only a small percentage of projects.

Investigators said Wednesday that they have identified $3 million that was allegedly defrauded by the six accused and their corporations from 1999 to 2004.

The accused are from Toronto, Mississauga and Oakville.

Four of the them -- Harbhinder Bajwa, John Danson, Laura Mikos and Harvinder Rakhra -- are charged with fraud and bribery

The other two -- Phillip Goodman and Peter Rethazy -- are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.

A police task force previously charged 21 people for similar fraud offences.

The Conservatives issued a news release noting that people with the same names as those charged are listed as past donors to the Liberal party according to Elections Canada.

"Given the Liberal record of scandal, waste and mismanagement, Canadians are wondering about the strange coincidences involved of individuals being charged having the same name as those who were donating to the Liberals," Dimitri Soudas, deputy press secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said in a news release.

The Tories said three of the suspect donations were made to the riding association of Jane Stewart, who was human resources minister in charge of HRDC.

"Canadians may see eerie similarities to the sponsorship scandal -- as a government program is being defrauded by individuals, who could be the very same individuals who were then donating money to the Liberal party and to Liberal riding associations."

At the time of the HRDC scandal, Stewart downplayed the size of the problem, saying poor accounting may have lost track of money, but little or no money actually disappeared.

HRDC was reorganized and renamed Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

Chretien, who strongly defended the minister and the department, called an election in 2000 after the worst of the HRDC scandal had blown out -- and won a third majority.

However, the HRDC scandal was eventually seen, along with the subsequent sponsorship scandal as evidence of, at best, Liberal laxity with public money and, at worst, Liberal tolerance for corruption.
So, now we have a couple of names to work with... let the games begin!
Donations to the Liberal Party of Canada, via Elections Canada

HARVINDER RAKHRA - TOTAL - $1357.10
2000 - Liberal Party of Canada - $534.00
2002 - Liberal Party of Canada - 35103 York West - $433.10
2003 - Liberal Party of Canada - $390.00


LAURA MIKOS (she's the stingy one of the bunch...)
2002 - Liberal Party of Canada - 35007 Brant - $342.40


JOHN DANSON - TOTAL - $4296.02 (he's not so stingy...)
2000 - Liberal Party of Canada - $849.00

2001 - TOTAL - $2468.12
35103 York West - $1000.00
35081 St Paul's - $250.00
35075 SCARBOROUGH - EAST - $250.00
35014 Don Valley West - $250.00
35013 Don Valley East - $500.00
35006 BRAMPTON WEST - MISSISSAUGA - $218.12
(for the record, all six of these are from the same Toronto postal code)

Wow, he really increased his donations from 2000... maybe he had a little extra cash to spread around? One might come to such a conclusion. Now, on to the following years...

2003 - Liberal Party of Canada - $678.90
2004 - Bennett, Carolyn / St. Paul's - $300.00
(NOTE: no accusations towards Ms. Bennett, she likely would have known nothing)
All of them only donated during or shortly after the time frame that money was going missing from the HRDC. Of course, it could be mere coincidence, as our system DOES assume one is innocent until proven guilty.

We (the CPC) put out a press release with some of the same info, but I can't get to the website right now to post the link.

Another FAA Consession?

UPDATE: Yes, I realize I misspelt "Concession"... oops.

Just was informed that the Federal Accountability Act may have had yet another change, perhaps another consession to the Liberal Party of Canada in order to get it passed... individuals can contribute $1000 a year to a Federal Party, and ANOTHER $1000 to any combination of riding associations, nomination contestants, or candidates.

For a total of $2000 a year... not the originally proposed $1000. (and up to $3000 in a year in which a leadership race falls, if they contribute to a leadership candidate)

Here's one portion of the Act:
Canada Elections Act
Amendments to Act

46. (1) Subsection 405(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

405. (1) No individual shall make contributions that exceed

(a) $1,000 in total in any calendar year to a particular registered party;

(a.1) $1,000 in total in any calendar year to the registered associations, nomination contestants and candidates of a particular registered party;


(b) $1,000 in total to a candidate for a particular election who is not the candidate of a registered party; and

(c) $1,000 in total to the leadership contestants in a particular leadership contest.
Grrr... did the Liberals manage hijack the FAA to ensure at least a trickle of money from their big donors?

(NOTE: This is based on the text of the House of Commons passed version, the Royal Assent version is not yet available online)

More fodder for Warren

"Torstar cutting jobs in newspaper division". I'm sure there's a twinkle in Warren's eye right about now...

