Electioneering...

If you've been wondering where my political rants have been, please check www.craigmillar.ca or www.comoxvalleyview.blogspot.com

Launch

My new political commentary blog is launching today. Click here to get there. If that doesn't work, you cna go to www.comoxvalleyview.blogspot.com

They 'should be shot'?

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams hit a new low with his rhetoric, even by his standards. He affixes nasty names to people that disagree with him. I can even understand his frustration in the article below, but saying people should be 'shot' for mistakes they made (and they were serious)???? Holding people accountable, discipline, firing, whatever, but his language is WAY over the top, inflammatory, and irresponsible for someone in his position. He should immediately apologize. I don't think he will though...

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams lashed out Monday at the province's largest health authority, accusing Eastern Health of downplaying revelations that it had missed dozens of breast cancer patients in a massive retesting exercise.

Eastern Health, meanwhile, on Monday disclosed that it had somehow missed 43 patients, up from the 38 patients the authority had revealed late Friday afternoon in a news release.

"It's disgraceful. They should be shot over there," Williams told reporters outside the legislature, attacking how Eastern Health had released information about the cancer patients whose hormone receptor tests now have to be retested

Coming Soon

I've been trying to work politics in this blog over the past 8 months. I'm finding that I have much I'd like to write about, but also know that many of my readers are not that interested in wall to wall politics. Thus, I will be launching a new blog (in addition to this one) that will be nearly all politics. It's something I'm looking forward too and hope that you'll enjoy as well.

Why politics? I was raised on oatmeal porridge and politics, I think. My grandfather, mom and her brother have all whetted my appetite in this area. It is an area that I feel God would have me use my gifts and talents in. I attended my first real political party event at the age of 15. I listen to talk radio and have been know to mock 'stupid answers' by politicians and callers alike. I've lead political action campaigns (complete with megaphone...). I've been involved behind the scenes (door knocking, telephones, etc.) with municipal and federal campaigns. If you hang around me very long, I'll probably end up talking politics - local, provincial, federal or international. I am intrigued by the political process. I have even been known to watch the CPAC (Canadian parliamentary channel) for fun.

In any case, with a provincial election looming, there will be much to comment on. I'll put up the web address for the 2nd blog soon. It's going to be fun. My first post will be of great interest to Comox Valley residents...30+ million reasons for interest.

"Mr. President, That's Not True"

From a blog I read recently:

In the continuing debate over human caused global warming, this is an interesting perspective towards Mr. Obama's 'settled science' on climate change...

We, the undersigned scientists, maintain that the case for alarm regarding climate change is grossly overstated. Surface temperature changes over the past century have been episodic and modest and there has been no net global warming for over a decade now. After controlling for population growth and property values, there has been no increase in damages from severe weather-related events. The computer models forecasting rapid temperature change abjectly fail to explain recent climate behavior. Mr. President, your characterization of the scientific facts regarding climate change and the degree of certainty informing the scientific debate is simply incorrect.

Here's who the scientists are.

Cut The Fat

In these times of economic uncertainty, many or most of us are carefully examining our expenditures. However, government expenditures are steadily rising- seemingly without anyone being allowed to question the spending. If you are concerned about this, you are not alone!

The National Citizen's Coalition feel that all federal politicians should take a 5% pay cut, freeze hiring in the civil service and thoroughly examine all expenditures. If you'd like to sign the petition in agreement of this position, go here.

Real Justice

For many years now, judges in Canada have had a curious practice in dealing with convicted criminals. If they were in a pre-trial center (rather than a full jail) awaiting trial they have been given a 2 for 1 credit on time served. It goes like this hypothetical situation: A crime is committed. Upon conviction he is sentenced to 6 years. He had waited 1.5 years to go to trial, that is credited to him as 3 years. That leaves 3 years of his 6 to serve.

However in Canada, prisoners can get out after having served only 1/3 of a sentence. So, in this case the offender could be released right away (on probation).

Defence lawyers have said that this is necessary guideline for protection of prisoners' rights. Clayton Ruby, one of Canada's leading defence lawyers, called Canadian detention centres "hellholes" and "a humiliation."

Like their time in a pre-trial center is any hardship compared to victims that have been stolen from, raped, mugged, and otherwise traumatized, but I digress...

Some feel that the accused have intentionally delayed their trials so that they could stay in pre-trial longer and get 2 for 1 credit.

Well, NO MORE! -- thanks to the Conservative government which is going to take away the discretion of judges in this. Prisoners will no longer get a 2 for 1 deal. They will have to 'do the time' (which is already often very light!) to pay for their crime.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said, "I think this will have the effect of unclogging the courts. I think individuals or their solicitors will not find it to their advantage to have continuous delays or adjournments and so I think this will help move the process forward," he said.

