Canadian Politics Taking Ugly Tone of American Electioneering

Want to be mayor of Canada’s largest city? Hope you don’t have a past, because it’ll come out and that’ll be it – no mayor’s office for you.

Or at least that’s what’s going on in Toronto, Canada, where candidates are fighting an ugly battle for a municipal election this coming October.

Today, long-time Toronto councillor Rob Ford held a press conference to spill the beans on his impaired driving and having an illegal substance charge. While he was in the United States over a decade ago, he got pulled over and was charged for failing to take a breathalyser and for having a joint in his pocket.

The drug charge was dropped, but he admits to doing community service for the DUI charge.

So what? Are we seriously going to deny a man a job because of something stupid he did in his youth? Don’t we all make stupid decisions at some point in our youth? I sure know I did. That’s all just part of growing up.

But leave it to Toronto’s media – and this is even playing on national and some international wires – to play this story up as if it were the be all and end all for deciding who should run Canada’s largest city.

Not that I’m all too happy with the selection – in my not so humble opinion, none of the candidates has convinced me that they deserve the big lofty office, huge mayoral salary, and prestige of being in charge of the country’s economic engine.

I’m sure all the candidates running are really great people, but if the best they can come up with is trumping up ghosts from their competitor’s past, they really don’t know what the needs and wants of the people are, and shouldn’t be running the show.

Actually, this whole story stinks of American political campaigns, where campaign managers do whatever it takes to make their competition look outright evil.

We Canadians are supposed to be better than that, peaceful, overly polite. Yes we need to debate the issues, but those issue stretch far deeper than the colourful past of a handful of players.

Too bad the wanna-be mayors of Toronto, Canada just don’t get that.

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North American Political Freedom – What Freedom?

In Canada’s largest city a local politician claims there is a booklet, secretly listing people, services and streets exempt from parking tickets.

The city councilor says the 25-page booklet is costing the city millions, as those on the list can have any parking tickets canceled.

Makes you wonder just what other kinds of political favors our politicians dole out to buy support in up-coming elections.

What other top secret lists exist – giving a very select few privileges at the taxpayers expense? How many other cities around the world do this? Maybe yours?

If politicians want to earn the peoples trust, they have to stop playing old school politics and try something unheard of in political circles – being honest.

Hiding behind campaign promises which you have no intention of really acting upon once you get into office, spreading dis-information about competing views to poison the public’s perception towards your side, and handing out special perks to selected companies and individuals to purchase their unwavering support have become all too common at all levels of politics.

This old form of politics has led to a general populace so cynical with the political system, elections don’t really represent the majority anymore, they just represent the majority of a small group who chose to vote, as voter turn out is always so low.

People from other countries here in Canada and the States, often wonder why we don’t take full advantage of our free and democratic rights by not voting in elections. Often where they come from, people have died for expressing any opinion about their politicians, especially if it flies in the face of the current dictator.

They don’t understand how we can sit idle on election nights.

Maybe it is because we really aren’t any more free than they are?

We don’t suffer under powerful regimes, led by monster dictators that keep all the wealth and privilege to their select inner circle.

Or do we?

When politicians give out special perks their buddies, make policies and laws which favor their supporters, and do whatever it takes to get re-elected instead of what is truly right and good for the population overall, it doesn’t sound all that different.

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President’s State of the Union Wasn’t Very Stately

American President Barack Obama says his citizens aren’t suffering from a deficit of dollars, but also one in terms of confidence in government.

This stems from the U.S. leader’s annual State of the Union Address, televised across the States and around the world on Wednesday night. The annual speech is a long running tradition in American politics, where the president provides some insights into what he and his ruling government hope to accomplish in the coming year.

Ranking high on that priority list, as per previous leader’s addresses: the economy and healthcare.

In fact, for a world leader who just a year ago was so high atop a pedestal he had a rock star-like Obamamania following, there wasn’t really anything all that rock shattering in this President’s plans for his people.

Last year, on the weeks and days leading up to his inauguration ceremony, there was a distinct buzz around the world, as the United States of America – the most powerful nation on the planet – was about to swear in their first non-White president.

Millions of people from all over the world filled planes, trains and buses, overbooking hotels, and flooded America’s capital city, all for the chance to just be where history was to be made. Most had high hopes that it wasn’t just his skin color that got him the job, but his innovative ideas, his unique vision of where he could lead the United States of America.

President Obama has put forward reforms which are controversial, including his economic and healthcare plans. He even has done something no other world leader has done in less than a year in power – taking home the great honor of winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

But what exactly has the American leader done which really stands out? What has President Obama actually done to the betterment of humankind?

Since the invention of the soapbox, there have been many people taking the opportunity to stand on said soapbox, screaming at the top of their lungs about the horrid state of the world, and what they can do to make things right. But few have actually taken the time to step off that soapbox, and act on those thoughts making a real difference.

