Wilber

Can anyone be happy about our so called Parliament wasting a whole week on this BS. When they get rid of the Senate they can also get rid of the Commons as far as I am concerned.

No, the question was partisan garbage, and doesn't belong on this forum. Neither does the poster. Gerry and I don't agree on much but are you an American? Were you asked the question? I would call Dancer's comments partisan garbage.

Heathcare is a provincial jursidiction, not federal.

Perhaps one reason Provinces are reluctant to tax more is because people figure they are already being taxed too much and one reason for that is the Federal Government is taking too large a slice of the pie. Better to have the money closer to home with provincal or municipal governments instead of our least accountable level of government, the Feds. Education is a provincial jurisdiction, not federal.

I'd happily vote to make alcohol illegal. It has contributed to a large proportion of the problems that exist in society and I would happily give up my right to enjoy a social drink so the amount of spousal, sexaul, and emotional abuse caused by liquor would decrease. Already been done, it was called prohibition. Didn't work. Happily give up your own rights if you wish but don't be so cavalier with the rights of others. If we ban everything that some people do irresponsibly we will have no rights at all.

If your standard of living depends on doing business with the US it is a definite consideration. Probably more important to you than someone else's right to get stoned. I really don't care one way or the other but think it should be way down on any government's list of priorities.

Ya, it has happened on both sides of the border but either way there is no excuse for it. My apologies for the way your kids were treated by my obnoxious countrymen.

Why is it the left don't think women are capable of handling themselves one on one in a forum? Why do they think women are less capable of dealing with an insult than a man and must be protected accordingly? I consider myself a conservative and I admire women who consider themselves the equal of any man and don't think they need men or anyone else to fight their battles for them. Unfortunately chauvinism is still a reality in this world but you can't give someone respect, man or woman, they have to earn it on their own. Not allowing them to do that by injecting your own political or moral agenda is just dishonest. I don't need MP's wasting the peoples time and money telling me what is objectionable behavior and what should be done about it. I am quite capable of doing that myself, as is everyone else. Report what happened and leave it at that. I have little respect for those who try to make political capital out of a personal issue between two individuals.

Finally a conspiracy theory that might be believable.

Betsy, you seem to be a good example of the kind women who are being short changed by this kind of nonsense. If Mackay and Stronach were just normal adults exchanging the odd cheap shot after a failed relationship the great majority of us would say, who cares, sort it out by yourselves. Because the temptation to gain political advantage and pursue private agendas is too great, that is not possible. We have a case where all and sundry are jumping in to support the poor defenseless female against the sexist barbarian male. Because they believe she and other women need to be defended and should be treated to a different standard than males, one can only assume they do not really believe she is Mackay's or other mans equal. Because she falls back on the same defense, instead of saying to Layton et all " back off boys I can handle this twit myself" one must wonder if she really believes she is his equal.

Why only one, are you a homophobe?

To call someone somethimg that generally refers to a woman, ain't sexist? Thinking woman are meant to be whores is sexist.....but it doesn't mean you think all women should be whores......... I'm not aware that asshole is gender specific, considering even the queen has on........ Calling straonach an asshole would not have been sexist....... How about prick?

People who victimize others who are weaker and cannot defend themselves should be horse whipped, gender should have nothing to do with it.

Why only an ordinary male? If you want real equality you can't set different standards of behavior for different genders. That is not equality.

I take it then that it is OK to put down someone of your own sex in this matter but not someone of the opposite sex. What if they really just don't like each other? Do they have to be civil only because they are not of the same sex?

I think this whole furor puts down intelligent capable women. It assumes they need some kind of special protection to function in the big wide world and hinders what they might accomplish rather than helping. You almost never hear the word sexist applied to women's actions toward men. Many television commercials you see these days involve women making men look stupid. No talk of sexism there, nor should there be.

