Drea

I agree, I'm disgusted at the Liberals, but am not ready to vote for the Conservatives. I'm economically conservative and socially liberal. Note the small c and small l. Social conservatives (the right wing this would include the CHP) would legislate morality. Economic liberals (the left wing, this would include the NDP, the marijuana party) would have us all getting 2 grand a month on welfare. Harper has come along way from his extreme right of centre social views. Whether or not he still harbours those views remains to be seen. He certainly has become more economically liberal -- offering people a hundred bucks to screw (that will piss me off forever!) Does this piss off any other economically conservative voters?

First this from a conservative supporter: Then this from a conservative supporter: In the minds of conservatives: Federally, we are a dictatorship because the majority have voted Liberal for so long. Provincially, we are NOT a dictatorship because the majority have voted Conservative for so long. Hullo? you guys make me laugh out loud! You say Canada is a dictatorship because the majority has voted Liberal, yet you say Alberta isn't a dictatorship even though the same party has been in power for "soooo long" LOL! You say "Every 4 years... blah blah blah. Well, same thing federally you sillies! Every election we are able to vote for the party of our choice. Ooohhh, but it MUST be a dictatorship. Booga booga! LOL Y'all see the hypocracy?

Thanks Leafless I took a look at both links and saved the first one under favorites so my husband can have a chance to review it. I'll also email the link to my dad and bro up north. Why? Because my father has been a faller in BC since 1950 and knows his stuff. My hubby also works in the forest industry, but on the manufacturing side. Just because something is on the internet, doesn't make it true. My family is very involved in forestry, our forest companies are certainly NOT subsidized. Just ask my dad every time he's got to renew his woodlot! Just ask him how many times the stumpage goes UP. Just ask him how much money it costs to maintain the environmental integrity of his woodlot. Again... why is there no tariff on raw logs? Yet there is a tariff on the 2"x4" ? No one has yet even attempted to answer this question. Why?

That's the most sensible thing I've heard during this entire political game. Essentially we won't change much no matter who wins the election. When we wake up Tuesday morning, we'll still do exactly what we did the week before. Lunch? Probably Martin. I believe we could sit and have a conversation. I think Harper would be condescending. Layton, he'd be my second choice.

I'd like to read your link Leafless. North American (Canada and the US) manufacturers are going to have a tough time competing with China, India, the Phillipenes, etc where wages (and therefore manufacturing costs) are much lower. However, the tariff issue really has nothing to do with wages and everything to do with manufacturing efficiency. Canadian producers have HAD to become efficient in order to compete in the face of the American tariff. US lumber companies are less efficient simply because they are protected from real competition.

America1 you have yet to answer the question... if, as you say, Canada is indeed subsidising our softwood, why isn't there a tariff on raw logs? Why only manufactured wood? Please answer the question. Tree farms in southern climates grow Radiata (sp) pine. This tree grows extremely quickly which means it's "rings" are very large and the wood, when it's kiln dried does not maintain it's integrity and is therefore unsuited for building construction -- although it's good for making furniture. Wood grown in northern climates grows much more slowly, which mean the "rings" are very small making it stronger. An example would be Douglas Fir or Lodgepole pine. Again... why is there no tariff on those Doug Fir and Lodgepole pine logs? Yet there is a tariff on the 2"x4" made from this wood?

For his "sake"?? Bush and Cheney gonna come after 'im? Label him a tuuurrrist? LOL I thought it was funny -- if you didn't obviously it must be just a tad too close to the truth eh.

Admit it, Canada is no longer competitive in certain areas of forest products because of lower demand especially for newsprint, plywood and veneer. If we are not competitive, the tarrif would've killed us off. As it is, our forest companies became more efficient. How else can you explain large new pulpmills opening up in the Norther Interior? Also, do you know what a stumpage fee is? It is a fee, paid by the company felling the tree, for the privilege of taking the tree. Along with the stumpage fee, a forest company must also take care of the environment on the woodlot, making sure no streams are damaged etc, clean up the area, and replant it. All expensive endeavors, btw. The forest co. owner in the states who owns the land can do whatever they want with it with no consequence whatsoever.

Great post Chuckman.