Everything was flawlessly spotless for the international television audience tuning into President Obama and his Sate of the Union Address. The American people have been holding these things for so long, they had better be able to produce them without a hitch.

What wasn’t so flawless was the message underlying all the spit and shine on the surface. That message was one of commonality, sameness, blandness, and perhaps worse of all, lacking on any real ways to make things right.

President Obama talked about increasing confidence in government, claiming there is a serious lack of common sense in the way things are run.

Well done, fist identify a big stinky issue, such as the public’s continued loss of faith in their governmental leaders, and then admit that common sense just doesn’t exist in government. Why don’t you just toss your hands in the air exclaiming “I give up?”

That’s what it sounds like the President was doing – because he certainly didn’t mention any realistically achievable solutions to bringing common sense, order, and other respectable work practices to his publicly failing administration.

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Just Another Day in the Sandbox for Canada’s Parliament

Managing a country isn’t easy, which is why we hope those we elect into our governments are more than capable of doing the job.

Though if you’ve been watching Canada’s federal government the past few years, you might be shaking your head in disgust.

For the past few years, federal politicians in Canada have tried to resolve their differences by shutting down Parliament and calling snap elections. When elections weren’t called, the threats of them were held over our heads, as one political party claimed they just couldn’t work with the other.

The latest childish-acting out by Canada’s ruling party hasn’t forced an election, but might as well have, because it has a similar effect.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party has prorogued Parliament. This is what usually happens after an election, essentially wiping clean all un-passed bills or motions, allowing the politicians to start with a clean slate. Any bills or motions which weren’t voted on prior to the proroguing must be re-presented and voted on.

As proroguing usually happens after an election, we think nothing of it, because it allows the newly elected or re-elected government a chance to start the business of governing.

But when it is called in the middle of a government’s rule, there is reason to be concerned.

In this case, Prime Minister Harper’s government called the prorogue of Parliament because an economic statement they made alienated the opposition.
So, rather than trying to explain themselves, their actions and taking the enormous responsibility of governing seriously, they threw their hands up in the air, and decided to erase their controversial economic statement, so that they could start from scratch.

Just when you think the federal Canadian government has done the most childish thing unbecoming a group of professional politicians, there they go doing something completely different, but even more childish than before.

Makes you wonder just how far will these adults go, in their childish ways?

Far worse than embarrassing Canada on the world stage – which has already happened as we have seen by the reaction of many world leaders to Prime Minister Harper’s lateness for a photo opportunity during the last meeting of the G-20 – the other world leaders just laughed it off, in a “oh that’s just the bumbling Prime Minister Harper for you,” way – far worse than that, the business of governing constantly falls by the wayside. Things just don’t get done, because our federal politicians are too wrapped-up in their own childish antics, constantly trying to one-up the other, rather than doing the right thing.

And the right thing for any politician, municipal, provincial, state or federal, is to ensure the business of the government gets done.

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We're Back!

Welcome to 2010!

Jordan's Daily -- Almost! took a bit of a breather over the holidays. We all need a break, even us nutty newsie muckrackers.

But we are back in full swing, covering hot topics in current affairs from a straight, no bull point of view. We'll keep you in the know about what is really going on around you, in plain English, and with lots of analysis breaking the news into bite-sized pieces for easy digestion.

From the latest in American, European and Canadian politics, to cool high-tech gadgets, gizmos and the wonders of the cosmos, to right here down on planet Earth, we'll give you glimpses into your world just not available in the traditional news media.

Last year, Jordan's Daily -- Almost! grew -- thanks to you, our loyal readers. We added new widgets to apply keywords and related articles automatically to all our posts, giving you even more sources for related information. We redesigned the layout to make this thing easier on your web-soaked eyes. And we were even ranked number one international political blog, and we're constantly in the top 500 of the most active Twitter posters in our hometown of Toronto, Canada.

We'll make more changes, and possibly bring home some more awards in 2010 -- but the main focus of this place isn't to be best in some ranking sites' eyes -- we want to be the best in YOUR eyes. The eyes of our readers.

We'll continue to tackle the issues from an easy-to-understand, no bull perspective. And we'll continue to listen to you, our dedicated readers, for story ideas, opinions, and more, to make this place the best it can be for you.

We always welcome your thoughts, ideas, rants and raves. Email us directly at jordansdaily@columnist.com, join us and debate the issues on our Facebook fan site, and keep current on the latest by following @jordansdaily on Twitter.

To the hundreds of regular readers, to the 25 or so that stop in on a semi-regular basis just to poke around and see what's new, to those newbies that just managed to land here while surfing the net -- t h a n k y o u for reading Jordan's Daily -- Almost!

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When Religion and Politics Meet – WHAMO – Instant Controversy

Last week, the Canadian federal Liberal Party accused the ruling federal Conservative Party of distributing targeted pamphlets suggesting that the Liberal Party was anti-Semitic.

