Thursday Thirteen – Ontario Election Edition

Hey, an Ontario election is coming and while the media is predicting a Conservative majority (YAY) and have to come clean that I actually like Dalton McGuinty. He looks and talks like a leader. His policies… Not so great, however. He came in as Premier in a Liberal landslide in a province that only sees (saw) Liberal red and loved the fact that he ran the Daily Bread Food Bank or something like that. At the time I’m sure I made some sort of comment about electing a leader who spends their career taking from the rich and giving to the less fortunate. That got us Mayor David Miller and tons of taxes and it got us 7 years of scandal / high taxes and disrespect for the money you and I give in taxes to the province.
So this week’s Thursday Thirteen are the 13 things that will cause the defeat of the Ontario Liberal Party and get Dalton on the road to an awesome pension…

1. The HST – I was at the Canadian Tax Federation annual meeting and the lunch time speaker was Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and he explained to the group of us that even in a recession bringing in the HST Was necessary to keep Ontario competitive. I didn’t understand his motive then and I still don’t understand it now. Minister Duncan also said something to the effect of “no other party has the guts” to merge the GST and PST but he did. Errr, okay. Thanks Mr. Duncan. The HST added additional taxes to such items as Cigarettes, fast food and which was good, but there were way too many bad, such as home heating costs, gas, electricity, new homes (over $400,000 – after June 30, 2010 which was why we closed June 29th, 2010 on our new house), airfare, TTC / Go Transit / Via services, real estate agent commissions.

2. The Delisting of OHIP Covered Necessary Health Services – When McGuinty’s Liberals promised not to decrease any health services covered by OHIP, and not to raise taxes, some people bought in to it and others, like myself, raised their eyebrows in skepticism, McGuinty did not disappoint and did both by implementing the Ontario Health Premium (recall that “fee” we have to pay each year to the doctor) and the delisting coverage of Optometry, Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Services for Ontarians.

3. The Ontario Health Premium – Mentioned above, this “fee” turned out to be the highest tax increase in Ontario’s history, and it was implemented not too long after McGuinty’s Liberals took power in 2003.  I even remember him signing a contract with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation – because I was working at the CRA at the time - to not increase taxes).

4. eHealth - This program never got off the ground and cost Ontario taxpayers billions of dollars and opened our eyes to the notion of sole-sourcing and untendered contracts and how to get the best price sometimes you have to get quotes for other service providers than to Liberal friends.  Consultants were hired and even they spent money like there was no tomorrow, billing Ontarians hundreds of thousands of dollars per year while having the balls to expense a chocolate bar or a Tim Horton’s coffee.  Shame.

5. The Tire “fee” – Just another “tax” that the Liberals brought in while in power.

6. I don’t blame just the Ontario Liberals for this one, I also blame the Federal Liberal party (or what’s left of it) but when the provincial HST merged with the federal GST, instead of firing all the provincial collectors, the Liberals thought it would be a good idea to given each collector a “severance package” of $45,000 each, then given them a job with the HST department. 

7. Caledonia – Still a hotbed of criminal activity where Natives and citizens are battling for space and peace and quiet.  Last time I heard from Caledonia, militant natives had blockaded the street and neither Police or RCMP were allowed to go in and break it up.  Dalton… Everyone has right here and the people of Caledonia deserve to live in peace and quiet.  Instead you turned your back on them instead of making tough decisions.

8. Under the Liberal party, University fees in Ontario have skyrocketed to the highest in Canada.

9. Don’t even talk about auto insurance in Ontario under the Liberals.  I remember the Liberals promising to reduce auto insurance rates by 10% to be fair to families, but you know what happened here… Insurance rates in Ontario have skyrocketed.

10. The Eco-Fee - You may not have heard much about this “fee / tax” because the Liberals snuck it in with the HST but this fee was supposed to cover the cost of disposing of items that needed to be recycled but instead it never got off the ground and has cost tax payers a ton of money.

11. Let’s look at the next few items as groups relating to green initiatives; Smart meters – time of use rates, Wind turbines, hydro rates. All colossal failures. Smart meters work for my family because we do our laundry, use the dishwasher, etc. after 7pm to get the lowest rate and we have seen the benefit but from what I understand there are some people, like seniors who cannot wait for the reduced rates and them – on fixed incomes – have their energy rates go up (and HST on it too). Wind turbines, on the other hand, were an epic failure. There were grants given out for them that were much higher than the expected rate of return, they are unsafe and noisy.

12. The Federal Liberal Party was decimated. Ontario is next. The Conservatives care about your money and the NDP are just plain entertaining. That leaves no room for the Libs… Well, that and former Ontario Premier Bob Rae is their interim leader for the next 2 years. I shudder when I think about how bad the province was after Bob was forced out.

13. Sheer arrogance. I’ve heard the moniker “Teflon Dalton” go by and I think he actually believes he is unbeatable… I think the Federal Liberals felt that way too as did the Liberal who ran for mayor, George Smitherman.  Their time is up.  Time for a change.

 

Is this the way the new Federal parliament is going to operate with Jack Layton on the scene?

I saw am article the other day that I was drawn by it’s headline, which read something like this, “Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement to ask Gas and Oil Industry to Explain Prices”.

