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Month: September 2008

Twitter Updates for 2008-09-25

  • Innocently Discussing Politics: Me: Guys on the right-wing blogs don’t hesitate to call Obama the N-word. E: Narcissist? #
  • @RevNathan I was wandering around the kitchen ranting about the fox "furor" over a CBC article on Palin when it came up. in reply to RevNathan #
  • For those of you keeping score, I *do* wander around my house talking out loud to television pundits on YouTube. Judge Not and so on. #
  • My counter proposal to the bail-out plan, The fill-in plan: Saddle the companies with forced payouts to all employees and creditors. #
  • Trying to tell someone a truth they cannot understand is no different than lying to them #
  • Get your smoke on indoors without breaking the law: http://tinyurl.com/3e9w87 #
  • @Ultramegakungfu Mwa ha ha, she’s the witch of the north-west, the witchiest of all witches there’s no need, also you forgot about Dre. in reply to Ultramegakungfu #
  • You know that feeling, when you get the shivvers. That’s Suge Knight tickling your soul. #
  • Outside, when the light’s dim and the crickets chirp louder, they are warning you that Suge KNight could be outside, waiting. #
  • The Motion of the Galaxies away from each other, that’s a panicked run from Suge Knight. #
  • Sometimes, when you are sitting quietly in the dark, you think you are hearing your heartbeat, no, that’s Suge Knight schoolin’ a fool. #
  • New Math? Sure? Suge Knight + Your Money = Happy Suge Knight. #
  • Suge Knight sleeps with one eye open, he knows the Sun won’t come correct unless he’s watching #
  • When you run out of sugar at home, don’t yell out "I need Sugar!", Suge Knight has bad hearing and might come running, and then what? #
  • Candyman was scared to say Suge Knight even once in the mirror, in case Suge Knight appeared and set him right with the world. #
  • Suge Knight doesn’t shave his head, his hair follicles obey his metal commands, if Suge wants it, FOOM, instant ‘fro. #
  • If Ted Nugent tried to shoot Suge Knight with an arrow, Suge would let him do it once, because Suge Loves Wango Tango, but only once. #
  • If Pres. Bush was to appoint a Secretary of Keeping the Earth Turning, it would have to be Suge Knight, who has been doing it for years. #
  • Suge Knight doesn’t shave his head, his hair follicles obey his mental commands, if Suge wants it, FOOM, instant ‘fro #
  • I can’t wait: http://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/ #

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I ventured deep into Malkin-Land for this

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

So, what can you learn from this?

  1. Only 10,794 people voted on a poll from a pundit that gets exposure on fox.
  2. Only 1,247 (12%) of her readers are b-tards of any stripe
  3. Only 1,436 (13%) are sensible people.
  4. 16% are pessimists.
  5. A full 59% of the sample are full on, in the tank (what a dumb expression) assholes.

These are the same people who refer to diplomacy as “weak”

They are the same people who refer to nuance as no-ancy.

They say nookular.

And they vote.

Psilons, in my campaign?

The debate on Friday was to focus on Mr. McCain’s perceived strength, foreign policy. Mr. McCain had not planned to devote large blocks of time to debate practice as did Mr. Obama, who was holing up with a tight circle of advisers at a hotel in Clearwater, Fla., on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to prepare. Mr. McCain had a preparatory session on Wednesday afternoon at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, but advisers said it had been interrupted by his decision, announced immediately afterward, to suspend his campaign.

If you are up on the whole “Clambake” then you must know what Clearwater, Florida is, right? Let me remind you:

If you’re still here and you didn’t watch the video and am still not clear on where Clearwater is, it’s practically the center of the non-celebrity world of Scientology. Demographically, it’s a strange choice for the Obama campaign to appear there, what with the CoS’s somewhat tarnished public image. I’m going to have to do a little digging to look to see if any well-known CoS members are in the Obama campaign.

It appears I’m not the first person to question this

This is troubling to me, as I’ve been more and more concerned about how the CoS goes about defending itself from criticism in very aggressive and/or paranoid ways.  In Fact, I’m sure that I’ll get a few hits over here just for this post.

