At Least I'm Not A Microbe

Pretty strong comeback, huh? (Note: I never say eh!) The title of this post refers to the fact that I have just joined TruthLaidBear.com (link is in the sidebar) and they have just ranked me, well, see for yourself.

So the "haunted hose" are no more, well, at least they're not red anymore. I couldn't be happier for Terry Francona, who's playing career with the Montreal Expos (R.I.P) started off with such promise.

On to more serious issues...
 
I saw part of a "town hall meeting" on CBC the other night, which was held in a town in Pennsylvania, and it got me thinking, the current government has really made a mess of things overseas. I'm tempted to call George W. Bush "The Teflon President" because he's been allowed to get away with so much, then again, that's what they said about Clinton. However, Bush does seem to be strong and decisive, and so what if he continually makes mistakes, refuses to learn from them and makes the rest of the world hate him? Kerry, though, does not impress me too much, he does come across as inconsistent and unpredictable. If he should happen to win, it will probably be the "at least he's not W" vote. Many people who are not impressed with Bush would probably like to stick with "the devil that they know". I guess when you look at it like that, the choice is not so clear cut.
Many of you seem to think along the lines of Venezuelans, "He may be an idiot, but he's OUR idiot!" as I believe one pro-Chavez protester said. One thing that you as Americans should think about is the 22nd Amendment. If Kerry is elected, you will be able to vote him out in the next election. If Bush is re-elected, he won't be allowed to run again, unless he decides to, well, you know what I'm getting at.
Think about it, if Bush didn't do whatever he wanted and care about the repercussions in his first term, just imagine what he'll do in his next term. For him, tomorrow will never come anyway, so what the hell...

More on Dubya, some dirt on Halliburton, and remember, the outcome is still far from certain.

Closer to home...
 
So the provinces and territories have received $28 billion in so-called equalization payments. It sound like a lot of money, but doesn't it seem that Ontario is the only place that is satisfied with it? Isn't that always the case? Well, Alberta also seems satisfied, but do they really need any handouts from the federal government? Aren't they the only debt free province? Just asking.

So now the feds are cutting funds to the RCMP and CSIS. As if they needed any more cuts. I'm feeling less and less secure all the time. Does anyone feel the same way?

Lastly, the wheels of justice apparently need to be replaced. We can only hope that Stephen Truscott's pardon won't be posthumous. 

Pundits on both sides should take note

Aren't you tired of all the half-truths, personal attacks, and raving emotionalism that seems to go with political discourse these days? I sure am.

To our Mexican neighbors, I'd like to ask, "Can a party stay in power too long?" I think so, though some of you may disagree. I have nothing personal against the PRI, but my concern is if you elect them again, you may never get rid of them.

Still on the subject of fighting the power, how about those Red Sox? It would be nice if they could break the curse, but history, near and far, shows that they had better not be complacent until the FINAL out!

First, a modest proposal

This is an idea by a columnist at the Guardian, which I do not think is meant to be taken seriously, but you can see his point, even if you do not agree with it; so please do not take it that way.

Still on the subject, here is what most foreign people think about George W. Bush. Mr. Margolis seems to have some interesting things to say about the people who support him, check him out. If you are a God-fearing person like me, you should probably pray for deliverance.

On the other hand, some good news. You can raise a glass to the Egyptians for their success in stopping a morbid tradition.

In a more good news/bad news vein, this is what experts think of the direct link between poverty and terrorism.

Here is a Slate investigation (for lack of a better word) on who Americans should dislike more, the Saudis or the French? 

Did anyone check out any part of the Press Gallery Dinner last night? It was unreal to see Adrienne Clarkson ham it up the way she did, with help from Margaret Atwood no less. No link here, had trouble finding any.

I have an answer...

