Tag: politics

Jack Layton: A Man I Admired

On By WinstonIn Personal, PoliticsLeave a comment

Jack Layton passed away today after a lengthy struggle with cancer. He was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party. He was a politician who put principles first, and I respect that.

For those not familiar with Canadian politics, we are a two party country. Officially, there are a bunch of others, but not really. For my whole life, if you wanted to run the country, you joined either the Liberals, or the Conservatives. Mr. Layton devoted his political life to changing that.

His youth was one of privilege and comfort. The sort expected to produce a more conservative adult. Despite this, he became a proponent of social justice. After serving for a time in municipal government, Mr. Layton decided to move to the federal arena.

Did he move to one of the two major power parties? No, instead he joined a smaller federal party that was a better fit for him. The NDP (New Democratic Party) were the social conscience of the federal government. Everybody “knew” they were never going to be a big player, but Jack Layton saw something else. He saw the NDP as more than Canada’s guilty conscience. He saw it as a major power, and a vehicle for change.

He worked within the party to win over the core members. Eventually, he became party leader. There still wasn’t much of a party to lead, so he set his sights on like-minded people who for years had regarded the NDP as an also-ran joke. From there, he took his message to the Canadian people. The NDP weren’t a bunch of free-spending, socialists on the far-left fringes of the political landscape. Then he was diagnosed with cancer, and he fought this fight as he had so many others, with courage, dignity and humor.

Going into the last election, Jack Layton was leading a party with a clear vision and an achievable agenda. By that time, the roles had been reversed. A strong and vital man once joined a weak and ailing party because he believed in what it could be. In 2011, a strong and vital party entered an election led by a man struggling with a terrible disease. While other parties campaign messages were basically, “Vote for me because I’m not the other guy.”, the NDP spoke of a vision. Not a vision for the NDP, or for “the Nation”, but for the people of Canada, and the people responded.

The NDP didn’t win the election, but they won the day at every other level. From a perennial third place also-ran, they now form the official opposition. Instead of being viewed as a semi-radical fringe party, they are now seen by many as a serious contender to govern the nation.

Let me be clear about something. I’ve never voted for the NDP. Instead of voting for a party that shared my values, I voted against ones that didn’t. Anyone who reads this blog knows I feel strongly about social and political issues. I read the news, and I listen to those more educated, or experienced than myself. Then I talk to people about what I’ve learned, or I post to this blog.

There were issues that Mr. Layton felt strongly about, and I’m certain he talked the people around him, but he didn’t stop there. He engaged with the system and worked to change it from within. When there was no political party that would support his vision, he rebuilt one from the ground up. He didn’t just talk about what he believed, he lived it. He didn’t just dream of a brighter future where things are done differently, he worked to build that future.

That is what I respect the most, the determination to translate his dream into reality. Anyone can find faults in the world. It is a rare person who will devote themselves to fixing them. Mr. Layton fought cancer and a come-from-behind election campaign at the same time, and that’s all impressive enough. What made him a great man in my eyes is the dignity, grace and decency with which he did so. Thank you Jack for your vision, your work, and most of all for being a man I admire.

Jack Layton died today, but his unbreakable spirit and commitment to changing the status quo will live on.

Cheers, Winston

Quick Tips For Political Reform

On By WinstonIn Politics, SocietyLeave a comment

There is a growing sense of dissatisfaction with politics today. When politicians notice they start using words like, “reform” and “accountability”. Here in Canada, we actually had a Reform Party for a while before it got rolled into the Conservative Party. In the US, If a politician hears those words, he joins the Tea Party. At least until after the elections.

Speaking of elections, we recently had one. If you went by the tv and radio ads, the entire campaign can be summed up like this: “Vote for me because I’m not the other guy.”. Steven Harper’s Conservative’s won the election by having a more consistent message. It wasn’t about policy, but rather personality. “Michael Ignatieff (who left Harvard University to lead the Liberal Party) didn’t come back for you.” Really? I never would have figured that out on my own. The implication of course is that Mr. Harper gave up his life’s work, (probably something humble and humanitarian) and entered politics to make my life better. Steven Harper came to Ottawa for me! Or maybe not.

