You have to love how well politicians lie, to make a sellout seem a good thing. Then there is the Politician that tells you how great it is to share such an open border, and how good of a friend you are, while at the same time killing tourism in your country, and putting the blame for their own incompetence onto your shoulders.

Hats off to both Conservative Cannon, our Foreign Affairs dufus, and Hilary Rodham Clinton, the US poster model for failed political hacks, for their stellar performance in announcing that the Great Lakes Water Treaty of 1909 will be renegotiated, as merely a way to update how we preserve the environment. 

“We have to update it to reflect new knowledge, new technologies and, unfortunately, new threats,” Clinton said.

“The rivers, the lakes, the streams, the watersheds along our boundary do not belong to one nation, they belong to all of us,” she said at celebrations overlooking the falls.

“The friendship between Canada and the United States is a model for the world,” said Cannon. ( CBC News )

Funny how Clinton makes that sly remark, about it not belonging to anyone, course the fact that it is her country who pollutes the lakes faster than one can say ‘defeated candidate’, and is the one who thinks we are a third world country,  doesn’t come into play, now does it?

After all it is her Government that is trying to steal the Northern Waters of Canada so they can legally send their warships through the passages, and their oil tankers, without meeting our tougher restrictions on pollution. Mind you, our lovely fair haired boy, Stevie, is doing everything he can, to reduce those restrictions, those protective services. After all, he’d like nothing better than to be the Governor of the 51st USA State.

And you have to love how they talk about free exchange of goods, through NAFTA and the cross border shopping, while it it is the USA who constantly tries to deny Canadian Industry a role in the US Market. Or how their new regulations, requiring anyone over 16 to have a passport in order to enter their land of plenty.

And our eager and willing stupe, Cannon, plays right into it, extolling the virtues of a country that has led the world to economic ruin, because of its greed. Course it is his same boss, that is allowing Mining Companies to dump toxic waste into our streams, so they can make huge profits. And too, in all fairness, so that Canada will be just like the United States, a dumping ground for polluters. After all, wouldn’t be fair to have pristeen lakes, clear and clean water, when our gentle giant of a neighbour has nothing but sludge and ooze in its lakes & rivers, from the same practice of dumping and pollution.

Now would it?

I listened to the sound bites, listened to the pontificating from the pundits, and now I have heard the speech. Funny, how when you hear the whole speech, it is so vastly different than what the pundits, or the opposition make of it. It is so different, that you wonder IF THEY HEARD THE SAME SPEECH. Seriously, I have to wonder if Wolf Blitzer and Larry King listened to the same speech, or did they have their hearing aids off?

One note, in my previous post, I mentioned this was the anniversary of Kings Death, which was wrong, this is the 45th anniversary of his famous  ‘I have a Dream’ speech.

Obama’s speech was definitely something special. It made a lot of promises, spoke a lot about promises, about faith, and I don’t know, but he certainly looked like he could do what he said. I mean you hear a lot of politicians talk the talk, but as you listen, you know it is just ‘electioneering‘. Listening to Obama, watching his eyes, his face, you get the idea that he actually does believe in what he says. Maybe he is a good actor, but I don’t know, I am pretty cynical, yet I believe him.

I like his ideas, but how he will accomplish them, is another story. I think, if the People give him a chance, if THEY support him, then yes, it can happen. I think he can turn things around, if no one expects a miracle in the first year, or term even. The problems, as he said, are real, and require more than just Government bailing people out. It requires tough decisions, hard work, and I wonder, are Americans willing to do that?

He has some good points, and IF, and it is a big IF, the people buy it, and support it, then YES, he can accomplish it. At least he isn’t willing to BULLY his allies, which is something Bush and yes, Clinton, did in their administrations. Hopefully this will be a different style, if he’s given the chance. Maybe he can talk sense to Russia, maybe he can persuade Iran, but the one difference between him and Bush, and McCain, is he IS WILLING TO TALK FIRST.  That is a huge chance from how America has approached international affairs.

His idea of education too, is something that has been lacking for decades. How he’ll accomplish it is going to be tough, given how Congress acts, but he stands a chance, if the People Support him. I don’t know the answers, but I know that in listening to the whole speech, not picking single points out, it was an impressive speech. One I haven’t heard for a long time, because unlike the others, it actually rang true.

There wasn’t any, how do you call it, disbelief, or skepticism. He may be the real deal, but will the People see beyond the Media Hype, the attack ads of the Republicans? That will tell, but you know, he did survive the Clinton Attack Ads, and she is as good as any Republican, so again, there is hope.

I hope that others will take the hour to listen to his speech. I assume it will be available on his website, or at least the text of it. The truth is, it is a darn site better to hear it, complete, without being chopped up to suit the editorial opinions of the Media. Seriously, take the time, and do the same for John McCain’s speech too. I mean fair is fair, and who knows, maybe it’ll be memorable. It could, and it could also help clarify a lot between the two men, and their parties.

