middleofnowhere

I had no idea of the far reaching power of my blog. Less than 24 hours after I tell President Obama to “think about it”, he’s already reviewing the “Buy American” clause in his stimulus package. Now, I’m not one to toot my own horn, but it seems as though I am one of the most powerful people in the world. I’m practically a super hero. My power? Logic. And I have no weaknesses (except for anything that could inflict physical or emotional harm on me - a list far too numerous for here).

To further my “Go Canada” message, I’d like to take the time to point out what we “Crazy Canucks” are holding over your head,  like a frozen, hockey stick shaped sword of Damocles.

If you think we Canadians could never be so cruel and sadistic as to withhold this things, well….you’re probably right. In fact, my heritage almost forces me to apologize to you for even suggesting such things, but if, IF you pushed us far enough, here are some of the things we might almost consider thinking about having a discussion about forming a focus group that would examine the idea of withholding if people kept being mean to us. Or not. We might just make nasty doodles with stink lines and an arrow that says “you”.

1. Hockey

For the 200 people or so outside of Canada who enjoy hockey, this news would be devestating.

2. Cheap Prescription Drugs

If you want a full scale senior citizen riot, just watch what would happen if shut off the supply to their cheap meds.

3. Maple Syrup

Mmmm. Syrup.

4. Beaver

Get your mind out of the gutter! Yeeesh. Not only is this, uh….majestic rodent our national animal, it…uh….sigh.  No one actually buys beaver really do they? Never mind.

4. Electricity

This is actually a big one. Canada is the world’s largest producer of hydroelectric power and you know where a lot of that energy goes? Here’s a hint - the U.S.

5. Hot, hot women

Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Rachel McAdams, Evangeline Lilly, and so many others. Ours, all ours!!  

Now that it seems like we have a “stable government” (whatever that really means) here for a while, our elected leaders can start paying attention to trivial things like running the country and trying to survive the global economic crunch.

Noticing that there are actually things happening elsewhere in the world, our government has come to the harsh realization that when other countries do things to protect themselves economically, it mightn’t be the best thing for us - case in point is the fine print on some of the items in the American stimulus package being put forward by President Obama and his team/supporters.

I totally get that when you need to drum up business and support for your own industries it makes sense to put forward ideas like “buy American” - heck, I try to by local as much as possible. It’s part of being a good citizen in my opinion.

One of the things to hit our headlines recently is the premise that steel used in public projects under the $819-billion US plan must be made in the United States. The exceptions to the rule are if “the head of the federal department or agency involved finds that” the rule “would be inconsistent with the public interest,” there is insufficient U.S. iron and steel of satisfactory quality, or including U.S. iron and steel will increase the cost of the project by more than 25 per cent.

Based on existing trade agreements, many Canadian companies are crying foul. Is there going to be an issue similar to the drama of softwood lumber? Does Canada have enough clout to make a difference even if these agreements are broken? Also, how does breaking agreements affect whether or not agreements are made in the future? Or with other partners? Breaking agreements to protect your interests in the short term may play well in the polls, but long term effects can be quite serious

In a move that surprised, um, no one, the Liberal Party came out in support of the budget yesterday meaning that for all intents and purposes, the coalition agreement that was made before Christmas is dead.

From his perspective, Michael Ignatieff did the only thing he could do really. Even if the government was defeated in a confidence vote, the result may be another election call, rather than ascension into power. An election would be risky, as voters are so tired of them at this point they could well punish whoever causes it.

The most bitter man in Ottawa today? None other than Jack Layton, who was as close to a position in government as he likely ever will be. Sadly, Mr Layton has come off as more interested in getting in to power than he was in getting Stephen Harper out of power. A better reaction to the news of the Liberal support might have been to say that he will still be willing to work with Mr Ignatieff in the future, should the need come to remove the Tories. Instead, he steps up to the mic and accuses the Liberals of forming a coalition with the Tories.

While it’s likely just yet another pile of crap at least the two largest parties are pretending that they will work together. Haven’t any of these people ever watched a damn episode of Sesame Street? Isn’t cooperation a good thing??

