Canada’s Debate

Ok, I’ll admit it. I don’t have anything interesting to post about today, which is frustrating. I’ve been distracted by an inordinate (by my own standards mind you) amount of belching, a sore back (when you’re buying an office chair, don’t go cheap), a quiet weekend politically, and of course Wordpress. While this software is great in that there is a lot you can do with it, and you can use it to create a really amazing blog, the code is three different kinds of suck. So, as a result, if you clicked on the author page before I gave up earlier today, you would see this:

Notice anything odd about this? I sure do… my name is nowhere on it, despite the fact that the $curauth->user_nickname string is in there several times. Why doesn’t it work? That’s a good question. I followed the instructions at this page exactly, and bubkis. So Wordpress, I simultaneously bow to your gracious offering of a powerful, free software package, and mock you for your inability to support it adequately. (Continue reading…)

Seeing as the main subject of discussion here is Canadian politics (albeit the least read), I can’t exactly write off Stephen Harper when he is the leader-designate of our country. So I’m going to give him a fair shake. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Joseph’s just an eastern elitist, there’ll be nothing fair about it.” Well tough-tits. Read what I write, consider it, communicate with me, and then pass judgement.

In particular I want to discuss Harper’s ’standoff’ with the United States over the arctic. I wasn’t exactly surprised that he waited until after he was elected to emphasize his plans to spend two billion dollars on a military base in the middle of nowhere. I was however surprised that he would emphasize a good idea (seeing as he has so many bad ones) so early in his leadership. That’s right, I am for this, emphatically so. (Continue reading…)

I’ve made a lot of changes around here lately, and the feedback I’ve gotten has been overwhelmingly positive. More to the point, the site is finally starting to look the way I always imagined it (sans creepy picture of me.) That means it is time for me to finally get this site really jumping. As of right now it’s nice, and I have a forum to bitch and moan, but I do want it to be more than that. I also want it to be a place where people have interesting discussions. Take for example my last post, where I discuss “Western alienation.” Instead of me just saying my piece, I want to say what is on my mind, and have someone from Calgary come here and engage me.

Realizing that you can’t put the cart before the horse, I know that before I get throngs of readers I need more than just my often churlish opinion, posted every two or three days. So I am putting this out there, I want you to write for this site. I’m looking for people to join the ranks of, well, me in writing posts for Canada’s Debate. If anyone is interested in writing posts in the following categories, please leave a comment or email me , and we’ll work something out. (Continue reading…)

… On the joke at least. I’m getting simultaneously perplexed and angered by the sort of statements made in the letter below. This is an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor in yesterday’s Toronto Star:

Ontario voters — and particularly those in southern Ontario — chose to completely reject a western-based party and a leader who is from western Canada. Monday’s election showed those of us here in western Canada what the east really thinks of us and as a result this country took a giant step forward toward dissolution. Congratulations, Ontario.

To me, this is the height of hypocrisy and lets face it, stupidity. But at the same time it seems to be a significant element of the Western groupthink, and that fact makes me sad. (Continue reading…)

Well the last 48 hours have been interesting. As much as it saddens me that the most gracious and politically astute Canadian so far has been Mario Lemieux, who put off announcing his retirement until after the election so he didn’t steal headlines; the election is done and we can get back to business…

The only question that remains really is “what business?” On the surface Harper is poised to get into running the country, but there is more that is happening here and now. Harper is also going to be “getting down” to something else, and that is engaging a specific set of policy objectives. The only question is “which one?” He campaigned straight down the middle, but lets not forget where he is coming from, and some of the people who are undoubtedly going to form his cabinet. (Continue reading…)

I did this “place in the world” quiz, and the answer surprised me. Normally I don’t place too much stock into an internet quiz, but an intriguing result is an intriguing result. (See bottom of post.)

Anyways, for some reason the quiz turned my thoughts to the book 1984, and the upcoming election. It has been amusing (and pretty depressing) to watch this past week or so as all three major parties attempt to somehow manufacture human nature. Now I’m not suggesting that any of these parties are neo-fascist organizations a la The Party or anything; but there are some striking similarities. The use of fear/rewards and a control of information has been an essential part of electioneering for over a century, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that this campaign has been about manufacturing a reality that doesn’t really exist. Now, Karl Rove and the Bush team perfected this during the last election year, of that there is no doubt, but something similar is happening.

Let’s take a look at Harper’s campaign first. He started off “well,” releasing major policy initiatives on an almost daily basis to start the campaign. Since then, he has disappeared from the campaign almost entirely. Instead, the last three weeks have been given entirely to scaring Liberal voters, without really saying “vote for the Conservatives instead.” (Continue reading…)

Anyone else getting sick of those “choose your Canada” ads? I know I am, not because they put me on the spot however. Rather, I’m ticked off because everyone is making the wrong choices… that, or they’re making their choices for the wrong reason. Honestly, it’s appalling and frustrating.

Regardless, the election is going to happen, the Conservatives will win, and Canada will move further away from the great country I grew up in; which is a shame.

In the spirit of the election, I have created three new Canada’s Debate themes. Each one uses the same layout and graphics as the new format I introduced here a few weeks ago, I’ve just created three different versions for the three major national parties. (Continue reading…)

I’ve been kind of dour recently, so I think a slightly more playful blog entry is appropriate. So, where should I go with this new playfullness? A meme? Another list/contest? Some idle musings or creative writing? Well, I’ll get to that in a few minutes. In the mean time, I think I should update some personal things…

• My resume is now online and available to the public. On the off-chance that anyone who reads me is looking for a recent graduate for a job, click on the “resume” link to the left. Otherwise it’s just not that interesting.
• My blog is now up and running at Sportslogs.com. It’s not much (and no, I had nothing to do with the design… even though Mike likes it for some reason. Check in for my latest thoughts on the Toronto Blue Jays, which will coalesce into a post three to four times a week starting during spring training, with two to three until then.

(Continue reading…)