Sign War

All the major parties finally have at least 1 election sign up in my town now. 2 weeks into the campaign that's actually news, before last Friday (Sept 19) the only signs in the entire town were blue. Maybe there will be a race - maybe, but probably not in this riding.

Nora the Piano Playing Kitty.

We interupt the election campaign coverage to bring you Nora the Piano Playing kitty!

The sequel is worth watching too. One day, I hope to be able to play an instrument as well as Nora.

Greens are Worse than the Liberals

I don't plan to write a lot about the Green Party because they are mostly irrelevant. However, their promises to increase the GST, and institute a carbon tax are predictable and will be costly to Canadians. Their claim that the carbon tax increase will be offset by income tax cuts sounds all too familiar and is just as uncredible as the Liberals claims. Sounds like more of the same from the loopy left, except the Greens offer the added bonus of legalized pot.

It's Worth Staying in Afghanistan

I didn't write about it last week and I should have. The Conservatives' announcement that they will pull all troops out of Afghanistan by 2011 is a bloody shame. A Toronto Star Headline highlights the bitter irony well: Afghan war worth fighting . . . but only until 2011. Thomas Walkom is right when he says, "Logically, this position makes no sense. If this is a war worth fighting, we should stay until the job is done. If it is not, then we should exit as quickly as possible."

Stephen Harper has spent several years rightly defending the mission. The mission was just and remains important for the people of Afghanistan and for protecting our country against Islamist terrorists. The Canadian Forces are behind the mission, we have heard constantly from the parents of soldiers who have died how they supported this mission. It really does seem to be a betrayal of the sacrifice that's happened already especially when the mission is not complete.

It's strange that Peter MacKay sounds like he could be Stephane Dion here:

"We will … be there, and the role will change," he said, "We'll emphasize the humanitarian aspect, continue with training, continue with our people there that
are both with the domestic police and maybe on the military side to build … capacity."

Some Canadian soldiers will remain in Afghanistan after 2011, MacKay said, primarily working on training and reconstruction.

"We have combat engineers that are there helping with the Dahla dam, we have people building roads and supervising some of the training exercises that go on but the emphasis will change, and that's consistent with the parliamentary resolution."

C'mon guys, you've been showing real leadership on this issue for years, now you've fallen back to some lame humanitarian aide is as good as military support. How spineless.

Parental Leave Program Will Really Help

Stephen Harper's promise today to extend parental leave to self employed Canadians is an excellent idea that will help encourage families to choose small businesses at a time when many people are faced with starting a new career after layoffs or downsizing.

To start his day, Harper visited a spa partly owned by female entrepreneur Angela Macheado. Harper used that event as visual prelude to announce that his government would allow self-employed Canadians to opt in to the employment
insurance fund in order to qualify for parental leave benefits.

"Ironically, self-employed Canadians who are successful and who create jobs must pay into the EI system on behalf of their employees, but cannot access those benefits themselves. This is not right," Harper said.

"Self-employed Canadians, and those who one day hope to be, shouldn't have to choose between starting a family and starting a business because of government policy."

Self-employed persons would have to opt in at least six months prior to making any claim. The independent Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board will set premiums and other details at a later date.

Today's promise meets the Conservative's standard of "tangible, meaningful and affordable announcements." It is very tangible and meaningful to small business owners and professionals with several contracts as opposed to one full time job. If you are operating your business this way and then choose to have a baby, you currently earn nothing for the time you have off, whearas people with a full time job get one year's worth of benefits. It can make the decision to start a small business and the decision to start or grow your family very difficult. This announcement makes both decisions easier and makes government policy more fair.

Today's announcement is affordable for governments too, because those who opt into the program still pay premiums. Naturally it will cost the Employment Insurance more because it's voluntary and families that are planning to have children will be more likely to opt in. Still, the overall cost will be very manageable while the benefit for those affected will be very real.

Well done Stephen.

Mashline Girl - "I've got a crush on Harper"

If you have a second, you've gotta listen to this song. It's so over the top it's funny.

Unfortunately it's a knock off of an Obama campaign song, which is kinda creepy.

Guess I'm Just Another Stupid Canadian

So Green Party leader Elizabeth May gets to be part of the debate. Hoo-rah! Now we have to listen to this election's number one loose cannon while we're trying to make a serious decision. This short clip shows us what Elizabeth May thinks of us:



Here's the quote: Canadian Politicians are scared to use the word tax and they think Canadians are stupid, and I fundamentally agree with that assesment!

Hey Liz - The feeling is mutual.