UPDATE: When I said twinkle, I was referring to his views on the Star... I didn't mean to imply that he would be happy about it. He posted on the issue, mad as heck about it.
December 20, 2006 - I don't want to give away the contents of tomorrow's media poll in the Post. But if you wonder why I so often feel managers at the Toronto Star are full of crap - lecturing people all the time about social justice and caring and whatnot, but rarely practicing what they preach - read this.

Flushing a bunch of good people less than a week before Christmas. Un-frigging-believeable.

Where's your column about this one, Zerb? We won't hold our collective breath.

One Liberal Lie exposed

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Agreeing with Jack Layton

This from the Toronto Star. Jack, I actually agree with you. Let's quit the huffing and puffing, and actually get something done to improve the environment!
Meanwhile, New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton said he wants all opposition parties to work on improving the Conservatives' clean-air legislation before any potential government defeat over a budget.

"There's no reason that we can't have new climate-change legislation in front of the House for a vote before the budget is voted on – if Parliament is serious about getting to work," Layton told reporters at his year-end news conference in Ottawa.

"We think we can get strong new controls on the big polluters, we can get emission standards for the auto sector, we can cancel the oil and gas subsidies, we can turn that money over to renewable energy and energy efficiency ... we can do all this in a matter of a very few months, so let's get down to getting that done and then Canadians can make their judgment about the different parties down the road."
Jack, I'm with you on each and every one of those points... dealing with the big polluters, auto-emission standards (I want a hybrid), reducing spending on oil and gas (they're all rolling in the dough right now, they don't need any more help), and investing in more renewable sources, like wind. (oh, right, on that note, Hazel Hill and Co., would you mind ending your occupation and blockage of that major wind turbine project? Thanks)

As I've said many times before, I have way more respect for the NDP than I do the Liberals. Let's work together, and get things DONE, rather than blustering for mere political gain.

So, to my Liberal friends... sure, go ahead, feel free to topple us AFTER we get the improved Clean Air Act passed. (and I've said all along that there's room for improvement) Then feel free to add Kyoto commitments on top of that, should you win the next electoral round.

Letter from Mr. Dion

Isn't that nice... Stephane Dion sent me a letter! Actually, to his "supporters", though I'm sure that mass e-mail list includes many Tories and Dippers...

Anyway, I've lifted a couple of key points, and added some of my owh thoughts...
Mr. Dion - "As Leader of the Official Opposition, I want to provide a constructive opposition that will attempt to deflect the rightist policies of the Harper government and to limit its negative effects on the population and Canada’s role in the world.

As Leader of the Liberal Party, I want us to be ready for an election that could be called soon, as this minority Conservative government is very frustrated not to be able to implement completely its very far-right agenda."
Here we go again... fear and smear. That's all this new "breath of fresh air" Liberal leader has to offer. Meet the new boss... same as the old boss.

Here's a preview of the next election... "Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are super-duper far right wing, and that's REALLY REALLY SCARY! You should be scared of them Canada! Mr. Harper drinks his own blood! We saw him!"

Oops... that last line wasn't from the Liberals, it was from Rick Mercer! Well, it's accurate though, as a preview of the next election, because I guarentee, that's what you're going to hear. And it will give the victory right to the Right Hounourable Stephen Joseph Harper.

Why? I'll tell you why, my dear readers... and if there are any Liberals among you, listen up... if you try pulling out the "Super-duper scary neo-Conservatives" card again, the Conservative Party of Canada, the media, and the electorate, WILL EAT YOU ALIVE on our way back to the PMO.

The public will see your attacks, and say "We've seen this before... it wasn't true last time they said it, and now that the Tories have been around for a while, we've seen the evidence that it's not true." And we'll gladly parade it around as evidence, reminding the Canadian public that if the Liberals do anything, they do one thing consistantly... THEY LIE. And on top of a victory, you'll give us a majority... thank you very much.

Which we will then use to implement our rational, non-scary, Canada-bettering policies, and we'll begin the work of fixing the problems that you've left undealt with for the last few decades.

