3.13.2009
Political P.S.
I realized that I have another quick, completely unrelated subject I wanted to mention today. But since it's completely unrelated I didn't want to add it as a P.S. to my previous post (and I'm kind of amused by how the title of this post could easily be misread as Political B.S.)...
The Budget.
The Budget that tosses pay equity out the window.
The Budget that Ignatieff the Gutless Wonder passed without a fight.
So let me just do a little mental tally:
(1) Harper may think that his so-called "apology" for residential schools makes up for his government's bad record on Native issues, but it really doesn't (anyone else remember Harper's opposition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People?). So I know Harper doesn't value the fact that I'm Métis.
(2) Harper has been very clear about how little he values the arts, both in his speech and his budget cuts, so I know he doesn't value the fact that I'm an artist. And now...
(3) He's throwing pay equity out the window for women who work in the federal public sector. Combine this with the fact that there are backroom anti-abortion caucus meetings even though Harper claims that he doesn't want to re-open the abortion debate (if that's really true, why does this caucus still exist?) and it's pretty clear to me that Harper doesn't value the fact that I'm a woman.
Yep, that's our "progressive" government... oh, that's right, they dropped the "progressive" from their party name. Well, at least they've been honest about one thing.
And so how does our new leader of the opposition stand up to this bully of a government? He rolls over and does their bidding. Well done, Ignatieff, well done... I get to keep my nickname for you: The Gutless Wonder.
The Budget.
The Budget that tosses pay equity out the window.
The Budget that Ignatieff the Gutless Wonder passed without a fight.
So let me just do a little mental tally:
(1) Harper may think that his so-called "apology" for residential schools makes up for his government's bad record on Native issues, but it really doesn't (anyone else remember Harper's opposition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People?). So I know Harper doesn't value the fact that I'm Métis.
(2) Harper has been very clear about how little he values the arts, both in his speech and his budget cuts, so I know he doesn't value the fact that I'm an artist. And now...
(3) He's throwing pay equity out the window for women who work in the federal public sector. Combine this with the fact that there are backroom anti-abortion caucus meetings even though Harper claims that he doesn't want to re-open the abortion debate (if that's really true, why does this caucus still exist?) and it's pretty clear to me that Harper doesn't value the fact that I'm a woman.
Yep, that's our "progressive" government... oh, that's right, they dropped the "progressive" from their party name. Well, at least they've been honest about one thing.
And so how does our new leader of the opposition stand up to this bully of a government? He rolls over and does their bidding. Well done, Ignatieff, well done... I get to keep my nickname for you: The Gutless Wonder.
Labels: harper bashing, politics, rant
12.11.2008
Bald Faced Lies or Broken Promises?
Has Stephen Harper been feeding us bald faced lies or simply breaking promises left, right and centre? Proposed senate reforms from Harper included electing senators and fixing terms to eight years. On the day after the federal election, Harper revealed he might appoint senators if the Liberal-dominated chamber tried to block any bills passed in the House. Now he's decided to stuff the senate before Christmas in case there's a coalition government.
After calling an early election when he had campaigned on fixed term elections, trying to eliminate public campaign financing, covertly eavesdropping on opposition parties, then proroguing Parliament to avoid a vote of non-confidence, does anybody actually find him credible anymore? Anybody? In particular, I'm asking the 36% of voters who made the conscious decision to vote for this dishonest politician if they still think they made the right choice. Do you? If so, tell me why. Because I truly can't see the merit in this man.
There have been plenty of politicians that I don't agree with or dislike, but few that I distrust as much as Harper. I'm pretty comfortable lumping him in with the likes of George W. Bush (though Harper is smarter than Dubya, which makes him more dangerous) and Richard Nixon (though I think I might be doing Nixon a disservice with that comparison).
If our political situation doesn't improve, I'm seriously tempted to move down to the States with Obama at the helm. I have dual citizenship so it's a real possibility. Many Canadian artists end up in the States anyway, so with Harper set on destroying the arts that he thinks "ordinary Canadians" don't support on top of messing up the whole country, why not move?
Ignatieff... it's all up to you now. You've been handed the Liberal party on a platter. Don't frack it up.
After calling an early election when he had campaigned on fixed term elections, trying to eliminate public campaign financing, covertly eavesdropping on opposition parties, then proroguing Parliament to avoid a vote of non-confidence, does anybody actually find him credible anymore? Anybody? In particular, I'm asking the 36% of voters who made the conscious decision to vote for this dishonest politician if they still think they made the right choice. Do you? If so, tell me why. Because I truly can't see the merit in this man.
