Canadian Elections 2011

I think on May 2nd I had a nightmare, in that nightmare I saw that the Liberal Party was practically annihilated, BQ was gone, the NDP became the official opposition, and Harper won a sizeable majority.

Oh no, this nightmare is going to last at least four years.

GONE


GONE

At least this was one of the few good outcomes of election night. I always felt that the Bloc was irrelevant and it is about time that Quebecers joined the federal parties.

OFFICIAL OPPOSITION

I'm sure he and the NDP must be very happy. I hope that they will do a good job of being an effective opposition; although it is going to be hard given the autocratic tendencies of the big cahoona. Layton did considerable damage to Michael Ignatieff when during the debates he told him that he was absent 70% of the time from the House of Commons, and his relentless attacks continued during the election. Because of that considerable damage was done to the Liberal Party, especially in Ontario, where vote splitting in many ridings helped Conservatives to win their majority with sometimes one-third of the vote in these ridings. It looks that Layton unintentionally did help the big cahoona for his majority.

THE BIG CAHOONA

Here is your Prime Minister with a new majority mandate. Given his ultra-conservative background, it is worrisome how much damage he will do to social programs, especially healthcare, and he's indeed a big fan of America. I hope we don't become the 51st state. One can only pray and wish Canada well, it looks like a very rough ride for the next four years.

Since election night, I did not feel like blogging and I still feel the same way, that's why it took me so long to write something about the election outcome. Hopefully time will heal this hurt, we as Canadians will do alright. We should keep in mind that in 1993 PCs were completely annihilated with only 2 seats; who would have thought that a regional party like Reform would collude with the Tories and today have a majority in the House of Commons? We should not be so despondent, hopefully Liberals will get themselves a good leader and start the reconstruction and rebuilding work right away.

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Sheila Frazer created a Mount Rushmoron

When the auditor general asked to examine the MPs' personal expenses, all three national leaders created a mountain of a barrier to stop her from doing that and that includes Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff. Only Gilles Duceppe said it was a good idea. So much for national leaders. What were they thinking? What are they hiding? Their likeness needs to be carved on a Mount Rushmoron of their own.


Rex Murphy of CBC gave a good commentary on that which you can see here.

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Swine Rules

Like country singer Willie Nelson's song, "On the Road Again," I was on the road again. (Word of caution for Willie; he must not play "on the road" that often as it is one of the dangerous places. Trust me, Willie). I came back Friday evening, turned on the TV, and all I heard was swine, swine, swine, and then the reporter said flu. OK that is what it is then. Swine rules the airways and so he rules the world. You know we are led by swines too with the exception of Barack Obama who I still think is doing well.

Swine virus is sending its drones all over the world and much better drones than the US ever came up with. Before you know it, it could be traveling your airways. Hey Israel and some Muslim countries, you do not want to hear about swine but too bad guys and gals, it will be there whether you like it or not. Or is it exaggerated and actually a danger that is not as big as is portrayed in the media? A media which is suffering from news famine and thus reporting anything which comes their way.

As far our own leaders are concerned, Harper will indeed look after himself and do not worry, Layton and Duceppe are protected too. As for Iggy, he is masked well – he cannot hear or see but his mouth keeps going. Now you know why Iggy is becoming so impervious to the environment and some humanitarian issues as his ears are plugged and his eyes are covered from reality.

Finally bigots are having their jollies. US Congressman Brown thinks illegal aliens are deliberately slipping swine flue into the US, including a 22 months old Mexican boy who died in a Texas hospital. By the way, he was legally in the US when he caught the deadly bug. What a swine this Brown fellow is.

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Jim Flaherty: The Shoe Fits

Jim Flaherty is all set for the budget speech. As being a true devotee to Bush, he first checked to see if the shoe fit his head. But would this shoe fit the opposition? Layton and Ducceppe have already shaken their heads and said it will not. Iggy is not sure as he is used to wearing American shoes. The problem for Flaherty is that his object of devotion, Bush, is gone and Obama's shoe may shrink his head.

Obama is a brilliant and a realist, he is extending a hand of friendship to the whole world. His stay in Indonesia was used against him by the neo-cons during election but he has turned it into an asset for reaching out to the Muslim world. It is hoped that it will be a kiss of death to the extremists as their cause to incite hatred against the US may wane. I may be writing more on this move of Obama later.

Back to the budget speech. Iggy is very shaky and tomorrow, Wednesday, we will know which direction his shoe rotates. Iggy may be a bright professor, but he is definitely a beginner in political field. Who knows, he may pick up a tip or two on the way. Time will tell. So far his performance has been nothing but disappointing.

