Election Season

This political advertisement was *NOT* brought to you by the Green Party.

(The Green Party hand delivered (I think) packets of flower seeds.)

I passed a Liberal candidate in the hall today. I *thought* he invited passers-by in to his room that had couches, food, and *weed* (the guy next to me thought he said that too), but someone at lunch suggested it might have been *wii*. I think perhaps the Liberal should work on his diction/phrasing, to avoid confusion.

In the media, the NDP is attacking the Conservatives, the Conservatives are attacking the NDP, and the Liberals are attacking the fact that the NDP and Conservatives are attacking each other. (The Liberals only have one seat, which is why the other parties are ignoring him.) I oppose attack ads. I'm considering voting Green.

Other reasons to vote Green:
1. My riding, which has been NDP at all levels for as long as I've been alive (I think), went conservative in the last city and federal elections. (Oddly, the world has not come to an end, and I have yet to see pigs fly.) If my riding is going to do wacky things, I might as well too.
2. The Green Party is actually considering fare-free transit. An idea I proposed to my other representatives (as a way to cut carbon emissions and promote downtown), and no one was interested.
3. I like Elizabeth May, although she's federal, not provincial.

Reasons to *not* vote Green:
1. It puts the PC candidate one vote closer to getting the provincial seat.
2. The NDP candidate is a hard-working, honest guy who sends us flower seeds every year, plus reports on what he was doing in parliament until he got edged out by the Conservative in the last election. (I haven't heard a peep from the conservatives, and don't even remember the name of the federal conservative.)
3. The leader of the green party looks potentially younger than me, and that makes me feel old... and him not nearly old enough.
4. They misspelled "Flin Flon" on their website where they list the candidates.
5. The candidate in my riding isn't even committed enough to have a photo and short bio on the website.

Anyone want to say something to sway me one way or the other?

Goodby, Jack Layton

May your memory live long in parliament, and encourage its members to be better.

Update: Thank you to R, who pointed out my stupid mistake/typo. I'm not sure why, but I've been making that one a bunch lately.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! I love my country. It's not perfect, but it's my favourite place to live.

To those along the Souris River, or being swamped by Lake Manitoba, my thoughts are with you.

This climate change shit is scary... more people need to start doing more to slow it down & hopefully get things under control! I try to do what I can. (What are you doing?)

Why is it when DDT was killing birds, it got banned? How did the government get CFCs phased out, to try to save the ozone? What's different now, that our government is not being proactive when it comes to climate change? Does it not see the million tiny things pointing to something being wrong? Three million acres of Manitoba farmland went unseeded this year due to flooding. The entire state of Texas has been declared a natural disaster due to drought. Storms are more severe, and more often. Oceans are facing mass extinction.

When you're out celebrating today, please think of a way you can help keep this country (and the world) a great place to live.

Two small things I did recently:

1. I made a reusable shopping bag out of fabric that was rescued from the trash:

(It was formerly part of a camping item which was wearing out and no longer wanted.)

2. I repaired a reusable bag for a friend, so that it can keep on chugging:


One thing I'm not happy about:

That seemingly sturdy bag my tooth-care items came in?

Is "degradable", which means that if I try to reuse it, it will fall apart on me. The product's web site makes it sound nice, but I don't trust so-called (bio)degradable plastics: see this, this, and this. Ever hear of "greenwashing"? :(

I'm not perfect either, but I do what I can.

Out The Window

Gee, the pounding from the bridge construction sounds rather rhythmic today. Wait... it sounds *really* rhythmic!


Turns out there was a small parade going in front of my place. "Youth Honouring Youth"... remembering missing and murdered aboriginal youth.

This is why we need more community youth programs: to provide options besides joining gangs. We also need programs for kids who want to quit gangs. Not that all missing and murdered kids are in gangs... some are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. We need to starve gangs of new recruits, and incarcerate the ones committing or directing crimes, and rehabilitate those we can.

This is why I volunteered with the Inner City Computer Club: a kid learning to program isn't out on the streets. (Although I was working with immigrants and refugees there, but there are gangs targeting those kids too.)

This is why there shouldn't be a waiting list for addiction rehab programs. I don't care if that means there's normally empty beds costing money, if someone shows up, wanting to get clean, they should be accepted immediately! Yes, they may relapse. So accept them again, and give them another shot. Improve the programs to help prevent relapse. It may not work this time, but perhaps next time it will work.

Improve mental heath programs. Cover psychiatrists and psychologists. Have a referral program, and make sure people know about it. Many people with drug, alcohol, or other addictions are people with mental health problems who are self-medicating.

Some of the stuff that goes on in this city frustrates me. I wish I knew how to help. I wish we had a mayor who cared. (No, the city doesn't decide what medical services are covered, but they could lobby the province and federal government for change.)

Shocking Election!

Holy bleep! There are some surprising numbers on the screen tonight.

I like that the NDP is up, I *hate* that the conservatives have a majority.

My riding, a long-time NDP riding, has the incumbent down about 100 votes at the moment!!!

Vote!

I voted, have you? You still have time! (I you live in Manitoba or west.)

To The Fool Who Would Be King

I'm all for rehabilitating criminals, but wouldn't a prison farm be better than a job as a political advisor? And even if that person appears to have been reformed, do you really want to give them security clearance? Especially since their crimes involved fooling people?

Either you are a fool, or the person you allow to do your hiring is a fool... and anyone who allows a fool to do his hiring is a fool.