There have been plenty of politicians that I don't agree with or dislike, but few that I distrust as much as Harper. I'm pretty comfortable lumping him in with the likes of George W. Bush (though Harper is smarter than Dubya, which makes him more dangerous) and Richard Nixon (though I think I might be doing Nixon a disservice with that comparison).
If our political situation doesn't improve, I'm seriously tempted to move down to the States with Obama at the helm. I have dual citizenship so it's a real possibility. Many Canadian artists end up in the States anyway, so with Harper set on destroying the arts that he thinks "ordinary Canadians" don't support on top of messing up the whole country, why not move?
Ignatieff... it's all up to you now. You've been handed the Liberal party on a platter. Don't frack it up.
Labels: harper bashing, politics
12.02.2008
My Letter in Support of a Coalition Party
I just finished emailing Governor General Michaelle Jean to show my support of a coalition government between the Liberals and NDP, with the support of the Bloc Quebecois and Green Party. If you believe this would be a better government than Harper's comedy of errors, I highly recommend that you do the same. This is the text of the email that I sent:
The email address to send your letter to is: info@gg.ca
Some other links:
I'm in favour of the Liberal/NDP Coalition Government Facebook Group
Canadians for a Progressive Coalition - Coalition Progressiste Canadienne
Canadians for a Progressive Coalition video
Madam Right Honourable Michaelle Jean,
I want to write to express my support for the coalition that was formed between the Liberals, New Democratic Party and the Bloc Quebecois on December 1st, which has indicated its desire to form a government to replace the present Conservative government. The Harper government has demonstrated its inability to govern as a minority and to work constructively with Parliament. A coalition government by Stephane Dion and Jack Layton, with the support of the Bloc and the Green Party, would ensure that Parliament could return to work efficiently with the confidence of the majority of members of Parliament. I lived in Ontario during the Liberal-NDP accord and I strongly believe it was one of the best political eras of that province. I would be thrilled to see such cooperation on a federal level.
If a vote of non-confidence is put forward, I ask you to please accept the offer of opposition parties to form a coalition government.
Sincerely...
The email address to send your letter to is: info@gg.ca
Some other links:
I'm in favour of the Liberal/NDP Coalition Government Facebook Group
Canadians for a Progressive Coalition - Coalition Progressiste Canadienne
Canadians for a Progressive Coalition video
Labels: harper bashing, politics
11.30.2008
Stephen Harper: A Grasping, Desperate, Little Man
I'm too preoccupied with personal concerns at the moment to whip myself up into a frenzy about Harper's latest bullshit plan, but I'm worried enough about it to at least comment...
Harper was afraid of losing by-elections so he called an early election, conveniently ignoring the law that he passed fixing election dates to four year terms. He still couldn't get the other parties out of his hair by winning a majority though, so now he's trying to do it by taking away the money that has always gone to parties that have won a minimum percentage of votes. (Gee, maybe if you hadn't wasted everybody's money by calling an early election, and had focused on the economy rather than campaigning, you wouldn't have this deficit that you're claiming you need this money for!)
Anyway, I've always thought that this small per-vote subsidy is a fair way of making every single vote count. Even if the person you vote for doesn't win, if they have enough support they'll get back some of the money they spent campaigning. This helps level the playing field for the parties that don't have deep governmental pockets but do have public support.
Please don't let Harper kill public campaign financing in Canada.
The world seems to get a little less fair every day. Don't let this grasping little man make it a lot less fair in one fell swoop.
P.S. In case this stupid thing does pass, I encourage everyone who did not vote for the Conservatives (which is over 60% of voters in this country) to donate $10 to the party that you DID vote for.
P.P.S. I would also normally rant about Harper's Nixon-like tendencies of listening in on private conversations between political rivals, with the Tories broadcasting a private conversation between the NDP and Bloc Quebecois about a possible coalition party. But I'll have to let someone else wave that flag for now.
Harper was afraid of losing by-elections so he called an early election, conveniently ignoring the law that he passed fixing election dates to four year terms. He still couldn't get the other parties out of his hair by winning a majority though, so now he's trying to do it by taking away the money that has always gone to parties that have won a minimum percentage of votes. (Gee, maybe if you hadn't wasted everybody's money by calling an early election, and had focused on the economy rather than campaigning, you wouldn't have this deficit that you're claiming you need this money for!)
Anyway, I've always thought that this small per-vote subsidy is a fair way of making every single vote count. Even if the person you vote for doesn't win, if they have enough support they'll get back some of the money they spent campaigning. This helps level the playing field for the parties that don't have deep governmental pockets but do have public support.
Please don't let Harper kill public campaign financing in Canada.
The world seems to get a little less fair every day. Don't let this grasping little man make it a lot less fair in one fell swoop.
