Throne Speech/Budget 2010 Should Show Fiscal Constraint

Mulder

Did I hear my ears correctly? Did Michael Ignatieff say the throne speech looked more like “regurgitation” than recalibration. Really Michael?? Regurgitation?

Are you actually saying that this throne speech is chunder? That it heaves? That it blows chunks? Seriously? You couldn’t find any other way to say you didn’t like it?

I am glad the government is doing things that aren’t expensive. I’m glad that Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty is starting to show some fiscal constraint. The budget tomorrow is slated to reduce the deficit and being a fiscal conservative I expect to be smiling once it is all over.

The massive spending that was undertaken in the last 12 months was needed but fiscal constraint now will show that the spending was real stimulus and not structural in nature. With the Americans on the verge of signing up for universal Obamacare (which IS structural in nature… and certainly not cheap), and economies of several countries in turmoil, it will set the tone for the world in terms of what other nations should do and put us in a well respected situation. Our credit rating is good. We manage ourselves well.

The country my parented emigrated from, Greece, has raised their sales tax from 19 to 21% and announced cuts of 30% to public service workers. By comparison, this Flaherty/Harper budget will not raise taxes but instead shows simple fiscal restraint and will trim some fat. The salaries of our elected officials will freeze along with office budgets, but pensions will be unaffected.

This is all good.

I would rather see the budget balanced but I think heading towards the $2B by 2014-15 is a big step back in the right direection. Iggy and Jacko may not like it, but that just means it will be my kind of budget.

As Canadian As Having A Beer

Mulder

I was watching a short interview with Jon Montgomery and I felt bad that he had to note that he was not an alcoholic or anything after he was filmed taking a couple of gulps out of a pitcher of beer shoved into his hands after he won gold in the Men’s Skeleton. Don’t worry Jon. I think Canadians know you aren’t. You were just being Canadian.

And then the women’s hockey team had their celebratory beer (and a bit of sparkling wine) on the ice where they had won gold a short time earlier. It’s ok girls. I think Canadians are forgiving you as well. You weren’t slamming shots like Marion Ravenwood in her bar in Nepal. And about the 18 year old on the team who is a tad too young to legally drink in B.C.? I just note that in every country except Canada and the USA, that same girl would have already been drinking legally so if the whole world doesn’t mind, who am I to argue.

As for how beer is good in other ways? Well I personally have bet a case of Sleeman’s vs. a case of Yuengling with an American friend and another with my American cousin on today’s Olympic gold medal hockey game. It’s all in good fun and bragging rights are a fun way of thickening our skins and laughing and enjoying sport with each other. It’s why the Olympics were so successful back in ancient times and it’s why they are now. I think battling it out with hockey sticks as opposed to battling it out with artillery and then having a beer is simply the best way diplomacy happens.

Even our Prime Minister apparently has a friendly wager with President Obama that involves beer. It’s things like this that make me smile and know that no matter what is going on in the world, Canada and the USA can rib each other, share different views on the occasional issue and even on occasion put up a bit of a barrier at the national level. But the bonds that tie our nations together are bigger than one fat rope connecting Washington to Ottawa. The bonds that bind us are the thousands, nay millions of tiny threads that have sewn our nations together, the same way I am part of many of those strands. My friendships and family are scattered all over the USA as I am sure is the case with millions of other Canadians.

So win or lose today, I encourage everyone to sit back tonight, watch the closing ceremonies, have a beer and be happy knowing that we threw one hell of a party for the world…and we served beer.

How Canadian.

My Message To Our Olympians – Canada Loves You All

Mulder

I love the Olympics. I always have. I think our Olympians need to know that whether they own the podium or not, that we love them all. I see a few post event interviews with some Canadians who seem dejected and feel like they have let us down. It’s ok to feel that way. In fact, I think it might even be natural. But don’t get too far down in the dumps. You are at the elite level on the whole planet which makes you pretty darn good at what you do.

And us Canadians? Well I think it is obvious that we love every athlete willing to put in the hours, days, weeks, months, years of dedication to reach where you have and that you are willing to go and do it in front of the world on behalf of all Canadians.

Of course we get REALLY REALLY REALLY enthusiastic when one of us is the best in the world. We should be. But a 7th or a 5th or a 29th or a 56th just means that you are better at your craft than over 5 BILLION other people in the world. For that you deserve to keep your chin up.

So my message to athletes like Mellisa Hollingsworth and Denny Morrison, who have both felt like they let us down, just know we were smiling and cheering you on and happy for you. We’re all proud of you.

Tiger's Words Before They Are Spoken

Mulder

Tiger Woods is speaking to the press Friday. My prediction on what he is going to say.