You see, I’m not convinced that Mr. Harper moved to Ottawa and became Prime Minister with my best interests in mind. I think he did it with Mr. Harper’s best interests in mind, maybe those of the Conservative Party. That’s the way of politics. But what if it wasn’t?

What if there were some way of encouraging our elected officials to put the needs of the voters first? What if the average person’s quality of life were more important than the party line? Impossible? Perhaps it is, but if anyone’s curious, think about this.

What if a politician’s pay were tied to the average income at their level of government? Federal pay would be the national average household income. Provincial / State averages would determine pay at their level, and Municipal wages would be averaged against similar sized communities nationwide. The idea is for politician’s to actually understand the people they represent.

But wait, there’s more. There are a few other conditions they need to agree to if they want to run for office. To start with, any pre-existing assets get frozen for the duration of their term. Yes, they get to live within their means like the rest of us. Speaking of living within their means, the average person doesn’t get to travel first class for business. Nor do they get to take their families, pets, hangers-on etc.

Without access to those pre-election bank accounts, they might find it a bit rough affording high-end private schools. Once their kids are enrolled in the same schools as all the others, they might see why other people are demanding education reforms. The list could go on, but you get the idea. The more they improve everyone’s standard of living, the more they improve their own.

I can hear some of you saying that we would lose a huge swath of potential candidates. You’re probably right. That’s kind of the idea here. Lawyers, corporate executives, and in the US, entertainment personalities, that’s who’s been running the show lately. If you like where we are at the moment, then ignore the whole idea. For the rest of you (including the 30+% who didn’t vote in the last election here) it’s something to think about.

So, you think you can make a difference and you still want run for office? Glad to hear it. To ensure you get a good sample of the “real world”, the minimum term of office would be five years. If you quit or get fired (yes, your constituents can recall you if you’re too incompetent), your assets remain frozen for the duration of your term. Think about that when you look at cuts to social programming because you could end up relying on it like so many others. On the other hand if you make it to the end of your term, what can you expect?

Here’s your chance to make some money. If you’re willing to work for it. There will be realtime tracking of your performance including attendance record, involvement on any committees, efforts on behalf of you constituents including success rates etc. All of these stats will be freely available to the public. By the way, if you’re thinking of using ads to tell your constituents what a great job you’re doing, be prepared to back it up with facts. Deliberately misleading the public is considered fraud and you will be fired for it with all that that entails. On a related note, graft or influence pedaling will result in corruption charges. A guilty verdict carries a ten year sentence and forfeiture of all assets. Now for the good news. If you work hard, serve your constituents and make every effort to genuinely improve the quality of life for the average person, it’s payday. You earnings for the term will be based on a combination of statistical (attendance, responsiveness, results, etc), with how your constituents feel you have impacted their lives. The better your composite score, the higher your performance bonus. You won’t become filthy rich, or receive a pension for life, but you will earn proportionally more than the average citizen who didn’t give five years of their life to the community.

I know this isn’t a perfect plan, but it is a “reform”. It would bring “accountability”. And isn’t that what the politicians, the media and the loud drunk at the bar all say they want? Just something to think about.

Cheers, Winston

UN Says Equal Opportunity Employment Legislation Is Racist

On By WinstonIn Global Issues, Politics, SocietyLeave a comment

This one comes straight from the “They Said What?” file.

According to a recent article on Maclean’s magazine website, the UN has filed a formal complaint of racism against the Canadian government. After a thourough review of the dreadfully racist policy, a Canadian delegation must now appear before a UN review panel to explain our vile deed. Can you guess what horrible crime we committed? We passed legislation prohibiting discrimination in the workplace against visible minorities. Wow, are we evil, or what?

Apparently, the UN takes issue with the phrase, “visible minorities”. They believe it carries the implication that caucasians are the norm, and so demeans all other ethnicities. The legislation is actually designed to ensure equal treatment of all ethnicities in the workplace and provide a mechanism for resolving allegations of discrimination. Again, evil or what?

What the legislation says is: “It doesn’t matter if someone looks or sounds different from you. We guarantee you will be treated fairly in the workplace or else.” What the UN hears is this: ‘White people are the norm here and if you aren’t white, you aren’t normal.”

