Stephen Harper proposes changes to Canadian anthem
Hugh Freaking Dillon
Posts: 14,010
What a crock of shit. Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, has proposed reexamining the lyric "in all they sons command" and changing it to something gender neutral, like "thou dost in us command", which actually was the original verse until the original author changed it years after he wrote it.
Generations have grown up singing this anthem as it is. I'm all for gender equality, but come on, this is getting out of hand.
If Obama (or anyone for that matter) proposed changing the US anthem, he would be dragged out into the street and shot.
Generations have grown up singing this anthem as it is. I'm all for gender equality, but come on, this is getting out of hand.
If Obama (or anyone for that matter) proposed changing the US anthem, he would be dragged out into the street and shot.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
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unfortunately, he's done a lot ... just nothing that's good for Canadians ... just a few Canadians
I still think the notion that Harper has somehow hurt the poor in this country is a myth ...
I actually don't mind his policy in Afghanistan ... what annoys me the most is the how he's hoping to change things without his majority ... he's going to independent boards such as human rights and development agencies and stacking the board or in some cases changing the rules to have his conservative friendly people dictate policy ... previously these boards would be independent and acted without a political agenda ... now, everything has to go through this dictator wanna be ...
his tax cuts has cost Canadians ... most people can't honestly say that those tax cuts have helped meanwhile our budget surpluses are long gone and we ran into defecit faster than what is deemed possible ... you have to understand that the key people behind him are the same people that took Ontario and led them into a huge defecit ... Flaherty has always left behind him a huge mess ...
now - he has the foundation to cut more programs ... plus, his non-action on climate change is short-sighted to say the least ...
the guy doesn't care to listen to anyone ... it's his way or the highway ... take the G8 summit this summer in Toronto ... he's deliberately screwing us ... every single expert on the matter told him to hold it at the Exhibition Grounds where there will be minimal disruption to the residents and be 1000 times more secure - yet, he wants to hold it at the convention centre downtown where security will be a huge nightmare ... and the city has to pay a large chunk of this ... you know there's gonna be tons of protesters - we have a perfectly good site that would allow the protestors there but yet ensure security for the everyone but he's dictating as usual ..
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
I don't disagree with all of this, but I will say that the economic downturn means that we were going to run a deficit no matter who was holding the reins and the budget surplus was going to evaporate. Recall that it was the opposition parties that forced the issue of a stimulus package and tons of spending to fight the poor economy. Climate change ... Something needs to happen urgently, but nothing was happening under previous administrations either. As I've said before, Kyoto was toothless and we need more than lip service, which was all that the Liberals were doing.
Yes and no. I don't think its fair or accurate to equate Harper with Bible thumpers who think that women all need to be barefoot and pregnant. People have a beef with his daycare views and I can understand that. Some families have no choice but to take the daycare route. My own personal view is that one parent (male or female) home with the kids is a good thing, assuming that it can happen. Its probably this view that makes me less inclined to bash Harper on this issue, but I can undertstand why others would.
the surplus was paying down debt and would be available for the rainy days ... his cuts got rid of the Surplus and then when the economic downturn came - we were essentially screwed ... as for the stimulus - he created a constitutional crisis by outwardly lying ... Flaherty said we wouldn't have a defecit last year in their throne speech ... any moron would know we were gonna run one but like everything else - they tried to lie and got caught ... look back at the guy's economic forecast from like 18 mths ago ... lies ...
as for climate change - we used to champion that cause but now we goto international meetings and aim to sabotage the negotiations ... they didn't give us the fossil award for no reason ... also, as said long before his election - he curtails to the oil industry and based on his throne speech he is now at least admitting that ...
the reality is that much of his cabinet are indeed backward-thinking ... look at the immigration minister - he removed any reference to gay rights in our immigration documents despite the pleas of the deputy minister and all the staff ... another indication of who's running the show ...
Call me cynical, but what recent administration HASN'T lied and got caught about some issue or another? That don't make it right, but this is a system issue and not particular to one party or person.
I share some of your concerns about the oil industry, believe me, and I won't make excuses on that.
well ... 1. it doesn't make it right if others do it ... and 2. he created a constitutional crisis because of it ... i mean c'mon ... saying we would have a surplus when we ended up billions in debt is aimed to manipulate the populace in the worst ways ...
and what of his recent prorogation? ... what major accomplishment did we get with his time off ... based on the throne speech ... not a whole lot ...
and this stuff is the tip of the iceberg ... his intervention in independent boards is as undemocratic as it comes ... we have whole boards resigning because of his meddling
Facts...Sources...Please
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
As for Prorogation Jean Cretian did it 4 times federally, Trudeau did it 8 times I believe and Bob Rae had 2 of the longest Prorogations ever, and he's been the most vocal about.
