Voter Apathy: When Complacency is Collaboration

(click pic to enlarge)

Well I must admit that on a gloriously warm Indian Summer long weekend, it was easy to forget that I'm living in Stephen Harper's monstrous Canada.

Easy to imagine that I was living in some paradise, where Toronto is Tahiti, instead of a decaying city run by a grotesque idiot.

Easy to become as complacent as just about everybody else.

Even though it's strangling our democracy.

At the end of the day, we must realize we will all pay for our cynicism and disengagement. When our politics is ill, as it is now, we delude ourselves if we fail to realize how it affects us in our daily lives. Only people who turn out to vote are taking part in the decision-making. Bad governments don’t happen by accident.

Easy to understand why so many Canadians feel that if it ain't broke why fix it?

Except of course that you'd have to be living in a treehouse not to understand that having a crazed right-wing regime try to change Canada beyond recognition, with the support of less than forty percent of Canadians, is an outrage.

Horrible things can happen in beautiful places.

And complacency is collaboration.

Which is why I'm so excited about this.

I don't know what shape this movement is going to take in Canada. Whether it will take root in this smug country, or will be smothered by complacency, and the contempt of the right-wing media.

Because in a country where people can seriously debate the merits of violence in hockey, even as players brains turn to jello, anything is possible eh?

But if it gets Canadians off their asses and into the streets it will be worth it. Because in the great darkness of Harperland only massive protests will stop the Cons from destroying this country, and turning it into a prison state.

And if it can happen in Tahiti Toronto.

It can happen EVERYWHERE...



h/t Far and Wide 

My First Thoughts on the Ontario Election

I'm sure I'll have more to say about the Ontario election.

Maybe. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

But tonight all I have the energy to say is that the bigot Tim Hudak is now officially a LOSER. The scummy little bottom feeder.

My riding, Trinity Spadina, helped scuttle Liberal hopes for a majority, and will force them to work with the NDP. Which is a good thing.

Ontario, like Canada, is basically a progressive place. No matter what the Cons say.

And of course, one down and two to go...

But wait...did I mention that Tim Hudak is a LOSER?

I did? Oh well. It bears repeating.

Muahahahaha...

The Ugly Cons and the Broken Liberals

OK. Let me get this straight eh? The Con smear machine that destroyed Ignatieff and Dion, goes after Brian Topp.

“Topp is a union boss and has deep union ties,” they say in a memo to MPs and party faithful. “How could Brian Topp speak on behalf of all Canadians, when he is so tied to big union special interests.”

As if being a union supporter was something to be ashamed of, instead of a badge of honour.

In Ontario, the racist Con teabagger Tim Hudak gets down on all fours and crawls through the gutter in a desperate attempt to boost his sagging ratings, by appealing to our  basest instincts

Even though police say his Made in Amerika plan would make us all less safe.

OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis has warned making the registry public could lead to vigilante action by citizens against convicted sex offenders living in the community.

“I totally disagree with Mr. Hudak on this,” Lewis said recently in a television interview. “In the U.S. states where they do it, it doesn’t necessarily lend itself to greater adherence to the legislation. We have almost 100 per cent compliance rate in this province with our sexual offender registry because they’re not online.”

In Toronto, the crass Con Rob Ford prepares to wage war on the sick, the poor, and the young. Even though the only gravy is in his head and his cavernous bowels, and his proposals would turn a livable city into a sinister jungle.

Fewer medical calls from fire fighters. A smaller police force. Reduced TTC service. Death of the “Hardship Fund” that provides medical services for the city’s poor.

And with all this going on some Liberals are more concerned about THIS?

Oh boy. How petty partisan can they be? Why are so many Liberals attacking the NDP instead of the Cons? Why aren't they healing their own wounds? How broken must be their party.  

For the record, I march to the sound of my own drum.

And I don't consider this message to be an exclusively NDP thing...

Don't let them tell you it can't be done.

I consider it a message of hope for ALL progressives, in a very dark time in our country's history.

