Barack Obama's campaign has met a major obstacle this week: Jerome Corsi's book, Obama Nation is now at the top of the New York Times Bestseller's List (imagine the NYTimes' horror!). Even though Corsi is a radical right-wing fringe guy, many people are reading Obama Nation. This is mostly because they either feel uneasy about Obama being President, or that they just want to learn more about him because he is relatively new on the political scene - a point that the Mccain campaign has stressed countless times.
Now we hear news that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama! Powell is well liked and respected by both Republicans and Democrats, which will provide a significant boost in Obama's support, and will be a significant setback for the McCain campaign. As a result of this, Obama Nation will be regarded as yesterday's news - all the buzz will be about Colin Powell and Obama.
It is also likely that Obama will make Colin Powell Defence Secretary (if he becomes President). This will put to rest any fears of an Obama administration not being strong on defence and foreign affairs. This development has the potential of not only burying Jerome Corsi's book Obama Nation, it also has a STRONG potential of making Obama President of the United States!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Just Force an Election!
According to The Globe and Mail, PM Harper is thinking about forcing an election this fall. Bring it on! This parliament has become dysfunctional, nothing was getting passed this spring, and all the Liberals did was blab about some fake government scandal. With Dion and the Liberals digging themselves into a big hole over the Green 'Shaft' tax grab, with candidates bailing on them, and with virtually no money coming in from individual contributors, it looks like they will face a "bloodbath" similar to the one New Labour experienced last spring.
With a conservative majority (let's hope), the Liberals will be thrown into a leadership crisis. Also, with the Conservative Convention in November, some true conservative principles can be adopted by the party - ahhh the hidden agenda! With a strong mandate and a leaderless and bankrupt Liberal Party, the Conservatives will not face any serious opposition if any true right wing policies are adopted. I can't wait! You better be ready Dion cause the election you've been wanting since you became leader is right around the corner!
With a conservative majority (let's hope), the Liberals will be thrown into a leadership crisis. Also, with the Conservative Convention in November, some true conservative principles can be adopted by the party - ahhh the hidden agenda! With a strong mandate and a leaderless and bankrupt Liberal Party, the Conservatives will not face any serious opposition if any true right wing policies are adopted. I can't wait! You better be ready Dion cause the election you've been wanting since you became leader is right around the corner!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Canada's Depressing Olympic Performance
Its now day 6 of the Olympics and Canada hasn't won any medals. I know that Canada performs well at the Winter Olympics, and that most of the events that Team Canada is expected to do well in have not started yet, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have at least a few bronze medals by now - come on, countries like Kyrgyzstan have won medals (no offence to any Kyrgyzstanis).
Calling Canada a "winter nation" is not a legitimate excuse; there are many people, including myself, in this country who take part in summer sports (and by the way, "winter nations" like Sweden and Switzerland have won medals!). I think its safe to say that Canada's performance so far is not something to celebrate, and because of this, I believe that its time for a major overhaul of Team Canada's funding and coaching strategy, something clearly has to be done about our dismal performance at the Summer Olympics.
Calling Canada a "winter nation" is not a legitimate excuse; there are many people, including myself, in this country who take part in summer sports (and by the way, "winter nations" like Sweden and Switzerland have won medals!). I think its safe to say that Canada's performance so far is not something to celebrate, and because of this, I believe that its time for a major overhaul of Team Canada's funding and coaching strategy, something clearly has to be done about our dismal performance at the Summer Olympics.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: The Road to War
This is the first of a series of posts regarding the subject of William Shirer's book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. After reading the book, it is hard for me not to wonder what would have happened if France and Britain were governed by 'warmongers' instead of 'peace lovers' in the pre-war years. Throughout the 1930s, the French and British missed many opportunities to stop Hitler, resulting in near fatal consequences for them.
When the Rhineland was reoccupied by German troops, the German generals were terrified of the possibility of French hostilities. In the book, Shirer reveals that the Germans were fatally outnumbered, and if the French opened fire on them, they would have been forced to retreat. According to documents cited in the book, if the Germans were forced to retreat, there would have been a serious possibility that the Nazi regime would have collapsed. Instead the French allowed the Germans to re-militarize the Rhineland, handing Hitler a huge victory and effectively destroying the Treaty of Versailles.
Another blunder which led to the outbreak of The Second World War was the Munich Pact. Czechoslovakia had a large, modern army with formidable mountain defences, equal to the French Maginot Line. Most German Generals believed that it would be almost impossible to break through them and invade Czechoslovakia. In addition to this, the people of Germany were dead set against war. Most of the Generals and Officers believed that the German Army would be slaughtered by the Czechoslovaks, and that the lightly defended frontier with France would collapse if the French went to war (it was assumed they would because France had a military alliance with Czechoslovakia). The Generals believed that if the German army was bogged down in the mountainous terrain on the Czechoslovak border, France's 100 divisions would overrun Germany's 20 divisions on the western front, leading to military disaster.
