Lots of fanfare, lots of important VIP’s speaking, and the end result?

Well, we get some great sound bites, and some hinted at solutions, but when it comes to details, the Harper Machine is in true form, giving absolutely nothing away. Oh it announces big plans, without the real guts on display. It is going to boost the Northern Economy, which one can translate into selling off assets.

It will protect our Interests abroad, with dialogue, which can translate into Giving In to Foreign Interests, unless of course, it impacts the needs and goals of the United States. Then, well, we’ll stand firm, until the President gives his marchng orders to Stevie Boy.

“We’re not going down a road toward confrontation. Indeed, we’re going down a road toward co-operation and collaboration. That is the Canadian way. And that’s the way my other colleagues around the table have chosen to go as well,” he said. ( CBC News )

What isn’t said in this gathering of the faithful, of the power group, is HOW it will be done. Russia restarted its flights over the North, and their fishing fleets, along with Norways, continue to push the boundaries. Even the good old United States continues to question our right to the northern waters, and lands.

Our North is rich in resources, and is a plum for anyone to grab hold of. And like days of old, unless we are prepared to defend it, and show that, we won’t hold onto it. That is how it worked, in the past, and nothing has really changed. YES, we do need to strengthen our presence there, economically. WE do need to grow our Northern regions with towns, with villages, with people, but we need to insure that they can grow, by having a clear presence in the North, not just idle chit chat, not just phony promises.

AND we need to insure, that is CANADA that makes the inroads into those resources, by controlling WHO gets access. IF that means PUBLIC expenditures, then it is in our best interests to do that. To SELL THE RIGHTS to some private firm, that is owned by some foreign firm, that is under the control of some foreign government, is just plain STUPID.

We need a real Arctic Strategy, from a Government that is REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA, NOT ONE THAT REPRESENTS SPECIAL INTERESTS LIKE THE HARPER CONSERVATIVES.

Harper’s Goons have retaken the lead in the Political Polls, not because of anything they have done, but due to the indecision of the Opposition Parties, especially the Liberals under Ignatieff.  Frankly, Politics is becoming a joke, no better than Used Car Salesmen or some Product Hawker on television.

Asked which party they would support if a federal election were held tomorrow, 34.8 per cent of respondents said they would cast their ballots for Stephen Harper’s Tories, while 32.6 per cent opted for Ignatieff’s Liberals, EKOS said. ( CBC News )

I wonder what goes on in the minds of those who advise Political leaders?

Sure, maybe people don’t want an election now, in which case, why create a situation where one might be expected? How is that going to get my support? How is that going to translate into me wanting to support you down the road, when you are only using that ‘threat‘ to garner support for your pet policy?

Harper has shown he is not the ideal choice among Canadians, but gets his sorry ass re-elected because the Opposition cannot get it’s own act together. If the Harper Tories are dismantling this country, are incapable of managing its finances, then force the issue, and be man/woman enough to stand your ground.

If we want less attack ads, then how about we actually stand for what we say, for what we claim to believe in?

If the EI plans of the government are wrong, if their economic policy is wrong, if their environmental policy is wrong, THEN WHY ARE YOU SUPPORTING THEM, MR. IGNATIEFF? MR. LAYTON?

People want decisions, not platitudes or posturing. We want leaders WHO WILL ACT, and not those who will compromise their principles, to avoid what maybe an unpleasent or inconvenient election call.

It is the JOB of the Leaders to make their cases, and if you are so unsure of your policies, of garnering my support for them, then perhaps instead of bluster, instead of bluff, YOU ADJUST YOUR POLICIES.

In other words, Mr. Ignatieff, Ms. May, Mr. Layton, CONVINCE ME I SHOULD SUPPORT YOU & YOUR PARTY WITH CONVICTION, NOT HOT AIR, NOT EMPTY THREATS.

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?

Or so Prime Minister Stephen Harper says, when talking about his Resources Minister and her continuing gaffs, regarding the Isotope Crisis his Government has created. Naturally he should know about Cheap Politics, as wasn’t it him who had the image of Stephane Dion with a bird pooping on his shoulder, plastered across the website of the Conservatives? Wasn’t it him who made fun of Stephane Dion’s poor English, while at the same time murdering the French Language?