Oh sure. Maybe I and all the others who were moved and encouraged by that message are too idealistic for a cynical and tired Canada that is rotting from the head down.

But don't underestimate us, for we did hear the message, and it did move us so much.

We wrote many of our own...

The rain may have washed them away. But this too is our message: Nobody, but NOBODY will stop us from keeping that promise. Or make us forget Jack that easily.

We WILL unite the best of us to eventually defeat the Cons.

And in the meantime, when it comes to politics in this country, and that goes for all progressive parties.

We're sick of the old grubby partisan game.

And we demand BETTER.

The Throne Speech and the Country I Love

Well I watched most of the Throne Speech today, and all I want to say is that Disneyland would be lucky to be able to stage a show like that one. At least there were no nasty surprises.

So it could have been worse.

I'll never trust Stephen Harper, but I'll judge the man on his actions not his words.

If we're going to have an Office of Religious Freedom, could we please have an office to protect us from religious fanatics?

And in that regard, did the new Speaker play a hanging judge in the first Pirates of the Caribbean?

And did Peter Van Loan play the village idiot?

Because I swear I've seen this movie before.

And of course I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Brigette...

Because that's the best protest EVAH. And just what we all needed to cheer us up.

As for me, I will also look for new ways to protest, and stand up for the things I believe in. Which includes the rights of children not to be bullied, the equality of women and gay people. The struggle against bigotry and racism. The rights of seniors and the poor to live in dignity and respect. And the survival of the planet and our medicare system, our most precious legacies.

Everything else as far as I'm concerned is debatable, but not those things.

Which takes me to my final point.

And that is despite the horror of a Con majority, and all our other problems.

When a warm wind roars across the lake...

(click pic to enlarge)

I still can't help feeling that I'm living in the best country in the world.

And that although sometimes we stumble...

Like I do all the time.

Nothing beats love, and nothing beats freedom...

The struggle continues but so does life.

Golly. Not bad for a Friday eh?

Brigette, Brigette, will you MARRY ME ???? !!!!

Oh wait.

Have a great weekend everybody !!

Another Reason to Celebrate the NDP's Young Caucus

I can't wait to see the group photo of Jack Layton and all his new and youthful MPs from Quebec.

Not just because they are young and will bring a new energy to the crusty halls of Parliament. Not just because by voting for them, instead of the Bloc Quebecois, Quebecers have reached out to Canada.

But also because they are different.

Far from being “one of us,” Members of Parliament often are lawyers, businesspeople, journalists or experts of one kind or other. Even when they are not, they often adopt lifestyles so widely different from the rest of us that too often they lose their common touch. In short, perhaps to the dismay of Adams, legislatures in Canada, as in other liberal democracies, are in no way an “exact portrait . . . of the people at large.”

For the first time, the party of common folk has emerged as the official opposition. Why then should it come as a surprise that a large part of its new caucus is comprised not of political players but of youth, students, waitresses and single parents?

Ruth Ellen Brosseau might not be a political expert but as a single mother and a waitress, she has shared the hardships and aspirations of millions like her that no lawyer or “small business person” could claim.

The increased number of young people and women is going to make our Parliament a better reflection of who we really are. And I'm happy, because that's good for our damaged democracy. No matter what progressive party you support. No matter what our ghastly corporate media says.

The mainstream media have raised a hue and cry in targeting the humble origins of all these new NDP Members of Parliament. After all the earlier fuss about low voter turnout, especially among youth, pundits now seem unhappy that young people actually have been elected to Parliament.

If only the suits in the MSM better reflected who we really are eh? Instead of polishing the butts of the rich and the powerful.

Here's to our younger  Parliament. Fight the tyrant to the max like only you can. Speak up for those who have no voice. Defend the rights of the poor and the humble, and the oppressed. Tell them to stop torching the planet ...and YOUR future, and to put people before profits.

In short eh? Rock the rafters. Give them HELL.
  
Shake up this old and smug country.

