playfullfellow

Prisoners should not be allowed to vote, they gave up their rights when they broke the laws of this nation. Why should they have the same electoral rights as law abidding citizens especially when it comes to voting for a party that would instate lower punishments for crimes. As for welfare recipients, that would be a very sticky territory to wander into. How do you decide who is on welfare legitimately and who is just using the system? Another questions which may be easier to answer is, "how many welfare recipients actually vote so does it really matter". The legitimate users would probably vote, the abusers of the system wouldn't because they are too lazy to get off their butts to do so.

Good point, never thought of it that way

caesar, the same can be said for just about any person who strongly supports a certain party. You know as well as anyone that the Liberals and NDP have twisted a lot of the words of the Conservatives into a bunch of clap trap. MS shows a lot of this in his anti-consevative posts. I still seem to remember that Harper said that we should "support" the US in it's fight against tyranny but that was a long time ago. I could be wrong and am not afraid to admit it. Show me the evidence and I will say hail caesar.

Didn't say that at all, Buddy can be perceived as Hitler and Bubba as England. Hitler (Buddy) showed he was going to keep going with his errant ways and Bubba was determined to stop him. You may not agree with war or beating someone up but you feel justice needs to be done, Bubba is much bigger and stronger than you are, so let him do it.

Argus, I think in principle we agree that child porn is disgusting and needs the maximum punishment. I also agree with you strongly on the age of consent issue. Te reason I do not like the artistice merit angle is that it is some angle that a weeny little lawyer is going to use to try and protect his client who got caught with a bunch of nudie picks of kids. Also erotic stories about underage kids is really weird and disgusting and people who write and read this stuff are whacked. Documentary and research type stuff may be different but again we will get some google eyed little freak using it as a defence. I would say that if things could be definate black and white without this whole freaking grey area caused by lawyers, then I could see the artistic merit angle. But since lawyers twist and abuse to the true meaning of most laws, then I can not back such a law knowing some freak will use it as a defence for getting off on a bunch of pics and stories.

No matter how you look at it, Hussein is a very evil person. He killed thousands just because he didn't like them. He had a history of using chemical weapons on his own people. He had a very blatant disregard for the rest of the world and he felt he was invincible, almost a god. Where was he found? Hiding in a rathole like the coward he was. Do I feel Canada should have been there? That is debateable the sad state our military is in. Should we have morally supported the US for destroying this mad man, yes we should have. Would our opinion have been different if it was France ot Germany that invaded Iraq, probably. Those countries are not looked as bastards by people in this country. Like it or not, we are neighbours to the worlds only super power now. It is like living next door to Bubba who outweighs you by 200 pounds and he beats up Buddy around the block for throwing a rock through his window. Buddy has a history of throwing rocks through windows and you feel your window may be next, do you get in Bubba's way? Nope, Bubba will probably make sure Buddy never throw another rock and you feel that Buddy deserved it because did it before. Lastly, who the hell is gonna get in the way of someone a lot larger than you are, it is a matter of survival.

They wont be able to destroy it all, there will just be too many people who have discs that want to protect their own butts if the crap hits the fan.

How in the heck are we supposed to pay for all this extra stuff the Liberals and NDP want to throw at the healthcare system? The people who run the healthcare system dont want to change things, they just want more money so they can give themselves more. Everytime there is a funding increase, the unions are their with their hands out, bang, there goes the majority of the extra funding. How in the heck is higher wages going to improve things if people have a lousy work ethic to begin with? As for Klein, well he is pretty rough around the edges but he is a very proud Albertan. He believes in the Alberta people. Has he always done the right thing, nope but he does try to alleviate problems. Klein also feels the healthcare system is being abused by people. It is just not people who abuse the system, it is also doctors too. You get doctors who want to see a patient almost every week once they get to be over 65 so they can pump people full of pills and junk. What is the average doctors visit now? 10-15 minutes at the most. If you have a pain, they give you a pill. You have a fart stuck, you get a pill. How many pills do doctors hand out to patients at the cost of taxpayers? And people buy into all this clap trap that they need to see a doctor and get a pill everytime they feel a bit off. I have absolutely no problem with people who go to see a doctor for legitimate reasons. I also see no problem with going to see the doc once in a while for a check up once you are over a certain age. But I do have a problem with people treating old age like a disease and popping people full of pills and a lot of times these pills do absolutely nothing to help people. Heck, I know my pharmacist knows more about medications than a doctor does.

