Michael Hardner

While I generally agree with your point, i.e. religious-based terrorism is different, some of what you said isn`t right. No group has declared jihad against the IRS but who has declared jihad against America ? The answer is: various extremists have. And although nobody has declared jihad against the IRS there are domestic groups in the US that arm themselves against the government. So there are more similarities between domestic terrorism and external terrorism than you let on. The external threat, though, is taken more seriously and it should be.

I think there`s some confusion as to what August is talking about. `higher taxes for people who work more` means that if you work more, and earn more, and you will pay more income tax. It doesn`t mean that you should be taxed on the number of hours you work a week.

Like Rob, I can`t stand network news. I don`t understand how any regular MLW poster could stand it - the stories are told in the simplest terms possible - and so slow ! And as to why one news anchor is better than another - that`s something I never understood. They`re basically readers, so picking one over another is a choice of suit, looks and voice.

Well I have known them, so you`re wrong.

Did you mean to write keeping the prairies in check ?

This is a strange take on it. I've never read a criticism of the Liberals NOT spending Martin made tough choices in the mid-1990s in cutting EI and transfer payments. People don't just vote in governments who spend more and increase taxes, or Harris wouldn't have won a double majority in Ontario.

I've read posts where people accuse the government of forcing banks to accept risk without being allowed to account for it in pricing. This is the US where collusion regularly happens... somehow the government is supposed to have handcuffed financial companies against making a profit for some reason.

This thread is a recent and egregious example of Jerry's post-and-flee strategy: http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=16313&view=findpost&p=536594

Ok. Well, then is it possible we're importing manufactured goods from them ? And... I still see a lot more services than I remember having around in the past. Financial services, software, entertainment all seem to me to be increasing. You seem to have knowledge of these things, so I shall ask you rather than Sir Google.

Is this true ? I hope not. I don't see any rules against misrepresenting ones self on the board but it speaks to the credibility of the poster.

That's quite an 'oops'... and a western Conservative to boot.

All caps ? I sense this means something... are you planning to erupt or bolt from the board soon ?

Rise to the challenge. People are focusing on the sad fate of Joe Lunchbox - discarded by society after building tractors his whole life for the Glory of the Glowing Hearts. Nobody is talking about the thousands of Flash designers, home renovations or countless other new economy folks who are thriving. As for the Boomers, they're just going to be replaced by those who are less spry, and who sampled less of the doob in their youth - therefore sharper. The productivity gains will be astounding.

Yes. They're strong because they're taking this over from us. Hence.... dead. What is our future then ? Explain.

And the attention that this will get outside Ottawa... zero.

I'm sure he's aware of the dichotomy there. I can't see why else anyone would take such an interest in videotaping acts that they ostensibly opposed, unless there were something in it for them.

Neither am I, so I say "might".

One way we can make that happen is to generate as much displeasure over the status quo as possible. Write letters to the editor, etc. The McGuinty way to govern is to focus-group our problems away, i.e. to manage the perceptions more than the underlying problems.

It's not the person that produces the wealth, it's the job. Sure, there will be a host of effects. Let's talk about some other ones: Expensive workers taken off the payroll and replaced with more efficient workers. Fewer payouts by company health plans. More advancement in the middle, more hiring at the bottom. Fewer workers working in dead industries such as manufacturing.

The EI situation is dependent on the economy, and I believe there was a surplus after Martin made major changes in the 1990s. When Baby Boomers retire, are they not replaced ? Won't there be a major hiring boom ?

And this is exactly the attitude he took with regards to everything. With education, though, nobody is going to get killed from being "under taught". The system was creaking, bloated and about to fail, so he came over and blew it up.... not even that - he just TIPPED IT OVER and it broke, so that he could start again. The problem is that he started to thing that sheer will to change equated to the ability to implement change. We do, but we need somebody to come from big business, who has headed up a large company and oversaw operations at some point in his/her career. Canada is already in a really sweet spot, but the right person could restructure services and probably even increase benefits. It would have to be some kind of super-centrist and likely not a liberal.

Morris: I've been meaning to compute this. According to you, capitalism ends on January 25th - 2347. tinyurl.com/morrispredictsendofcapitalism

So they will deal with the BQ, as they deal with Home Depot, Tim Hortons, and the rest... by negotiating, talking and ultimately paying. Quebec might eventually see the futility of sending these tokens of separatism to Ottawa, especially when and if a majority government occurs and they are shut out.

Maybe we can combine them and have singing doctors and dancing nurses ? Morris ? Thoughts ?

Generally, as I say, I like to talk about facts but the danger is that people decide that the Arts are just window dressing and not helpful to us. In fact, we're a rich enough nation to not only afford the arts but to fund them more fully than we do now. The Soviet Union was all about being utilitarian, and they produced a very ugly society. The Canadian Heritage Minister (actually, James Moore) indicates in this speech that it's $500 million for the arts ... Considering that it generates economic activity including tourism and the like, it's really not very much at all. The entire budget is $280 B in expenditures, I think, which makes this a fraction of 1%.