Go young Canada go...

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Fantino, the Cats, and the Crows

Well I see Julian Fantino managed to win himself a seat in Parliament. Barely.

The Liberals picked up a seat. And the NDP got nothing.

So does that  mean that Stephen Harper will use the by election as a springboard for his thousand year majority?

I doubt it. Because if he's going to get that majority he needs the NDP to squeeze the Liberals. Not the other way around. 

Oh well. Fantino: Where's my LANDSLIDE? @#$@! 

Harper: Where's my MAJORITY !@#%!.

Yawn.

Meanwhile...in a far more captivating cativating contest.

The felinos took on the felinos.

And the crows joined in...



So what has that cat/crow fight got to do with tonight's electoral contest ? Apart from the fact that nobody really won.

Oh nothing.

But at least it was interesting...

The Liberals and My Friend Chipper

I wanted to write about how the Liberals were arriving in Montreal tonight, looking for some good ideas to do battle with the Harper Cons.

And how I was sure they could find some if they looked hard enough.

But then I read this.

“The big questions now,” said Graves “are can the Conservatives crack the increasingly stubborn 33 barrier and can the Liberals stop the bleeding before they descend back to Dion era support levels?”

And now I'm not too sure eh?

Because Dion had some good ideas and we all know what happened to him.

So I'm going to have to suggest that they climb The Mountain and ask my friend Chipper if he has any ideas.

You know Chipper the squirrel...













Because I consult with him regularly on Canadian politics. Even on his bad days he's smarter than Rex Murphy.

And even Chipper wouldn't have made such a mess of the maternal health and abortion debate.

Because when the dummy Dean Del Mastro outsmarts you.

And you can't count, you KNOW you're in trouble. I mean we all are.

Besides squirrels really are smarter than they appear.

And at least they know where they're going...



You know what I'm saying eh?

The Cons are circling the trees. Now would be the time for a good idea.

Defeat them, squish them, crush them like NUTS.

Before they destroy the forest...

Michael Ignatieff and the Missing Message

Golly. I just found out that Michael Ignatieff was in my neighbourhood this weekend, talking about his new book.

And I can't BELIEVE I missed a chance to hear him talk about Russian history, ask him why everybody in this country writes about the past rather than the future.

"We're a serious country. We take ourselves seriously. We've done serious things, tough things...You can't have faith in your future if you don't have faith in your past."

Whether he believes that being too serious might be boring. Yawn. And of course whether he thinks it's time we put on our life jackets. Because I got that sinking feeling.

I'd also ask him why an intelligent man like him can't seem to communicate with ordinary people. And suggest that he visit my university and learn how to craft a simple message.

Like this one:

Harper hates medicare.
We LOVE it.

or this one

Harper's oil pimps
Are DESTROYING Ontario.

or this one...for those under 30.

Don't jail kids
Just legalize marijuana.

Because even a simple message is better than nothing eh?

Oh well I'm sure he wouldn't listen to me anyway. And he definitely wouldn't like my favourite message.

Unite the Left.
Crush the Cons.

Nobody likes that simple message. But one day they'll wonder why it took them so long.

In the meantime...put on your life jackets everyone.

And get ready for Harper's World....


Tom Fun Orchestra-Bottom of the River from trunk animation on Vimeo.

Stephen Harper and Our Majority Weapon

As I watched Stephen Harper confidently swatting away the opposition's questions today, two things hit me like a two by four in the face.

One, Stephen Harper really is behaving like a Liberal...and getting away with it.

The problem confounding the Liberals now is a nemesis who defies definition -- a prime minister standing for everything he opposed, yet facing no policy pressure from the right as he lays claim to a great swath of the mushy ideological middle.

While voters saw right through Harper's blue sweater vest as basic sheep's clothing disguising a political wolf, the new act has sold well enough to generate a faint Harper-mania.

And two, although he is in majority territory, nobody is demanding to know what he would do if he ever got one.

Which is unfortunate, because a Harper majority may be our biggest threat, but that threat is also our most powerful weapon.

