Musings of the Technical Bard

The bard has moved!

2008-02-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

For all those who have bookmarked my blog, or have wondered where I've been, I've been very busy. But I've just moved my blog to my own domain at www.technicalbard.com. Hope to see you there!

Calgary Election - Public Transit Problems

2007-10-05T22:10:00.001-06:00

OK, so in a couple of weeks less than 20% of Calgary residents will trudge to a polling centre and vote in municipal elections. In all likelihood His Worship Dave Bronconnier will be re-elected mayor, along with the rest of the socialists currently sitting on city council (hopefully Rick McIver will be re-elected - he's the only sane one there).Calgary has a mass transit system like many other

On Affordable Housing

2007-06-16T15:02:00.000-06:00

Recently, there have been many news stories on radio, television and in print regarding the lack of affordable housing in Alberta (and Calgary in particular - although it applies to most large municipalities). The news stories have also covered the proposals of various groups and governments to deal with this problem.First, I agree that housing costs have gotten a little out of control in

The SCOC makes a partially bad decision

2007-06-08T11:57:00.000-06:00

The Supreme Court today decided that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the right to collective bargaining, and that governments should not be able to change the rules for union contracts arbitrarily.In one respect, I agree. Contracts are contracts and should not be easily violated by a legislature looking for an easy way out of a problem that in all truth the legislatures created in

Stupid idea #3 from the Stelmach government

2007-05-22T18:12:00.000-06:00

Carbon Intensity caps and penaltiesOK - this story is three months old - but I've been busy. The problem with this is that they gave companies 9 MONTHS to meet the commitment. Impossible considering it would take at least that long to do the engineering, let alone buy eqiupment and construct anything to abate CO2 emissions. Since industry's only alternative is to pay the carbon tax, they will

Stupid idea #2 from the Stelmach government

2007-05-22T18:02:00.000-06:00

Royalty ReviewThis process is simply going to cause grief for everyone. Most Albertans are happy with the level of taxation the province receives from the oil industry. Oil sands in particular are not a super-attractive business. Returns are generally <15%. This is because the capital investments are huge, energy input costs are huge and the value of the product is variable, as it is the

Stupid idea #1 from the Stelmach government

2007-05-22T17:55:00.000-06:00

Well, Ed Stelmach and his government have come up with some doozies for bad ideas. Most of them are clearly those espoused by "red tories", people who believe in growing government for the sake of government...Stupid Idea #1High Speed Rail LinkI admit that driving the QE2 (Highway 2) between Calgary and Edmonton isn't exactly fun, and the traffic is terrible. I will also admit that the security

Proof that Equalization is Broken

2007-04-30T21:42:00.001-06:00

M. Charest is going to cut taxes in Quebec based on increased monies from Ottawa. Quebec currently spends more per capita on programs than any other province, with the possible exception of Alberta (where the government never saw a dime it wouldn't spend). And the federal government continues to pour money into Quebec to ostensibly help it "provide similar services" to those available in other

The Conservative Green Plan - Stupid Idea #1

2007-04-30T17:06:00.000-06:00

Replacing incandescent light bulbs with lower power alternatives is a good idea. Banning them when the best alternative currently available is a compact fluorescent is very bad public policy. There are two reasons for this.First, compact fluorescent bulbs each contain approximately 5 milligram of elemental mercury vapour. As I'm sure you are aware, mercury is highly toxic. If you break one

Biofuels are not the answer

2007-04-02T21:01:00.000-06:00

Interesting post on Slashdot today that pointed to a few items in the MSM around the world on why biofuels are not the answer.First, and article from the Guardian in the UK last week showing the very negative environmental footprint that biodiesel production is having, particularly in the developing world. Rainforests are being cut down to grow oil palms, from which biodiesel can easily be

Business as a Solution to Poverty

2007-03-24T10:29:00.000-06:00

It is amazing to me, that considering the infiltration of our education system by socialists (ie. unionize teachers, government bureaucrats setting curriculum) that we can still get bright lights for the free market like Kathleen Guglielmi, a Grade 12 student at Loyola Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario. She has writtten a short essay on how business, not aid, is the solution to

Things Mr. Harper SHOULD be doing...