It’s about time, I thought.  Gas prices had gone up overnight over $0.06 cents to over $1.40 a litre.  It was the highest I could recall, and it made me happy that we spent the extra dollars last year and bought a hybrid vehicle – the Toyota Highlander.  Having that hybrid means instead of filling up every week, I fill up every second week. 

I was glad to see that finally someone in the government – in any level of government, was finally going to question these massive oil and gas companies and get answers as to why, when the price of a barrell of oil goes up, the next day the price of gas goes up, but when the price of a barrell of oil goes down… you get a response like this one; “Any lasting relief from wild price swings could take months to trickle down to the pump.”

So I read the article, and found it to be pretty straightforward.  Then I saw that a NDP MP – who I presume must be the Industry critic, had something to say.  His name is Jack Harris. He said the NDP are not satisfied… With what, I thought?!?

Harris had decided to hold  a news conference in Ottawa and was critical of Clement’s actions by stating that, “Canadians deserve a better explanation… Canadians want to know if there’s evidence of collusion among oil companies, or price gouging by the industry.”

With that comment, former Liberal MP and gas price “watcher” Dan McTeague said he’s worried the parliamentary committee appearance will be a waste of time.  Ah, the Price Watcher.  McTeague watched when prices were going up and down and he reported it… He didn’t press oil and gas, but he reported increases and decreases – that kind of service to the public resulted in his ousting this past election.

But I really find this odd, don’t you?

If the NDP MP had such a strong opinion about gas prices and was SO concerned about collusion, why didn’t MP Harris hold his press conference first!  Why didn’t he ask these questions of oil and gas himself, why did he wait for the Conservatives to take action be

I’ll tell you why…

It’s easier to criticize an action taken by someone else than it is to actually take the action yourself. I mean, geez, anyone can complain that a government took too long, or are not asking the right questions because it turns all the attention to you for pressing on that issue, when in actual fact, the spot light should be on the person asking the questions. If MP Harris was prepared and wanted to prove that the NDP Are going to be a force to be reckoned with, he would have jumped all over this and called for a meeting, or asked the questions ahead of time and not waited for the Conservatives to asks the questions before complaining about the type of questions being asked.

I think we can look forward to 4 years of this behaviour, then never again.

 

How do you know it’s election time in Canada?

How can you tell it’s election time in Canada? 

For me, it’s quite easy… My wife won’t let me discuss politics with her.  You see, we have that kind of relationship where I’m right and she’s wrong about voting, hence the reason she never tells me who she votes for – although I suspect it’s a wasted vote on, like the Green Party or something like that.  It drives me crazy that she won’t let me educate her… I’m sure once she hears my side, she’ll want to vote Conservative for ever and ever. I mean who wouldn’t want to vote Conservative to get that nanny tax credit they are proposing… Seriously. We have a nanny, the credit is really nice. Thank you Stephen!

I can also tell for sure that Joe Volpe is NOT running in my riding. How can I tell? I opened my mailbox and I had a flyer for the Green Party.

For those of you who had not heard, Volpe is in a tough fight against Conservative Joe Oliver – a super nice guy I met while living in that riding and one of Volpe’s staffers was caught taking the Green Party literature out of mailboxes of houses and recycling them. Sure it’s really wrong, but he was recycling them… That’s awfully Green of him, no?

Also going on anti-Liberal is the fact that in my riding, St. Pauls, some wack-job is keying cars and cutting brake lines of people who have Liberal signs on their front lawns. Scary, and one of the reasons we don’t put up lawn signs (OK, that’s not the reason. I’d have the largest Conservative sign allowed by law if possible but Urban Mummy would want one and that would tip me off on the way she votes).

Does the name, Prime Minister Jack Layton scare the living shit out of anyone like it does to me? This party has no finance minister…

Layton, who I predicted is dying to get his ego into power, will do and say anything to get elected. I hope people in Ontario remember the Bob Rae NDP government and how it destroyed economic prosperity in Ontario. It even chased Rae to the Liberals.

Fringe parties like this have no real platform as they have no real expectation of getting in to power.

I fear a Liberal – NDP coalition with Jack Layton as the PM, however if this does happen and the economy goes into the shitter, at least I could turn to those of you tree-huggers who love Jack’s quips and give you the big, “I told you so”.

If left-leaning folks who are smart enough to have great jobs, raise children, and prosper in Canada choose to vote for the NDP because they dislike Stephen Harper – then they get what they deserve! The Canadian economy is in the best shape of all the G8 countries in the world, there is no denying that. Like him or not, it’s because of the Conservative policies, and Stephen Harper’s leadership.

And speaking of stupidity – what’s up with those idiots hanging around subway stations in Toronto trying to get people to vote for a party / leader other than Harper’s Conservatives. Do these knobs not realize that Toronto has ALWAYS been Liberal red no matter the issue – scandal or no scandal.

Go back to the old folks home and stop wasting our time… Stupid protestors… They are as dumb and misguided as the Liberals are for bring in the living fossil, Jean Chretien, our former – full of scandal – PM to Toronto to campaign with Iggy. Again… Toronto = Liberal Red. Go to Quebec with him Iggy. not Toronto. Geez.

Jack Layton… Prime Minister… YIKES.

And what’s up with the Liberals? Stephane Dion was a joke (Celine Dion would have had a better chance), Michael Ignatieff – who never attended parliament – was hard to connect with and now Justin Trudeau is speaking out about the troubles the Liberals are having connecting to voters. How about throwing your party leader under the bus, eh Trudeau?

Yes, Iggy was a poor choice and yes, forcing an election when people didn’t want it, nor could afford it – and with the country moving so well was a huge gamble for the Liberals and they stand to be punished for it, like they have never been punished before. Imagine falling below the NDP in the polls. LOL.

Also noted my MP, Dr. Carolyn Bennett likes to stay away from Parliament as much as her leader does…

Yes, it’s time for a change, folks.  Out with the old, in with the new. We surely can’t get worse service in our constituencies…

But let’s put it all in perspective and vote for the best platform, not the funniest candidate.

 

Wacky, Wild, WTF Wednesday…

I think I need to get a whole lot of random stuff out of my brain and to do so I need to have a Wacky, Wild, WTF Wednesday.

Sit tight because here goes;

1) The absolute best album (do we still say that, or does that me sound old?) for 2010 and into 2011 has to be Slash. Song after song, person after person they get better and better and no matter how many times you listen to the songs, they never get old. But what I really like about it, is that the songs cover pretty much all music genres so some songs are played on contemporary music, while some on the hard rock stations.

2) For the first time in my life, I was driving beside an elderly woman on Allen Road yesterday who was – get this – plucking her chin hairs with tweezers and the sun visor down – mirror open – WHILE DRIVING!!!

3) Edge retired from the WWE on Monday night. A Toronto product and a year or two older than me, he was an awesome performer who overcame neck fusion surgery, a ruptured achilles and numerous other injuries to perform for all the WWE and wrestling fans. I have a tribute article going up on my sports blog; www.daddylovessports@wordpress.com at some point soon.

4) I watched the Federal leaders debate last night on CP24 and I came away with the following thoughts and observations!

Why was TVO’s Steve Paikin facilitating the debate?

Why was Gilles Duiceppe there? He’s basically a provincial leader who doesn’t care about the country. He wants it to be broken apart. That’s along the lines of having Hamas run for the Israeli government… You know they want the country to be changed in both cases, Quebec without the violence…

Why wasn’t Elizabeth May of the Green Party there instead? She’s articulate and having another “leader” gang up on Prime Minister Harper would have been fun. Plus her platform, taken from the Marijuana party could attract more fringe votes and take away from the NDP.

Speaking of the NDP… Jack Layton was very smug – as usual – and had the quips coming each and every moment (hashtag fail… Really Jack?), but even he had to know before Michael Ignatief said so, that he has no chance of being elected, let alone leader of the opposition unless he forms a coalition with the Liberals. With that being said, why did he point out to the world that Ignatief had missed 70% of the federal votes in parliament? I didn’t know that. I wouldn’t my PM to be too busy to attend parliament, since that is what he would have been hired for. How he remains Liberal leader is beyond me – especially after the controversy over his poor / rich father.

And as for Iggy, I heard there were concerns about his out of control eyebrows, which frankly I didn’t even notice, and for a point in time during the debate I actually thought he was doing well, but then there were moments where he looked completely disinterested and I caught him flapping his arm in anticipation of speaking – but it looked really spasmodic.   I did give Iggy (the politician, not the Toronto Rock’s dumb mascot) major props for his comment to NDP leader Jack Layton which basically was Iggy’s verbal dismissal of Layton’s jokes when he told him that he neither was, nor would ever be the leader of the opposition… BURN.  Then in closing summation Iggy said to the camera, “Folks it really is a between us – the Liberals – and the Conservatives”.  BURN x2.

But it was Harper at the end who ruled the debate.  Yes I found his perfectly coiffed detachable silver dome – aka hair – scary and quite disturbing, and yes I found him always looking into the camera peculiar especially when the other leaders were talking to him. 
But when he closed by reiterating that Canada is the #1 nation heading out of the recession as a result of the Conservative government policies, seriously folks… He may look creepy, but at this point in time, we need his government and his policies in place to protect Canadians and Canadian interests around the world.  I actually thought the Harper Stare was starting to get to Iggy, almost like the WWE Star Undertaker does against his opponents…

I hope he gets as majority government, but he won’t.

 

Why dirty politics never works

I’m not going to surprise many people when I say that my political leanings are to the right – always have been.  My dad was PC and he always yelled at the TV in a right-leaning manner, how could I not pick it up.  However, it wasn’t until one day in my first year at University in my PolySci 101 class that someone asked me about my ideologies.  I had no idea what he meant.

No being afraid to admit when I have no clue, this guy and I went for coffee and talk about what really makes one a Liberal, a Socialist or a Conservative.  It was after that lunch that I realized I too was a Conservative, but a social one.  It was nice to finally have a place.

But what I really liked was politics as a whole.  I liked the campaigning, the strategy and the ability to garner votes from the public for taking a stand.  I continued in political science and math at University until switching over to Public Policy and Administration – which was the degree I graduated with.

I remember many a class speaking about election reform – how to win and lose elections and trying to defend my views in the institution of higher leaning which leaned very far to the left and probably still does.

So why the preamble?

Because I want to talk about diry politics.  I hate it.

I don’t want to turn on my TV and see each and every commercial an attack on the opposition.  It generates sympathy for them.  I mean it was the Conservatives who poked fun and then Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien’s bells palse which resulted in one side of his face being paralyzed.  I know all about that disaese as I had it in grade 5.  Point is, by poking fun at him, it helped him resonate with the general public and he played right into in.

So why then does every Tory ad have an attack on Michael Ignatief?  To be honest. I think by featuring him in the ads – he’s not a bad looking guy – they are in fact helping to build up his image to the undecided voters. 

Instead, the Conservatives need to just use the Liberal record Federally against them;

GST

Red book

Ad Scam

National healthcare

and more recently the fact that Iggy and his big red machine (no dispespect Kane) have been all over Harper and the Conservatives for checking the facebook pages of those pre=registering for events.  Iggy said Harper should instead spend more time keeping an eye on his own staff.  Iggy kept this one alive for quite a few days, however, that was until today when someone running for a Liberal seat in Quebec was exposed as being a giant racist.  Now Iggy, to his credit, has said there is no room in the Liberal party for a racist and after the investigation – if true – will be turfed. 

This I commend.

But what this does tell me is that the leaders need to stop picking on each other and battle over the isses.  I mean, Iggy.  We’re not stupid.  The Conservative platform is not all about fighter jets an corporate tax cuts.  Just as your campaign cannot totally be about the “Family Plan”.  As a fan of politics and someone who saw your party wave about the red book and claim to kill the GST once elected, I see your plan, I read your plan but I don’t believe you can implement it.

And as for taxes, your strategist claimed that you would “for sure” be raising taxes.  You’ll also raise the Corporate Tax rate.  Have to make sure you get the people and the Corporations, eh?

So while I wait for a town hall in my area, I watch the TV and hope to see an ad that will put PM Harper in a positive light – mention the fact that Canada is the leading G7 country  coming out of the recession and who gets that praise?!?  Hello…

So please kids… Stop fighting and represent yourself properly!!!

While still talking politics, I had to reach out to the campaign crew of Karen Mock who is running for the Liberals in a riding just north of Toronto. It would appear that they are comfortable placing Karen’s signs on all the public land up and down Bathurst Street and around Highway 7.

I sent them a message asking them to take them down because 1) they look desperate (not enough door-to-door support that you need to place signs by the roads) and 2) public land is not where they should be littering with their signage. Put the signs on the lawns of your supporters, not on public space where everyone can see them. This decision was done in poor taste.

 

Let’s Set the Record Straight: I don’t hate Liberals or NDP and their supporters… I just don’t understand them!

I felt like I needed to get that out-of-the-way in the title, before starting my post with this additional disclaimer.  I don’t dislike or look down at poor people either.  I was one myself – sort of, as a child who asked for little and needed little.  I grew up in what I would call a middle class area in Toronto and it could have gone either way for me.  I went to good, not great schools and my interests growing up were certainly not school, but instead hockey, baseball, wallball and soccer.  If my parents had allowed me to drop out of school (like that was ever an option) to play sports, I would have done it in a heartbeat. 

But I didn’t.

And as I grew older and realized I knew people who were much better with money than me, and I knew people who were much worse, my life decisions were made.  Spend $20.00 on cigarettes to be cool, or get good grades to build a future for myself.  With the support of my parents and some really awesome – incredibly smart friends in high-school, I worked my ass off on my academics, kept my nose clean (very clean actually) and when I turned 14, I got a job in the summer so I could have spend money.

I worked all summer and made $200.00 which I used to purchase a refurbished ghetto blaster.  It was huge, black and had movable speakers.  It was awesome and I loved it.  But it also made me realize that I worked so hard the whole summer and within 5 minutes all that money was gone and if I wanted to get more, I would need to earn it.  

For the better part of the next 4 or 5 years my sister and I worked for North York Parks and Recreation – sometimes in 3 different facilities on weekends, in the summer and sometimes both.  At one point her and I worked all day during the week in the summer, and on evenings and weekends – we had 3 jobs - we made some good coin at $5.25/hour, and we learned it’s more fun to earn your money than to be given it in the form of say an allowance or a handout.

So there is the basis for what I’m about to say and how it relates to my frustration with voters in Toronto and the promises (handouts) being offered by the Liberals and NDP.  

 Now, please all you tree-hugging, left-wing “commie pinkos”, I’m not heartless.  I’m what you would call a social Conservative, much like the party in power, actually.  I do understand there are some legitimate reasons why people cannot work, I also know there are many illegitimate reasons why people choose not to work – those ones like to play the system.  I think those in need should 100% be supported by the rest of the citizens of this country, rich and not-so-rich alike, and yes they deserve our support.  No one likes to see people living on the street, just as no one likes to find out that the guy next door living on welfare has a bigger TV than you and takes more trips than you because he’s living of your sweat and blood.

I also like trees, a lot.  I think we need to keep the environment in check at all costs and we need parks and clean water and safe foods, as much as we need smaller, accountable government and to know that our tax dollars are going to help pay for roads, hospitals, social programs and to make our country safer and cleaner for us residents and for tourists.  I do not, however, think it is ever acceptable to get caught up in scams and schemes which use taxpayers money to allow non-arms length business interests to get rich.  The Liberal Ad Scam make me sick to my stomach.  George Smitherman and his reluctance to provide his donor list in the last municipal election proved – no so much in the facts as he has yet to produce his list – that Liberals feel they can run government in a much different manner than you or I would.

I think I saw a Liberal ad last night during the hockey game in which Michael Ignatief referred to the Liberals and being your Liberals, like family.  Really?  Yikes.  Much like the family I don’t already speak to, I don’t need that relative who is going to go though the drawers in my house looking for spare change to take and them blame it on the Conservatives…

Get my point.

Now I know if you are still reading you are either a Conservative and are nodding your head up and down, or you are a Liberal supporter and are cursing me under your breath.  I fell I need to provide examples of what I feel are dirty politics by the Liberals and NDP which go far beyond their massive egos which lead them to believe in the first place that we need yet another election because “Stephen Harper doesn’t treat Canada fairly”.  No, he doesn’t treat you fairly and there is no better ego fix for Iggy or one-liner Jack Layton that to be Prime Minister, or Deputy PM.  This is very much an ego-based election than it is one based on policies.

As a country heading out of the recession which began September 15th, 2008, Canada has received top marks for being one of the countries least affected.  I know being in the finance industry, that I saw the job losses, the bankruptcies and the reduction in hiring, but I have also seen the turnaround at a time when other countries are still wallowing in despair.  But the Liberals would have you believe that was a fluke and now, if you re-elect Stephen Harper and the Conservatives they are going to buy helicopters (or fighter jets) and have corporate tax cuts… Yeah, and?!?  If that is what is keeping Canada out of the recession – defense spending and allowing businesses to continue to operate, should we now decide that is bad?  I’m not sure I’m following Iggy’s logic.

I know, Iggy… Let’s follow the Liberal model and spend as much as we can to buy votes and not worry how we are going to pay for it.  Case in point, Universities are a provincial responsibility, yet just a day into the election, here is Iggy promising to give each student $1000.00 towards their education (hear Ontario Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty scratching his head?). 

Okay, so you want to pay off the university kids right, for the easy vote.  A vote for Iggy means a vote for lower tuition.  Good one.  I’m glad Universities make so much money that they can forego those funds.  Wait, they can’t.  So that money is going to come in the form of new taxes.  Thanks Iggy.  I know tuition is out of control, trust me.  I worked all summer while in University to pay for my tuition when it cost me $3000-4000 for the year.  It’s higher than that now, but when I was working minimum wage was $5.35, now it’s $10.25 in Ontario – thank you again Dalton. 

So when I received my spring newsletter from my MPP, who turns out to be Dr. Eric Hoskins, (who knew since I’ve lived here for almost a year and didn’t know he was the MPP – but I guess in times of election, it’s time to show off your pictures in the neighbourhood helping out and of you with your fellow Libs), I wanted to see what platform he was standing on.  Fortunately for this post, our MP, Dr. Carolyn Bennett also crept out of the woodwork.  Her claim to fame was a private members bill to prevent the killing of the long-form census… Oh yes. 

So I decided to take a peek into these beautiful newsletters to see what the good doctors was doing for the folks in my ward, an ethnic part of Toronto which contains an affluent area and some pretty run down areas. 

Here is why – as a member of the workforce since I was 14, I will not be voting Liberal;

Under the section entitled “Tax cuts, Benefits and Tax Credits Working For You” I found;

• The Libs permanently cut taxes for 93% of Ontarians (I am disregarding this since I vote for the person, not the party.  With no supporting figures to support this claim, I choose to ignore it and look for the footnote instead).
• Eliminated income taxes altogether for 90,000 lower-income people (Wouldn’t lower-income people pay less taxes anyways?)
• The Ontario Clean Energy Benefit lowers our hydro bill by 10% every month for the next 5 years (maybe to offset the disaster that was the Clean energy act and smart meters).
• Increased the child benefit by $1000… For low-income families (I’m okay with this but have always wondered how to be sure this credit gets spent on the kids?  Make it payable to a day care or for a live-in caregiver?)
• Introduced a permanent sales tax credit… For low-income families (in what form?)
• Introduced a property tax credit and energy tax credit… For low-income families
• and paying my family $1000 because they feel guilty that they put in the HST.

So moral of this story… The Liberals want low-income families to feel welcomed in Ontario.   They obviously feel that the middle and upper-middle class can fend for themselves.  You know that group, right… The group who work long hours – usually both parents, hire caregivers, send their kids to programs, private schools or after school programs, buy clothing and accessories for their kids, and for themselves, and who visit attraction in Ontario, eat out, volunteer their time and give to charity, you know the ones who, in a nutshell, stimulate the local economy due to their disposable income.  The message from the Liberals… We’ll help you, but you must be poor.  Frankly, I appreciate the efforts here, really I do, but I expected that from the NDP.

I guess when you aim your campaign against the Conservatives being for big business and for the “rich” you can’t put anything in your platform to assist the middle class or upper-middle class.  They, who are you elected officials, making over $100,000 per year must be able to go it alone if you vote for the Liberals.  Raise your families, stimulate the economy AND help the lower-middle class and lower-class. 

A vote for the Liberals is a burden to anyone who has worked hard to further themselves and their families.  Seriously… Why try?  Find a job working for cash, and live off the handouts.  Where is the incentive?  

At least the party that gave us George Smitherman (where is your donor list George?) and the eHealth scandal is not afraid to come forward and talk about their spend-first, tax later campaign against the middle class.

Federally, all the Liberals are doing is complaining that Stephen Harper, if given a majority government, will suddenly switch his agenda from that of leader of this country – steering us out of a recession, to Stephen Harper, the man who will waste money on helicopters and corporate tax cuts… Yeah, right Iggy.  That’s it… You believe that, because no one else does, or at least anyone educated doesn’t believe that, and I’m sure people who do believe it can be bought with fancy credits.

So what else have the Libs taken credit for?

• That 200,000 more students are attending college, university or learning a trade
• that they’ve increased graduate spaces
• Capped tuition fees
• Invested $6.2 billion dollars in higher education (umm, we’re in a recession guys)
• recovering 91% of jobs lost in Ontario during the 2009 recession comparing that total to the 12% recovered in the US
• They created a tax reform plan.  I love plans!
• Invested $10.8 billion in transit since 2003 (cause that makes it look better)
• Established Metrolinx
• Committed $8 billion to Transit City
• Committed $11.5 billion to a $52 billion dollar project in Toronto and Hamilton for more rapid transit.
• Reduced crime by 17% since 2003.
• Ensured safe drinking water and resurrected the dead.

Wow.  A lot of claims, commitments and a LOT of spending!  No worries about raising the deficit to stay in power, eh?

I’m just concerned that Ontario will do what Ontario likes to do and that is vote Liberal regardless of the policies or the parachuted candidates dropped into ridings by Iggy and friends.  Paul Martin, Jean Chretien were the same.  Stephane Dion was… Let’s not go there.  Bob Rae, they are all the same.   They are political celebrities who are above you and you should know that.  They make the bucks but criticize the Conservatives for wanting to allow people to make a living.   They want you to put them in power so they can run the country for their egos, not because they have a special policy or idea.  Ask Iggy or Jack Layton – all quips aside – what they would do different to steer Canada away from the recession and they’ll tell you Stephen Harper wants to but helicopters.  They won’t tell you that deep down inside they know that giving tax cuts and tax credits to people means either a giant deficit or higher taxes.  The can’t tell you that because who the hell would vote for that? 

They won’t comment to you that Stephen Harper also promised money to help students pay for their post-secondary education – but only after the debt is paid off because that is fiscally responsible.  As a person who has NEVER charged a single purchase on my credit card that I did not have the money in my bank account to pay for, I don’t understand the Liberals being okay with adding and adding to the debt and deficit and paying millions of dollars in interest.  What a waste.  Stop cutting taxes, stop giving credits, pay off the debt and deficit, then use the money that was paying down the debt to pay for social programs or to provide cuts for the poor. 

I guess I would be asking for too much. 

It just irks me that I try to keep my expenses to a minimum and being fiscally responsible in my house but come election time people vote Liberal without a hint of what the Liberals will do once in power, which always results in a raise in taxes (hello, HST!!!).

So please, read the literature that comes in and don’t believe the big red Liberal machine.  Ask questions, call your MP and MPP on their claims and see what they really stand for.  Is it you and your riding or is it about them getting elected?

 

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Elizabeth Taylor, why will there be a May Federal election, new Toronto revenue streams and odd clothing on the subway

So how can you tell when Idon’t blog for a long time? Easily. When I throw together a post with a ton of topics all too small for their own post, or the post contains disjointed thoughts thrownup on the screen. So like this post.

Have I mentioned yet that am craving fish and chips and clam chowder?!? No idea why, but I am.

So here are 5 posts all in one.

Firstly, why was there a guy on the subway Friday morning in a pristine blue suit – looked brand new – yet he was wearing a dirty white baseball hat covering some long, greasy hair? I don’t understand this “look”.  To compliment this disaster, his dress pants were also too long – he was walking on the bottom of the pant much in the same way we walk in the back cuff of our blue jeans…Why?

Where was he going?

Was he trying to make a statement?

Look at me, I’m cool. I have a new blue, un-tailored suit – and I’m hanging out in it – going downtown – and to be cool, I have my lucky baseball cap on.

What do YOU think is the story here?

Next. Elizabeth Taylor died on Wednesday at the age of 79. I knew she was sick – I’ve seen picture upon picture of her for as long as I can remember in a wheel chair, walking with a cane, thin, fat, all with jet black spikey hair… I thought she was WAY older than 79. And to be honest, upon her death, I started ot read up on her because I really didn’t know she was an actress. I’m not really a movie guy, so I’m sure I would not have seen any movie she was in.

