Canada 09 vs Germany 39

I grew up listening to stories about the "Great Wars." In school we learned about the politics behind those wars.
We were told Hitler was trying to conquer the world, end democracy, and institute an international dictatorship. Repeatedly it was explained how he went from being a fringe player, seldom taken seriously, to having a minority, to overruling the majority in his own parliament, to unleashing a period of unprecedented terror on the world.
Step by step his actions were explained, with the intent of making sure, we would never forget, and would not allow such a tragedy to occur again.
Hitler began with a small group of radicals. They complained German society was too "liberal", crime was out of control, outsiders were destroying society and hording resources, that Germany needed to build a strong army to reclaim its greatness.
Unfortunately, the German people did not take Hitler seriously. He seemed an odd man, surrounded by fringe characters. His politics were not widely shared. Few believed he would ever get elected, let alone become Chancellor. His party seemed to be little more than a group of disaffected losers who liked to complain about everything, and wanted to take the country backward, not forward.
His party's tactics of name calling, of accusing the opposition of being in league in with Germany's enemies, of claiming other parties were suffering from moral decay, only seemed to reaffirm he was a marginal character of no real consequence.
Even after being elected Chancellor, with a slim minority, few took him seriously. His claim that crime was out of control seemed ridiculous because most Germans lived relatively peaceful lives. Yes, there were serious economic problems, but no one really believed it was caused by immigrants. People were confident, his party was in the minority and there were plenty of checks and balances in the German political system.
When he began to chip away at the judiciary, appointing like minded people to the German courts, few challenged him. When he allowed the police to do their business without oversight, few complained. When he mocked his opposition, calling them names, accusing them of being traitors, few challenged his assertions. Most people found the politics of the time so negative, they simply ignored it. Even when Hitler began to outrightly overrule the elected majority, people continued to call him “inconsequential”.
The German people, by and large, viewed the ultra-nationalist, law and order, militaristic Nazi platform as a minority view, that would go away if ignored. Hitler represented the few and in time would be voted out.
We all know what happened next!
I’m grateful to be Canadian. The accident of my birth saved me from war, starvation, most disease, and dictatorship. I’ve been free to speak my mind, move about unfettered, and had a say in how I’m governed.
However, I do remember the lessons I was taught by those who experienced fascim, oppression and deprivation! Because of those lessons, I remain keenly aware of the warning signs.
When a people become complacent, ignoring the signs, more concerned about their individual wealth than the well being of the many, when they allow their democratic institutions to be chipped away, when they ignore the rantings, name calling and unfounded accusations being tossed around, they are ripe for dictatorship!
There is an old adage: “All it takes for evil to thrive in the world is for one good man to do nothing.” It seems to me, in Canada today, there are a lot of good people choosing to do just that!
That said, there is only one thing I want for Christmas. I want my fellow Canadians, all of them, to stand up for the most precious gift we have in our possession, our democracy!

What the Liberals Must Do!

Short of somehow talking the Conservatives into accepting a major amendment to the current budget, I don’t see how the Liberal Party can accept it.
Such an amendment would have to include removing the clause calling for the sale of federal properties and corporations, upping the entitlement period and payment schedule for Employment Insurance, financing current inter city construction projects, and taking a giant leap towards the introduction of large scale fuel efficient and sustainable power technologies, to name but a few items.
Other items include large scale green infrastructure improvements, a no nonesense environmental police, overhauling the countries social welfare and education systems, huge funds for metropolitan and rural transit, and nationalized daycare.
But glueing an amemdment to the budget is not the Grits only issue.
A major concern for the Liberal Party is their standing as the official opposition. Should they vote in favour of the budget, as is, or without significant amendment, they themselves will be the party propping up the minority. They will be in a coaliton with the Conservatives!
What happens then? They can no longer argue against the government, because they already gave the go-ahead. Nor will they be able to argue economics, because they will have already approved. What’s worse, in the long run, they would capitulating and saying to the voter, ‘this government has it right.’ That would be one heck of an endorsement for Stephen Harper to have in his pocket going into the next election.
Really, the decison Liberal Leader Ignatief faces today, is not whether to reject the budget or not, but to decide who he wants to climb in bed with! Does he go for the new improved more cuddly Mr. Harper, or does he stick with the parties he’s already arranged a pre-nup with?
I would suggest, if he turns his back on the pre-nup, and either holds his nose and curls up under the Tory blue sheets, or decides to refrain from voting, he will soon be wearing spectacles and studdering in Franglais.
Then there’s George Bush’s big buddy Steve, with his Winnie the Pooh smile, soft belly, and surface warmth. Underneath, he’s still the same old good old boy. Like a whale in a barnyard pond he is. Flopping this way on the Senate, flipping that way on the deficit, flapping around with his PR department, flayling about with his leaks and never speaks. For all his sudden amicablity, he continues to go after womens equity, the CBC, the arts and tax cuts.
Does anyone really believe this guy will give Iggy the chance to change a thing? Is he really going actually agree to equal pay for equal work, for help to fix the ceiling over adding a rec room, to keeping the CBC in tact and properly funding it, to alternative energy, to cleaning up the oil sands? No, if anything, the big Pooh Bah is more likely to try to find a way to co-opt his main opponent. He’ll give, but not too much.
And that will put the slim gym Ignatief in another predicament. Does he settle for less. If he does, once again, he will soon be wearing spectacles and studdering in Franglais.
Whatever the Liberals do is bound to be unpopular in many circles. Its a catch-22 in so many ways.
Perhaps it comes down to the rules of order. Parliament is set up in a manner that not only allows, but encourages coalitions. The voters haven’t moved much in years. If another election were held, we’d likely be right back where we are. With no one at the top really wowing the masses, that’s unlikely to change. Mr. Ignatief’s question then becomes, “who can I work with?”
There is one other question, that must be considered. Would Mr. Ignatief like to be Prime Minister of Canada by this time next week?
I think he would! And it may be his only chance!