2007-03-20T23:28:00.000-06:00

As opposed to the increasing spending put forth by the Conservative government, the federal government should be quickly and drastically "desocializing" the nation, by reducing government involvement in as many sectors of the economy as possible. This would include:Health careBusiness regulation (ie. bank mergers, the CRTC, foreign investment reviews)Native reserve fundingSocial

Why I don't like the 2007 Federal Budget

2007-03-20T23:19:00.000-06:00

I am not a big fan of the federal budget that Mr. Flaherty presented on Monday. It is not libertarian enough for my tastes. The massive increases in spending, even if most of them are transfers to the provinces, simply grow the influence "the state" has over the lives of individual Canadians. There was clearly no attempt made whatsoever to curtail spending in any federal department, or to

Dion's Tax Grab - here's why it doesn't work

2007-03-17T20:27:00.000-06:00

OK - so Liberal leader Stephane Dion has proposed that starting in just 9 months, large industrial CO2 emitters will have hard caps set and that if they do not meet these caps they will need to pay the federal government $20 / tonne of CO2 emitted, with the tax rising to $30 / tonne in 2011... And through this he is going to have us meet our Kyoto goals...OK - say that half of the CO2 emissions

Enlightenment vs. Multiculturalism

2007-02-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Pascal Bruckner posited an excellent paper (h/t SDA) late last month.It is an excellent read that makes obvious the ridiculousness of multiculturalism...

Making ethanol from food is hurting poor families

2007-01-12T10:19:00.001-07:00

See this article...BBC NEWS | Americas | Mexico leader in tortilla pledgeMost interesting part: The price of tortillas, the main source of calories for many of Mexico's poor, rose by more than 10% last year. Mr Calderon said the government would clamp down on speculators and search for cheaper providers of corn.Under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico used to get cheap corn

Finally someone in Europe who understands

2007-01-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

This is good news - now let's hope the forces of "political correctness" don't destroy this effort... BBC NEWS | Europe | Germany pushes Muslim integration

The private sector should be doing this...

2007-01-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

The City of Calgary is considering how to meet the demand for more ice sheets for people to play hockey, figure skate, etc. The existing rinks are overloaded due to the rapid population growth, and as most city rinks are owned and operated by the City, they seem to think the solution is more city owned rinks...I don't know how the city rinks work, but I suspect that tax dollars subsidize the

Islam and Freedom of Speech

2007-01-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting an fascinating comparison of the difference between Islamic countries and free ones this week. This story shows one of the fundamental conflicts that exists between the West and the Islamic world. These journalists are on trial, and their publication banned, due to publishing jokes deemed insulting to Islam in an article entitled "Jokes: How Moroccans laugh at religion,

Making the Courts more public

2007-01-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

It is generally accepted that anything that goes on in a court of law in Canada is public, unless the judge has ruled there is some good reason to limit access to the details of the court, usually for the protection of one or more parties.The problem in Canada is that getting easy access to the documents associated with the courts is not easy. There is a simple solution. Canada (and the

Socialized Medicine in a Wealthy Country

2006-12-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Every Canadian should read this article. It is written for an American audience, but it applies equally to all nation-states and we would be wise to heed it's message. Single-payer health care is bad for people...Socialized Medicine in a Wealthy Country

More on "clean" fuels

2006-12-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Why a hydrogen economy doesn't make sense.

Why the boom will end...

2006-12-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

For those people in Alberta (or anywhere in the world for that matter) who think the good times can't end, here is a very good prognostication of why and how the boom will come to a rather unpleasant end...How the Global Boom Might EndOf course, you really need to understand that the Austrian school of economics is better than other theoretical foundations...

On the CWB and Dion

2006-12-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Liberal leader Stephane Dion has declared that he would reinstate the CWB monopoly if the Harper government does away with it.Someone should ask Mr. Dion this question - if the CWB is so good for prairie farmers, would he support extending it's powers over farmers in Ontario and Quebec?

Chemical Management Plan

2006-12-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

As Steve Janke brings to us, Stephane Dion's week got worse when the government presented the new Chemical Management Plan. He quotes:Rick Smith, who heads the Canadian advocacy group Environmental Defence, applauds the government's plan. He said the chemicals it targets are highly toxic and cause cancer, and are dangerous for the development of children."This announcement is long over due,

Sanity on Global Warming

2006-12-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent article, by Pierre Jutras of Saint Mary's University, about Global Warming / Climate Change, taking a scientific and very long term view of the issue. From the article:...it is the tendency of humanity to look at any change as intrinsically bad. There is this ingrained biblical attitude and belief that the Earth was a static Garden of Eden before humans came to mess it up. In

Corporate Tax Burdens

2006-11-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Corporate tax burdens vary from country to country, and the lower the tax rate the more attractive it is for businesses to operate within the borders of said country. The chart below, published in the Economist, shows the total tax burden of various countries.Canada's corporate tax rate is slightly lower than that in the United States, but still higher than those in the UK and Ireland. We

Indigo (Reisman) limiting book availability?

