ARE POLITICIANS TOO AFRAID TO LOSE?

             The behavior of many of our politicians could be described by many different words. All of them bad. 

           Before I go on I must say that there are many honorable politicians. The idiots get the publicity. Hard working politicians do not get the credit and notice they deserve. 

         If I was a politician, I'd find it very hard to lose an election. It would crush my fragile self image. As a result I have not run for any kind of position which requires an election. 

       Many politicians seem to be interested in only one thing and that is to get elected. As a result they spend all their time and money for the purpose of getting elected. No stunt is too wild to gain attention. Twist their words and other politicians words. Truth goes out the window. Defend all the looney ideas (oops, they don't have any ideas)  antics they come up with. The wacky behavior is to try and get elected. 

     Our premier has recently been caught contacting the justice system regarding certain people who are facing criminal charges. The justice system is not to be influenced by politicians. There's a separation between the two for good reason. Politicians would make very poor judges. 

      So I think that many of these people are terrified to lose an election. Their egos are fragile. That's all they have to offer. They don't have ideas. They've never heard of the government setting up systems to help people. 

LIES

        More than a few lies are being told by politicians today. 

        I can think back to the late 1940's to a politician by the name of Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas didn't tell lies to further his cause. He just stood up and supported his cause until all his opponents had had enough. His cause was to help people. Tommy Douglas brought in Medi-care to Canada. 

       In Canada, John Diefenbaker was an honorable man who knew how to support his cause. Lester Pearson was instrumental in bringing in Peace Keepers. These were two Prime ministers in the 50' and 60's in Canada. 

      Over the years , I guess, politicians wanted their own things so had to play fast and dirty to get what they wanted. 

     Somewhere along the way telling lies slowly entered the political scene. 

     The smart guys knew how to tell a lie that sounded like the truth and got away with it. Then they started telling lies about each other. Elections brought lies to a much higher level. Others could tell blatant lies and didn't care if people recognized it. Trump fits that category. 

     For the sake of simplicity let's divide things into left and right. I admit that I'm a lefty. Oh boy, I just lost a bunch of followers! So I could spot  lie from the right wing from miles away. Of course, the lefties were the good guys and didn't tell lies, so I thought!

     So politicians of all stripes are using lies to get elected and further their causes. 

    I have recently begun to recognize that both sides tell lies. I should have known this a long time ago.

    What about religious denominations? Are they squeaky clean when it comes to the truth?

    It hit me when the Ukraine war started. Both sides were making good use of propaganda. 

    I lived in a time when politicians were somewhat reliable. I would like to go back to that time again.

PERSPECTIVES

    Since a very nasty and divisive political campaign came to an end yesterday, it might be time to look at the situation since it's the morning after.

      I  look back in time to see strong dynamic leaders who led good governments.  Today I dislike the  governments we have. I look forward to getting a better more perfect government in the future. 

     I look back at presidents who I admire: Carter, Kennedy, Obama, Truman. I look back at Canadian prime ministers such as: St Laurent, King, Diefenbaker, Trudeau Sr. I even got to like Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien. I think I would like  Eisenhower or Roosevelt.

     So when we look back things don't seem so bad. 

    However, today we have a different political climate. The characters we have today don't seem to have any concept that there is a country and that they serve that people. Policies should be crafted that bring about benefits for all and to make a strong country. Leaders today play fast and loose with the truth. Voters don't seem to be able to make these devils pay for not telling the truth or leading  country to strength and goodness.

    For tomorrow I'm optimistic. I hope there will be honorable great leaders step in to lead government. I hope that our governments will see the light that certain things have to be done to have a good country. They could start by seeing that something large and very concrete has to be done about climate change like yesterday.

    For me, I'm influenced by perspective. I wear a number of different colored glasses. 

    Do you have leaders from the past who you think were successful in moving the country forward. Who were these leaders? What were they like?

   Do you have hope that in the future we will have honorable people step in to lead a country for the good of all or should I say most?
   

The Ugliness Of Political Name Calling.

       Be it resolved that all politicians be prevented from name calling, and making any other untrue statements or depictions as in cartoons or photoshopping.

      Okay that's a rather rambling pie in the sky kind of resolution.

     I saw a cartoon on facebook that got me thinking about the issue of politicians slinging mud at each other.

     Now at the risk of roiling up one of my "rellies"

I will describe what I saw.

