kimmy

The article. The provincial government doesn't design roads. Calgary has had the same provincial government as Edmonton and yet was ranked 3rd best in the survey you cite. Maybe instead of the Tories you should be blaming 20 years of dismal city planning. Bill Smith's short-sighted nickel-and dime thinking, and Jan Reimer's anti-growth, anti-traffic mentality are the root of the problem. It always comes back to those darn Chinamen workers with you, doesn't it. -k

As a general comment, I have observed that a lot of urbanite Canadians don't seem to recognize that their experience is not that of the whole country. That many Canadians live in regions where public transit is not a viable option seems lost on some people. That affordable transportation has a direct and indirect impact on the livelyhood and prosperity of many Canadians is lost on some people. That some people need to be able to transport goods and equipment that simply won't fit in a SmartCar or a Prius is lost on some people. Sure, lots of people drive vehicles that use far more fuel than they actually require. The most common vehicle of choice of the offenders isn't light pickups, but rather SUVs. -k

Yes, that is it. She is in a church, asking people to pray that the action the government is undertaking is something that God would want them to do. Trying to recast that quote to make it sound as if she's proclaiming the plan was delivered by God himself is simply dishonest. I don't get it. Palin has plenty of *real* shortcomings. Why not just stick to those? -k

That's not actually what she said. -k

I have chosen the term "Blanco-Canadian." I think it's starting to catch on... I agree that Obama is constrained in many ways. But not because he is at the mercy of shadowy people behind the scenes or puppetmaster organizations. He is constrained simply because many of the issues he inherits are situations where changing course rapidly would have dangerous results. He can't simply go to Iraq and say "yoink!" and pull a bunch of troops out rapidly, that's a transition that takes time. He can't simply pour money into the economy until it's fixed. Obama is smart enough to recognize that patience and steadiness are required. I hope his supporters are too. -k

The Obamas could play it safe by getting a cocoa lab. -k

I always loved old Dodge and Plymouth cars. What would be cooler than bombing down the road in a classic Charger or Roadrunner or Barracuda back in the days when gas was cheap and nobody though carbon emissions meant anything. These cars, and their contemporaries, had charisma and character and inspire affection. Today's cookie cutter cars inspire nothing, they're just functional devices like a toaster. I drive a Malibu... not a '69 Malibu SS 396, but a '97 Malibu LS 3.1 Having decided to build toasters, the American "Big 3" are now competing on the basis of how well they can make toast. And the consensus seems to now be that the Japanese and Koreans make better toasters. -k

Yes, if Obama were assassinated, there would be hell to pay. I don't think an actual civil war would occur, but definitely rioting and violence. Think Rodney King riots gone national. -k

It could be that, or it could be malice. Either people are reading too much into a comment that was obviously intended to be light-hearted, or people are looking for something to spin into a "gotcha" moment. Yup. Some stranger calling children of a mixed family "mutts" probably means it in a derogatory sense. But I don't think anybody really believes that Obama harbors ill feelings toward his own mixed parentage. But clearly, unless you're Chris Rock, making jokes about race remains a touchy subject. -k

I think this in a nutshell is the biggest reason why Palin is already a target for attacks from within the party. Whatever her merits, she has powerful name recognition and an adoring fanbase within the kooky-korner of the party, and that alone will make her a factor if she chooses to be. -k

His original name is Barack. He went by "Barry" when he was a youth, probably to fit in with with other kids. I used to know a Mohinder who preferred to be called "Mike", to fit in. He was Canadian in every respect, and didn't like that his given name drew attention to the fact that his ancestry was from India rather than Europe. People might feel differently about it now, but it My dad's family adopted an an anglicized spelling of the family name when they arrived in North America, so that they would fit in. They didn't want to draw attention to the fact that their origin traced to Sweden rather than England. And I'm not sure I know whether Bob, Barry, or Barack is an appropriate name for a messiah, as I've never met or heard of a messiah. I will withhold judgment until I do. I have no idea what this means, and I don't want to know. -k

On this note, a news article I found today reiterates much of the same discussion, but also notes that Obama's win could improve Consumer Confidence, which in itself should provide a boost for the economy. Obama will help the economy because people believe Obama will help the economy. (Is the phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy" allowed to be used in a positive context?) http://ca.news.yahoo.com/indepth/us_electi...a_cda_economy_2 On a funny note, some pro athletes are definitely in the "not happy Obama won" camp: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=a...p&type=lgns A lot of voters probably didn't consider how an Obama win will impact already overburdened professional athletes -k

The deification of Obama may not be literal (in most quarters, at least) but is figuratively implied in the expectations of what he will accomplish, the belief in his attributes, the faith in his power to accomplish unearthly feats in the span of 8 years or less. He is going to end the wars? Unify the people? "Heal the planet"? I think the expectations of what Barack Obama can do have been inflated to the point that he'd have to be some kind of Messiah to live up to it. -k

These are the most important issues. But both of those are going to take a long time to yield results that people will see as "the Change they believed in".Healthcare, daunting or not, is an issue where tangible results can be produced in a time frame that is to some degree within Obama's control. Healthcare has been (I believe) one of Obama's main campaign promises. Daunting or not, he promised to do this, and people will be sorely disappointed if he doesn't deliver. He can't say "gee, gang, I didn't realize this was going to be tough when I promised it." "Yes We Can," remember? He's got the Senate, he's got Congress, he's got the biggest mandate in 20 years. He's got everything he needs to pursue this with vigor. -k