Ooooh Big Word: ludicrous. You look that up just yesterday? Pray-tell, what DOES it mean? and as I said above... Harper's gonna give everybody a hundred bucks for screwing -- Ok, you got me, the conservatives don't want a nanny state -- they want a daddy state. Meaning women are supposed to stay at home and produce offspring -- and as a token of his appreciation for spreading our legs we get a hundred bucks! Drea is a she-name silly. I don't wear a hard hat, I ususally wear a suit to work. I wouldn't go to the neighbours house and slam my husband -- that would be rather detrimental to our marriage. Harper has gone south and slammed us all, certainly detrimental to the "relationship" with his countrymen/women. I don't hate Americans, I hate George Bush and what he has done to a once beautiful country. I am ashamed to be on the same continent. I asked a guy from Pakistan the other day: "Do you guys over there see a difference between Canada and the US?" "Yes", he said, "no one wants to go to America anymore, it's not safe for people like me". He was a computer programmer, btw, not a tuuuurrist LOL. Then you may as well stay in bed all day Monday. Cheers! Drea

Sure they're irrelevant. LOL And China is not growing, nor is India. They'll never need our resources. Only one country on earth will ever need our resources so we better kiss their butts and quickly! Pffft. I'm not saying the US isn't important as a trading partner but they are not the be-all, end-all of the earth. One day they will realize it, but by then it will be too late. The entire world is set on a course of eliminating trade barriers. America is going to be left in the dust if they don't start realizing this. Read this book: The World is Flat.

So, America1, if the WTO ruled that Canada is indeed (theoretically) subsidising our softwood, why isn't there a tariff on raw logs? Why only manufactured wood?

The softwood tariff is not on actual softwood (the tree/log). It's on MANUFACTURED softwood products. If, and that is a great big "IF", Canada IS subsidizing softwood lumber then there should be a tariff on raw logs -- we ship our raw logs (thanks a freakin heap Gordo!) to the USA and there is NO TARIFF on those logs. Stumpage is paid when a tree is felled, not when it is manufactured so I don't understand why the US doesn't tariff raw logs -- I guess because they NEED them, eh?!

Funny. A lot of women I know are far more impressed with the Conservative plan.. I know as a parent of 2 children, I definitely do not like the Liberal plan. Does your wife work Bryan? Are your children under 6? Are you living under the poverty line -- in other words do you NEED the $100?

I'm guessing not you. Honey, I probably make more dough (and therefore pay more taxes) than you LOL. So yes, it's ME who is paying this traitor's salary. The point is that Harper thinks we are all on welfare, that Canada is a "nanny state". LOL then he wants to give everybody a hundred bucks for screwing and producing offspring! As far as I'm concerned Harper owes the Canadian public an apology for slamming his country, period. Our boys (and girls) are dying in Afghanistan.... Harper would have them dying in Iraq... Harper is associated with the religious right... GWB (his hero) is an evangelical Christian. Their (evangelical's) attitude (I said attitude, not actions!) are pretty much exactly the same as the Islamic fundamentalist. And this man wants to run our country!

I agree with Betsy.... you are not your child's friend. There is a huge difference between spanking and beating -- a child that is beaten doesn't learn anything except beatings are how to get someone to do what you want. Spankings are a consequence of bad behaviour. For those who don't believe in spanking what would you have done if you were the mother of the slapping 4 yo? Very small chilren don't understand the relationship between (for example) losing their "Barney watching" privileges for a week and the fact that they were hitting mom 1/2 hour ago. Many of us, some of who are parents, some grandparents, got spankings. Even by our teachers. Today a student can say "f**k you" to the teacher (or their parents) with no consequence at all -- both the teacher and the parent's hands are tied by bleeding hearts who equate an honest spanking with beating.

The ad speaks nothing but the truth. Did Harper slam his own beloved country to the US? Yes he did and he should apologize profusely for doing so. The "speech in Washington" ad is my favorite by far. Canadians need to know that Harper hates Canada and thinks we all suck, thinks we all live on welfare! Hmmm... if we all live on welfare, who the hell is paying his salary?

In Vancouver most of the gangs are young East Indian males or young Veitnamese (sp) men. They are most definetly not from poor or single parent families. They all drive suped up little cars and they have guns. The father of my niece's baby is dead, shot execution style, body dumped by the freeway. His family is wealthy, they own a chain of greenhouses in the Fraser Valley. My sister took in a foster kid, a 15 yo native girl who had been raised her whole life by a wealthy German couple. She had every advantage an kid could ever want but didn't like the rules in her home, so she ran away and ended up in foster care. My sister found a 9mm handgun in her backpack! I'd never seen a gun before -- intimidating looking thing it was! We phoned the police, they came and got the gun but the ministry gave us supreme shit for "going through her stuff". Aparently foster parents aren't allowed to go through a kid's "stuff". Pfft. These 2 kids I've described come from happy healthy homes. They are not recent immigrants, nor were they raised on welfare. They enjoy the excitment and don't care if they live or die obiviously.

Just on the news... CTV $40,000 per year to work at Superstore in Alberta. They are recruiting people from Atlantic Canada. No one tells these people that there's a housing shortage tho and that they'll be paying $1500 a month for a studio apt. Here in the Fraser Valley (BC), Superstore and Walmart pay minimum wage. I worked at Liquidation World previously and I made minimum wage -- and yes, my daycare was fully subsidised. As was after school care once my son was in school. If Liquidation world could've paid me $40,000/yr I would've stayed on... BTW, What's going on in Alberta does not reflect what's going on in the rest of the country.

