Participate in Canadian Democracy!

If you're like me, and also a Canadian, then you're probably sick & tired of sitting back and reading these never-ending stories about the dreadful state of affairs in our country. Whether it be our lack of Free Speech rights, our lackadaisical Law & Order policies, or our excessive taxes, there's a lot of room for improvement.

But if you're like most Canadians then you just sit back and do nothing. Why? The most common excuse is "because the politicians won't do anything". Let's be clear about something: We do live in a democracy and our members of Parliament are here to serve us. But let's not forget a key fact: if only a handful of people complain then our politicians will not do anything. And quite frankly, if the majority does not appear to want something changed then the politicians shouldn't do anything!

But if enough people contact them then changes will occur!

The MPs you'll have the best chance of effecting change with are the Conservatives. And the good news is that never before in history has it been so simple to connect with your elected members of Parliament. I've set things up so that you can click on any of the links below and an e-mail will be initiated on your computer. Just click on your particular district:

• British Columbia
• Alberta
• Saskatchewan
• Manitoba
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Maritimes
• Northern Territories

---

As a little inspiration to get you started, here's the e-mail I just sent to my BC MPs:

Dear British Columbia Conservative MPs,

I would like to draw your attention to something I just wrote about on my blog.

Jennifer Lynch and the CHRC is clearly out of control. She is embarrassing not only herself, but also all public institutions. She is supposed to be an accountable civil servant but is instead acting more like pompous member of royalty. Metaphorically she just told Ezra Levant and all other Canadians who deeply believe in Free Speech, "Let them eat cake!"

You NEED to do something about this! And as I've stated publicly before, I will only start donating to the Conservative Party of Canada once the infamous Section 13 of the CHRC and the equivalent section here in BC is removed. You have my word on that.

Sincerely,

Robert Werner
Vancouver, BC
604...

Harper & Co. Refuse to Give Back Canadians Their Free Speech Rights

The federal Conservatives are refusing to reform the Canadian "Human Rights" Commission. A grassroots campaign is being initiated to help change their minds. If you believe in free speech, please lend your voice!

Ten Reasons Why Canada's Conservative Party isn't very conservative

There's a contest being held at ThePolitic:

Submit your suggestions for the top ten un-conservative things the Conservative Party of Canada has done since their election in 2006.

and win a signed copy of Mark Steyn's book, America Alone.

I thought about it a moment and submitted this list:

1. Bailing out the automobile manufacturers.
   
   
2. Not doing a thing about the infamous Section 13 of the HRCs.
   
   
3. Not doing much of anything to shrink the federal government and its associated spending.
   
   
4. Not seemingly doing much to reduce the endless grants to most every sector of our society.
   
   
5. Not attempting to either shut down the CBC or even force a people/content change there.
   
   
6. Not pushing for some degree of choice when it comes to health care insurance.
   
   
7. Caving in (at least on the surface) to the Global Warming "religious" fanatics.
   
   
8. Doing nothing to decrease the endless taxes when it comes to airline travel.
   
   
9. Not doing anything substantial to reduce income tax - see #3 above.
   
   
10. Other than Jason Kenney, not doing much to dismantle the destructive & divisive multiculturalist policies of Trudeaupia. We are all Canadians, not hyphenated citizens!

Snapshot of Canadian Politics

My time away from Canada has separated me from watching the spectacle of the sport that we call Politics. Returning a couple of days ago, sure it's fun to watch the Video Professor come to the realization that his brightest moment in the sun has now passed.

And I almost spat out my coffee yesterday when I heard a fellow call into Vancouver's CKNW and condemn Harper for not increasing EI to 2 years! He thought this was a terrible injustice and not very "Christian" of our PM.

But in the bigger picture, I can't help from thinking that with all of the parties we're just watching a well rehearsed stage play, with each actor playing his role to keep us entertained.

Last night I received an e-mail from a fellow on Facebook who created an anti-Coalition group. He's super ecstatic about the budget and even more so that the Coalition is now dead.

But I can't get very excited. I pointed out to him that the Conservative Party is no longer a conservative party. Oh sure, they're clearly the least worst choice but what REAL efforts did they make to control spending? I don't see much.

And now we have a new deficit of tens of billions of dollars and everyone is ecstatic? Sorry, but count me out of that Conga line.

The NPA's Continued Self-Immolation

I don't follow local politics as closely as I should but this posting by David Berner caught my attention. Read the comments within, especially the one by Alex Tsakumis. There's a reference to a gentleman named Bob Ransford. I've never met him personally but Berner has spoken highly of him on numerous occasions. From everything I gather, Ransford is a bright, honourable man who wants the very best for his community and country.