These pamphlets ask voters to choose which federal leader is “on the rig

Image via Wikipedia

ht track to represent and defend the values of Canada’s Jewish community.” They were distributed in five Liberal-held ridings, with large Jewish populations, by the federal Conservative Party of Canada.

The pamphlets compare Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper against federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff’s support of Jewish political causes.
Naturally, these pamphlets were paid for in part by all Canadians, from taxpayer dollars – regardless of what religious beliefs you hold.

Look out – whenever politicians bring religious values to the debate, nothing good ever happens.

What the Conservative Party of Canada did wasn’t by accident, yet they have been asked to apologize by the Liberal Party of Canada.

Mailing out pamphlets specifically to Jewish-dominant areas, discussing the opposition party’s lack of Jewish-based political support didn’t just happen – it was obviously carefully planned.

One could argue that it is no different than a toy company mailing out pamp

Image via Wikipedia

hlets to areas with lots of families with children – they are specifically targeting potential customers.

However, the difference here is, governments aren’t supposed to represent any one specific faith or religious group – they are supposed to be relatively neutral, looking out for all citizens best interests.

What’s next – will the Liberals fight back by targeting highly Muslim areas, and show how their leader was more pro-Muslim than the Conservative leader?

Canada is one of the most diverse nations on Earth – rightly or wrongly we let anyone into our country. Some known terrorists have got in, and there are always questions about how many cultures fail to accept Canadian values – which causes many problems here.

Image via Wikipedia

Still, we have many pocket communities, each dominated by one specific cultural or religious group. Some areas are Muslim, some Jewish, some Chinese, some Greek, some . . . you get the idea.

This makes it very easy for governments to send out religious or cultural-based propaganda to specific areas, and raises the question – should governments be taking religious or cultural sides?

Not being Muslim, if I receive something clearly from my federal government in a Muslim language, with images and icons from that culture, I’d be offended as I’d feel like an outside in my own land.

Being Jewish, if I received the pamphlets that the Conservatives sent out, I’d naturally be curious – but then I’d also be somewhat suspicious – why are they ignoring the over 250 other nationalities in this once great land of ours?

Once great is right – with isolationistic cultures being allowed to live, work and play in this country, without accepting basic Canadian values, this country nose dives from its once great glory. Add to this, governments that send out cultural-specific mailings, in a sense encouraging this alienation and isolationistic mentality, and one day, Canada won’t be Canada any more.

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How Canadian Politics Is Done – Temper tantrums and Name Calling

Federal Canadian Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff is doing what he and the other opposition parties have been doing ever since the minority Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, took office – throw a temper tantrum.

Ingatieff isn’t kicking and screaming on all fours on the floor – but the rest of his – and that of the other opposition parties – is just like that of a spoiled child in need of a smack to the head.

Ignatieff claims he and his party are at odds with the Conservative led government, so much so, that Parliament has become unworkable, and he will be forcing Canadians back to the election polls to deal with the situation.

Image via Wikipedia

What situation?

Ignatieff and the other political leaders can’t play nice-nice in the political sandbox, so they ask us to cleanup their mess? How grownup is that?

Ignatieff is playing old cards – the economy, unemployment and government spending. He says the current government hasn’t handled the economic slump well: "I think the economy is still struggling," he said. "A million and a half Canadians are looking for work, bankruptcies are up 50 per cent and we're staggering along with a $50 billion deficit."

He said this last week, just as figures were released saying the Canadian economy created more than 27,000 new jobs, which helped boost the Canadian dollar 1.38 cents to 92.02 cents US.

But Ignatieff questions who can lead Canada into the new economy, without many of the jobs lost and gone for good.

The election he wants to call would be about a government that will lead the country into full economic recovery – but he didn’t clarify exactly what he means by that, or how long or how much it will cost Canadian taxpayers to put his plans into action.

Ignatieff’s issues are personal not political. He’s been on this war path before – it seems all the opposition leaders are. The second they are odds with each other, instead of engaging in the debate and discussion which they are supposed to, as part of the political process, they throw their hands up in the air, call the other a bad name, claim the other is being unreasonable, and walk-off in disgust.

Canadians should be the ones walking away in disgust – that sort of childish behavior shouldn’t be tolerated by those footing the bill. Why should our taxes fund the salaries of spoiled children?

Yes, we need an election in this country, to clean out the rift-raft that have taken up residence in our political houses. But before that election is called, we need new names on the ballots. Those currently vying for office shouldn’t be allowed to run again – else we’ll just end up with the exact same mess we have now.

We need adults willing, ready and able to do the job we ask of them. And it isn’t as if we’re asking for anything out of the ordinary for our political leaders. All we ask is that they take on the role of governing our country with the seriousness and dedication it deserves.

Canada once was one of the greatest countries in the world to live. It still can be, if – and only if – we boot the children out of Parliament Hill, and bring in real leaders.

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