2006-11-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

I was in my local Chapters bookstore today, partly because I was curious whether reports I had seen on the net were true. These regarded whether Mark Steyn's new book, America Alone, was available in these stores.The answer was "No". I also inquired about a number of other conservative-minded authors, such as Oriana Fallaci. Again, "No". A young staffer offered to assist, and after searching

Perhaps Arar knows something...

2006-11-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

This article raises some questions about all the apologies to Maher Arar:globeandmail.com: Documents tie Khadr to tortured pairAbdullah Khadr, whose father was a ranking member of Al-Qaeda and friend of Osama bin Ladin, acquired radio equipment from Abdulla Almalki. Almalki went to Syria and was detained and supposedly tortured by the Syrian authorities. Almalki's acquaintence Maher Arar was

The Quebec Question and Demographics

2006-11-01T13:58:00.003-07:00

Demographics are very important when analyzing the demographics of Canada. Currently, Quebec constitutes approximately 23.3% of the Canadian population. More importantly, people who claim their mother tongue is French constitute 20.5% of the Canadian population, according to Statistics Canada (estimates for 2005).The problem with recognizing Quebec as a "nation" within Canada is that in 50

Taxing Trusts

2006-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

While the Conservative government is pilloried over backtracking on it's campaign promise regarding the taxing of income trusts (globeandmail.com: Income trust party is over), I must applaud them, but not for the reasons they are doing it.The real problem with trusts wasn't that tax revenue was being lost by the government. It was that the trusts are not growing businesses. They do not spend

America Alone

2006-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

I have just completed Mark Steyn's tome, America Alone, the End of the World as We Know It. I recommend this book to EVERYONE, regardless of political persuasion. Steyn lays our clearly that western civilization may be doomed by it's own social-welfare state policies and the consequences of same. The difference in birthrate between western nations and Islamic states is startling and the fact of

The Conservatives are showing their big-government bias...

2006-10-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Conservative government in Ottawa is showing it's bias towards big government, in two stories in the National Post this morning.First, there is the story about how the Labour Minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, is proposing that the federal government enforce pay equity in federally regulated businesses. This is essentially the government deciding who should get paid what and what the value

Utopian Dreams lead to Chaos

2006-10-06T15:16:00.000-06:00

Celestial Junk has an excellent commentary on where the Utopian Left would lead us in the relationship between Western Civilization and Islamic Fundamentalism.

One point against the Conservative Government

2006-10-05T20:32:00.000-06:00

In June 2006, the Minister of Agriculture, Chuck Strahl, indicated that the government supported the marketing boards, stating:"We think the system has worked well for Canada. It's a system other countries should consider as part of their agricultural policy," Strahl said.I wrote to the minister pointing out that supply management for the purposes of increasing the economic security of the

Public opinion is wrong on Afghanistan

2006-10-02T10:43:00.000-06:00

So the Canadian public wants us out of Afghanistanglobeandmail.com : Most Canadians believe Afghan mission a lost cause: surveySo, the Canadian public thinks we should stop fighting the Taliban and let them return Afghanistan to a strict sharia-based society where women and girls are second-class humans who don't deserve an education, where individual freedoms are meaningless and personal

On the Laval Bridge Collapse

2006-10-02T09:10:00.000-06:00

The history of engineering projects teaches us that improvements are made slowly over time, but that intermittent catastrophic failures result in rapid improvements.The situation in Laval is not an example of engineering failure. The bridge stood for 36 years. The problem was in inspection and maintenance. The government of Quebec has called a public inquiry to determine the cause... I don't

Why Alberta doesn't need school boards

2006-09-27T12:01:00.000-06:00

The Calgary Board of Education is appealling a decision by the courts in Alberta. In this decision, the Court ruled that two formerly private schools that have a religious affiliation may become publicly funded charter schools under the Palliser Board of Education (Lethbridge Region). This comes after the CBE denied the request of these schools to become part of the CBE's region.The CBE wants

On Ijtihad

2006-09-26T19:02:00.000-06:00

I recently finished reading Irshad Manji's The Trouble with Islam Today, and I definitely recommend this book to every person on earth. It can not only be a guide to Muslims seeking another way outside the "desert Islam" of al-Wahhab and Qutb, it can be a guide to anyone who needs a little refresher in the Enlightenment.Individual exploration, expression and discovery (Itjihad in Arabic) made

An Example of how Liberals don't understand overtaxation

2006-09-26T18:56:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the Government of Canada announced it was going to cut $2 Billion dollars in program spending because it did not see value in the programs in question. Liberal Finance Critic John McCallum, a former bank economist, was quoted as saying:"Why in the world do we have to cut those programs on the same day that the government is announcing a $13-billion surplus?"To Mr. McCallum, any money

Naivete isn't the word for them...