Lets just look at this for a bit, we do see a heck of a lot more ads coming from the Liberals, it doesn't matter where you look or listen, there are Liberal ads. Now, if all parties are supposed to be on a level playing field, then how come we dont see as many ads coming from the Conservatives and NDP (thank god for that too). How come the Liberals can afford to pay for so many ads? It dont come cheap to pay for national ads, even if the CBC did give them a quantity discount. I guess we wont find out till after the election though, pity.

Yep, big Conservative scandal there. Letting a company decide to be bi-lingual or not. More twisting of the words I see. That third wheel went flat I see.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is no artistic merit in naked kids running around or posing for a picture in the nude. Ok, parents taking pictures of their kids splashing in the tub is different, those are used to embarass us later on in life when we bring a date home. But seriously, who supports people allowing semi-erotic pictures of kids or provocative stories about kids? I am sorry but people like that need to have their heads examined. If anyone ever did that to my kids, jail would be the safest place for them. We can all agree that kiddy porn is wrong but we seem to disagree on what constitutes kiddy porn. The artistic line is a pack of bull, just a bunch of weirdos who get their jollies from kids. The supreme court should not be the place to fight this, the government should have enough brass to stand up to this issue once and for all. We need definative laws and harsh punishments, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Welcome aboard big blue, I am rather new to this forum but way past 10 despite what MS says of me (just poking a bit of fun MS). As others say, dont be afraid to make your point and dont feel insulted when people dont agree with you. I fail on this point at times (right MS) try to keep personal insults out of your posts. If and when you can, back your thoughts up with links and facts, that one took the longest for me to learn but you will be able to gather lots of info pretty quick. You should also keep your personal name out of posts unless you feel like giving them in a PM, there are a lot of freaks out there. So, welcome and happy debating.

The resistance comes from people feeling the government taking over every part of our lives. Most gun owners are legitimate and very responsible with their weapons. Now, at the stroke of a pen, they have been made criminals because they feel they should not have to register their guns. Gun owners already have to jump through hoops to either buy or be in possesion of a gun. It is not the legitimate gun owners that are the problem and having a registered gun is definately not going to stop a person from killing someone if they really want to. You can take countries such a switzerland where almost every home has a gun, there is very little gun related crimes. Gun owners have to have special permits but do not need to register their guns. There are better ways to spend money than gun registry like better police enforcement, harsher penalties for violent crimes, cracking down on gangs, looking after the homeless situation. How many more police officers could 2 billion pay for? If you figure on 65,000 per year wages, then you could hire over 3000 police officers for 10 years. Now 3000 cops would go a lot further than registering guns. I know the city I live near could sure use a few extra cops.

kyoto accord These are just a couple of examples from Dr. Tim Ball and his research into global warming. I have heard Dr. Ball speak and seen his research and asked him questions about his research. Before hearing him speak, I was a fence sitter on the whole Kyoto thing, after seeing and hearing his research, I am now against Kyoto. The reason why is that Dr. Ball is actually very pro-enviroment but against stupid science as he calls it. Check all the evidence and then make up your own minds about which direction we should be heading. As with most things, there are more than one valid view point and we need to think about them all before we vow to spend billions of our dollars on something that may be a natural occurence.

I like that idea except I would probably be really grumpy after I read my monthly pay stub

sort of like the NDP eh?

Ok takeanumber, you have some very interesting points of view, pretty radical in a lot of ways but that is your choice. You seem to have a very large target painted on Kleins head and don't obviously like him. Your choice of course, I may not agree with you, my choice. You talk about how Klein has made a mess of healthcare in Alberta but you have not made a point of how it should be fixed. I am interested to see how you would go about fixing it. My personal views on healthcare is that it is too damn top heavy. Too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The healthcare system is also in shambles because everytime someones kid has a snotty nose, they run off to the doctors office or the emergency room. People are hypochondriacs and feel they need to run to the almighty doctor for pills everytime they get a fart stuck. I see nothing wrong with charging people 10-20 bucks if they run to emergency for non-emergency situations. There are lots ways to improve the system without throwing tonnes of bucks at it.

