I was a guy in PEI

That's right, I took some time off from working and griping about the general state of things to hop a train with my wife and little guy all the way east to PEI for a wedding (yes, the train only went to Moncton). I haven't been east of Kenora since I was 12 years old and went with my hockey team to Montreal on an east meets west cultural exchange. The idea was to meet and stay with kids from another city with a different culture to promote tolerance. It worked, we all discovered that 12 year old boys from Montreal and Winnipeg pretty much love hockey and fart jokes equally. We decided to take the train for 3 reasons, my 3 year old son is crazy about Thomas the Tank Engine, I love to support Crown corporations, and I hate being subjected to the kind of security environments that exist only in airports and Turkish prisons.
The first stretch from Winnipeg to Toronto was a 30+ hour affair made longer by the fact that we were repeatedly delayed waiting for CN freight trains, with whom we shared the tracks with, to pass by. This may have just been a matter of logistics or it may have been a case of freight over people, either way it was annoying. It probably would have bothered me less if it was still the Canadian National Railway and not the Illinois Globalism Oligarchy Express that it is today. The staff was mostly friendly and professional and even the food was decent. I would recommend going Sleeper Class, we were in Coach or "Comfort" Class, a name that Orwell would have appreciated. The seats were great for sitting but terrible for sleeping. It was also too cold most of the time, but having said that, overall the trip was pleasant. When we arrived in Toronto I was surprised to see the CPC's Jason Kenney. He was stalking around the baggage conveyor belt looking annoyed, impatient and self-important. I was just beginning to think how typical that was when I realized I had the same look on my own face. We all did, it was hot in there! We were a little late and tired and we had to fight our way through the traffic leaving the Blue Jays game, so we went to bed without seeing much of Toronto. In the morning we went to Tim Horton's like good, little, consumer Canadians. While sipping my coffee I noticed a homeless guy burning his fingers trying to light a tiny cigarette butt he had found. The homeless had recently been in the news in Toronto after some guy was allegedly stabbed by a couple of homeless kids. I decided to make my contribution to the debate. There was a little corner store beside the downtown Tim Horton's, I walked in and asked for a pack of Du Maurier King. I took the cigs outside and gave the whole pack to the homeless guy. Needless to say he was quite happy to have run into me. "I'm saving your life" he said, referring to the smokes and the cancer I wouldn't be getting. We both laughed, it felt good. I like to give money to homeless people, they do a tough job walking around being great, big, living, flashing neon signs that scream, "YOUR SYSTEM ISN'T WORKING, I'M PROOF. CAPITALISM SUCKS. THE RISING TIDE DIDN'T LIFT MY BOAT. I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING BOAT." Now I realize that mental illness and substance abuse are the culprits when it comes to many of these folks, but that doesn't change the fact that a civilized society would do something for them. As seems to be my habit, I digress. Before I could say, "Which way to the Hockey Hall of Fame?", we were back on the train and headed east.
Didn't get to see Montreal, nice train station, cool bridge. What's that, the St. Laurence? We got to Moncton, got our rental car and drove to the Confederation Bridge. The bridge is impressive to say the least and you should see it if you can. It's free to cross, but $40 to get back.
PEI is a jewel! We stayed near Cap Egmont in a cottage by the ocean. We ate fresh lobster for the first time, mussels and clam chowder, it was awesome! I drank like a teenager at my wife's cousin's wedding and I don't know if it was the detoxifying effect of the seafood or the sea air, but I didn't feel like going to sleep after 3 beers and I didn't get a hang-over. My wife went to Anne of Green Gables and I went golfing. We all did the North Cape Coastal Drive to see the wind farm and the wild seals. We also saw the school house where Stompin' Tom Connors went to school, it was cool. I love PEI. The people were easy-going and friendly, if a bit stand-offish at first. Cola still comes in a 750 mL glass bottle, it felt like the 70's. I guess when you live on an island you don't want to fill up your landfill with plastic bottles. They also have an excellent recycling program that includes composting. But they drive too slow! People run little enterprises right out of their yards everywhere. Car sales, car repairs, lobster traps for sale, homemade sheds, greenhouse veggies, and of course, fresh fish, lobster and potatoes. I hope that never changes in Prince Edward Island, but I have my doubts now that the bridge has allowed for Wal-Mart to come to town. My son had been very well behaved so we decided to purchase a small, portable DVD player for him to watch on the train. Of course I bought it at Wal-Mart (what a fuckin' hypocrite) and we were on our way home.
This time we had a little more time in Toronto so of course we went up the CN Tower. Holy fuck, that is trippy! What a view! People from the GTA are smirking if they are reading this, but I don't care, the CN Tower rocked. Go again if you haven't been in awhile. Back on the train and back home. The trip was well worth it and helps put some perspective on just how big and wild this country is. I couldn't find anyone who liked Stephen Harper, while the only Americans I met hated George Bush too. Eastern Canadians are more like Western Canadians than I expected.

