Chief Louie - Osoyoos Indian Band

Heard the start of a program on CBC this afternoon that featured the Osoyoos Indian Band. WOW, their chief, Clarence Louie, is my kind of aboriginal leader! He has some tough talk for the native communities. He states that welfare is the WORST thing to have happened to the aboriginal population.

"The band does not owe its membership dependency. It owes them opportunity and a chance to become independent"
-Chief Clarence Louie

His band is a great example of how a band and reserve lands should be run: as the launching point for culture, business, education and opportunity. In addition to having the ONLY aboriginal owned and operated winery in North America, they have a golf course, construction company, resort and spa, and a ski corporation, to name a few. Check out their website for more info: Osoyoos Indian Band

"We are very focused on the future, and we realize that we create this future by our actions. The single most important key to First Nation self-reliance is economic development."
-Chief Clarence Louie

I hope that other native leaders see this band as a great example of the opportunities that are available. The only question in my mind is what to do with communities that are in areas that are not sustainable, ie economically viable for industry. In the meantime, someone grab me a bottle from NK'MIP Cellars!

The Tax System Explained in Beer

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay $3. The seventh would pay $7. The eighth would pay $12. The ninth would pay $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving). The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). The ninth now
paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important! They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the
most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas,
where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Author Unknown

2010-03-21: "Go back to Africa"

On the way out of my building in Vancouver, on the edge of Yaletown, a homeless man at the corner noticed me and shouted a few incoherent things about black people. I hurried across the street to Tim Hortons, partly to get through the morning rain, partly to avoid having to listen to any more of his musings. I could vaguely feel him crossing the street in my general direction as I entered Tim's for my morning cup. And for the record, I am now an abysmal 1 for 13 on "Roll up the Rim".

I shook off the rain, and joined the back of the line. I heard the door behind me reopen, and an addle-brained voiced rang out:

"You should go back to Africa and take your American money with you!"

I don't think that I was as shocked as the 20 or so other patrons at Tim's. They all just nervously looked at the man as he retreated back outside. The restaurant fell silent for a few seconds as people looked around. The servers resumed filling orders. There was a noticeable awkwardness in line, as the people ahead of me shuffled forward in line. No one looked up.

When I went to order my coffee, my voice cracked. It wasn't until then that I realized how shaken I had been. I hadn't felt overly threatened by the man following me and his racist outburst. Maybe it was the disturbed non-response from those in the restaurant. I cannot definitively say.

In light of Sunday's March Against Racism in Vancouver (which I did not attend, nor had any interest to), this little event opened my eyes. People still do not know how to react to overt displays of racism. I don't even know how to react, so I cannot blame them.

As a black individual, I've been exposed to prejudices as long as I can remember, at least since grade school. Each instance frustrates and bewilders me. I'm as far from stereotypical as just about any black male could be. I'm often accused of being "not black enough". As a professional, I have strived to make everything about my abilities and accomplishments. The colour of my skin is only that, the colour of my skin.

As I shake off this experience and continue on with my week, the colour of my skin continues to have no other bearing on who I am nor does it limit my capability.

Divisions

The whole unity issue is starting to surface again, due to this latest political crisis. Quebec separatism mysteriously received a boost, when Charest sided with the Coalition and derided Harper's comments about making a deal with the separatists.

Charest, you have fallen far my friend.

Western alienation is also starting to reach a furor. Just read the Western Standard.

As for Atlantic Canada.... they're feeling a bit left out. This is the best quote that I've heard, from a commentor on the CTV website:

Shayne
What about Atlantic Canadians or do we matter?

Maybe Tommy Douglas was right. Canada is like a cow. The West feeds, Ontario and Quebec milk it and we all know about happens in the Maritimes.

Say What?!?! A long discussion on the foreseeable political future

The most exciting moments in Canadian politics in my lifetime...

This past weekend has been the cold shower that I needed to get back into Canadian politics. My initial reaction to the whole mess: Shock. Disbelief. Curiosity.

No need to go over the gory details of what have happened to lead up to the upcoming coalition government of the Liberals, NDP and Bloq. If you have the opportunity, listen to what Rex Murphy had to say in Monday night's piece on The National. I'll include a few of his points in my discussion.

Most importantly, yes, this is all a partisan game. For both sides. Anyone who denies this fact is either lying or kidding themselves.