2006-08-21T16:01:00.000-06:00

You've got to be kidding me...Lift ban on HezbollahThree Canadian opposition MPs travel to Lebanon, via Syria, at the behest of an organization (the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations) that has clearly supported Syria in the past (see Steve Janke's site) and are toured around Lebanon by Hezbollah... Then they declare that Israel is the party at fault.And even better, two of them

On the Monopoly of Violence

2006-08-10T20:21:00.000-06:00

Steve Janke hits the nail on the head and points out that John Ibbitson misses the boat on the current situation in Caledonia:Steve Janke: Angry in the Great White NorthThe viability of the State requires that in the face of violent insurrection (which is what the Caledonia occupation by the Mohawk Warriors is), the state enforce it's monopoly and use violence to quell the situation.Negotiating

On the Lebanese Situation

2006-08-08T21:44:00.000-06:00

I wasn't sure if I should comment on this topic, but I can't not considering the criticism of the Prime Minister in the this country, be it from the left-wing media (ie. CBC) or protestors on the streets.The PM has been very clear that he supports Israel because they are on the right side of international law. Israel has the right, if not the duty, to defend itself against attacks on it's

Ottawa makes a critical error

2006-08-08T14:38:00.000-06:00

The Conservative government in Ottawa is making a mistakeOttawa overrides its controls on contracts securityAttempts to direct the "benefits" of these military contracts to specific regions of the country is bound to be a failure. Mulroney did this in 1987 with the CF-18 maintenance contract and this was one of the things that drove the creation of the Reform Party.It is politically foolish to

Reforming Welfare

2006-07-28T13:28:00.000-06:00

The Economist has a very good summary of the effect the "Welfare to Work" program put in place by Bill Clinton in 1996 has had on welfare claims in the US.Tough love worksCanadian provinces would be well advised to follow this lead, and use both sanctions and incentives to get people into the workforce and off the public purse.

On Agricultural Subsidies

2006-07-26T09:50:00.000-06:00

Amazingly, there is another column by Jeffrey Simpson that I agree with. He calls for the end of agricultural subsidies, in particular supply management such as Canada has for dairy products.Fear trumps reason in the politics of agricultureAs Hayek and Mises identified more that half a century ago, using such supply management is an attempt to increase the economic security of the producers -

The Cost of Ethanol

2006-07-14T10:27:00.000-06:00

The Economist publishes a small graphic this week regarding the relative price of making ethanol from various feedstocks in the US and Brazil.Ethanol | Economist.comThe key thing to recognize here is that the price of ethanol fuel is tied to the price of food. Rising food prices will mean rising energy prices and the food consumer will always be willing to pay more for food than they will for

School Maintenance in Calgary

2006-07-10T11:57:00.000-06:00

Recently, as has been reported in the Calgary media, many of the older schools in the city require significant maintenance to bring them back up to a level that would make the schools useable.Minister tours schools with leaky roofs, plastic bags on windowsThe Calgary Board of Education and many pundits have indicated that the problem is that the Province of Alberta hasn't provided sufficient

What the Kyoto fans don't understand

2006-07-10T09:22:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey Simpson misses the boat AGAIN.Time to get our head out of the oil sandsThe problem of climate change, assuming it is happening and is caused by anthropogenic emissions to the environment, is that it is too big a problem for us to do anything about.To stop the increasing CO2 content of the atmosphere, we would realistically have to return CO2 emissions to pre-industrial levels. While this

Why Lougheed is wrong

2006-07-10T09:15:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey Simpson quotes former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed on the oil sands projects:Call a halt, AlbertansThe government should NOT interfere in the workings of the market. In this case, the market will slow the pace of development because of rising costs and shortages of materials and labour. It will slow without intervention. Government could remove some of these obstacles to allow

