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Good Luck But I'm Not Getting My Hopes Up Or My Heart Broken

whopitulia (via RSS)



So Dion's going to lead the coalition of Liberals, Bloc and NDP. I'm surprisingly numbed by this whole development. Maybe I'm in shock and don't believe my eyes and ears. Maybe I just believe the whole deal will fall to ratshit in no time. After all it was only 4 years ago that Stephen Harper was happily cooking up the same "illegal overthrow" of the Paul Martin's Liberals and the only common denominator in both these coalitions are the Bloc-NDP collective. Yeah, I'm not getting too invested in any of this. If it works for our economy and the better good of the country, fine. If not, the price will be steep for all concerned, especially for the Liberals.

For all the Reform-Conservatives crying foul and threatening revolution when the system doesn't work to your advantage, maybe you should have checked out your parliamentary playbook when you dumped your reform policies for electoral reform. Stephen Harper was only too happy to be another pig at the taxpayer trough as soon as he took power. This is just a classic case of someone getting what they deserve.

If it happens at all.

I'm still not convinced any of this is real.

Yet.

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The Jackboots Are Coming ...

Mentarch (via RSS)


Following up this post, that one, that one and that one with regards to jackboots thundering in your neighborhood soon not only in the U.S.A., but also in Canada ...


Pentagon plans to station 20,000 troops for 'domestic security'

The US Department of Defense plans to deploy 20,000 troops nationwide by 2011 to help state and local officials respond to terror or nuclear attacks and emergencies, The Washington Post said Monday.

Citing Pentagon officials, the newspaper said the plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces.

The first 4,700-strong unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade, is based at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and is already available for deployment, according to General Victor Renuart, commander of the US Northern Command, it said.

Two additional groups will later join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops to support local and state authorities nationwide, The Post said.

They will all would be trained to respond to domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attacks.

The newspaper said that civil liberties groups and libertarians had expressed concern that the plan could undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, dedicating 20,000 troops to domestic response -- a nearly sevenfold increase in five years -- "would have been extraordinary to the point of unbelievable," Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, said in remarks last month noted by the Post. But the recognition that civilian authorities may be overwhelmed in a catastrophe [Hurricane Katrina might be used as an example] prompted "a fundamental change in military culture."

"The Pentagon's plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011," the Post added. "The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command."

"If funding continues, two additional teams will join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops in supporting local and state officials nationwide," they continued. "All would be trained to respond to a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attack, or CBRNE event, as the military calls it."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.
Oh yes - the jackboots are indeed coming soon in a neighborhood near you, folks.

Congratulations.

Looks like all this worshiping at the altar of Holy Security is finally paying off, eh?

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Dion Misunderestimated Again

Scott in Montreal (via RSS)

The strategy of the emerging Liberal/NDP coalition government is evidently designed to drive Peevey Stevie so insanely enraged that his head explodes before the afternoon is out.

The goal is to inform Ms. Jean that a viable alternative to the current government exists within the current Parliament, in the form of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the NDP. The Bloc is expected to promise to support the coalition to survive for at least a year, which would allow for the passage of two budgets.

"We've decided that the only person and the best person to lead and form a coalition government is the elected leader of our party ... Stéphane Dion," said leadership hopeful Dominic LeBlanc.

"We are comfortable with that, we support that and we think that's right."
I, for one, can't wait for Harper to blow up.

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Lame-duck Bush filled with regret, monstrous ignorance

graeme (via RSS)

I look forward to January. It will be like waking up from an eight-year reason coma.

In an interview with ABC news, mericfully outgoing president George W. Bush had this to say on Iraq:

?A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein,? Bush said. ?It wasn?t just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence.

?I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess,? Bush added.

When pressed by Gibson, Bush declined to ?speculate? on whether he would still have gone to war if he knew Hussein didn?t have weapons of mass destruction.

?That is a do-over that I can?t do,? Bush said.

He wishes the intelligence was different? How about wishing he?d done his due diligence and not committed the USA to a disastrous war? And c?mon. A ?do-over?? This isn?t golf. The fact that Bush applies the concept of a mulligan to any of his official decisions says a lot about why he was such a bad president.

Also, if there were such things as do-overs in politics, I imagine America would be looking to revisit the last eight years. Via

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A week is a long time in politics

Simon (via RSS)

According to CBC, Dion is tapped to lead Liberal-NDP coalition.

Now, get on with it!

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Happy Centiquadragintennial Canada!

July 1st, 2007 - MadHacktress

Today is Canada Day here in the Dominion of Canada. It is the day that we celebrate our Canadianness.

I have often found Canada Day - or Dominion Day, which I prefer - to be in stark contrast to make other “independence-type” days in other nations. Friends of mine who know my activist spirit who are from nations other than Canada (read: the U.S.) have asked if I attend protests on Canada Day.

Hardly.

