BigGunner

OOOOOOOO!!! Conservatives are now LESS than their 25.5% that the Alliance party itself got in 2000. Can you say OUCH?!

If you equate a traffic ticket to a hate crime, then you are clearly misguided. You are free to argue your views on why you think gay lifestyles are not 'healthy'...from your point of view. You are not free to proclaim that because you feel gay lifestyles are unhealthy, that gays must be killed or beaten up..or fired from their jobs...or have them lose their homes...etc Hate litetature is not free speach.

The Law will forbid people from promoting hate towards gays and lesbians, and advocating violence against them. That is what hate literature does. Whether or not you agree that homosexuality is one thing, but you are not permitted to tell people that it is ok to beat up or kill someone because they are gay.

Euthanasia is what is done to family pets when they are old and sick. Doctor assisted suicide is done with the consent of the patient. Eugenics was a practice the NAZI's used to 'clense' Germany of the 'impure'.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AF just called Svend a Nazi! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AF is on the express train to a defamation of charater suit.

Its almost clear that the Conservatives have maxed out to a certain degree. They have locked up the true blue right wing, christian fundamemtalist voter. Everyone else has fled. In 1984, Mulroney won Quebec with a crushing 50% of the vote for the PC party. In 1988, they expanded their lead to 52% of the vote. The conservatives are just doomed without at least something from Quebec, and right now, they are in 4th place - behind the NDP.

I am more than happy to debate real issues that matter with anyone in this forum. I respect your views, but of course I do not agree.. But the gloves come off when some wingbat commits slander and libels another person. If YOU were slandered, you could equally expect me to fire back in your defence.

I have been following the other recent polls, and the NDP has begun to narrow the gap with the Conservatives. The NDP is now within 9% of the Conservatives. If this trend continues, the centre leaning NDP are going to be seen as the main alternative to the governing right wing Liberals, and the NDP might be looking at official oposition status after the next election. On the other hand, I am concerned that the Liberals appear to be very close to forming a majority government. You might be right on your assessment.. The conservatives are more competitive in Ontario, where the liberals still have a double digit lead. The conservatives however are looking at a dramatic decline in support in the west. The only place the cons have a commanding lead is Alberta. But Alberta is a one party state now. In the other western provinces, the cons are tied or falling behind the NDP and liberals. The unified vote of the PC and Alliance party in 2000 for the west was a stunning 60% of all votes. Today, according to SES Poll, they are at 35% region wide. This means a crushing defeat for many many conservatives. Add that to coming from behind in Ontario, and the Cons could see a net loss for this election.

In a free democratic society, you are totally within your rights to disagree with Svend and his approach to issues, just as I am just as free to disagree with your views on issues. But you do not, and never have had the right to committ libel and slander against anyone, anytime, for any reason... You have failed to demonstrate a link between the NDP and NAMBLA, you have failed to provide evidence that suggests that the NDP supports in any way paedophelia...both of which are libelous allegations. Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein are murderers, and the Republicans knew this when they supported them with money, weapons, and international political support when they were killing innocent people. I oppose totalitarianism and dictatorship no matter what angle its coming from. Whether its fascist dictators installed by America, or Communist dictators supported by China, or the former USSR. Freedom is freedom. I can understand your hate towards Svend. The fact that he is gay is very upsetting to a lot of fringe-right wingers. I say that because even the Conservative party and the Republican party have a small core of gay supporters, and such. But the far right, which includes white-supremists and various biggoted groups hate gays and go out of their way to commit violent crimes against them. Even Christians do not hate gays...they certainly disapprove of the acts, but not the persons. So, which group do you belong to?

Having 2 official languages is fine with me, but the provinces should have more authority in how this is applied. In the east, french is genuinely a second language. But out here in the west, the second language is mandarin Chinese. Provinces should have the authority to apply rules in a regional basis.

