"I'm from Ottawa and I'm here to help"

This was on Sun News the other day.  Ezra Levant hosts Daniel Smith, Wild Rose Alliance Leader, on The Source.  They talk about Oil Sands regulations and who is best suited to make those regulations.



Both the PC's and the Federal Conservatives have gone warmist.  I'd rather not see regulations based on a progressive superstition come at the expense of real concerns like air and water quality.  That is the real tragedy of the Global Warming myth.  It not only hurts the economy, but liberty and the environment as well.

Speaking of the Senate...

This is funny.

Reform the Senate

I want Senate reform.  I want a triple E Senate: Elected, Equal, and Effective.

I'm not however, very bent out of shape about the recent appointments.  All in due course, I'm sure.  Imagine 4 years went by with a majority in the House and the Senate, and no reforms were made.  That would be a serious problem wouldn't it?

I'm also one of the people who thinks Harper is a Grand Master of tactical politics.  Is there any proof that he isn't?  Well you have Andrew Coyne's opinion.  Many an evening I've heard Coyne on CBC telling us the opposite.  That Harper was a bumbler and his success was just an illusion of luck and a swelling conservative tide.

Coyne also thinks a Carbon Tax is swell, along with putting tolls on public roads to reduce traffic (and impoverished drivers).  Don't forget Coyne voted Liberal in the last election and publicly endorsed them.

I think that settles it.  I could make a better case for Stephen Harper's very excellent maneuvers since taking over the Canadian Alliance but that is better in another post.    Lets take Coyne's negative assertions as proof positive that Stephen Harper is a genius for politics.  Senate Reform is 100% politics. 

I doubt the government has suddenly lost its political senses.  Its just not in character.  I believe that the 3 Senate appointments accomplishes 3 important things.

1. It pleases the Premiers who don't want Senate Reform.
2. It strengthens the Senate Majority.
3. It enrages everyone else.

Good!  Lets make a big clamor for Senate Reform.  Its the right thing to do after all and the government gets to bend to public pressure.  I like when the government bends to public pressure.  We are the boss.  Harper wants to do this anyway and the more noise we make the easier it will be for him to say to Quebec and anyone else "sorry but the people demand it."   

We do demand it too.  Charest and some skidded Senators will raise a stink but I don't really care.  They can file a grievance with the shop steward.

Ethical Oil is a pleasure to read

I just finished reading Ezra Levant's Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada's Oil Sands.  I have to say that I loved it.  You can get the general gist of it from watching these fantastic debates Ezra had with Elizabeth May and  Andrew Nikiforuk.  Its funny that Nikiforuk himself is a big part of Ezra's book, as is Saudi Arabia, China and Greenpeace.

The book is more in depth than the debates, as you would expect.  All of Ezra's arguments are backed up with bullet proof facts and research that expose the eco-nut propaganda machine.   Its also really well written.  I barely noticed that I was reading at all.  Points are made clearly and concisely as the author does his best to make his case rather than impress you with his scholarly prose. 

Since the book was Published it has won the 2011 National Business Book Award.

I'm hoping to get my copy signed at the Gas and Oil Expo in June.  Ezra Levant will be giving the Keynote Address and I hope to bring you the video (at no profit to myself).  You can also catch Ezra's new show The Source on Sun News channel.

Thank you Ezra Levant.  Ethical Oil was a pleasure to read.  I'm anticipating a documentary soon.  It begs to be made.

Absentee NDP MP should open the door to electoral reform

Ruth Ellen Brousseau's life time absence from the electoral riding she now represents could become common.  The NDP may have forged her nomination documents and Elections Canada officials may have helped her do it.

This is an opportune time to strengthen the nomination procedure.  If reforms that would require national parties to run candidates in all national riding's becomes law, they we could see the Honourable Brousseau's example repeated everywhere. 

Those reforms were first floated to deny regional parties like the separatist BQ seats in the Canadian House of Commons.  If they had to run candidates in every riding, it's reasoned that the BQ would find it extremely difficult to maintain its ability to participate in federal elections at all.

This, in conjunction with the removal of the per vote subsidy would effectively eliminate the Bloc from federal elections permanently.

The fact that Quebeckers  have chosen to remove the Bloc themselves doesn't mean they aren't broken or won't be back later.    This is a reform worth investigating, but it will also have other side effects.

The Green Party, the Libertarian Party,  the Marijuana Party and the Communist Party will feel the impact  in addition to the Bloc.  Most people won't miss any of those but consider that the Reform Party may not have been so successful in that environment.  A law like that may encourage stagnation and stifle the renewal and rebirth of new parties.

For new and weaker parties to be successful they will have to run phantom candidates the way the NDP ran Ruth Ellen Brousseau.  She has admitted to never visiting her riding even once and may not have even filled the requirement for nomination.  This could become standard practice.