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The Fall of Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper has been daring the opposition for quite a while now, especially before the last election. He forgot he had a minority in the House of Commons. His arrogance and game playing caught up with him and he brought about his own fall. He cannot blame anyone else for it. No matter who the new leader of Liberal Party is, Stephen Harper will have hard time surviving come January. If Liberals roll over again under the new leader then they will lose their credibility. By proroguing the Parliament in order to avoid a no-confidence vote Harper is bordering on being an illegitimate Prime Minister.

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Canadian General Election October 2008

I am sure pundits will be giving many analysis of last night’s election as to who won, who lost and what went wrong. In my estimation all the leaders are losers. Yes, there was no winner last night.

Harper took a big gamble to win a majority, indifferent to what was happening to the country. He lost and got another minority. If he would have waited and handled economy well, he might have had better chance in 2009 on the fixed date.

Dion’s dream to become Prime Minister did not work. He could not deliver a knock out punch when Harper was at his weakest, stock markets were in disarray and the economy headed for a major downturn. He ended up with reduced Official Opposition numbers.

Jack Layton aimed for the Prime Minister’s job but could not even come up with Official Opposition title. He fell short of his expectations although he picked up a few seats.

Gille Duceppe could not quite pull off a major upset in Quebec but he did achieve his objective of denying Harper his majority. Canadians should be thankful to Duceppe. Imagine a Harper majority and full-fledged CON agenda.

Elizabeth May of course could not garnish a single seat in the House of Commons. She would have done better in London Ontario or in British Columbia.

However, the biggest loser in all this was the Canadian public. Harper broke his own fixed date election law to impose the election. All Canadians got was a major loss of time and resources with the same results we had before the election. Harper should have been looking after the economy, but instead his ego to have a majority got the better of him and he lost his credibility in the process.

I think both CONS and Libs need a new leader. CONS need a leader who cares about Canada and not about himself alone. Libs need a leader who not only cares about Canada but also can win. It is hard to predict the future, but both these leaders should head for the exit door.

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Stephen Harper, Elizabeth May, Gilles Duceppe, Jack Layton and Stéphane Dion Revealed

CNN aired specials called "Barack Obama Revealed" and "John McCain Revealed". More recently, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were "Revealed." I thought I will try a Canadian version but in a much simpler way for my readers. I will "Reveal" the answer to, who do they aspire to be?

Stephen Harper: Of course his master George W. Bush. If given the chance, he would change the nomenclature from Prime Minister to President and build himself a Whitehouse.

Elizabeth May: She would like to be her role model David Suzuki. Environmentalist and all green.

Gilles Duceppe: But of course René Lévesque, his role model. A separate nation and he is its Prime Minister or President, whatever the case may be. I wonder if Duceppe will take up smoking too ;)

Jack Layton: Barack Obama of course. He mimics Obama in his speeches and wants to be the leader of change. At times he sounds exactly like Barack Obama and even copies his gestures and mannerisms.

Stéphane Dion: If nothing else he will like to be Prime Minister for 10 years plus like Pierre Elliott Trudeau. He would also like to be like David Suzuki, but then it would complicate the picture a bit.

Good luck to them all.

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Mark Emery - The Merchant of Happiness ;)

My Political Party? ;)


Had it with this cowboy

Waiting for him to assert some leadership

He has his own problems

He is too wrapped up in his ideas of breaking up the country

Nope too green behind the ears
Mark Emery

Marijuana party

Now here is a guy who promises that, in his party, you will surely feel good. So I park my membership and my vote here for the time being ;)

Click here to read more on Mark Emery.

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Julie Couillard and Maxime Bernier's new project

An absolute hit at Parliament Hill, soon coming to a theatre near you.

Reviews from some viewers:

Stéphane Dion: Thrilling.

Jack Layton: Tantalizing.

Gilles Duceppe: Home grown talent

Stephen Harper: The Best Horror movie of the year, full of suspense.

Peter Van Loan: Action oriented. Engaging.

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Jim Flaherty 2008 budget: Reactions

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Kosovo independence celebrated in Canada!

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Stephen Harper daring them again!

What's with the opposition?

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Stephen Harper is daring the opposition

Why is the opposition so complacent, and not obliging Harper?

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Karlheinz Schreiber - 1001 Schreiberian Nights and the Drama on Parliament Hill

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Harper delivers...

"Throne Speech" ;)

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Duceppe's Summer job ;)

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Gilles Duceppe Has Found His Niche

I'm sure he's not a bad guy, but what was he thinking when he said he was running for the leadership of the PQ and then withdraw within 24 hours.

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Who is the Greenest?

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