So, what do you think, is there a CoS mole in the Obama campaign?

Twitter Updates for 2008-09-24

  • I smell like a deep fryer; Jen washed my shirt with a bunch of towels used to sop up hot corn oil. #
  • Suzanne Vega shares a story; you like: http://tinyurl.com/3h3792 #
  • AWESOME: http://tinyurl.com/3vw4du (Sarah Palin Fans Must Read) #
  • More Grist for the Sarah Palin Mill http://tinyurl.com/62olnl #
  • In a tear of even more nostalgia; I’m listening to "Nevermind" #
  • The Most perfect Song of the past 8 years, "You know you’re right" by Nirvana. Take that Tupac Shakur. #
  • I feel all over greasy, This shirt is going in the laundry when I get home #
  • I have become convinced that our distant domain admins have lost the ability to reason critically. #
  • Oregon: Blue Islands in the Red http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1222271341169900.xml&storylist=#
  • @xenijardin "John, while you have been steadily compiling your works have you happened upon a stubborn fact that wanted to remain u … in reply to xenijardin #
  • The Ultimate Retort when you are being blamed: "No, THAT was Grandpapa" #
  • I think the funniest thing that will happen next February will be the flood of complaints about best buy and their "broken" tvs. #
  • You might think I’m wrong because I want you to have free health care; I think you’re misguided for thinking I don’t deserve it. #
  • @RayS Y’alright? in reply to RayS #

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Why I Disliked Wall-E, Redux

To say that the movie lived up to my expectations is an extreme understatement. It completely blew my expectations out of the water. Everything about the movie was excellent. The animation was so flawless that I often found myself wondering whether we were watching real life landscapes. The only cartoon-ish aspect were the humans, but I think that was intentional. There were even lots of shaky, quick-zoom shots that gave certain scenes the look of being filmed with a handheld camera…and yet they were all animated. Mad props!

I don’t shy away from critics.  I engage the Tomoatoes when I am about to go check out a movie that I haven’t already declared “too wicked to avoid for any rational reason” so the reviews, like the one above, mislead me about the quality of Wall-E and lead me to believe that the overgrown manandwomen-children who wrote these bits of fawning praise have taken leave of the hormones that allowed them to leave bald armpits behind.

Pixar is rapidly becoming the Apple of movies (if I remember correctly, it already is) where droves of fawning fans will crawl over each other to obtain the next bit of stuff that is farted loose from the bowells of the beast and they will love it because it is in a cute, non-threatening container, which Wall-E embodies almost as much as his erstwhile gal-pal Eve the I-Pod.

Then there is the heavy handed story, which I complained about previously, so I will only tarry on long enough to say that any halfwit who goes through that much for a “kiss” is not a romantic, they are an insanely focused stalker with serious emotional problems.  Movies like this set me up for 5 years of emotional retardation and a firm belief that grand romanticism is what girls “wanted” (in truth they want to be treated like humans and occasionally like a princess or naughty slave girls or naught school librarians or naughty shop keepers … I’m getting off the topic here)

As I was saying, the critical response to Wall-E was overtly praise-laden and should have been reserved for the ressurection of Messers Einstein and Tesla in their all robot dancing girl review and kids fun-e-teria.

Twitter Updates for 2008-09-23

  • It’s a woot off today #
  • I say to you,that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live. -MLK #
  • Whoop, big tech mystery solved. Break out the Hamburgers and Hero sandwiches! #
  • Did you ever notice, that when a road has been graded and you drive at the right speed, it sounds like a chorus singing? #
  • @RevNathan I’m far from blameless, but I’m the only one who wants to do anything substantive about it. in reply to RevNathan #
  • @RevNathan That can and has been done, have you ever taken an addictive substance from an addict? #
  • Took down “That Post” it was WAY too personal. #
  • @mollycrabapple It’s a great article, if more tepid and tentative than it needed, like it had been tempered in milk or something in reply to mollycrabapple #
  • For Later viewing http://tinyurl.com/4qy3hm #
  • Also for later: http://tinyurl.com/2xbwec #
  • @wilw I just banned them (crocs) from the house, shoes or sensible sandals pleases in reply to wilw #