Good electoral reforms measures include:

• creating new riding's to account for population changes
• remove per vote subsidy
• Federal Parties must run candidates in every riding
• MPs crossing the floor should trigger a bi-election

Some poor ideas are:

• mandatory vote laws
• paid to vote laws
• online votes

The importance of voting should be obvious.  Unmotivated voters have chosen not to participate for their own reasons and will accept the consequences of their choice like all other voters.

The case of Ruth Ellen Brousseau begs for changes to be made.  The nomination process should be strengthened while other ideas are also considered.  There have been many calls for reform, some of them good and some of them not so good.  A committee should investigate all of these ideas and update our system.

The Mandatory Short Form Census

I was surprised the other day to get this in my mailbox:

Didn't we deal with this already?  Are they using older envelopes?

Power and Politics yesterday had a Tory spokesman saying that the Short Form Census will remain mandatory.

Why the long form but not the short form?

The government has a right to count its citizens I suppose.  I honestly considered just tossing this envelope for threatening me to cooperate or else.

I'm the type of person who likes to fill out surveys.  I know how they are used, and I don't mind the idea that the world is being built with me in mind.  I just hate being threatened.

I hate being reminded that I don't rule in my own home in my own country.

Finally I opened the envelope.  It wants to know who lives here and what languages we speak.  Whats wrong with that really?  No questions about my religion or other personal questions.  Makes me feel a little silly now.  This is a bilingual household and we're keen to preserve our French / English institutions.

I also speak Portuguese.  Perhaps we'll be seeing more refugees from European socialism and could recommend places for them to settle.  We integrate well.

So I'll fill out the Census and send it in because its good for me and good for my community.  I'm not filling it out because of threats.  In fact the threat itself is what bugs me most.  Would Statistics Canada please seek out every other method to get my cooperation?  How about a tax break?  How about a coupon or some other carrot?  Do you have to go right to the threat on the envelope?

To this day, I haven't seen any proof that threats generate better information.  My own reaction is not unique.  If I didn't want something out of this census I would be tempted to enter Klingon or perhaps Whale-song purely out of spite.  Who could prove I'm not fluent in those anyway?

Scorn of Contempt

I'm still seeing weepy leftlings self-righteously posting here and there about Contempt of Parliament.  You can almost see them quaking with indignation at the wholesale rebuke of this faux scandal by the electorate.

An illegal sign I saw in Calgary East had zero impact

Let me once and for all dismiss this nonsense from the public sphere.

Parliament for all its official seals and traditions is not now nor ever was a criminal court.  The Speaker of the House is not a Judge.  The leaders of the former opposition are not Prosecutors or a Jury.  The fact that the dismissed opposition tried to act as all three, Judge, Prosecutor, and Jury, shows their complete misunderstanding of the concept of justice.

It also showed their collective scorn for the intelligence of the average voter.  Did they think that nobody actually understands how parliament works?  People know very well that the opposition can get together and vote against the confidence of  a minority government.  Its only happened 3 times in 5 years now, not to mention that every big story from parliament hill in that time was about the possible fall of the government.

People know better you pompous idiots!  This is why they hate elites.  Its not because we told them to in an "attack ad."  The truth ads work because it reflects what most people are actually thinking.  They, the people, are the ones with contempt for parliament; at least one that spent all of its time creating scandals and plotting to overturn elections.  You morons are your own worst enemy.  I suppose I should thank you.

I believe that part of the reason for the Tory majority is to stop this nonsense.  It is within this governments power to find the opposition in contempt or even declare them all official jackasses.  It would mean as little as the previous contempt ruling and only add to the general distaste of politics by the public.  That doesn't even take into account the waste of taxpayer time and resources that this sort of garbage generates.

Those Members of Parliament are very well compensated on the backs of the people.  We want our money's worth.  We don't want self important fops playing lawyer's games on our dime.

No more.  The Tory government will be about governing and will contrast the trivial faux-scandals of the past.  The challenge now is to become the best government in the great history of this country.  Petty politics can be left to the lesser parties.  We Canadians deserve the kind of government that will put Harper's name on mountains and get his face on circulating currency.  It's his job now, to earn those honours.

Congratulations Canada

Congratulations to all Canadians and especially Conservatives.  We worked hard for many years to undo the lies and build the trust of the people.  We did so with a largely hostile media.

Now its back to work and business.  There is a lot to do.  We have reached empyrean heights of majority unfathomable just a few short years ago.  That was the easy part. 

Many minds remain poisoned today.  Only time and wise judgement and action on the part of the Government will turn that around.

The people still rule.  A Conservative Majority in the face of the established interests against us is hard proof of that.  Never forget that there is no Natural Governing Party.  Conservatives have been sent there to serve, not to command or demand.

