kimmy

I'm not sure Stronach would have been all that great. I cheered for her at the time, but I think it was my bias of hoping to see a woman succeed in Canadian federal politics, not any rational belief that she had the makings of a great leader. Do I want the CPC to win? I want a choice between strong options in this country. I want an alternative to the new Liberal government that will keep them from becoming arrogant and assuming they can do whatever they like. I want the CPC to choose a leader that Canadians could turn to if Trudeau turns out to be mistake. -k

Well, one thing I like about BC's carbon tax is that at least Gordon Campbell actually had the balls to tax gasoline, as well as every other fuel. Not so with Dion. Member G. Huxley speaks disparagingly of the hypothetical "conservative who drives a gas guzzling SUV everywhere and gets so upset when those liberals try to make me pay extra taxes for it." (is he referring to me? I have no idea.) How much would Dion's Green Shit have cost that hypothetical conservative, or me for that matter? Zero. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Bupkus. Zero. ZEEERROOO. All those wealthy urbanites commuting to work in their gas-guzzling SUVs that Huxley hates so much? They were completely off the hook under the Green Shit. Gasoline was to be exempt because the federal excise taxes on gasoline already exceeded targets so no additional taxation was required (according to Dion) or because the Liberal Party's urban voting base wouldn't stand for it (according to Kimmy). It was to be users of diesel and coal and natural gas that would pick up the tab instead of gasoline users. Diesel, of course, being the lifeblood of Canada's agriculture and forestry and transportation industries, and therefore crucially important to all of rural Canada. Coal and natural gas, of course, being vital to Canada's electrical infrastructure and to the heavy industries that pay the bills in this country. So on the one hand he's decided to raise carbon taxes on fuels that industries depend on and where practical alternatives are scarce or non-existent. And on the other hand he's decided to offer no incentive at all to reduce the #1 source of discretionary carbon generation in this country, automobile travel... surely The Waldo is not fond of that premise! And to top it off this revenue that's being taken from Canada's rural industries would have been used to provide income tax cuts for those car-loving suburbanites. And yes, people in his own party referred to his plan as "Bag Of Manure", and people in his own party were furious that he was plunging ahead with it in spite of their own polling that showed it was an electoral disaster waiting to happen, and I'm quite please that such a buffoon got the fate he deserved. -k

Yes. On your post-editing toolbar, there is a button called "image". It's halfway between the "link" button and the "quote" button. Click the "image" button, paste your image URL in, and ... Ta-da! If you are a crusty old-school type who prefers to enter code by hand, the code is: {img=http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/paintings/images/waterhouse_the_shrine.jpg } ...but with square braces [ ] in place of the curly braces { } Another handy tip: some sites don't like people direct-linking to their image content. You can get around it by uploading the image to an image host like imgur.com which supports hotlinking. -k

John Baird just released a statement confirming that he will NOT be running. -k

So are you suggesting that medical degrees and certifications should have an asterisk? "Margaret is fully medically trained to handle some types of emergencies!* *read back of certification for important disclaimers." Don't those religious communities go to their religious leaders, not secular counselors, for counseling anyway? If somebody in one of those communities is seeking answers from somebody other than their pastor/imam/guru/shaman/houngan/whatever then it's quite possible that they're having problems that aren't compatible with their religious community's teaching, in which case sending them to a counselor who is trained to repeat the teachings of their religious communities is doing them a profound disservice. Ok, so how far are you willing to bend the curriculum to accommodate religious extremists? Is there a hard line, or is it a "I'll know it when I see it" type of thing? Also, do non-religious people get the same accommodation? If Pat the JW isn't required to complete portions of the practicum relating to administering blood products, can Atheist Annie also get out of the blood products because blood makes her squeemish? -k

Yes, I'm still referring to the CPC leadership. I think that the CPC's chronic "gender gap" might be reduced if Raitt or Rempel were the new leader, although it's not guaranteed. -k

I think we're in complete agreement on that much, but let me rustle your jimmies by suggesting that a female leader would be preferable. -k

No, I think that given the choice between a mass Ebola outbreak hitting Canada, or Prime Minister Stephane Dion, I think the Ebola outbreak would have caused less harm. -k