     The cartoon was produced around April 1. It showed our Prime Minister and April Fool written over him. This cartoon wasn't one of the more obnoxious ones but I thought , "How small does one have to be to create something insulting." Of course, the idea was to insult. 

     Political parties or their agents produce a steady stream of this crap. They put it out there and people copy it on their facebook page and in so doing the idea is promoted and distributed for free whether it is right or wrong. We are promoting this nonsense when we put it on our facebook page. If they didn't have free publicity there might be less negativity.

    Now the defence for the cartoon is that the Prime Minister's party does the same thing and started it. That's may true, but it's not a reason to carry on. No political party should indulge in such immature behaviour. School boys use the same excuse to keep wailing on each other. "He hit me first!" You have to separate them and send them packing in opposite directions and they forget about it in a few seconds. It's too bad we could not separate our politicians and send them in different directions for them to cool off.

    Just think how nice the world would be if we didn't have these buffoons calling each other names.
We might get something done in our country.

We Threw the Bums Out

     On Tuesday , May 5 the province of Alberta , Canada had a provincial election.

     We have four major parties that come into play during an election and three fringe parties. The four major parties are Progressive Conservative(PC),  Liberal, Wild Rose and NDP.

      The Progressive Conservatives were the incumbents. They had been in government for forty-four years. They also had 73 out of 87 seats when the election was called. They looked too powerful to put out of office.

    However, there were issues that made the voters very unhappy with the PCs

. The party seemed to think that they had the right to govern. As a result there were advantages taken of taxpayer money. Government airplanes were used for party business. 

    Alberta is an oil rich province . We have the ugly tar sands. We have all kinds of revenue from oil resources. However, the keep taxes down lobby has influenced the government. Resource revenues have been used for yearly operations. Taxes have been kept low. So when resource revenues dry up we don't have money to pay for operating the government.

   Alberta has a cycle of boom and busts. These are deep lows and very high ups. These are frustrating patterns for taxpayers and businesses. So as a result, for the present year we have a deficit of 7 billion dollars. 

    So on Tuesday the wildest thing happened. The PCs with 73 seats were reduced to ten seats and the NDP which had 4 sets was elected with 53 seats. 

    I was happy to see the bums thrown out. People were unhappy with the bums and voted with their anger.

   I know that this is a local story and that people who do not live in Canada will not be able to understand some of the issues.

    But I just had to tell somebody. When we're unhappy with politicians we can do something about it.

I'm Tired of Summits

     It seems as if there is a summit a week on something or other. The G 20 was just held in Australia. These summits are very costly and of questionable value.

      The agendas for the G 20 summits are hammered out months before the event. Many hoops are jumped through in order to come up with an agenda. Some topics are off limits because for some countries the topic is untouchable. Some topics are pushed by a country to advance it's own agenda. So by the time an agenda is agreed upon it's pretty mild. The summit happens. Everybody dances around the issue. Another dance takes place to produce a statement as to what was agreed upon. So the end of the summit comes up with some very bland statements and everybody goes home and does nothing.

      Now the G 20 wasting their time, would be fine with me but a dump truck of money is spent to prepare, operate and close the summit. Many dump trucks of money are spent on security. Apparently some people don't like these guys and would do them harm. So G 20 guys, look at yourselves and see why some people don't like you.

     Canada hosted one of these events and an enormous amount of money was spent on security and fine decorations. Many projects were constructed and I suspicion that the contractors returned money to the governing party as the price of some simple projects was enormous.

   To compound matters there is a G 7 and a G 8. 

    It's also a little sickening to see that the summit is mostly about photo opportunities. There are group pictures and many other photos lined up with symbolic back grounds. The leaders go home and display many pictures of themselves.

     Usually I'm pretty open minded about what goes on with our politicians, but the summit thing goes past my open mindedness.

     Now I'm sure most of you don't give a hoot or follow all the G's. Some of you probably didn't read this far. That's okay. I don't blame you.

     So let's tell these guys to stay home and get some work done.

     So there's my rant for the month!

Prime Minister Harper: One Big Mistake

       For non Canadian followers you are welcome to skip this post as it is on Canadian politics.

       I very seldom comment on politics , but there comes a time when one has to speak out.