Yet I don’t know, those supporting McCain are the same who control George Bush. They are the same Corporate Masters that have ruined the economy, and shipped the jobs overseas.

This is what perhaps gets me about all this political nonsense, called Primaries.

I mean you enter the race to seek the Nomination, but at some point, when you realize you aren’t going to win, you hang in for either credibility for your next try, or for gaining the Number 2 Spot. I mean look at how long Mike Huckabee stuck it out in the Republican Race, when there was no mathematical chance of him winning, but he stuck it out, and some say he is on the short list for the VP nod from John McCain.

Now we have the Spin Doctors alluding to Hilary Clinton’s big speech from NY tonight, after the primary, where she is positioning herself to help unify the Party. They are also saying it is the sign that Obama needs to seek her out for the VP nod.

“In her speech tomorrow night, she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she’s asked to do,” said a close friend and adviser of the New York senator and former first lady, who speaks with her regularly and is privy to her deliberations. (source – CNN News)

How can anyone, Clinton or Obama want the second banana post? I mean they have spent how many months tearing each other apart, calling them racists, calling them inexperienced, old guard, and so on. So what suddenly changes, that now makes them acceptable running mates for the General Election?

Seriously, what has changed that would make Obama believe that Hilary Clinton is inept, is a war hawk, is old style, back room politician? Has she somehow magically been altered to not be all those negative things he called her during the race for the Nomination?  Then how about Hilary Clinton, like isn’t this the height of hypocrisy, for her to even want to join the Obama ticket for November?

I mean look at her ads, at how she calls him nothing but full of words but no action, how she says he is naive, incompetent, an appeaser, and worse, he is Black. So how can she now justify even wanting to take on the Vice President slot on the Ticket? She accused him, and all men, of ganging up on her, but she’ll take second banana?

No wonder nearly half of those eligible to vote, ACTUALLY VOTE.

If you support Barack Obama, I suppose the glass is half full, if you are a fan of Hilary Clinton, you feel like you got robbed as the Democratic National Committee came up with a solution for Florida and Michigan. Least in their own pointed head way they think they did. I mean, seriously, can we say MORONS.

WASHINGTON – Democratic Party leaders agreed Saturday seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half votes into this summer’s convention with a compromise that left Barack Obama on the verge of the nomination but riled Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who threatened to fight to the August convention. (source – MSNBC)

What I suppose has me confused, and perhaps most of the world, is how can you count what was supposed to be uncountable? The DNC ruled that states that pushed their primaries up, would not have their delegates count. So whose fault is it that there is this entire mess, is it Obama, Clinton, the DNC, or Michigan & Florida Democrats?

My money is on the State Party People.

However, this is also why I think many in the world are not friendly towards the United States. A stretch you say? Not really if you consider that how the DNC is operating, is no different than how the United States acts towards its enemies and allies.

The USA says one thing, then never seems to follow through on it. It is not random either, but has been a serious flaw with the United States since well, Nixon or maybe even earlier. However, look at history and see how we outside the USA get angry, get confused, by the USA. To begin with, who made the USA GOD ALMIGHTY?

The USA says one thing, then does another, or worse, demands rather than asks. That is what gets others so pissed off. You do not have one set of rules for one class, another for a different class, and a third for even another class. LAWS either apply to ALL or you are NO DEMOCRACY. The whole issue of Michigan & Florida is symptomatic of the USA. You clearly state a penalty for violating a law, impose it, then waffle for months and then change it. The issue should be simple, either the rules and the rule of law applies or it doesn’t.

You claim to be the Greatest Democracy Ever, yet you hold people in prison without trial, without legal representation, or you make up the rules as you go, to suit you. People outside the USA see this, then when George Bush or Bill Clinton come around, they don’t know what to believe. HAMAS as a governing party is a result of USA influence. THE USA FORCED the Palestinian Authority to let them run, then when they won, who refuses to recognize them? Yet they call them Terrorists, but force the PLA to let them seek to be the government? TALK ABOUT DOUBLE STANDARDS.

Clinton, McCain, & Bush call Obama dangerous because he is an Appeaser, in their views. Thing is, he follows the rules, stayed out of campaigning in Michigan and Florida, lost as a result, and now they blame him for trying to not let the vote count? EXCUSE ME but he played by the rules, Hilary Clinton didn’t, so yes, the World is less thrilled about her, than him, and it is for that very reason. They don’t want another President who says one thing, but does something totally different.