Harper's Intentions

The question I'm not hearing, but want asked is: Should an unelected official be able to overrule the majority of parliament?
The answer seems obvious.
That said, I've been racking my brains for two weeks trying to figure out what Stephen Harper, the normally sly and masterful manipulator, is up to with such crass and blatant attacks on issues like Women's Equity, Campaign Finance, and Public Sector Unions. It seemed an odd approach from a Prime Minister who earlier pledged to work with the opposition.
My confusion was only increased when he responded to news of the coalition by raising the specter of Quebec Separation instead of bringing forward a revised economic plan.
All my befuddlement ended today when the Governor General set a precedent, throwing the issue of Monarchy into the already full mixing bowl, and granted the prorogue of parliament! It is now clear to me what Mr. Harper is up to.
Always a divide-and-conquer manager, it is clear to me our Prime Minister is out to wholly obfuscate matters to the point where things boil over and get out of hand. Why, I'm not sure. Perhaps he knows his only hope of ever achieving a majority is to throw Canadian society into such chaos the people opt for the strong-arm approach of a law and order party!
Should we be questioning the role of the Monarchy in our federation? Yes! But if we're going to fear anything, it ought to be Mr. Harper's intentions!

Time to Reaccess the Role of the Monarchy in Canada

Perhaps now it the time to finally discuss the role of the Governor General in our governance. We have a non-elected official protecting a Prime Minister from facing a confidence motion. It amounts to the Queen interfering with the legislative process in this country.
Unelected officials should have no say in how parliament does its job. Now is the time to ask if we really want a government that can be directed by unelected officials. I say no.
If there ever was an argument for finally abolishing the monarchy and moving towards a republican style of democracy, it is now.

Break Up the Party in Canadian Politics

The real problem in Canadian governance is the partisan politics, and the only way to resolve that problem is for the Canadian voter to reject the parties. Perhaps then we'll see some real
change in our national and provincial political scene.
Here again is another ploy to get people to vote for another political party. I've looked at the Green's policies. Yes they are strong on the environment, but their environmental policies are not far off from where the NDP's are. I've also looked at their economic policy. In the last election they were suggesting 50 per cent tax cuts, which would be disastrous to our social safety net if it were ever instituted. I've also looked at their social policies, which are somewhere right of the Harper Conservative's. Yes, I said "right" of Harper!
It is time for real change in Canadian politics, and I don't believe voting for any party is going to achieve that. The parties are the problem! If Canadians really want change, then it is incumbent upon us to bust up the party!
My suggestion is that we all seriously consider voting Independent.
Lets find the independent candidate who we feel best represents the riding, and who has a decent reputation in the riding for caring about the people and place. If such a candidate can't be found, then I suggest we vote for the independent candidate who is most likely to cause a
kafluffle in Ottawa, or Victoria, whichever the case may be. If we can't find a viable non-partisan person to elect, then lets send a loonie to the loonie bin, and really stir things up.
That aside, the one thing that could change the way politics is done in this country is to get all those folks who don't vote to finally vote, especially those people who are so disenfranchised they don't believe their vote matters. If we can just get the people who don't vote to vote, then we will at least have governance by the people, instead of governance by the wealthy, which is our current situation, because it is mostly the wealthy who vote.
Finally, anyone who believes one party or the other is going to save our country is living in a dream world. History shows that parties are partisan. Once they are in power, their greatest preoccupation is self promotion, not service. Parties serve the parties, not the
people.
An example of this is the Green Party leader's deal with the federal Liberals to run in Peter McKay's riding. Another is Stephen Harper's recent cow-tow to Quebec. Stephane Dion is unwilling to cause an election, despite the Conservative's inaction on the Kyoto Accord and a national debate on Afghanistan, because his party can't afford to run a national campaign. Then there's the NDP, who when they came to power in BC, promptly cut funding and services to hospitals and welfare. And let's not forget the phat MLA raise the provincial parties granted themselves this past year. We can fatten MLA pensions but we won't build houses for the province's homeless.

I hope we voters will soon give the parties what they really deserve, which is a good swift boot!