Regardless of what happens with our government here in Canada, all this talk of coalitions has made me think of some of the best partnerships that we’ve seen over the years.

5. Ben and Jerry’s

There was lonely Ben with his mound and mounds of ice and snow and surly Jerry with his barrels of sprinkles, colours and flavours. What to do, what to do…

4. Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs

Once the negotiations got past the “No Girlz Allowed” signage issue and the “Girls Rule, Boys Drool” issue, it was clear sailing.

3. Gilbert and Sullivan

Everyone knows that a good tune with racially offensive lyrics has no better chance of becoming a show stopper than great lyrics put to the music of 17 bassoons and an arm-pit farter. These two musical theatre geniuses learned much from each other after their collaboration began.

2. Lennon and McCartney

One of modern music’s greatest songwriting duos. Both strong willed and highly gifted, but together, with egos checked at the door, they created dozens of unforgettable tunes. Not to be confused with Vladimir Lenin and Senator McCarthy (although some of the music this duo produced, is also quite stunning)

1. Shake and Bake

While many people were initially excited about eating raw chicken coated in seasoning, the high number of horrible, horrible illnesses and deaths attributed to “Shake” lead the product to be recalled and rebranded. An unnamed lowly mailroom clerk suggested “What if we cooked the chicken, like normal, after seasoning it?”. And history was made.

After several weeks of waiting, the fifteen Canadians or so who still care are on the edge of their seats today waiting to hear what the long awaited budget will bring. Once the budget is delivered, the real fun will begin, as all parties will retreat to their caves to see what it all means.

The NDP have already come out to say they will vote against any budget that the Conservatives bring forward, as it is a vote of confidence and the NDP have none in the government. Fair enough, I guess. Even with a delivered budget, there’s no saying that everything that is promised in it, will be honoured, which is the point the NDP are trying to make.

The Liberal Party, which while under Stephane Dion, seemed pretty excited about the prospect of taking down the PM, now seem to have more of a wait and see attitude. While I’m sure the idea of ousting Stephen Harper is appealing to Mr. Ignatieff, the fact that the Governor General may choose to dissolve parliament for another election, rather than allowing a coalition to slide into power has certainly given him pause for thought.

One thing that Stephen Harper was counting on which seems to at least partially happened is that many Canadians have made it loud and clear that they do not want yet another freaking election. Many people would be so annoyed by it, that they might give the Tories enough support to give them a majority government - something that the Liberals in particular would not want to see.

It will be an interesting couple of days for Canadian politics. At least for those of us watching.

I’m glad we have decent healthcare in Canada, even though I despise making use of it.

I’m sitting here in the outpatients waiting area of my local hospital, where I’ve already been for half an hour. In that time, I’ve provided my name, confirmed my address, had a wrist band attached (similar to amusement parks - sadly, the wait can be just as long but the fun is usually much, much less) and been told to have a seat.

Currently, due to various circumstances, my family is one of the bottom feeders in the health care system, with no insurance to cover us at all. I still have access to hospitals and doctors and I don’t think I’ll be turned anyway by the support staff with torches and pitchforks, although looking around the busy room and seeing many people that I know just have the flu or a cold, maybe that wouldn’t be all bad.

What’s interesting here is that there is no separate room or shorter lines for those that have insurance. We’re all in the same boat, so to speak - the HMCS Sit There and Wait. For more serious ailments, there are ways to get service quicker if you have the money, but for your average, run of the mill complaints you make an appointment with your doctor (if you have one) or go to the hospital and wait in line.

I don’t know if lines are longer now then they were a few years ago, but I do know that there always seems to be a shortage of doctors. Not only does it mean whoever is working outpatients on a given day is likely to be swamped, but it means that if you move into a small town, your chances of getting a family doctor are slim and none.

It puts into perspective how bad it must be in some other countries. I know Canada doesn’t have the best medical system in the world, but it’s one of the best - warts and all. There is plenty of room for improvement, but to think that it could be worse, a whole lot worse, makes one appreciate what we have. In a couple of hours or so, I’ll have seen the doctor, gotten any necessary prescriptions (generic brand or whatever is least expensive for us, I’m sure) and be home again. It’s not perfect, but I’m glad it’s as good as it is.