Bob Rae came tantalizingly close the other day.

Madam Speaker, a long time ago, in fact, as members opposite will know, a great many years ago, when I was a small boy, I read the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Members will recall that the point of that story was that by simply drinking a glass of a particular potion, what seemed like a perfectly responsible and reputable person would suddenly become some kind of a monster.

But he didn't take it to its logical extension. For example, how could we ever trust a man like that with something like medicare? When he tried to destroy it for fifteen years. And if he gets a majority, and doesn't have to pretend to be a Liberal, he could strangle it like a chicken.

The opposition seems to be stuck in the present and the past, when they should be playing to doubts about Harper's character...or mental stability. And asking what will he do in the FUTURE. When the mask comes off?

Which is why I like the simple question in this editorial.

Which is the real Stephen Harper?

And of course why I made this video....



Heh heh heh....not just true but PLAUSIBLE.

To help remind people that whatever mask he is wearing today Stephen Harper is NOT a nice guy eh? And that a Con majority could be the worst thing that ever happened to Canada.

Which is why the opposition should include the word majority in just about every question. Because if you plant enough seeds of doubt in the population, people will start asking themselves can we REALLY trust Stephen Harper?

Cheer up brothers and sisters. From every bad thing comes a good one. If we play our cards right.

We'll soon have them where we want them...

My Political Week From Hell

Gawd. What a horrible week in politics it has been. And now it's raining. And that monstrous cloud formation is hovering over my head again.

Gulp.

And to make matters worse my Liberal and NDP friends are fighting each other. And since I believe in the Anyone But Harper Party.... I'm getting it from BOTH sides. Is that fair eh?

Especially since it's all so absurd. Stephen Harper pretending he doesn't want an election, when he's probably drooling so much John Baird has to follow him around with a mop. The NDP on the defensive...feeling guilty for saving us from a Con majority. And the Liberals on the offensive.

But going nowhere...
















André-Philippe Côté, Le Soleil

Luckily.

"Could you tell Ignatieff to stop stepping on the gas pedal while we fix the motor?"

However at least I have some good news for the Liberals : Don't worry about Denis Coderre.

Because just about nobody in Quebec does.The general view is that he is a pompous, abrasive asshole who thinks he's Napoleon...a loud irritating presence who you should try to avoid at all cost. And above all NEVER share an elevator with ...in case it gets stuck between floors.

And BTW it's not just Quebecers who feel that way.

So do the Taliban...



















Serge Chapleau, La Presse

"Are you CRAZY? If you take him hostage you'll be stuck with him."

Because NOBODY would pay the ransom. And sadly he has nowhere to go but the Liberal Party. So trust me he'll come back soon...with his tail tucked between his legs.

Oh wait. He already has.

Excellent. So now we can concentrate on more important things. Like convincing the rabble in Ontario that Stephen Harper and his Cons are just a cruel cruller joke.

Because if that doesn't reach out and touch his dumb supporters what will?

So now I just have to figure out how to convince my Liberal and NDP friends to stop fighting each other.

Will I have to use my awesome powers of hypnosis....or a fire extinguisher? Or will I finally be able to persuade them that you don't have to be a genius like me to figure it out?

And that just like in the sack....or in the polls....or on the piano.

Two is better than one...



Stay tuned eh? I'm hoping for the best.

But keeping the fire extinguisher handy....

The Liberals and the Election Madness

As I stumbled down to the beach today I couldn't help thinking about the last scene in the Bridge Over the River Kwai. When the bridge blows up, all the main characters die, and the British doctor comes stumbling out of the jungle muttering "Madness. Madness."

Because that's how I feel these days when I gaze at the smouldering wreckage of the Canadian political scene. Except I'm not sure whether it's madness or IDIOCY.

The Liberals accuse the NDP of caving. Even though they did the same thing 79 times in a row... for exactly the same reason.

Ignatieff joins the "Socialist/Separatist Coalition."