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Dear Candidates: Irene Mathyssen Responds

On Monday I posted that I would contact the local candidates in the Canadian Federal Election; Daniel McNeail responded on Monday (about an hour after I emailed him)

Irene Mathyssen responded today:

Dear Kevin,

Thank you very much for emailing. I appreciate constituents taking the time to contact me about the issues important to them.  As the MP, one of the things I pride myself on is taking the time to provide personal responses to constituents when they email or write to me.  An election does not change my commitment to constituents, and am pleased to be able to continue to answer constituents questions during the campaign.

First, let me respond to your question about “personal freedom”. I very much treasure the personal freedoms we have in Canada, and absolutely will stand in defense of those freedoms. Personal freedoms however come with personal responsibilities, something many people seem to forget all too quickly. When personal actions cross the line and cause harm to others, we must draw the line, personal freedom is then subject to restriction to protect the health and welfare of other citizens.

Many people are under the misunderstanding that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees “rights” that they feel they should have. In particular people have approached me thinking that they have “the right” to supercede property by-laws, or feel that they have the “right” to a driver’s license, for example. In the preamble of the Charter however, it is perfectly clear that all of our personal rights are subject to such restrictions as are reasonable in a free and democratic society.

On government transparency, I unequivocally believe we need far greater openess and transparency in our government.  I voted with the Conservatives in support of the “Accountability Act”, because although the legislation is far from perfect, it was a positive step toward a more transparent government.  Unfortunately, the reality is the Harper government has been less accountable or transparent than they promised to be.  Even as a Member of Parliament, my office has had to submit dozens of “Access to Information” (ATI) requests to have federal government information released to me. From policy decisions to government spending, I believe we have a long way to go toward an open, transparent, and accountable government.  I would invite you to visit: http://new.ndplondonfanshawe.ca/?p=495 to see some of the examples of abuse of public funds our NDP MPs discovered through ATI requests.

The NDP has a plan to move us toward great openess and accountability, developed by long time NDP leader Ed Broadbent.  I have attached a .PDF copy of this plan for you to review if you are interested.

In regard to Nuclear Power, the NDP believes that the Atomic Energy Commission must be kept under public control, not privatized. Nuclear technology is obviously something which, given the current geo-political climate, must be carefully overseen. New Democrats, however, also believe that nuclear energy is not a direction we should be pursuing in terms of Canada’s energy needs.  We have an existing “baseload” of nuclear power, but nuclear plants have never delivered the return on public investment which was promised.  Nuclear plant construction and maintenance has consistently  run over budget and over time deadlines.  Nuclear facility construction itself is also highly polluting, and we do not yet have a satisfactory means of dealing with nuclear waste. We believe it is unacceptable to simply store the waste and leave the disposal problem to future generations. That kind of short-term thinking has contributed significantly to the climate crisis we are facing today, and we cannot continue to ignore the long-term consequences of our actions. Instead, New Democrats believe Canadians would be better served by a diversified and decentralized energy network that includes a stable mix of hydro-electric, geothermal, solar, wind, and other sustainable, renewable, clean energy sources. Our Greener Communities, Green Canada plan includes retrofitting all federal government buildings (and providing direct support for provinces and municipalities to also participate) for energy efficiency, and a “Made In Canada” procurement and investment strategy that would ensure the solar, wind, and other technologies purchased by the government of Canada are manufactured in Canada–creating Canadian jobs! New Democrats believe in setting a good example through our actions, which is why we announced this week that our headquarters in Ottawa will be retrofitted with a “green roof”. You can read more about this undertaking at:
http://www.ndp.ca/page/6907