You may want to crank at your provincial govt for this... After all it is a provincial responsibility (currently). I've never heard of a SPACE being denied. I've heard of people being denied the govt subsidy because they made too much money. BTW, the single mom is not playing bingo (the govt does not pay for babysitting for "outtings") -- she is working at Walmart for minimum wage. Conservatives have always bitched about the "nanny" state and now you want to become part of it? As a liberal myself I don't believe I (should I have a baby) am entitled to recieve money for daycare because I make decent money. I don't work at Walmart, but many do. The woman (single mom) who makes $40 grand a year does not get daycare subsidy, nor should the family who pulls in that amount. Would you rather see that single mom stuck on welfare for the rest of her life?

Get real. My tenant operates a little daycare... do you think she is going to have to "institutionalize" it? Pffft. It's about SPACE. Daycare space and the LACK thereof. NOT about putting babies in little nazi uniforms and endoctrinating them.... talk about tinfoil hats! LOL Under Harper's plan there is no increased space. As I've stated before THE GOVT ALREADY PAYS for childcare for those who CANNOT AFFORD to pay it themselves. Why in the hell should MY tax dollars go to Mr. and Mrs. One Hundred Grand A Year? So they can repaint the babies room? So they can give gramma $100 when the wife is going out for her facial and can't watch the baby? Pfffffft. Talk about a culture of entitlement! Am I entitled to $100? My family makes over 100 g/yr?

You absolutely did the right thing betsy. The child needed to be spanked. Children need their parents to be in control. The mother you described was clearly not in control. I cringe when I think of how this little girl will treat her mother in 10 years. Children "test" their parents. We've all done it. We push to see what the limits are because, as children, we want limits and boundaries that are well defined so we can feel secure. The mother should have said to the child "When we get home you are going to get a spanking because slapping me is unaccaptable. You can think about that for the ride home". This gives the mom a chance to calm down before the spanking so she doesn't spank out of anger. My mom did this to us as kids... we'd have to go outside and then come in one at a time for our spanking. Gave us time to think about what we'd done rather than just being mad at our parent for the spanking.

If we are talking about teens committing crimes, I have one question? Why is there not an onus on the parents? "My little Billy would NEVER do such a thing! He is a good boy, all he does all day is play on his Xbox. I don't know how he could've possibly stolen a car -- that game he plays "Grand Theft Auto" is just a game. No one does those things for real. It helps my son release tension, if he steals a car on the game, he won't want to do it in real life" This is how parents think. Stupid stupid people that they are... If my kid ever steals a car I will be at least partially responsible as his parent. My bro was a bad kid -- stole a car when he was 16 (1978). He was sentenced to 9 months in a camp way out in the middle of knowwhere in BC's northern interior. Best thing that ever happened to him -- he came out of there a different kid. My nephew was caught selling pot (1998). He was sentenced to 6 months in a juvenile "jail" in the middle of the city. He learned how to become a better criminal. He got at least half a dozen new "contacts" there who were willing to provide him with more drugs. Hmmmm... how things have changed eh. I say send em all to boot camp right away. Juvie jails just teach them how to beat the system.

I always thought the conservatives wanted LESS social safety net? "Get out there and work yah bum!" has been the mantra of conservatives forever. What changed? Why are conservatives now frothing at the mouth to get their hands on an extra $1200 a year? Even for those who don't need it (aren't poor)? The provincial govt ALREADY pays for daycare. YES they pay even if grandma is looking after the kidlets. They pay over $300 per month (at least in BC). The biggest issue working parents face is finding decent care for their children. Giving everyone $1200 won't increase the amount of daycare spaces. Pffft... family making $100,000 per year and the cons want to PAY THEM for having children? What a ridiculous idea. Conservatives will cry: "but the single mom who goes to work gets over $300 from the govt and my stay at home wife should get some money too!" Never mind that that family can afford brandname Playmobile toys etc and the single mom is going down to the thrift store to buy dirty old toys that she takes home and cleans for her toddler... and the crib she uses isn't quite up to par because she bought the only one she could afford and the wife of the rich guy has gone through two cribs already since the baby was born because she changed the colour of the baby's room again. Sorry, got to ranting a bit but I am so disgusted with "have" people who figure they "need" the $1200.

I am in complete agreement with you Hydraboss. Private clinics and hospitals are not going to change anything for the average Canadian. Public insurance will still cover the cost of your knee operation. And why "use up" the resources of a major hospital for minor surgery when it could simply be done at a clinic? IMO this would free up the major hospitals for heart operations, etc.