Stephen Harper saw an opportunity to further decimate the organization of the LPC. The merits of public financing of political parties aside, his move was simply an attempt to further weaken the Liberal Party, perhaps to the brink of existence. He was, simply, completing his mission as Leader of the CPC. Which brings me to my subpoint, on his continued leadership of the CPC.

I believe that Stephen Harper has run his course as Leader of the Conservative Party. He has done many great things for the party, most notably being his efforts in bringing together the remains of the former PC party. He was instrumental in returning the right-of-centre ideologies to the forefront of the national consciousness. He has also succeeded in taming the far-right ideologues that threatened to take over the combined party in its infancy (although some of these people have found homes online). His mandate as leader has always been to bring the Tory voice back to the prominence it had enjoyed in the early part of Canadian history. He may not have delivered a majority government, but he has placed the party in a position where it is capable of virtually anything in the immediate future. Every party requires new blood and new ideas, especially coming out of a transformation like the one the CPC has undergone. Now appears to be the time.

Back to the main point about this being a partisan game. No, the Liberals did not make this move to try to fix the economy because this fiscal update does nothing to fix the current economic problems that Canada is facing. They simply did not want to lose their funding. They currently have very little grassroots fundraising support, which is a sign of a stagnant base. They would not have been able to mount anything close to a decent campaign next time around without the additional funding. This might have impacted them for a generation to come. This is the scenario that the LPC is so desparate to avoid. This coalition ploy is just that, a partisan attempt to keep the party alive. It has nothing to do with the economy.

The NDP on the other hand have no reasonable excuse to join the coalition, other than power. The NDP now has the power (for the 2nd straight government) to push pieces of their agenda. This should be a scary proposition for the average working Canadian (who the NDP love to talk about all the time). Their positions on the economy are based in some fanciful world where government income does not come from the very people they claim to be so worried about. Once again, their participation in the coalition is simply to appear to be a useful political party, and become part of the Cabinet.

The Bloq. What can I say? The very Separatists that want to tear this country asunder. Having a formal arrangement with them is troubling. All the conjecture and insinuations can be found elsewhere (deal with the devil, etc), but my point about them will be about the ideological bankruptcy of their party. Yes, they too need the funding, but WHY DO THEY STILL EXIST? Everything that they have done over the past 3 or 4 years goes to show the futility of their efforts. Not only did Harper one up them with the recognition of the uniqueness of the Quebec peoples (who will argue that?), but now they have signed a deal with the very man who crafted the Clarity Act. Dion is the enemy of the sovereignty movement. The Clarity Act is one of their most hated pieces of legislation. And yet here they are, handing him the keys of power. If you really believed in the sovereignty of the Quebec nation, why would you be in bed with the man who made it virtually impossible for you to separate?

Well... a lot said there. (Maybe not, I dont know) The bottom line I think is this: Yes, they can do what they want, it is within their constitutional rights. Should they? As their initial response to the funding measures, yes. Now that the offending piece of the bill has been removed, probably not. But it is too late to back down from their stated intent. What we are witnessing is one of the grandest moments in Canadian political history. Not the prettiest moment, but they will definitely be teaching this one in Gr. 10 history for generations to come.

The results of Strategic Voting

End the Social Experiment

I've finally discovered the source of my discomfort with the current political landscape of our great nation. It is partly based in my recent readings on "negative liberty"and my long held belief in laissez-faire everything. It also explains my affinity to Libertarian thinking. [Honestly, I hate citing wikipedia, but it does have a pretty succinct discussion on most of these topics]. For those of you that know me very well, it also shows in my very pessimistic, but what I call REALISTIC, outlook on life.

We live in a world full of social experiments. They even form the basis of what we call "Canadian."

Programs such as our education system. Our health care system. Our social housing system.

These are all social experiments, designed to give everyone a government mandated education, a government mandated health and a place to live.

The end result, however, is quite disappointing. Look at the youth of my generation. In the western world, these programs have created the most willfully uneducated, self-serving, entitled, mistrusting and violent generation in the history of mankind. Why is violent crime skyrocketing in our urban centers? Because parents expect children to get the necessary education from the schooling system. What ever happened to the responsibility of raising your own child? Some advocacy group (read: unions that will get more members) now want a nationalized daycare program. That sounds like a great idea!!! [that's as sarcastic as I can get folks] Let's take even the earliest development of our children and put in the hands of bureaucrats.

The governmental system has several baseline inefficiencies that it CANNOT fix. It's in the very nature of the system. Too much oversight. And you can't take that oversight away, because that results in corruption. So let's not add more government programs.