A defiant Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended his embattled natural resources minister on Tuesday, dismissing the opposition’s call for him to fire Lisa Raitt over controversial comments caught on tape as “cheap politics.” ( CBC News )

I wonder how those waiting for treatment are feeling about the Minister’s comments? You know, the one about it not being a moral issue, therefore easy to solve with just money.

And that does lead to an interesting point.

If the solution was so easy, as simply tossing money at it, then why after 20 months hasn’t it been solved?

Then too, there is the notion that perhaps the reason our economy is in bad shape, isn’t due to anything other than mismanagement. I mean, why does it matter if the issue is a moral one, or not? Isotopes are used for medical treatment, so what, if it was used for determining if a woman was pregnant or not, that MIGHT lead to an abortion, then it would not be worthy of being solved?

If the Conservative solution to problems are based on two criteria, one is to determine if the problem is a moral issue, and if not, to then throw money at it. Kind of makes you wonder if the whole bailout of GM & Chrysler is based on that, rather than at perhaps securing jobs for people.

Yes, a Minister should WANT to solve a crisis, but how you solve it is as important as solving it. If you believe that only added money is the solution, then this country is going to be BANKRUPT IN SHORT ORDER. And yet, that does seem to be the goal of the Harper Regime.

Cheap Politics? Not when it is costing us billions of dollars, to allow various Cabinet Ministers to reap glory. It is rather EXPENSIVE POLITICS, DON’T YOU THINK?

I wonder too, how Stephen Harper has the nerve to even face people, and then call the demand for resignation of a Cabinet Minister, cheap politics, given all of his attack ads, that are now airing on the poor struggling commercial television stations? Now that is nerve, don’t you think?

Truth is, this Cabinet Minister allowed sensitive documents to be left not for a minute or two, but for days, at a television station, and now a five plus hour long tape was left at another, again for some time, and he thinks it is cheap politics to want her removed?

I mean what else is missing from her department?

Now if Mr. Harper wants to talk Cheap Politics, perhaps he should look inwards. After all there is nothing cheaper than putting the blame onto a subordinate, rather than accepting one’s own responsibility. And that is exactly what he and Ms. Raitt have done with the errant documents.

You have to love the media, and how every single election is always, too close to call. Seriously, when was the last time you heard the media claim it was a run away for this party, or that one? Truth is, they need to hype it, so people will watch their bloated coverage, which is just one of the many reasons, why voters get turned off.

Heading into the final stretch of the campaign, the most recent polls suggest B.C. Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell holds a narrow lead over NDP Leader Carole James. But even with that lead, many commentators say, the election outcome is too close to call for a wide range of reasons. ( source – CBC News )

Uh, commentators? What happened to the Pollsters? Aren’t they the supposed experts on what all that polling data means? So how come now it is the ‘commentators’ who are saying it is too close to call? When did these mouth pieces for advertisers, become experts on how to call an election, or read a poll result, for that matter?

I am still uncertain just what was the central issue in this election, beyond that Campbell is corrupt, and James is going to hand us over to the Unions.

Like how is that supposed to make me support any of them?

I still have NO IDEA how Carol James is going to handle the economy, and given how much support both the Teachers Union & Nurses Union have given her, what will that wind up costing us?

From Gordon Campbell nothing but, well silence. I mean if it wasn’t for Carol James Attack Ads, I’d never know that Gordon Campbell was even running. Seriously, I really haven’t seen much from the Liberals, and well, for that matter none of the other parties either.

There is the Green Party, and I’ve seen some signs, none in my riding though, and then I hear there are Conservatives running too. Like what, they think Campbell’s Liberals aren’t greedy enough?

I live in the province, capital city, and really other than sudden sprouting of lawn signs all over the various boulevards, you’d never know there was another party out there, other than James. Which brings up an interesting question. WHO IS FUNDING THEM?

AND THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS THE MEDIA SHOULD BE ANSWERING, NOT TELLING ME THEY THINK IT IS TOO CLOSE TO CALL.

I really am disgusted with them. The coverage of elections is now a sound bite here and there, no more in depth reporting, that I grew up on. It is those insights, those reports, that lit the fire inside of me, that helped make me the political junkie that I am today. And frankly, it is what is turning me off politics, but then, maybe that is exactly what their advertisers want?