So What Political Stripe Are You?

Although this is not a political blog, as my readers have seen, I do blog on occasion about so-called “political issues” simply because from my standpoint, all of us are affected by the decisions made by those in office and as such, there should be a vested interest in what they do year round and not every 4-5 years (or if you’re in Canada, every couple of months as the case seems to be lately. But I digress). Invariably, such discussions often lead to the question of what political party do you support – are you Conservative or Liberal, Republican or Democrat. Personally, I don’t affiliate with any party as I do with specific issues and how each party addresses them. In some ways, you could say I’m a special-interests group of one.  Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Obama To Canada – Sorry, But I’m Just Not That Into You

I read an interesting post on Twitter today by Kirk LaPointe (@kirklapointe), managing editor for the Vancouver Sun and Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Journalism, regarding Barack Obama’s visit to Canada later this week:

When Obama visits Cda on frist[sic] intl trek, no speeches, six hours, see ya. We’re the foreign policy equivalent of an O’Hare layover.

Despite what Canadians might feel about Obama choosing Canada as his first country to visit as the newly minted US president, with more details emerging regarding his trip to our country, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that this is more a dress rehearsal than a legitimate start to his foreign affairs platform. Indeed, many news reports have the Obama team admitting that Canada was chosen because of the easier logistics of arranging a trip to Ottawa than say Brussels or Paris. Also, notice how there’s been little if any attention in Washington in regards to Obama’s impending trip to the Great White North. Robert Gibbs, Obama’s Press Secretary, only bothered mentioning this visit at the end of his daily briefing on January 28th with this rather perfunctory remark – Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Ignatieff’s Budgetary Gambit – Win, Lose, or Draw?

Well, it seems there are some interesting times ahead for Canadian politics following the tabling of Stephen Harper’s new budget. As expected, the budget features many concessions to sway the opposition parties to support the Conservative budget and allow them to remain in the seat of government. And while the NDP and the Bloc Québécois have held steadfast to their plans of bringing Harper’s government down by rejecting this budget, it would appear that Michael Ignatieff has other plans in mind despite his earlier support for this opposition-led coalition. Following the release of the full budget, Ignatieff has changed his position to express conditional support for this budget – the condition being the inclusion of an amendment that would require the Conservatives to submit three economic reports to follow-up on whether this economic stimulus package is indeed having the desired effect or whether it is simply pulling Canada into debt.

It’s certainly a bold move, one that will be closely watched to see what impact it will have down the road on Harper’s Conservatives, that is should Harper agree to this amendment. After all, Harper has already made numerous concessions to the opposition parties; despite whatever spin Flaherty and Harper try to put on their budget, I don’t think anyone sees this as being Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

How Long Can Harper’s Government Last?

With the start of the new session in Parliament yesterday, and the much anticipated release of the federal budget today, all eyes are once again on Stephen Harper’s Conservative government for clues as to just how far they will go to acquiesce the opposition parties in another attempt to maintain their weakened hold as the ruling government of Canada.

So far, the orchestrated leaks of certain details from today’s budget indicate a significant shift from Harper’s initial position that Canada would post a budget surplus this year as well his party’s stubbornness in not willing to acknowledge that Canada has indeed entered into a recession. The spin doctors will undoubtedly try to present this as being indicative of Harper’s ability to adjust his position and policies to reflect changes in the economy and the acquisition of new data or information. However, the simple fact is that Harper’s change in position has less to do with a recognition of the Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Why Bailing Out The Detroit Big Three Automakers Is A Bad Idea

In my previous entry, “US Auto Manufacturers And The Dodo Bird – Birds Of A Feather?”, I examined the current economic situation of the Big Three automakers in Detroit in regards to what led them into this predicament and what parallels can be drawn between them and the history of the Dodo bird. In this piece, I want to discuss the idea of bailing out these three failing automakers and why it’s not a good idea. As we’ll see, this all boils down to the basic economic concept of supply and demand.

At its most basic, the fundamental problem facing GM, Ford and Chrysler is that not enough consumers are buying their cars as people are understandably opting to buy more reliable and better built foreign cars, some with warranty coverages that were almost inconceivable a decade ago. The continual decline in car sales, among other factors, has resulted in all three manufacturers ending up with massive debts and with little capital to cover even basic operating costs. This is why GM, Ford, and Chrysler are now pleading with the Canadian and American governments for financial aid as without the injection of new capital, they’ll have no choice but to file for bankruptcy. And yet, what will the granting of public funds really accomplish in terms of  Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Obama’s Big Day – An Inauguration or a Coronation?