Today Tsakumis published this missive. It goes into further detail about how Bob Ransford was deliberately blocked from being part of the NPA board of directors. Berner followed up with this. In his piece, Tsakumis places most of the blame at the feet of one Marko Dekovic, who sounds like a real piece of work. In this 2005 posting one commenter described him as a "Conservative Party whack job".

Dekovic currently works for MP James Moore. I've long thought highly of Mr. Moore. At the December 6th Rally for Canada at Vancouver's Library Square he is prominently featured in my video here. In his speech, he repeatedly talks about respect. Too bad Mr. Dekovic chose to offer none to Bob Ransford and to tens of thousands of NPA supporters.

I found Dekovic's expense reports rather interesting. The last time I checked, it didn't cost $1600+ to fly from Vancouver to Ottawa. Is Mr. Dekovic so important that he needs to fly Business Class? If he was flying on his own dime, would he be incurring expenses such as this:

It is beyond pathetic that the NPA allows such cancers to destroy their organization. For someone like myself is a natural voter for their party. But if they're going to let such dreadful activities go on within then people like me will find something else to do on voting day. :-(

Breaking News: Canada's New Senators

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Fabian Manning
  
  
• Nova Scotia - Fred Dickson, Stephen Greene, Michael L. MacDonald
  
  
• PEI - Mike Duffy
  
  
• New-Brunswick - Percy Mockler, John D. Wallace
  
  
• Québec - Patrick Brazeau, Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis, Leo Housakos, Michel Rivard
  
  
• Ontario - Nicole Eaton, Irving Gerstein
  
  
• Saskatchewan - Pamela Wallin
  
  
• British Columbia - Nancy Greene Raine, Yonah Martin, Richard Neufeld
  
  
• Yukon - Hector Daniel Lang

More info here

Significant Conservative Support Across Most of Canada

Many people seem not aware of just how much support the Conservatives have won across Canada. Here are the results from the CBC website. Though they're not the final "official" results, the percentage changes in each province will be very tiny. For a 5-party race (where each such party got at least 5% of the vote), the Conservatives won the largest share by far of any party. For historical comparisons, please look here.

Public Financing for Political Parties to be Slashed

Federal Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, is going to drop a bombshell in Ottawa tomorrow.

You may or may not be aware but for the past few years all of the major federal parties in Canada get $1.95 per vote on an annual basis. In the last election, roughly 14 million eligible voters cast their ballots, which translated to $27 million in taxpayers' money for the parties each year. Here are the funding cuts that Flaherty is proposing:

• Conservatives: $10.0 million
• Liberals: $7.7 million
• NDP: $4.9 million
• Bloc Quebecois: $2.6 million
• Green Party: $1.8 million

But when you examine what percentage of funding each party gets from public funds, a very different picture emerges:

• Bloc Quebecois: 86%
• Green Party: 65%
• Liberals: 63%
• NDP: 57%
• Conservatives: 37%
  

Some politicians are going to scream that this is dirty politics and is unfair. But is it? Here's why these politicians will be fighting a losing cause if they stay on this tangent:

1. The Conservatives will lose the most money by far.
2. The Bloc Quebecois' funding will be decimated, but who outside of Quebec will object? Many already feel that a separatist party, whose primary mission is to destroy Canada, shouldn't be funded in the first place.
3. Most people are generally sick & tired of all politicians of every stripe.
4. Demanding more money from Canadians as we (and the world) are entering a recession is a fool's gambit: "Dear Mr. Taxpayer, I know that you've lost your job and that you're struggling to keep your family housed & fed but don't you dare stop paying me even a cent less!"

And don't forget that each political party has every opportunity to attract more donations from millions of Canadians. It's long overdue that each party's supporters put their money where the mouth is. In other words, start walking the talk!

---

What's exceedingly delightful is to read the fever-pitched whining of the Radical Left at the CBC News site. The top rated comment asserts that this is simply Harper's latest move at creating a dictatorship. ROFL

It made me wonder how a psychologist would evaluate a person who constantly exaggerates everything to the extreme? I'm guessing that the term "Delusional Paranoia" might be used. Or equivalently "radical liberal" would suffice!

What is Conservatism?

Voting Day

Just got back from voting. In my Vancouver Centre riding I voted for Lorne Mayencourt of the Conservatives. Right above him was the Marxist-Leninist candidate. Good thing my hand didn't slip!!!