H/T http://buckdogpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadians-are-stupid-elizabeth-may.html

Election Day II

Today was certainly an improvement on Day 1. The Conservatives have come out with a plan to make cut the diesel excise tax in half. The program is pretty much symbolic and liberal MP Dan McTeague rightly points out that the increase in GST collected on diesel because of rising prices will mostly offset this tax cut. Still this is timely and responsive and it will hopefully partially stem the effect of rising shipping costs on inflation. Harper gets the impact this is having on prices in general: "At a time when Canadians are concerned about affordability, and energy prices are rising, we should do what we can to lower prices. This has to be done."

The Liberals came out with a solid policy too. They want to throw more money away at the wasteful court challenges program. It's bad ideas like this that make me thankful the Conservatives are in power. The Conservatives killed this program back in 2006, and I'm thankful it's dead. Essentially the program funded left wing activists in their bid to change our laws by over ruling the legislature. It's anti-democratic at it's very heart, with promises like this Dion will make my decision this election very easy!

And They're Off . . .

. . . to a terribly disappointing start to the election campaign.

I'll pick on the Conservatives first. They started the day with a 6:00 AM press conference so that they could define the agenda of the day's campaign. What was so important? They wanted to tell Canadian's that the Liberal plan to introduce a carbon tax, take away the $1,200 per year child tax benefit, and possibly raise the GST would cost Canadians a lot of money. Uh really? Raising taxes costs us money, we get it. Even if we were a little slow, you've only spent countless dollars on radio and gas pump adds to convince us. Canadians are already convinced that Harper is a better leader than Stephan Dion, and we know the carbon tax is ill timed and expensive. Now is the time for the Conservatives to tell Canadians what they would do with a majority government if they get it. Stephen, we're almost ready - BUT nobody is going to give you a blank cheque - tell us what you are going to offer us!

My second gripe with the Conservatives is why did you call the election on Sunday? Couldn't you wait just one more day?

OK, now for the Liberals. Stephan Dion is making it too easy for the Conservatives. He's presented a real plan for change, even if it is ill advised. The Conservatives gave Dion a gift by making today all about him. What does he do? He whines like a school boy:

"They are piling their lies upon lies," he said. "They are unable to stop to lie. Canadians will not accept that."

Dion also said the Conservatives have misrepresented his environmental plan to combat global warming, adding that he wants a serious debate with Harper on the issue. He called on the prime minister not to "try to win an election by lying."

Oh my, what a baby. Canadians will not elect someone Prime Minister who debates like a two year old.

My message to all the politicians this campaign: Please just tell us what you're going to do, throw some mud that makes things interesting, but you have to earn my vote and that means letting me know what your plan is in case you win.

H/T: www.bourque.org It's my one stop shock for links to election coverage.

Listening to John McCain

Yeah I'm pumped now! Just finished listening to John McCain. I only caught the last 15 minutes, but I ate up every word I heard. He outlined his commitment to free trade and to help those people who have their jobs displaced. He outlined his common sense energy policy that commits to drilling for more oil, creating new nuclear power plants and investing in renewable energy alternatives.

I was touched by how he described his time in a Vietnamese POW camp saying, "I was blessed by misfortune." His depth of experience is real, and it shone through in this speech!

No doubt he successfully energized his base by talking about the issues that are important to them and his call to action, "Nothing brings greater happiness than to serve a cause greater than yourself."

Combined with his brilliant move to appoint governor Palin as his running mate, he's already exceeded my expectations and has launched what I hope (and now dare to believe) will be a successful campaign.

Howdy Pilgrims

We were treated for a special treat after Mass when we visited Formosa yesterday. A group of
World Youth Day Pilgrims were sharing their story of how they had travelled to Australia in Juy and carried on to Fiji for a service project afterward.

They told us how the theme for the event was taken from Acts 1:8 "You will recieve power whent the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses." The theme seems somewhat prophetic, because on Sunday this small group stood in front of hundreds of people sharing stories of how they were able to energized bythe Pope and by each other, how they experienced God's providence through the hospitality of their hosts, and how they relied on God to overcome minor hardships and sickness during their travels.

The pilgrims have already been witnesses to the people of Australia where the papal mass was the largest gathering of people in a single place in the history of Australia. Now they will be witnesses at home to their family, friends and others in their parish.

I pray that everyone who participated in WYD 2008 will have many opportunities to share their faith and their experiences from their pilgrimage. No doubt the memories will be with them forever, my memories of World Youth Day 2002 are as clear as ever, and I only had to travel a few miles rather than flying half way accross the world.