I disagree, it is an important point and one that shouldn't be swept under the carpet. Women and children are still being treated as second class citizens. This is unacceptable behaviour and will not be tolerated! It is not alleged, as there is a tape of what he said, and it is more than juvenile, it is discrimination. The cost of such intolerance and discrimination is going to be every woman in the country voting for The parties of these two women. If you just sweep it under the table with such a down-playing statement you are in the same catagory as the sexist jerk who made these discriminatory comments. Horse Pucky. Comparing an inane remark made in the Commons, the source of countless inane remarks on a daily basis with slavery and mutilation belittles those who really suffer. People who would draw that comparison are using the suffering of real victims to promote their own agenda. Mrs Stronach is a billionaire who chose to join an institution which makes nonsense an art form. She is not a victim.

Probably better that she didn't. I can imagine what sort of names he would have called her then. I disagree, a comback like that would score a lot of points and likely shut him up before he dug himself a bigger hole.

To Ms Stronach, Messrs Mackay, Harper, Goodale and Layton, . Mr Mackay: Discussing your personal life in public has its perils. If you said it, meant it and would say it again to her face, don't apologize unless you want to. If you didn't say it, don't apologize. If you did say it and wouldn't say it to her face, think about apologizing. Mr Harper: Talk to your man and find out which of the above apply. Ms Stronach: There are not separate mens and womens leagues in politics. If you want to fight with the men you will either have to fight like a man or fight smarter than the men. Falling back on your gender when you feel insulted will not get you the respect you desire. Just ignore him or call him a twit and move on. Messrs Goodale and Layton: Surely there must be something more important to this country that you would cause you to expend so much righteous indignation. To all: I realize many MP's have good intentions and work very hard for their constituents but you often make it very difficult to respect that fact. When I listen to the all the childish BS being expended on bitterness between a couple of ex lovers for the purpose of making political hay, it is no wonder that fewer people are interested in politics and have less respect than ever for the institution and politicians in general. Try acting like adults, this is not why we sent you to Ottawa. W.

So it would be okay for Stronach to say what a small man MacKay has become and always has been. That would be okay? Absolutely.

Other Conservatives have made the sexist remarks and have not faced any caucus rebukes. MacKay himself was acting like a boor and the remark is sexist in an of itself because it is generally used as a comment on how a woman looks. Dog (the word he didn't say) is also used to descibe anthing that doesn't perform.

That means that American, Canadian and Western European labor priced itself out of the market. As to China, it is slave labor. Trudeau led the way towards the dubious recognition of the Communists. India is not communist, it is the worlds largest democracy. Ever been to China? Yes labour is cheap but that has nothing to do with communism. It often struck me as ironic that China which claims to be the worlds biggest socialist country is populated by people who practice capitalism better than just about anyone. They save while we spend.

Most of the time Stronach has not responded to the furor. I don't think it is appropriate for the Foreign Minister to be acting like a sexist and a boor. I think that Thatcher herself would have asked that the remark be withdrawn. Instead MacKay acts like it didn't happen. Had ther been no personal history between these two I might agree. When you have jumped in the sack with someone, Parliamentary rules no longer apply.

They went after he indirectly. They went after her husband instead. She felt compelled to defend him because without him, she would not have had the support needed to run in the first place. Good for her, very few people can exist without support from someone. I've been married for 37 years and would be the first to admit that my wife deserves a great deal of credit for any success I have had in life. The point is Thatcher considered herself anyones equal and did not feel the need to use her sex to fight her battles. If she ever did it was to turn a comment back on someone with her own intelligence and wit, not whine about it. Belinda should have either brushed it off or come back with a better line. Until she learns to do that she will be a lightweight, not someone who can command respect as a potential leader. Given the personal history between these two this story belongs in tabloid news like E Talk or ET Canada, not the national media.

There are a lot of people in Great Britian who might not agree with you. She too was a war monger. More revisionist history. Hitler was the war monger as was Galtieri. Who invaded who? Thatcher never lost an election, she was the victim of internal party politics. Of course there are people in Britain who wouldn't agree with me. I wasn't referring to her politics but the fact she would go head to head with the boys without using the S card and complaining she was being picked on because she was a woman. Her response would have been a swift verbal kick in the nuts, not a whine. She would have had nothing but contempt for that tactic.