On culture, arts, and entertainment, the NDP has been very clear. First, we must reverse the recent Conservative cuts to arts and cultural programs. Quality of life is not simply a matter of profit and productivity, it is also about having the time and the means to enjoy music, theatre, film, and other art forms. Next, we must introduce modern copyright legislation, that protects both artists and consumers.  As a consumer, you should have every right to copy a CD you purchase to an MP3 player, or to back-up your DVD’s to your computer. At the same time, we must recognize that artists need to eat and have a roof over their heads. They deserve fair compensation for their work. A strong, publicly funded CBC is also a component of the NDP’s commitment to arts and entertainment. While the arts and entertainment community should be funded in part by private contributions of patrons, public funding for the arts should be reflective of the benefits to our society of maintaining a strong and independant Canadian culture. Our commitment to Canadian arts and entertainment was announced publicly this morning and the details are available at: http://www.ndp.ca/page/6933

Finally, you asked about unions and international trade. New Democrats believe in FAIR TRADE, not Free Trade. We believe that Canadian agreements with foreign governments on trade matters must include standards for fair labour practices, environmental standards, and human rights. For example, the Conservative government has been aggressively pursuing a “Free Trade” deal with South Korea. However, this so called “Free Trade” deal is a one way street, providing unlimited access to Canadian markets for cheap Korean products without ensuring Canadian goods have equal access to Korean markets. I have tabled 3 petitions in the House of Commons on behalf of thousands of London-Fanshawe constituents who signed petitions opposing the government’s continued pursuit of this Canada-Korea deal.  Earlier this year, NDP leader Jack Layton wrote to both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama indicating our willingness to reopen and renegoiate NAFTA to ensure trade fairness for both countries.  For example, under current NAFTA rules, Canada must continue to supply the USA with a guaranteed percentage of our oil production every day–even if a supply shortfall or national crisis occurs in Canada. That’s not right, and we want to change it. This dialogue even attracted the attention of CNN in the USA, and Jack Layton appeared on the Lou Dobbs show on CNN to explain our “Fair Trade” position. You can watch this by visiting my website (www.irenemathyssen.ca) and clicking on the “Irene’s Video’s” button.  It is currently the third video from the top–but new videos are being added during the campaign, so you may have to scroll down to find it.

The New Democrats are the only political party in Canada with a unionized staff. In terms of unions, now more than ever, working people deserve the protection and benefits of unionized workplaces. I recognize that not all unions are created equal, and not all are as helpful and effective as they could be. Having said that, the truth is that unions are like democratic governments, the more the membership of a union participates in union meetings, elections, and activism, the better representation they tend to get from their union.  The same holds true for government, the more informed and actively engaged its citizens are, the more responsive and accountable our government will be.

I hope this fully answers your questions.  Please do not hesitate to write again at any time.

All the best,
Irene Mathyssen, MP
NDP Candidate, London-Fanshawe

– Show quoted text –

On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 9:06 AM, Kevin Wardrop <nitemayr@gmail.com> wrote:

Good Day Mrs. Mathyssen,
I live in your riding and would like more information about your stance on Personal Freedom, Government Transparency, Nuclear Power, Culture and Entertainment, Unions and International Trade.
Thanks for your time,
Kevin Wardrop.


Irene Mathyssen Re-election Campaign
1700 Dundas St. Suite G
London ON, N5W 3C9
519-451-0099
www.irenemathyssen.ca

And My Response

Mrs. Mathyssen,

Thank-you for your nuanced and detailed responses.

They have given me a great deal to think about. Please accept my best wishes for your Re-Election campaign.

Kevin Wardrop

Wow, now that’s a detailed response.  This is a great deal more in-depth than Mr. O’Neail’s response but feels less personal; which one woud expect from an experienced politician.  I’m still much more in the “Green” category, as their views appear to coincide with mine and as always NDP always seems to be Liberal + Tory = Libertory Lite with some concilatory language to their traditional base the Unions.

I don’t think I’ll find a political soul mate on the nuclear matter though.

The last response will be from the Liberal Candidate, Jacquie Gauthie.