Paul Martin strikes again.

In 1994, having just turned 21, I decided to quit my bullshit job selling cars for 60 hours a week in the worst economy in history. "No problem, this is Canada," thought I. "I'll just sit back and collect my birthright, Unemployment Insurance." Boy was I in for a surprise. Our newly minted finance minister Paul Martin had decided he was gonna cut the deficit and he was gonna do it on the backs of the unemployed and those unfortunate enough to get sick. Medical transfers to the province were completely gutted. And "UI" became impossible to get. It has run something like 60 billion in surplus since then in spite of some changes made later to try and win back the lost Maritime vote. This was the first time Paul Martin had an effect on my life. Right around the same time Martin and the rest of the right wing of the Liberal party were embracing globalization and talked Chretien into not cancelling free trade. He had been elected on a promise to do just that. Anyone who is not an economist or a "Blue Liberal" (growth is all that matters, the market will save all) can easily see what a nightmare free trade has been for us ( 100 Gazillion lost manufacturing jobs, massive exploitation of the poor in all three countries, the loss of labour power world wide and a widening of the gap between rich and poor to the size of the Grand Canyon.) By 1997, the year my Grandmother died, Martin's medical transfer cuts and a provincial Conservative gov't had degraded medicare to the point where I honestly believe that financial considerations may have been considered by hospital staff when deciding whether or not it was worth trying to save her. I don't know this for a fact but I have my suspicions. This was damage done when he was not even leader, the worst was yet to come. When Chretien and other actual Liberals finally were unable to hold back Martin and his cronies any longer he finally got his wish and became Prime Minister. During his short reign at the top Martin did more damage to Canada than Brian Mulroney did in eight years. The worst of his moves was committing Canadian troops to Afghanistan. This one comes back to haunt us every time a Conservative is able to comment, "It was the Liberals who got us into this war." This bullshit war should be hanging around the Conservatives' neck like a great big badge of massive failure. Instead, we, the good guys, get to wear it with them. Mr. Martin was also responsible for signing us up to Security and Prosperity Partnership with the evil Americans. To anyone who pays attention and doesn't make their living selling things to Americans this is the biggest threat to Canadian Sovereignty ever. He also passed the first Canadian law ever to include mandatory minimums. If Harper had tried it it wouldn't have made it past the Supreme Court. But because it was a liberal law the court looked at it in a different light and allowed it. This precedent allows Harper to go crazy with the mandatory minimums and the court won't be able to stop him. What a slippery slope. Speaking of the Supreme Court, Martin's appointments seem to have pulled the court to the right. (Allowing fascist security certificates to stand is just one example.) What a fox in the hen house. Mr. Martin also planned to go along with the United States in their missile defence fantasy but huge public opposition changed his mind. Dodged a bullet on that one. Sheila Copps revealed recently that Mr. Martin tried to get her to spearhead the privatization of the CBC. To her credit she refused. Wow an even bigger bullet. This brings me finally to Martin's last gift that keeps on giving. Some actual Liberals tried to push through a bill decriminalizing marijuana. Mr Martin dithered and watered down the bill for his American buddies. Then he never passed it at all. The Conservatives let the bill die after taking office, (of course they did) and as a result the police have started ruining lives again by arresting users. Possession charges are up 50% in some provinces. What a waste of time and money and people's futures. Just today a bullshit study tying marijuana to psychosis was released giving Conservatives more ammo to use the next time the debate comes up. This is defeat snatched from the jaw's of victory. Thanks Paul Martin, thanks for nothing. It is my hope that Chretien's move to stop corporate donations will mean the right-wing will have less of an influence on the direction of the party. If not I guess there is always the NDP.

Woo-hoo! The Tories Suck!