On Caledonia

2006-07-06T08:48:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking about whether to comment on this subject for some time, and Steve Janke has finally given me the pieces to put together a commentary:Steve Janke: Angry in the Great White NorthAs I understand it, the natives lost in court because they couldn't convince a judge that they had any valid claim to the land. Therefore, they have taken to arguably criminal action to intimidate the

On Agricultural Subsidies

2006-06-29T12:32:00.000-06:00

The Economist published a very interesting table today, showing that farmers in Canada get a LARGER portion of their income from government support than in the United States. It is still significantly lower than the EU's generous agricultural supports, however.This should make all people in Canada who claim that our southern neighbour is too blame for farmer's woes. The real answer is to

Price Controls on Labour

2006-06-27T10:19:00.000-06:00

This is a very good article describing why minimum wages and labour laws that improve worker "security" are very bad for the economy. Recommended reading from the Mises Institute.Price Controls on Labor

McGuinty almost got it right this time...

2006-06-26T09:45:00.000-06:00

Dalton McGuinty has a good idea but doesn't get the implementation right:McGuinty floats using GST to fix fiscal imbalanceMcGuinty wants Ottawa to collect the GST and then send a bunch of the money to the provinces for programs. I have a better idea. Ottawa should CUT the GST (or even better, income taxes), and let the provinces raise their PSTs or income taxes to cover their so-called fiscal

Teaching Basic Economics to Fifth Graders

2006-06-21T16:11:00.000-06:00

Below is a link that gives a good example of the kinds of things we should be teaching in our primary schools to ensure that classical liberal ideas such as the free-market and individual choice are well understood by our children. This can also help innoculate the young from being taught "bad economics" by socialists as they get older...Teaching Basic Economics to Fifth Graders

Another mistake by the SCOC

2006-06-21T09:09:00.000-06:00

This decision is ridiculous:Supreme Court rules in landmark caseThe Court is trying to have it both ways. Parliament said divorce was no-fault and specifically instructed the courts not to consider the behaviour of the spouses. This isn't a charter or constitutional case - The Court should not override the wishes of Parliament.

Gore is wrong on climate change

2006-06-14T15:40:00.000-06:00

Al Gore continues the scaremongering with regard to climate change and Canadians should not be sucked in by his new movie:Scientists respond to Gore's warnings of climate catastrophe

McGuinty's Nuclear Ambitions

2006-06-14T08:38:00.000-06:00

Ontario wants Ottawa to guarantee reactors' costsDalton: The answer is NO. You are the one choosing to shutdown your existing coal fired power plants and replacing them with nuclear. The federal government did not impose this. The taxpayers of Ontario should carry the burden of your decisions, not the taxpayers of all the other provinces. Would you support a federal government guarantee on

The downside of job security

2006-06-07T17:32:00.000-06:00

Neil Reynolds uses the current evidence from around the world to show that government imposed "job security" provisions are detrimental to business hiring people and reducing unemployment. Protecting workers right out of a jobFreidrich Hayek pointed this out in The Road to Serfdom in 1944. Why do governments (and the people - such as in France) still not get it???

On Terrorism in Canada

2006-06-03T12:07:00.000-06:00

I am sure that everyone has heard that the RCMP and CSIS have apprehended 17 people in Toronto, Kingston and Mississauga who were plotting terror attacks in Ontario. These suspects had three (3) tonnes of ammonium nitrate which would make for a very big bang.The suspects are all of Arab descent and the indication is that many of them were Canadian-born or at least had gained citizenship at some

I want Mr. Layton to answer this question:

2006-05-23T10:50:00.000-06:00

If you were Prime Minister, what would you have Canada do to meet the Kyoto target of 6% below 1990 CO2 emission levels? The reason I want him to answer this question is so we can see that he doesn't have an answer. And why doesn't he have an answer? Because it is impossible without crippling the economy. Currently, Canada's CO2 emissions are 35% beyond the target point. This means that we

Ethanol is not the answer

2006-05-23T10:27:00.000-06:00

Using ethanol as a blend stock for gasoline is not a solution to many of the problems it is purported to solve. It is however a very effective method for subsidizing the farming businesses that produce the feedstocks for ethanol production (wheat, barley, corn, etc.)GHG EmissionsBurning ethanol in cars does NOT reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, burning ethanol will increase CO2

On Labour in Canada

2006-04-10T10:55:00.000-06:00

One of the problems in Canada that has been raised recently by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is the current labour shortages in Canada and the likelihood that these shortages are going to get worse as we go forward, due to demographics.The first solution to some of the distribution of the labour shortages would be to improve labour mobility. Now there aren't any overt

On the French Labour Law Protests

2006-03-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't intend to write on this topic, but then I've been reading some books that made me think that France is an excellent example of what is wrong with the modern democratic (republican or parliamentary) system. Canada and other western countries can learn a lot from France, because France is doing things the wrong way.First of all, I find it fascinating that France ended up where it has.

