Its not easy being Green

So the Conservatives "won" the Canadian election and we'll all get happily on with our lives. A bit of ex post analysis (read ranting) may be warranted.

I am amazed at the degree to which the pundits are saying that the Conservatives won this great victory. It seems to me they increased their seats substantially but I really expected more. The growth in Quebec is very interesting and suggested at first to me that Quebecers thought they could get into government with a vote for the Conservatives. A decrease in Bloc vote would support that hypothesis. On the other hand it looks mostly likely like a federalist leap from Liberals to the Conservatives. I really don't understand why the people of Quebec are so much more offended by the "sponsorship" scandal than others in Canada but it seems they were. The Conservatives fell far short of my expectations and I think they blew the opportunity.

I was surprised that the Liberals didn't do worse. This could have been a masacre of Kim Campbellian proportions but they kept it together despite a definitive schadenfreude in the media. I'm a historic Conservative supporter and really thought they were treated unfairly and held up remarkably well. A large number of other Canadians seemed to think so to. Now they ditch Paul Martin and elect some other wiener and we'll see where it goes.

It will be interesting to see how Stephen Harper does. Can he get rid of the discomfort and distrust Canadians feel about him and his band of rightwing men before Canadians fall in love with Frank McKenna or Michael Ignatieff? Its a race for the hearts of Canadians to see who forms the next majority government.

Its kind of like a mail order bride (work with me on this one) because everyone wants a majority (to get married) but none of the choices seem that great. I was disillusioned with the whole process and voted Green. There seems to be no where for Libertarians to go. Greens had some interesting things to say. My home riding is so overwhelmingly Conservative that this was low risk.

Sorry Jack - can't take you seriously.

It will be an interesting parliament. It will be really interesting to see if we migrate to some sort of proportional representation as the Conservatives and the NDP (and my Greens) seem to advocate. That would make things interesting on an ongoing basis (or perhaps solidfy the two party system??) and be a nightmare for the Bloc. Does that require a consitutional change.

Off and ranting

Its been a while since I've had the opportunity for a stream of conciousness rant but I'll give it a try. Here are some quick "what were they thinking" thoughts.

1. A couple recently kidnapped a woman in southern Ontario somewhere and tried to get a ransom. When none was forthcoming, they took her to a strip club and tried to make her lap dance for tips so they could raise some cash. Apparently they hadn't considered the possibility that she might try to get help. They got busted. Are some people really that stupid?
   
   
2. I will preface this one by saying that I am opposed to the death penalty but this one made me wonder. The State of California yesterday executed a 76 year old man who was found guilty of a number of murders. There did not appear to be any doubt as to his guilt.
   
   
   1) Opponents said it was cruel and unusually to execute and old and sickly man so he should be spared. Am I to understand that its better to kill a young person in robust health? This seems ridiculous.
   2) The man had suffered a heart attack in September and had been nursed back to health. He had requested that he not be resuscitated if he were to suffer another. With no hint of a smile, a representative of the Department of Corrections said that they had to "respect the sanctity of life" and could not stand by and watch him die without resuscitation. They would intervene so that they could kill him later. This. too, seems ridiculous. Look up irony in the dictionary. It may say something about taking heroic measures to save someone's life againstg thier will so you can stick a needle in their arm and kill them later.
   
   
3. Why do people drive in the fast lane if they are going slow and no one is in the slow lane????? I commute an hour each way every day and it boggles my mind how many idiots feel the need to stay in the left lane of a four lane highway when the right one is empty. Inconsiderate? Stupid? Blissfully unaware?? All of the above? One guy was going 5 km below the limit the other day and gave me the finger when I passed him on the right with no other cars within 500 metres. If you do that on the autobahn in Germany they will right you a ticket. They should do the same in North America.
   
   
4. Someone paid $25,000 US for William Shatner's kidney stone. Need I say more. The end is near.
   
   
   
5. Textbook publishers need to figure out that the Internet exists. They publish different international editions of the same textbook and price it highest in North America where they feel they can extract the most money. It seems unreasonable, though, that I can buy a book new online and ship it here (for more than the book costs me) and still be about 25% of the way to a new copy of the book at my University bookstore. And they are complaining that they are selling fewer books in North America.
   
   
6. why do I know that Leif Garret got arrested? Why is Angelina's pregnancy on the front page of my paper (though not in the economist - shameless plug) right next to suicide bombings in Iraq and news on the Canadian election? See William Shatner's kidney stone above.
   

Some random thoughts to get things started.