In my last post I wrote about that letter writing campaign by the British tabloid "The Guardian". I have a response to many of the critics of that, as well as their vulgarisms. This post on the politics section in BlogsCanada is about the voter apathy or flip-floppery (for lack of a better term) of the American electorate. I do not want to officially endorse either Bush or Kerry, but I would appreciate if more American people just got off their butts, make that small trip to the polling station and just VOTE! The apparent belief is that their vote does not count. In most cases in America, it's probably true, but if you are in one of those swing states, heck, even if you're not, you have the privilege that people abroad do not have, even though that small piece of paper pretty much determines the fate of the rest of us. Remember what happened in the last election? How close it was and what happened in Florida? How can we forget? If you are a voter in Florida, did you not feel an increased amount of importance? If it was not one vote that made the difference, it could have been one hundred or less. Even though you are just only one person, you were a part of something of earth moving significance. Look what had happened in Vermont not long after that. A single senator tipped the balance and took the majority away from the Republicans. In short, I want to respond to those simple-minded people who would tell me just to MYOB. We non-Americans do have a say, just not a direct say. It is our business in a sense that whom you decide who is going to be in the White House in the next four years will have repercussions for just about everyone in the world, no matter where they are. We cannot make you vote in whatever way we want or even make you vote. Speaking for myself, I would not want to, but my main concern is that you Americans keep your democracy and do not destroy it. If you are going to run the world I would much rather it be by a democracy. That's all about that. Here's a loosely related topic, a link related to consumerism.

So what's Bill been up to?

First, a relatively old link concerning avid coffee drinkers like me. Swiftly changing gears here, with mature subject and language warnings. What if I could change American politics singlehandedly, what if I could change even one swing voter? Would I have the right? I have no easy answer for that, but the British rag "The Guardian" is trying to do so. Something called Operation Clark County, where British people try to get the addresses of people living in Clark County, Ohio and try to dissuade people from voting for the current president. Today's Altercation contains some of the responses the publication and British people have received. Have I mentioned language warnings? (Note the most graphic prose comes from right-wing conservatives). Still on the subject of dirty right-wingers check out how Bill O'Reilly gets his kicks. You'll have to scroll down a bit, and you might want to check out the legal documents shown on the Smokinggun.com website contained therein. More on O'Reilly.

Yeah, I know...

The focus on this blog has been more on American politics and American websites, seemingly betraying my subheading. Still, I feel transfixed to American politics, particularly the debate tonight. However, Parliament has started again, so there should be some news there, particularly with the navy. This is a leap of Orwellian logic by someone at Newsweek. It had me until he said that the U.S. has become the global "thought police". The U.S. is many things, and aspires to be other things, but IMHO, it cannot control world opinion. That's the last thing it's able to do and I could not find a solid link in the article. What do you think? A bit more sensible is this article by someone named Jonathan Alter. No, he does not have the Altercation blog, it's an easy enough mistake to make. What he says is what I have been saying privately for quite some time. Here's everything you always wanted to know about Dick Cheney, according to the Fifth Estate. It's usually a reliable news source, hopefully there are no mistakes and fallacies in reporting like what happened at CBS. Another matter of concern particularly for Americans, media literacy, as seen by two men, one of whom is a Jesuit priest. No, you can't dismiss what he has to say on that basis, he does have some deeply relevant things to say. Far and away, and closer to home, some things you should probably know about the sitting prime minister. Because the media here has been trying to bury this story.

Bad luck with drafts

A small oops for Bush-Blair. I thought that they could have waited, instead they jumped the gun in their search for WMD. But there's a ray of hope for the American people, they are starting to understand that they need to work with the world, not through it. And here's a different view on the American Dream, and why Americans should hope that people abroad believe in it. An explanation as to where the Left made a wrong turn, or who they are supposed to represent. My post was somewhat delayed, for the reasons stated in the title. A couple of things that I wanted to point out were that Opus the penguin is getting his first feature length film, but the circumstances under which it began are a bit auspicious. It will be bemade by CGI, which seems a bit dehumanizing. Hopefully it won't look too computerized. Also, CGI movies have crapped out. Unlike films like the Toy Story movies, the Shrek movies, and Finding Nemo, the one in current release, Shark Tale, is the first movie of it's kind that falls short, an explanation is too much star power.