I have had an extra spring in my step the last couple of days, in spite of working outside in some ridiculous heat and humidity. I'm pretty sure it's a case of "schadenfreude", a German word that means taking pleasure from someone's misery and misfortune. Who's misery? The CPC and Deceivin' Stephen Harper.
Decima's new poll has the Libs back in the lead at 32%, and the Cons. 29%, NDP 18%, Greens 9% and the Bloq 9%. Yes, polls don't mean much, but it is still good news and the trend is in the right direction.
Tories are tanking in Atlantic Canada! Nova Scotia Premier Roddy McDonald has joined my boy Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland, in bashing Stephen Harper for what they say is a broken promise not to change the Atlantic Accord. (Side note: Why do I see so many posts bashing Danny Williams? Who cares if he wants his cake and eats too. He's a one-man Stephen Harper trashing machine. He's like a constant free negative ad.) Conservative MPs in Nova Scotia certainly have some 'splaining to do. MP Bill Casey did the right thing and voted against it. Harper, who is falling apart like a '78 Pinto, responded to complaints from Premier McDonald, a Conservative, by basically saying sue me. Huh?! Harper has never liked Atlantic Canada, "culture of defeat", but now he is actively picking a fight with Newfoundland and Nova Scotia voters. I suspect they will show Conservative MPs what defeat is all about. Elizabeth May is looking even better in Central Nova. The thought of Peter McKay losing makes me giggle.
On the Afghanistan front, two-thirds of Canadians believe we should get the fuck out in 2009 at the end of our current mission. I personally believe we should have gotten out long ago. I have advocated for the 2009 withdrawal before though because I believe Canadians will get behind this position. I was right about that. I'm no Nostradamus, I predicted Stockwell Day would go down for buying his way into his riding and boy was I wrong. The RCMP couldn't wait to exonerate Mr. Day. I am concerned however with the new anti-war protests in Quebec. Protesters are sending letters to Canadian troops (Van Doo's) explaining their anti-war position and soliciting them to refuse to go. Everything they say in their letters are right, but I am concerned about their timing. Mr. and Mrs. Mushy-Moderate are on our side right now and this is exactly the kind of behaviour that may send them back into the arms of the fascists. It happened in Vietnam, but I digress. Afghanistan has turned into a nightmare for Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion has just the right position politically, and almost, morally.
There are rumblings that the Senate might block the budget from passing, at least until the end of June, which would effectively kill it. This might actually be good for Harper. If his budget were to pass, Harper's only achievement when he runs back to Calgary after his stunning defeat in the upcoming election, will be passing a budget that gives Quebec enough money to pass a billion dollar tax cut and still maintain more social services than any other province. They must love that in Alberta!
Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert announced today that he'll be taking Harper up on his offer to sue him as Mr. Calvert is also apparently unhappy with being lied to concerning Saskatchewan's equalization take.
Lumberjack Chuck Strahl is facing a court challenge from the "friends of the Wheat Board" and others who say the federal government cannot remove barley from the Wheat Board monopoly without an act of Parliament. Duh! The Supreme Court already ruled on this when Mulroney tried to pull barley out of the single-desk in the '80's. He must go the the House and he certainly doesn't have the votes there. The Wheat Board is gonna live, baby! These thugs are done! It's over! Bring on the election! (Anyone else notice how much better Dion's English is getting?) Even Adler is depressed, now that is "schadenfreude"!

O'Connor Still Wears Clownshoes

On March 13th I posted an article entitled "O'Connor Wears Clownshoes". Mr. O'Connor and Canada's not-so-new government continue to prove that they are not fit to run a lemonade stand, never mind our country or a Middle Eastern war. Gordon (I can't believe I'm still Defense Minister) O'Connor continues to embarrass his boss by making statements in the House that are later contradicted. O'Connor said that since becoming Minister he directed his staff to cover the "full cost" of soldiers' funerals. Lincoln Dinning, father of Cpl. Matthew Dinning, found this offensive and was compelled to hold a press conference to announce that he had, in fact, not been reimbursed for his son's funeral. Obviously Mr. O'Connor wants Dinning to get his money, this is probably more bureaucratic bungling than it is bad policy. But it is symptomatic of a government that likes to make announcements but has very little idea how to implement their agenda. O'Connor and his department have dropped the ball again. He and General Rick Hillier said today that the department will do "what has to be done" to ensure families are reimbursed. No kidding! Everybody from every end of the political spectrum who is not an asshole thinks the government should pay for these final expenses. Like Mr. Dinning said, "it's a no-brainer". So make it happen!

Szabo gets it. Why not other social Conservatives?