Water causes global warming

2006-03-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'm no fan of the Kyoto accord, but I won't deny that it appears the world is warming up. The evidence of glacial ice melting and arctic sea ice retreating is fairly obvious.What is not obvious is what is causing this and whether it is normal or not. The climate has changed before, sometimes radically (ie. ice ages), and it will change again due to some cosmic reason.The question at play in the

More Bad Government in Calgary

2006-03-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Calgary's city council, led by Dave Bronconnier, in the past week has done a few things that will lead to increased government spending, increased bureaucracy, and limited benefit to Calgarians.Cat Bylaw - The city is going to register all cats, like they do dogs. They are going to charge cat owners $15 per cat per year to register the animals. First of all, I can't imagine they can build and

The Worst Airport in the World?

2006-03-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

OK,I have returned from a vacation overseas and I would like to comment on my experience at Pearson International Airport...I've travelled a fair bit, and can say that I was once again less that impressed by the quality of service provided by the GTAA. Considering their landing fees and other costs imposed on travellers are the highest in the world it is extremely disappointing.The taxes and

On Freedom of Speech and Islam

2006-02-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

As everyone who pays attention to the news knows, throughout the world Muslims are protesting against the publication of satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed. The protests have ranged from violence in Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, and Denmark, marches in other nations, and primarily peaceful gatherings and protests in western countries such as Canada. This is very interesting

Book Review #2

2006-02-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Massesby Theodore DalrympleI haven't even finished this book, but I couldn't resist writing a review already. This book is a collection of essays written by the author over the last 7-8 years. Dalrymple is a British physician who puts together very intelligent and insightful commentaries on our society and what is wrong with it.More

Book Review #1

2006-02-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Rescuing Canada's Rightby Kheiriddin and DaifallahThis book is a very good text into what Conservatives in Canada need to be doing to help create a climate in which Conservative majority governments are not just possible, but likely. This requires building the intellectual and public relations infrastructure to slowly change Canadian public mindsets. Some reviews state that this book is not

On the Appointment of Emerson and Fortier

2006-02-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Methinks that many of the conservative bloggers have over-reacted quite badly to the appointments of David Emerson and Michael Fortier. Politics is not a pretty business, and the ideals that one proclaims in opposition can be very difficult to hold to once in power. Both Emerson and Fortier bring experience and knowledge to the portfolios they have been given. They also provide the government

Fixing the Fiscal Imbalance

2006-01-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Maxime Bernier, the newly elected Conservative MP from Beauce (south of Quebec City), mused Wednesday about how the federal government could fix the fiscal imbalance. He stated that:Or the surplus could be put back into Canadians' pockets by reducing taxes, so that provinces would then have more taxation room, to get the sums they need from the pockets of Canadians.Brilliant! Make the

Voting Irregularities

2006-01-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

There are accusations about that there were voting irregularities in some ridings in Canada during the 23 January election, particularly with regard to the riding of Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River, Saskatchewan. The problem in Canada is that the Controls required to be a voter in this country are ridiculous. I personally know landed immigrants and Americans on work permits who received

Bestow the VC on Franklin

2006-01-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

I'm no military man, but I will say that the actions of Master Cpl. Paul Franklin in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he applied a tourniquet to his own shattered leg, and then assisted (and saved the lives of) his two compatriots qualifies as:"...the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty, in the presence of the enemy"This is

Trudeau said, "Just watch me."

2006-01-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

So, the Liberal Party of Canada pulled one of their attack ads off their website before many people could see it. Luckily, the media has archived it for us, and Damian has a transcript.The basic gist of the ad is:Stephen Harper actually announced he wants to increase military presence in our cities. Canadian cities. Soldiers with guns. In our cities. In Canada.What I find really funny about

Paul Martin wants American-style Judicial Power

2006-01-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

Paul Martin challenged Stephen Harper to a constitutional amendment that would remove the ability of the federal government to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause (NwC) to override the courts on Charter rights...This would give absolute power to the judiciary, and in turn absolute power to the PMO who appoints the judiciary. A Prime Minister could appoint numerous justices to long term posts and

Tories should hire Canadianna!!!

