The Important Result of Elizabeth May's Victory in Saanich-Gulf Islands

The most important result of Elizabeth May's victory is that the world did not come to an end. Some voters may have thought that our economic system would collapse with a Green in offiice, but that did not happen. In fact other people may now feel it is safe for them to vote green too.

Who Is Left?

Which party is further left on the political scale Canada's Conservative party or USA's Democrat party? Please share your opinion with me by making a "comment".

Free Trade is Not Free

The blunt logic of free trade cannot be denied, but neither can the complexity of the issue. It can be very efficient for each country to specialize in what it does best. These efficiencies become a little less clear when "true costs" are considered.

Free trade requires transportation, and transportation generates greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases in turn generate extreme weather events. Extreme weather events cause damage to homes, infrastructure, and crops. (We are not even beginning to calculate the damage of rising sea levels.) Damage from extreme weather events is costly.

On the other hand many environmentalists might find it difficult to accept that driving across town in their hybrids to buy "locally grown" foods might cause more damage to the environment than going to a big box store in their neighborhood to buy imported foods. It's complex!

Across the political spectrum people have mental blocks limiting their thought. We should all work towards a better understanding of all of the complex issues and act accordingly.

Understanding "Why did Conservatives vote Conservative?"

This purpose of this posting is to generate dialog and understanding across party lines. The nucleus of the debate is the question: "Why did Conservatives vote Conservative?"

I thought media news coverage was fair or even biased against the Conservatives leading up to the election. There were stories available that did not present Conservatives in the best possible light. I am referring to stories like contempt of parliament, campaign funding fraud (in-n-out), changed documents, prorogation, muzzling of bureaucrats, etc. Enough material came to the surface that that it seemed the vote would swing in the opposite direction than it did.

With dialog alternate parties could gain a better understanding of Conservatives, and Conservatives could understand better the fears of others.

I am going to initiate the debate by filling in the blanks. I have a suggestion for what I feel is the most likely explanation to come from Conservatives when confronted by their record of unpopular decisions. I have already heard it in my canvasing. Many conservatives say that other parties have their scandals too and nothing leading up to the election was serious enough to make them change their minds about their choice of party.

Here is another reason, and this reason may also be very important. Voters got tired of elections and voted against more elections. This is probably the most important reason Ignatief failed so catastrophically.

Below is my prioritized list of reasons people voted Conservative:

1. The economy.
2. Don't want any more elections.
3. Others are also corrupt.
4. I have always been conservative.
5. Don't believe in abortion.
6. Don't like Ignatief.
7. Want stability.
8. Want a fair system.

I invite you to add to the list, prioritize it yourself in a comment, or edit it at will. I also welcome you to create a list of reasons why people voted for non-Conservatives or to create any other list you think might be interesting.

Larry

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down

When the North American car companies were deep in trouble the free market response would have been to let them go into receivership even though it would have meant a lot of lost jobs for working people. This issue has grey areas, because many other governments would have stepped in to subsidize or bail out their auto industries. That would have tipped playing field.


Why is it then that North America bailed out its automobile manufacturers? What is your opinion? I would like to know.


This is another complex issue.

Actual Costs Of Nuclear Energy in Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan it does not appear the actual costs of nuclear energy are being calculated accurately. There is a legacy of environmental damage in Northern Saskatchewan left by the uranium industry. Hot mine sites and tailings ponds have been left behind for others to clean up. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think there is a budget or a fund set aside to pay for the current generation to come around and clean up the damage.

Harper Compared to Bush

In the USA I lived through the reelection of George Bush, and now I am reliving a similar nightmare in Canada with Steve Harper's reelection.