I’m sorry if I have hurt my fans. (interpret as “I am sorry if I lost my sponsors”)

I know I have hurt my wife and family. (interpret as “We’re probably through”)

I have been seeking counselling for my problem. (interpret as “This is my way of saying I am trying to fix myself…but don’t really care to do so because I had a hell of a ride…or many rides”)

I am going to get back to my career. (interpret as “The PGA is dying without me on tour so they are paying me a ton of money to come back sooner than I was expecting.”)

I look forward to doing well in the upcoming tournaments. (interpret as “My wife is taking a boatload of my money and I need to make some on tour”)

Thank you to those who supported me. (interpret as “Screw off you vultures who made jokes and laughed and poked fun at my situation.”

Partisanship aside…

Mulder

We argue and fight and yell at each other.  We bicker about where money should be spent, how much should be spent, when it should be spent.  We fight tooth and nail over how to accomplish a task and the number of hands that need to be involved in accomplishing it.  We can be partisan to the core sometimes.

But we all can stop pulling in opposite directions on occasion and all pull in the same direction.

Today is one of those days where I can safely say that every Dipper, Bloc, Liberal and Conservative is sending best wishes to Jack Layton in his battle with the big C.  I hope he has a speedy and full recovery and I will personally say a prayer tonight for him and for every other person dealing with this.

We know you will be back to perfect health and riding that bike down Danforth Ave. again once the snow is gone.

This Is Not Al Gore's Dog, Because Surely This Dog Would Welcome Global Warming

Mulder

With record cold in the southern USA, plenty of snow in London, and other weird weather trends hitting us, I just thought I would point out that this is not new. Back in the beginning of December I was in Mexicali, Mexico and one morning while driving from the hotel to work, I saw this and managed to snap a shot with my BlackBerry.

Not Al Gore's Dog Freezing In MexicoClick to enlarge photo

Please do not deep link to this photo and please provide credit if you are going to pilfer it for your own nefarious uses. Anything less would be considered cheesy. 🙂

Sun Tzu Approves Of Harper's Decision To Proroguing Parliament

Mulder

Sun Tzu, author of Art of War, (the world reknowned book often referred to as the bible on military strategy) would have been in favour of the Prime Minister proroguing parliament. Here is a bullet version of how I came to this conclusion.

1) The Conservative objective is to move conservative legislation through parliament (both the House and the Senate)

2) The Liberals are decimated and fractured in the House so their strategy has been to parry the conservative legislation in the Senate where they have had the majority.

3) Sun Tzu wrote “What is of supreme importance in war is to upset the enemy’s strategic plans.” Hence, the Conservatives need to upset the parrying in the Senate.

4) The only way to do this is to gain control of the Senate (and thus the Senate committees)

5) Proroguing at this time buys the Conservatives enough time to do this.

Chessmaster Harper scores another point.

Ottawa Green Bins A Waste of Waste Part 2

Mulder

So in an honest effort to take part, I have been filling my countertop green bin with coffee grounds/filters, turkey bones, pork chop bones, lettuce ends, onion peels, egg shells and dirty paper towels for the past two weeks.

Last Sunday night I went to lift the paper bag (lined with a plastic) that came with the bin out of it and the bottom of the bag fell out effectively making the bag more waste.

So I went to the grocery store and spent 6 bucks on 20 plasticky type compostable bags.

I wonder if this bag will also start to compost before I get a chance to toss it out.

PREDICTION: The green bin program will fall flat on it’s face within 3 months leaving us nowhere to put our eggshells except on the face of Ottawa’s left wing city councilors.

Sent via Borgberry cybernetic implant. (You too will be assimilated)

Ottawa Green Bins A Waste For Waste

Mulder

Today the City of Ottawa began green bin collection of compostable household waste. This green bin now compliments the blue bin and black bin in my garage, as well as the (currently green) trash bin I use.

But the logic of this program fails me. Here’s an example.

The current black box program takes many things. It takes magazines (which are paper), newspapers (which are paper), shredded paper (which is surprisingly … paper), fine paper (guess what this is made of?), and books (which other than an Amazon Kindle is more paper), boxboard (which is the thicker paper your cereal boxes and other items are made of), gift wrapping paper (again more paper) and finally, egg cartons (which are a thicker version of newsprint paper).

The black box is ALSO for unsoiled pizza boxes which is a form of thicker (often corrugated) paper.

The new green bin program now accepts soiled pizza boxes. Ergo it can process cardboard. Ergo it can process paper. Ergo it can process EVERYTHING that the black box program accepts.

So why the heck didn’t they just have the black bin program accept the stuff we can compost on top of what it already takes? (or why not just have the green bin take the black bin products too and eliminate the black bin altogether?)

The lunacy of it all amazes me. The new green bin program is costing us about $90 per ton tipping fees to the company that was signed up to do this for 20 more years. The old tipping fees for standard trash were under $40 per ton. That’s getting officially screwed.

All I need now is a brown bin (for my dog waste), an orange bin (for my fall leaves), a red bin (for my meat scraps) and I can put a rainbow of trash out every week. Simply lovely.