I’m not saying that Canada has a spotless record on human rights and equality. Our treatment of our indigeneous peoples is a historic disgrace which we are even now struggling to address. We have our share of social injustice. If we didn’t, we probably wouldn’t need legislation to guarantee rights to visible minorities, or women, or children. We arent’ perfect, but through this legislation and others like it, we are trying to change.

There are far more immediate issues to address, both here and elsewhere, than the wording of a document designed to protect people from harm. Of course not many of them are as easy as bickering about semantics nobody else really seems to care about. The UN is apparently okay with our opposition to discrimination, it’s our total failure to fudge the truth that has their knickers in a twist. The idea of visible minorities acknowledges two facts: caucasians are the majority ethnicity in Canada, and other ethnicies are visibly different from caucasians. That’s the big secret we let out of bag. According to the UN, by accepting that some people will discriminate based on the appearance of ethnicity, and in trying to prevent that, we are promoting racism.

Of course we are… because of our secret racist agenda. Like our other secret plan to undermine the UN misssion in Afghanistan by putting the brave and dedicated, men and women of our armed forces (including my nephew who went back three times and is one of my personal heroes) and a large number of non-military personel in harms way. See how totally evil we are? Good thing the UN is there to keep the world safe from us.

Maybe next time the UN wants some muscle they should ask Kim Jong Il. I’m guessing they won’t have to proofread too much legislation protecting minority rights in North Korea. Then they wouldn’t have to compromise their high moral standards by associating with a blatantly evil country like Canada.

I’ve lived here my whole life. Without the help of the UN, I might never have realized how evil we really are. That’s probably why they haven’t called to offer me a job with the Carefully Selected Transnational Panel To Find Fault With Countries That Support Us Because It’s Easier Than Dealing With The Unpleasant Ones. I don’t think I’d fit in anyway. I’m probably too evil because I’m Canadian.

Cheers, Winston

p.s. For the record I do support the idea of the UN. Unfortunately, the implementation of that idea, like many others, sometimes leaves something to be desired. For anyone not paying attention; this would be one of those times.

W

Obama’s Not The Problem

On By WinstonIn Politics, Society2 Comments

In light of the recent debt crisis fiasco in the US, it seems the President has been appointed as the official fall guy. I’m not claiming to be smarter than all the anti-Obama crowd, but I would like to shine different light on him.

According to A variety of news sources, President Obama’s debt reduction proposal was the only one on offer which embraced actual compromise. He was willing to sacrifice some social welfare funding in return for closing some tax loopholes and removing certain tax breaks for corporations and the “ultra-rich”. His plan would have, through a combination of savings and increased revenue, provided a large enough debt reduction to have avoided the recent credit downgrade by S&P. Oh and it would have resolved the whole issue weeks sooner and avoided further destabilization of world markets.

Of course none of that was acceptable to either the Democrats or the Republicans. After all, why elect these people if not to watch them later act like irresponsible, self-absorbed jackasses? The Democrats hated the social-spending cuts, the Republicans hated the tax increases and each side hated the other.

So the Democrats put forward their own proposal which the Republicans hated. The Republicans developed a proposal the Democrats hated. The Tea Party took over the Republican party (which made everyone hate everyone else even more). All the while, the world watched in amazement and mounting fear as the worlds largest economy was allowed to slide ever closer the abyss of default.

When time ran out and it became obvious that neither side was willing to do the right thing, something had to be done. When elected members of both parties insisted on putting partisan ideology ahead of the good of the country, the good of the very citizens who put their faith in them. President Obama did what any true leader should do. He took the personal hit that could well cost him the Presidency next year. He signed into law an unpopular compromise which made many in his own party turn on him.

It wasn’t weakness that made the President sign that bill, it was selflessness. It was greatness. President Obama chose to sacrifice himself, to throw away his career, to save his country from a disaster. A disaster brought about by lesser people who when the moment came, could’t rise above themselves. People who chose loyalty to party dogma over loyalty to the people of the United States.

Whatever the media may say, and regardless of the outcome of next years election. I will always hold President Obama in the highest regard. In that moment when he offered up his career, his political future, his personal reputation, as ransom for those who chose him their leader: In that moment, he showed Greatness.

Cheers, Winston