Canada’s Debate

Well, as the budget looms on the horizon I think we need to face facts, this government isn’t going anywhere just yet. Despite Liberal protestations and NDP lectures, neither party has the temerity or the war-chest to fight an election. To that end I’ve created a new category on the blog here which will be devoted specifically to articles on the Conservative government. Please note that not all posts will be called “Minority Report, vol. XXX.”

Is the number of Liberal leadership candidates not bordering on the ridiculous? It used to be about who was actually going to run for it, now it’s about who isn’t going to run.

I realize though that, when I look at the candidates themselves, there are a lot of people I like and who would make good Prime Ministers. I support many of their policies and even though politics is a dirty game, I believe they are good people. Ken Dryden, Gerard Kennedy, Scott Brison, Bob Rae, Carolyn Bennett (somewhat) and even, grudgingly, Michael Ignatieff would all be good leaders and have agreeable policies. (Continue reading…)

Yes, it’s true. I’ve decided to throw my weight (inconsequential as it may seem) behind Bob Rae in his campaign for the Liberal leadership. As much as I firmly believe that a Liberal party with Rae at the helm would struggle to get elected, the fact remains that he embodies the sort of qualities that our politicians need. Don’t believe me? Let me quote for you a passage from a book that I was supposed to read in Politics 100 but never got around to (sorry Professor Gabriel.)

As Wililam Lyon MacKenzie put it, “charity begins at home but it does not end there.” It is a sign of health when we take responsibility for ourselves. The community and state overstep their bounds when they assume they know better than ourselves what is in our interest and what is “best” for us. It is equally discouraging when people point fingers at everyone but themselves for their fate.”

But there is something very wrong when some companies assume no responsibility for environmental damage, or for the underfunding of key social programmes that in fact train their workforces and provide support for their consumers. Many are reluctant citizens, pretending that the homeless around them are someone else’s problem and responsibility alone.

(Continue reading…)

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

So when last we stopped I had established the cast and stage for my little computer melodrama. On to the action! (Continue reading…)

I suppose I should explain where I’ve been for the last five weeks. The smartass answer, which is naturally the one I am going to go with is, “right here.” In reality it is the truth, as my but has been stapled to this general location for the period in question. The next logical question would be, “doing what?” Well, that’s where things get interesting, or at the very least more complicated than a one- or two-word answer can explain. In brief, here is the list:

• Looking for/applying to jobs
• Doing absolutely nothing productive (Civ 4, chatting, etc.)
• Learning more than I ever wanted to know about HDD repair

Since there is absolutely nothing to be gleaned from the first two, I suppose I will go into my wild hard disk drive adventures a bit. (Continue reading…)

So as you’ve noticed it has been a while (or even a long while) since I last posted here. The more astute among you may have even noticed that this is not the first such ocassion. The truth of the matter is that I’m in a kind of creative/energetic funk which stems from (and no doubt contributes to) my continued unemployment. Yes, I am still looking for a job, and the results have been somewhere between weak and pitiful. As a result I just haven’t had the energy or enthousiasm to drop by and leave my little brain-turds for people to read. That’s a shame too considering all the fodder for discussion out there; Bush firing a bunch of people after saying none of them needed to be fired, Harper saying he values the Constitution so much that he’s willing to amend it and circumvent it in one session, and of course my dear Leafs demonstrating one and for all that no matter how low expectations are it is still possible to fail meeting them. (Continue reading…)