The question that you are now clamouring to ask is this: what about the less fortunate that can't afford these programs otherwise?

My solution: Why not leave it to the not-for-profit agencies?
They used to run these systems before the government became so involved. Hospitals run by nuns. Schools run by priests. Soup kitchens, support groups, social housing, all run and administered by local groups and agencies. [No need to worry about abusive possibilities, we live in a world where predators can no longer get away with such behaviour.]

If you tell me that things are ok now, please: stop. Take a look around you. Is our health care system working? NO! We drop more and more, billions and billions of dollars, with no appreciable difference in the quality of care received. We expand the education system, and still see more and more children... yes, CHILDREN... in gangs. We provide more and more welfare, and see our workforce continue to shrink, as more people instead sit on their hands and wait for government handouts.

This is not the Canada that I want to grow up in, the kind of Canada that I wish to leave my children. I don't know where to start to affect this change, but I do believe in the power of the individual, and the collective, but not in the government. YES, WE CAN do better [sorry Barack].

Our Economy is Fine!

A quick lunch-break post. Mr. Dion and Mr. Layton continue their fear-mongering about the economy. Yes, the stock market is down. But that's just artificial money! First off, the Canadian markets are only 50% economy based. The other half is driven by changing commodity prices. It is no coincidence that our markets fell when all of the commodity prices bottomed out last week, NOT perfectly in step with the US markets.

Regardless, don't take my word for it. Listen to the IMF.

Canada will skirt recession:

The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, projected that Canada next year
will have the fastest growing economy of the G7 major industrial countries, at
1.2 per cent, despite virtually no growth of just 0.1 per cent in the U.S.,
Canada's main export market.

Full article here.

Wasting Political Efforts

First Jack Layton said he wanted to be Prime Minister of a coalition government.
Now Lizzy May wants voters to vote strategically.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF RUNNING A CAMPAIGN?

This really perplexes me. These leaders are really taking the wind out of their own sails! I anticipated the Green Party receiving around 10% of the popular vote. But what her recent statement does is cheapen the efforts of her supporters on the ground. As a campaign volunteer for my local Conservative candidate, Bob Dechert, I know how much the leader's visits and messages have an impact on my own efforts. Her grassroots volunteers probably woke up today, looked at that headline, and asked themselves: Why am I doing this then? What is the point of all of that door-knocking, phone-calling, sign-posting? This goes against what was said last year, claiming that a Green vote isn't a wasted vote.

Even the former president of the Liberal Party of Canada says that the Liberals are going to "take a drubbing." This can't be a good feeling for the Liberal volunteers on the ground. They are wearing out their shoes and told their efforts will be for nought.

As for the prospects of a left-wing coalition government.... wow. Canada would be in serious trouble. It would be a spend-first tax-next government. I can't afford that right now. Neither can our economy, which they all claim to be worried about.

UPDATE: Even Warren Kinsella can see the upcoming troubles for the Liberals.

Green Shift no more?

Dion: The Green Shift is not a major part of the Liberals election platform.

WHHHAAAATTTTTT?!?
TO Star

I've always found the joke about Liberals flip-flopping to be funny, but this.... beyond the pale.
Mr. Dion has been touring the country since WINTER! trying to convince people that the Green Shift is a good idea. Now you are campaigning with nothing, nada, bupkis. The plan was unpopular at best, yes, but at least stick to your mores, and go down with the sinking ship. I think it is he, Dion, with the not-so-hidden hidden agenda.

So I guess that it is now upto Elizabeth May of the Green Party to continue stumping for the Green Shift. She claims that it's her idea anyways.

Update: Oh! That was the sound of the flop-back. The Shift is back on... but not as an important part of their campaign.

wtf Political Correctness

Many disturbing stories from this past weekend. I really hate this culture of political correctness that is being imposed. It is destroying free speech. It is also now destroying careers, thanks to the Human Rights Tribunal. Staying abreast of current political correctness is now a full time occupation.

Couple of interesting headlines to start

Doctor deemed racist for 'liking visible minorities', $4000 fine

UN Calls Canada Racist for 'visible minorities' tag.

I really hate labels to begin with. But seriously... Can you please tell me: What is the politically correct way to describe me these days?


I've also come to hate blogs... am I a hypocrite for keeping one, even though no one reads it? I'll hopefully have some time to pen my reactions to Chris Reid's resignation as Conservative candidate, simply for believing in personal liberty.

