OfficiallyScrewed

Electoral Reform Reminder

Mulder

This article (thanks Charles Adler for the link) is another reminder for me about how easily our own Canadian electoral system can be manipulated.  I have brought this up several times with friends, family, political allies, MPs, Ministers, etc.  Yet still our system is broken.

You see in Canada you are supposed to be a Canadian Citizen to vote.  Yet our system has so many ways in it that let non Canadians in to vote illegally.

1)  We have a vouching system.  This is when one person has no identification but has a friend who IS on the voter’s list there to vouch for them.  This helps create problem 2.

2)  Once you have been vouched for, you are now on the voting list.  This means the next election, you can then vouch for up to two people who may not be Canadian citizens.  This means that technically one Canadian could vouch for two friends.  One election later, those two non eligible voters could each vouch for two friends. (now we are at 4 ineligble voters).  And then in the third election, we are at potentially 8 ineligible voters.  This reminds me of the old shampoo commercial.  And you’ll tell two friends.  And they’ll tell two friends, and so on.

3)  The glue that binds all these together is the fact that you do not need to show proof of citizenship to vote.  This is simply ridiculous.

The law says you need to be a Canadian citizen yet it offers several ways for non Canadians to sneak in on the system.  In m y opinion,  you should be required to have your citizenship card or passport or a photo ID/Birth Certificate combination to vote.

That’s it.  That’s all.  Anything less to me is unacceptable.

The only way this can really be achieved is to either a) bring back enumeration or b) scrap the voter’s list completely and restart with the current list of provincial birth certificates and federal citizenship and passport lists.  Then EVERYone voting should be required to show proof of citizenship to get a ballot.

Sylvester The Cat Elected To Birdcage Safety Panel

Mulder

In the news today, Sylvester the Cat was elected to sit on the panel responsible with determining the safety guidelines and regulations on bird cages. He made it clear that he feels the tensile strength regulations on bird cages are too stringent and that cost reductions can be realized if a thinner material was used for the wireframes. He also felt that all bird cages should be within three feet of the ground for better viewing by children. The panel will be releasing their final report soon.

In a similar story, Homer Simpson was elected to sit on the Board of Directors for the Vegan Society of America. He overcame setbacks such as his past quote “If God didn’t want us to eat meat, he wouldn’t have made it taste so good.” and “MMmmmmm….Porkchops….” He SAYS he’s reformed and the Board felt he was being genuine in his denouncement of the statements.

And additionally, Iran has been elected to the United Nations Commission on Women’s Rights. Mahmoud Ahmadinnerjacket made it clear that the Iranian policy to stone women who have a tan is simply an effort to minimize skin cancer rates in the hot middle eastern country. Three women were not found to refute his testimony on this fact so it must be true.

Talk about being OfficiallyScrewed.

Let Them Eat Lokoumades

Mulder

I’m Canadian but I am also a first generation Greek Canadian. My parents immigrated to Canada in the mid 1960’s and the past few months I have been seething about what is going on in Greece. You see I often joke about the woprldwide recession not affecting Greece because Greece has been in a depression for 100 years.

I guess I was wrong. They CAN sink lower.

The name Papandreou is pretty much dirt to me now. It was dirt to my father when it was Andreas Papandreou and now it is just as distasteful when it is George Papandreou. Their socialist parties have built (or better termed) torn down a nation full of people who now would rather suckle the European teat than to pull their bootstraps up and get to work. Three Generations of Papendreou’s have systematically turned Greece into a 3rd world nation.

When more than 50% of citizens pay no taxes a nation will fail.

When the government spends 13% more than it takes in every day a nation will fail.

And now Greeks won’t let their government cut programs to balance the books.

They expect the EU to bail them out.

I say let them eat lokoumades.

When my parents immigrated they brought with them a sense of national pride. They brought with them a sense of values and a work ethic we see in so many that have immigrated to Canada for a better life.