Full details here

CV Political Scuttlebut #4

Well, It was about 8:44 PM last night on the ferry and my cell phone rang. It was a call from someone at the BC Liberal candidate selection meeting. This person reported that Don McRae had won the nomination and will be the candidate for the BC Liberal party in the upcoming provincial election. No numbers were announced, but hopefully they will be forthcoming. I suspect that it was a first ballot victory. Don had a good, well-connected team around him. However, it is going to take more than that team to win the riding.

I have heard that at least one (and possibly two) of the losing candidates would not be helping the winner. I certainly hope that is not true. If this riding is going to be won, there will need to be unity from all the members - and far beyond words. There will need to be time, work and effort put into getting Don elected. It's easy to talk about how you'll support whomever wins, but action speaks far louder.

Transferable Ballot

This is an explanation of the way that the candidate will be chosen in the Comox Valley BC Liberal race. It should be exciting as there are apparently now 600 members in the riding. There were just over 100 that showed to vote at the NDPs candidate selection meeting...

Wikipedia: The contingent vote is an electoral system used to elect a single winner, in which the voter ranks the candidates in order of preference. In an election, if no candidate receives an absolute majority of first preference votes, then all but the two leading candidates are eliminated and there is a second count. In the second count the votes of those who supported eliminated candidates are distributed among the two remaining candidates,(that is, their 2nd or 3rd choices) so that one candidate achieves an absolute majority.

I believe that the BC Liberals eliminate the bottom one and go from there. This description is the closest that I have found to match with what I've been able to glean at various meetings.

CV Political Scuttlebut #3

Well, there are 4 people fighting to be the BC Liberal candidate for Comox Valley in the May election. You can read more about the individuals here. I want to make an informed decision at the vote on Thursday. Jon Toogood did not have any campaign events (at least that I heard about). I did go to hear the rest of them speak. Here's my impressions:

1. Roberta Stevenson has the potential to be a strong candidate. She has a varied and strong background. Her presentation was just ok. She is obviously new at the game. She is good at 'one on one' and making people feel welcome and included. At the event that I went to, there were about 60 people at it. I saw several federal Conservatives there to support, back and mentor her. I don't know if she has the political connections or the profile to take her over the top.

2. Don McRae performed very well at his 'meet and greet'. There were 170 or 180 people at it. The people at it are 'well connected' people. Paul Ives, mayor of Comox; Starr Winchester and Ron Webber, former mayors of Courtenay; Murray Presley, Courtenay Councillor; Ken Grant, Comox Councillor and some prominent developers and business people. I did notice that although the majority were definitely 'gray heads', there were a lot more younger people there (under 40 seems to be 'young' in politics). I think Don has a great profile of 7 years as Courtenay councillor, growing up and working in the Valley as a teacher. Don also spoke very well and seemed to have a good grasp of the issues without appearing like a 'know-it-all'. I think that he is the one to beat.

3. Shawn Wilson. Shawn had about 50 people at this event. He came into the race later for some reason. Shawn has a good business background as well as a solid reputation and fairly good visibility around town. I think that Shawn may also be able to appeal to some of the undecided that are more 'socially minded' than people think the BC Liberals generally are. Shawn seemed comfortable speaking with people. His talk, although clearly showing knowledge, unfortunately. didn't project a lot of passion. He did talk a lot about working to attract business and investment to our Valley, which is something that I'd like to see.

4. Jon Toogood - no speeches, no newspaper ads, no website, no news conference - makes it hard to judge anything (positions, approach, ideas, etc.) beyond what I know personally of Jon. I don't know Jon well, but I have observed that Jon's a guy that wants to contribute and is a 'get it done' kind of guy.

I think that this is Don's to lose. Roberta, with the backing she has, should be 2nd. However, with the preferential style ballot, Shawn could benefit. If he is the 2nd choice of a lot of people, he could come up the middle as the winner. If you want to understand how the preferential ballot works, look for a post later today or tomorrow.

CV Political Scuttlebut #2

Well, the local race to be the candidate for the BC Liberal Party candidate in the Comox Valley riding is heating up. The candidates that have filed letters to indicate their interest are: Don McRae (Courtenay councillor), Jon Toogood (former chair Habitat for Humanity Courtenay), Roberta Stevenson. Tomorrow, Shawn Wilson, Director of the Salvation Army Courtenay will announce his candidacy. Apparently, Ken Dawson (defeated school trustee) is also weighing his options.

I (with about 7 others)met with Don McRae on Saturday morning. Don has obviously thought about this and had some well thought out answers. He is also well connected in the community - having been raised here, taught here for 14 years and a city councilor for 6 or 8 years.

Roberta Stevenson is new to the political scene but seems to have a solid business background and is assembling a campaign team with many federal Conservatives. Roberta seemed like a good communicator in the short talk she gave when I went to hear her at a 'meet and greet' on Saturday afternoon.