Not because he wants to help the unemployed. But so he can bring down the government sooner. Force the NDP to fight an election it can't afford.

And he can't win.

But could lose badly.....and hand Harper a MAJORITY.

Huh? What's wrong with this picture?














Look NOBODY wants to see these hideous Cons toppled more than I do. But whatever happened to you don't CHOOSE to fight an election unless you can win it ?

And if you choose to fight it anyway, what's the difference between a Liberal and a lemming?

Because here's the hard and ugly truth: Ignatieff's message is falling flat and his numbers are going south. Harper has the wind in his sails. Launching an election before letting out some of that air, could be a disastrous mistake.

One of the worst mistakes in Canadian history. Period.

Oh boy. Lucky I went to the beach eh?















Because talking politics with my dog always clears my mind. Makes me feel like a genius.

And this is how I see it.

Unless we get our act together. Focus all our attacks on the REAL enemy. And choose the right time to strike. We could wake up in the darkness of November.

In a country we don't recognize.

---------------------------------------------------------

P.S. One more thing.....



Gimme a parachute .....and order a lot of them body bags.

Because I fear we're going to need them....

Michael Ignatieff and the Spideyman

I knew something wasn't quite right, when the Liberals declared this absurd tour an enormous success. Instead of a lost summer.

So while yesterday I got all excited about Ignatieff's decision to go for an election.

Today I'm wondering whether he's fallen into a Con trap.

Or in this case a spidey's web...
















Because Ignatieff may or may not want an election. But Stephen Harper sure does.

Some Liberals suspect Harper will provoke his own defeat by introducing a ways and means motion - implementing aspects of last January's budget, including the popular home renovation tax credit - as soon as Parliament resumes on Sept. 14.

Such motions are automatically deemed confidence votes.

And it should have been OBVIOUS. For all the following reasons:

(1) The Cons have spent the entire summer spraying the country with billions. They'll never get that chance again so why not go now when polls show them with some momentum? Unlike the Liberals.

(2) The economy is showing some faint signs of recovery. In a couple of months hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers will start falling off UI on to welfare rolls. And the state of the real economy will be revealed. So why would you go later when you could go now?

(3) According to the last EKOS poll forty one percent of Liberals believe the country is heading in the right direction. And one out of three of them would vote for the Cons as a second choice. So if Harper uses the economic argument now, who knows how many of them he could attract.

(4) Polls also show that Canadians are starting to get tired of Harper. So why not go now in the summer glow, rather than later after a brutal winter. When more people might hate the very sight of him. Like I already do.

And then of course there is that reno business.

The idea of the opposition trio voting down a government that’s trying to give homeowners a tax break after they’ve spent tens of millions on household improvements would give the Conservatives a major election-launch advantage.

Which the Liberal braintrust seems to have forgotten. Or Ignatieff ignored.

And let's not forget that now the Cons don't have to squeal and pretend they don't want an election. Or invent an excuse to bring down their own government.

Oh boy. You know the Liberals can make fun of the NDP by calling them chickens....



But unless they are really smart and can do a better job of framing the debate. And explaining why we need an election right now.

When the Spideyman is holding a card in each of his eight hands legs.

I wouldn't be surprised if they find themselves BEGGING for the NDP or the Bloc to save them.

Or doing their own chicken dance...



Remember people if the Liberals and the NDP are going to form a government.

Both need each other.

And they are going to have to learn to dance TOGETHER...

Stephen Harper and the Halloween Election

Uh oh. It looks as if we're going to have a scary Halloween election after all. Not because Michael Ignatieff, or Jack Layton, or Gilles Duceppe wants one. But because Stephen Harper does.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives have surged to a big lead over the opposition Liberals in the eyes of Canadian voters, reveals a new poll.... a trend that could dampen speculation of a fall election.

Try to ignore that last line. Because it assumes that Stephen Harper wouldn't want an election if he could win a majority. And maybe it's a rogue poll. But if it isn't it proves that Michael Ignatieff's peek-a-boo strategy was a disastrous failure.

