Ignatieff's magnificent summer tour...

[capricorn]

Have any of you really listen to the Liberal leader?

I have listened to ALL his stump speeches since he attended the Calgary Stampede. All I got were platitudes and generalities that say nothing.

[DrGreenthumb]

After the bus broke down today, to those on the bus he said "the best laid plans...", which is contained in a work by Robert Burns:

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Go often askew,

And leave us nothing but grief and pain,

For promised joy!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/ignatieffs-bus-breaks-down/article1638845/

A lot of this stuff is foreign to most Canadians who ask "what is he talking about?". He has to work on his communication and not come across as phony. I'm not convinced he can do this and it may well be his downfall.

Umm I think you are mistakenly lumping all Canadians in with the uneducated rubes who consistently vote for the Conservative party. The quote is quite recognizable to those of us who actually read books, instead of plopping ouselves down in front of fox news broadcasts all night.

[DrGreenthumb]

Justin Trudeau will eventually return the Liberals to majority government, even I will vote for him.

[Keepitsimple]

Justin Trudeau will eventually return the Liberals to majority government, even I will vote for him.

I'll assume that's a tongue in cheek comment....because they'd be lucky to win one seat west of Ontario.

[capricorn]

The quote is quite recognizable to those of us who actually read books, instead of plopping ouselves down in front of fox news broadcasts all night.

Hey, I simply gave my opinion. If as you say, Canadians recognize the pearls rolling off Ignatieff's tongue, so much the better. It means more of them are dumbfounded by those gems than I thought.

[capricorn]

Justin Trudeau will eventually return the Liberals to majority government, even I will vote for him.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Liberals would so boneheaded as to anoint Justin. They're on a roll with dud leaders so why quit now?

[Wild Bill]

Umm I think you are mistakenly lumping all Canadians in with the uneducated rubes who consistently vote for the Conservative party. The quote is quite recognizable to those of us who actually read books, instead of plopping ouselves down in front of fox news broadcasts all night.

Actually, the quote threw me at first until I realized that it had been "anglicized", perhaps for the benefit of the new generations.

I'm 57 and have read and seen that quote many times but it always went as Burns actually wrote it:

"But Mousie, thou are no thy-lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy! "

Things keep getting watered down for dummies, I guess. The centre cannot hold...

[capricorn]

Blame me for any confusion Wild Bill. It seems the Burns original "To a Mouse" was reworked into what is termed Standard English. You can see both versions side by side in this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse

[Wild Bill]

Blame me for any confusion Wild Bill. It seems the Burns original "To a Mouse" was reworked into what is termed Standard English. You can see both versions side by side in this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse

No disrespect to you personally intended, Capricorn, but to those of us educated a few decades ago what today is called 'Standard English" we used to call "Bonehead English"!

[capricorn]

I hear ya Wild Bill. I posted the newish version exactly because I figured more readers here would recognize it.

[Molly]

I hear ya Wild Bill. I posted the newish version exactly because I figured more readers here would recognize it.

You've got an insultingly low opinion of your fellows.

(Wonder whether it's a case of the dirty dog smelling himself.)

[Hydraboss]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Liberals would so boneheaded as to anoint Justin. They're on a roll with dud leaders so why quit now?

"Please God, let the Liberals appoint Justin as leader. I don't ask for much but this is something I REALLY want (more than that bike I asked for last year). The Conservatives need to get every single seat in the West and some more in Ontario, and this would be the easiest way for that to happen.

p.s. - would you mind putting another boil on Jack's ass if you get a minute? Thanks...err...amen."

[Moonbox]

I don't think Pierre Trudeau is held in as poor regard throughout Eastern Canada as people here think. You have to remember, most people can't be bothered with the boring details of his tenure as PM (how we're still paying off the debt he accumulated 30 years later and will be for another 30 years).

