Anti-Conservative Blogger Posts...

[Stunt]

Thought I'd post this for those interested.
The first post was a friend's friend and he went on a rant with the upcoming election. Below is my response.

Random thoughts from a wandering mind.

With the onset of the final days leading up to Christmas, I find myself in the same funk as many people over the holidays. I think of people, loved ones, life and all that fun stuff. Now, considering Christmas has very little significance to me, except I generally work more, I find it a little odd that I do so much reflecting this time of year. My religious views clearly have no reason for any festive joy or contemplation. I do not believe Christ died on the cross, I do not believe a devine being created us, cares for us, or provides us guidance. For my beliefs, it would be best to take a refresher at said previous link. Fate is bullshit made for the weak minded who can?t make their own decisions, and always has been. You make your own luck, and when opportunity fails to knock, you build your own door. Those are my beliefs, I?m just a ****** and apathetic carpenter.
In all seriousness though, I think for me, life reflection has more to do with the new year, and my upcoming birthday. I?m still young, I don?t think I?m getting old by any means, but you clearly have to look at what you?re doing, where you are in life, and if you?re not happy, in your clearly little defined rut, something has to change, and you are the instrument of your own change. The perfect opportunity doesn?t just come along, you have to go looking for it, and if you can?t find it, then make it. The situation is never hopeless, and I need to get off my ass and do something?

?.ok, I lie. Some situations are hopeless. Yep, now it?s time to talk politics. I was listening to one of the Conservative advertisements - but if you aren?t watching the TV, it really gets your hopes up. Canadians are seeing a new government that will change things? I was like? what, the Green Party ditched their leader and their twit media prep boys? Did the DDRP get a federal party? I was all optimistic about this new party that had a connection with actual Canadians. Then it said, ?Vote for the Conservatives and Stand Up for Canada.? Um. What the hell? The Conservatives are still delusional whackos. My Canada does not have Stephen Harper or his idiocy and his two tier rights for straights only, lets make meaningless tax breaks on GST running things. For the record Harper, you want to do something with the GST and have an actual impact? Eliminate it. Idiot. %2 is nothing. Eliminate it, the cost of administering it, and put cash back in the hands of Canadians, stop this double taxing our income crap.

I digress. My point is the Conservatives are clearly living in their own little world. They don?t seem to realize most of Canada is at heart, liberal socially. We don?t want a leader that kisses American conservative ass, rides roughshod over gays, (muwahahah? imagery?), and looks like he is a reanimated corpse. I mean, damn, have you seen those eyes? I realize now why the Conservatives haven?t realized he?s a bad leader, they?re too busy trying to keep him alive, sacrificing virgins, and making deals with the devil. Harper just can?t be human. Ugh? soulless, soulless eyes.

I assume we?ve all seen the www.Beernotkids.com petition by now that Rick Mercer set up. (My signature is in the top thirty!) I mean, really a couple of measly dollars a month for childcare? How does that help? Does it cover the gas to get to the daycare centre? It?s not even enough to cover a bus pass in some cities.
And then there?s the complete lack of clarity. I know what the Liberals stand for. Essentially, all the good ideas every other party has that turn out to be popular, and reasonably fiscally responsible. (Aside from their constant Scotty routine with the budget. ?It?ll take five hours to fix the engines Cap?n.? ?You?ve got two.? ?Alright? we?ll see?? And BAM he does it. Seems a lot like? ?we?re going to only have $1.9 billion this year, time to tighten our belts, ohh wait turns out it was $9.1 billion? uhh.. we had a really good year??)

What do the Conservatives stand for? All I know is that Harper will over turn legislation and make the traditional definition of marriage the ?correct? one and rob gays of their rights, despite the courts already having decided the charter already trounces old school legislation. I know he thinks the Liberals don?t have the morale authority to govern, and that he felt a sponsorship scandal taking over 9 years to steal $250 million is a good enough reason to have a $300 million election. I know he said that he?d still love his children even if they were gay, (but would take away their rights to be equal citizens. Hey, love may be unconditional, but the charter isn?t.) I also know he said he wouldn?t use the notwithstanding clause on ?this issue,? when referring to gay rights, which makes me wonder what issues he WOULD use it?
What I do know is this: As long as the Conservatives have the corpse of a zombie leading them in a campaign of obfuscation and confusion, I won?t vote for the Conservatives. What makes the whole situation so hopeless is I don?t really want to vote for anyone. The country I love so much, is so royally screwed.