They don’t want a President who promises support, then turns around and ignore their pleas for help. Bush bitches about our Immigration Laws, claiming it is too lax, that we are risking US Security because we let in too many foreigners. In the meantime he allows about TWENTY MILLION ILLEGAL PEOPLE to not only live in the USA, but is desperate to GIVE THEM DRIVER’S LICENSES & LET THEM REGISTER TO VOTE.  Now, I don’t know, but isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?

As for being an appeaser, the entire USA Government does nothing but appease, but fail to deliver. They bluff, bluster, and bully, but when push comes to shove, they run and hide. It is what Chamberlain did, along with France in the late 1930’s. As a result, when they stood fast, Hitler simply didn’t believe they would seriously go to war, least of all over Poland. The result was a bloody World War, because Hitler was so used to the Allies caving in, he didn’t think they’d stand up to him.

Is the situation with Iran any different today? Bush threatens, then backs off, and he demands the world contain Iran, without offering any other solutions. He bluffs, huffs, puffs, and bullies, but that is it. Why should Russia support Bush? It isn’t like Bush keeps his word.

Simple truth is that Michigan and Florida violated the rules, and once more, those in power cave into the special interests, and change the rules in mid stream. That is not how you gain power, not how you gain respect, and sure as hell isn’t how you practice Democracy. No wonder there is increased terrorists.

The California Supreme Court ruled by a 4-3 margin, that Gays in California had the right to be married, and that the current Domestic Partnership simply wasn’t enough of a guarantee. Something I have said for a long time, something the Canadian Supreme Court made clear years ago up here.

California’s Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a state ban on gay marriage, paving the way for same-sex couples in the country’s largest state to tie the knot.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices ruled that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. (source – CBC News)

Naturally I am happy about the decision, yet there are many who aren’t. One comment was noted asking if the Judges would soon grant the right for someone to marry a Kangaroo next, but then, hey, what do you expect from FOX News? Not much in my view, but the interesting note here, is that most of the appointed Supreme Court Justices are Republican Conservatives. Six in fact, and when you consider that it passed, it rather makes the claim of ‘activism‘ a bit moot.

I suppose the big question now is, what impact will this have on the Presidential Race?

The Republicans have used this as a wedge issue many times already. Now that we know that Barack Obama opposes DOMA[1. Defense of Marriage Act] in its total, and that Hilary Clinton only supports the repeal of certain sections, it could become an issue, but I wonder, will John McCain bite? Will he abandon his quest to appeal to moderates, in order to satisfy the more rapid of the Conservatives in the Republican Party, such as Pastor John Hagee?

Stephanopoulos observed that Obama’s support for a repeal of DOMA and McCain’s need for independent votes in the fall may make the ruling a “political wash” on the campaign trail as the two likely contenders engage in a “conspiracy of silence” on the controversial issue. (source – ABC News)

It would be nice if they did sort of just, ignore this issue, but then I also believe in the Tooth Fairy still. I guess the truth is that people are afraid of giving meaning to the words of the Bill of Rights, and to the US Constitution, when it goes against their own beliefs. Doesn’t sound much like Democracy to me, but hey what do I know?

I mean I pay my taxes, vote, serve on Jury Duty when asked, and earn a decent living, and oh yeah, I live with my partner, have for over ten years, and yes my partner is a HE. We both look after my 91 year old mother, so what is it about us, that makes so many want to refuse other’s like us the right to be happy, to be a full partner in society?

I don’t know how many Gays in the United States want to be married, but I don’t think any of them are asking that the Pope or Cardinal Mahoney marry them. They simply want to take advantage of all the perks and pitfalls that goes with being legally married. It doesn’t mean they want to seduce every young kid under eighteen, or have a special class in schools telling kids to try being Queer, they simply want to be able to care for each other, when the need arises, legally, without the hoopla needed if they are simply a civil union.

The argument that could be waged, is that Obama is allowing the Judicial System to determine what marriage is or isn’t. Now I don’t know, but why is that wrong? I mean we have Judges just for the  purpose of keeping law makers in line. Their role isn’t to make laws, but to insure that the laws passed are fair, equal, and without prejudice. If they didn’t do that, would Blacks be able to Vote today? Would Women be able to Vote today?

Barack Obama wants to repeal all of DOMA for that simple reason. Let each state decide, but the Federal Government has an obligation to its citizens, not just a select few. Even the US Constitution and Bill of Rights makes that clear, and when lawmakers like George Bush, Mitt Romney and Bill Clinton fail those documents, it is the COURTS OBLIGATION TO SET IT RIGHT. That is what the California Supreme Court did today, in respect to California.

Maybe it should be an issue this election. To me, and to many other minorities, this isn’t about some fag being able to legally shag their partner. It is about being treated equally under the Law, irrespective of our differences from the Majority. And that certainly SHOULD BE AN ELECTION ISSUE.