Here are my hopes for this government:

• Slay the deficit.  This was the most devastating point against Conservatives because its true and we know it.  Facing reality is the best ability we have.  
• Scrap the Gun Registry.  I don't own a gun or want to.  This is about freedom.  Criminals do not register guns.  The idea that police should single out gun owners with a national database as possible criminals is abhorrent and discriminatory.  It has cost enough money already.  
• Scrap the per-vote party subsidy. Parties should not collect welfare.  If voters can't first vote with their wallets, why should Canadians have to fund them?  Anyone who doesn't like it can simply skip their coffee one day of the week and give their party a twoney.  It adds up to a lot of wasted money from the public purse. 
• Senate Reform.  i want a Triple E Seante but we might have to wait for the next election.  There can still be term limits and other changes however.  
• Electoral Reform.  I do beleive there is still the issue of proportional representation.  Populations have changed and that needs to be reflected in the ridings and their fair distribution.   
• Follow through on low tax plans.
• Keep income splitting, and TFSA promises.
• Rebuild the Military
• Secure the North
• Cut red tape

The challenges for Conservatives are not over.  Not by a long shot.  The enemy is licking its wounds and plotting revenge.  You know their game plan already.  It worked so well on Mulroney they used it on Bush.

So enjoy the victory.   Get some sun, some exercise and prepare.

A good Omen: Bin Laden Assassinated

Raise a Glass to the death of Bin Laden!  Its a good omen for the election tomorrow.

What I like about Liberals

What I like about Liberals is that they are Canadians first and Liberals second.  This is a key similarity between Liberal and Conservative and of vital importance in this election.  In the grand scheme of things Conservatives aren't much different from John Manley Liberals.  We believe in Free Markets and Strong Economies.  We believe that government has a regulatory role that is best kept to a minimum.  Government is not a player but a referee.  The less we see of the referees, the better the game.  So it is with Capitalism. 

When John Manley was Finance Minister many years ago the Liberal Party was in its glory days.  Here is John Manley espousing Conservative ideals earlier this year.

I believe the country is facing a great turning point in this 41st election.  Canada has had a long line of crisis from American invasions as in the War of 1812 to World Wars to the FLQ crisis and the Quebec Referendum.  Each time we have come perilously close annihilation or disintegration and each time we prevail. 

This election is about preventing the conditions that lead to such upheavals.  An NDP coalition government will generate an economic collapse.  Their very promises including 70 billion in new spending and balancing the budget by 2014 should raise alarm bells in any thinking person.  There will have to be massive tax increases and expropriations in order to balance that equation.

Crushing taxes and a stalled economy will personally cost each of us many thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars before its over.  While an electoral hammer in time can be brought down on them, the NDP and their Bloc partners will loot the treasury while we are distracted by the drama of reopening the constitution.

I can imagine the dismay of Liberal supporters at the prospect of an NDP coalition government.  The Liberal Leadership is a travesty and has been so for many years now. They have slowly whittled away trust and support by jumping in front of every craze to come along, even when its at odds with their own basic beliefs. First it was the Green Shift and their anti-Alberta campaign and then they go even further left to try scoop up the socialist kooks at the outliers of society.

Its a poor and transparent strategy that has been rejected by the target voters in favor of true socialists, the NDP.  Centrist John Manley Liberals must be left feeling dirty and betrayed.  Not only does their party no longer support their ideals, but their best hope lies in simply fooling socialists into helping them win the government.  What folly.

All is not lost however.  You only need to look to the Conservative movement today for hope.  Correctly chastised by voters the PC Party was obliterated.  The rump of the PC's hung on for far too long before finally joining the Canadian Alliance.  Now the Conservative Party is Canada's best hope for the sparkling future we all want and deserve.

I want to ask you centrist Canadians to temporarily lend the Conservative Party your vote.  These past 5 years have been pretty good all things considered.  The next 4 will be even better.  You don't have to love the Conservative Party as many do, you just need to hold your nose and vote.  Your country needs you.  Your family and your neighbors need you.  We Conservatives need you.  All Canadians need you to vote Conservative.

This is not a hockey game.

The result of this election will impact your personal finances in the short and long term.  Its too important a decision to just be a partisan rah rah go team thing.  You can still be a Liberal in fact.  Nobody knows how you vote unless you tell them.  Why be ashamed of your freedom anyhow?  Send them a message.  No more goofy antics with the fate of the country.  No more haughty imported finger wagging elites unconnected to your real concerns let alone the country's.

Vote Conservative on May 2nd and tell them about it.  Nothing inspires change faster than temporarily losing a loyal supporter.  That is how democracy really works.  That is a lesson Micheal Ignatieff and the people who appointed him need to learn.  You'll get 4 years to rebuild the brand and a stable and prosperous country in the meantime.

Vote for Canada and the Conservative Party.