2006-01-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Canadianna has come up with a series of questions that the Conservative Party should put into TV commercials ASAP...

"We stand for the state" says Dosanjh

2006-01-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Canadianna has picked up on a very telling comment from Ujjal Dosanjh (the current Liberal health minister):"We stand for the state," said Dosanjh. "The state can do good in people's lives. Mr. Harper doesn't (believe that)."Now we all knew that, but it's rare to hear a Liberal say that out loud. Mr. Harper should jump on this statement, particularly in the English debate. Challenge Mr. Martin

More on the Income Trust Scandal

2005-12-29T02:18:00.000-07:00

Angry in the Great White North has a great paragraph about what he calls the nightmare scenario is this post. It's near the end so I'll post it here:The nightmare scenario? The Liberals squeak by with another minority on January 23, and then soon after the Mounties or the OSC announce their conclusion that illegal money from insider trading was used by the Liberals to finance their election

The Income Trust Scandal

2005-12-29T01:42:00.000-07:00

The blog world has done it's job, pushing a story that the MSM finally picked up on, the opposition parties (primarily the NDP) sent letters over, and the authorities are finally doing something about.This story was heavily investigated by a number of bloggers, including Stephen Taylor and MK Braaten. Their excellent work has, in my opinion, led to the announcement of the RCMP investigation...

Anti-American Bias at the CBC

2005-12-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

I oh so wish there were a text version of these comments on the CBC website... This morning, Colleen Jones was doing the weather and in her usually banter before actually talking about the weather itself, she talked about the fact that today (20 December) is that last day of autumn. Then she laughs and says"of course it feels like we've had winter for weeks. Perhaps we should ignore those

On Gun Control and Banning Weapons

2005-12-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I've waited to post on this subject, but here it is:The Liberal Party policy announcement to ban handguns in an effort to reduce crime is three things: A flip flop on their statement from the 1997 election when they said the gun registry wouldn't lead to confiscation More evidence they don't trust law abiding Canadians Clear indication they don't recognize how crime works. The

Liberals don't trust Canadians

2005-12-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

As stated by Scott Reid and John Duffy on the CBC and CTV on Sunday 11 December, the Liberal Party doesn't like the Conservative child care plan because they fear that Canadians might choose to spend the money how they see fit.The problem is that the Liberal Party doesn't trust you. Or me. They think that the only way to raise a child is in a government regulated and operated day care.They

On Child Care Philosophies

2005-12-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

So, the Conservatives want to give parents the choice of how to raise their children. Which means that they want to give parents the options of having one parent stay home, or private day care in a small or large setting, or public day care where available via a provincial government. This plan taken the provincial governments right out of the equation because no government to government

About all this talk about cutting taxes

2005-11-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

First off, the Goodale pre-election mini-budget tax cut is one heck of a lot of spin. 5% of the tax cut is retroactive for 2005 and doesn't reduce anyone's tax bill by very much. And the bulk of the tax cut starts in 2010... That and the $30 Billion he talks about is only about 30% of the excess tax take they publicly expect to have between now and then. I say publicly because I think they

Canada lacks LEADERSHIP

2005-11-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

OK, let me vent a little about this fiasco with the opposition parties talking the big talk about how they can no longer support this government due to it's corruption. Let's have even Smiling Jack Layton proposing that his party will bring forward a vote of non-confidence. But let's never have an election over the Christmas period....This is stupid. If you REALLY can't support the government

Post-Chretien Scandals...

2005-11-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Over at the Lunch Pale there is an EXCELLENT summary of the scandals that have plagued the Liberal government AFTER Jean Chretien left office. Admittedly, some of these nefarious activities started during the reign of Le Petit Garcon...

On Gomery

2005-11-02T00:53:00.000-07:00

Since there is much raving about Gomery Report #1 in the blogosphere these days, I will pass on making any significant dig into the findings. Also because I haven't had time to review the report itself or watch much of the commentary.But I will say this. While I think Gomery has done as good a job as he could, there simply weren't enough people willing to come forward with incriminating

Liberal Plan: Blame the Americans for Guns

2005-10-25T23:49:00.000-06:00

So. even though George W. Bush and the Congress have protected the gun manufacturers from lawsuits, our government still plans to try to sue them in US courts. HA HA HA. Which stupid lawyer thought this one up? I'm thinking it's a lobbyist for a private firm...Even sillier is the request than the Americans should stop the flow of illegal weapons into Canada. Since most of these weapons are

New EI rules to make unemployment more attractive

2005-10-25T23:33:00.000-06:00

So, the federal Liberals want to make EI easier to get and more generous in parts of the country that have high unemployment. Interesting that most of those areas also vote Liberal...This is a stupid policy because generous EI destroys the incentive to work. And we need workers, not folks sitting on the dole.What would be more useful for the government to do would be to provide relocation

I never thought I say this...