Now That Didn't Take Long

Looks like folks were a little quick to press the panic button on food prices. This story from India reports that excellent crops, and higher plantings are already easing the food crisis in that part of the world. The story reports:

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A worldwide food crisis that sent prices of wheat, rice and corn to records and sparked riots from Haiti to Ivory Coast may be over after farmers boosted plantings, a top official in India's food ministry said.

``I don't think there's a crisis now,'' said T. Nanda Kumar, the country's food secretary, who is responsible for formulating food security policy in the world's second-most populous nation. ``Food will be available.''

...

Record soybean crops in China and India, an almost doubling of wheat production in Australia, and bigger rice harvests in Thailand and Vietnam have eased shortfalls this year.

The global production outlook for wheat and soybeans is ``very good,'' while rice is still expensive, Kumar said in a New Delhi interview Aug. 18. ``Rice is softening, but I don't think it has softened adequately.''

To be sure there's a lot that goes into the reason for the recent drop in food commodity prices from their record high levels, including a stronger US dollar, lower energy prices, and good growing weather. But, the article is clear that there's also been a real supply response in areas of the world with less developed agriculture.

I thought we'd have to wait at least until the next growing season to see a supply response to the record high prices, however apparently even the more modest price increases we saw in the early spring were enough to generate this response. The bloomberg article credits an 83 year old scientist, Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, with saying, "the solution to higher farm output lies in providing better remuneration to growers." It seems he's been proven right, and even more quickly than I expected.

Tony Clement is Right

As the largest contributor to the World Health Organization, Canada's opinion matters. Last week Tony Clement, Canada's Health Minister, made the government's position clear with respect to government sponsored injection sites for illegal drugs. Minister Clement said, "Allowing and/or encouraging people to inject heroin into their veins is not harm reduction, it is the opposite. … We believe it is a form of harm addition.” He is absolutely right, providing not just clean needles, but a government sanctioned safe zone where addicts can take illegal drugs without fear of prosecution sends a mixed message about what our society thinks and makes it easier for addicts to continue with their life risking behaviour.

The Economist has a good report on the effectiveness of Canada's only 'safe injection site' in Vancouver:

BACK in 2003 many residents of Vancouver reckoned that an answer had finally been found to the worsening hard-drug problem in the liberal-minded city’s downtown Eastside district. A reformist city council, borrowing a European idea, opened the first supervised heroin-injection clinic in North America. It was set up as a research experiment, with a three-year remit (since twice extended). The idea was that giving addicts a safe place to inject themselves would remove them from crime, disease and other risks, and make them more amenable to treatment. The Liberals who were then running the federal government agreed, and blessed Insite, as the project is called, with C$1.5m (then worth $1.1m) and a vital exemption from drug laws.

Five years on, Insite has proved a disappointment to many in Vancouver. It has also become the object of partisan conflict. The Conservative federal government of Stephen Harper dislikes the project. A committee set up to advise it on the issue found that only about 500 of Vancouver’s 8,000 addicts use Insite each day, and fewer than 10% of those use it for all their injections. It found no clear evidence of any increase in treatment, nor of any fall in HIV cases. It did estimate that the project might have saved one life per year but found that overdose deaths were still about 50 a year among addicts. Crime continues unabated as addicts steal to feed their habits, something which frustrates the local police.

So there is close to no benefit to the drug users, or societ at large by providing the injection site. At the same time, the injection site makes it easier for addicts to continue feeding their addiction. Tony Clement should be applauded for taking a stand saying, “We're not prepared to allow people to die” by condoning their continued drug use.

Paris Hilton is Funny and Intelligent . . .

. . . in her new video spoof of a John McCain Ad at www.funnyordie.com:

It's timely, funny and relevant. She even sounds coherent when she describes her 'energy policy.' I'm not sure how she pulled that off. From my perspective the most controversial thing she said is: "I'm hot." I'm not sure I can think of a number of women I know that are significantly hotter than Paris Hilton. I can even think of a few celebrities, like Jessica Simpson.

Anyway for reference you can find the original ad here, it's called "celeb." It's actually a very fair add that highlights just how hollow Obama is. You can also check out a two other videos on John McCain's website are "the one" and "the Obama Iraq Document."

Is That Really the Way to Measure Happiness?

I read an article today that claimed women are less happy at mid life than men. The Ottawa Citizen Reports:

The researchers looked at several decades of surveys that asked what people wanted out of life and which of those things they had. Happiness, Ms. Plagnol said, is determined by measuring the difference between the two -- in other words, whether or not people have what they say they want.