The Incredible Power of MSM Propaganda

I was just talking on the phone with an older Chinese-Canadian lady I've known for several decades. I affectionately refer to her as "Auntie Mary". She has worked hard all of her life to give the very best to her family. She lives on the East side of Vancouver and while her & her husband live in a nice home, she frequently expresses to me her concern about all the crime in her neighbourhood.

So I was a bit surprised to hear that she was planning on voting for the NDP today. She added that she very much hoped the Conservatives did not get a majority. I was not disappointed, just surprised.

I responded as follows: "You do need to go out & vote and you should vote for who you think will be the best candidate and/or party. For me, Law & Order is by far the most important issue in Canada. And that's why I hope that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives get a majority government."

She then said that Law & Order was also her #1 issue. "Then why on earth are you voting for the NDP?", I asked. "I mean, I fully understand why other people vote for other parties. Their issues are different from mine, but if Law & Order is your primary concern then how could you vote for anyone else than the Conservatives?"

It truly is an amazing phenomenon to see how effective MSM brainwashing can be to sway someone away from their core issues through boogeyman propaganda. Joseph Goebbels would be terribly proud of the CBC and other like minded media institutions.

---

P.S. If the Conservatives do win a majority and do not dramatically tighten up the laws involving criminals then I have a LOT of yard work to do for Auntie Mary!

Thomas Sowell: The Vision of the Left

"Conservatives, as well as liberals, would undoubtedly be happier living in the kind of world envisioned by the left."

So begins a brilliant new editorial from Thomas Sowell. A must read!

---

Note: Do contrast Sowell's words with those of Judith Warner. Striking.

Judith Warner: Typical Liberal Elitist?

I came across this critique of a New York Times blogger named Judith Warner. I'd never heard of her before and decided to check out her blog and read a few of her postings. Her writing seems very disjointed but I stuck with it.

Her September 4th posting seems very passive-aggressive, somewhat akin to the now infamous hate piece of CBC "journalist", Heather Mallick.

Her tone seemed to change dramatically in her September 11th posting. At least I *think* it did. Read at face value, it sounded like she came to a McCain-Palin rally mostly to mock Republicans but perhaps walked away with a bit more humility. In the process she offered up some gems that might baffle even Woody Allen's therapist:

We talked about the moral vacuity of modern parenting. “I see extreme spoiling, self-absorption,” she said. “Constant bringing the kids up to love themselves without reflecting on how they affect others.” We talked about the disastrous lack of respect that children now show adults and institutions, and about the ways this lack of respect translates into a very ugly sort of lack of decorum and a lack of basic manners: “This 10-year-old, my daughter’s friend, she comes over and throws down a magazine with John McCain on the cover. ‘Here’s friggin John McCain,’ she says. ‘Let’s see what lies he’s going to tell now.’” She continued: “These 10-year-olds think they’re better than me. That they don’t have to say hello. That they think I’m beneath them.”

"You go girl", I was thinking, in so many words, until the talk turned back to politics: “So often these kids that are so incredibly full of themselves, I find their parents are Democrats. The Democrats, they hate ‘us,’ the United States, but they love ‘me,’ that is, themselves,” she said.

I heard a lot more talk that day about the need for respect – and about arrogance and selfishness and about Democrats and liberals who think way too highly of themselves.

Is this news to anyone? Is there any adult in North America who doesn't think many children are overindulged these days? Was this the first time Judith Warner had ever heard such things? Was it also the first time she had ever heard that most average people think extreme liberals are arrogant and selfish?

She eventually continued on with this:

No, it wasn’t funny, my morning with the hockey and the soccer moms, the homeschooling moms and the book club moms, the joyful moms who brought their children to see history in the making and spun them on the lawn, dancing, when music played. It was sobering. It was serious. It was an education.
Once again, taken at face value, it sounds like this is the first time she had ever encountered such women. How is that possible? Is this a crystal clear example of the great political divide in North America today?

She continues:

“Palin Power” isn’t just about making hockey moms feel important. It’s not just about giving abortion rights opponents their due. It’s also, in obscure ways, about making yearnings come true — deep, inchoate desires about respect and service, hierarchy and family that have somehow been successfully projected onto the figure of this unlikely woman and have stuck.

For those of us who can’t tap into those yearnings, it seems the Palin faithful are blind – to the contradictions between her stated positions and the truth of the policies she espouses, to the contradictions between her ideology and their interests.
Remove the "Palin" bits and a puzzle floats to the surface: Why can't Warner "tap into" yearnings like respect, service, hierarchy, and family? Are these things really unimportant to most liberals?