2005-10-23T11:00:00.000-06:00

But Jeffrey Simpson is right. His column in the Saturday 22 October Globe and Mail regarding Alberta politics is 100% on the mark. It is time for Ralph Klein to retire and for someone with vision to take the helm. Alberta is in a PRIME situation to remake Canada by using the funds available to experiment with new methods of service delivery in health care, to make Alberta the #1 education

Does Dingwall think we are that stupid?

2005-10-19T22:51:00.000-06:00

David Dingwall, the former Liberal cabinet minister, and recently resigned head of the Royal Canadian Mint, declared on Wednesday before a parliamentary committee that the money he consumed in his $747,000 expense account wasn't taxpayer funds, but was taken from the net revenue of the Mint.Now, the Mint is a Crown Corporation. Meaning it is owned by the Government of Canada. Which means that

(Mis)-Education in Canada

2005-10-17T21:07:00.000-06:00

One of the problems that is starting to exhibit itself in our society are the side-effects of the so-called "Self-Esteem Education Model". This is where a focus of the education system is to make students feel better about themselves under the psychological theory that students with higher self-esteem will perform better.One problem. It doesn't appear to be a very good theory (link to January

Jim Roszko and the law

2005-10-07T11:27:00.000-06:00

Today there is much on the radio and in the papers about Jim Roszko and whether the system failed society by letting this madman run loose. There are a lot of apologists for "The System" that say that the police are understaffed and that the law doesn't allow us to just lock up dangerous people. Well that may be true, and I wish that governments would spend more money on real law and order

Faux promise from Paul Martin

2005-10-07T10:24:00.000-06:00

So... Paul Martin and Ralph Goodale are taking a page from Klein's playbook and offering to send cheques to Canadians if they have too much money.It will never happen. Why? Notice that they are not saying "We are going to send every taxpayer $400" like Klein did. They are saying that given the right set of conditions, we will send you money. Problem is, they know they can ensure those

Paul Coffin gets off easy...

2005-09-19T21:27:00.000-06:00

So, a judge appointed to the bench by the Liberal government lets a Liberal party hack (who has plead guilty to defrauding the taxpayers) off with a conditional sentence and thus he will have to spend zero days in prison.Sacre-bleu!!!!I am appalled. The man is a crook. He should spend a good period of time in prison to ensure as a warning to those who might try this again. But instead he gets

What is wrong with Calgarians?

2005-09-17T13:12:00.000-06:00

How is it that the people of Calgary as a generic whole vote in Conservative members both federally and provincially, yet elect tax and spend Liberals to run the city???Mayor Dave Bronconnier wasted $67,000 of taxpayers money this last week sending out a pamplet to every household in the city, and airing radio commercials of him sending a message. The message?That the federal government collects

Recommendation to Ralph Klein, re: Fiscal Policy

2005-09-17T12:35:00.000-06:00

Ralph,Obviously, Alberta has a lot of money flowing in right now, and with projections that oil prices will stay in the $40+ range for years to come, will likely be flowing in for a good long time.Unfortunately, your government doesn't have a clue what to do with the money... here are my recommendations: Reduce corporate taxes to <7%.> Increase the personal tax exemption from ~$20,000 to

What Alberta should do!

2005-09-11T21:35:00.000-06:00

Danielle Smith has written and excellent column that I didn't catch when it appeared on 3 September. Thanks to Adam Daifallah for flagging it!Her column is good, but Link Byfield's group has a very good proposal for what should happen to try to fix this country once and for all.I'm all for it.

Sharia (Islam) and Western Civilization

2005-09-11T20:45:00.000-06:00

So McGuinty has rejected calls for sharia law to be used in family arbitration in Ontario, and is going further to ban all religious arbitrations.Good.First of all, the separation of church/mosque/synagogue and state is a very important premise of free and democratic societies. We should not have religious rules restricting the freedom of individuals. Paine, Hobbes, Locke and Montesqieu would be