If the trend continues, Ignatieff could soon be facing roughly the same poll numbers as his beleaguered predecessor, Stephane Dion.

Bricker said Ignatieff needs to come up with some policy issues soon that will allow the Liberals to differentiate themselves from the Conservatives. "You don't want to peak too soon, but you have to peak at some point," he said. "We've seen how the peek-a-boo strategy works. If you're not there, you're not there."

So maybe it is that one in twenty fuckup. But if it isn't...... would ANYBODY really be surprised? When there's no there there, and no coherent narrative.

It's a crude game, politics, and an opposition party to win needs one word or one phrase that sticks in the public's mind about the government – time for a change, corrupt, incompetent, uncaring, the tool of big business. Whatever. It's not at all clear what that word or phrase is that the Liberals have hung around the Conservatives' neck.

And Stephen Harper has had the summer to himself handing out billions of dollars and staging one mega photo-op after the other.

Oh sure the government can't fall unless the opposition parties defeat the government. But does anyone SERIOUSLY think that Harper won't give them a reason to do that?

When he has the majority he has slobbered over for so long in SIGHT. Before the economic situation deteriorates further, or the Swine Flu hits.

Great Angry Leader would still have to come up with a way to defeat his own government without making it look like he wanted an election. So he could blame the Separatist Coalition. Which explains this urgent memo.

Harper Tory talking-points flew out of the PMO on Thursday, warning Conservatives that a fall election is not part of the Prime Minister's strategy

But knowing Harper my guess is, if the numbers are there, he'll go for it.... like a wolf for a salami sandwich.

Oh well. Thanks to Jeffrey Simpson's handy list I'm working on some new videos about Harper's corrupt, incompetent, uncaring, tool of big business government. And why it's time for a change.

Simple stories that fit into a simple narrative: Would you really trust this hyper partisan ideological maniac with ANYTHING?

But I leave you with this one I made earlier this summer.

To remind us what a Harper majority might FEEL like....



Because sometimes I think we need to be reminded how bad it would be. The summer and the denial are over.

Prepare to fight these Cons harder than ever.

Because the final battle for Canada could be about to begin..

The NDP Convention and the Media Circus

As you know, I try to stay away from criticizing Canada's progressive parties, because I believe in a united left, and don't think it's a good idea to burn bridges we will some day have to cross.

But the reaction to the NDP's convention is so absurd ...such a circus...I feel I must.

First came the dumb media reducing everything to an idiot headline.

As if there weren't more important things to discuss. Like how to win more seats in the next election.

And most idiot of all....completely ignoring the fact that if you translate the words Democratic Party into French, and then use the initials it sounds like Pe- De. The slang word for FAGGOT. Which would make the party the laughing stock of the province.

Why do you think Mario Dumont called his party the ACTION Democratique instead of the Parti Democratique? Duh.

Then came the country's disgusting right-wing media

The more than 1,000 delegates endorsed action to prevent violence against aboriginal women. They endorsed enshrining childcare into law. They endorsed investment in environmentally friendly jobs. They endorsed ending rules that prevent homosexuals from donating organs.

In the end, there were more than 50 policies approved. But there was little to raise the eyebrows of the party's socialist founders.

As if the word SOCIALIST... as in social democracy.... was something to be ashamed about. Instead of the trademark of some of the world's most advanced democracies. As if the issues discussed weren't important.

Then came the Liberal bloggers.

Who sounded like members of the Con choir. Even though if Ignatieff does manage to win an election, because the Bloc isn't going ANYWHERE he can only hope for a minority. And will have to depend on the NDP to stay in power.

Oh boy. It's all such a ridiculous and tragic FARCE. The centre-left eats itself while the dirty Cons kill Canada.

And while I'm at it .....I'm still waiting to hear why, according to the latest EKOS poll, 41 per cent of Liberals believe the country is heading in the RIGHT direction. And why one out of three of them would choose the Cons as their second choice?

