Some Eloquent Refections From A Defeated M.P.

My son sent me this link that, I think, speaks to the sentiments of those deeply disillusioned over the outcome of the election and the shoddy tactics that helped the Conservatives to achieve that outcome.

The Election

I really can't write anything about the results of the election, other than to say the fact that 40% of my fellow citizens couldn't be bothered to vote breaks my heart.

Today's Opportunity

Just a short message: This is the day we all have the opportunity to make each other proud by turning out to the polls in huge numbers!

The Blowhard Donald Trump Finally Gets His Presidential Comeupetance

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who takes special pleasure in seeing blowhards cut down to size. (Indeed, aren't most of us hoping for that with Monday's election results?) Stateside, I can think of no bigger waste of resources and airtime than Donald Trump who, many will recall, took real pleasure in claiming victory in the recent White House decision to release Obama's birth certificate to prove that he is indeed an American, something that has long been disputed by racist fringe elements in that country, the Tea Party's 'birthers' being probably the best-known of such groups.

At this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, Obama finally got his revenge. While his jokes may not have been consistent, the look on guest Donald Trump's face was. Pay close attention to it in this video, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

And I Thought I Had Written My Last Blog Entry Before The Election ....

It seems I was wrong. Once more, the disdain Harper has consistently shown for Canadian democratic traditions and norms is made manifest. Click here to read the story and watch the video that demonstrates the on-going threat he and his ilk pose.

A Few Thoughts Going Into The Last Weekend Before The Election

While it would be presumptuous to try to predict the outcome of Monday's vote, I am heartened by what I perceive to be an awakening of the Canadian electorate. If political polls and advance voting numbers are any indication, we are demonstrating, counter to the much-discussed assertions of voter apathy, that we are listening and following this campaign like few in recent memory.

I have been convinced for some time now that if we are ever to rid ourselves of the scourge of political arrogance that has characterized our elected representatives for far too long, we have to begin by showing that we do care about our country. And the best way to do that is by turning out in huge numbers on election day. To abstain from voting is to tell our Members of Parliament to do what they will and that like sheep, we will be led wherever their whims and self-interest take us.

But I think we will prove far less docile than our leaders would like us to be, their platitudes about the importance of political engagement notwithstanding. If I am right, I think there will be a number of factors accounting for the change, including the following:

The turmoil in the Middle East, starting with Egypt's indefatigable protests that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, can have left few unaffected. The resolve, the passion, and the courage of so many people willing to risk everything, even their lives, for a principle that we have so frequently taken for granted or openly disdained, has left an indelible mark upon our collective psyche. And of course, those gyrations continue to this day in Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Libya.

Rick Mercer's rant to young people, so amply and effectively disseminated through social media, is undoubtedly responsible for the rise of voter flash mobs on university campuses throughout the country. The energy, enthusiasm and passion so evident in the mob videos, I think and hope, will result in significant youth turnout at the ballot box which, in turn, will contribute to establishing a lifelong voting habit.

Then there is the dreary and relentless campaign of negativity that has characterized the Harper Conservative regime's bid for reelection. What does a strategy based upon the cultivation of fear, anger, suspicion and even hatred, along with the party's well-documented anti-democratic behaviour, tell the voter? It tells me that it is a party without vision, a party lacking the capacity to help Canada realize its great potential, a party that spurns logic and reason in favour of a demagogic manipulation of the people it purports to want to represent. In other words, a party unfit to govern.

And so as the campaign winds down and we move quickly toward May 2, I join with all others of goodwill and hope as I reflect upon the possibilities for the country that I love.

Peter Russell Warns All Of Us About The Dangers Of A Harper Majority

Despite the fawning endorsement of the Harper regime by Canada's self-proclaimed 'newspaper of record,' The Globe and Mail, others are able to rise above political partisanship to articulate how dangerous a Conservative majority government would be. One such person is constitutional expert Peter Russell who, in this 3-minute video, issues a timely warning: