Hey Jim, Go Suck an Egg

Since we've just come off Easter, I think it's only right I tell Jim Flaherty what I think about his recent comments about our Ontario Budget.

Jim, Go Suck an Egg. We don't need you telling our province how to run our budget. See, when you guys were elected, you and your party said: you were going to let the provinces have more control over their jurisdiction.

Well, let's just chalk that up to another broken promise. Jim seriously, Are you the Finance Minister of Canada or are you the Finance Minister of Ontario? Because, if you really don't want your current Job and you are really looking for John Tory's Job. Step right up and take it, because I would love nothing more then to have you out the current job you own. Because, all you've done since you've gotten into office, is start laying the groundwork to ruin our country financially.

Jim, I want to say this as nicely as I can, but I'm really angry at how you've insulted my province. So in the nicest possible way I can say it.

F*** you Jim.

When Will Alberta Give Up on the Conservative Dictatorship?

I'm hoping that tonight we will have change but considering this is "Alberta" I'm not going to be surprised when we have an eleventh straight conservative government in Alberta, admittedly I'm not from Alberta. I know that Alberta has always been a conservative stronghold, I'm not stupid. But let's be honest folks, even Alberta needs a change.

I knew damn well the Liberals were not going to hold the federal governments reigns forever. Let's be serious though, The Tories in Alberta are a bunch of tired old politicians who have run out of ideas and can pretty much just sit on their thumbs and do nothing, because they think Albertans are Idiots, I know they aren't idiots, but to be serious, don't you guys get tired of having the same damn party win every election? It's not even a damn fight.

Seriously Alberta, do something wild. Stop being so boring and predictable.

I Knew Harper was bad, but...

So I sit down this morning for my morning coffee and open up a paper and the first thing I find, is this. I almost spat out my coffee after reading this. Folks, there is no nice way to put this. This is fascism in action pure and simple, I knew Harper was a bad prime minister, but this takes the cake, I saw this story and my blood boiled. I know I haven't been on much but when I see something like this get barely any coverage anywhere else and then have Sandra Buckler, the PM's Propaganda Gal says that they have no plans to "pursue" such a project.

Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously take a look at that, they got caught with their pants down on this one, do they honestly believe people are that stupid? Where is the media on this issue? Kudos to the Toronto star for unearthing this horrifying situation. Stephen Harper is a total Hypocrite when it comes to Ethics, he slammed the liberals for lack of transparency and yet he has run one of the most secretive governments in Canadian history. He also liked attacking the Liberals over a sponsorship scandal, until it was found his own party violated the law trying to win the 2006 election by laundering money through weak candidates. Stephen Harper plain and simple is a thug who pushes people around and states that it's his way or the highway. He likes to talk about how he's such a leader, well Stevie, maybe I can tell you that Leaders are not thugs and they don't bully and push people around to get their way. True Leaders are people who listen and try to compromise and find a solution for all Canadians and not for one segment of the population.

Dion should go for it.

There are obviously many opinions in the Liberal Caucus right now that we should avoid an election espeically with the release of a poll right now that shows Harper is in Majority Range. Dion realistically has two options, I'm almost certain that it is not going to involve voting for the throne speech.

1) Dion can abstain or have some MP's abstain from the vote to ensure that the speech passes, but it is voiced that the Liberals do not support the government. Of course he could completely abstain but that may draw more "Stephane Dion is not a leader" quotations.

or

2) The very risky scenario but personally I feel it is better, I personally believe now is the time Dion should take out this government. If he wants to end accusations of Poor Leadership then he should vote down the throne speech and throw down the gauntlet at Harper, he needs to state that he's not going to run away or playing Stephen Harper's game any longer. He needs to laugh off this cariacture that the media paints him out to be, He needs to show that he is not going to let the Media or Mr. Harper paint him to be like this. I personally do not believe the tripe that Stephane Dion is not a leader, he has had his ups and downs and just like Stephen Harper had people quit on him and said that he never could be prime minister that does not mean Stephane Dion can never be prime minister, I personally believe he will, as Liberals we should not second-guess our choices, We chose Dion and personally I believe that with anyone else as leader we probably would still be in the same position we are now. Dion has obviously started laying the policy groundwork for the next election. I am not sure if he can win Government but I am certain that he can most certainly stop Harper from getting a majority, he needs to believe in himself, he needs to paint Harper as someone who is secretive, arrogant and somebody who is a schoolyard bully because that's essentially what he and the conservative party are, they are a bunch of bullies that feel the need to go and enforce their own agenda no matter how many times people tell them that they are wrong on an issue.

So If Dion wants to show he has some balls he will go and he will take the fight to these clowns.

My Prediction Riding by Riding

A little more optimistic then Mr. Glass but nonetheless, I think we're going to gain some seats and not lose much. i think there is going to be a surprise at how poorly the tories do. I'm willing to predict a green party win as well.

UPDATE: Correct are Bolded

CENTRAL ONTARIO
Ajax-Pickering -- Joe Dickson, LIB
Barrie -- Aileen Carroll, LIB
Bramalea-Gore-Malton -- Kuldip Kular, LIB
Brampton-Springdale -- Linda Jeffrey, LIB
Brampton West -- Vic Dhillon, LIB
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound – Shane Jolley, GREEN
Burlington - Joyce Savoline, PC
Dufferin-Caledon -- Sylvia Jones, PC
Durham - John O'Toole, PC
Haliburton-Kwartha Lakes-Brock -- Laurie Scott, PC
Markham-Unionville -- Michael Chan, LIB
Mississauga-Brampton South -- Amrit Mangat, LIB
Mississauga East-Cooksville -- Peter Fonseca, LIB
Mississauga-Erindale -- Harinder Takhar, LIB
Mississauga South -- Charles Sousa, LIB
Mississauga-Streetsville -- Bob Delaney, LIB
Newmarket-Aurora -- Frank Klees, PC
Oak Ridges-Markham -- Helena Jaczek, LIB
Oakville -- Kevin Flynn, LIB
Oshawa -- Sid Ryan, NDP
Parry Sound-Muskoka -- Norm Miller, PC
Peterborough -- Jeff Leal, LIB
Richmond Hill -- Reza Moridi, LIB
Simcoe-Grey -- Jim Wilson, PC
Simcoe North -- Garfield Dunlop, PC
Thornhill -- Mario Racco, LIB
Vaughn -- Greg Sorbara, LIB
Whitby-Oshawa -- Christine Elliott, PC
York-Simcoe -- Julia Munro, PC

EASTERN
Carleton-Mississipi Mills -- Norm Sterling, PC
Glengarry-Prescott-Russell -- Jean-Marc Lalonde, LIB
Kingston and the Islands -- John Gerretsen, LIB
Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington -- Ian Wilson, LIB
Leeds-Grenville -- Bob Runciman, PC
Nepean-Carleton -- Lisa MacLeod, PC
Northumberland-Quite West -- Lou Rinaldi, LIB
Ottawa Centre -- Yasir Naqvi, LIB
Ottawa Orleans -- Phil McNeely, LIB
Ottawa South -- Dalton McGuinty, LIB
Ottawa-Vanier -- Madeleine Meilleur, LIB
Ottawa West-Nepean -- Jim Watson, LIB
Prince Edward-Hastings -- Leona Dombrowsky, LIB
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke -- John Yakabuski, PC
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry -- Jim Brownell, LIB

SOUTH CENTRAL
Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale -- Ted McMeekin, LIB
Brant -- Dave Levac, LIB
Cambridge -- Gerry Martiniuk, PC
Guelph -- Liz Sandals, LIB
Haldimand-Norfolk -- Toby Barrett, PC
Halton - Ted Chudleigh, PC
Hamilton Centre -- Andrea Horwath, NDP
Hamilton East-Stoney Creek -- Nerene Virgin, LIB
Hamilton Mountain -- Sophia Aggelonitis, LIB
Huron-Bruce -- Carol Mitchell, LIB
Kitchener Centre -- John Milloy, LIB
Kitchener-Conestoga -- Michael Harris, PC
Kitchener-Waterloo -- Elizabeth Witmer, PC
Niagara Falls -- Kim Craitor, LIB
Niagara West-Glanbrook -- Tim Hudak, PC
Oxford -- Ernie Hardeman, PC
Perth-Wellington -- John Wilkinson, LIB
St. Catharines -- Jim Bradley, LIB
Welland -- Peter Kormos, NDP
Wellington-Halton Hills -- Ted Arnott, PC

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO
Chatham-Kent-Essex -- Pat Hoy, LIB
Elgin-Middlesex-London -- Steve Peters, LIB
Essex -- Bruce Crozier, LIB
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex -- Maria Van Bommel, LIB
London North Centre -- Deb Matthews, LIB
London-Fanshawe -- Stephen Maynard, NDP
London West -- Chris Bentley, LIB
Sarnia Lambton -- Caroline Di Cocco, LIB
Windsor-Tecumseh -- Dwight Duncan, LIB
Windsor West -- Sandra Pupatello, LIB

NORTHERN ONTARIO
Algoma-Manitoulin -- Mike Brown, LIB
Kenora-Rainy River -- Howard Hampton, NDP
Nickel Belt -- Ron Dupuis, LIB
Nipissing -- Monique Smith, LIB
Sault Ste. Marie -- David Orazietti, LIB
Thunder Bay-Atikokan -- Bill Mauro, LIB
Thunder Bay-Superior North -- Michael Gravelle, LIB
Timiskaming-Cochrane -- David Ramsay, LIB
Timmins-James Bay -- Gilles Bisson, NDP

TORONTO
Beaches-East York -- Michael Prue, NDP
Davenport -- Tony Ruprecht, LIB
Don Valley East -- David Caplan, LIB
Don Valley West -- Kathleen Wynne, LIB
Eglinton-Lawrence -- Mike Colle, LIB
Etobicoke Centre -- Donna Cansfield, LIB
Etobicoke-Lakeshore -- Laurel Broten, LIB
Etobicoke North -- Shafiq Qaadri, LIB
Parkdale-High Park -- Cheri DiNovo, NDP
Pickering-Scarborough East – Wayne Arthurs, LIB
Scarborough-Agincourt -- Gerry Phillips, LIB
Scarborough Centre -- Brad Duguid, LIB
Scarborough-Guildwood -- Margarett Best, LIB
Scarborough-Rouge River -- Bas Balkissoon, LIB
Scarborough Southwest -- Lorenzo Berardinetti, LIB
St. Paul's -- Michael Bryant, LIB
Toronto Centre -- George Smitherman, LIB
Toronto Danforth -- Peter Tabuns, NDP
Trinity-Spadina -- Rosario Marchese, NDP
Willowdale -- David Zimmer, LIB
York Centre -- Monte Kwinter, LIB
York South-Weston -- Laura Albanese, LIB
York West -- Mario Sergio, LIB


LIBERAL PARTY: 74
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY: 22
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY: 10
GREEN PARTY: 1

The Liberals Don't Need a Quick Fix, They need a complete Overhaul

Here is what I think the Liberals need to do if they want to stop becoming a laughing stock that they already are.

I remember not so long ago that Stephen Harper was in this exact same position, but instead of repeating the old tired liberals are corrupt mantra, he basically was able to offer a lot of policy ideas and people flocked to it because they saw someone who had a vision for Canada "at the time". It's quite funny that the Liberals Popularity is much better then Dion's and Harper is much more popular than his own party.

We cannot afford as a party to have an election at this time, we are in terrible shape and we will get slaughtered if we insist on going into an election, I would suggest Mr. Dion either vote for the throne speech or if not then mass-abstain from it. Secondly, Mr. Dion has to stop being on the defensive and start coming out with policy and try to paint Mr. Harper as somebody who is visionless and a panderer.

I think the Liberals seems to be popular outside of Quebec and Alberta. They aren't in bad shape in those areas but they can still improve. In Quebec however it is where they are really going to have to shape up or ship out. Dion is obviously stuck on the federalism issue and even if he tried to change his views now it would not look genuine. He needs to clearly state that he believes that Quebec has a strong place within Canada and he needs to say that the era of Sovereignty vs Federalism is over and it is time to move on from that debate, He has to give the impression to the Quebecois that he is willing to sit down and listen to what they have to say.

It is going to take at least a year or two to try and win back the hearts and minds of the Quebecois and the rest of Canada, we have no choice but to wait it out and go back to the drawing board. I think that the entire Quebec Wing of the party needs to be completely reformed and fixed up. We need to open more offices as well in Quebec. Dion needs to start raising money online and start trying to appeal to the grassroots of the party. The Liberals need to stop this Top to bottom management style, it's hurt the party so much and it leaves the wrong impression. This is a party run by the people and not run by one person.

This needs to serve as a guiding lesson for now.

Vote Against MMP

Over the past few days many people have stood up with regards to the referendum debate and have basically said that we should vote for this system. Well to me personally I say no. We have only one pledge from a party leader so far that he will allow a party convention to choose the list of Candidates that they will run and that is Howard Hampton. I am assuming that John Tory who recently declared in a story in one of the major papers that he had the same concerns that I had regarding this system.

The truth is the MMP-system is a flawed voting system, it rewards the Leaders and Party Hacks of every party and it allows them to continue to force things to go their way or the highway. And even if this passes what is not to say that the major parties will not follow the Hampton Precedent? As much as I dislike the FPTP system, I feel that MMP is inadequate. I feel that personally we should have Instant-Runoff Voting. It works in Australia and I do personally feel that people need to achieve 50% to win, I feel it's only fair that way.

My Thoughts on the By-elections

Let's be honest folks this was a clusterfuck of enormous proportions, this by-election never should have been lost but really I think it had to do with the following.

1. Stephane Dion's candidate, Jocelyn Coulon was badly hurt by perceived anti-semetic writings. It was a really bad decision to put a candidate who had controversy with the Jewish Community up for election.

2. Jack Layton had the best candidate he could get to run for him in that riding and rightfully so, because I would bet you my life savings that if Mulcair did not run, The Liberals would have had this riding. I am almost certain they would have.

3. Is this an indictment of Stephane Dion's leadership? Yes and no, Obviously Dion made a terrible decision by putting up a Candidate like Coulon. However, I again do believe that had Mulcair not been the NDP Candidate, he would not have won. That being said, I think that Dion took the high road and even saw a silver lining in this, as much as I hate having another conservative elected, I would take a federalist over a sovereignist any day.

Stephane Dion is that rare person who has unbridled optimism despite what people say about him. So while this was a terrible terrible error, I am sure that Dion can rebound from this. However, I am really hoping the Liberals do not want to go into an election right now. It would be a huge mistake, We need to see the Conservatives make a big mistake and so far they aren't. However, I personally feel that Harper is not going to make a move until after October 10, that's after the Ontario Provincial Election, BTW.

What Was Brian Mulroney Thinking?

Shame on Brian Mulroney, He should know better then to kick somebody who cannot speak for himself and cannot defend himself. Mr. Mulroney should know better then to speak ill of the dead, and certainly it's even more shameful he did it to someone who cannot even respond. I admit Pierre Elliott Trudeau was not a perfect man, he was a great politician and Leader, but for Brian Mulroney to say what he did is absolutely shameless and uncalled for.

What's The Deal With John Tory?

I'm back from Summer Vacation and ready to blog, I know blogging can be very difficult considering you have to keep working at it. I haven't found much to post about until today, when I've officially realized that John Tory has completely lost his mind.

To be quite honest, as a member of the Liberal Party, I seriously believed that John Tory hitting the liberals over the head with the Broken Promises was really going to do some severe damage, so yes I was quite fearful of what Tory could do. But, instead Tory has run a very sloppy campaign so far. He's had a case of what we like to call foot in mouth disease and cannot seem to get his foot out of his mouth. But, even before that I would say Tory has made some boneheaded moves.

The first boneheaded move came when he chose to run in Toronto, Though John Tory kept his word, he knows damn well it was by far idiotic, I really think that Toronto has changed heavily since the Tories were swept out of Toronto in 2003, The Federal Tories have not held a seat in Urban Toronto in almost 10 years or so and the Provincial Tories are hoping to not start a repeat of that record. If John Tory had run in his old riding of Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey (Now Dufferin-Caledon), he would not have had to worry about campaiging in a very liberal city like Toronto, instead he did just that. Don Valley West, the riding John Tory is running in, does have a bit of a libertarian streak to it and I admit Tory did not pick downtown Toronto, but this is still going to be very very close.

The other boneheaded move by Tory? His opponent is Kathleen Wynne who just so happens to be the Minister of Education, with John Tory now bringing up the Funding Religious Schools Argument, Wynne will likely be able to use her knowledge in the portfolio of Education, to destroy Tory's arguments on this. I know that Provincially, the tories are not as hated as the federal tories are in toronto. But still, this does not Mean John Tory will win this in a walk.

Then Come the Gaffes.

Gaffe #1: Tory Refers to the University of Ottawa as the University of Zero
Gaffe #2: Tory Claims Standardized Testing Can't Be Trusted Because of a Liberal Conspiracy
Gaffe #3: Tory says: Creationism is Awesome and should be taught in Faith-Based Schools!

Jaysus Leweezus, Hasn't John Tory done more then enough to insult the education system the past few days? These Gaffes not only show that John Tory cannot control his mouth, it also shows what Little Knowledge he has of the Education System. McGuinty should make it a priority to hammer this home in the debates. He needs to make the point that Tory is completely oblivious on education and that he doesn't seem to know how the heck the education system works.

I should also ask why Mr. Tory is so hellbent and headstrong on bringing back a failed policy of the Harris Tory era? Somebody please tell me, What is the deal with John Tory?