I was mean...

Two things happened within minutes.  First someone posted a picture on my facebook that was homophobic. Then I myself made a bad joke with a friend who is male and has wonderfully long hair.  I teased him and said he looked like a girl.

I was wrong. It was not nice and since he had been teased a great deal about it as a young boy, he has always been sensitive to comments made about him in that respect.  Its no different than the many other ways we make fun of people.  Its not funny.  Even if we think it might be we need to stop and think before we say things.

I am often thought of as being a considerate person, today I screwed up and made someone feel bad.  That was not what I wanted to happen, I did it and now I hope I learned.  I hope you don't have to say sorry for something you say that could hurt someones feelings.  

Dalton McGuinty Fails to lead

The McGuinty Liberal government in Ontario wants unions to take zero in wage and benefits.  The reason being, the province is having a tough time balancing the budget.  I get it.  So do lots of union members.

The last election, Dalton McGuinty received incredible support from unions and their membership. At no time during the election did McGuinty ever state that the province will have to seriously reduce spending.  In fact McGuinty and the Ontario Liberals proposed during the election to spend billions!  The increased spending was either in the form of cutting taxes for corporations or in new program spending.

Christy Clark has torpedoed BC's decades long ban on tankers

Liberal Premier Christy Clark has finally made the BC Government's position on the Northern Gateway Pipeline known.  The position is that BC will allow pipelines and tankers as long as someone will pay more to the BC government and promise to clean up any spill and give the first nations a few dollars.  The Clark Government has torpedoed BC's decades long ban on tankers.

Political decision cost you and me 190 million dollars.

The McGuinty government and it's lackeys are trying to say that the opposition parties would have made the same decision he just made with respect to the gas plant in Mississauga . This is an outright attempt to do more than bend the truth, its an outright lie.

The Ontario Liberal Government had awarded contracts to build gas fired plants. They never specified where they should be built nor did they demand any substantial performance bond.  Soon after getting the green light to build and supply power to Ontario, one company was unable to secure adequate financing.  At the same time the government had awarded another company the go ahead to build another plant, which was to be built in Oakville. That company had the financing and was ready to proceed.  The trouble here was the local community objected.

The local Liberal MPPs were under a great deal of pressure. The Ontario Liberal government then stated the plant could not be built in Oakville. There is still a matter of compensation due to the owners of the would be Oakville plant to be negotiated.

The Liberal Government made a decision to let the Mississauga folks go ahead, to avoid having to pay compensation as I guess they felt the company would not be able to obtain the needed financing.  It was a gamble, that has turned out costing the Ontario citizens over $190 million.   The Ontario NDP said in 2009 there should be a moratorium put in place on new power plants while we look at options and the fact that putting gas plants in heavily populated areas was not a good idea.

Again the Liberals did nothing. They allowed a gas plant to proceed through municipal zoning and approval. They allowed the plant to begin construction.  In fact the Liberals missed many opportunities to mitigate the cost of any settlement with their in-action.  The provincial election was coming up and the plant was being built.  If it was the government's intention to stop the plant, why did they wait so long, adding to overall compensation that would be needed to buy off the company for cancelling the plant?

The Liberals made a mess of it and then decided the best thing to do was wait for the election and then cancel the plant.  That provides maximum political advantage.  A political decision that has cost you and me 190 million dollars.

Both the opposition parties were opposed to its location. Both would not have allowed it to proceed.  Only the government of E-Health and Ornge could have come up with such an undisciplined approach to decision making.

Lightning in Toronto!

Lightning in Toronto Ontario

We set a record for July 17 in Toronto today, 36.4 C.  The big thunder storm has yet to happen.  Lots of sheet lightning, no thunder.  

This is how you beat the Conservatives

The Mulcair led NDP is certainly showing up the old Liberals.  Mulcair and the NDP have decided not to leave Conservative Party of Canada attack ads unanswered.  We all recall what happened to Dion and Iggy.  The Conservatives ran attack ads which went unchallenged by the Liberals.  I recall many of us at time wondering why they would not respond.  It has proven to be, perhaps just another example of a dysfunctional political apparatus torn apart by adscam and the Martin - Chretien civil war.

The NDP ad itself  employs many of the techniques used in the recent Conservative attack.  The dark thumping music, the unflattering images and a simple message.  It appears the NDP are going to hit back as hard as Harper and his Conservatives come at them.  That makes me happy.

Here is the ad...



Then some people thought it was Megan Leslie doing the voice over, see @kady of CBC, then Aaron Wherry of Maclean's clears that all up here.