       I am very angry with Prime Minister Steven Harper. Steven Harper has some tremendous difficulties when it comes to communication. He evades questions. His answers are not connected to the question. He changes answers. This guy is a very poor communicator. Harper seems to think that by talking mumbo jumbo he fools people and can go on with his debatable policies. With the senate scandal, Harper has dodged, evaded and ignored question after question. He's provided no evidence. At least Duffy is coming up with emails and telling more about the issue. It's hard to believe someone who is extremely limited in his communication abilities.

      There are other issues where Steven Harper's credibility is severely stretched. Since the last general election there have been two issues that have been worrisome. Some of the Conservative candidates election spending has been over what is allowed. The Labrador Conservative member overspent his budget, resigned and was defeated in a bye election. Others have been accused of over spending and are fighting and delaying the issues as much as possible. Robo calls were done during the election to misinform voters. Those robo calls have a direct link to Steven Harper's party. Again the Harper party is delaying as much as they possibly can to provide evidence that is being requested by Elections Canada.

     I have watched with dismay the way Harper has treated our veterans. We have Afghan veterans who need support and treatment. They are being drummed out of the army as soon as possible so that the Conservative government doesn't have to pay for treatment or support. These veterans are given a lump sum payment and off they go. How mean and inconsiderate can you get?

    I expect to hear straight , honest talk from a Prime Minister. Is that too much to ask? I thought it should come with the territory.

    Steven Harper very seldom talks to the press. He limits conferences to five chosen questions. Is Steven Harper not confident enough to support his position? Is he showing a weakness? 

    It would seem to me that any Prime Minister has everything to gain and nothing to lose by open ,direct , and clear communication.

   I can no longer believe anything from This Prime Minister.

    I also find it unbelievable that the prime Minister's Office will find this little blog and check what I am saying?

When You're Wrong, You're Wrong.

   I usually don't comment on Canadian current events because followers outside Canada aren't interested and don't know much about it. 

    A few days ago we had well known academic and  politically active mouth piece, Tom Flanagan, make a very unfortunate statement. He wondered out loud if people should be put in jail because of pictures they look at. He was referring to pornographic material and in particular pictures of children. He had made a similar statement three years ago but this time it was videoed and put on you tube. It went viral. He was dropped as a commentator from CBC. He was dropped by the Wild Rose Party from being an advisor. The Conservative party of Canada dropped him from any activity. At one time he was prime minister Harper's chief of staff.

    Now such a statement is just wrong in many ways. People should go to jail for looking at pornographic pictures involving children as children have to be harmed in order to get the pictures.

    Now some academics have jumped to Tom Flanagan's defence trying to say that  he was raising the topic to bring about discussion of the issue. Not on this one . It's just completely illogical. 

    Professors and teachers use the procedure of throwing  out challenging ideas to get their students to think about issues. This was the wrong topic to be used for discussion stimulation.

    What is really sad is that Tom Flanagan has written a very strong article defending himself. 

    I hope we've seen the last of Tom Flanagan and that others will think twice about opening their mouths with similar unthinkable ideas. 

Election? It's Over!

   Canadians take a healthy interest in American politics. American conditions affect us greatly. We are neighbors. Many of us have family on both sides of the border. ( My daughter lives in Chicago.) Our press covers U.S. politics and elections in great detail.

   I'm sure that many Americans feel as I do that I'm glad the election  over.

   Since we receive many U. S. television channels we are not spared election ads. For me ads become rather tedious. 

   It's our new services that are a little hard to take. We get a blow by blow account of the the whole affair. I have said many times in this blog that I appreciate a well reasoned logical opinion. Sadly, very little of the reasoned and logical were present in this campaign. It's sad to see that the advertising can be so negative.

    So the day after the election most people are saying that things have to change. Many good suggestions are being made as to what has to be done.  I hope that what the politicians are saying about working together gets done. Not only Americans depend on a successfully functioning government , but also your neighbors to the north...Canadians. 

    One thing following an American election gives me is a much better understanding of the U.S. government system and how it works. 

    In case you're wondering , our Canadian elections are full of attack  ads. Our Canadian politicians try to divide and conquer all in the name of winning an election and when elected do a very mediocre job. 

    Politicians in many countries could stand a tremendous improvement in their behavior and tactics. Politicians need to come up with realistic policies that can be put into effect and build our country so that we have a secure future. Promises and attack ads just for the purpose of wining an election don't bring about concrete actions.

More Political Future With the Internet

         A few days ago I posted apiece about the influence of the internet on the Egyptian and Tunisian political upheavals.

