My issue with Lisa Raitt and why Prime Minister Ignatieff might not be so bad afterall

Oh Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. You let me down. Not that I had incredibly high expectations. What ould I expect of a candidate Stephen Harper handpicked to run in Halton? A progressive champion of human rights? No. An intelligent, accountable member of Parliament who would, from time to time, demonstrate she was somewhat capable of independent thought? Yes.

Unfortunately what I expect from a member of Parliament isn't what Stephen Harper expects from a member of his caucus, especially a cabinet minister. You've been a good little mouthpiece and toed the party line. When you came under the scrutiny of the media you threw your aide under the bus much like Stephen Harper did with Rona Ambrose. You died your hair darker, presumably to appear more serious and credible. Contrived and transparent. Sadly that describes your tenure as a member of Parliament. Contrived and transparent.

Here's the thing. Whether I like it or not, whether you like it or not, as a female cabinet minister you have a lot to prove. Rather than demonstrate intelligence, innovative thought and capability you've demonstrated that you follow orders really well. FAIL.

Michael Ignatieff also comes across as contrived and transparent. So why wouldn't I cringe at the thought of him becoming Prime Minister? Because we know what motivates him. He wants to be Prime Minister. That means he'll allow his policies to be influenced by voters. I don't fully understand what motivates Stephen Harper and, by extension as one of his mouthpieces, what motivates you. Harper Cons play their cards very close to the vest and disregard public opinion, courts and democracy time and time again.

I'd love nothing more than an MP who listened to and represented her constituents and a Prime Minister who cares more about what voters want than forcing his own agenda and forcing his ideologies on Canadians.

Why I support a Liberal-NDP coalition

Most of the people I've talked to, or seen in an interview on the 6:00 news oppose a Liberal-NDP coalition because they believe it's undemocratic. It's so disheartening because quite frankly nothing could be further from the truth. I wonder when people are going to wake up and stop buying what Stephen Harper is selling because they're buying a lemon and they don't even realize it.

FACT: A coaliton would not overturn the results of the last election because every single elected MP would retain his or her seat in Parliament.

FACT: Contrary to what the Conservatives have said to strike fear in the hearts of Canadians, the Bloc is not part of the coalition, would not have any cabinet seats, and has merely agreed not to topple a coalition government for 12 months.

FACT: Although Stephen Harper has adopted a conciliatory tone over the last week, the reason we had an election in October is because the opposition refused to let him govern as if he had a majority government. He refused to work with an opposition that wouldn't give him carte blance to do whatever he wanted to do, period. Kind of dictator-like, non?

FACT: The Conservatives announced that part of their economic strategy would be to cut the per-vote funding each party receives. Until we have proportional representation the only thing you can be sure your vote is doing is providing just over a dollar to the party of your choice.

Rick Mercer said it best:

"Stephen Harper decided Canada doesn't need a stimulus package; all we needed to do was cancel the subsidy that political parties get.

Which would have saved the government about $26-million. That's about the same amount Harper spends on bodyguards every year when he visits danger zones like Thunder Bay or Nunavut.

But the real upside for Harper, of course, is that the entire opposition would have been crippled or destroyed. It gives me great faith to know that as our economy crumbles Harper is on the case trying to come up with new an innovative ways to cutback the Green Party's office budget and bankrupt the Liberals. And then the world will be a better place.

Maybe he has a point. Maybe that's why Canada keeps refusing to give the man a majority. It's not because he's a mean little man obsessed with revenge, but because we just have too many choices. We go to the voting booth and get confused. Like that first trip to Baskin Robbins. Maybe we'd all just be better off if Conservative was the only flavour on the menu.
Well we almost found out. Because if Stephen Harper got his way on this, democracy would have changed forever. And not a single citizen will have gotten to vote on the matter."

The Liberal-NDP coalition led by Michael Ignatieff may not topple the Conservative government. But no matter who you voted for you should thank the stars they're willing to, if need be, because if the opposition had sat back and done nothing there would be no democracy in this country at all.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain....

I decided to boycott the Beijing Olympics a few years ago. The oppression of the Tibetan people and the intentional erosion of Tibetan culture will, according to the Dalai Lama, eventually give way to truth and peace. I want to believe that. There are only a few things that have ever made me feel as hopeless and defeated as the tragedy of Tibet, which continues to play out day after day. Those feelings only last a moment - the impact is felt much longer. The idea that defeat may be inevitable, or to put it another way, that restoring Tibet's autonomy may be impossible, is deeply unsettling. I'm usually comforted by my own faith that injstice will be set right. When it comes to Tibet I can't find that faith, so I'm comforted by the Dalai Lama's assurance that injustice is always impermanent.

Interestingly the Dalai Lama would not have us boycott the Beijing Olympics. This is in keeping with the Buddhist principal of non-violence or non-harming. Athletes who have trained and stuggled and sacrificed shouldn't become casualties of the Chinese government, directly or indirectly. Yet I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch the games, and even as I continue to boycott I can't help but hear about the Chinese government's attempts to mislead, deceive and oppress .

China has a fascinating history and when the 2008 Olympics were awareded to Beijing, for better or worse, the Chinese government was given an opportunity to shine and promote its country and showcase its rich culture. Instead it concerned itself with phony fireworks, quieting protesters, and finding a "cute" child to lipsynch at the opening ceremonies. The Chinese government is not content to let its country's merits speak for themselves. And whatever credibility they had has been completely blown out of the water. The government wants to control how it is perceived and it will mislead and deceive in order to maintain that control (suddenly the Chinese government does not sound much different than our own). This certainly isn't a case of style without substance because there is enough "substance" in China's culture and heritage for 10 Olympic games. Yet the government plots and plans and puts on a show designed to convince the world that it is The Great and Powerful Oz , all the while hoping desperately that the world will "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain"... It needn't worry because as usual, nobody calls it out on its bullshit. I mean REALLY calls it out.

So where does that leave it? Where does that leave us? Where does that leave Tibet?