Watching the events leading up to the swearing-in of President-elect Barack Obama as the next American president, I can’t help but notice the curious reaction of Americans to the impending inauguration ceremony. Indeed, both the reactions of the public and the maneuvers of the Obama camp lend to the notion that we’re not so much witnessing the swearing-in of a political leader, but the coronation of a new king.

There’s no question that the last eight years has seen an erosion in both the strength of the American economy, but also it’s influence on the global stage and for a people that pride themselves as being the envy of the world, that’s an understandable hard pill to swallow. Usher in a young-ish, charismatic and eloquent political figure and it’s not hard to see why the general American public is currently swooning on Obama’s every move. Add to this the fact that Americans have had themselves represented on the world stage by a man who continued to butcher the English language as if it weren’t his native tongue, and Obama’s lyrical use of words becomes unquestionably a breath of fresh air. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

This Picture Says It All

One topic that has been a personal fly in the ointment is this on-going debate in Canada and the US about bailing out North American car manufacturers GM, Ford and Chrysler. The picture shown below nails the situation perfectly. Too bad more taxpayers aren’t paying attention to this.

So while I still plan to voice my opinion on this whole use of public funds to bail out private corporations at a later date, I’ll let this wonderful work do the talking for now. After all, pictures are worth a thousand words – well, maybe now eight hundred given the current economic climate.

If anyone knows who the creator of this wonderful image is, please do post a note in the comment section here. The artist does deserve recognition for this brilliant effort.

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A Look At The Other Choices For Tomorrow’s US Elections

With the last day of the US election campaign coming to an end, I thought I should use my blog here to help get the word out about the other candidates running for US President. First up is a video from the campaign team behind the Saul Tigh-Laura Roslyn ticket. This video is a great reminder of the sacrifices made by Tigh that he survived through with the help of the Lords of Kobol. You can learn more about the Tigh-Roslyn team at their campaign website found at tighroslin2008.com.

Meanwhile, the other alternative choice for President is taking a more toned-down approach to handling the last day of campaigning. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

Colin Powell’s Support For Barack Obama – An Inside Look at the Republican Party’s Real Plans

I must admit that I find it a bit odd how much people are making a big deal of Colin Powell’s recent official endorsement for Barack Obama. True, they come from opposite sides of the political spectrum, but I think some thought needs to put into what Powell’s endorsement really indicates, not only about him but what I suspect includes many in the inner circles of the Republican party itself.

First of all, I find it pathetic that anyone is so ingrained in their political thinking that they can be so mindless as to just assume at the next election they will vote for a specific party. Granted, there are some issues which both sides have been known to historically support or fight against – abortion is a good example – and on those issues, it can be easy to see why some voters will automatically decide to vote for one party over another. However, there are times when our society faces more pressing issues that should obligate us to disregard such emotionally-charged issues in favour of assessing which party has the best platform or candidate to help our society overcome its current predicaments. But that takes a fair amount of rationalism and yes, intelligence on the part of the voter to understand what really is going to impact their lives and their family directly instead of focusing on issues that might bristle their own personal code of ethics or values.

From this perspective, Powell’s recent endorsement on the surface makes a lot of sense since Click to continue reading the rest of this entry

FOX News Takes On The CBC And – Big Surprise – Loses Badly

I must admit I haven’t been very inspired lately in terms of adding a new entry to my blog. That is until I heard about the latest cry foul from the American news channel FOX News against the news wing of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aka the CBC. At the center of this latest tirade from the Fox News team is an article from Canadian writer/columnist Heather Mallick called “A Mighty Wind blows through Republican convention”.

The article is Mallick’s assessment of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and the fact that it provides a rather unflattering impression of Palin has got FOX News in an uproar. During a news segment on the FOX News cable network, the FOX News anchor refers to Mallick’s article as “getting beyond vicious” and states that Mallick refers to Palin’s daughter Bristol by “a nasty name that we will not repeat here on this broadcast”. The FOX News anchor also takes exception to Mallick’s assertion that Palin has helped “sewn-up the quote ‘white trash vote’ for the Republican ticket”. Now, that’s how FOX News presented this article, but why don’t we see what the article really says. Click to continue reading the rest of this entry