The deficit was going to happen because the world economy collapsed. Some of that deficit occured because he also gave the provinces more of their money back, a province like Ontario would be totally screwed if some of the transfers weren't restored.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
They all do it, I don't know if Mulroney did it, but I imagine he did. I think people need to relax, we have one of the strongest economies in the world and are not facing the same challenges or problems that many other countries are.
As for the oil out west, they are going to drill for it and get the oil out of the tar sands, they have plenty of something the world wants and needs and it's probably going to be a big reason why are economy stays strong. Here in Ontario I wish we had the same opportunities, instead where stuck with automotive and manufacturing sector that is losing jobs yearly to cheap labor in other countries. At least that have to drill for the oil here
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Its funny to me how Liberal party supporters are the first to knock Harper for being "pro-big business" and such, but at the same time laud this party for this previous financial surplus. Is money important or not, guys? :P I realize that one can have a sound economy and still keep healthy controls on corporate entities, which is not far off my personal preferred view on the matter. But the Liberals are not any more balanced that Harper's crew in this regard.
why is it that every criticism of harper/conservatives is met with criticisms of the liberals!? ... frig - i never voted for those crooks ever in my life (provincially or federally) ...
chretien never prorouged gov't because he was gonna be unseated as prime minister ... there is a huge difference ...
the deficit was caused primarily by the gst cuts ... there is a structural defecit now - taxes need to be raised
i guess there is no point in talking about the additional tax cuts and money for big oil in the budget as all i'll get is something about what paul martin did a decade ago ...
You're damn right you will. You better be damn thankful that he did prorogue parliament, you know what kind of shape the country would be in if the the stooges were running this country.
Let's talk about Martin's shipping companies, most flagged in foreign countries so they didn't have to pay higher taxes here. Paul Martin using private health care clinics, paying with his credit card.
The deficit will be eliminated once the economy grows, which it will. The federal government is drawing revenue from 10 provinces and 3 territories.
I can go on all day if you like. We can even shift to the Ontario Lieberals.
Do I like everything Harper has done, of course not, of the 3 leaders to choose from he's the best. Who really woulg trust Layton? How about Iggy? Just because your birth certificate, says your Canadian doesn't make you Canadian, he spent the previous 30 years in the UK and the States.
Whether we like it or not corporations are always going to get tax breaks.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
uhhhh ... you CAN start a thread about the Liberals and fill it with whatever you want ... apparently, you missed the part that i said i never voted for those crooks ... and your failure to address the points i made suggests you are one of those partisan people i think will ultimately be the death of a democracy ...
there would never have been a constitutional crisis if harper did not try to deliberately manipulate the populace by lying about fiscal updates and threatening to take away funding to the opposition parties ...
there is a structural deficit - it means that even when the economy recovers ... we will still be running a deficit ... Flaherty did this in Ontario as you should know and now he's running the same play book for Canada ...
I think threatening the other parties' funding was an incredible blunder on Harper's part, and yeah, this sparked the so-called crisis. It was a dumb move, although the crisis did provide an interesting political barometer: Most (probably all) polls suggested that few wanted another election. Most wanted someone at the helm during the economic downturn, and Harper was already there.
Actually I'm not partisan, I do pay taxes so that gives me a right to have an opinion, I actually don't participate in the voting process. You speak of the death of democracy, that shipped sailed long ago. One of the main reason Harper doesn't bother me as much as others is quite simply he'll never get a majority and with him around neither will the other parties. I fail to see how people figure it's a true democracy when you vote and the government of the day just does what it wants, but never mentioned it during the election.
Look at Ontario, lets see, McSpendy never mentioned health tax, HST, wasting 1 billion on e health, etc.
Some of the deficit is structural but a vat majority is stimulus spending. If they keep the budget the same for the next 5 or so years and revenue grows the deficit will be gone, common sense tells me that. If I get a raise at work and my spending level stays the same I'll have either more money in my pocket or I can lower my debt. The secret is for them to keep spending inline.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
I agree that was a big mistake, however, why should taxpayers foot the bill for thee parties? I still think most want Harper at the helm. I can't see Iggy ever winning, during the campaign all they have to do is mention how much time he spent in the states, that will rile up enough people to vote another direction.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
the reality is that harper is very close to his majority ... as long as the centre and left continue to split the vote - he is only like 12 seats or so from a majority ...
if you're talking about oil - those guys in alberta will need another war to push oil back up to $90 a barrel ... alberta has been hit hard because oil has come back down ... relying on oil revenues is akin to relying on selling solar powered flashlights for sustainability ... beyond the fact it's role in climate change - it makes absolutely no sense to subsidize an industry like that ...
Pretty much. I feel that there isn't a great centrist option right now, and I have a bitch of a time with how to vote every election.