Okay, that little rant is over. Back to Dion's letter...
"Contrary to what the Conservative government wants, Canada should be a world leader in environmental technology and sustainability, not a laggard in these areas."
Amm, hello? There you go... lying AGAIN. We WANT to be a world leader in the environmental front... but Kyoto WON'T get us there! Instead of sending all our money to other nations to reduce their emissions, and neglect our own (but cover our own butts with emission credits) let's keep the money here, and invest it in technologies that will actually cut emissions right here at home? (that is, if we even really need to cut our GHG... but for the sake of the argument, we're assuming, just for the moment, that we should even bother...) Then we can export that technology, and make the exact same reductions abroad that we would have if we'd used our capital to buy credits. Make sense? Of course not... instead of wanting to actually follow through, you just want to regain power, so you'll huff and puff "We must stick to the letter of Kyoto!", and try to use that card to win the next election, then you'll go reneg on yet another commitment. Typical Liberalism...

So, again, I don't believe the whole Kyoto garbage... but if the left is going to keep on harping about this issue, then let's at least go about doing it right, shall we? Keep the money here, invest it in Canadian technologies (and jobs), and let's make ourselves a world leader on this issue... then we can export our knowledge, and thus further improve our own economy.

Then, when the whole Kyoto thing is debunked, I can turn around and say "I told you so", and we'll have spend billions (or trillions?) on this fiasco, but at least we won't have scuttled our own economy in the process.

Lunchtime over. Time to get back to work.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Early Gift to the Tories

New Liberal leader Stephan Dion just partially gave back to the Tories the gift we all wanted for Christmas... Ignatieff named Liberal deputy leader.

Woo hoo! The gift that keeps on giving is going to be sticking around in the limelight! And Bob Rae has been appointed to help write the election platform? Oh man, did we secretly get one of our CPC guys into Liberal HQ to help make these decisions?

Cue the music! "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."


UPDATE: Looks like some Liberals don't think it's such a hot idea either. Thanks for coming here and contributing your two cents Werner.

Liberal Conspiracy Theories

LOL! You gotta love this post title... "Was the January 2006 Federal Election Rigged?" Now that's what I call a sore loser who won't accept reality!

And I thought we right-wingers had a lock on conspiracy theory nutbars...

Saturday, December 16, 2006

30,000!!!

As of today, at 2:26pm EST, this wee little blog has had the honour of having 30,000 visits in seven months! WOW!!! (I started the stats counter on May 15, exactly seven months ago yesterday)

Thanks to everyone who has been reading and contributing over these last few months. I've had links from Warren, SDA, Zerb, Canadian Cynic, and various other Conservative and Libeal bloggers. We've had some fun, and some frustrating, discussions! I don't know if I've managed to influence anyone's opinion, except maybe to further entrench some people's opposition to the Tories... but if I've managed to contribute at all to the bloggosphere, then it's been my privilage.

Thanks all for making the blogging experience worthwhile!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Warren working on a new book

All I have to say is, HOORAY!!!
"Oh, while we're on the subject, I'm at work on another politics book, for Dundurn. Stay tuned. Or, not. It's up to you."

Rant... Why Liberals Bug Me

Well, I've finally had it. "Jeff" commented on my blog today, and now, I'm fired up, and I'm finally putting down the reasons why I want to defeat the Liberal Party of Canada wherever and whenever I have the chance.

Jeff said, "conservative support generally sits between 32 and 35%. i find it interesting that, when the rest of canada votes decidedly contrary to conservative principles, you claim to represent the majority of canadians".

My reply? "Jeff, the jist of my post was that many Canadians DON'T support the leftist drivel we've been subjected to for decades.

As for the consistant support for the Liberals? After the decades of propoganda they've been getting from special interest groups, paid for by you and I via our tax dollars, who else do you think they're going to vote for? They've been told, repeatedly and consistantly, that the Conservative Party of Canada DOESN'T share their views... and without looking into it for themselves, some people vote for the same-old same-old."


Okay, enough about Jeff... here goes...

I really, REALLY, don't like the Liberal Party of Canada. Sure, they've run most of the country for decades, and we're pretty well off at the moment, but there are so many things that irk me about how they do things, so much so that I'd rather support the NDP than the Liberal Party of Canada.

When it comes to the issues, the image of drywall, nails, and Jello come to mind. They never seem to take a stand on anything until they've taken a couple of polls. Now, some would say that this is a postive thing, that they're always seeking to listen to the people. But here's where the problem lies... the methods they use to CHANGE people's opinions, and then hammer away until people come to view things their way. Then, once elected, they for the most part stick to the status quo, and aren't willing to rock the boat when there are hard choices that need to be made.

