With only 5 days left in this historic election we have all seen the best and the worst come out in people. I know this will be vehemently contested by some, but it seems from all I have seen through this process that the negativity and accusations thrown out from the McCain ticket has done a lot to breed and encourage some of the vile, outrageous and downright ridiculous behaviour that has been displayed among many GOP supporters.
Although I do not support the GOP ticket I find it unfortunate that McCain supporters are not being served better by McCain and Palin, using more of their time to talk about what their plans actually are, giving their supporters something positive and encouraging to hope for by voting for them.
Instead we are all being treated to some of the most ridiculous campaign tactics one could ever think of. From "Joe the Plumber" to attacks of "Socialism" towards Obama, McCain appears completely obsessed with Obama, so much so that he hardly talks of nothing else during his rallies and interviews. I don't think McCain even realizes how much free press he is giving to Obama... his persistent attacks, which change from day to day, his endless accusations and attempts at character assassination do nothing but make McCain look increasingly "small" and far from Presidential. If only he would give his supporters more hope and positive ideas about his own mandate, maybe the polls would be showing something different now.
People become weary of endless negativity, and people have not seen much "Presidential" behaviour from McCain, only an angry, sarcastic, bitter little man who appears more obsessed with his opponent than he does showing the American people what he himself has to offer.
It's sad to see a "hero" reduced to what he has become.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Socialist Agenda?
As a Canadian I have been watching this election as an impartial observer, trying to be as informed as possible.
While Americans draw nearer to election day, what I have seen from the McCain/Palin campaign I find to be nothing short of desperate and embarrassing.
The notion of a clean, above board campaign has been completely destroyed, replaced with what comes across as an angry and defensive little man, whom in my opinion has thrown all "honor" to the wayside.
Every week it's a new attack... "Socialist", "Terrorist" and now his campaign looks nothing short of "manic" and out of control.
It's sad to see a good man resort to such petty attempts to dis-credit the Obama ticket, basing his entire campaign on slander and cheap attacks, rather than outlining anything substantive.
Watching McCain's interviews this last stretch has been sad. I can not even imagine an American President meeting with foreign leaders acting like McCain has... defensive, angry and unable to provide a straight answer, instead throwing misleading and reckless attacks around. Not something I would think is good for diplomacy.
I feel it safe to say that many Canadians truly hope for the change America needs... the change we feel Obama will finally bring to his own country and the world stage.
While Americans draw nearer to election day, what I have seen from the McCain/Palin campaign I find to be nothing short of desperate and embarrassing.
The notion of a clean, above board campaign has been completely destroyed, replaced with what comes across as an angry and defensive little man, whom in my opinion has thrown all "honor" to the wayside.
Every week it's a new attack... "Socialist", "Terrorist" and now his campaign looks nothing short of "manic" and out of control.
It's sad to see a good man resort to such petty attempts to dis-credit the Obama ticket, basing his entire campaign on slander and cheap attacks, rather than outlining anything substantive.
Watching McCain's interviews this last stretch has been sad. I can not even imagine an American President meeting with foreign leaders acting like McCain has... defensive, angry and unable to provide a straight answer, instead throwing misleading and reckless attacks around. Not something I would think is good for diplomacy.
I feel it safe to say that many Canadians truly hope for the change America needs... the change we feel Obama will finally bring to his own country and the world stage.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Saturday Morning
Here we are, 6:30 am on a Saturday morning. One might wonder what I'd be doing up so early on a Saturday... and I just don't have an answer.
I would think considering both the amount and the type of medications I'm on that I would sleep for 14 hours at a time. Sadly I don't. Seems I can only sleep in 4-6 hour increments at best.
So, here I am once again... ass planted on couch, too much of that delicious, flavoured whitener in my coffee, and CNN assaulting all my senses on the happenings of the day.
My 6 month old cat shit in my bathroom sink last night. Why would she do that? How did she just decide it might be a good idea to cozy in and take a big, stinky shit in the sink?
She sees us brush our teeth and wash our hands there. It has nothing remotely resembling sand, and it really would have been impossible to carry out this caper without getting her own feet in it.
My fiance' and I are at a loss as to how to prevent this from happening again. I stuck her nose in it like you would a dog, but considering she still can't get a handle on drinking from her water dish yet, something tells me this punishment was lost on her.
So I hear that Sarah Palin will be on SNL tonight. Is this a fucking joke? I think the Republican candidates have finally accepted the outcome of their bizarre campaign. Obviously they are being eclipsed by Obama so Palin might as well soak up her last 15 minutes of fame as much as she can. The fact that she's doing it mocking herself and this election sums it all up.
