Why Conservatives Will Never Understand Foreign Affairs

This photo pretty much illustrates how conservatives react to excesses of the US-led global military-industrial complex... Yup, just ignore that which pads the pockets of our friends - including some of our cabinet.

The invasion of a state to capture what basically amounts to criminals... The killing of innocent civilians. Even the deaths of Canadian soldiers (apparently targetted by AWACs advisors, due to their blue UNis) and civilian women and children. Scores of dead civilians in Lebanon. None of this bothers the Cons.

What if this occured elsewhere? What if the Brits decided to saturation bomb Ireland because of a few Sin Fein/PIRA "terrorists" hiding out there? It wouldn't have happened (mostly due to a sensible pre-Iraq foreign policy in GB). It probably wouldn't have happened because the victims would be other civilized Western folk...

Do we all see the idiocy of the conservative way? The sheer stupidity of the mid-East conflict (basically 2 conservative groups at loggerheads)? How it will only continue to breed hate and contempt? Do we realize how all conservatives really want is to sell weapons and oil, and make sure we don't raise or spend taxes for much else? Conservatives spend their learning years focusing on the "financial equation", never bothering to learn about the real world around them. Now we see the fruits of their lack of concern for the world around them: environmental collapse, privatization of essential services, starvation of world populations (thanks to colonialist policies of conservative western nations), endless wars in the third world, and only "concern" where it matters to the bottom line - be this oil reserves or corporate benefit.

Whew! And I actually consider myself to be a capitalist of some sort!

Homework For Leadership Candidates - Fix the debates

For what its worth, I (along with much of the party - and Canadians as a whole) have been lulled to sleep by the Leadership Debates. We have a problem with the typical dancing around issues. With a 3 or 4 candidate race, this "dancing" is often interspersed with some real discussion based on candidate's actual leanings and ideologies. Not semantics and platitudes.

Thinking about this brought me to this conclusion: What does one do when you ask a bunch of school kids to speak intelligently on issues of the day? Usually you'll try to get them to put something useful on paper first. Once the "kiddies" have put their thoughts on paper, they are reviewed and graded. Finally, papers can be presented to the class.

For our next Leadership Debates I suggest we go completely "out of the box", by asking all candidates to provide summary papers on the main topics/questions. The Party would receive the papers, then phrase questions based on the candidates written positions. I think this would help focus the debates. We could provide copies of the papers - and candidate responses - to all party members (online, or paper format) to ease our information gathering.

I'm tired of waiting for some campaigns to produce "intelligent" commentary on the key topics of the day. With 11 candidates on the go, we really need to do something to help compare and contrast all of them. I'd even go as far as to put the candidates views into a spreadsheet - just to help us clear through the useless drivel. We need to get away from the "popularity contest" we're currently seeing, and get into more of a discussion of issues - before it is too late.

Registry Good? You Don't Say!

Something sane, rational people in Canada have been saying for some time, has been proven by those industrious Swiss (see story here).

The Swiss study - done for a United Nations summit on violence shows how the gun registry actually SAVED billions of dollars (related to the deaths/losses suffered in gun violence).

A really interesting factoid (something our stupid campaign teams couldn't vocalize in the past 3 campaigns) is that firearms deaths in Canada declined to 816 in 2002 from 1,125 in 1995. That is an over 27% DECREASE in firearms deaths in REAL terms. I might add that overall violent crime also decreased in Canada during this time.

Reform-a-Tory propaganda. Eastern Canadians still have not figured out what type of ignorant xenophobic haters they have helped elect. Living in the West, you see just what the typical Reformer is all about. If the gun registry (C-68) fails, it will be the first in a series of right wing acts the Cons will try to perpetrate - either to defeat themselves in Fall, or as part of a new right wing government in Spring...

Another Great Hays Stampede Breakfast

(Calgary, July 9, 2006) - Well, another great Hays Stampede Breakfast has come and gone. While there was a good turn-out of Liberals (including many of the leadership hopefuls - and Mr. Graham), we also had to put up with the sight of Shrub (Stevie Harper). Last year Harper embarrassed himself by insulting the hosts about being Liberal. It appears a great choice that none of the politicos spoke this morning.

It was a particularly beautiful day in Calgary, and the food - as Heritage Park is known for - was good. While the crowd is never a partisan Liberal crowd, many whispers were heard of, "that's Michael Ignatieff", or "there's Scott Brison". Certainly a great day to press the flesh.

Tried to say "hi" to Gerard Kennedy while we walked in, but he snubbed me. Not sure why this is, but it certainly left a bitter taste. Kennedy was wearing his stetson in a goofy backwards tilt (so, right back at him). Scott Brison was his usual warm, friendly self. He wasn't wearing a hat, but had a pretty nice pair of boots on (looked like black snakeskin). Harper did well for himself by not dressing western. He was whisked in and out by his security detail - limos on standby a mere few yards away. He didn't address the crowd, and didn't walk through more than a small part of the attendees. Certainly not JC or PM, wading into a large crowd to shake hands. What a limp-di@k Prime Minister. An embarrassment for Canada.