They are, for some strange reason, able to play the media like a fiddle. Automatically, once they make their position known, anything that is outside of that view is "unCanadian" or "uncaring" or whatever term they come up with. The fact is, democracy is (or is supposed to be) about sharing ideas, and seeking to find solutions to problems, not the "my way or the highway" way of doing things that the Liberal Party holds dear. You know what guys? There ARE other solutions to problems, and if you actually listened and worked with other people once in a while, you might find that we actually make some headway on some of these fronts.

Take Healthcare, for example. I support a single payer system, but we need to explore alternative means of addressing peoples needs and offering services, since our current system ISN'T WORKING. What do the Liberals say to this? "The Conservatives want to destroy Healthcare!"

Or Childcare. We want to find a solution that will address the needs of everyone, not just single working mothers who live in major urban centres. (who are the only people the Liberal plan will address) What do the Liberals say? "Conservatives want to destroy our national daycare system!" Amm, hello? What about the OTHER HALF, or more than half, of families who want a parent to stay at home? The Liberal plan will only address a FRACTION of children... we want to come up with a solution that will address EVERY CHILD, and we don't think a state-run institution is the way to go. So how about we work together to find a solution that will address everyone? One commenter on another blog put it something like this... "I'm a gay man, and I don't want my tax dollars going to pay for someone else's kids at home". Amm, I'm a married man, and I would like some, not all, of my tax dollars to help raise my kids the way I see fit, rather than paying for some institutionalized spaces that I don't want to put my kids into, thank you very much. If there was a means to "opt-out" of the Liberals system and pay to support raising kids at home, then I could support their method of doing things. But, since they catagorically refuse to even consider such a plan, I vote for the $100 a month. Unfortunately, the Liberals stubbornness is to blame here, not our plan.

Taxes. Yea, we'd like to lower them for everyone... we'd like to lower the rate like they had planned to, but that wouldn't help the poorest of the poor one red cent. So, we did the GST cut, and other changes to help various groups, but next budget, I'd like to see further income tax cuts too. Funny though to see how the Liberals are such recent converts to the idea of tax cuts...

Social Issues. I like what Trudeau had to say on this front... "I don't think the government should be involved in the bedrooms of the nation". I agree... KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF MORALITY BASED ISSUES! Same-sex marriage should have never shoved down our throats they way it was. Some sort of compromise solution could have been reached, where the views of people of faith were respected, while all the same rights and privilages were granted. Instead, the stage has been set for court battles for years to come, as those who object to these "unions" are sued for this, that, and the other... just you wait and see.

They're use of the Media. Let's take a page from Bill Graham on this, shall we?
"He accused the Tories of repeatedly uttering false statements in the Commons about the Liberals' record in government and drew parallels with the infamous Nazi propaganda machine run by Joseph Goebbels.

"The government members in this House behave as if they were reading from a textbook written by Mr. Goebbels when he was preparing for power in Germany," Graham said.

"It's disagraceful. . . It's dishonourable. . . It's just not possible to have a question period in which honourable members are allowed to so much distort the truth and tell lies about what is in the public record."

Goebbels remains infamous for his technique of repeating a lie often enough that it becomes commonly accepted as truth."
Excuse me while I choke on my coffee here... the LIBERALS, of all people, have the gall to accuse the Tories, of this? Humm, let me repeat that line... "Goebbels remains infamous for his technique of repeating a lie often enough that it becomes commonly accepted as truth." Yea, like the "scary retrograde Conservative values are not Canadian values" line? Where have I heard that before? How often have I heard it? Mr. Graham, do pots and kettles come to mind?

Kyoto. Wow, here we go. Signing a piece of paper MEANS NOTHING, if you don't do anything to back it up. They are hitting us over the head with this document, BUT I HAVE YET TO SEE HOW THEY INTEND TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Then, if they get back into office, they can fudge it and do nothing, YET AGAIN, and since we in the CPC don't support it anyway, we can't exactly attack them for not implementing something we don't want them to implement! It's old style dirty politics, and there's nothing we can do about it... and they know it. And if they do get into power, and actually start to implement it, we're screwed as a nation... our economy will tank almost for sure, if they go whole hog for it, like they're boasting right now. What's more likely though, is that they'll implement some plan with timelines similar to ours, and they'll get a free electoral ride with it... disgusting.

