Saturday, September 30, 2006

Ignatieff Triumphs in Calgary SW (Shrub's Back Yard)


(Calgary, Sept 30 2006) Michael Ignatieff won the Calgary SW delegate balloting by one delegate at a joint meeting for Calgary South and SW. A 3-way tie topped the Calgary SE results (Ignatieff, Dion, Kennedy had 4 each; Ray=1)

The results from the riding:
Ignatieff 5
Dion 4
Kennedy 4
Brison 0
Dryden 0
Hall F. 0
Rae 0
Volpe 0
A sign of the cameraderie between the various camps, the local Rae scrutineer shook hands with everyone prior to leaving, and wished everyone well. After all ballots were counted and certified, scrutineers and agents for Ignatieff, Dion, and Kennedy shared beers and talked politics. Stories were shared about campaigns past. A common theme was the need to defeat Harper in the next election.

The voting day went very smoothly. There were no arguments, and all was handled appropriately from the organizational level. There were some fun barbs traded between several representatives of the various camps - all resulting in incredible mirth.

WesternGrit has to say, this Liberal hopes all the DSMs go this way. Here's to Canada! Here's to the Liberal Party of Canada!

Monday, September 25, 2006

Open Letter To Liberals

Canada's "grand old party"... Hmmm...

We all know we'll be back. Maybe even soon. So, it pains us even more to see the useless snivelling and sniping we currently have going on... just days prior to our DSMs. To top it off, we have former Cretien and Martin supporters taking public shots at each other - just when we start to see a recovery in the polls, and a real chance we could be rid of Harper in the next election.

Why do you need to have press conferences where you attack other leadership hopefulls? Why do you feel the need to write books to support your arguments when taking the "high road" really means, shut up and let the next generation of leaders step up? Why does the biggest story of the day have to be a 16-year-old power struggle - mainly between the lackies of two decent men, when the Conservatives are busy cutting a BILLION DOLLARS of funding required by programs for the weak and voiceless... If you really got into politics to serve, then why not speak out about this travesty... The sooner you begin acting like concerned politicians the sooner someone may overlook your past indiscretions...

Jean Cretien led Canada through 3 great terms. Paul Martin had a chance to be PM too. We all enjoyed years of centrist government. Great. Stop living in a dream world. That last little wisp of success was 2004 - maybe even 2003 (since we stopped getting any good press). Time to start thinking about how we will defeat the Cons - over even maintain our seat totals. That's right folks... It's not just going to be "get coronated as leader, and the Cons will fall". We are going to need vision, character, and focus to beat Harper's Cons.

The next time you open your mouths, think clearly about the words that flow through them. If you can't find anything party-positive to say, then just shut up!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

SNL's Norm MacDonald - Peter McKay "Crocodile F#cker"


Apparently Peter "the Great" has a new nickname... Seen in the picture to the left, Peter could hardly control his enthusiasm for his new American best friend.

Throughout history royal families of neighboring kingdoms would "hook up" their kids to ensure peace and prosperity, while ensuring continued in-breeding. With the recent goings on between Condi and Peetie, and the Conservative government's kissing up to the US cousins, it remains a curiousity as to who will be f#ing whom...

Norm MacDonald hit it right on the head tonight - on the Daily Show - when he stated "that guy will f#ck anything...", then added "there was a rumor going around Canada a few years ago that he f#cks crocodiles... Norm (a Canadian by birth) continued to roast/toast Peetie and Condi, while host Jon Stewart was ROFL...

Crocodile F#cker... Hehehe... Norm MacDonald is truly a funny guy. Wonder what he would dub PM Cartman???

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

We NEED Stronger Gun Control


It was only a matter of time. A matter of time before another unnecessary act of violence took place on Canadian soil. With an increasingly Americanized view on firearms (re: killing tools), we Canadians are ALL responsible for what occurred today in Montreal.

For years there has been a debate (nay, battle) between the right wing (Reform/Alliance/Conservatives) advocating less gun control, and an Americanization of our system, and the rest of Canada (Lib, NDP, Bloc) preferring a more civilized society. While I am a proud Liberal, I can say - without equivocation - that our last government spent entirely too much time kowtowing to the rhetoric of a handful of angry gun-nuts (who had a loud, rich, American-backed gun lobby on their side), rather than being more concerned about prevention. While Mr. Cretien's gov't created a registry to help combat gun crime (which worked VERY effectively - ask the police who used it 5000 times per day), Mr. Martin's weaker gov't allowed itself to be bullied by the neo-Cons.

This sickening and horrifying event - aimed at our society's youngest, best, and brightest - is a really good time for us to go back to our roots (as a party), and DEMAND STRONGER GUN CONTROL. We need to take a strong stand right now. We need to stake our claim on the issue, and let Shrub (Stevie Bush Jr.) try to defend the arms industry and gun nuts... Not only will we be standing up for the victims, and ordinary Canadians everywhere, but we will also be reuniting with multitudes of our moderate Quebec supporters - at a time where we both need each other badly.

We need Bill Graham to stand up and condemn this senseless act - AND - ensure we take a very traditional, moderate, Liberal approach on it. Let's ensure that we work to increase gun control today - so our children never have to face this again... Mr. Graham? You have the floor...

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Yes, Dammit! We ALL Support Our Troops!!!


Is anyone else getting tired of neoCons incessantly using our troops as an excuse for anything? We've seen it in the US for years: "You're either with us, or 'agin' us". If you object to an event, or the way a mission is run, you suddenly become "against our troops". A person speaking in favor of the troop's safety somehow is construed as against them. What a conservative crock of shit.

Good liberals, we've put up with this long enough. I support our troops, you support our troops. Every Canadian out there supports our troops. We only differ in how we support them. Not even the most hawkish of hawks will pick up a gun and go over and REALLY "support" our troops, yet many average Canadians from all walks of life are giving theirs' so Afghanis can have better lives.

As a Liberal democracy we have good reason to support UN-sanctioned global stability. We have reason - no - the DUTY to defend citizens of the world against outlaws. The Taliban are outlaws. Yes, their characterization by the Americans is extremely flawed. Yes, the American intentions are all wrong. But, we need to realize this action is UN-sanctioned (to some extent), and different than the action taken against Iraq (the illegal invasion of Iraq). This blogger has hated the Taliban since they blew the heads off 500-yr-old Buddha statues (everyone needs a reason). You guessed it - I do support a PEACEKEEPING and national rebuilding effort in Afghanistan (I have some problems with the American withdrawal - as they are mostly responsible for the mess, and should remain to fix it - but, that's a blog for another day). Having said that, I will not hurl politically loaded phrases like "I support our troops". I support them, like all Canadians - without having to say it every 5min on national TV.

We Liberals have to challenge neoCons EVERY TIME they use the troops for their shameless political uses. When a conservative uses the "I support our troops" phrase, we need to immediately reply, "WE ALL support our troops. Stop using them for your partisan political ends. STOP USING THE TROOPS FOR YOUR OWN POLITICAL ENDS!" Respect for our troops starts with respecting their situation, and not simple lip service. Maybe if the sleeping national media hears this phrase enough they'll start thinking about it a little. If we don't get this point across, PM Shrub will succeed in turning us into "Ameri-da", and ensure that the "if you're not with us, you're 'agin us" mentality takes hold.