The sad thing really is that in this election, fact really will be stranger than fiction
I would think considering both the amount and the type of medications I'm on that I would sleep for 14 hours at a time. Sadly I don't. Seems I can only sleep in 4-6 hour increments at best.
So, here I am once again... ass planted on couch, too much of that delicious, flavoured whitener in my coffee, and CNN assaulting all my senses on the happenings of the day.
My 6 month old cat shit in my bathroom sink last night. Why would she do that? How did she just decide it might be a good idea to cozy in and take a big, stinky shit in the sink?
She sees us brush our teeth and wash our hands there. It has nothing remotely resembling sand, and it really would have been impossible to carry out this caper without getting her own feet in it.
My fiance' and I are at a loss as to how to prevent this from happening again. I stuck her nose in it like you would a dog, but considering she still can't get a handle on drinking from her water dish yet, something tells me this punishment was lost on her.
So I hear that Sarah Palin will be on SNL tonight. Is this a fucking joke? I think the Republican candidates have finally accepted the outcome of their bizarre campaign. Obviously they are being eclipsed by Obama so Palin might as well soak up her last 15 minutes of fame as much as she can. The fact that she's doing it mocking herself and this election sums it all up.
The sad thing really is that in this election, fact really will be stranger than fiction
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Morning After
It seems we had a general election in Canada yesterday. One would never know it today... nothing has changed. Our government is exactly as it was before tax payers paid the bill for millions of dollars spent on this redundancy.
We still have a Conservative Minority Government, the leaders from the "other" parties are patting themselves on the back for their "great victories", and we as Canadians are still glued to CNN, anxiously waiting for tonight's debate between the U.S Presidential Candidates... and Sarah Palin is still a racist, moronic redneck who identifies with "Hockey Moms" across America.
What a joke!
We still have a Conservative Minority Government, the leaders from the "other" parties are patting themselves on the back for their "great victories", and we as Canadians are still glued to CNN, anxiously waiting for tonight's debate between the U.S Presidential Candidates... and Sarah Palin is still a racist, moronic redneck who identifies with "Hockey Moms" across America.
What a joke!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Election Day
The big day... the Canadian General Election. A very important day for our country, at least one would think.
I would like to think I'm pretty well informed, reasonably intelligent, savvy to how most things that impact our way of life works... but no matter how hard I try, I just can not wrap my head around Canadian politics.
In America it's very simple. Each President is required a four year term and eligible for a second, but no more than two terms. I get that... there are the parameters and you abide by this system like it or not. The only thing that could possibly change this is if a President were to be impeached, which I believe has only happened once with Richard Nixon.
So here is where my confusion comes in to play. Why does it seem that a Prime Minister can call an election whenever he or she feels things aren't going their way?
It was only 18 months ago that Mr. Harper was elected in to office by the popular vote. Granted he has been working within a minority government, but wouldn't one think that this person would have an obligation to fulfill a full term of sorts, even if policies aren't working to his liking?
I just don't get it. From what I can understand the PM can ask to dissolve parliament at any time they feel it is necessary to "shake things up" within their government.
Maybe I'm naive, likely I'm just not knowledgeable on our rules of government, but to me it seems a simple matter of taking your toys from the sandbox and going home when matters are not going your way.
Am I so wrong in thinking this? Is their some special, advantageous reasoning behind this? Does it really affect and subsequently help the Canadian public? Will it ultimately ensure our Government works effectively in meeting the needs of the people?
About the only positive outcome from all this I hear from people is that everybody gets to leave work early, and maybe even vote.
Really seems like yet another huge waste of time and money... something our Government, regardless of party, thinks we have plenty of.
After all, what do we really need to worry about? Our banks are still in tact, nobody's RRSP's are vanishing, and we haven't heard of any huge bailout for our economic stability. Let's face it, we're all sitting glued to CNN, waiting anxiously for the outcome of the U.S. Presidential Election.
As far as many of us are concerned, whom ever becomes the next President of the United States seems much more on the minds of Canadians than the useless bickering between some guy with a sweater and some other guy who can barely speak English.
Let's face it, nothing will change, nothing has ever changed. We still have the hated GST, Quebec still wants to separate from Canada while maintaining all the financial handouts, and voting in B.C is nothing more than a courtesy.
As we get closer to becoming a North American Union with a Continental Currency, what happens with our neighbours becomes more relevant every year... and by default making our "Kangaroo Court" government not just increasingly solvent but outright obsolete.