Statism. I believe in giving a person the tools to help themselves, not doing everything for them, and thus making them dependant on the system. I've seen first hand how it works, and the system sucks, believe me. Of course, there are those who CAN'T help themselves, and we DO need to invest more in helping them, but the system itself needs to be fixed and overhauled, not just have more money thrown at it. But, of course, the Liberals won't even let us begin to look at fixing the system... as soon as we do, we're the mean spirited ideaolouges that Bob Rae was talking about, and they go to town with the scare tactics that we're trying to dismantle our Liberal built social safety net. Look what happened when we redirected funding from the Status of Women offices to front line services? We tried to help fix the system and put more funds into helping women directly, and they're making hay over it. Point proven.

The Rich. How many times have you heard that the Conservative Party of Canada is "the party of the rich?" Amm, try driving through the posh section of Rosedale during an election... ALL LIBERAL SIGNS. All the rich sections of all the cities I've driven through during election times are Liberal red. All the events I've been to, the Tories are filled with small time business people and blue coller Joe and Jane Canadians... while the Liberal events have been posh, rich, snobby older people, and all their middle to high income yuppie kids and their friends. ALL OF THEM. It made me sick hanging around an event when Paul Martin came to town. It was a "connected people only" affair, and every single one of them was in the money, EACH AND EVERY ONE. When Harper came to town? Families, students, average Joe's trying to make ends meet... very few well off people, though there were some to be true. And most of those who had money were small local business owners, people who are motivated to succeed, and in doing so, creating jobs for plenty of people. Don't for a second believe the LIE that the rich tend to support the Tories... IT'S AN OUTRIGHT LIE, and they know it. But, perception is reality, right? So long as most Canadians believe that the Conservatives are the party of the rich, seeking to keep the little guy down, they'll keep on voting Liberal or NDP... which is just fine by the Liberals, so long as they don't vote for those darn Tories...

Okay, enough ranting. Time to get back to work, since I am on the taxpayers dime... and I want to actually serve the people who pay my wages, rather than just figure out how to use it for my own benefit.

It's not about power

Uncommon Truths has a good rant posted.

We, the Conservative Party of Canada, aren't like the Liberal Party of Canada. We don't take a poll before each and every decision, and then decide based on how it will affect us at the polls. Sometimes, sure, we check the wind to see what direction to go, but a lot of the time, we simply make a decision because it's the right thing to do.

Such as the decision in UT's example, cutting funding to left-wing advocacy groups. The government has for decades been funding groups that keep on pushing their views and agendas upon the rest of us, and we're sick of it. In order to ensure that the voices of the MAJORITY of Canadians are heard, we had to ensure that no one-sided group was being given an unfair advantage... as MANY of these leftist/statist groups have had.

Now, we're evening the playing field, so that EVERYONE'S VOICES get an equal hearing.

And, of course, that is leaving many Liberals screaming bloody murder.

Well... that's just to bad.

Once again, a hearty THANK YOU to the Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Despotism

Toronto Tories have put up a great post about the hypocricy of the Liberal Party of Canada... they attack Mr. Harper as a despot and a control freak, meanwhile, I'm betting that few of those attackers really know ANYTHING about their reverend saint, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Try reading about him folks... in "Grits", or even his own Memoirs. Trudeau wanted to bring MORE things under Ottawa's control... Mr. Harper is pushing for LESS control!

And by the way... there are a lot of us out there who are THRILLED that our views are finally being heard, and acted upon. Unlike the last 13 years, where our voices have been deliberately silenced by the Liberal Party of Canada.

News Flash to Liberals... your voice DOES NOT speak for me! Neither does it speak for all Canadians!

C-2, the FAA - Not Retroactive?

I've been skimming the text of the Bill, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed or heard anything about the retroactive nature of the bill... I can't seem to find anything related to campaign and leadership contributions made in 2006. Remember the rumors that Liberals were screaming over that little fact? (Calgary Grit even got in on the act)

Could that have been the price to stop Liberal stonewalling?

In other words, did the Liberals hold up the Bill simply so they could cash in?

If so, doesn't that mean that the Liberal Party of Canada has once again screwed taxpayers because of the related tax reciepts that will have to be issued to their deep pocket contributors? (Not to mention the Leadership related costs!)

If anyone (Libloggers included) can show me the related portion of the Bill indicating that the Bill is still retroactive, I'll gladly withdraw these comments. Here's the link.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Canada is Cool

So, a friend of mine is in Ghana, working for a cruise line, and several weeks ago, she gets a hand delivered invite to a dinner... with Governor General Michelle Jean! Guess they went through the list of all known Canadians in the area where the GG was visiting, giving them a taste of home.