So why was she so popular?

I needed only to look at the first line of every obituary I read. She might have been most famous for being married 7 times and for fighting the stigmas that came with HIV/AIDS, as she was for hanging around with Michael Jackson. I wonder if we have any modern day Liz Taylors walking around Hollywood? Not like a Kardashian, or a Lohan, or a Hilton as they are not actresses – save Lohan – but they have not done any good for the greater public, only for themselves.

For those of you interested in Canadian politics, it looks like we are headed for a Federal election in May as the Liberals and NDP and the Bloc have all made overtures towards voting down the Federal budget.

I can’t help but feel that Liberal leader and Toronto Rock mascot Michael Ignatief (Iggy) and NDP leader Jack Layton are deadset on calling their 5th election in 7 years because their time is running out to be leaders of this country. I get the feeling that it is all about their egos and not about what is right for Canadians. $300 million dollars per election. I don’t think, with all the great work the Conservatives have put into this country during the recession, that we are going to see a change in government – maybe another minority government.

I think the key catch-phrase that will define this election came from Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty this morning on AM640, when he said, “It’s come to a time when they [Liberals, NDP and Bloc leaders] don’t even read the budget, they just vote against it.”

When you consider all the fluff surrounding Michael Ignatief, who brought his family into the election by writing about them being wealthy, and they telling people they were poor. The Liberal machine seems hellbent on portraying Stephen Harper as being “untrustworthy”. “Would you want this man running your country”, yet Ignatief has clearly either lied in his book HE wrote, or he lied to the general public.

Pot meet kettle.

The Conservatives need to save Canada from the AdScam Liberal machine and the Soundbite NDP.

And speaking about Canadiens… Thanks to those idiot Habs for losing to the Sabres last night and to those loser Senators for tanking it to the Hurricanes. Anything to keep the Leafs out of the playoffs, eh? And to think when these other Canadian teams made the post season I actually rooted for them. I wonder if these 2 teams are going to roll over and play dead for the Leafs in the last 2 Saturday match-ups of the regular season like they did last night? Doubt it, eh?

The Leafs, went 5-5 in October, 3-10 in November and 5-8 in December all but spelling the end of the Monster in Toronto, and then 6-7 in January, 8-6 in February and so far in March they are 6-5. Thank goodness for James Reimer! I thought they were playing better but competing for a playoff spot is fantastic 2 years into this rebuild.

And finally, if Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti gets his way, Toronto will have two new sources of revenue and tourism.

For one he will place a casino where Ontario Place is – a brilliant idea, in my honest opinion. I have always felt that the CNE grounds would be better used if there was a way to enclose the exhibition and keep it open more than 3 weeks a year to draw tourists. His other idea was to turn on of the Toronto Island’s, the one with the nude beach into a red light district.

While I’m not sure where I stand on a red light district, per se, I do think that taking all this “illegal” behaviour and putting it somewhere where the girls profit and not the pimps, where girls are tested and clean and the users are tested and clean, and where it’s away from the general public (hello Jarvis, or above the stores on Eglinton) is a step in the right direction.

So laugh at Giorgio, like you did at Rocco Rossi for wanting a tunnel to extend Allen Road. I think all ideas have merit and should be studied.

And with that comment, I empty my head of thoughts today…

Your thoughts on any or all of these items is greatly appreciated.

 

T.G.I.F.

Ahhhh, The weekend! A nice, warm, sunny weekened…
Well, today is audience participation day at this Urban Daddy’s blog.

I thought a good discussion topic for today’s post would revolve around me getting to know you a little better. Short of asking people to talk about themselves, I think I have a more creative way to get to know you better.

I have blogged about some current events (in my Urban Daddy bias, of course) and would love to hear your thoughts about these news items. This might help me better understand who is reading my posts. And don’t be shy! Someone just comment on an older post of mine that; “This blog contains the biggest pile of bullshit I have ever read!”.
I replied with the followng, “Thanks Mom!”

So don’t be shy.

The hot topics:

1) Federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff makes a stop at a Tim Hortons just off the 401 in Napanee July 14, as he crosses the country on a summer long tour.
Urban Daddy says: Someone needs to contact Iggy and tell him to stay home! Seriously, man… Why bother?!? He’s just wasting gas and… What exactly is this guy going to say / do that is going to make anyone care about him… In the summer. Iggy, you missed your spots. Go run the University of Toronto!
Conclusion: Going to Tim’s was the best decision he has ever made as Opposition Leader.

2) Mel Gibson. Punches, threatens and is downright nasty to pretty much everyone in real life, but on-screen seems like a pretty even-keel guy, even likable…

Urban Daddy says: … Until now… What goes around comes around! Hollywood is going to make this racist pay! At first when he insulted the “Jews” he was drunk, now he has been recorded (on 5 different tapes) verbally abusing and threatening his wife. Hollywood will not forgive him this time.
Conclusion: No amount of celebrity re-hab is going to save this senile Aussie. Although I do hear that the KKK are hiring…

3) Lindsay Lohan is going to jail for violating her probation. In court she was caught by camera with the words “fuck u” painted on her finger nail. She has hired OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro.
Urban Daddy says: 90 days is not enough time for this malcontent. Set an example with her sentance… Please!
Conclusion: For someone who had not “allegedly” killed someone or done something horrible (unless slowly killing herself with alcohol, drugs and making bad movies) she really brought out the big guns in hiring Shapiro. What happens in a year or two when she’s busted again? Not more tricks up her sleeve… I want to see her in jail.