So I guess this brings me back to my original question. Why do Canadian politicians get to just throw up their arms and quit whenever things don't go their way? Seems to me that it's pretty hard to really move ahead and resolve tough issues when the powers that be just fold when they have a bad hand.
I'm curious to see how government will work when The North American Union comes in to play, and where will Quebec go when that happens?
I would like to think I'm pretty well informed, reasonably intelligent, savvy to how most things that impact our way of life works... but no matter how hard I try, I just can not wrap my head around Canadian politics.
In America it's very simple. Each President is required a four year term and eligible for a second, but no more than two terms. I get that... there are the parameters and you abide by this system like it or not. The only thing that could possibly change this is if a President were to be impeached, which I believe has only happened once with Richard Nixon.
So here is where my confusion comes in to play. Why does it seem that a Prime Minister can call an election whenever he or she feels things aren't going their way?
It was only 18 months ago that Mr. Harper was elected in to office by the popular vote. Granted he has been working within a minority government, but wouldn't one think that this person would have an obligation to fulfill a full term of sorts, even if policies aren't working to his liking?
I just don't get it. From what I can understand the PM can ask to dissolve parliament at any time they feel it is necessary to "shake things up" within their government.
Maybe I'm naive, likely I'm just not knowledgeable on our rules of government, but to me it seems a simple matter of taking your toys from the sandbox and going home when matters are not going your way.
Am I so wrong in thinking this? Is their some special, advantageous reasoning behind this? Does it really affect and subsequently help the Canadian public? Will it ultimately ensure our Government works effectively in meeting the needs of the people?
About the only positive outcome from all this I hear from people is that everybody gets to leave work early, and maybe even vote.
Really seems like yet another huge waste of time and money... something our Government, regardless of party, thinks we have plenty of.
After all, what do we really need to worry about? Our banks are still in tact, nobody's RRSP's are vanishing, and we haven't heard of any huge bailout for our economic stability. Let's face it, we're all sitting glued to CNN, waiting anxiously for the outcome of the U.S. Presidential Election.
As far as many of us are concerned, whom ever becomes the next President of the United States seems much more on the minds of Canadians than the useless bickering between some guy with a sweater and some other guy who can barely speak English.
Let's face it, nothing will change, nothing has ever changed. We still have the hated GST, Quebec still wants to separate from Canada while maintaining all the financial handouts, and voting in B.C is nothing more than a courtesy.
As we get closer to becoming a North American Union with a Continental Currency, what happens with our neighbours becomes more relevant every year... and by default making our "Kangaroo Court" government not just increasingly solvent but outright obsolete.
So I guess this brings me back to my original question. Why do Canadian politicians get to just throw up their arms and quit whenever things don't go their way? Seems to me that it's pretty hard to really move ahead and resolve tough issues when the powers that be just fold when they have a bad hand.
I'm curious to see how government will work when The North American Union comes in to play, and where will Quebec go when that happens?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
What's Your Favourite Colour?
I was nothing but a bulge in my Dad's Levis as he drove my Mom to some make out spot in his old Impala, back at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Yet something tells me that we as a "civil society" have not learned much since those historic times, except maybe how better to not be perceived as a racist.
Since injuring my back a few months ago, the indentation of my ass on our couch has deepened greatly, and I will admit that CNN has become the centrifuge of my existence for much of that time.
The network's vast array of political pundits, weather experts, and policy critics always keep me riveted, anxiously waiting for the next juicy scandal or deadly disaster, expertly delivered with one of their huge arsenal of graphic laden sound bites, promising me even more after the next commercial break for Erectile Dysfunction.
And so brings me to the most important Presidential elections in history... that between Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic "Junior" Senator, Barack Obama.
It did not come at all as a surprise before race would rear it's ugly head in this campaign. Or should I say, how long before it was blown wide open as opposed to just lurking in the shadows amidst other fears of "change" from the hard core, evangelical core of Republican witch hunters.
How sad it must be for Mr. McCain having been reduced to defend his opponent at Republican rallies that the "Scary, Arab Black Man" is actually a good person and not a threat to the great American way of life, and to convince that his counter-part is not a terrorist as his eager, yet very mis-guided running mate so un-ceremoniously declared at an earlier rally.
One could see and feel the humiliation in McCain's face at having to take the microphone away from a little, gray haired racist, deflecting the "boo-ing" from his own supporters and trying as hard as he could to come to the defense of his opponent, a man he clearly has much disdain for to begin with, just to be able to save face in the media and not be perceived for what he really is.