John Toogood is fairly well known in the community for his work with Habitat for Humanity. He seems to be a 'get things done' guy having led Habitat to get 3 houses built in Courtenay.

Shawn Wilson has a solid track record of community involvement with his work at the Salvation Army. He is a hard worker and has an intimate knowledge of the 'social justice' side of the scale. He'll give more on his qualifications at a news conference tomorrow. I hope to be able to attend it.

At this point, I'm undecided as to who I'll support. After talking to many different people in the community, I hear people ranking them this way (see below). I'm not saying I agree with these assessments, I'm just telling what I'm hearing:

1. Don McRae
   
2. Roberta Stevenson
   
3. Shawn Wilson
   
4. Jon Toogood
   
5. Ken Dawson

If you want to be able to vote in the candidate selection meeting you need to be a BC Liberal party member. You can go here to get them to mail you a membership form. I wouldn't wait on this. You will need to have it into the BC Liberal headquarters by March 4, so you'll need to get on it. A quicker way might be to contact one of the candidates to sign up.

The nomination meeting will be held on March 12. Time and location TBA.

Open Gang Warfare

As you can read below, there is a great need for something to be done to stop the gang-related shooting and killing in the Lower Mainland. There have been 12 shootings in 17 days in February!

The provincial government is working on a response. Even the federal government is calling the area the 'center of gang activity' in Canada. Regardless of what they do, this is also a call to prayer for the church. In Romans 13, the Bible talks about one of the roles of government as being, "They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong" We need to pray for wisdom for these servants of God. What do you think the government should be doing? Vote on our poll at the top of the page!

VANCOUVER -- A four-year-old boy who witnessed his mother's shooting death was taken into provincial custody for his own safety Tuesday, as B.C.'s bloody February continued with the fatal shooting of a home invader, apparently shot by one of his victims.

(his mom) Nicole Marie Alemy, 23, who was gunned down behind the wheel of a Cadillac in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey on Monday, was going home after picking up a birthday present, her uncle said a day later.

The car coasted through an intersection before a passerby steered it across a sidewalk and up onto the driveway.

Police arrived on the scene to find the woman dead and the little boy crying but unhurt. The boy was in the back seat of the car when his mother was shot.

In another incident on Tuesday's -- the 12th such shooting in February -- a south Vancouver mother watched in horror as two gunmen forced their way into her home and pointed a gun at her son.

Mabel Mohammed said the gunmen were asking for someone named Azim, whom Ms. Mohammed said the family does not know.

They then shot and wounded her son Aleem, 19, in the shoulder, she said.

His brother, Amir, then wrestled the gun away and shot one of the assailants dead, Ms. Mohammed said, adding that the other assailant fled.

"We are in danger. They came to the wrong house," she said.

Political Scuttlebutt.

On January 20, our local MLA, Stan Hagen, died suddenly. It was a tragedy, and he will be sorely missed. He was an honourable man who served well.

The jockeying and process to replace him has been underway since he passed. On Sunday afternoon, I went to the local constituency association AGM of the BC Liberal party to see what was happening.. While there, I was intrigued to find out the three that have already formally filed 'letters of intent' to become the candidate in the upcoming election. Those that have done this are: Jon Toogood who started Habitat for Humanity in Courtenay; Don McRae, curren Courtenay City Councillor and Roberta Stevenson, Executive Director of the BC Shellfish Growers Association.

Scuttlebutt at the meeting was that there are up to 5 more potentials...Paul Ives, Mayor of Comox; Ken Dawson recently defeated school trustee, Shawn Wilson of the Salvation Army, and a couple of others that I haven't heard about yet.

I've also heard that a certain network of Courtenay is going to get solidly behind Don McRae to get him elected. If that happens, a by-election would be necessary in Courtenay. Then, recently defeated Courtenay mayor, Starr Winchester, will run goes the story. Himmmm....it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Newfie Bloc

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR BLOC PARTY

Six Newfoundland Federal Liberal MPs recently voted against the federal budget that their party supported. The premier of their province, Danny Williams, was howling about how bad the budget was for Newfoundland. He made it clear that he would be very angry if the Newfie MPs didn't vote against the budget - no matter what their leader said.

So they caved to the premier of their province, rather than follow the leader of the party they were elected with. They did it in the interest of their province...actually for clear self interest (fearing not getting reelected). They did not stand for a decision that was a.) agreed on by their party and b) determined to be in the national goodby their leader.. Their leader, Michael Ignatieff, timidly did not discipline them, but rather gave them a 'one-time' exemption from their responsibilities.
(Danny Williams - left)


This is a dangerous precedent for a provincial leader to be directing federal politicians. We expect this pettiness from the Bloc Quebecois, unfortunately. However, federal politicians are supposed to weigh decisions based on the good of the entire Canadian federation, not regional issues. Regional issues are properly dealt with on a 'government to government' level, not by thuggish intimidation tactics as used by Premier Danny Williams. We risk descending into a country of regions, rather than the grand Dominion envisioned by our founders. We are better and stronger together than as individual regions working for self interest.