I think that's cool. I won't complain of the GG spending money on something like this!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Yet Another Liberal Scandal

Did anyone else hear about this one? It was buried as a third of fourth story on CBC's Sunday Night newscast, and filed away online again as a minor story. The headline... "Federal Liberals broke rules in funding Kanesatake police: audit"

A quote... "The former federal Liberal government broke its own rules by doling out millions of tax dollars to a special police force in a small Mohawk community near Montreal, according to an audit obtained by CBC News.

The current minister of public safety, Stockwell Day, is studying the audit and will decide in January whether to refer the case to the RCMP for a criminal investigation."

I'm thinking that this is just the tip of the iceburg. Remember our strategy during the last Federal Election? A policy a day, everyday, for the campaign. Set the tone, keep the media focus.

I'm betting that we're seeing the pre-election campaign starting here, but this time, we've got access to all the information that the Liberals tried to keep hidden, since we're in government. Watch for a Liberal "scandal-a-week" to hit the airwaves, right up until the writ gets dropped. Right when the Conservatives took power, they initiated audits throughout many government departments, and we've heard surprisingly few tales of Liberal corruption since January. Look for that to change, starting now.

Why else do you think a guy like Fortier was assigned to Public Works?

Left-Right Cooperation?

To this end, I say right on... could the NDP and the Tories find room to work together on the Clean Air Act?

The hopes of both parties could depend on it, according to the Star's Chantal Hebert... and for what it's worth, I think she's right.

h/t to Greg Staples.

Blogging has been slow lately... was sick most of last week, and was out of town for a wedding until yesterday. Should be back in full form this week... whatever that means.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Making a Mistake

The SSM vote will take place today... and dealing with the issue like this is a mistake.
Tories under attack from right and left over same-sex marriage motion

OTTAWA (CP) - The gay-marriage debate landed back in Parliament on Wednesday with a thud that could shake Tory support on the religious right.
Some Liberal MP's who oppose SSM are stating that they are going to vote against this motion because it's hollow... but I think that's just a face saving excuse.

My own MP, who originally voted against SSM, has also flip-flopped on the issue, and will now vote to oppose re-opening the issue. If you or your staff are reading this, I'll just say it's a good thing you've already announced your retirement... otherwise, you'd get ousted on this issue alone.

This is not going to solve anything. The opposition is still going to try and roast us with the "bigot, racist, sexist, homophobic" labels, and it's only going to serve to frustrate many within the Party who oppose SSM.

For the record... one of the reasons for the split of the old PC Party was that many on the right felt that their views were not being respected, or their voices ignored. Let's hope that the powers that be DON'T make that same mistake.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Taking matters into their own hands

A Class Action Lawsuit has been filed by residents and businesses in Caledonia.

Defendants are the protesters, the OPP, and the Ontario Government.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Dion a citizen of France

At least according to an article from the Calgary Sun.

Two words in reply... SO WHAT?

I'm also a citizen of Britian. No big deal. It's quite common these days for someone to be a dual citizen, now that most western nations have modernized their citizenship laws.

Now, of course, if he were to become (and I sure hope not) the PM someday, it may be best to set it aside somehow, just to ensure that no frivilous accusations can be made.

On that note, I loved PM Harper's comment to Mr. Dion in the House today... "I too was a resident of Stornoway, and if I may say so, I hope he enjoys living there... hopefully for a good long while."

Look at me, stepping up to defend the new Liberal leader... excuse me while I go have my head examined. ;-)

Warren's biggest fan?

Could it be? Could it be that I'm one of Warren's biggest fans?

This past weekend's usage stats from his blog seem to indicate that I might just be...
Rank Hits Perentage Referring URL
1 47317 12.36% - (Direct Request)
2 1985 0.52% http://www.google.ca/search
3 766 0.20% http://www.bourque.org/
4 729 0.19% http://www.google.com/search
5 562 0.15% http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2006/12/weather-decides-liberal-leadership.html
Hey, Global didn't refer to him as one of Canada's most read political blogs for nothing!

Warren, when I finally run in to you, sometime, somewhere, will you sign my copy of your book?

Harper should call Dion's bluff

The Honourable Stephane Dion, the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, is already rattling the electoral sabers, telling his new flock to be "ready for an election at anytime", and that "the direction Mr. Harper is choosing to go is the wrong one".

So, if Mr. Harper is leading the country so badly, then Mr. Dion has an option. And I think Mr. Harper should give it to him TODAY, during his welcome to the new leader.