Furthermore, how can anyone accept this as true - "it seems the Palin faithful are blind – to the contradictions between her stated positions and the truth of the policies she espouses" - and support Barack Obama without being a complete hypocrite?

She concludes her posting with this:

[Jonathan Haidt, a moral psychologist], has conducted research in which liberals and conservatives were asked to project themselves into the minds of their opponents and answer questions about their moral reasoning. Conservatives, he said, prove quite adept at thinking like liberals, but liberals are consistently incapable of understanding the conservative point of view. “Liberals feel contempt for the conservative moral view, and that is very, very angering. Republicans are good at exploiting that anger,” he told me in a phone interview.

Perhaps that’s why the conservatives can so successfully get under liberals’ skin. And why liberals need to start working harder at breaking through the empathy barrier.

Ms. Warner, let the truth set you free!

Be sure to check out the comments to her posting. The first few are priceless.

A Little Wisdom from 2 Good Old Boys in Texas!

I realize that the first inclination of many Obama supporters will be to mock the appearance of these guys but take the time to listen to their words and you'll hear much sage advice. Namely, if you want to motivate the supporters of a team then attack its players. But if you want to face absolutely rabid fans then attack their families.
No one yet knows how this election campaign will evolve but should the Republicans make no major gaffs, then I predict they will win. And historians will cite the pathetic personal attacks against Sarah Palin and her family as what gave them the winning edge.

The Downright Nastiness of "Progressives"

Amy Alkon has an interesting blog posting about the nastiness of the Extreme Left vs. the Extreme Right. I didn't know it until now, but it turns out that her political views are very similar to my own: A fiscal conservative but a pragmatic libertarian. And her observations about which groups get the most nasty when you dare to disagree with them very much parallels my own experiences.

We're not the only ones. Dennis Miller, a well known comedian, TV personality, and radio talkshow host, has frequently commented on the differences. When his views were mostly left of center he was mildly rebuked by some conservatives. But now that some (repeat, some) of his views are right of center, the vitriolic scorn and hate he has received by so many on the left is nothing short of shameful for the so-called "progressive" movement. Note: I always put "progressive" in quotes because it's a false label. On many issues, left of center views are not progressive (read "positive") whatsoever. I will forever remember one caller saying, "You know Dennis, for several decades I always thought you were a bright, clever guy but now, after you've sided with Bush on the Iraq War, I think you're a complete idiot." Miller calmly responded: "So for a long time you thought I was quite a smart guy but now, just because I disagree with you on one issue, you've completely reversed your entire thinking about me? Such wise reflection there."

I have also read comments from several gay men, such as this one. While some family & friends had some difficulty accepting these men when they came out of the closet, it compared not a whit to the scorn they suffered when they came out of the closet, so to speak, with their political views. Is it very progressive of a "progressive" to ostracize all those who don't follow the group think of the sheep herd?

I know for a fact that I've been ostracized by many so-called friends for my political views. My ongoing support for Stephen Harper and my continued support for the longterm goals of the Iraq War (though I detest Bush's refusal to curtail the growth of the public sector) has left me outside the herd for years. Many felt that they could make me switch my views through ridicule. How wrong they were. All I ever wanted to do was discuss the issues, using facts. When it became clear to them that their facts were minimal and their rhetorical talking points could not be backed up, they got angry. Now they've just stopped talking with me. C'est la vie!

Another point of contention has been the issue of Global Warming. For some time the likes of Al Gore and David Suzuki got away with preposterous statements like "the debate is over" and "there are those like us who love the planet and then there are the global warming deniers". What's become crystal clear is that no scientific debate is ever over. In fact, I heard a commentator say the other day that Gore and Suzuki have about 2 more years left. Then it'll become patently clear that the earth is not in a warming trend but rather in a cooling one. As for the "denier" label, I can think of nothing more horrific and insulting to the survivors of the Nazi Holocaust than using this word. A writer in Vancouver expands on this. Anyone who has ever uttered the phrase "global warming denier" to silence someone they're arguing with owes a profound apology to the 6 Millions Jews and others who lives were extinguished by Hitler & Co.

"Progressives" who meet me anew don't know what to make of my views on global warming et al. When I say that I'm against carbon taxes, am against carbon credits, and am in support of initiatives like twinning the Port Mann Bridge, their natural inclination is to start throwing nasty pejoratives at me about how I'm not helping the environment. That's when the fun begins. I ask them what kind of vehicle they drive, how much they drive to work, and what sort of home they live in. In every situation to date, my carbon footprint is exceedingly less than theirs!