Perhaps it is due to the fact that we didn’t really fight for our independence from Britain, rather we asked and they said “cheerio” - or something equally as British.

Whether tomorrow we call ourselves native, French, Ontarian or Western-Canadian, today is the day when we are all Canadian.

Posted in Pure Opinion | No Comments »

Dion & May

April 16th, 2007 - MadHacktress

I am of two minds on this issue. My immediate reaction is that I really dislike the idea that the Liberal party is willing to sacrifice running a full panel of candidates during a General Election. I firmly feel that they should always, unquestionably run a full panel, even if it’s only for show.

On the other hand I don’t disagree with having Elizabeth May in the House of Commons. I think that she would make an excellent addition to the Commons and her approach to politics is one that I can stand behind.

I don’t know whether it’s better to run a full panel of candidates and then have a behind-the-scenes movement designed to get out the word that the party is endorsing the Green Party candidate. That just doesn’t seem right, either.

I guess that when it comes to politics what really feels best is to just win, dammit. It’s too bad that Elizabeth May cannot be counted on to be able to win on her own merits because, as I said, I think she would make an excellent addition to the Commons.

Posted in Federal | 2 Comments »

No Election Needed to Replace Harper

February 14th, 2007 - MadHacktress

Today the term “no-confidence” and “election” are being thrown around in amazing volume. The Kyoto protocol implementation bill passed the House of Commons’ third reading and goes back to the Senate. It passed the House easily and will very likely pass the Senate with even greater ease. This bill, unlike virtually any other so far, gives rise to the possibility of a so-called early election.

Why? Has this whole country, our politicians and the very foundation of our democracy forgotten one very important option: the coalition government.

Our country is famous for one-bill coalitions when the minority needs to be beaten back by the opposition. Why not look at a more formal arrangement that forms a cohesive, long-term coalition government for the betterment of the country.

A coalition between the Bloc and the Liberal government, or even between all three opposition parties, could form a stable government for the future of Canada - the first of its kind in our Federal history. Coalition governments are common in other parliamentary democracies, they work well and, in some cases, better than majorities, for their nations.

A coalition government in Canada wouldn’t require yet another election. After a vote of no-confidence (or any time, really, I think) the Governor General has the right to seek a coalition rather than to call an election. It has always irked me that coalitions seem to be a dirty word in Canada.

I am personally in favour of no one party having a true majority in Parliament. I think that having a number of ideologies represented by the government helps to keep the government working for the betterment of the people. It keeps them honest, I guess.

Here’s hoping for the future that a coalition might, maybe happen for our country.

Posted in Federal | 8 Comments »

Asylum Seeker Going Home; Can’t Proove He’s Gay

February 8th, 2007 - MadHacktress

Here’s a story from the bizarro pages.

A now-21-year old Nicaraguan is being sent back to his home country next week because he can’t prove he’s gay.

So, let me get this straight - so to speak - if he were to stiff up at the sight of a cute boi, or suck face with another guy in the presence of the refugee judge he’d be good to go, but instead she didn’t believe his story. The judge, for her part, claimed that she didn’t believe his excuses for his lack of sexual activity while living in the U.S. She believes that he has fabricated his sexual orientation in order to get asylum in Canada.

So what?

The justice system is based on the concept that it is better to let 10 guilty men go free than to convict one innocent man… why should asylum considerations be any different? Why should we take the risk that this kid is going to get the crap beaten out of him when he returns to Nicaragua?

This country isn’t full. There’s no need to turn people away because they’re not gay enough.

Posted in In The News, Pure Opinion | No Comments »

Government Changes Fixed Day Election Date

February 7th, 2007 - MadHacktress

Yesterday I wrote about my support for Ontario municipal governments who wish to use the Lord’s Prayer - or any other prayer for that matter - through the course of their business. I received a couple of decidedly opposing views.

Today comes another topic in the same vein: the Ontario government has opted to change the first of its fixed-day-election-dates because of a Jewish religious conflict. The originally scheduled date, the first Thursday of October, conflicts with the Shemini Atzeret holiday.

Should the government have taken religious belief in to consideration when making this decision?

My own personal thought is that it’s not really a big deal. The chief elections officer is given the power to make such decisions when necessary in order to appeal to the needs of the electorate. My curiousity is if the same posters who strongly opposed the Lord’s Prayer will also strongly oppose the recognition of a Jewish holiday in this context.

It’s hard, in politics and other goings-on, to balance all the various needs and necessities of the people who live within ones dominion. Canada is especially multi-cultural and so it definitely leads to situations wherein a number of sometimes conflicting ideals will meet head on. Finding the common ground for a solution isn’t always as easy as it is in this situation.

I firmly believe that, within reason and with only a few exceptions, multi-cultural living and recognition is possible. I do not believe that the melting pot is a necessity for a society to run smoothly. We can include virtually everyone, and virtually everyone’s beliefs without having to suffer being mired with over-culturisation.

Posted in Provincial, Pure Opinion | 2 Comments »

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