Christmas, what a depressing time of year.
~QS

Stunt

Hi, We have a mutual friend with the initials MH; she linked your blog as we are similar people (so she says), but we have totally different views with regards to your most recent post. This is a long one, but I had lots to address?

First off, I find it quite absurd you would start a political post with close-minded religious opinions not represented in the Conservative party. I?m not an overly religious person, I mean I believe in morals, good and evil; but my views on popular political ?wedge? issues are quite progressive and quite secular in nature. Scary social issues which get a lot of press and would actually have an effect on the average Canadian in my view would be: Gay Marriage, Abortion, Church in Schools, Criminology, Drugs and Guns (correct me if I am wrong). For the record, all major Canadian political parties agree on all but 1 to various degrees. I mean all want harsher gun laws, harsher sentencing for repeat offenders, and varying degrees of decriminalization of marijuana possession. As for the more religious agreements, all parties are against the merging of church and state, and the Conservatives have made it very clear they support current abortion laws (no tabling of legislation). The discrepancy (not immune to the Conservative party) is same-sex marriage. My personal take on the matter is that same-sex couples have caring and loving relationships deserving of recognition by the state. Unfortunately the country is not ready for such as large mindset change created by this policy (making for negative, counter-productive debate). The Conservative party has made it clear over the years that they support the same rights for same-sex unions as traditional heterosexual marriage. Much like the most liberal of parties have implemented in the UK more recently; it?s an excellent compromise for the times where 62% of Canadians are against changing the traditional form of marriage. Now before you go off on a rights tangent, it is important to recognize that the Supreme Court of Canada when given this decision felt the rights of same-sex couples were not being violated and full rights would be given if majority rule in parliament prevailed and redefined the word marriage, which it did. Therefore the courts themselves; established to protect rights made marriage a term to be defined by the majority. Bringing all the above together; there is no real difference between the major political parties when it comes to social issues. Arguments on fate, Christ, luck and religion are divisive comments made to make these people feel alienated and immoral, which I find quite disappointing.

Secondly, the Conservatives of this country are not ?whackos? but reasonable, law abiding, upstanding people with a different take on life than you may have. I take the stance that the degree of state, laws, and freedom all depend on how pessimistic you view the human race as a whole. If you think people cannot fend for themselves, cannot give in charity, have no sense of right and wrong, and will stop at nothing to benefit themselves; state is a wonderful thing where you tell people what to do through laws, taxation, social pressures and conformance. I on the other hand am far more optimistic on the human race; I believe freedom in all forms: social, fiscal, moral; all in the end will allow society to flourish. Consider a liberal nation with strict trade, immigration, and economic policies; then compare it to a nation with exotic mixing of cultures, people, religion, free to live how you like and achieve anything you want. This is why I advocate a more free society; now don?t get me wrong, I do understand the Conservatives, Liberals, NDP are not much different (a little tax cut here, a little spending there) but in the end, I endorse open markets, free culture and democratic rights. You focus on the Conservative campaign slogan ?Stand Up for Canada? where you consider this to be delusional. This election has a lot riding on it, including Canadian democratic rights. As of one year ago, Canada was a one party state; I never would have hoped for a real choice of government with 3 major parties and a group with a stranglehold on the second most powerful province in the federation. The Tories realize this will be the only time in the near future where Canadians have so little respect for the governing party and its scandals, that they actually had an opportunity to create a national alternative. Not a regional power looking out for niche values, but a real alternative to our one party system. Today we see the Conservatives at over 40% nationally and over 20% in the province of Quebec. There is nothing better for national unity than a party leading in every province; creating an alternative voice for Quebecers in parliament, not on the sidelines. As for your comments on the GST; this was brilliant on many levels as every Canadian pays the tax, hitting poorest Canadians the most; as well as a political tool to show Canadians the many broken promises over the 12 years of Liberal reign. Your call to eliminate the tax would send our nation into a massive deficit situation along with creating missed opportunities of investing in other areas of the country. The CBC after the political debate consulted economists and a think tank for the poor; all claiming the Conservative plan to be more helpful for poor people than the Liberal tax break announced in the Fall. I also should point out the think tank for the poor (not the actual name, but paraphrased) stated both the Liberal and Conservative tax cuts were not the best way to help the poor, then again I do support tax cuts so it?s just nice to know the party you are supporting is not out to punish those less fortunate.