It certainly seems as if Jason Kenney would be the front-runner, but I don't think he'd be the best choice for the party. He is basically Mini-Harper in many respects. I do think he's a more effective communicator than Harper, and comes across as authentic when he talks, but I don't think he's the kind of guy who could "grow the brand" as they say. I think that people who just couldn't get behind Harper probably won't be able to get behind Kenney either. My preference would be for a "Red Tory" type, a fiscal conservative who is not beholden to social conservative, culture-war type issues. And my preference would be somebody who seems "nice", because it is simply good politics. Somebody more warm and personable would make a lot of the attacks that were effective against Harper a lot less effective. -k

We can all be grateful for that, at least. I think that all Canadians, regardless of their political views, can at least be united in thanking Harper for making sure that frickin Moon Unit Dion and "de Green Shit" agenda never made it to 24 Sussex. Holy crap, what a freaking disaster. -k

No, he really wasn't. -k

So this woman asks Donald Trump "If you become president, will a woman make the same as a man? And do I get to choose what I do with my body?" I wonder if that woman has ever asked her own boss "if you become president, do I get to choose what I do with my body?" Because it turns out, she's a campaign staffer for none other than Jeb Bush, who boasts that he's the most Pro Life governor America has ever had. -k

So you're proposing that either this woman's (or the hypothetical Muslim guy's) future employer be forced to have a second counselor on duty when they're working, or that gay (or female) people only have personal crises when she's not on duty? Maybe somebody who is hostile to homosexuals shouldn't be going into the counseling field to start with? Hypothetically, would a Christian Scientist (you know, that group that believes that all illness can be cured by prayer) be able to obtain a medical degree even if they don't complete course-work that contradicts their religious views? "Well, Margaret opted out of almost the entire practicum due to her religious beliefs, but she did successfully complete the Splints & Bandages practicum, so we see no reason to deny her a medical degree!" -k

I agree... as an introvert who has often had to pretend to be an extrovert, I can relate to Harper's situation. It's difficult trying to "fake" warmth or enthusiasm you don't actually feel for the sake of meeting peoples' expectations or putting them at ease, or in Harper's case trying to present a likable image to persuade votes, or in my case in past years trying to create a fun exuberant atmosphere that made people want to buy alcohol and leave large tips. It's exhausting, and slightly stressful because some of your audience just isn't going to buy it and will perceive you as "fake". I recall seeing Harper at some less-serious event, it might have been one of those Press Gallery functions. He poked fun at his image, saying in a drab monotone: "I'm excited to be here. This is me being excited. This is what I'm like when I'm excited." It stuck with me because I found it highly relateable, and probably among the few glimpses we got of the real guy. I strongly disagree with this. Despite his impersonal bearing, he was a very effective leader. He held the merged PC/Alliance party together through sheer force of will. He won 3 elections. He was Prime Minister for 10 years. How could he have done all this if he were an effective leader? And this much I agree with. I think that the desire for change was too much for him to overcome, and I don't think he could have reinvented his image after so many years in the public eye. But conversely I think the extremely bad CPC campaign tactics really shot them in the foot and just served to reinforce peoples' negative views about Harper's meanness and combativeness. -k

Former Sun TV news anchor Krista Erickson just wrote a highly damning piece about her time at the network, particularly in regards to Sun News chief Kory Teneycke. Her piece was originally published at National Newswatch, but has since been removed without explanation. However, the internet never forgets, and the entirety of Erickson's account can be read at this archive website. Erickson makes clear the extent to which Teneycke demanded that Sun News coverage be directed in a way most advantageous to the Conservative Party and their provincial allies. Teneycke, like Harper, is a controlling authoritarian who hails from the Reform wing of the party. When the political stakes were high for Teneycke’s brethren, his partisanship often went into overdrive and the network’s spirit of fearless inquiry went out the window. ... ... ... ... One of the most surprising things Erickson claims: Teneycke ordered the network to kill coverage of Amanda Todd because he feared it would help the opposition's proposal for anti-bullying legislation: While Sun TV supporters claimed it was a fair, balanced, objective network that was badly needed to counter the biased liberal media, it clearly was anything but. Teneycke went straight from his job in Harper's PMO to running Sun TV. And when Sun TV folded, he went straight back to running Harper's election campaign. It seems like it was little more than a sock-puppet for the Conservative party. -k