With a the prospect of a coalition government hanging over his head, “somehow” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) details of next weeks budget have already been leaked to the media.

Obviously the leaks are coming from inside the government, as where else would the information come from? Also, if Harper or his cabinet didn’t want the information out, you can bet they’d be more upset than they’ve shown thus far. There’s also the small matter of various government MP’s fanning out across the country to make spending announcements. Coincidence? Please…

Topping the list of what’s coming up seems to be a bevy of tax cuts. I don’t know about you, but I’m still coming down off the high of the two cents being lopped of that GST/HST. Woo! Talk about your difference maker! Of course, it was a difference maker as it turns out. While the average Canadian family barely notices the cut, the Canadian government sure does, to the tune of billions of dollars a year.  See how stupid short-term, populist moves can be?

Tax cuts always play well to the masses, but many of them aren’t very noticeable to people when they examine their bank accounts at the end of the month. The 30 billion dollar plus deficit (and counting) that’s now being projected really isn’t bad given the world economy, but imagine how much better it would be with those dollars still being collected?

I will admit to being firmly in the camp of those people who believe that global warming is real. The evidence that I’ve seen and studied in my four years of undergrad university is pretty compelling.

I don’t have a problem with people looking at research that seems quite legit and coming to their own decisions, but where it starts to get weird to me is when people start spouting theories as to why the other side believes differently.

I suppose there could be a big money-making conspiracy about global warming where some evil cadre of corporations are sitting around a table, chortling at what suckers us believers are.

Has global warming changed my behaviour as a consumer? Not really. Does the thought of global warming bother me? Sure. Although when it’s -20 or colder out, I have to wonder if it’s all a bad thing.

Is it really a bad thing to be more environmentally conscious, whatever your motivation? Turning off lights, recycling, walking more, composting, etc. Do these things make me a sucker? I don’t think they do. And I’m sure my grandkids and their grandkids won’t either.

Now that the government is being coerced into being a little more honest with its numbers, the surpluses to moderate surpluses to small deficits to bigger deficits transformation is complete. I’m by no means an economist or a psychic, nor did I have access to to the books but I was pretty certain this was the direction we were headed quite some time ago.

“People aren’t concerned about the balance sheet of the government,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. “They are concerned about their jobs.”

This is one of those few times where I have to completely agree with what our PM says. To be honest, I’ve never really understood the concept of paying down the debt anyway. I mean, it seems to me that collectively the so called “developed” countries all owe more than you or I can even imagine, and the likelihood of our countries paying off these debts in our lifetime is non-existent.

Hey, surpluses are good even though they mean that the government collected way more of our money than they spent in a given year. I’m really crappy at managing my own money, so I can’t imagine that the government can use it less wisely than I do.

Right now the “prediction” is that Canada will run a deficit of 64 billion over the next two years. This might seem like peanuts to what the U.S. is facing, but it’s still a far cry from what they were telling us only months ago (oddly enough leading up to the election…hmmm). What will the reality be? Only time will tell, but if history is any past indicator, we might be wishing the current numbers are as bad as it gets.

Some people seem to think that Obama retaking the oath is an admission of his own mess up. Those of us who are based in reality know why Obama re-took the oath.

When you have a group of people (read:right wing nuts) who will look for any and all reasons to tear you down, it’s better to have them do it over something that will only create a minor distraction.

As we’ve already witnessed on several occassions with people creating extraneous lawsuits over citizenship, etc., it’s better to throw water on fire early and let those self-serving know it alls say “I told you so” then let them get so frothy at the mouth that they start suing everyone in sight.

Now that these people can no longer question the validity of the swearing in, it provides one less distraction to Obama and his team.

It kind of reminds me of the spoiled child who is always nagging their parents about every little detail, and then get mad when their parents don’t get things done. Who do they blame? Certainly not themselves