Like any politcian, Klein has not always done or said the right thing but overall most Albertans can relate to Klein because he is more real than anyone else. Klein is a get in your face type of politician who doesn't back down from a fight. Is Klein evil, hardly, is Harper evil, nope. In all actuallity, none of the leaders are evil. Martin is an arrogant moron but not evil. Layton, well he smiles a lot but that does not make him evil. Duceppe, don't know much about him but I highly doubt he is evil. Klein isn't talking about essential services when he is talking about privatizing healthcare. Alberta has already proven to some extent that certain privatization works, look at the eye clinics. Now people can get their eyes fixed anytime they want to and it has even become more affordable. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. The system is screwed and needs to be fixed, throwing more money at it will mean more beaurocrats will get raises and golf trips. The Alberta system is screwed up but not from Kleins lack of trying to fix it, Shirley McClelland tried but gave up, things were just too screwed up.

You know, this 50 billion is probably another patronage scandal in the waiting and since Martin wont be PM, it will be someone elses blackhole, most likely Harpers.Yeah, I can see the Liberals blowing 50 billion and then blaming someone else for it, even before an election is complete. If Martin winds another term, then are in for another 4 years of broken promises. It will be another 4 years of voting on the fab of the week. Sheesh, at this rate, even Duceppe would be more favorable and he wants to split the country.

thx MS

Slow down willy, I am not against immigration at all. The stoning remark was just an example of some of the very large differences between Canada and other cultures, I did not say it would happen here. When a person comes to this country, it is bloody scary at first. How would you feel if you suddenly packed your stuff and moved to Mongolia? Some people adjust quicker than others. And frankly, I do beleive that immigration should be hard, this will weed out a lot of people are not as serious about coming into Canada. I also know lots of people who want to immigrate to Canada and are having a hard time but their opinion is that it will be worth it once they succeed. The points system is fine and at least gives some guideline. As for the assumption by some people that immigrants take away jobs is very short sighted, the reason why immigrants get the jobs is because they are willing to work for "x" number of dollars less than someone else. As for immigrants stacking votes to put "their" people in place generally happens of course but you know, our system allows that so why bitch about it, get out there and vote yourself, let's work with immigrants to get to a common goal. If they snub their noses at you, then you can say you were the larger person.

thnx for the reply MS, do you have any links relavent links, I wasn't able to find much last night.

It not always their values that differ but their traditions and former laws that differ from Canada. Some cultures believe in stoning to death any caught for adultery which of course we do not need to condone here in Canada. A lot of the problem is basically culture shock. If you are raised in a society with one set of laws for say 20 years and then you move to Canada which has way different laws, then it will be extremely hard to convert right away. An immigrant may also hold onto traditional values because they are homesick. It is not very easy to leave everything behind that you know and go to another place where you may not even understand the language. I have no problem with immigration as long as that person can be an asset to the country, be it they are a doctor, engineer or dishwasher. I do however feel they should know either english or french within a certain time. The inability to make oneself understood leads a lot of small minded people to think "bloody stupid immigrant, why dont they go back".

very true, good point and one often forgotten about.

If we have a minority government, what exactly will the financial repurcussions of this be? Will the world view us as unstable and thus start to pull their money out of Canada? I think this is a very real possibility. Lets put it this way, if you were sitting in Germany with several million dollars invested in Canadian bonds and a minority government was voted in, what would your reaction be? I think it would be dependant on who holds the balance of power and what coalitions are formed. If the BQ holds the balance, you might get worried that Canada could split if the BQ gains enough power. I think you would yank your marks out pretty quick. If the NDP holds the balance, you may sit back and wait to see if they start to try and enact some of their coporate tax ideas and then pull out. A Liberal-Conservative coalition would definately seem the most stable to the world but there would be too much bickering to get anything done. No matter waht, unless things change drastically in the next 11 days, we are in for an interesting time after the 28th.