Blue Like You

Archive for June 13th, 2008

Dalton McGuinty has just announced that he will be seeking a third term in office! (Globe )

I have no pithy words for this horrible turn of events. Feelings are ranging from shock, horror, disgust and personal anguish, heart palpitations and a dull, sick, thud in the pit of my stomach.

Check out comments following the article, which are actually quite a hoot:

Robert Loblaw from Canada writes: "Dalton must run for a third term - there are so many more things that need to be banned."

* Posted 13/06/08 at 3:23 PM EDT

Atlantica Party.ca - worked for the Bloc from Canada writes:

"Good !

He’s staying in Ontario .

I was afraid he was thinking of taking on a job that may affect other parts of the country."

* Posted 13/06/08 at 3:32 PM EDT

Rick C from Canada writes: "Maybe Dalton should try to actually do something during his second term before talking about a third."

* Posted 13/06/08 at 3:43 PM EDT

Ah, you just head over there and read them all for yourself.

I’m going to try saying a prayer. I think that’s our only hope.

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Update: Speaking of prayers, this whole Lord’s Prayer controversy has turned into quite the can of worms, as Blizzard notes above.

Now we have TWO PRAYERS instead of one on a daily basis, and the secularists are not happy. Activist Henry Beissel states:

"I think it’s very sad that Canada can’t move forward into the 21st century," he said. "This type of religious fanaticism and racism belongs to past centuries and it’s time to move on."

Nice move, Dalton. Now the Lord’s Prayer is religious fanaticism.

How about focusing on something that actually needs to be fixed. Like job losses, maybe?

Bigger Update: HAMPTON TO STEP DOWN AS NDP LEADER: SOURCES. (Note to certain other person. Can you take a hint?)

The Girl in Blue - Friday the 13th just got scarier. That’s right! Friday the 13th!! I should have stayed in bed. Not a good day in Ontario.

Far from accomplishing "the square root of nothing" as Ralph Goodale referred to the other two opposition parties, it seems that a lowly NDP aide saved the day on Wednesday.

While all the big chiefs including those from all four political parties were busy arguing over procedural nuances, four little words from Jack Layton’s aide saved the day (via the Star ):

…Stepping outside to pose for a photo about an hour before the historic occasion was to begin, Layton told NDP press secretary Ian Capstick he feared the impasse would taint the moment with partisan pride.

"He expressed his great concern to me that an opposition party would move forward with an aggressive motion on the floor of the House of Commons, and that Conservatives would feel compelled to shut it down," Capstick said yesterday.

Then came those four words.

"Committee of the whole," Capstick said he told Layton, and the leader called Harper to save the day.

That phrase meant Parliament could take its ceremonial mace off the table, let the Speaker of the House sit in a regular chair and otherwise shed some of the formality that would have prevented the aboriginal leaders from responding.

"It provides the House with a unique opportunity to have a more fulsome debate, without being constrained by party rotation, without being constrained so tightly by time limits and a whole host of different things," he said…

I love stories like this. It’s refreshing to hear about solutions coming from people who are passionate about this country. And I love that Capstick is getting the press credit that he deserves.

Another side of this story hovers in the background at Chief Patrick Brazeau’s blog, where he suggests that there was some disagreement amongst the native leaders regarding how things should proceed and whether or not there need be a response (June 11, 2008 5:55 AM ).

Also, if you read some of Brazeau’s comments, you’ll see that what he is saying is not so far off what Pierre Polievre mentioned in his badly-timed radio interview for which he apologized yesterday:

…Personally, I was never fully in favour of the settlement package that was negotiated for the simple reason that money has never, doesn’t and will never solve the problems. Real healing begins within one’s own heart, mind and soul - not from a signed piece of paper.I believe the financial resources could and should have been better utilized to ensure residential school survivors and their offspring had access to real methods of counselling and healing. The second reason I didn’t personally support the settlement is because too many individuals personally benefitted financially from it. It is not my duty to name names but simply to highlight the point and let others who are interested do the homework …

Contrast this with what Pierre said :

"…Now, you know, some of us are starting to ask: ‘Are we really getting value for all of this money, and is more money really going to solve the problem?’ My view is that we need to engender the values of hard work and independence and self-reliance. That’s the solution in the long run — more money will not solve it. .."

Yes, some of Polievre’s tone and choice of wording was insensitive, and the timing was abhorrent, but don’t you see a grain of truth in it? Was he really being a "racist" or a realist?

I think both subplots in this story underline the importance of keeping an open mind, and trying to find creative solutions to our ongoing problems in this country.

Let’s start thinking outside the box of political-correctness.

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Update: As I said before, I feel so sorry for the victims of residential schools. I feel that this is a totally different issue from all the others and needs to be addressed as such. Please read this Globe piece, "I accept the Prime Minister’s apology ".