Liberal MP Paul Szabo is considered by many to be among the more socially conservative members of the Liberal party. He's pro-life, anti-divorce, anti-gay marriage and worst of all, he supported Michael Ignatieff for the leadership of the Liberals. He did however vote against extending the mission in Afghanistan. I thought this was his only saving grace until I watched him on CPAC today. Mr. Szabo is an exceptionally good orator and a very convincing debater. Members were being heard on one of the Conservatives' new law and order bills. Bill C-10 I think but I could be mistaken. The conservatives have so many law and order bills it's hard to keep track. This one involved mandatory minimums for offences involving firearms. I, of course am completely against mandatory minimums of any kind. I think Judges are the ones best left to decide sentences and shouldn't have their hands tied by politicians. Mr. Szabo isn't against minimums altogether. He supports the idea of using them as a deterrent but rightly points out that long minimums have no more deterrent value then short minimums. This sounds odd until you consider that for those who are going to be deterred, a short time, say, 2 years is enough to do the trick. Most people are not thinking about the consequences and act out of passion or rage or desperation, or for many other reasons. Mandatory minimum sentences have zero affect on their thought process. ( My words, not Szabo's) Mr. Szabo thinks they should be used to deter but not be so long as to interfere with the judges' discretion. He also points out that these are only minimums, the judge is free to sentence bad dudes to much longer. Judges should be allowed to make the sentence fit the crime. I would think many of the law and order types out there would agree with me when it comes to the case of that Saskatoon father who shot his daughter's drug dealing boyfriend. Probably think the judge should have given him a medal. Unfortunately he will be spending the next ten years in jail without parole. A mandatory minimum. Minimums have been in place for years in the U.S. and they have much higher crime rates. Many groups have formed in opposition to them and the Supreme Court of the U.S. has ruled them unconstitutional. Those guys aren't exactly bleeding hearts. Szabo also pointed out the importance of rehabilitation and how our system is pretty good at it and how our contrasting system to that of the Americans seems to be working better. Crime is down and and has been for awhile. All this bluster about getting tough on crime is getting tiresome and it's about time those of us who recognise it speak out. The Democrats in the USA decided to give up this issue in the 90's in order to win centrist voters. It worked, they won, then they passed a completely Republican crime bill helping to turn the U.S. into the police state we now know it as. More people went to jail for smoking pot while Clinton was president than under Reagan and Bush the first combined. I, of course am not speaking for Mr. Szabo and I'm sure he and I would agree on very little. Here is something he and I and every reasonable person should agree on. Mandatory minimums should be used very carefully if used at all.

Love that Elizabeth May

Boy oh boy did the Conservatives have a bad week. Their massive incompetence in Afghanistan and their lies to cover up their massive incompetence have been getting them in trouble all week. They are down 10 points in the polls with only their base left supporting them. The opposition parties and for once the press have not let this scandal die, so in an effort to change the channel Conservatives across Canada tried to manufacture their own little scandal. Last Sunday Elizabeth May delivered a sermon in a church she was invited to speak at. During that sermon Miss May quoted an environmentalist who compared the Conservative government's lack of real action to address climate change with Neville Chamberlain's infamous appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938. Tories across the country seized on this and immediately tried to turn it into a scandal. Miss May was comparing Stephen Harper to Hitler. Miss May was invoking the holocaust and using it in the context of Canadian politics. What an insult to the Jewish people and blah, blah, blah. There are only two problems with these ridicules accusations. Number one, Miss May never said a word about the holocaust. She quoted someone else who quite rightly compared Conservative inaction on climate change with English inaction on Hitler taking over his neighbor. Secondly, if it is so wrong to use the Neville Chamberlain incident to illustrate a modern point why do Conservatives do it constantly? Conservatives in Canada and the US compared people who were against the Iraq War to Neville Chamberlain. Peter McKay and Stockwell Day have both been caught by Hansard using the Chamberlain analogy in the House of Commons. Miss May pointed this one out herself on Mike Duffy yesterday. I guess Mr McKay and Mr Day have no respect for the magnitude of the holocaust either. What hypocrisy. Nice try guys but this scandal is not going away yet.

NDP Wrong By Doing Right Thing

The NDP has been consistent and absolutely right regarding the mission in Afghanistan from the very beginning. We should not have gone in and we should get out as fast as we can. The latest today from the Globe and Mail has dozens of Afghan prisoners claiming they were treated very well by Canadian soldiers, but were tortured as soon as they were turned over to Afghan authorities. This may be a war crime and is just another reason we should end this colonial nightmare. Now I'm not trying to start yet another debate about Afghanistan. I can talk about sovereignty, war lords, and Russians. Or Pushtuns, corruption, opium, and oil pipelines. I can talk about American hegemony, questionable elections, and puppet ex-patriots, but I'm unlikely to change many minds. If you are for this mission, you can talk about nation building, girls in schools, the tyranny of the Taliban, or how the sacrifice of brave Canadian soldiers cannot be for not. You can talk about Canada punching above its weight, the war on "terror", and American leadership until you are blue-liberal in the face and you're not going to change my mind. This is about convincing the NDP that they must support tomorrow's motion to pull the troops out by 2009. The NDP say they will not vote for this motion because they believe and have always believed that our troops should be pulled out yesterday. This is a very principled position, however it may end up keeping troops in Afghanistan for years to come. If this motion fails and the wheels are not set in motion for a 2009 withdrawal, Harper may get his majority and commit our troops for ever and ever, amen. That is certainly not what the NDP wants! Also, if this motion passes, Harper could not allow it, Bush wouldn't let him. He would have to fight an election on the issue. An election fought on the war in Afghanistan could be very good for the NDP.