P.S. In case this stupid thing does pass, I encourage everyone who did not vote for the Conservatives (which is over 60% of voters in this country) to donate $10 to the party that you DID vote for.
P.P.S. I would also normally rant about Harper's Nixon-like tendencies of listening in on private conversations between political rivals, with the Tories broadcasting a private conversation between the NDP and Bloc Quebecois about a possible coalition party. But I'll have to let someone else wave that flag for now.
Labels: harper bashing, politics
11.04.2008
The Big Catch Up
I guess this will be a massive catch up post. First of all...
Shame on you, Mr. Harper, for breaking your original campaign promise of no early elections and for wasting Canada's time and money to get essentially the same minority government you had before. And shame on those Canadian voters who voted this liar back into office. But greater shame to those 40% of eligible voters who didn't bother to exercise their democratic right and so let this imbecile be voted back into office (though if you tried to vote but the new, under-publicized changes to voter identification resulted in you getting turned away from the polls, my apologies). Congratulations to Jack Layton for strengthening the New Democratic Party by eight seats! And now we'll see what happens to poor Dion. I don't blame him for losing the election. I blame Gerard Kennedy for making Dion leader of the Liberal Party in the first place. Dion's a good guy but lacks the charisma needed to oust Harper. So I'll wager that Ignatieff will end up the next Liberal leader, which was the expected result last time. Though I've still got my fingers crossed that it will be Bob Rae.
But enough about the Canadian election, now let's hope the Americans choose more wisely!
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival is a bit of a blur to me. Participating in the pitch workshop and session were great (Deborah Day's workshop was a truly positive experience) and very educational (with the pitch session a crashing-down-to-earth reminder that my artistic sensibility isn't really broadcast friendly) but I did end up missing a lot of screenings because I was so focused on my pitch. (But I got to see "Before Tomorrow," the film by the Arnait Collective from Nunavut, and I highly recommend it. And I think my favourite film from the experimental program that "Coda" screened in had to be "Alice Eaton," a rather gothic flavoured film that used highly-stylized characters from Alice in Wonderland as inspiration to tell the story.) Next time I go to imagineNATIVE, I'd still like to have a film screening but I'll be glad to have more free time and get more involved in the festival. And don't get me started talking about how great it was to be back in Toronto, otherwise I'll start waxing rhapsodic about the food (and there might be drool, which would not be pretty).
My older cat has been quite sick and requiring what feels like constant treatment (but I think it’s more like constant worry) so all of my "free time" and "extra money" has been focused on her lately (I felt it necessary to use the quotation marks since I rarely feel that I have time or money to excess anyway). I almost didn't go to imagineNATIVE because I was so worried about leaving her. As it was, she threw a small blood clot the day after I got back which convinced me that I'm not leaving her again until things change. I anticipate that my resulting hibernation will continue until either her condition improves or she needs to be put down (which will then, undoubtedly, result in a different kind of hibernation). Oh and for those who are keeping track, this current state of affairs had an "interesting" effect on my pitch session at the film festival... when I got to the euthanasia scene in my pitch, I had to struggle to maintain composure (which I then proceeded to lose seconds later anyway... *sigh*). Oh well, at least it shows I’m "connected" to the material, right?
And that's the kind of day... er... several weeks... it’s been.
Shame on you, Mr. Harper, for breaking your original campaign promise of no early elections and for wasting Canada's time and money to get essentially the same minority government you had before. And shame on those Canadian voters who voted this liar back into office. But greater shame to those 40% of eligible voters who didn't bother to exercise their democratic right and so let this imbecile be voted back into office (though if you tried to vote but the new, under-publicized changes to voter identification resulted in you getting turned away from the polls, my apologies). Congratulations to Jack Layton for strengthening the New Democratic Party by eight seats! And now we'll see what happens to poor Dion. I don't blame him for losing the election. I blame Gerard Kennedy for making Dion leader of the Liberal Party in the first place. Dion's a good guy but lacks the charisma needed to oust Harper. So I'll wager that Ignatieff will end up the next Liberal leader, which was the expected result last time. Though I've still got my fingers crossed that it will be Bob Rae.
But enough about the Canadian election, now let's hope the Americans choose more wisely!
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival is a bit of a blur to me. Participating in the pitch workshop and session were great (Deborah Day's workshop was a truly positive experience) and very educational (with the pitch session a crashing-down-to-earth reminder that my artistic sensibility isn't really broadcast friendly) but I did end up missing a lot of screenings because I was so focused on my pitch. (But I got to see "Before Tomorrow," the film by the Arnait Collective from Nunavut, and I highly recommend it. And I think my favourite film from the experimental program that "Coda" screened in had to be "Alice Eaton," a rather gothic flavoured film that used highly-stylized characters from Alice in Wonderland as inspiration to tell the story.) Next time I go to imagineNATIVE, I'd still like to have a film screening but I'll be glad to have more free time and get more involved in the festival. And don't get me started talking about how great it was to be back in Toronto, otherwise I'll start waxing rhapsodic about the food (and there might be drool, which would not be pretty).