Senator Hays brought the crowd to laughter several times with his Stampede jokes. He's a great host, and did a lot to ensure the crowd was entertained.

Another great day, and another great breakfast... Ahhh... Stampede Week! Hoped to see Shrub in his Festus suit, but no luck. Will keep searching around town for more embarrassing Harper pics.

Not Canadian Values Shrub!!!

Harper to American press conference: "We are backing exactly the same kind of values..."

This is just plain disgusting. Stephen Harper candidly tells American reporters and Dubya that Americans and Canadians are "backing EXACTLY the same kind of values". What??? Yes, we are kind of similar in a few ways, but we think we're all intelligent enough to see the clear difference between our American cousins and us.

Now remember the Air Farce "remix" of Rahim Jaffer saying "I lied"? We're sure as hell hoping that we see some sort of imagery of Harper making this outlandish claim on his visit to DC.

Now if Shrub had said similar values, or even "we're neighbors and best friends", yes..., but the only people who have the same values as the Yank neoCons is Canadian neo-Cons. Yeah, a lot of Canadians voted Conservative, but we know for a fact that most of them did not even know the Cons' true values/ideology. They also only had 36% of the popular vote. Most Canadians - as we all know - disagree with Shrub's stand on Kyoto, Iraq, Afghanistan, Missle Defence, Health Care, Day Care (or no daycare), and tax cuts... Face it - he won by drumming on about one issue - Gomery. Won't happen again.

Shame.

Official Leadership Pool

WesternGrit has set up "the First Official Liberal Leadership Pool". The first version of this pool will be utilized at a Calgary "Liberal Helpings" dinner on July 5th. Attendees will have a chance to choose the candidate who they think will win the Liberal Leadership contest. The 4 front runners represent most of the squares on the grid.

More details to follow.

Happy Canada Day!!!

Happy Canada Day to all the members of the great political institution that created this flag. In the weeks, months, and years ahead WesternGrit urges fellow Liberals to remember this flag and what it stands for. Remember how we fought to adopt this symbol of our great nation. Remember those who stood in our way are the very same foes who hold our nation back from advancement now... Conservatives - those whose very name stands for "resistance to change"; those who dislike anything "different". Remember the Canada we love - let's ensure it carries on. Happy Canada Day!

Conservative Opinion Of Our Parliamentary System? Check The Hand-Gestures

School was supposed to be out for Summer. Canadians learned this week just how the neo-Cons feel about our Parliamentary system. Conservative MPs flipped Opposition parties the bird, insulted and mocked the Speaker, and used foul language - audibly.

While some shenanigans are a "normal" part of Parliament, MPs are always expected to apologize for them, and to show respect for the institution. In this case the institution itself was attacked. When things have crossed the line in the past, a PM or party whip would step in to elicit the required apology... not this time. Stephen Harper is too busy keeping his firm line of censorship on his extreme right wing to really worry about his buffoons.

We all know how much respect Reform-a-Torys have for the institution of Parliament. These are the same folks who openly showed contempt and hatred for Ontario, Toronto, and Ottawa for years. These are the same folks who have been trying to dissolve the Senate for years. These are the same folks who have been trying to get to Ottawa to "trim down the bureaucracy" for years. Why do we expect any better from them???

ABSOLVED! Jury finds NO POLITICAL CONNECTION to Guite's Actions!

A jury has found NO POLITICAL CONNECTION to Chuck Guite's actions in the so-called "sponsorship scandal". This news is definitely good news for some federal politicians in Canada.

Years of Reform/Con harping have led to nothing more than a sentence for the man we all knew was the "ring-leader". So a crooked beaurocrat - who was originally hired by Mulroney's Conservatives, to boot - is found responsible for the misappropriation of funds that led to the Gomery Inquiry.

It appears it now will be possible for politics to return to something truly fitting our parliament - rather than the daily drive-by smear it has become under the neo-Cons.

Ignatieff Meets Lower Mainland South Asian Community Leaders: Commits to Protect Rights of South Asians In Light Of Recent Arrests in Metro TO

(Richmond BC, June 4th) Michael Ignatieff committed to stand up for the rights of the Canadian South Asian diaspora Sunday, in light of the recent arrests in Southern Ontario. Speaking to a gathering of Indian and Pakistani supporters in Richmond Mr. Ignatieff stated "I commit to you" that we will defend the rights of Muslim and South Asian Canadians in this difficult time - ensuring that we will do whatever we can to prevent a backlash against the larger community. Stating examples of IRA terrorism in the last century, Ignatieff indicated that we will continue to battle extremism through our justice system, as the nation we are building is beyond imported religious conflicts. Members of the community had stated that they feared potential backlash as a result of the recent news headlines concerning a supposed Ontario terror plot. Ignatieff's commitment brought a round of applause from the audience.