        I asked many questions that I'm sure have been asked before and was quite certain that developments were taking place some where on the use of the internet for good or evil.

      I was most surprised to hear a commentary a few days ago to the effect that the Obama administration is looking at the effects of a total shut down of internet communication. In other words they were saying if we have to shut down the internet to control communication what might be some problems.

      I was amazed the hear this thinking from a democratic country. I could see a third world dictatorial country shutting down internet communication but I never thought a democratic country would shut down internet communication. I thought our right to communicate and free speech would have been held at a higher level. I'm sure that somewhere in Canada they are looking at a similar scenario.

      How sad that in countries that have a high regard for freedom and democracy that they would consider restricting speech and communication.

Political Future With the Internet

         The world has been watching as the Tunisian regime was toppled  and another is threatened in Egypt. These events have been initiated, organized and promoted with heavy use of the Internet. It's been fascinating to watch developments as they unfold.

        These events have caused me to think about the influence of the Internet in a wide variety of situations. Voter turn out in democracies has been falling. Is the Internet a facility which could be used to increase voter participation in elections? I'm sure that the technology is present that could set up a valid voter system on the Internet. With higher voter participation the political landscape may fall on it's head. Politicians could use the Internet to their advantage as President Obama did in gaining the Democratic nomination and election to the White House. Voters could rapidly organize campaigns of recall if there were recall laws. Politicians would have to listen very carefully to the public and games played now would not be as effective.

       Now citizens are using the Internet  to bring down regimes. How long will it be before some strongman- dictator devises some scheme to maintain his grip on power by using the Internet? What will the next generation of social media look like? Face book and all the others are recent developments and their use has expanded enormously. When face Book and other social sites were introduced the use we see to day was unimaginable at that time. How will new technology which is in the pipes influence the use of present media? What new tactics will organizers come up with?

       Changes have been unexpected and rapid in Tunisia and Egypt. I'm sure that six months ago these events were not  imagined. What other countries will be changed as a result of assistance and use of social media? 

      I'm sure that I'm not the first person to ask these questions. I'm sure that many are studying the use of technology and what possibilities there are to bring about change in the political world. I just haven't looked for blogs or websites that deal with this topic.

The Problem With Political Attack Ads: Truth

         "If we don't believe in freedom  of expression for people we dispise we don't believe in it at all." Noam Chomsky

All but a very few people know that political attack ads are purposely deceitful. To me, and I'm sure most other people the truth is an extremely valuable part of our society and how that society operates in a successful manner. So why do some politicians use negative attack ads which at times are composed of absolute lies?

         Now I admit that most of the time political attack ads don't bother me because I don't watch television. I am aware of attack ads because I read the newspaper and follow current events on the net. I like to read a wide variety of political commentary. It is healthy to read various political views and to read opposing views to your own. All good commentary and debate has the possibility to make us think and examine our own views and that's a good thing.

       Political attack ads seem to be used by those who are not able to support their own views with logic and evidence. Political attack ads are used by those who have an agenda which is not up front so the attack ads are used to make it look like their position is plausible. In other words weak ideas and weaker politicians resort to attack ads. Can't support the idea: attack the opposition on a personal basis. Make the opposition look like a weirdo or kook of some kind. So gobs of money is spent on attack ads which are not only mean and nasty but not very close to the truth and in some cases outright lies.

    So why has a bee got under my bonnet now to rant about political attack ads? Recently the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) ran an attack ad for one day. There was much criticism as people thought it was way over the line as far as truth was concerned. Questions were asked and then Michael Iggnateif came on saying, "Yes, Yes ,Yes." So things were obviously taken out of such context that there was a huge backlash to the ad. Oh yes, the CPC said they were only running it for one day????

    So why do people continue to support any  group which deals in untruths? Any group which deals in untruths should be severely punished at the ballot box no matter who they are. Truth has got to have some value to it. To me truth is crucial. We cannot allow political parties to use deceit any longer. Stand up for truth.

Are We Becoming Too Self-centered?

        Okay, self-centered is a very broad topic. However, some of the behaviour I have been watching lately has got me thinking about being self-centered and maybe it has something to do with the poor conduct we see around us.