No, the majority of the sheep in Canada instead remember instead only the sensational. They remember his rockstar persona. They remember how he "stuck it" to the Americans, repatriated the Constitution, his floozy wife and how he spent lavishly.

They don't care that he sold out Canada's future to finance his legend. They only care that they had something interesting to watch on TV and that life was easy for a couple of years.

Justin Trudeau is, in my opinion, the scariest thing on the Liberal horizon and I wouldn't be at all suprised if he took over leadership over the next few years. He's young, decent looking, articulate and popular in his riding. It doesn't matter that he's not hugely educated or qualified. Look how that worked out for Ignatieff. All that matters is that he's something the Liberal brand might be able to 'sell'.

[Wild Bill]

I don't think Pierre Trudeau is held in as poor regard throughout Eastern Canada as people here think. You have to remember, most people can't be bothered with the boring details of his tenure as PM (how we're still paying off the debt he accumulated 30 years later and will be for another 30 years).

No, the majority of the sheep in Canada instead remember instead only the sensational. They remember his rockstar persona. They remember how he "stuck it" to the Americans, repatriated the Constitution, his floozy wife and how he spent lavishly.

They don't care that he sold out Canada's future to finance his legend. They only care that they had something interesting to watch on TV and that life was easy for a couple of years.

Justin Trudeau is, in my opinion, the scariest thing on the Liberal horizon and I wouldn't be at all suprised if he took over leadership over the next few years. He's young, decent looking, articulate and popular in his riding. It doesn't matter that he's not hugely educated or qualified. Look how that worked out for Ignatieff. All that matters is that he's something the Liberal brand might be able to 'sell'.

Sadly, I think you're on to something, MB! Especially since the population seems to have been steadily "dumbed down" and our critical skills have "gang aft agley".

"Entertainment Tonight" trumps "Foley's War" any night of the week. Which leads to an even scarier thought. Could we be heading for an election shootout between Justin and Ben Mulroney?

I think I'd rather see disco make a comeback!

[nicky10013]

Sadly, I think you're on to something, MB! Especially since the population seems to have been steadily "dumbed down" and our critical skills have "gang aft agley".

"Entertainment Tonight" trumps "Foley's War" any night of the week. Which leads to an even scarier thought. Could we be heading for an election shootout between Justin and Ben Mulroney?

I think I'd rather see disco make a comeback!

Conservatives talking about population being dumbed down? Coming from the party that's entire platform consists of tax cuts and prisons, that's a good one.

[DrGreenthumb]

Conservatives talking about population being dumbed down? Coming from the party that's entire platform consists of tax cuts and prisons, that's a good one.

You forgot to add lies. tax cuts, lies, and prisons.

[Wild Bill]

Conservatives talking about population being dumbed down? Coming from the party that's entire platform consists of tax cuts and prisons, that's a good one.

Whatever makes you think I'm a conservative?

[Shakeyhands]

Whatever makes you think I'm a conservative?

LOLZZZZZZZZZZ

[August1991]

ustin Trudeau is, in my opinion, the scariest thing on the Liberal horizon and I wouldn't be at all suprised if he took over leadership over the next few years. He's young, decent looking, articulate and popular in his riding. It doesn't matter that he's not hugely educated or qualified. Look how that worked out for Ignatieff. All that matters is that he's something the Liberal brand might be able to 'sell'.

Articulate?

When I think of Justin Trudeau, I am reminded of George Bernard Shaw's response to a beautiful actress who wanted to have a child with him: "Mr. Shaw, I want to have a child with you - smart like you, and beautiful like me."

Shaw's response was: "But what if the child inherits my looks and your sense."

IMV, Justin Trudeau inherited his father's looks and his mother's sense.

-----

What to make of a bus tour that starts with a breakdown in Hawkesbury (a small town on the main road between Ottawa and Montreal) and then is rescued by a garage named "Harper Diesel"?

I frankly think this whole bus tour is dumb.