That sense of pride is now gone. Greeks would rather go begging to the EU with hat in hand. For shame.

I know my father wold roll over in his grave if he knew how low his mother country had sunk.

Liberal Bob Rae Indirectly Supports Foreign Aid Monies Being Used To Support Child Slave Labour

Mulder

Ok. Maybe that’s a stretch, but not by much.

But Liberal Bob Rae thinks that money we give nations should not hold a caveat that lets us impose our ideology on those countries. He said exactly just that when addressing the decision by our government to not allow our foreign aid to be used to pay for abortions.

Liberal MP Bob Rae told reporters in Ottawa the Federal Government is trying to impose its moral agenda on other countries, adding “Canada is now taking an ideological position and, frankly, I think they’ve raised something which could well have been avoided in the effort to create a stronger international consensus.”

So where does Liberal Bob Rae draw the line? Ideology has a very broad description.

If we decided to give foreign aid to Lebanon would he be ok with them using that money to buy bombs and drop those bombs on Israel? THAT is ideology.

If we decided to give money to a Afghanistan, would he be ok with them using that money to buy acid to throw in the face of women who do not wear a burka? THAT is ideology.

If we decided to give foreign aid to Afghanistan, would he be ok with them using that money to grow Opium and sell it for import into Canada? THAT is ideology.

If we decided to give foreign aid to China….oh wait we DO give foreign aid to China….would he be ok if they took that money and ran over student protesters with tanks in Tiananmen Square? THAT is ideology.

Liberal Bob Rae has NO scruples. None. He is well past his due date but his orange roots are clearly showing.

Liberal Leader Michael Zsohar's Circle Includes Supporters Of International Drug Traffickers

Mulder

Yup.  You heard right.

On Sunday’s Question Period in an interview with Craig Oliver, Michael Zsohar claimed the Prime Minister’s judgment was in question for how he handled the situation surrounding Rahim Jaffer’s original arrest for drunk driving and cocaine posession.  He asked if the PM called Ms Guergis in to ask her what was going on?  How could this have happened? As if it was the Prime Minister’s fault.

From the Turnaround Is Fair Play department,  how does Michael Zsohar sleep at night knowing one of his MP’s has written letters in support of an international drug trafficker?

How bad is his judgment that Michael Zsohar, once acclaimed as leader of the Liberal party, did not boot Sukh Dhaliwal from Caucus when the MP for Newton-North Delta claimed an international drug trafficker was rehabilitated?

Surrey Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal has written to a U.S. District Court judge on official House of Commons stationery in support of convicted international drug trafficker Ranjit Singh Cheema, The Vancouver Sun has learned.

Cheema was sentenced in California this week to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to smuggle 200 kilograms of heroin from Pakistan to North America in 1998.

The drugs were supposed to be exchanged with cocaine from a Colombian cartel in a deal that was intercepted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Dhaliwal’s letter, dated July 9, 2008 and addressed to Judge Stephen V. Wilson, says the Newton-North Delta MP had met Cheema at “community engagements” and that the gangster seemed to be fully rehabilitated after fighting extradition for 10 years.

Michael Zsohar should put his money where his mouth is and reprimand his drug trafficker supporting MP.  I mean come on. He wrote a letter supporting a guy who planned to bring 200 kilograms of Heroin into North America.  200 Kilograms!!  For real??  Yes For real.

Michael Zsohar needs to work on his judgment. And now you know how stretching the truth and making allegations can be turned around on you don’t you Mr. Zsohar.

Obama Advisor and Ex Fed Chairman Paul Volcker Says VAT Not "Toxic"

Mulder

President Obama advisor and former federal reserve chairman Paul Volcker starts toying with the national VAT tax. This is similar to our 5% GST and similar to the 20% seen in many European countries.

