Archive for September, 2008
Ridiculous Clips from the CBC Archives
Layton’s whole look takes the cake. May kicked ass in televised debates even 30 years ago. Harper is at his roots, defending Manning and calling for Reform not to end up like other fringe parties and of Dion is talking about federalism and power stuggles with Quebec. Frankly, even as a politico, I think my fasination is with how different their appearences are. Perhaps that is just my age showing through.
These videos are from the CBC archives on youtube and can be found here.
Jack Layton in 1982
Elizabeth May in 1978
Stephen Harper in 1991
Stephane Dion in 1992
No Comments »Very Cool Murals from Kingston and Galloway in Ward 43
I was taking a walk this afternoon along Kingston Road toward Galloway. When I got to just in front of 4301 Kingston Road, one of the largest community housing developments in Scarborough, I saw a great splash of colour. The pictures are below. I was really impressed because it shows a sense of community and a desire on the part of people to do what they can to better their community. Kingston and Galloway is an area that has been long ignored, although there have recently been efforts to revitalize the community around this intersection. Plazas and run down motels are making way for townhouses that will allow for this low income neighbourhood to graduate to a mixed income neighbourhood, an important step to community improvement.
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Vote Swapping Stupid, but Legal…
I was pretty sure it would turn out that vote swapping was legal but it is completely unenforceable. That is also why it is stupid. Seriously. Do you honestly believe someone who is so into their own party is actually going to go to a ballot box and cast a vote for someone else simply because they believe someone somewhere else in Canada will do the same? It’s nonsense. I would expect very few of these swaps to be carried out faithfully, and expect a lot of progressive Canadians will end up losing their vote through trickery.
During the 2007 provincial election, I got to watch up close as 10 year olds reached for the ballot box during a mock election. In one case I saw children as young as kindergarten vote. One little girl was so short an older student had to tip the box so she could reach. It was a very emotional thing for me to watch. It was extremely powerful and definitely rekindled by belief in the strength of our democratic spirit. These children learned something anyone who is considering vote swapping didn’t. Your vote is sacred. It is yours and no one can take it away from you. That is unless you do something stupid like try and swap it on Facebook.
I could go on, but I won’t because the idea here is so simple. People lie. Politics is nasty. If you’re a Liberal the NDP is not your friend, especially during an election. If you’re a New Democrat, Liberals are not your friend. If you’re a Green – no one is your friend when it comes to vote swapping – well maybe the Liberals, but only in Central Nova.
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