We live in a mixed economy...neither capitalist, nor socialist. We have a social safety net that is intended to catch those who fall upon hard times or are incapable of taking care of themselves. Beyond that, we have a regulated free enterprise system that has basic legislation that protects human rights, has environmental standards, and provides a basic education for every child. Post secondary education is partially subsidised by the state. Conventional wisdom even by mainstream conservatives even support public post secondary education. They understand that whatever tax money it costs to educate a student will be more than paid back in income tax and other fees paid by the student in a successful career. I support a post secondary education system that is partially funded by the state, with the student taking on some of the burden themselves. Taking one's post secondary education seriously is an admission by the student that they intent on taking on personal responsibility. Paying back a portion of the student loan proves the ability to be held accountable and follow through with financial commitments. What I oppose however is some governments desire to balance their books on the backs of students. What I would accept is a fixed formula that determines that the federal and provinces are responsible for "X" portion of your post secondary education, while "Y" is your share. Arbitrary cost cutting and tuition fee increases are unfair to everyone. I would also support a measure that would progressively reward students for graduating their studies by forgiving a portion of their outstanding loan, balanced against their income level. It is simply unfair for a student who had been raised in a life of poverty to be saddled with a loan that is often as large as a mortgage on a house.

Ok, well you are certainly not a genius then...I thought you were going to provide evidence to back up your libelous allegation that somehow the NDP has endorsed NAMBLA or paedophelia.. YOU make me sick. But keep up the great work...because if you are an average sampling of what the Conservative party is all about, then they are dead in the water.

I bet that same news clip didn't talk about the other duties that the soup king had...or the specific qualifications that a cook might have to have in order to prepare foods for hundreds of patients with unique dietary concerns which are a matter of life or death if the wrong food is ingested. No, our media is focused on the hype of paying the cook a $22/h wage...put in those terms, i can see that it is upsetting. But cooking in a hospital is more that flipping a friggen burger or making a bucket of soup.. Professional cooking started as a career just after the French revolution. Cooks were actually slaves to kings, queens, and other powerful people. When the revolution ousted the monarchy, the cooks were freed, but unemployed. So they started working for themselves, creating 'restaurants' and such. But now I see there is a move afoot to return these workers to the servant status that they escaped from over 200 years ago.

None? Absolutely true. If I'm a hospital patient in BC and I need a nurse, the answer is, well, you tell me BigGunner! A patient's only choice, BC or Nfld, is to fly to the great US of A. (More realistic? Money under the table...You don't think it happens?) We Canadians cannot hire medical care except through a union. The union has 100% of the supply. Walmart and Shell are vilified in documentaries, when I can go to Zeller's or Irving. But can you ask for a different nurse? Funny you mention that...because in American hospitals, a nurse is often paid more than a Canadian one...and more often than not, they are non-union.

Good debt is the kind that is tax deductible. If you borrow to invest it is a good debt. What makes it good is that it is tax deductible interest. In Canada, we can not write off mortgage interest and thus they are bad debts. Really wanting a house does not make it good debt. In fact if you sell it and it isn’t your primary residence you will have to pay capital gains and then it is a really bad debt. There are taxes on just about everything, get used to it. In fact, if ever the Greens formed a government, there would be a "special" tax on chips and other snacks...on top of the already assessed GST.

Actually, I think most 'progressives' have already fled the conservative party. Not all, but most..

Fair enough.. But one needs to identify what causes are right for increasing (or decreasing) taxes or taking on new debt for certain projects.. Its like the good debt/bad debt issue in households... Good = mortgage, student loan Bad = big screen TV, (some expensive trinket) Federally, Good = highway upgrades, airport fixes, misc. transportation projects. Bad = Theme parks in the PM's home riding We all gotta pay taxes. Learn to like them, as they will never go away. The line items in the budget are debatable, but more or less are agreed upon by most...frivolous projects like a sponsorship program are no excuse to raise taxes, and could have been better used as part of the healthcare transfers that were stolen from the provinces.

Which union has 100% of the labour supply? NONE? Good answer!! Now, add all the unions together and how much of a percentage of the labour supply do they represent? 20%? Pretty close...and NOT A GODDAMN MONOPOLY You don't understand...you blame the workers for the failures of management, and when they turn to a union for protection from the asshat managers, you cry 'monopoly! monopoly!'...'crush the unions'...'outlaw them'... OPEC controls 90% of the world's oil supply. OPEC, is largely dominated by Arabic nations that are not democratic. They are infact controlled by some of the most conservative, anti-western islamic royal families or military dictatorships...THAT is a cartel

Why does Canada's competition (anti-cartel, anti-monopoly) legislation exempt "collective bargaining"? Are cartels and other corporate monopolies democratically controlled? NO..