Speaking mainly about protecting and growing multiculturalism, expanding Liberal commitments to education, and continuing Liberal-initiated economic growth, Mr. Ignatieff captivated the audience with his charisma and effortless speaking style. He spent much longer than his scheduled time in individual conversations, and answered all questions raised by the crowd. He even paused for an impromptu autograph session.

WesternGrit spoke with a group of educators who attended the function. The group was very pleased with Mr. Ignatieff's plan for higher education in Canada. Ignatieff had committed to ensuring "everyone who wants to" can attend university.

Mr. Ignatieff went on to speak to members of BC's Chinese community, at appointments later Sunday.

Ignatieff to Meet With Indian and Chinese Community Leaders in Richmond BC Sunday

Michael Ignatieff will be meeting with members of the Lower Mainland's Indian and Chinese communities on Sunday. WesternGrit has travelled to BC to attend this event - and hopefully gets an opportunity to discuss Iggy's opinions on such matters as the recent arrests in Toronto, and Shrub's opinion on the issue.

Word on the ground - in the Lower Mainland - is that Ignatieff has been very well received on his past few visits. The Ignatieff Team in the Vancouver area is apparently pretty well-organized, and new membership sales are going well. Ignatieff's team in the area seem to be doing particularly well in selling new memberships to former NDP voters - who seem to really like Iggy's views on social issues and the environment. The growing list of Liberal supporters include individuals who have supported many different leadership campaigns in the past.

WesternGrit will post again tomorrow night after the event.... Also hope to have some good pictures to go with the story...

Mulroney, Schreiber, Big Oil, and Shrub's Illegal Election Financing

Someone has undoubtedly posted the write-up by David Orchard... You know the one from his website (here), where he points out links between Big Oil and PM Harper's campaign funding?

So where has the national media been on this story??? If someone as forthright, connected, and aware as Al Gore makes such a serious claim about a sitting PM's campaign financing, surely the media would push the story? Surely the RCMP would investigate? When is was our turn in the spotlight, a handful of Conservative/Reform backbenchers made it their full-time occupation to search for corruption - even where it did not exist. Surely we can be half as tenacious?

Living in Alberta, it is hard - nay, impossible - to see how Big Oil was not behind Harper's success. We are aware of oil company employees canvassing for Harper's New Bleau in the past two campaigns. We don't know a single oil company employee - including foreign citizens - who were not lining up to harp on Harper's "good points".

Which companies were contributors to Harper's campaigns? His leadership? The last election? How did they directly or indirectly channel money and other support to the Harper Conservatives?

We may feel we're in an age past the time where big money could influence election campaigns. Canadians may want to think again. How do you account for the $150K/yr oil exec who miraculously finds himself with a couple of weeks of "bonus" holidays during the election? How do we keep in check the conservative-owned media (Can-West/Global, Quebecor, Fox "News" North of the border it belongs in, etc.)?

The fact remains that while organizations such as unions (which may represent the "common man" from time to time), and even the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation (when they're not fronting foreign business interests, and proporting to represent the "tax-paying little guy") have had to restrict their electioneering activities, some of the world's largest corporations have been running roughshod over our election clean-up efforts.

While a relatively small and frugal organization like a union local - or the CTF - may not be able to influence the handful of folks they may have reached, corporate giants like the Aussie owned Fox News, BP-Amoco, Shell, et al. have been able to exert an unjustified amount of pressure on our system. "Scientific experts" (I use both terms loosely), bought and paid for by Big Oil were critical in this election in twisting the decisions of voters on key issues such as Kyoto - so much so, that voters were "doubting the science" (an oxymoronic expression that seems to be overused nowadays).

Every day Canadians are being deluged by news stories from South of the border - or stories run on Canadian news networks that are completely sourced from the US. Add to this the hawkish, neo-con bent of so much of the Canadian press (might is right, and it's good to be a "tough guy" vs. a "wimp"), and we can quickly see where someone like Stephen Harper can eke into a minority victory (C'mon... this guy hadn't even left the country before being elected - and then only left at taxpayer's expense, riding along with then-PM Cretien).

We need to get after the neo-Cons before they make some fundamental changes to the Canada we know and love. Time to start treating this shrub like the weed it really is. Let's start with an investigation into Harper's campaign finances...

Shrub Goes After Minorities

So it didn't take very long for Shrub to go after one of the old Reform Party's favorite targets: immigrants. While he made a minor promise using unrealized tax dollars (the lowering of the landing fees), he immediately showed immigrants and minorities what they really mean to this middle-aged, white-male-dominated government...