      The behaviour which has tipped me over the edge recently is the performance of our members of Parliament. Parliament is supposed to be a forum where issues are debated and decisions made for the good of the people in the country. Lately very little if any debate has been taking place. Clever debate is fascinating to watch. Lately the extreme partisanship which has been taking place is disgusting. The Conservative party plays fast and loose with the truth. Shelly Glover accused Michael Iggnatief of planning to sell pot to children because he has been considering decriminalizing marijuana. To stretch things this far is the lowest deceit possible. John Baird stood up in the house and stated that 10 000 jobs would have been lost in Canada if the United Arab Emirates had been allowed more landing rights in Canada. Baird had not one shred of evidence to make this claim. Why is such behaviour happening? They want to maintain power. They are too self-centered to look at what is good for the country.

     If we watch some people drive we have to say, "Where are they coming from?" Cutting in and out of lanes when it is not safe to do so, speeding, tail gating, throwing garbage on the road...all of these things show a total lack of consideration for other drivers and the environment. Constantly talking on cell phones and other distracting behaviours take place because people are only considering them selves rather than the safety and good of others.

    I'm not about to make a complete list of self centered behaviours . You probably have your own list. This should give you some idea of what should be unacceptable behaviour.

    Where is this coming from? What are we doing that is promoting or causing behaviour which shows limited consideration of others? Here are some of my ideas and you may well disagree with me.

    Organized recreation no doubt is very beneficial for our youth. Volunteers spend a tremendous amount of time and have expertise in coaching. However, you don't have to watch a practice session very long and you see a tremendous emphasis on winning. No emphasis on fun. Just do your best to outdo the other guy so that you can win. Tremendous pressure is put on kids by peers, parents and coaches to win. So after such extreme indoctrination, do our young people take this attitude out on the street?  So if the most important thing is to win and if you have to push someone around well that's okay.

     We have developed many programs to improve the self-esteem of young people. Good, strong self esteem is necessary. But is there collateral damage in stressing self esteem. Do some people who do not need self esteem coaching take advantage of it and then emphasize them selves much more than is necessary. Self esteem is used in some ways as an excuse for in appropriate behaviour when it could be other reasons for it. Again very kind and caring people work with youth who need coaching in self esteem to live a more productive life.

     I have to look at the posts in my blog. They are usually 100% about me and my experiences. Could I not pick the good things which are being done out there and support them? Am I also self centered and fail to recognise it?

     So I have to ask myself, am I just becoming a crotchety old man and being overly sensitive of some behaviours and single out things that bug me? Am I blaming some of the wrong things for causing self centeredness? How do we get things back on the rails so that we are far more considerate of others? Or is my question not relevant?

Stephen Harper not Trusted

       I have always found it difficult to trust statements coming from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I have kept my mouth shut before this and not criticized the prime minister. Lately, he has gone too far for me to remain quiet. Proroguing parliament has pushed me over the edge and I can no longer remain silent. To remain silent means that I approve of his deceitful methods.

        It has bothered me for a long time that Harper announces and reannounces spending projects. He seems to think that I am a fool and fall for this deceit and that I will think he's giving out more money. People who are not well informed will fall for this line. There's an old saying that goes something like this . Take me for a fool and YOU are a fool. That's how I feel. I think that this practice is morally and ethically wrong.

        Harper very quickly blames others for his lack of success in getting his legislation passed. Some of his accusations may have a smattering of fact in them. He's his own worst enemy. When he prorogued parliament he left many of the bills in the House of Commons and they are now lost. They will have to be brought forward again because of his own shiftiness .

        There are more examples that could be described , but two are enough to illustrate my point

       To put it bluntly Harper has used bully tactics and when they don't work he takes his ball and runs away.
 I can appreciate discussion and point of view which differs from mine. I cannot tolerate someone who will stoop to use deceitful tactics to get their agenda achieved and then expect us to think that he is a nice guy and we should vote for him.

Obama Rocks!

I fully agree with the choice of the Nobel Peace Prize going to President Barak Obama. Now, I know there are some who disagree with the choice and some of their reasons hold water. Yes, he has not yet achieved much in the way of concrete results...

However, I think that the total change in rhetoric is 100% necessary. The talk of the country had to change from one of "I'll beat everybody up " to one of "we will cooperate, compromise, succeed, and live peacefully".

Obama inherited two wars that he cannot just walk away from. I don't think he will start any new wars. He has to work on his own country first and gain its support for peace in the world. With so many generals with much experience he will have to work hard. Someone once said generals make great leaders, but it's hard to get them to follow. Some serious following has to be done to gain world peace.

I think Obama will be the person to bring about a much greater world peace.