My older cat has been quite sick and requiring what feels like constant treatment (but I think it’s more like constant worry) so all of my "free time" and "extra money" has been focused on her lately (I felt it necessary to use the quotation marks since I rarely feel that I have time or money to excess anyway). I almost didn't go to imagineNATIVE because I was so worried about leaving her. As it was, she threw a small blood clot the day after I got back which convinced me that I'm not leaving her again until things change. I anticipate that my resulting hibernation will continue until either her condition improves or she needs to be put down (which will then, undoubtedly, result in a different kind of hibernation). Oh and for those who are keeping track, this current state of affairs had an "interesting" effect on my pitch session at the film festival... when I got to the euthanasia scene in my pitch, I had to struggle to maintain composure (which I then proceeded to lose seconds later anyway... *sigh*). Oh well, at least it shows I’m "connected" to the material, right?
And that's the kind of day... er... several weeks... it’s been.
Labels: animals, film, harper bashing, politics
10.09.2008
You Have a Choice
I found this when I was visiting AnyoneButHarper.ca:
I also wanted to take a moment to remind people that voting for a candidate who doesn't win, is NOT a wasted vote. EVERY VOTE for a party gives them up to $8 of federal funding between elections, regardless of whether they win or not. These tax dollars are offered to parties upon receiving 2% of the popular vote. All 5 major parties -- Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, Bloc Québécois and the Green Party -- receive federal funding.
So even if you live in a Conservative stronghold like Calgary (which I do) it is ABSOLUTELY WORTHWHILE to vote for the party that you really support. Even voting for a candidate who does not belong to one of those 5 parties counts. It's a protest vote. You're showing the government that you don't support them (and hopefully showing them the ideas that you do support). NO VOTE IS WASTED. So please vote on October 14!
(If you have any questions about the candidates or polling stations in your riding, head over to Elections Canada.)
I also wanted to take a moment to remind people that voting for a candidate who doesn't win, is NOT a wasted vote. EVERY VOTE for a party gives them up to $8 of federal funding between elections, regardless of whether they win or not. These tax dollars are offered to parties upon receiving 2% of the popular vote. All 5 major parties -- Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, Bloc Québécois and the Green Party -- receive federal funding.
So even if you live in a Conservative stronghold like Calgary (which I do) it is ABSOLUTELY WORTHWHILE to vote for the party that you really support. Even voting for a candidate who does not belong to one of those 5 parties counts. It's a protest vote. You're showing the government that you don't support them (and hopefully showing them the ideas that you do support). NO VOTE IS WASTED. So please vote on October 14!
(If you have any questions about the candidates or polling stations in your riding, head over to Elections Canada.)
Labels: harper bashing, politics
10.04.2008
A Time For Certainty
Okay, I know I said I was trying to avoid talking about politics right now because it's just so frustrating, but...
Stephen Harper is trying to tell us in his content-free TV ads that "it's a time for certainty," not for the actual concrete proposals that other leaders such as Dion, Layton and May are putting forward. Well, Mr. Harper, one of the few things that I am completely certain about in this election is that you have spent the past two years destroying this country. But I agree with you about one thing: it IS a time for certainty. The certainty of electing somebody who can put this country back together. And I am CERTAIN that leader is not you, Mr. Harper.
P.S. "Ordinary people" do care about the arts! (Check out this article by Margaret Atwood that I posted on Weirdgrrl's Words.)
P.P.S. This post has made me want to add a new label to my blog. Now, there won't just be a "bush bashing" label, a brand new "harper bashing" label has just been added to keep it company.
Stephen Harper is trying to tell us in his content-free TV ads that "it's a time for certainty," not for the actual concrete proposals that other leaders such as Dion, Layton and May are putting forward. Well, Mr. Harper, one of the few things that I am completely certain about in this election is that you have spent the past two years destroying this country. But I agree with you about one thing: it IS a time for certainty. The certainty of electing somebody who can put this country back together. And I am CERTAIN that leader is not you, Mr. Harper.
P.S. "Ordinary people" do care about the arts! (Check out this article by Margaret Atwood that I posted on Weirdgrrl's Words.)
P.P.S. This post has made me want to add a new label to my blog. Now, there won't just be a "bush bashing" label, a brand new "harper bashing" label has just been added to keep it company.
Labels: harper bashing, politics
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