Twitter Updates for 2008-09-22

  • It was cold as I walked into the office today, I get nostalgic on cold September mornings. I should do something about that. #
  • I missed the Matt Good Concert in London. Matt, come back again real soon, okay? #
  • Time to deliver some tapes. #
  • I’m thinking of making a video tentatively titled “Shirtless and Earnest” can you guess at it’s content? #
  • LoL: “So Freddie Mac paid Davis $2,000,000 because they wanted to be in the warm embrace of Huggy McEjector Seat.” #
  • Fun Tech Mystery on my hands: fire up the Mystery Machine and pass the Scooby Snacks Freddie. #
  • ReTweet: Will Smith and the Scientologists http://tinyurl.com/4ztvr4 #
  • Call Call Call, you know who you are! #

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Dear Candidates: Daniel O'Neail Responds

Daniel O’Neail responded first
Mr. Wardrop
I am afraid I do not currently have a website of my own, it is under construction. On the other hand my personal views on many subjects are public knowledge, and far better documented than any other local candidate as I have been writing a weekly column for Londontopic.ca for the last year.
If you could take the time to go to londontopic.ca and then the opinion tab you will find all of my articles, my views of industry are available under the questions to the candidates on the front section, as well as the video at the London Free Press.
If you have further questions please come out to one of the debates or email me and I will answer whatever questions you may have.
The ECOspective articles are also available on facebook under the “fan of Daniel O’Neail” page.
Regards and best wishes
Daniel O’Neail
Kevin’s Note: Links added to text to make it easier to follow.
In the interest of brevity; I’m going to poke at Mr. O’Neail’s responses here

I’m at a loss here; what is the “Zen Car”?  A google search turned up Zero front-page results on the matter and I might get myself pushed to the front page if I go on about the “Zen Car” in this post enough times.  So I’ll avoid it.  Mr. O’Neail mentions the Zen Car as a the type of export that Canada should focus on, but I can’t seem to find anything about it online.  That’s not a substantive point if one can’t really learn anything about it online.

On the health care front, Mr. O’Neail is in line with the Greens, pointing out that preventative measures mean more than simple repair.

Mr. O’Neail also espouses local ownership of production facilities and resources.  Something I can strongly agree with.

I don’t see anything about international relations, unions, personal freedom or nuclear power there.  Oh Well.

Watch for more responses in the future

Dear Candidates, Please Contact me

This is my election district: London-Fanshawe; Londoners might refer to the majority of it as “The Scary East End” or som variation of it.  When I first came to London, I might have agreeed, having toured it while looking for a new home.  I settled here mostly out of necessity but have been constantly surprised and pleased by the hidden nature spots and “close to the countryside” living that I have found out here on the ragged-edge of the riding.

I used “The Undecided” to figure out which party I agreed with more in this election and was surprised to find out that the Greens were top of the list (mostly due to my paranoid desire to have Health Care funded at 100% with magical healing properties and Cancer Cures for all).  That aside, I contacted the Green Party Candidate in my Riding (Dan O’Neail) and asked for some information on his stances.  I think I may do the same for the candidates for the Liberals and NDP.  I won’t Vote Tory for any reason, no matter how great the local candidate is, if isn’t the party leader, one Candidate isn’t going to change a whole party.  I’m not required to give some sort of even-handed approach to this, I’ve never claimed to be totally open-minded.And let’s face it, I’m never going to vote for anyone who claims to represent “Christian Heritage”  I mean, seriously, “I take my lead from a 2000 year old Carpenter’s Son” that’s like advertising you really, really, really want to believe that local social problems can be solved through strong belief in Faries and Giants.

So, I’m going to ask the Liberal and NDP candidates the same question I asked Dan O’Neail:

Do you have a website where you discuss your platform?

I live in your riding and would like more information about your stance on Personal Freedom, Government Transparency, Nuclear Power, Culture and Entertainment, Unions and International Trade.

Thanks for your time,

Kevin Wardrop.

I’ll post the replies as they come in.

A Short Note about my previous attempts to speak with local government:

I’ve since deleted the email reply I received about “Recycling Containers”.  It was a brusque “You can find them in any hardware store”  which kind of blunted the question by being, well, blunt.  I decided this lack of candor would be met with total dismissal.

Perhaps this time, things will go well.