It must be silly season

Well for we citizens of the GWN (Great White North) looking at American politics is always an interesting and rather humorous exercise as well as being somewhat frightening.

First of all you have Michele Bachmann who said during the Republican debates that the countries that the US "liberated" should pay for their "liberation". I'm sure that the Iraqis really appreciated being liberated (read invaded) after 100000 civilians dead and four million displaced, as well as having their infrastructure destroyed and their standard of living crushed. First of all they never asked to be invaded and then occupied for the next nine years and I'm sure a lot of them that lost family and friends would love to payback the US although I'm not sure the US would like the payback. Now Ms. Bachman has a right to her opinion but there really should be an intelligence test to become President of t he United States.

The next person that caught my attention was Rick Perry who believes that it is the United Sates' god given right to rule the world. He also believes that the economic recession was god's punishment for not being good christians. He also doesn't believe in evolution and really believes that god talks to him. Here in the GWN we have special places for people who hear voices telling them to do weird things. What really boggles the mind is that he was elected governor, but then again Texas also elected George W. Bush. (Who, by the way, seems a real genius beside this yahoo)

Here in the GWN, we are also not exempt from political weirdness. We have the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour, who wants to change the labour code so that the economy becomes an essential service, which would in effect take away pretty much everyone's right to strike, letting companies pretty much do what they want…. Somehow coming from the conservatives this doesn't surprise me, but what does surprise me is that the same workers elected them in the first place.

 

The best of times and the worst of times

As a Canadian we are used to a rather ho hum, middle of the road, type of leadership and government. The Liberals are just a bit to the left of centre, the Conservatives are a bit to the right (They would be much farther to the right if our PM had his way.) The leadership is pretty much grey with no real extremes. We could even say that we are a rather dull bunch.

Our American cousins on the other hand, seem to love going from one extreme to the other. They have had presidents that have inspired generations and changed the world. Men such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, who had a glorious vision of what their country could be and inspired their citizens to reach out and grasp that vision. But they also had presidents that were the opposite, Nixon, Reagan, Bush. Men who would do anything to win power, who would bring out the lowest common denominator of pettiness and narrow mindedness.
The last president is a perfect example of this. He was an unmitigated disaster for both America and the world. Under his watch America went from a balanced budget with a surplus to a veritable ocean of red ink, the American and world economies were devastated because greed and stupidity were allowed to go unchecked, America has lost thousands of young men in a futile war, whose drive and creativity are lost forever, America has made enemies across the world by its highhanded ruthless disregard for basic human rights. Under his watch we have seen examples of torture, wrongful imprisonment, an almost complete disregard for all international conventions that the United States has signed such as the Geneva Convention. He has masterminded an erosion of the rights laid out in the American Constitution that he was supposed to uphold and has trampled the very rule of law on which all democracies are based. And George W Bush was elected twice, wasn't once enough?
And yet just when the world despairs of ever seeing an America that plays a leadership role instead of being the world bully, the American electorate does a "beau geste" and elects an African American to the White House. Not only a visible minority but a man with a vision who can inspire the American people to reach out and grasp a dream of a better world for everyone who shares our common humanity. America can once again become an inspiration instead something to be reviled. Congratulations for having elected President Obama. There is now more hope for the future.
As for we Canadians, we'll muddle along with our grey uninspiring Prime Ministers. We'll probably never have a Barak Obama, ... but then again hopefully we'll never be stuck with a George Bush.

Hockey mom

At the Republican convention this week end, Sarah Palin, during her speech, made a joke.
"What is the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? answer: lipstick"
Well that pretty much says it all, joke or not. Do we really need a hockey mom who compares herself to a pitbull (a nasty dog bred for its viciousness rather than its brains) as vice-president of the United Sates. Let's face it, McCain is no spring chicken, and should he die in the White House, the nuclear puck will be on her hockey stick. Now there is a frightening thought.