Blaming Layton and the NDP for the federal debt and previous decifits? Nice try, but its a can of worms that you might not want to go near. Conservative PM Brian Mulroney expanded Canada's debt by $300 billion in 9 years of office....speaking of debt.. Conservative PM Brian Mulroney installed the GST, bracket creep on income taxes...speaking of theft of one's hard earned money.. Liberal PM Martin/Chretien unloaded $billions of service cuts to the provinces with no way to pay for it...speaking of not taking responsiblilty... Liberal and Conservative 'politics' as usual has got us into this situation, not Jack Layton... Jack Layton understands fiscal responsibility. As councillor for the city of Toronto, he and his council had stewardship over a $100 million civic budget....with laws that forbade deficits...no matter of the idiotic offloading by whomever the provincial government of the day was.

Dictionary - Monopoly By law, a union is the sole supplier of labour services to an employer. In the following note the term "collective bargaining" and note how the bureaucracts sandwich the exemption between "amateur sport" and "securities underwriting". (Oh, Canada!) Canada's Competition Act 1. Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service: “Monopoly frequently... arises from government support or from collusive agreements among individuals” (Milton Friedman). 2. Law. A right granted by a government giving exclusive control over a specified commercial activity to a single party. 3. a> A company or group having exclusive control over a commercial activity. b> A commodity or service so controlled. 4. a> Exclusive possession or control: arrogantly claims to have a monopoly on the truth. b> Something that is exclusively possessed or controlled: showed that scientific achievement is not a male monopoly. --------------------------------- In future, if you plan to quote something from a dictionary, quote the whole article instead of mixing and matching the articles that you'd like to fit together. Milton Friedman is a well known conservative economist whose followers also believed in the failed 'trickle down' theory too. Once again...UNIONS DO NOT HAVE A MONOPOLY OVER THE WORKFORCE

Obviously the Liberals will take a hit. They deserve nothing less than an electoral slap in the face due to the abusive relationship they have with the voters of this country.

SES Poll doesn't break the poll into provincial tallies outside of Que/Ontario, so regionally speaking in the west; Conservatives 35% Liberals 32% NDP 23% But since we can all agree that the Conservatives are ahead in Alberta by a thousand miles, we can reasonably conclude that the conservatives are behind in the other western provinces outside Alberta. IF all PC and Alliance voters had voted for one conservative party in 2000, this would have been the western support tally 2000 Conservative 60% Liberals 25% NDP 12% Other 3% You do the math...conservatives are down a whopping 25 points from 2000, the Liberals gain 7 points from 2000, and the NDP has gained 11 points. Conservatives must be encouraged by apparent gains in Ontario, but must be spooked at impending losses coming up from the west. Every poll is confirming this. From Ipsos-Reid to Environics, and now SES... This election oughta be really fun

Ok genius, provide us with links and evidence that the NDP has somehow promoted or supported the pro-paedophile NAMBLA group. You obviously haven't learned that free speech does NOT include the right to commit libel and slander, or post defamitory comments. Oh yes, your comments have been reported to the admin. (if he hasn't already read them).

Tommy Douglas was certainly a man who was thinking of children, and he would be outraged to no end at the child poverty and homelessness that has expanded dramatically at the hands of greedy Liberal and Conservative politicians.. Tommy Douglas was a very religious man, but then so is Archbiship Desmond Tutu, who supports gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, (everyone). True Christians preach love and unity, not hate and segregation. In the past, several 'christian' leaders have used the bible in some idiotic defence of segregation, slavery, and the opposition of letting women vote - or owning property...something that women in this country were only granted less than 100 years ago...rights that are still not applicable in some conservative islamic states. Tommy Douglas was opposed to greed and hatred no matter who spouted those moronic views...those from the left, or those on the right. Few people have the integrity and compassion that Tommy Douglas had, but if we had more politicians like Tommy, then Canada would be a far better place.