All of this coming at a time when the real issues, the crisis on Wall Street and the topics that affect all Americans, lost jobs, lost homes and lost health care need to be Issue #1 .
McCain has distracted from his campaign yet again... except now he's not playing "The Maverick", coming to the aid of Americans in peril or to lend his help to Wall Street. No, now he's trying to fix his follower's perceptions, curb their outbursts, and ultimately try to save his own ass... after all, it was their own attacks throughout this campaign that brought this ugliness to their door step.
Has all the rhetoric really made Middle America afraid of Barack Obama? Or would it be more accurate to question how far America really has advanced in it's thinking since the Civil Rights Movement?
Frankly I find the fact that this issue has even been raised, in itself answers these questions.
In all fairness to Mr. McCain, let's place some of this bullshit on all shoulders responsible.
I find it sickening that CNN finds the need, time after time, to assemble their multi-cultured panel of pundits to start raising and debating issues and questions where none likely existed to begin with.
Seriously, would most of us even had taken the time to assess the potential dangers in Obama's middle name had it not been raised and debated to death on CNN? And let's not forget the countless times they've cut to the snippet of the redneck Sheriff in Ass Rape, South Carolina who used Obama's middle name during a rally... obviously with the intent of rousing the pig farmers. Would any of us during this campaign have given it a second thought if not for the shit disturbers on CNN? No, probably not, but then again, that's what makes for good politics and good ratings after all.
I continue to watch, consumed by it all, anxiously waiting for the next juicy sound bite, accusation or revelation as to whether Obama is circumsized or not.
Oh, and don't forget... we have an election on Tuesday as well. I'm totally voting for the black guy.
Since injuring my back a few months ago, the indentation of my ass on our couch has deepened greatly, and I will admit that CNN has become the centrifuge of my existence for much of that time.
The network's vast array of political pundits, weather experts, and policy critics always keep me riveted, anxiously waiting for the next juicy scandal or deadly disaster, expertly delivered with one of their huge arsenal of graphic laden sound bites, promising me even more after the next commercial break for Erectile Dysfunction.
And so brings me to the most important Presidential elections in history... that between Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic "Junior" Senator, Barack Obama.
It did not come at all as a surprise before race would rear it's ugly head in this campaign. Or should I say, how long before it was blown wide open as opposed to just lurking in the shadows amidst other fears of "change" from the hard core, evangelical core of Republican witch hunters.
How sad it must be for Mr. McCain having been reduced to defend his opponent at Republican rallies that the "Scary, Arab Black Man" is actually a good person and not a threat to the great American way of life, and to convince that his counter-part is not a terrorist as his eager, yet very mis-guided running mate so un-ceremoniously declared at an earlier rally.
One could see and feel the humiliation in McCain's face at having to take the microphone away from a little, gray haired racist, deflecting the "boo-ing" from his own supporters and trying as hard as he could to come to the defense of his opponent, a man he clearly has much disdain for to begin with, just to be able to save face in the media and not be perceived for what he really is.
All of this coming at a time when the real issues, the crisis on Wall Street and the topics that affect all Americans, lost jobs, lost homes and lost health care need to be Issue #1 .
McCain has distracted from his campaign yet again... except now he's not playing "The Maverick", coming to the aid of Americans in peril or to lend his help to Wall Street. No, now he's trying to fix his follower's perceptions, curb their outbursts, and ultimately try to save his own ass... after all, it was their own attacks throughout this campaign that brought this ugliness to their door step.
Has all the rhetoric really made Middle America afraid of Barack Obama? Or would it be more accurate to question how far America really has advanced in it's thinking since the Civil Rights Movement?
Frankly I find the fact that this issue has even been raised, in itself answers these questions.
In all fairness to Mr. McCain, let's place some of this bullshit on all shoulders responsible.
I find it sickening that CNN finds the need, time after time, to assemble their multi-cultured panel of pundits to start raising and debating issues and questions where none likely existed to begin with.
Seriously, would most of us even had taken the time to assess the potential dangers in Obama's middle name had it not been raised and debated to death on CNN? And let's not forget the countless times they've cut to the snippet of the redneck Sheriff in Ass Rape, South Carolina who used Obama's middle name during a rally... obviously with the intent of rousing the pig farmers. Would any of us during this campaign have given it a second thought if not for the shit disturbers on CNN? No, probably not, but then again, that's what makes for good politics and good ratings after all.
I continue to watch, consumed by it all, anxiously waiting for the next juicy sound bite, accusation or revelation as to whether Obama is circumsized or not.
Oh, and don't forget... we have an election on Tuesday as well. I'm totally voting for the black guy.
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