Because let's face it, with those kind of scary numbers, if the NDP didn't exist we would have to invent it.

You see that's the irony eh?

The NDP doesn't need to change its name because EVERYBODY knows who they are.

But who I wonder are the Liberals?

And isn't it about time THEY changed their name to the LCP? The Liberal Conservative Party.

People please. Trust me I love you ALL. But we must understand that thanks to the Bloc, the home team of the semi autonomous nation of Quebec, the political landscape of Canada has changed FOREVER.

And the only way the tyranny of the Con minority will be defeated, is if the left unites or forms a coalition like they do in other civilized countries.

The Coalition for Change was an idea ahead of its time in a country stuck in a rut and going NOWHERE. But sooner or later everyone will recognize the obvious.

And it will be back...















My advice? Love it now or love it later. But while we wait for it to return don't do the Con's dirty work for them.

If you really love Canada.

Don't shit in your own backyard...

When in Doubt Blame the Young...

Good Lawdy. It must be Blame Somebody Anybody Week. First Stephen Harper blames our refugee system for letting too many darkies... or people with strange names... into Canada.

Now Lawrence Martin investigates why Canada is becoming such a boring old country, and ends up blaming young people.

The young reject the political status quo, as they should, but they are too lazy to do anything about it. Most of the under-25s don't even bother to vote. Instead of fighting for change, they wallow in their vanities and entitlements. Not much turns them on except the Idol shows, movies with smut humour and the latest hand-held instruments.

Which is absolutely absurd....and insulting.

Martin is right about some things. Many young Canadians are not properly engaged in the political life of their country. But it's not because they are lazy or idiots...although some of them are. It's because the political parties can't reach or motivate them. And they are being crushed by the greed and depleted idealism of those older than them.

So nobody cares about their problems.

Since the employment peak of October 2008, some 205,000 youths aged 15-24 have lost their jobs, almost half of the 414,000 total jobs lost in that time.

Like how are they going to pay for soaring education bills without being poor for twenty years...or spending their lives flipping hamburgers in a hollowed out country?

Or how are they going to stay out of jail in a country that once promised to decriminalize marijuana? But now wants to lockup even more young people for no sane reason.

Or most importantly, how are they going to live and raise their own children in a world torched and torn apart by global warming?

When we live in a country where people care more about their cars than they do about the future of the world. And even the leader of the Liberal party thinks that Alberta's dirty oil sands are a good thing...not an environmental nightmare....and Canada's SHAME.


















And how can they vote for those Liberals when, according to the same EKOS poll, 44 % of them think the country is heading in the RIGHT direction? And one third of them would choose Harper's Conservatives as their SECOND choice.

But then how can they really support the NDP or the Greens, the political parties closest to their hearts? Or at least closest to mine. When they know that older people are too stuffy to follow them, and all they are really doing is further dividing the left, and making it easier for Stephen Harper's Cons to win a MAJORITY.

So they can destroy the rights of gay people, restrict access to abortion and murder medicare.

You know I do believe that demographics is DESTINY. But I also know some old people who are more idealistic and younger at heart than some of my own friends. Who are living on toast and macaroni and are full of despair.

And when I look out over the Canada I love I see a country in a political rut that is going absolutely NOWHERE. With progressives that attack each other more than they attack the dirty Cons.... or living in denial. Even as the country's values shrivel. Even as Canadians suffer. Even as the planet BURNS.

So while it's easy to blame the young, or the epic fail of the older generation, I blame EVERYONE.

And this is my song...



But don't call me an idiot eh? For saying what nobody wants to hear.

Because I still believe in a better Canada and a better world.

I'm just running out of HOPE....

The EKOS Poll and Canada's Political Paralysis

I see that Dr Katy thinks she might have seen this Ekos poll twitch.

Liberals – 34.1 (+1.6)
Conservatives – 32.5 (-0.3)
NDP – 14.5 (-0.3)Bloc – 8.6 (+0.2)
Green – 10.4 (-1.1)

But all I can detect is total political PARALYSIS.