As I said, I'll be skeptical of this sort of anecdote. She's obviously not very well informed, but I have a hard time believing that she's *that* ignorant. My mention of Dion was to remind people that in the wake of a loss, people will be looking to assign blame and position themselves for the next time around. Palin's in the same position. -k

I don't think she helped any, but I don't think McCain wins with any VP candidate. First off, the economy made this a bad year to be a Republican running for office. Second, this Obama fellow, he's actually rather good at this stuff. Palin might not have delivered "Hilary voters" in any great numbers, but she did apparently bring out the evangelical kooks who are apparently a crucial component of any Republican campaign. These types treated Palin like a rock star, and without them I think McCain's defeat would have been more lopsided. -k

There WERE standing directly in front of the door, as the first link shows. It's right there in the video. There's the dudes. There's the door. They're 10 feet in front of the door. Are you going to tell us that they're not "directly" in front of the door because they were 10 feet in front of it instead of 2 feet? It's two men dressed in the uniforms of a well-known paramilitary organization, carrying night-sticks. Trying to rationalize it as anything other than an attempt at intimidation is pure crap. -k

Has Palin taken any steps to restrict abortion access in Alaska? I would take everything I read about Palin with a grain of salt. As with Dion's defeat, there'll be no shortage of people running around pointing at fingers, justifying their own performance, setting up their position for the next time around, and so forth. Right now, Palin has a big target on her, both as a scapegoat for McCain's lackluster campaign, and as an early potential nominee for 2012. -k

I'm also worried about protectionism, but I still have hope that their tough talk on trade is in reference to Mexicans and Chinese and not their buddies in Canada. Overall, I'm ok with Obama being president. He does seems like an exceptionally bright and sincere individual. I think that he will be a good president for middle and lower class Americans. I think that he will enter the world stage with some amount of goodwill that he might be able to leverage to rebuild some amount of international cooperation in Afghanistan. I think McCain had his own strengths that would have also been beneficial on the international stage, but Obama will also have something to offer in this respect. I am happy that so many Americans feel such joy at Obama's victory. I think that for the minorities and the poor who had so much emotional investment in Obama, this might truly be a "Change they can believe in". Sometimes symbolic things can make a real difference for people. I think Obama will be a good president for Americans. Whether he works out as well for Canadians whose jobs depend on trade, we will have to wait and see. -k

As far as I've been able to tell, a big part of Obama's plan for Afghanistan involves "asking our NATO allies for a stronger commitment" to the effort in Afghanistan. It's not a question of if he asks, but when, and how Canadians will feel when the question comes from the Nice Guy President instead of Dubya. -k

He is not friends with terrorists. (but don't tell the terrorists!) Obama should set his sights on something where tangible results can be demonstrated. Obviously fixing the economy is the top priority, but that is a slow boat to turn, regardless of what the president does. He should get to work on it. But he should also get to work on something where the policy IS the result. I pick healthcare. -k

:lol: That really makes my day, Drea! Thanks for sharing that. -k

link i think it's pretty clear why you were banned. I didn't see anything in Mr Canada's posts challenging human rights, feminism, anti-racism, or labour rights. Perhaps his attempt to challenge the Rabble herd on proportional representation was viewed as provoking conflict, baiting, or taunting, but if that's their idea of taunting, then yes, they really are too thin-skinned. My own Babble experience lasted a couple of weeks. There were some who were bright and willing to discuss different views rationally. There were others who, once they decided that you weren't part of their herd, would attack anything you wrote and create straw-man arguments and call for your banning. I banned my own ass out of there after a couple of run-ins with the moderator, and with a handful of knuckleheads who somehow thought that getting into confrontations with Kimmy was an effective means of "speaking truth to power" (or whatever it is they do.) I did think some of the people there were nice. This was before the big Babble melt-down, so maybe the nice people all went to En Masse. I dunno. Michelle is the worst moderator I've ever seen at a major message board. Some of the people there can say whatever the hell they want, while others get banned at a whim. -k

I strongly doubt that Obama's views are based on Black Liberation theology, black nationalism, or any of the stuff Wright is yammering about in those clips. I don't think Obama has a secret plan to get revenge on Whitey once he's in the White House. Wright is a non-issue. However, I am intrigued to hear discussion of Obama's associates called "gutless" and "ignorant" from the sort of Canadians who've offered the same sort of arguments over and over in regards to Conservative politicians in this country. -k

Senate reform has been discussed at some point or another by every party, for the obvious reason that the senate is kind of a joke. Aside from what noah has just mentioned in regards to John Manley, I'd also point out that discontent over the lavish spending of Adrienne Clarkson and questions about Michaelle Jean's ties to Quebec separatists were not confined to Conservatives, nor were they explicitly calls for the position to be abolished. Discussions about whether Canada should have a governor general or ties to the monarchy at all have been raised by Canadians of all political stripe at some time or another. Oh, of course. "It's not about harmonizing standards and practices to enhance trade and travel! There's secret stuff! It's scary! Scary! Scary!" -k