In order to prevent the ruin of Germany, the Generals came up with a plan for a military coup. According to Shirer, when Hitler would give the order to attack, the army would carry out a coup and arrest Hitler and put in his place a provisional government that would be 'anti-Nazi'. All that the Generals needed was a firm declaration by Britain and France that they would go to war against Germany if Czechoslovakia was invaded. As we all know, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain formulated the Munich agreement, forcing the fully mobilized Czech army to back down, and preserving peace for 11 months.
The sacrifice of Czechoslovakia ironically led to the outbreak of the war that Chamberlain so desperately wanted to avoid. It could be argued that if the coup failed, or did not occur, the German army would have met disaster against the Czechoslovaks and the French and British could have dealt a death blow to Nazi Germany. It is easy to argue that if the war had begun by the invasion of Czechoslovakia instead of by the invasion of Poland a year later, the British and the French would have had the upper hand against Germany, instead of the other way around. Chamberlain should have advocated war when the conditions were favorable instead of formulating a short period of peace.
Readers of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich do not have long to ponder these 'what ifs' because they are quickly led into the secret negotiations between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 (the topic of the next post in this series).
When the Rhineland was reoccupied by German troops, the German generals were terrified of the possibility of French hostilities. In the book, Shirer reveals that the Germans were fatally outnumbered, and if the French opened fire on them, they would have been forced to retreat. According to documents cited in the book, if the Germans were forced to retreat, there would have been a serious possibility that the Nazi regime would have collapsed. Instead the French allowed the Germans to re-militarize the Rhineland, handing Hitler a huge victory and effectively destroying the Treaty of Versailles.
Another blunder which led to the outbreak of The Second World War was the Munich Pact. Czechoslovakia had a large, modern army with formidable mountain defences, equal to the French Maginot Line. Most German Generals believed that it would be almost impossible to break through them and invade Czechoslovakia. In addition to this, the people of Germany were dead set against war. Most of the Generals and Officers believed that the German Army would be slaughtered by the Czechoslovaks, and that the lightly defended frontier with France would collapse if the French went to war (it was assumed they would because France had a military alliance with Czechoslovakia). The Generals believed that if the German army was bogged down in the mountainous terrain on the Czechoslovak border, France's 100 divisions would overrun Germany's 20 divisions on the western front, leading to military disaster.
In order to prevent the ruin of Germany, the Generals came up with a plan for a military coup. According to Shirer, when Hitler would give the order to attack, the army would carry out a coup and arrest Hitler and put in his place a provisional government that would be 'anti-Nazi'. All that the Generals needed was a firm declaration by Britain and France that they would go to war against Germany if Czechoslovakia was invaded. As we all know, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain formulated the Munich agreement, forcing the fully mobilized Czech army to back down, and preserving peace for 11 months.
The sacrifice of Czechoslovakia ironically led to the outbreak of the war that Chamberlain so desperately wanted to avoid. It could be argued that if the coup failed, or did not occur, the German army would have met disaster against the Czechoslovaks and the French and British could have dealt a death blow to Nazi Germany. It is easy to argue that if the war had begun by the invasion of Czechoslovakia instead of by the invasion of Poland a year later, the British and the French would have had the upper hand against Germany, instead of the other way around. Chamberlain should have advocated war when the conditions were favorable instead of formulating a short period of peace.
Readers of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich do not have long to ponder these 'what ifs' because they are quickly led into the secret negotiations between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1939 (the topic of the next post in this series).
Friday, August 8, 2008
'The Conservative Manifesto'
Here are some ideas that should be implemented by the Conservatives:
1. Reform the Canada Health Act to allow elements of private health care/public-private partnerships.
2. Income tax reform - flat tax, income splitting, baby bonus, etc.
3. Abolishing or overhauling "Human Rights" Commissions, so they're true to their word, not free speech attackers!
4. Placing some sort of limit on abortions, NOT outlawing them, just putting a time limit on when one could be performed, like most other countries.
5. Ditching the middle power thing and emphasize Canada as a major energy power.
6. Reform the CRTC
7. More military spending, especially on the airforce, so Canada can be committed to major peacekeeping operations and NATO operations.
8. Continue to emphasize the need for Senate reform.
9. Establish a national infrastructure program (would be popular in urban and rural areas).
10. Call a First Minister's meeting to address the problem of inter-provincial trade restrictions, especially between Ontario and Quebec.
11. Formulate a new energy plan to make Canada energy independent, Alberta oil should be supplied to all of Canada AND be traded elsewhere (we should not import oil) - Emphasize nuclear and hydro power!
12. Abolish or reform the Canadian Wheat Board.
13. Serious action is needed to address the state of aboriginal reserves in Canada.
14. Immigration Reform! Canada need a new immigration plan, fast track skilled immigrants! I know this has been proposed, but it must go further.
