Yes

...I need a bit of time

Canadian Politics!

After spending a bit of time reading peoples' opinions on the recent goings-on in the Canadian Parliament, I've come to the conclusion that people are very misinformed as to how the system works.

Things people have said:

"I didn't vote for Dion, I voted for Harper"
Unless you live in Harper's riding, you didn't vote for Harper, either. You voted to elect an MP to represent you and your fellow constituents in the House of Parliament. The person's party affiliation may have been why you voted for them, but strictly speaking, that is not how things work.

"This is illegal"
No it's not. Read this: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/parl_gov_01-e.asp

"A separatist coalition will tear our country apart"
Gilles Duceppe and his party have agreed to -support- the coalition, but they were not asked to be a part of it. This means the cabinet will be comprised of Liberal and NDP party members only.

"We need the Conservatives to stay in power so we can make sure things can get done"
At this point, no single party has enough seats in the house to pass anything without the support of another party - that's what a minority government is all about. The -only- way 'things can get done' is if a majority of the members of parliament can agree on it, and a coalition provides the necessary numbers.

The bottom line is this - there are four ways this can go:

1. The hand of God reaches down and everyone votes in favour of Harper, then he passes his absurd budget and the country likely does not deal with the impending financial collapse very well.

2. The house votes to tell the Governor General that they do not have confidence that Harper can run the country. Harper resigns and asks for an election. We have an election.

3. The house votes to tell the Governor General that they do not have confidence that Harper can run the country. Harper resigns and asks for an election. The Governor General says 'No', and asks Stephane Dion to run the government. Since Dion, Duceppe, and Layton already have a signed agreement that they will cooperate for a minimum of 18 months, Parliament will proceed with a Liberal/NDP coalition, backed by the PQ.

4. Harper prorogues Parliament until late January, at which point he presents another budget. The likelihood of this happening is fairly slim; the Governor General will likely not allow this to happen. If it does, we essentially return to number 1 in January.

Given the options, I don't see how anyone could possibly think a coalition government is not the best choice. If you do, why so?

Dear TSN:

I think your appropriation of the Hockey Night in Canada theme is despicable, and I will be doing everything I can to dissuade people from watching your broadcasts.

Thanks for nothing,

Andy Mikula

Forty-Two

As you are most likely aware, we had a Provincial election yesterday. Alberta is, depending on how you look at it, doing either extremely well or extremely poorly. In some regards, both are true - unemployment is low, and as a province we have more money than we (apparently) know what to do with. There are also record numbers of working homeless, and Food Bank use has skyrocketed. House prices are through the roof, and condo conversions are essentially forcing people on to the streets.

Let me run a number by you, here. On February 19th, we were on track to post a $4.2-billion surplus. Most of this money is going to savings accounts and funds for building projects. (http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/02/19/third-quarter.html?ref=rss, retrieved on Mar. 4, 2008) Why isn't this money going into affordable housing? Why aren't we creating jobs? Maybe giving more money to the health care system so we can afford to hire full-time nurses and keep doctors in the province?

I have no idea. It seems absurd that the government wouldn't know about these problems - after all, they're the ones making the decisions. If they don't know, and people were concerned, then perhaps we wouldn't vote them back into office?

Voter turnout was 42% this year. That means that only 22% of eligible voters cared enough to go and support the Progressive Conservative party. Where was everyone else? Did you have something more important to do?

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torn!

Having no idea who reads this makes this a bit weird. I suppose that is the nature of the internet, however, and I should just deal with it.

I don't know where I'm going. As far as the next...six months go, I guess. Basically right now I have four possibilities, which can pretty well fit into two categories, which are "go to school" and "work". The latter could be...staying where I am and hoping things get better, applying for another job at the place where I am contracted, burning a bridge in the process, or piecing together part-time jobs until May next year, and basically having the job I thought would be so cool when I was in grade five. Of course, the first two are the only two I have a one-hundred percent chance of achieving, if 'achieving' is even really the right word.

I kindof feel like I'm going in circles. Is significantly larger amount of money (assuming this is even possible) and full-time indefinitely better than the chance to run the whole show (but only full-time for four months)? Is going to school really what I want to be doing right now, or am I just still stuck in that "it's what's best for you" mode?

I know that isn't it, but it's something. I need to feel like I'm doing something - anything that involves the same thing happening on a recurring basis is absolute torture, as far as I'm concerned. It's like working in a call-centre - talk to someone, wait for the next call. Talk to someone, wait for the next call.

Talk to someone...take a break. Wait for the next call.

Mind-numbing. Which is a phrase I might use to describe what I'm doing now, too - less mind-numbing than Dell, sure. More pay and consistent hours, definitely...but obviously that's not the point, not unless it's a hugely significant amount more.

Which brings me back - assuming school isn't definite, and assuming I don't want to be in the same place I am now in 8 months, which do I pursue? If presented with a choice, which do I pick? I don't know!

I'm kindof having a similar problem in another area of my life, but I don't really think that's publicly-readable kind of material...at least, not yet. I'm looking forward to this weekend, however. Four days off of work is never a bad thing!

more re: pawn shops

I'm sure everyone has heard a great story of someone finding something
valuable for a very low price at a pawn shop. I also suspect that such
things are few and far between now, with the popularity of the internet
and websites such as eBay telling us exactly how much someone is willing
to pay for any particular item.

Luckily for me, this pawn shop proprietor did not have the access /
foresight needed to obtain such information!

In I walked at lunchtime on Friday, with a keen eye for (as usual)
guitars and related equipment. Out I walked with a few hundred less of
my hard-earned dollars, and two guitar amps. One: a Fender Champ,
produced in the 1970s, conveniently the very model I had been scouring
eBay for in the past year, but I could never justify three-hundred
dollars or so for another guitar amp when I had no real need for it. The
other, a Fender Super Amp, produced in December of 1960. An amp I had
only dreamed about playing through, never mind owning! A piece of
equipment lusted after by professionals and hobbyists alike, the going
price of which, for an unmodified example, is around three-thousand big
ones.

Three-thousand! Let's put this into perspective, folks. I paid
fifteen-hundred for my car, and I drive that more than two hours every
day. I'm lucky if I play the guitar for half that amount of time. Now,
this particular amplifier has had a few parts replaced, and I was told I
"would be very lucky to get two-thousand".

Shucks, only two-thousand? But I paid...wait, right. Two-forty for the
both of them. I suppose I could settle, if I have to.