After controlling for year of birth and demographics such as race and education, the authors specifically looked at two areas: family life and finances.

"Virtually all studies agree that family life and finances are among the most important in determining happiness," the study reads.

Financial happiness was determined by how many of 10 big-ticket consumer goods -- including a car, a TV, a vacation home and a pool -- people had that they also considered part of a good life.

So if I understand this properly, if I say I want a big house, a beautiful wife, a fancy car, and lots of kids and I have all those things, then the study authors pronounce me "happy." If I have 3/4 I must be 75% happy. Presumably if I have none of those things, the authors would categorize me as miserable. This is the logic that allows Anke Plagnol one of the study authors to conclude: "Aspirations of men and women are similar later in life, but women attain less."

I can certainly see how the study results are interesting, but is that really the way to measure happiness? It sounds a lot like a materialist trap that says I will be happy if only I have more stuff. Unfortunately, that's just not true! More stuff doesn't make you more happy even if you think that it will.

I recommend all happiness experts go out and buy a copy of the Veggie Tales classic Madame Blueberry. They'll learn that "being greedy makes you grumpy -- but a thankful heart is a happy heart!"

Songs that say, Don't cheat, Don't Leave

I've got two country stations on my radio presets. I knew this song was big when I heard it twice in 5 minutes while scanning the channels. Taylor Swift's, "Should've Said No" is a grand kiss off to her cheating boyfriend. It's totally simplistic, no torn emotions just plain punchy. Simple message to men, be faithful or you're toast. Give it a listen:



It kind of reminds me about the song Cheaper to Keep Her by Aaron Lines that made the circuit a few months ago. Similar message to men, DON'T Leave because you’ll just screw up your life! I enjoy both these songs because they’re just so refreshingly direct. I think they’re just plain fun, as long as you’re not in the situation. If you are, they’e gotta sting and you have my sympathy. But I think these two songs are popular because they contain warnings that deep down we men know we need to hear. (I think they’re popular with women because they can laugh at men.)



Stay Strong by the Newsboys is different. First, it’s not country, I’ve heard it a few times on my drive home on the local Christian music station. More important it’s hopeful it’s talking to us BEFORE we make a bad decision. It’s definitely my favourite of these three songs:



I like all three of these songs especially the last one. They may be direct, maybe even preachy, but they're definitely catchy. It’s refreshing to have some explicitly encouraging music especially when popular culture seems to diminish committed relationships.

Let the Americans Keep Him

Omar Khadr is from the family of Osama bin Laden's biggest Canadian sympathisers. He travelled to Afghanistan to support their cause, and the Americans believe he killed one of their soldiers, Christopher Speer. Now that a video of his interrogation has been released, his lawyers want Canadians to pressure our government to bring him back to Canada and rescue him from the consequences of his actions.

I vote no. Much has been made of clips where Khadr breaksdown and crys for his mom, but more should be made of his many admissions. Such as this exchange reported by the Globe and Mail,

"How did that American end up getting so dead then? … You were there. You participated in this action," a Canadian interrogator said.

"What could I do?" Mr. Khadr replied. "What other choice did I have?"

CSIS agents believe he delivered well rehearsed testimony. Khadr's lawyers have been trying to manipulate the Canadian government ever since his arrest, when the interrogation started he said to the Canadians, "Finally, I've been requesting the Canadian government for a long time."

I don't blame Khadr for breaking down in tears when he realized that the Canadians were trying to find out the truth rather than bring him a get out of jail free card. But those tears do not make him innocent, if he killed an American service man and trained with terrorists he should face the consequences.

A Shameful Decision, An Excellent Response

When I first heard that Henry Morgentaler would be awarded the Order of Canada, I was disgusted. I also didn't much care. It was just another slight against pro-lifers and another undeserved award for a wiked man. I spent a lot of energy huffing and puffing when he was awarded an honourary degree from the University of Western Ontario, and I stopped supporting the school because of it. I was so tired of hearing about him I just rolled my eyes, and thought here we go again.

But, the response has encouraged me. I was particularly encouraged by Acrh Bishop Thomas Collins' statement. Before describing the many services the Church offers to women who have had an abortion and those who may be considering an abortion, he said:

Canada's highest honour has been debased. HenryMorgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada. We are all diminished.

A community's worth is measured by the way it treats the most vulnerable,and no one is more vulnerable than in the first nine months of life's journey. No person may presume to judge the soul of Henry Morgentaler, but it cannot bedenied that the effect of his life's work has been a deadly assault upon the most helpless amongst us.