15. And the shocker! Repeal official multiculturalism! Why can't Canada be a melting-pot nation? It has been proven many times that multiculturalism actually makes it more difficult for immigrant communities.
The Depressing State of Ontario Politics
Since I live in Ontario its hard for me not to be depressed over the sorry state of provincial politics. With the economy sinking fast, McGuinty's government has done nothing but criticize Ottawa. No tax reform, no major economic stimulus packages (something Liberals love), no spending cuts, only complaining about how Ottawa takes our money away. As a result, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Ontario is on the highway to 'have not status'.
In the last election, as we all know, barely 50 percent of Ontarians bothered to vote, confirming that politics here is in very bad shape. The governing Liberals literally have a free hand to do nothing. The opposition parties are no better. After the disastrous election campaign the PCs are in worse shape than before the election, and the NDP is being reduced to a tiny fringe group in the corner.
This brings me to last year's election campaign. John Tory could have easily increased the PCs seat count from 24 to 40 (not 24 to 25), and if they ran an effective campaign similar to Harper's, and Dumont's in Quebec, they could have won the election. Instead, the campaign was hijacked by the religious schools fiasco. We all know that this threw a life jacket to McGuinty and destroyed not only the PCs campaign, but the NDP's as well. It would have been better for Tory to promise to allow private health care instead (the Liberals would have attacked it in a similar fashion to what Chretien did to the Canadian Alliance), but at least it would have energized the base (or most of it), and is more popular than religious schools! So now Ontario is left with two ineffective opposition parties (the down and out PCs, and the tiny NDP) and an ineffective government.
My advice to the PCs: adopt new, more 'Harris' style policies, and change the party's name from the oxymoron 'Progressive Conservatives', to something like the 'Ontario Conservatives'. That will surly get the media's attention (and the voter's attention), oh, and pay more attention to the grass roots next time!
In the last election, as we all know, barely 50 percent of Ontarians bothered to vote, confirming that politics here is in very bad shape. The governing Liberals literally have a free hand to do nothing. The opposition parties are no better. After the disastrous election campaign the PCs are in worse shape than before the election, and the NDP is being reduced to a tiny fringe group in the corner.
This brings me to last year's election campaign. John Tory could have easily increased the PCs seat count from 24 to 40 (not 24 to 25), and if they ran an effective campaign similar to Harper's, and Dumont's in Quebec, they could have won the election. Instead, the campaign was hijacked by the religious schools fiasco. We all know that this threw a life jacket to McGuinty and destroyed not only the PCs campaign, but the NDP's as well. It would have been better for Tory to promise to allow private health care instead (the Liberals would have attacked it in a similar fashion to what Chretien did to the Canadian Alliance), but at least it would have energized the base (or most of it), and is more popular than religious schools! So now Ontario is left with two ineffective opposition parties (the down and out PCs, and the tiny NDP) and an ineffective government.
My advice to the PCs: adopt new, more 'Harris' style policies, and change the party's name from the oxymoron 'Progressive Conservatives', to something like the 'Ontario Conservatives'. That will surly get the media's attention (and the voter's attention), oh, and pay more attention to the grass roots next time!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Dion's "Green Shift" will shift votes...
...To the conservatives! This is becoming increasingly evident in the Maritimes, with a fossil fuel-based energy system and Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald against it, Dion could experience hosility towards his plan in the Maritimes, similar to what he experienced in the west. It is entirely possible that the Liberals could see a significant drop in their once strong support in the Maritimes. I wonder if Elizabeth May considered this when she decided to run against Peter Mackay in rural Nova Scotia?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Obama the Underperformer?
Politico.com has an interesting article on the "surprising" underperformance of Barack Obama. With a historically unpopular president about to leave office, and all the polls indicating that the Democrats will win a huge majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, Barack Obama at best is only poling 3-4% above John McCain. You would think that with the Democratic Party apparently enjoying a level of popularity not seen since the 1970s, Barack Obama should have a commanding or at least a comfortable lead over McCain. It is still early, but it is obvious to everyone that McCain is doing better than expected, and Obama is underperforming. Maybe the Conventions will shake things up a bit.
McCain: "Washington is Broken"
A new McCain TV ad seems to be taking a page out of Mitt Romney's playbook. (Mitt Romney used the term "Washington is broken" during his primary campaigns). Could this be a sign that McCain will choose Romney as his VP running mate?
View the ad:
Mitt Romney during the New Hampshire primary:
View the ad:
Mitt Romney during the New Hampshire primary:
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Next on the Reading List...
Now that I'm finished with William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (more on that later), I'll be shifting my attention from history to the US election by reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, I'm planning on finishing it just before the Democratic Party Convention begins, and besides, what else is there to do after work hours when the weather is nothing but endless rain.
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