4) Tiger Woods is golfing at the British Open…

Urban Daddy says: Does anybody care anyone? I know the whole PGA surrounds every breath Tiger takes (but not every move he makes, LOL) but why? I really had no interest in golf when he was the next best thing, the role model, the prodigy. Now?!? I care even less. I’m happy now to see other guys winning because I care that little about Tiger. Although I did see that one of his mistresses, Rachel Uchitel is entering that reality show called Celebrity Rehab. Talk about capitalizing on someone else’s misfortune (or really bad judgement) although this might not be the best venue… Or it was the only one.

Conclusion:
The PGA needs a Tiger free event.I need a Tiger free news day. Rachel needs help!

 

Did you watch the debate last night?

I sure as hell did.  I watched almost all of the Canadian Leaders’ debate and maybe a minute of the US Vice-president’s debate.  I had a little interest in whether Sara Palin was going to self-destruct as was predicted but I was more interested in whether Gilles Duiceppe or Stephane Dion were going to have the success they did in the previous nights’ french-language debate.

Here are my thoughts;

1) I thought on of the highlights of the night was NDP pretender Jack Layton turning to Liberal leader Stephane Dion and asking him why he is running for Prime Minister if he cannot handle the role of leader of the Opposition. 

2) Green Party leader Elizabeth May impressed me with her debating skills and the facts she tossed out here and there, but I was really surprised that she spent all her time attacking the Conservatives considering it’s not like she has a snowballs chance in hell of becoming the leader of the opposition, and quite frankly I’d be surprised if she got any seats.  I thought more time should have been spent attacking the Liberals on their “Green Shift” program which the Green’s claim was their own before the Libs stole it.  At least that way, it would give viewers the option of another party not in Quebec or not on the extremes, but no.  She impressed, but gained nothing. 

3) The NDP are also in the same boat.  Jack Layton attacked the Conservatives with quip after quip and while they were really clever, they were aimed at the wrong party.  Jack… You will never be the Prime Minister – See Bob Rae as Premier of Ontario – We remember.  You would be smart to just chip away at the Liberals and add more and more seats in Parliament until people take the party seriously.  Sure it may take 3 or 4 elections, but seriously, it’s not Toronto where you and your former City Councellor wife can live in subsidized housing and get away with it.  The Barenaked Ladies may support you, and your friends in the Beaches in Toronto may love you, but to the rest of the country, you might as well be Ed Broadbent… Your NDP.

4) Gilles Duiceppe – Tell me again why this guy gets to be in these debates?  He talks about destroying Canada and only being around for Quebec.  The Bloc don’t even have national policies.  So why is he included in the debates?  So we don’t hurt their feelings?  Gilles… If you want to be taken seriously, fight to have all the provinces become separate and created national policies and then maybe you deserve to be on a national debate.  It’s like the US debate being Biden, Palin and Bin Laden…  2 candidates are pro-US and the other against the US and wants to see it destroyed. 

5) All in all, I think Steven Harper could have attacked the NDP for being, well, NDP and the Bloc and Green for being not National parties yet, and the Liberals… Where to start… Another leader that doesn’t speak either official language, past experience of having them lie and deceive the Canadian public with their AdScam debacle, their red book - “If elected we will remove the GST”… Not once, but twice… They stole the Green Party’s “Green Shift” plan and they treat the government like it’s a toy.  They lie.

6) Liberals trying to being down the Conservatives by pointing out that 5 years ago some speech writer for the Conservatives, wrote a speech for Steven Harper what had some text lifted from Australian PM, John Howard.  Wow.  Really.  And in Grade 5, Harper had pimples… What’s wrong with these people? 

My thoughts.

 

Yours?

 

May Day, May Day… What a May in Canadian politics

May 10 – Jean Brault, president of Groupaction, and Charles Guité arrested by the RCMP for fraud which tells me that the Liberal Sponsorship scandal (AdScam) has some legs and is running now. Unfortunately, in Toronto, the Liberals can do no wrong and will still win the next government.
Proof to that is the fact that just one week later, the quite large, longwinded former hockey executive, Ken Dryden announced his candidacy in the 2004 Canadian election representing the Liberal Party in the Canadian electoral district of York Centre, Ontario.

Mark my words… He will win this seat and he will end up holding on to it for a long time.

In efforts to reduce the power lobby groups have, on May 18 the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a law on spending limit by Lobby groups during elections.

Conservative pain in the butt, Karlheinz Schreiber – he of the Air Bus scandal involving Brian Mulroney – has been ordered extradited to Germany on charges of fraud, bribery, and failure to pay taxes.

And on May 27 – Former Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano launches $4.5 million lawsuit against Prime Minister Martin and the federal government.

There is a lot playing out this month. I look forward to tracking it through the years.