“The swine flu issue is reflective of the broader problem the opposition parties have, particularly the Liberals,” said EKOS President Frank Graves “While there is no affection or enthusiasm for the Harper government outside of its core base, there is also no burning sense of dissatisfaction.

That leads me to the following conclusions:

(1) If you add up just the NDP, Bloc, and Green support it totals 33.5 per cent which is more than the Cons. But because the centre-left is divided the Cons are free to degrade this country against the wishes of most Canadians. And until it learns to cooperate, or form coalitions, or one day unite, these evil alien Cons will ALWAYS have the advantage.

(2) If Canadians have no burning sense of dissatisfaction despite the appalling economic and moral failings of the Harper Cons, we obviously aren't getting our message out. Because the Cons have a horrible record. Stephen Harper's past and present behaviour is scary and BIZARRE. And we should be having a field day instead of playing Mr Nice Guy.

Oh sure I know we are better than them. But in a country like this one, a fragmented left playing Mr Nice Guy against a political thug like Stephen Harper, is just asking to be MUGGED.

And about as threatening as this guy....



Hoppity hoppity hop. BANG.

The only good news? Young Canadians don't trust Harper with their lives:

It is worth noting, however, that younger people, who are most vulnerable to the H1N1 virus, are also the least supportive of the government’s approach so far.

They believe in a better Canada than this corrupted, smug, and increasingly reactionary one.

So although this country is aging badly. And the left is going nowhere. Hoppity hoppity hop.

Hope still LIVES.

-----------------------------------------------------

P.S. Wouldn't you know it? The bunny's name is Simon.

*Groan*

But at least this one BITES...

When the Cons Go to School

I don't know if it's because they need to get them off the streets...or because they're so DUMB. But it seems the Cons are going back to skool one month early.

Federal Conservatives will gather in Ottawa Monday for training sessions as party officials prepare for the possibility of a fall election

Monday's meetings are mostly for campaign volunteers and staff, although candidates and current caucus members are also invited to attend. Those in attendance will learn how to deal with social media, fundraising, journalists and direct-mail.

Lordy. Poor Ottawa. What's to become of our capital village? All those old white guys with cowboy hats. All those piggies in the bars. All those nasty nerds trying to make friends on facebook. The horror...the HORROR.

And since just about NOBODY is thinking of a fall election, what are they going to teach those Con oinkers anyway?

Iggy is a traitor? The Bloc loves pedophiles? Cancer isn't sexy? Sick people are NOT cold cuts? Who needs medical isotopes when dead people don't talk? Faggots are gay people until we get a majority? Women STILL have rights...for now?

Or will they just teach them that unemployment wouldn't be a problem. If the unemployed weren't too lazy to work?

And of course the Golden Rule. Obedience is a porky virtue. Never say or write anything before clearing it with the PMO. Great Geenyous Leader is never wrong...even when he is. And anybody who even doubts that, better get down on their knees and kiss his fat ass. Before he bites their heads off.

Golly.That IS a lot of things to learn. I wonder if those Con oinkers can handle it?

I wonder if between the squealing and the hee haws there will be any quiet time left. So that an old Con can lecture them on why it's not a good idea to sellout the country?

In the current circumstances, it is incumbent upon the government to exercise its leadership in seeking a resolution that is in the national interest, and that includes using all the tools at its disposal to ensure Nortel and RIM thoroughly explore all options.

Hmmmm. Somehow I doubt it. Because these wretched porkers aren't just dumbing down our country or shitting on it. They're selling it off from under OUR feet ....and their trotters.

Which reminds me. Will John Baird teach them how to scream during question period?

Or will he teach them how to DANCE?















Because SOMEBODY in that crowd of homophobic hee haws has GOTTA be the life of the party.

Oh boy. What more can I say except oinky boinky doodle?

Something tells me this Con Skool is going to be an epic FAIL.

But it should be really amusing...