Among Harper's first neo-Con moves was to kill the Multiculturalism Ministry. This "good 'ol boy" move is an insult to immigrants and other minorities. One of his early next moves was to reduce immigration numbers. Thanks to the war he's running with the press gallery little of this is actually being given much attention.

10 years ago we vividly recall the very same Western MPs who now sit as Conservatives in Ottawa attack the very idea of multiculturalism - as well as taking pot-shots at Sikh's turbans (in the RCMP), First Nations, and Quebec. Back then, these very same individuals were sitting as Reform MPs. The public needs to realize they haven't changed.

As Liberals, it is crucial for our party to address the needs of some of our most loyal supporters. For many years recently, we've almost taken these groups for granted. New Canadians have been a stalwart of our support, and a big reason for our strong showing in urban areas. Recently, Harper has been making some overtures to these groups - often targeting "hot button" causes that are agreeable to Conservatives.

To reinstill minority group confidence in our party, we need to be very vocal about the Conservative dismantling of the Multiculturalism Ministry and reducing immigration numbers. Some of our leadership hopefulls have voiced strong support for multiculturalism - including strong supporting facts about the side-benefits of increased success in foreign trade, etc. Michael Ignatieff recently delivered a strong speech in Calgary focused on the value of multiculturalism - especially with the recent emergence of countries like India and China as world economic powers. We need to ensure our party continues to speak loudly for multiculturalism. If we don't, we'll start to see our urban numbers decline...

WesternGrit Seeks Out True National Leaders...

I had the opportunity to meet Gerard Kennedy and his sisters in Edmonton a few weeks ago. Seemed like a nice guy. His youth appealed to me. So did the zeal of his entourage. I listened to him speak, and had the opportunity to ask him (and other leadership contenders) several questions (the LPCA AGM was a very good opportunity for delegates-to-be to speak with leadership hopefuls).

I was hoping to hear Mr. Kennedy speak in our 2nd national language. I feel that a Prime Minister must have impeccable skill in speaking BOTH national languages. This is even more important for a Liberal PM. I hear that Gerard is going to Quebec for a couple of months this summer "to meet the people". I would like someone - anyone informed - to tell me if he is going to Quebec to improve his French skills... Anyone?

I will not support a leadership candidate who is not fluent in both our national languages. So far I understand that Dryden, Dion, Ignatieff, and Brison are all fluent (please forgive me if I've missed anyone). I like things that each of these candidates present. I must also say that Gerard seems like a decent guy... I just need to know if he speaks immaculate "Quebec French" to have him count on my "French speaking candidates" list.

So... someone... anyone... please let me know...

Was Iggy Right - Even If He Was Wrong???

I've been mulling about Michael Ignatieff's vote on the Afghanistan issue. Here's my thoughts: I think that it is a good move. Why? Because we are Liberals - and the last thing we want to do is take on hawks in a debate on going to war. If anyone can justify a war, it's a hawk. Especially the new breed of "chicken-hawk" supported by massive American media support. If we can put this issue aside, we can focus on lambasting Harper on childcare (and the lack of a neo-CanCon plan for this), removing tax cuts for low income earners, the environment, cuts to immigration numbers, etc.

Iggy's tactics may be very beneficial. Here's how "Joe Public" would see this: Harper is talking about extending a Liberal initiated foray into Afghanistan. The Libs underfunded the army, and didn't even care to buy adequate uniforms for the army. Stevie seems to support the troops - a lot. He knows the army. Supporting the troops is good. I think I'll support the war.

No average Joe is going to think about the original intention of the exercise. No average Joe is going to really think about what "supporting" our troops means - unless we do a better PR job. Most "average Joes" don't know the difference between the UN and NATO.

So... what does this mean for us Liberals? Nothing. Let's drop the whole Afghanistan thing for now. We benefit from making it a non-issue. If things blow up later, our new leader can always say, "I supported/didn't support the war, but my party voted 2/3 against it - so we are not going to support further action". Let's ensure that we attack the Neo-CanCons at their achilles heel - childcare, environment, gun control, First Nations issues, public healthcare, immigration and multiculturalism. Arguing about war with a "chicken-hawk" in this current environment is not a good thing. Look what happened to the Democrats in the US. Even though we oppose the military action in Afghanistan because we support humanitarian missions like Darfur, or because we love our troops so much we don't want them to die - even then, we would lose the argument if we make ourselves look like we support the terrorists/freedom fighters, or whatever you would want to call them.

I'm not saying we change our Canadian identity... No way. We should continue to be a sovereign nation, and have a liberal world-view. We just need to keep this issue on the back burner, as we can lose traction with it. Let's focus on stuff that's more important to "Joe Average" right now.