Jerry J. Fortin

Unfortunately most politicians in this country follow the direction of the political wind. To them it, (politics) is about power and control. It isn't about the public good, it isn't about doing a public service it is about them, not us. Many good people have gone into politics thinking that they would make a difference, but somewhere along the way they find a nicely trimmed trough to belly up to and the rot sinks in. Not all politicians are so afflicted but far too many are. The partisan system that robs them of their own and their constituents voices plays heavily into that problem.

If the government or any other partisan group had balls and brains, they would put forth the same thing that the Americans have with a slight twist. Make mortgages tax deductible, setup a variant of CMHC as a mortgage firm, design mortgages to fit incomes and have fixed long terms and low rates. Do this and the economy will turn. Design it around the same thing as the Americans have their defense industry setup, nicely spread around across the entire nation with jobs in every province. We need to take a closer look at what works people. We need to design an economic recovery plan with a little more substance than simply infrastructure and parks and recreation. We need a long term plan that by design alters local economies and provides net benefit and visible goals for the public.

The way forward for the Tories is to eliminate the handle of good administrators that the Liberals have taken hold of. That means public safety and crime prevention as well as foreign policy. I don't speak for anyone but myself but I can honestly say that I would prefer a domestic focus for this next election.

1441 was a cookie cutter for future use. It COULD be used to create a standing army.

In my view the Conservatives are headed in the right direction with this. Eliminate early release, the sentence should be fulfilled as a pre-condition to release. The next step is longer and mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes. The use of a weapon in the commission of a violent offense should carry with it a minimum 10 year sentence, in addition to the sentence for the crime committed. The next step should be the elimination of the luxuries within the system. Not simply just earning the right to use these luxury facilites, but instead eliminating them out right. The step to follow is of course some program to see that costs of maintaining these prisoners are recouped through some work programs. One step at a time we can begin to modify the system to actually make the concept of being contained within it a simple and cost effective deterrent.

If Iggy is smart that will be the card he plays if and when an election comes along.

What is it that you want him to do? The man is in opposition, which means he is supposed to be on the other side of the street from the government according to our system. He is supposed to offer an alternative way of doing things.

The gun registry was and is a farce. It is too expensive and provides too little benefit to justify its existence. Having said that it is already here and now comes under the category of things to get rid of.

Some folks have clearly thought this out. It is true that the situation relative to international law almost precludes the existence of a standing army under the control of the United Nations. Perhaps the way around this is for one nation to offer its military to the UN. I would suggest that the idea of wearing "blue" get forgotten in a hurry.

I would say that the proper thing to do is in fact provide the UN with an army, and let them take care of business.

The reality is such that we simply must maintain a military until such time as the nation is safe from potential foreign aggression.

I hate taxes !

Harper Sales Tax.......that is funny.

Dare to dream. Witness the duplication and triplication of governmental efforts from all three levels; local, provincial and federal. Think of the expense of that bureaucratic effort. Keep in mind the senior positions within those efforts are political appointees and represent a vast majority of patronage appointments. Recognize that the level of taxation reflects the costs of government. Understand that the expense of government detracts from every citizens disposable income and as such compromises our standard of living. The government provides the services that citizens desire, just as citizens provide the government they desire. Its not too complicated, just perplexing. The true issue is one of leadership and vision. We have had no leaders with a defined vision for citizens to support so instead of a predetermined charted direction for our society we have created a short sighted knee jerk reaction method of governance. As issues appear through the daily business of the House of Commons, representatives echo their partisan leadership and debates form and conclude over legislative efforts made in the specter of special interests and corporate lobby efforts. There will come a day when a leader will rise from the population to describe the concerns of the citizens. Those concerns are very simple and straight forward and they will sweep the nation. The health and safety of citizens requires both financial and mental wellbeing in order to provide the true security of the person, and that will be the mandate from the people. It is not capitalism or communism that will bring happiness to the citizens but instead a new form of enlightened governance.

Yet the reality is that the media is jumping on board. The public spin doctors have this in high gear.

It makes me laugh when both the Liberals and the Conservatives refer to the NDP and the Bloc as socialists and separatists. They both do it when the other guy is getting support and they are not, its hilarious.

I am willing to bet that folks have not seen the first let alone the last of Iggy.

India will become the most populous nation in less than a quarter of a century. With south east Asia accounting for nearly fifty percent of the worlds population at that point it will become the centre of world attention.

This sort of proves a character flaw that precludes any future in politics.

In my view our justice system is lacking in several respects. It needs review and reforms.

Make my words folks, Harper will be called out on this.

Harper has a long track record in saying one thing and doing another in the name of political advantage.

I think Harper missed the bus. The time for that was during the summer, it now has the appearance of a last ditch strategy to save his government. That is a rather weak position to start a campaign with. I think Iggy will use the report card to fail the government and force the other parties to save Harpers skin. If the Bloc and the NDP take Harpers bait they will find themselves in a far less advantageous position when the writ is finally dropped at some time in the future.

Partisan politics is like that folks. It is one of the reasons why I favour independent candidates.

It seems that politicians can take liberties that most citizens would be condemned for to use to their own ends.