Tories, Schmories!

The Conservatives seem to have developed a knack for stepping in it.

Tories scramble to distance themselves from illegal‘robocalls’

It will be pretty hard to take that one off their backs, even if they are barely through their first year holding the reins. Way to go, assholes! I can scarcely think of anything I value more (kids and grand kids, siblings, etc. excepted) than the traditions of Western democracies, and I strongly believe the rights and processes we have developed are as close to sacred as they come. And that means no one should be denied the franchise, nor should anyone who leans toward the opposing political ideologies be exempted from this.

I just hope the Cons put it to rest now, for the duration of their term. The last thing we need is a return of the Liberal Party, or, God forbid, a Dipper government. Well, Cons, don't con us or yourselves. We expect better of you. I hate to say it, but you've got some work to do. This stepping in a fresh, steaming pile of sh!t every two weeks or so is not healthy - for you, or for the country. Better get at it.

Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye X 2

No Keystone XL decision to announce, U.S. says

What the ****!!! What is he doing? Someone please explain.

Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye

I think I should lay low today:

U.S. to reject Keystone XL: report

"The Obama administration is expected to announce Wednesday afternoon that it is rejecting TransCanada’a $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline project, according to the Washington Post.

“However the administration will allow TransCanada to reapply after it develops an alternate route through the sensitive habitat of Nebraska’s Sandhills,” said Washington Post."

[---]

"Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson was quick to condemn the Obama Administration’s decision — which has not been made yet — to reject the Keystone pipeline that would have transported oil from Alberta, Canada to the United States:

“Obama’s decision to say no to the Keystone pipeline is simply devastating to the nation’s economic recovery,” said Mr.Wilson. “The White House is more concerned with giving taxpayer-guaranteed loans to bankrupt ‘green’ energy firms that neither produce energy nor create jobs than with securing natural resources for the American people at a cheaper price and creating tens of thousands of jobs. Obama is officially a jobs killer.”

Now, if those Americans who lean to the right could just get their shit together and stop allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good, maybe The One will be a one term president. Ya'think?

But maybe I should wait for The One to announce his decision.

Enough, Already!!

I'm a boomer. An early boomer. I came of age during the Age of Aquarius and I was as hippy-dippy as all the cool kids, even if I didn't carry placards and protest against Vietnam, or whatever cause celebre of the day I happened to bump into along the way. But I categorically reject this notion that boomers are responsible for all the troubles we have today.

Cripes!  Every generation leaves in its wake a mess for the next one. The world is a messy place. We may clean up a little bit here, but our rags and wash water get dumped over there.  And there will be some messes that we don't even see. Think of your teenagers and their bedrooms.

We can look back in anger, but we can never really see the future. Mark my words, all you gen-Xers or Nexters or whatever you latest incarnation are calling yourselves. Your constant harping about boomers is proof of that. You're looking back in anger. You aren't looking forward and probably won't start to just because, I, one of your elders, am telling what you might expect in the future. But I'll do it anyway.

To be sure, there will be surprises ahead for you. There will be disappointments. There will be problems and opportunities to which you will be totally blind. There will be plenty of what you regard as triumphs that will later be vilified by your children and grandchildren.  And they may be wrong or they may be right.

Bottom line, you won't do a heck of a lot better than any of us in the boomer generation did. Nor will your children. Life just isn't like that. Just do the best you can. Have respect for those who went before you and love your children but leave their future up to them.

I'm not finished my rant yet. I want to make a few excuses and tell you what it was like as a boomer coming of age in the late 60s. 

It's very fashionable today to hear Pierre Trudeau vilified.  He became Prime Minister in the first election in which I was eligible to vote.  We didn't know, nor did he, what would be the long-term consequences of his policies.  No. Politicians don't have crystal balls. They're human. Like you and me.

So you don't like things like multi-culturalism or bi-lingualism. So what? When these were introduced they were seen as innovative and good. We didn't have crystal balls, either. Nor do you. And besides, much of what we conservatives whine about today and which we naively - and wrongly - lay at Trudeau's feet really got started in the 1930s, or earlier.  Think FDR.  Or, for a Canadian example, think of the CCF. This was the hay-day of social engineering. Socialism was the flavour of the times when Trudeau came of age and it was still there, enjoying a resurgence, perhaps, when boomers came of age.

We all come of age in a social and political context that could well be fleeting. Do the best you can with yours, but don't fall for the myth that you are unique or that you will do a better job than that done by previous generations. 'Cause history tells us, you won't. The past is there to learn from, not to fixate upon or vilify. Use your life to do your best to solve the problems you see around you and leave the rest up to whatever god you may think exists, even if you may think it's only fate. And forgive us our idealism for a world without idealism is a world without hope and no one can rob you of hope except yourself.

"Things to be Desired" or "Desiderata"



Betcha didn't know Trudeau recorded this poem, too.

Next Up

Well, now that that's solved, why don't we set to work stopping the tides. Apparently old Cnut was wrong.

The World Is Just Full of Funny Stuff

Official misspeaks, seeks more sex stories

Hey!! Those Canadian Conservative men. GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

PS: Junk touching must have been on his mind.

Still???@@###$$%%%???

9/11 terrorists did not come from Canada, ambassador tells Republican

Note to my Yanky readers: Please tell your stupid politicians and stupid aspiring politicians that this sort of ignorance doesn't help the conservative cause in Canada, except when it's from someone as high placed as Janet Napolitano, of course.

Rather interesting that both Angle and Napolitano come from states near the Mexico border, Nevada and Arizona, respectively, right next door to one another, in fact, a wee bit far away from the Canadian border. I wonder who Angle got her "facts" from?