The U.S. should consider using a European-style value added tax to help bring the deficit down, said White House adviser Paul Volcker in response to a question from CBS MoneyWatch.com at a panel discussion in New York City Tuesday night. “We have to think about really revamping the tax system,” said Volcker, who’s best known for successfully beating down inflation while serving as Ronald Reagan’s Federal Reserve chairman. The VAT, a levy on all the goods and services you consume, is not a “toxic idea,” he added.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you about the potential of getting OfficiallyScrewed.

Is This Stone Too Big To Pass?

Mulder

Could this be true?  Are doctor’s going to revolt now that Obamacare is here?  This sign was discovered on the door of a urology center in Florida.

Sign On FLA Urologist Door

The sign was on the door of Dr. Jack Cassell, M.D. P.A. at the “Urology of Mount Dora”

Now, having suffered the trials and tribulations of trying to find a family doctor here in Ottawa, I have to say I found this both amusing and disturbing at the same time.  I know that my last family doctor actually told me that he had to interview US.  Talk about disturbing.  In a day and age where competition abounds in every industry, the medical industry is exempt.  Doctors with family practices actually get to choose their patients.   The reason we were given was that the doctor wanted to make sure that he had variety in his patients. i.e. not all patients being seniors or babies etc.  I didn’t think about it at the time, but I WAS being discriminated against.

Lucky for me he up and moved to Calgary (from Ottawa) 2 years later leaving us without a family doctor again.

“I’m not turning anybody away — that would be unethical,” Dr. Jack Cassell, 56, a Mount Dora urologist and a registered Republican opposed to the health plan, told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. “But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it.”

So how is this sign in the USA different from what our last family doctor discriminated?  Is it legal?  Do you think he can lose his license over this?  Is he within his rights?  Is he upholding the Hippocratic oath?  What’s your take?

Is it the doctor or Obamacare that have OfficiallyScrewed some Florida residents out of this doctor’s urological care?

ADDENDUM

Dr. Cassell appeared on Fox News and told Neil Cavuto that he would not turn away a patient if they walked in and said they voted for Obama. He did say he would hand them a two page pamphlet letting them know how Obamacare is going to affect them. To me it sounded like he had dug into the healthcare bill and noted that many aspects of patient care would change and he would be pointing them out.

Quebec LIBERALS Push Provincial Portion Of Sales Tax To A Whopping 9.5%

Mulder

This is what $7/day daycare gets you.

I am a big proponent of making sure each level of government pays for the programs it wants to see and Quebec has quite obviously been a bit left of center compared to the rest of Canada. Seeing them raise the Provincial portion of their harmonized sales tax to pay for the lifestyle they want makes me happy because hopefully it means I won’t have to pay for their lifestyle.

Brian Mulroney took one on the chin (no cheap shot intended) when he brought in the GST, but what I liked about two separate taxes was that they let us see which government was raising or lowering taxes.

So consider this post my way of shouting out to everyone in Quebec. It was a LIBERAL government that raised your taxes.

Meanwhile back in Ottawa, their federal LIBERAL cousins are working hard to keep Conservatives from CUTTING taxes.

Quebec taxpayers getting OfficiallyScrewed at the till by Liberals.

McGuinty's Car – One Forward Gear, Three Reverse Gears

Mulder

“I will not raise taxes.”

And then he brought in the health premium and cut health spending on numerous services.

“No NEW Taxes”

And then he proposed the HST, which albeit a merger of the PST and GST, will become the largest single tax grab in Ontario history once all is said and done.

And then we have legal obligations being avoided and buried 164 pages into the budget.

Under the Local Health Systems Integration Act, 2006, the McGuinty Government is legally required to subject the LHINs to a full public legislative review by March 28, 2010. Rather than be forced to subject the LHINs to public scrutiny, the McGuinty Liberals have instead buried a provision on page 164 of the Budget that would eliminate the obligation to hold this review.

Are we getting OfficiallyScrewed? You Betcha.

H/T MPP Lisa MacLeod