things to do

alright folks… it’s all about to get serious now… the conservatives are well conservatives… and want to start continue fucking things up… so go grab a nice stiff drink… watch this… and do your part… [link via YouTube]

leanin’ left with a trigga, yo

ok, the Liberal plan to ban hand guns really has my brain in a knot… now let me tell you why.. at first glance, in point form, and over the short-term, a ban on handguns:

• will not reduce homicides, or gang activity;
• will not reduce the use of handguns by criminals;
• will not reduce the supply of illegal handguns;
• actually discriminates against law-abiding citizens, who already have registered handguns; and,
• creates criminals out of currently registered owners unless they become ‘legitimate target shooters who meet strict requirements’ (extra fees not included)

i love it when i hear conservative ‘thinkers’ like Mr. Ralph Klein say things like: “I can ban anything. I can ban tape recorders, by law. It’s not going to stop you from using them” (from the cbc)

and he is 100% right. for instance, if the government decides to ban, steak knives, people will not take advantage of amnesty efforts, or buy-back programs… and it is simply because people need their knives to help facilitate steak consumption (also something klein would appreciate me saying :P)… anyways, most citizens do not use their supply/collection of knives to kill people, even though stabbings do account for the highest proportion of homicides in canada. (statcan)

ok, i’m getting off track here, so lets just assume knives will never be banned since they are essential to human survival, and get back to handguns; since we all know that handguns really only exist to shoot people. if we push politics aside for a moment, and forget about the short-term Liberal intension to gain popularity in urban-canada… we can focus on the long-term effects of a canadian handgun ban and see that over the long-term a ban on handguns:

• will strengthen our socially progressive canadian culture, by providing controls to dampen the need/desire for a handgun;
• will reduce the proportion of homicides caused by handguns, by eliminating the need for gangstas to partake in a self-defeating arms race; and thus,
• will result in a safter society, less reliant on handguns.

Joseph Heath & Andrew Potter, in The Rebel Sell, suggest that differences in “…culture are a consequence of the differences in laws and institutions” and well, this is most clearly seen by comparing us to our friend directly south, where “two-thirds of all homicide victims were killed with a firearm in 2003, [which was] more than double the proportion seen in Canada.” (from statcan) … obviously since canada already has stricter gun laws than the americans.

Ok, so i didn’t really prove anything with this post, and i am still really torn on the issue, even though i am clearly leading a little left…. any thoughts?

christmas spirit and election fever

two exciting events are quickly approaching, and today i started my preparations for both. the first is christmas. this year, i will be breaking tradition for the first time ever. i will be staying in vancouver, and as a result, i will be unable to attend the normal dinners at my grandparents and at my dad’s, and won’t be able to gather with all my friends for some customary festive cheer. now, i know i am going to regret this, kuz it is going to suck ass, when i am sitting here alone on new years.. but at least for christmas, i will be able to feed my dad some of my experimental free-range turkey, while i have some christmas music pumping in the background. (ohh btw my dad is coming to town for a pair of weeks later this month).

now on to the other exciting event… which is the federal election. ohh, how i just love federal politics!! the conservatives have already played all the big cards… shit we’re a week in to the campaign, and they have already played the GST card, which to be honest, totally took me by surprise.. this GST trick of theirs might actually turn out to be a wise move… since we all know (but somehow recently forgot) the broken liberal promise of killing the GST… (damn, wish i had my ‘red book’ here) anyways, when you tie this old (even retired) issue in with the sponsorship scandal, it truly does make a convincing argument that the liberals (or any government) cannot be trusted with all of these surpluses that have been happening year after year. way to go for the conservatives who have been able to take this positive outcome of the liberal leadership and spin it to make their own platform shine!! i love it!! canadian politics rules!! anyways, time to get serious here.. and to let you all know that the conservative campaign is starting to scare me, since it does in fact seem very well planned. they are constantly setting the pace, putting the election focus where they want it and as a result are getting the prime media coverage and possibly gaining popularity [poll check]… i hope my buddies jim, jack and paul, step it up a bit, and provide canadians with some quality bate so we don’t get distracted by all this conservative glitter.

election time excites me

yey!! the provincial election campaign starts tomorrow!! i just love them!! i enjoy; filtering through all the mistruths, fluff and ‘objective’ political coverage; choosing a position based on the proposed platforms; and, the feeling of knowing my vote will count. also, this election day, the voters of BC will get to choose if they support the recommendations of the ‘Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform’ to move to a single transferable vote (BC-STV) electoral system. this would mean in 2009 and onward, voters would rank candidates in order of preference on their ballot. STV removes the whole idea of ‘wasting your vote’ if you support a smaller political party – by making every vote count ‘more’ and thus making political representation more proportional. for more info… check out the helpful animations.

focus moves to issues / e-voting solution

It is too bad Kerry didn’t win the American election. I think a Kerry win would have been good to help re-establish the respect and the image of America around the world. Over the past few years, people have blamed Bush; but now the American people have spoken, and the majority of Americans feel the same way as Bush. This means, the other 49% of people, who are against Bush and his policies, will have to take the focus off of combating Bush himself, and focus on resolving the actual issues at hand. The American people have spoken! The amusing part is, the results are pretty much aligned with the results of the 2000 election. Meaning, all the ads and campaigning was pointless and futile. Anyway, and with these e-voting machines; am I the only person in the world who has the solution??!??!?! Push the button for you want to vote for. The machine records this in the database (just as it does now), and here’s the kicker… next the machine PRINTS a receipt that tell you who you voted for, and then you put this piece of paper into a box!!!! This would allow the system to be quick and not require a manual count of ballots, but if needed, it would allow for an independent recount!!! geeze people!!! Well there is no more need to talk about this American bullshit here anymore, check out CNN or Fox (for the 51%) or commondreams or znet (for the 49%) ! Peace.

something worthless, deceptive, or insincere.