My first car was a Dodge Reliant "K-car" that was older than I was. I bought it as a teenager for $500, and sold it about 5 years later for $500. (Maybe $500 is a price floor for an automobile that still runs? Like, if it's capable of being registered, somebody will probably pay $500 for it? I dunno.) Despite its age and crappy reputation, it needed no significant service. Dad helped me install a rebuilt master cylinder for the brakes (or more accurately, dad installed a rebuilt master cylinder while I watched.) I think that cost $30, plus brake fluid. Later on we installed a rebuilt alternator that I think cost me $50. One thing that was good about that car is that there really wasn't much to go wrong with it. No complicated electronics or high maintenance mechanical systems... just basic well-proven automobile systems that haven't changed much over the years. I lived sans car for several years after ditching that lemon, but after moving out here to the wilds, I bought a used 1996 Malibu that was quite cheap. A few years later I traded that in on a 2003 Impala. And earlier this year I traded the Impala in on a 2003 Pathfinder. None of these vehicles have required significant repairs. Maybe I have just been lucky in that respect. The Pathfinder required a new exhaust and replacement of gaskets and o-rings around the oil cooler pump, plus brakes and rotors service when I bought it, so I had to put about $1000 into it right away, but the Impala was probably due for brakes and rotors as well. I expect that the Pathfinder will probably last me longer than the Impala would have, even though it has more mileage on it. I am planning on getting new shocks and struts next year, which will probably set me back another $1000... but that's again something I consider an expected expense. And probably I am going to get some all-weather tires that are more suited to rough roads than my current ones, so that could cost another $1000 before too long. Buying older vehicles has worked out well for me. To buy a new vehicle comparable to the Pathfinder would probably cost me $35k-40k. So even with the money I have put into it and the money I'll be putting into it next year as well, I'm far ahead. -k

Michelle Rempel seems nice. And as dumb as it might sound, I think that's an important quality. I think a substantial part of Harper's eventual downfall was his inability to seem nice. The idea of "compassionate conservatism" would seem more believable if it came from somebody who people actually believe has some compassion. -k

Oh, absolutely! Well, my personal practice is that I start each day with Introspective Dialog with myself, where I ask myself many questions like "what is for breakfast?", "what should I wear?", and "what am I going to accomplish today?" Then I focus on improving my Personal Certitude with Wise Platitudes and Energetic Affirmation. My Wise Platitudes include ideas like "Find that thing that you hate to do, then do something else instead." My Energetic Affirmations include "Do the thing!" -k

In USA I am much admiring New Paradigm for Self-Actualization, Spiritual Attunement with Historical Awareness, Outstanding Exegesis for Introspective Fulfillment, and 8 Wise Platitudes for Personal Certitude. As well as those outstanding properties, America has been the world's leading source of achievement in every area of human endeavour for the past 2-3 centuries, so that's another thing I admire. -k

What aspects of the USA's excellence do you feel Canada lacks? What aspects of USA excellence do you hope to emulate? What do you believe is missing from our constitution? What "secondary affairs" would you remove from it? As Michael says, be specific. Of all the excellent aspects of America that I would want to emulate, their politics are the one I find least excellent and the one I would least want to emulate. Our election campaign was over in 11 weeks; their election campaign is perpetual and ongoing. Watching the conflict and grandstanding in Washington DC makes me feel little interest in making our system more like theirs. -k

Pure unadulterated horse crap. -k

If me and a few hundred others had gone with instinct instead of with advice The Waldo's crappy Strategic Voting website, this young woman would be on her way to Ottawa. However, since the Liberals already had a hefty majority, it's probably for the best that we sent a Tory instead. You're off the hook this time, Waldo. -k

A couple of my staunchly Conservative co-workers described the decision to bring in the Fords as "a giant brain-fart" and "f******g embarrassing", and one of them said that was the last straw that made him decide that he'd stay home and not bother voting. Excerpt from another account from Mark Towhey: -k