Canada glories in the names of Banting and Best, and the other medical heroes who selflessly brought healing where there was disease and suffering. Now it honours with the Order of Canada a medical man who has brought not healing, but the destruction of the defenseless and immeasurable grief.

This award must not stand.

Quite frankly this is much more eloquent than I could be. Clear and bold, yet gentle, responses from the Church have informed a debate that has engaged the country. I am very proud of the leadership that the church has shown.

I was also pleased with Stephen Harper's comments:

"My preference, to be frank, would be to see the Order of Canada be something that really unifies, that brings Canadians together. I have to say this clearly: This is not a decision of the government of Canada. The Order of Canada, these decisions, are made independently of the government."

Stephen Harper couldn't be more right. Honours such as this should be reserved for people that have made a truly positive contribuition to our society. Small wonder at least 3 awards have been returned by individuals who think the honour has become worthless. (Awards presented to Catherine de Hueck Doherty, E.M. Culliton, and Father Lucien Larre have all been returned.) What a shame that true servants of Canada have seen their honour diminished in this way.

Thousands of Canadians have also signed an online petition or joined Facebook groups opposing the nomination. Please do the same, for the sake of our country this award must not stand.

FACT: Church Going Men Have Happier Marriages

A new research brief from the Centre for Marriage and Families finds that church going men have happier marriages than other men:

For men, 70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are “very happy” in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church. . . In addition, a study of urban relationships found that men’s religious attendance was a better predictor of women’s relationship satisfaction than women’s own religious attendance.

That's huge! In other words 18% (70/59) more church going men (in America) have very happy marriages than men who stay home. Naturally these men had marriages that were more likely to last:

Specifically, data from the NSFH indicate that men and women who attended religious services regularly (several times a month or more) were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce between 1988 and 1993, compared to their married peers who rarely or never attended religious services. Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Jews who attended services regularly were especially likely to avoid divorce, compared to churchgoing evangelical Protestants and black Protestants. In all probability, low Catholic divorce rates are linked to Catholic teaching about the importance of marital permanence.

Yay Catholics!

Finally, the research shows that church going men spend more time with their children including helping with group activities:

Compared to dads who say they have no religious affiliation, fathers who attend
church regularly (several times a month or more) devote at least two hours a
week more in youth-related activities, such as helping in Boy Scouts, coaching
soccer, and leading a church youth group.

So men, want a happier marriage? Get to church! Women and mothers want a happier marriage, get your husband to church. The data show he'll thank you for it.

H/T Lifesite News

Record High Abortions in Britain.

According to Lifesite news, a record number of English unborn children were aborted in 2007. Lifesite reports:

Abortions are at record numbers again in Britain, with a 4 percent rise and ever younger girls having "terminations" instead of giving birth. Statistics released today show that 205,598 British children were killed before birth in 2007, up from 201,173 in England and Wales during 2006.

The number of abortions among young girls also jumped significantly, with 13-to-15 year olds aborting at 4.4 per thousand, and under-18s aborting at a rate of 19.8 per thousand.

These statistics mean that nearly one-quarter of pregnancies in England and Wales end in abortion.

This is bad news for Britain and quite honestly I was shocked, especially when the most recent Canadian numbers showed a much more enouraging trend. England has just over 60 million people, less than twice Canada's population of 33 million, but the total number of abortions in England was more than 2.1 times the 96,815 unborn children that were killed in Canada.

Perhaps young women in Britain should look to Canadians as an example. Only 13.8 per thousand Canadian young women under the age of 20 had an abortion in 2005.

I Weep for Africa

In a sad and frustrating statement on Africa, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's main oppositon party decided not to contest a run off election after president Mugabe's thugs continued months of violence and blocked a major rally. Tsvangirai summed up his reasons succinctly saying, "We in the MDC* cannot ask [people] to cast their vote on the 27th when that vote would cost them their lives."

Here in North America, we take our democracy for granted. In many African countries it is extremely fragile. Zimbabwe is a country with incredible potential, and yet at least 70 opposition supporters have been killed over the past several weeks by agents of Zimbabwe's government. Although the blame clearly rests with Mugabe himself and those around him that have enriched themselves while ruining the country, it's all the more maddening because it could have been prevented if the international community, particularly South Africa had pressured Mugabe out when he lost the last election in March.

For all the talk about sending help to Africa this is a moment when something can be done. South Africa should close the border to all trade with Zimbabwe until Mugabe steps down. Western governments should take every means possible to isolate Mugabe, fortify the opposition, and support Zimbabwe's other neighbouring countries such as Zambia that have already been working to end this crisis.

*Movement for Democratic Change