Trading Votes

Would you really trade your vote to someone across the country to keep a certain party from getting a majority? This has popped up in the last day or so here in Canada. And I find it very troubling, but I will need to spend a couple of days doing some more research and thinking to really put my finger on it.

Yes, it shows dissatisfaction with the current system. I'll be the first to say that our system sucks. But please do note that the Conservatives are the only party that has supported electoral reform.

I'll be reading the Canada Elections Act, along with decisions made by the courts in the UK and US on similar practises.

A quick quote from the US decision:
"they amounted to efforts by politically engaged people to support their preferred candidates and to avoid election results that they feared would contravene the preferences of a majority of voters in closely contested states" [emphasis added]

This does not apply to the Canadian political arena because you are no longer voting for your preferred candidate, but for the party. Which, theoretically, you aren't voting for. As for the majority of voters part, that too does not apply, because there has never been an instance in Canada where the party with the most votes hasn't formed government. Yet.

Green Party Leader Liz May: Canadians Are Stupid

Why the Green Party will not elect a single member to the Parliament this election

Reason:
Question: "Why are Canadians scared of a Carbon Tax?"
Liz May: "I think Canadians are stupid."

Sorry Lizzy, you just lost everything that you had built up over the last 2 years.

Toronto Star continues to suck b@!!s

An update on the Toronto Star calling the past government productive. TODAY they decided that the Conservatives record is somehow flawed.

Harper is running on flawed record

"...Canadians have seen what kind of government he runs over the past 32 months. Of course, it was a minority government, held in check by the opposition parties."

Held in check? All that Mr. Dion did was run and hide every time the Conservatives wanted to pass a bill.
Every time something came up, all the Liberals decided that they needed to take a piss.
Every time something came up, they needed to run home and check their toasters.
Every time something came up, they needed to take their dog for a walk, instead of actually voting, as they were elected to do. At least Jack Layton and the NDP had the balls to stay in the House.

The Liberal Press Machine: The Toronto Star

This from the Toronto Star editorial, entitled: War of Words on Green Shift.

"The Conservatives are seeing red over the Green Shift.

Last week, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced shifts to his Green Shift, some $900 million in concessions for sectors hit hard by the carbon tax plan.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper promptly lashed out at the changes as 11th hour improvisations that suggest Dion is rewriting his plan "on the back of envelopes."

...

it is hard to see his announcement last week as anything other than a legitimate political response from a responsive leader to public feedback – precisely what Dion said he was setting out to do when he road-tested the proposals over the summer."


My Opinion:

The bottom line is this: The Toronto Star's editors and "analysts" are simply a privately funded corporation acting as part of the broke Liberal election machine.

How do the announced changes (read: flip-flops) constitute a "legitimate political response"? This is simply the Liberal party pandering to whomever can shout the loudest.

What it also does is make an ill-conceived plan even more complicated. OUR TAXATION SYSTEM IS COMPLICATED ENOUGH AS IT IS! If you are going to do something, make it easier for me to hand over my hard earned dollars for you to spend in ways that do not benefit me, or the country.

Every new tax system, every new tax credit or taxation exemption makes it harder and harder for an individual to do their own taxes. Why should I have to SPEND money having someone do my tax reporting? This reduces the collective disposable income, which hurts the economy. Imagine the effect on corporations. They won't have the time or money to invest in new innovations; they'll be hiring more tax lawyers to figure out what the hell they owe to whom.

Politics and the Media

I really do hate the Toronto Star. For the entire time that the Tories have governed, they have criticized every single move that they have made. Now that it serves their purposes, they are claiming that this past parliament was "productive". This now allows them to say that the Conservatives are now calling the election for political gain. Why not "report" that this, and I quote, "has been one of the more productive and long-lasting minority governments in Canadian history"? The simple reason is thus: The Toronto Star is not interested in providing and reporting facts for the general public, they would rather force feed the masses their political spin.

Another great example is today's front page article. Click Here. I have never before seen such a blatantly partisan front page article from a major newspaper. What the Toronto Star did, in effect, was make an endorsement BEFORE the election had even been called.

My next complaint is of the CBC. Take a look at what they had to offer on the Palin baby story, a full two days after this story was debunked on the internet: Click Here. I'm not saying that they are biased (they are). I'm just saying that they're stupid. (And a slight waste of tax-payers dollars, although I love CBCSports.)

I'll definitely be posting some more thoughts as the campaigns start to ramp up, but do yourselves a favour: Read the National Post.