"Mr. Speaker, if the new Leader of the Opposition truly feels that the direction I am taking the country is so wrong, then I would like to remind him that he has the opportunity, and if I may say, the obligation, to introduce a motion of non-confidence in this government."

Make it clear... drop the gauntlet. Ask Mr. Dion, in the words of the great "Dirty Harry" Callahan...

"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?'.... Well? Do ya, punk?"

(not that I think he's punk... but you get the idea...)

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Stephane can't win


Remember... "Stephane" was just the alter-ego of a geek. ;-)

Kidding. Seriously, I don't think that Dion will be able to beat our Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper. Starbucks vs. Tim Hortons. The cerebral professor against a (more) regular Joe Canadian. The one trick pony (Kyoto) toe to toe with the jack-of-all-trades economist.

People are going to care more about jobs than the environment, mark my words. The contrast will be made, that the only way to keep our Liberal Kyoto commitments will be to cut off the head of our economic engine, Alberta... the only part of the economy that's keeping our nation afloat right now.

And if Dion wins? No problem... it will be a short-lived win. Believe me... the unemployed masses will see to that.

Dion wins... and I was right

Well, it's over... Mr. Dion is the new Liberal leader.

DION - 2521
IGGY - 2084

Funny, I'd like to take this opportunity to post a quote...
if then a "Stop Rae" campaign is fostered, the only one, I think, that will be able to pull it off then is Dion, the only potential dark-horse in this race.
I said that back in early October, but I felt all along that Dion was going to take this.

Well, we're ready to go, now that we know who we're going to be facing. Let the games begin!

ps - I guess I can take that book back to the library. I had taken out Buzz Hardgrove's "Labour of Love"... I was hoping to use some of Buzz's 46 references to Bob Rae on this blog during the next election. Oh well...

My Convention Post

4:15pm - Back, was out for a bit. Rae is DONE, and the 4th ballot just closed. It's all over but the crying... now, we're just waiting for the results.


1:40pm - Iggy, upon his return from the bathroom (you had to be watching Global, hilarious) confirmed that talks are underway with Rae... but no details.

Voting on the third ballot is over, results should be in shortly.


12:20pm - Kennedy has moved to Dion. Warren is calling it for Dion.

This is a NIGHTMARE for Rae... it's all but over for him. However, Global is scrumming with Rae... apparently, some of Kennedy's people are moving to him, or so he's spinning.

If things hold the way they are, Rae will be the bottom of the three. How his delegates split will determine the outcome.

Or, will there be a shock on the floor and will Rae hang in there? Or, will Iggy look at his odds against Dion, realize he can't win, and instead of allowing Rae to get dropped off the ballot, will he withdraw and ask his people to back Rae? (if the rules will allow him to do that) Or will Rae back his old pal Iggy, and the old elite with Iggy defeat Dion, who has a lot of the new blood behind him? Of course, if some of Kennedy's left turns instead to Rae, then it's Iggy that's done, and Rae and Dion move on.

Who knows how this is going to play out? Stay tuned...


12:00 NOON - 2nd ballot results are in.
1481 - Iggy
1132 - Rae
974 - Dion
884 - Kennedy
219 - Dryden

Dryden will be dropped from the ballot, and Kennedy will go to Dion. That leaves a 3 horse race, and the loser of that ballot will be dropped off.

It's anyone's game now. If Dion and Kennedy do merge, it's a nightmare for Rae, as it will be Iggy vs. Dion on the final ballot. I'm surprised, truth be told. Things don't look good for Rae right now... Global is reporting that 12 delegates from Dryden just went to Iggy.

But Dryden himself just went to Rae! Okay, now that changes everything! Add 150 of Dryden's to Rae, and that brings him really close to Iggy, but not close enough if Dion and Kennedy merge... they become the frontrunners, if they deliver the majority of their delegates. But if the "Stop Rae" movement is in full swing, some may move from Dion and/or Kennedy to Iggy.

Man, talk about a wild ride!


11:49am - I'm making a call. Global just had the camera closeup on Iggy and his wife, and he leaned over to whisper in her ear. When he stopped talking, she looked up at him, quiet expression on her face, and nodded slowly with a smile... almost a knowing, affirming kind of nod, one you do when a loved one has just informed you of a difficult decision, and you knowingly are giving your approval.

I'M CALLING THAT IGGY WILL SUPPORT RAE.