I'm Sure Some People Will Be Surprised and Disappointed...

Globe and Mail headline: Bumps in the road prove an idolized President is only human

(I am sure that Obama has never claimed any Messianic or god-like powers. However, I am amused at commentators who fawn over him like he is a messiah. I am poking fun at that position not Mr. Obama.)

This Must Drive Left Wingers Crazy

The left wing of the political spectrum has continually used the Iraq war as a battering ram against George W. Bush and his policies. The left almost 'cheer-led' defeat of the American forces, hoping to pin it on GWB. But in the face of intense opposition, when many wanted to 'cut and run, GWBush ordered the 'surge' and actually increased the number of American forces. He was committed to seeing this through. Although they are not out of the woods yet, it appears that the strategy has worked. Let's hope and pray that a bad situation has turned and that peace truly takes root there.

"As the interim results from Iraq's provincial elections trickle in it is becoming

obvious the vote has transformed the country and possibly the Middle East.

A new generation of Iraqi politicians appears to be stepping to the forefront, young, secular and rooted in the country - not exiles riding the coattails of a U.S. invasion force.

In a dramatic move away from the sectarian and religious-based politics that traumatized Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, voters appear to have picked Sunni and Shiite secular parties at the expense of their religious competition.

Uncomfortable though it may be for some on the American left to admit, the ‘surge' continues to work, politically and militarily. The moment has come for the Obama administration to acknowledge what those fingers dipped in purple ink truly represent - a triumph for democracy."

Lose Money - Get a Bonus?

Amazing....

Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some of the most prominent names in the business, employees at financial companies in New York, the now-diminished world capital of capital, collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year.

That was the sixth-largest haul on record, according to a report released Wednesday by the New York State comptroller.

While the payouts paled next to the riches of recent years, Wall Street workers still took home about as much as they did in 2004, when the Dow Jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high.

Some bankers took home millions last year even as their employers lost billions. More here

$34 billion Reasons to Be Nervous

Being a fiscal conservative, I am very nervous about a $34 billion federal government deficit as the way to 'fix' the recession. When 'everyone' says it is the right thing to do, that is when I get nervous.

Are there things government can do? Yes, but I don't know if this government wading into the economy (bailing out car companies, soaking up bad bank debt, huge deficitis, etc.) as the 'saviour' of the country is going to work. This is beginning to sound ominously like the temporary 1970s budget deficits of the Trudeau minority governments that lead to 27 consecutive budget deficits leading to a accumulated debt of $583 billion dollars.

Who would have thought that the president of the former communist Soviet Union would have wisdom - based on their negative experiences - for us at this time?

Vladimir Putin. the Russian Prime Minister, launched a swingeing attack on Western financial rescue packages yesterday, calling for a new world order to reverse the financial crisis.

On his first visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Putin called the crisis a “perfect storm” that had arisen from a world dominated by the US. He said that only a rebalancing of global power could cure the problem and that financial stimulus packages of the kind agreed by Washington and London could lead them down a path well-worn by Moscow while doing little to aid recovery.

“Interference of the State, the belief in the omnipotence of the State: that is a reaction to market failures,” Mr Putin said in his keynote address at the opening of the four-day meeting. “There is a temptation to expand direct interference of state in economy. In the Soviet Union that became an absolute. We paid a very dear price for that.”

You can read the rest here

There is Probably No God...

The atheist slogan, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," may soon be coming to subways and buses in Canada's largest city.

The Toronto-based Freethought Association of Canada, inspired by a campaign that has plastered British buses with the phrase, has contacted the private firm that handles ads on the Toronto Transit Commission to see if the message would violate any rules. The rest of the story is here.

It is interesting to see how this will play out. I have no problem with this. I disagree with the slogan, but believe that God is big enough to defend Himself. Also, we are responsible to put forth an image of God that is true and Biblical. I hope that it will generate lots of spiritual conversations about the reality of God and give opportunity for sharing the stories of God at work in real life. I believe that most Canadians just do not resonate with this slogan as Polls show about 72% believe in God.

One Too Many Bail-outs to Contemplate...

Now this cartoon is American imagery, but the story is much the same here in Canada...

Okay, I've about had it with bail-outs...banks, automakers, forestry? mining? When the government starts picking 'winners' and 'losers' who's next you say???

While, CNN reports: Another major American industry is asking for assistance as the global financial crisis continues: Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.