If Ignatieff intends to travel around Canada in a bus to meet people, he'll be spending more time in a bus than meeting people. Canada is a big country, northern Ontario in particular. (Has Ignatieff ever driven from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay? I have. It takes a day and there's nothing in between.)

I hope Ignatieff flies between cities, and has a bus in different cities to meet him. Otherwise, Ignatieff is wasting his time.

----

Something else. Ignatieff is like, 50 or 60 years old. He doesn't know Canada? Why is he travelling Canada to know about it?

Would Winston Churchill travel around the UK to learn about it? Would Charles de Gaulle travel around France in a bus to learn what French people think?

Heck, would George Bush (Snr or Jnr) do this? Would Stephen Harper get in a bus for two months to learn about Canada? Would Pierre Trudeau have ever announced that he needed to understand Canada? (And beneath all, Trudeau spoke for French Canada.)

You English Canadians are f***ked when your supposed leader has to go in a bus and talk to you to find out what what you think.

Your choice: You can vote for Harper, Ignatieff or Layton - or I guess, May.

---

English Canada needs a good leader, someone who can speak to French Canada clearly.

Edited July 15, 2010 by August1991

[capricorn]

A snapshot of some of the policies Ignatieff has announced so far.

Support for the arts and the CBC

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/836036--ignatieff-touts-arts-funding-during-tour-stop-in-kingston

----

A new program for Canadians to work abroad

“I don’t want Canadians to think the only good Canadian is someone who’s never left these shores,” Mr. Ignatieff told the crowd.

The proposed Liberal program would provide government subsidized placements in Canadian companies or partners overseas.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/15/adrian-macnair-michael-igantieffs-goodish-idea/

(Take that Harper/Conservatives)

----

Review of purchase of fighter jets

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he’d put a $16-billion, sole-sourced contract to build a new generation of fighter jets on hold if he’s elected prime minister.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/836142

----

Among the policies Ignatieff vowed to pursue if elected are a freeze on corporate tax cuts as the government emerges from the deficit; improved access to health-care services in rural communities; satellite campuses of post-secondary institutions in smaller towns; and full broadband connectivity in every community across Canada.

http://recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2668922

[Bonam]

You English Canadians are f***ked when your supposed leader has to go in a bus and talk to you to find out what what you think.

Your choice: You can vote for Harper, Ignatieff or Layton - or I guess, May.

---

English Canada needs a good leader, someone who can speak to French Canada clearly.

Hate to break it to you, but "you" French Canadians are just as "f***ked", because one of them is still gonna be your "leader" too.

Also, there is no "English Canada" and "French Canada", there is just Canada.

[August1991]

Also, there is no "English Canada" and "French Canada", there is just Canada.

Whatever. But the last time I looked at a $20 bill, or watched the news, I saw differently.

Bonam, if there is "just Canada", it has at least two different ways to speak. And frankly, I prefer things that way.

[Bonam]

Whatever. But the last time I looked at a $20 bill, or watched the news, I saw differently.

Bonam, if there is "just Canada", it has at least two different ways to speak. And frankly, I prefer things that way.

Of course there are different ways to speak. More than two of course. I too have nothing against multiple languages being spoken in Canada. That does not, however, mean that there are two Canadas. Canada is one nation.

[Jack Weber]

Of course there are different ways to speak. More than two of course. I too have nothing against multiple languages being spoken in Canada. That does not, however, mean that there are two Canadas. Canada is one nation.

Well...To be fair,Mr.Harper threw the seperatists a bone with that "nation within a nation" drivel...

[Wild Bill]

LOLZZZZZZZZZZ

Nicky isn't the first to label me incorrectly, SH! By classic definitions, actually I'm a Liberal!

It seems that the modern Liberal party has drifted so far left that they left me behind! Actually, by modern standards I'm more of a Libertarian.

To many folks like Nicky it would seem that a conservative is first, anyone who disagrees with them and second, anyone who is to the right of Libby Davies!