11:39am - Iggy and Rae just pulled the same stunt... as a counter move, the pundits are saying. I'm wondering, if Dion is ahead of Kennedy, and they merge, if one of the two, Iggy and Rae, due to their longstanding friendship, will one drop out and support the other?


11:30am - Kennedy and Dion posing together for photos and a scrum... no comments on any decisions, they are being very clear on that. Kennedy quote, "We're hearing what the people on the floor are saying... we're just saying hello and having a little fun here." My guess is that their organizers called each other up, and arranged that little handshake to get the media over there, create a bigger buzz, which will help whichever one stays on after this ballot. Steal the spotlight a bit from Iggy and Bob.


11:28am - What do they say? A picture is worth a thousand words? The next Rick Mercer caption contest, perhaps? From CTV...


11:24am - Rumour... Dryden to Iggy? That would be HUGE.


10:41am - Warren just reported on Global that a senior Liberal insider just e-mailed his Blackberry, with a rumour that some of Kennedy's supporters, if he places fourth on the second ballot, will move to Iggy, due to fear of what Bob Rae and his NDP past will do to their chances in Ontario in the next election.

NOOOOOO!!! On two counts... 1) it will prove my predictions wrong, and 2) we won't have Bob to fight next time around!


10:15am - I'll be posting my thoughts throughout the day at the top here, and will move the previous comments down as I go. I'll time-stamp them as I go, so you can keep things straight... that is, if anyone's reading, or even cares. ;-)

I'm going to make a call here... Iggy's DONE. Bob and Dion are showing the momentum right now, but I'm still going to go with what I said months ago... Dion has the best shot of this thing. But I still relish the idea of going up against Rae for the next Federal election... the Grits will be asking themselves "What were we thinking?" come election day!

Or, as we'll pose the question to Ontario, "Do you REALLY want another Rae Day?"

Surprise, Judy Sgro goes to Rae

A big surprise, as Warren and others were calling for her to follow Martha, her candidate. She broke with Martha, and just announced on Global that she's going to Rae.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Canadian Political Party Irony

I wonder if anyone else ever caught this fact... that there is a real irony in how our two major political parties, the Liberal Party of Canada, and the Conservative Party of Canada, are structured. It was a segment from Paul Wells that prompted the thought...
(Regarding the Liberals) "The party's departing president, Mike Eizenga, and its national director, Steve MacKinnon, championed a serious reform to the party's absurd and outdated organization, which makes it literally impossible to join the Liberal Party of Canada -- you have to join one of the provincial wings, each with distinct rules, organizations and jealous little regional party executives. This hobbles organization. It cripples fundraising. It gives the Liberals an institutional handicap when they go to battle against the Conservatives, who built their party only a few years ago to be centralized, efficient and able to rally support across the country."
Did you catch it?

The Conservative Party of Canada supports a more decentralized model of federal government, yet has a highly centralized party structure.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party of Canada supports greater centralization of power within the federal government, yet has a very decentralized and regionalized party structure.

Go figure!

Weather decides Liberal Leadership!

Oh my... here's Warren's take on the situation...
December 1, 2006 - Check this out. The delegate registration process here in Montreal ended at 9 a..m. Lots of people were delayed by the bad weather - so they didn't make it. I've heard about people literally breaking down in tears, when told the news.

This photo, taken a minute ago on my cell camera, shows very, very many Liberals - who are very, very upset - waiting to "bump up" for the vacant delegate spots. This is where the leadership may now be won.

It is like the fabled helicopter lifting off the rooftop in Saigon, totally chaotic, and no other media is paying attention. They should.

Tasha Kheiriddin in Globe & Mail

And what an article it is!

Tasha slams the Liberal Party and their new Pink Book, pointing out that this is typical Liberal strategy... ghettoize a portion of the population, and then propose yet another state funded bureaucracy as being the only solution worthy of consideration. To quote...
"Child care, caregiving and poverty are not just women's concerns but the problems of the Canadian family. To ghettoize them in a Pink Book does a disservice to others in the game, including men, children and extended family members. What the Pink Book does is typical Liberal policy: segment society into separate "disadvantaged" groups and have them petition the state for rights and cash. This type of special interest politics is pernicious: It pits "us against them," perpetuates a victim mentality and, ultimately, increases the state's power at the expense of the citizen."
Way to go Tasha... shining the light on the typical Liberal politics of division.

Keep up the good work. With writing like this, amongst other of the BT crew, maybe there is hope for Canada yet...