stephane dion

A little over a week ago, Stephane Dion was elected as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I have not written about that yet because I do not know enough about him.

I have no affiliation to the Liberal Party, and have never voted Liberal. I never liked Chretien, and was ambivalent about Paul Martin. The whole sponsorship scandal was really quite boring to me, and I was never outraged by it. Cynically resigned would be a better measure of my feelings about that.

Although I never cared for the Liberals, I was hoping that they would beat the Conservatives because I detest Herr Harper, and most of his cabinet. I feel that they are divisive, and petulant, and I am quite a bit more progressive than they could ever be. I did take interest in the Libearal leadership race because I was hoping that they would elect someone that could beat the Conservatives, and get their own party back on track, and maybe even get Canada back on track.

I felt that Bob Rae might be a good choice because of his experience in the trenches. He was much vilified after his tenure as Premier of Ontario, but I felt that it was unfair. Rae took power just as recession set in, and he had not much to work with after the Liberal gov't of David Peterson. But Rae would have had a hard time sloughing off that baggage, and would have been hurt in the important jurisdictions of Ontario.

Gerard Kennedy caught my interest too - especially as the only one that spoke against the notion of Quebec as a nation. (that is a subject that deserves much more time than is afforded me at present) I did not think that he could beat Harper though, and I never had a good sense of what he was all about.

Ignatieff makes me physically ill (almost, anyhow) with his ego and insincerity. I prayed that he would not take the brass ring. I hope he runs back to his beloved Amurika, and leaves Canada to Canadians.

Dryden is smart and sincere, but lacks vision and experience - in my humble opinion.

Who else was there? Never mind, they probably left as little impression with you as they did with me.

Back to Dion. Largely unknown outside of Central Canada, and has some baggage in Quebec as a result of his activities as Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs. Some pundits say that is a liability.

I saw a couple of interviews with Stephane Dion this past week, and have to say that I am impressed. Would I finally vote Liberal? I don't know about that, but I do think that Dion can clean the floor with Harper, and would feel a lot more comfortable with him as P.M. than I do with Harper.

He is smart, animated, and passionate. What I have heard from him so far makes me think that he can win the next election, and at least form a minority gov't. He could probably work well with the NDP (who will never form a gov't - in my view, and I wouldn't want to see that anyhow), and maybe even with the B.Q. I think that it would provide more stability in gov't than what we have had for a few years now.

So far, I like what I have seen. Dion needs to polish his English a bit, but because he seems so passionate, and erudite, I don't think that it will be a problem for him. He comes across as someone who doesn't listen well, but that is the hallmark of an intelligent mind. He seems to anticipate the crux of questions, and does not have the patience to bandy about platitudes and fluff.

I hope that the Liberals form a minority gov't, and maybe even form a loose coalition with the NDP. I hope that Layton stops trying to undermine others for a few extra votes, and is willing to work with the Dion Liberals for the good of Canada.

Tra-la Rummy

Glummy image lifted from somewhere and scaled

Well that mid-term election to the south was a relief. The people have spoken, and they are saying that they don't like what is going on at all. The Democrats have re-taken the Senate and Congress, and will be able to exert a lot of influence. I am heartened greatly. But it still has a long way to go. I don't think it so much matters which party has the Presidency so much as who the leader of that party is. Rumsfeld - one of the most detestable people I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on - is gone. Good riddance.

But who will replace him? Another of Daddy's boys of course. Sounds like a few of Daddy's boys will be stepping in to clean up Junior's broken toy. Are they less odious? Not as I know of them. Looks like Cheney might be resigning too. Hey, how about an impeachment? And a trial for crimes against all of humanity, and specifically against the united States of America*.
*This is the original as spelled on the Declaration Of Independance


Good news in Canada too. The people do not like the neo-con, evangelist bullshit of the Conservatives either. They have barely a point on the Liberals, and those dufus' don't even have a flipping leader. And whatever leader they do come up with will not be much more than uninspiring in my view. Stephane Dion would probably be the best bet, but in these times of image being more important than substance, Dion does not have the presence needed to engage the voters. He's kind of like Preston Manning in that way - somebody that can be trusted, but it's a liability exacerbated by sincerity. Oh well.

We could use a few personalities like Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez, Fidel, tempered by a few Joe Clarks, Diefenbakers, and Elizabeth Mays, with a dash of Jackie O. We need some fun.

Finally;

This is one of the most poignant images I have seen from the Iraq invasion and occupation. There are 100,000's of images of maimed babies, men, women, children, soldiers, of prisoners being abused, and on 'til we become inured to the suffering of the innocent. I do not mean to diminish all of that, but this poor horse, with a leg blown almost off, really got me.

How much more innocent can you get than that? No one to comfort it in it's suffering, no one to heal it. And no one to put it out of it's misery.

When I hear people trying to justify this kind of ...I just want to...

Nice work Rummy.
photo from iraqi horse (click on image or link for larger)

Garth Turner

image from the Burlington Post Oct. 20, 2006


I posted the following at Garth Turner's blog (link at sidebar). Although I am as cynical about government as the next person, I cannot ignore it and pretend that it has nothing to do with me.

I have never belonged to any political party, (and likely never will), never voted for a Party, but always have voted for someone that reflects my own values. Federally, I have voted for the Reform Party, Progressive Conservatives (remember Joe Clark?), NDP, and Canadian Action Party. Politically, our country is in a mess, with few decent people representing us. I have never known what to think of Garth Turner, but I am glad that this tempest in a tea-house has blown in.

I await, with bated breath, the outcome of this. We are at a critical point in our history, and the future of Canada is up in the air.

Seriously Garth,

I hope that you don’t join the Green Party - they don’t need you.

I have suggested the Canadian Action Party, and I see that they have been here making the same suggestion.

We need change in a very big way - this is not about “Stevie” Harper, it’s about our country, our National identity, and our sovereignty. We have been sold out in increments since Mouldroney and NAFTA - at least. Connie Fogal (leader of the CAP) is the widow of Harry Rankin - a great man. Ms. Fogal was instrumental in revealing the MAI to Canadians, and was the impetus that stopped that travesty. Take a look at their philosophy, and I think that you will see that it is a good fit for you. They may seem at first to be socialist, or wingy, but it is Canadians at-large that interest them the most.

Canada is slipping into the same corporate fascism that the US is dying under. Harper seems to be bent on the same “Deep Integration” that Martin and Cretin (sic) worked towards.

The fact is that the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party are as about as different as the Repugnants and Dumbocrats are in the US. It’s all about money and power, and The People be damned.

The hegemonic, fascist, kleptocratic doctrines that have become so entrenched in Western governments have made us all poorer in every way. We are ripe for a revolution of thought. This (present, and failing) government that we have is hopefully the shake to awake us from our slumber.

What we need is men (and women) like you - who will speak for common sense, and stop playing popularity games to hood-wink the populace and maintain power and entitlement. We need coalition governments of independants.

I welcomed minority government for the last two elections, and hope that we never see a majority again. Let’s rid ourselves of the personality cults, scribes and pharisees. There are too many diseased minds throughout our political spectrum.

I hope that Harpercrit gets toasted soon, and that the Liberals do not select Ignatieff as their leader (but Rae has too much baggage, and is just another pharisee). We need people like Ed Broadbent (so sad to see him go), Alexa McDonough, Connie Fogal, Garth Turner, hell, even Trudeau - Canadians who are Canadians, and want to stay that way.

No more secret conclaves of oil barons and military psychopaths in Banff.

Please look at the Canadian Action Party at least. Give Connie a call (if she hasn’t called you yet), and hear her out.