Your next paragraph is full of unfounded hatred towards Americans, Religious groups, American politics, and Steven Harper. While I hope most reasonable individuals can see through these baseless claims, it is quite unfortunate you feel the need to denounce so many people, even Harper?s eyes! I mean look at the Conservative ad against Chretien?s facial features; have we become so superficial these days we need to judge on looks? Yikes.

As for the child care platforms; I think early childhood education is great, it has shown to have great effects on developing young minds. Unfortunately I feel most of the current government social programs have countless problems, what makes Martin think he can be the creator of the one program people will not find under funded, unfair and inaccessible? The concept of the program is nice, but in all practicality there?s no wonder the man compares this system to an extension of healthcare. The Conservative plan gives all parents $1200 a year, plus gives incentives to care centres to increase the number of available spaces, focusing individual funding and flexible choice in access. In the end, only 25% of people would benefit from this program as most parents either have a stay at home parent, care from relatives, and care from other friends. I personal view is parents should be given choice as to where their kids receive care and parents need the power both through the funding and flexibility. Is it a child care program in itself? No. Will it be a more effective strategy in helping most Canadians with their child care needs? I think so.

As for what Stephen Harper and the Conservatives stand for; I suggest you read their platform and pay attention to the campaign. He has been the only leader this election to focus on the real issues facing all Canadians, releasing policies every day and creating a vision for the country. His priority list is as follows: 1) Make government more accountable; his first order of business will eliminate lobbyist and corporate funding from campaigns, whistle blower legislation, full accountability for all pubic offices and receivers of public funds. 2) GST tax cut; tax relief for all Canadians, well deserved as the Canadian economy has done exceptional with American free trade (Liberals were going to eliminate this), 25 year high on almost every commodity in existence, but personal income not increasing with this boom. 3) Cracking down on crime; a policy supported by all parties; even though crime is at a 13 year low, more should be done in terms of reducing the gang violence in our cities. 4) Child-care strategy; allowing the experts (mom and dad) decide how to raise their children without creating another bloated one stop social program. 5) Reduce Patient Wait Times; this will allow provinces more flexibility in providing healthcare to patients (it is their jurisdiction, why should those with no experience providing healthcare advice those who have?), and create performance metrics to ensure provinces remain competitive in equal opportunities no matter which province you are from. Actually Alberta has had great success implementing queuing theory (found in private service industries) into hospitals (both public and private). Addressing patient flow with understanding demand and throughput allows for quicker service with no additional funds. As an analogy; on the highway if cars are spaced out, the flow through the bottlenecks can be drastically increased without widening the road or other high cost alternatives. Also many waiting rooms have constant wait times where patients wait a constant 30 minutes (as an example) for service; contracting an extra doctor to service those waiting will eliminate the wait altogether. Many things can be learned by the leaders in healthcare; Alberta being the most obvious, and I truly trust the Conservatives in creating a sustainable publicly funded (even if there is a private role) healthcare system.

Ugh, finally done. Sorry to hear you will not be giving the Conservatives a chance this election season; they have some good ideas and are the most popular party with today?s youth (44%) and will hopefully be the future of this nation. Even if things do get unreasonable as you all fear; at least we have the Liberals to keep them in check, unlike our situation a mere 6 months ago. I guess it?s easier to burry you head in the sand and believe the calls of the uninformed masses; enjoy the negative ads for now, I look forward to our new Prime Minister.