My most recent "effort" to keep myself outside of the herd are my views on Barack Obama. Up until early February I was optimistic that he was a positive force for change on the American political scene. But then I started listening to him. Yikes! Not only is he more left wing than even Jimmy Carter (and that's saying a lot!) but he changes his views more quickly than a skier on a slalom course. He's just a politician like any other and even more of a politician than most. What irks and saddens me though is how so many of his supporters instantly call anyone a racist who dares to criticize him or his policies. Very convenient but very, very lazy. And intellectually weak to the extreme.

I fear that the next few months are going to be very nasty ones in the history of the United States. Which brings us back full circle to what Amy Alkon said about where most nastiness comes from in her experiences. She's not alone.

American Conservatives Are Getting Spanked

There is much sadness on the U.S. radio talkshows today after John McCain's victory over Mitt Romney in Florida yesterday. It seems almost certain now that McCain will go on to become the Republican nominee for President.

This is bad news for Conservative Republicans because McCain is anything but. Arguably on many issues he's on the extreme liberal end of the Republican party.

Looking ahead, this means that American Conservatives will have a choice of voting for McCain on the one hand and either Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama ... on the same hand. Expect a low turnout in November by traditional Republican voters and thus a likely victory for the Democrat candidate.

Looking ahead a bit further, one thing is certain: The "spend, spend, spend" mentality of the U.S. Congress will continue and this will be perfect for the Liberal mentality that is taking hold of Washington, DC. Once Americans realize how much all of these social programs are going to cost, I expect a huge backlash. Expect a Reagan like landslide for Conservative Republicans in 2012.

Politics is like a pendulum and right now Americans are wanting for theirs to swing to the left.

Is French Socialism Dead?

I'm fascinated by what's going on in France. A few weeks ago, Conservative candidate Nicolas Sarkozy won the presidency. Now his allies in the French parliament are getting elected in droves, in what looks likely to be a massive majority of 440-470 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly lower house.

This certainly flies directly in the face of the rhetoric I constantly hear over here that "conservatives are dead" and "Europe's showing us that socialism is clearly the way of the future". What a canard!

Huge changes are afoot in France and everyone knows it. Sarkozy et al will now change their society into something that is ... wait for it ... actually affordable!

Interesting Interview with Stephen Harper

Roy Green, in his very last show on CHML, just interviewed Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper. This may very well be Green's last interview of Harper. Green said something very interesting about the prime minister [paraphrasing] : "Unlike most politicians, you've actually answered all of my questions, succinctly and completely. I could have 15 questions prepared and after 10 minutes I'd need to think up a 16th because you'd answered all the others. With most politicians, I can't even get through 3 questions and even those they never really answered."

This is one of the things I really admire about Stephen Harper. And while many on the left can't stand him and rarely agree with him, I'd like to hope that at least they respect this quality of his.

How Modern Liberals Think

Evan Sayet is a political satirist and comedian. He describes himself as a reformed liberal. In this video he presents an interesting, thoughtful thesis about what makes a modern liberal-minded person tick.

I vehemently don't think there's any conspiracy theory at work. But I do believe that the modern liberals that Sayet is talking about typically think the following:

• ALL beliefs & values are equal, no matter how different they are than ours.
  
• There are rights & wrongs, just different ways of looking at things.
  
• We must not expect others to adjust their ways to ours, even if they're living in our society.
• The thoughts of victims have a greater moral authority than the thoughts of others.
  
• Stability & sovereignty is paramount in the world, even if millions of people are being oppressed or slaughtered.
• Big government is good. A world government body, such as the UN, is better.

If you fail to agree with all of these then you are a conservative, right-wing, neocon, unenlightened, closed-minded, selfish bigot. Don't believe me, just ask a liberal!

Like most everything, political views reside on a spectrum. I consider myself to be a pragmatic libertarian. That means that fiscally I'm a bit right of centre but socially I'm somewhat left of centre on many, but not all issues. Make no mistake that ultra-conservative religious zealots freak me out. But I recognize that such people come from ALL religions, not just Christianity. To this group I also include the newest fundamentalists: environmental zealots.

Most of my friends would describe themselves as liberals. In fact, most Canadians would describe themselves as liberal-minded. But what the really devout liberals fail to realize is how far extreme on the political spectrum they are. So much so that they annoy me just as much as the group on the other end of the spectrum!

An End-Of-The-Year Analogy

Right vs Left

I just discovered this on a fellow blogger's site and laughed my head off:

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a good NDP-er, and was very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.

Read the rest.