Well, I decided it was time to engage in some sort of American political discourse tonight, mind you in was through, my friend and yours, the television. But give me a break… that is what the debate is all about… reaching out to the masses via the American broadcast networks. So I simply laid there and passively watched two grown men bicker about bullshit. It is all bullshit! Even the ‘expert’ analysis of the debate is bullshit. All a televised debate does is give the American people the ability to come to an informed decision based on the looks, memory, body language, and speaking ability of a person. Sure many would argue this makes a good leader, but isn’t the debate about the platforms and policies that are going to be extended/implemented to benefit the American people? Shouldn’t the public make a choice based on what affects them individually as well as society as a whole? There is more to an election than a leader!! Fuck it!!! It’s all bullshit!!!

The only time when my passivity was broken was at the mention of Canada. I heard it twice… First… about the flu shot… Bush said Canada was to the rescue and will share some flu shots. Bush was urging American’s not to get the shot if they are young and healthy, in other words all American’s do not have the choice to be protected. Second, was when Kerry said he would allow American’s to purchase inexpensive drugs from Canada – like this is some magic cure. It’s all bullshit!! Especially when you hear Bush say that federally funded health care results in poor health care… then why the fuck are they calling Canada to the rescue?? I can’t say much on the health care topic… mainly because I don’t want to write an essay (which would be required to get all the facts straight), and we in Canada are not immune to problems, but either way televised debates are bullshit!

Be Direct!

Well since the CBC ignored my email, I figured I would ask my Canadian Culture question to my local candidates. I sent it to Bev Shipley (CON), Rose-Marie Ur (LIB), and Kevin Blake (NDP). The first party to reply was the Liberals. However, they did not answer my question, and it wasn’t even Rose-Marie that replied. Here is the email:

“Could you give us your phone number so Rose-Marie can call you?”

I didn’t want an informal answer to be given to me over the phone, so I then replied with:

Hello again,

I would actually prefer a written response,
so I can compare the points one-to-one with the other candidates.

Thanks for your understanding.

The NDP still has not replied, maybe Kevin figures he is going to lose anyways, and his time would be better spent doing something other than representing the interests of his potential constituency.

And so, the only person to answer my email was Bev, my conservative candidate. Here is his response.

Joe:
” If elected, what will the Conservative party do to ensure that our national public broadcaster, the CBC, will continue to speak for
Canadians?”

Joe, I believe Canada needs to balance the need to promote and protect our unique culture in Canada with the need to support our artists in the reality of a 500 channel universe. A Conservative government will ask the Auditor General to review all granting programs, arm’s-length organizations and Crown corporations to ensure value for money. We are interested in funding artists and strengthening our Canadian identity, not bureaucracies.

The CBC, because it is a public corporation, is good to have because it can provide unbiased opinion, educational, and documentary programs and also allows the promotion of Canadian arts and culture. I believe that this is an important service and we must maintain the Canadian content. As a businessman, I also agree that every corporation needs to be accountable in its spending and business practices so that they meet the requirements under the Auditor General.

Thanks for your inquiry, and I would appreciate your support on June 28.
Regards,
Bev Shipley

—– Original Message —–
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:09 AM
Subject: Canadian Culture

Bev:

I just have a quick question to ask you:
—
Realizing that it is important to Canadian?s that our unique culture
and identity is appreciated, shared and continually strengthened.
If elected, what will the Conservative party do to ensure that our
national public broadcaster, the CBC, will continue to speak for
Canadians?
—

The strengthening of Canadian culture is very important to me,
and I fear that Canadian culture will largely be ignored if you are
elected. I am not really looking for numbers in your response, but
simply on how you feel and how your party feels regarding the CBC,
and other general culture issues such as Canadian content laws, effects of foreign media ownership, etc.

I look forward to your response.

So, is it better to vote for a guy who will listen to my concerns and reply to them? Or simply vote based on my values and ideals? Like everyone says “It doesn’t matter what they say, they are lie anyways!” So…. hmmm… there is still time let’s see if anyone else still replies… but I can’t hide the fact that I am impressed with Bev’s ‘respect’ towards me as a concerned citizen (even though the conservatives will HURT canadian culture more than any other party.

velkr0.

The National

Tonight on the National they had a “Your Turn with Jack Layton”.
This was the first of 3 of these “Your Turn” specials dedicated to get Canadians asking the leaders questions.

During the broadcast Peter had asked for Canadians to send their questions for the other leaders (well just Paul and Stephen)

So here is the the question I sent.

————-
Realizing that it is important to Canadian’s that our unique culture
and identity is appreciated, shared and continually strengthened.
If elected, what will the Conservative party do to ensure that our
national public broadcaster, the CBC, will continue to speak for Canadians?
————-

Now, I just have to wait for the CBC to reply….
I’ll keep you posted….
velkr0.