Pictoral Interlude IX

If I Was a Tory

I'd be kind of worried... I mean, there we are, going along with our five priorities, our muzzled caucus discipline, and our whole "new" Government slogan... and yet a year and three months later... we still aren't cracking the magic 40% support in the opinion polls (and that year was with leaderless liberals and the three months with the new leader settling in)...

I mean, if I was a Tory, I'd be kind of baffled - here we are doing (more or less) everything we'd said we'd do - and Canadians still don't seem to like us enough anyway... I'd start to worry that the Conserv priorities (of flip flopping, waffling, demi-tours) on Kyoto, setting up a new sponsorship program to key initiaties in Tory ridings, breaking their word on income trust, potentially violating the Geneva Convention, cutting my personal income tax exemption, maybe just maybe weren't actually Canadian priorities...

... Now normally, I don't pay attention to polls - polls smolls - but when looking at the aggregate number over the past year and 3 months of Tory govt... well, if I was a Tory, I'd be starting to feel the heat...

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

Saw this one on my walk into work:

"Be nice to America... Or we'll bring democracy to your country"

I want my money back

So apparently my hard earned tax dollars are going to pay for Harper's image consultant... Now I'd have no problem with this if I felt that I was actually getting my money's worth... But not only is Ms. Image consultant helping Harp out at home, apparently she travelled with Steve all the way to Vietnam for APEC summit. Check out fruits of her labour below.... Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think that shade of baby blue in his one piece jumpsuit is the correct shade to match his eyes...

Roses are Red, Governance is Blue

And the drama continues over at the World Bank, where Bank staff are now wearing blue ribbons as a symbol for improving good governance in the World Bank Group...

...Yesterday, one of the two Managing Directors (the two dudes under the President) urged Wolfowitz to resign... Read all about it in the FT...juicier and juicier.

Confusing Climate

Well colour me perplexed... I thought that the Tories were the next big green machine... turns out that was just for fun, after they saw the green tide sweep through the Liberal leadership convention...

The best part of the CBC story: "A study last fall by Nicholas Stern, former chief economist of the World Bank, said the costs of combatting global warming are manageable and would be much less than the costs of taking no action." Gotta love the Bank...and a good ole Tory flip flopping action...

No more guns

Let's make guns illegal for all civilians... I can't just can't deal... yet another horrific shooting close to home...

Banking Change

Interesting goings on over at the World Bank...Financial Times has a great analysis... worth checking out it's pretty juicy stuff..

Ripening with Age

My mom often teases me for being a true Canadianophile... Like any good cheese or wine, my love for Canada improves with age and experience...

Three things happened to me this week than just served to nurture my burgeoning feelings towards the home and native land:

1) The Canadian Rockies with Snow
I want to start a new sponsorship program. This one brings seperatists out to the Rockies and places them on top of Lake Louise or Sunshine (right at the top of the Great Divide ski lift) on a sunny day in early April. I am willing to spend my hard earned tax dollars just to fly them all out there (and this is hard for me to say seeing as I just spent the weekend filing my taxes... is it just me or did the personal exemption decrease this year... evil tories). I would find it absolutely impossible to believe that after seeing that majestic, awe-inspiring spectacle, that ANYONE could find it possible to want to disassociate from a country that has such formidable and breathtaking natural beauty.

2) Public Health Care
Because I have a new contract with my place of employ, I finally have health insurance. I have been avoiding seeking medical attention for the past 10 months, crossing fingers and toes that I won't get sick or be struck by lightening. Today, I was introduced to my new health care plan (which I still have to pay $150 US a month for). I was the idiot asking whether you had to pay up front out of pocket when you went to the doctor and which health care services did you have to pay a deductible for (like I'm a fricken car). Now I know our system is far from perfect, but the fact that I can walk into my doctor's office, hand over my medicare card, and never fork over a dime, is nothing short of a miracle...

3) Ben Mulroney
Seeing him wait for his bags at Montreal Trudeau Airport at midnight on Thursday night, like any other human being, sans entourage, or red carpet and idol free... was icing on the cake...

... oh Canada...