Rant of the Day

I haven’t ranted for a while so here goes! I apologize in advance that most of it is traffic related. I will say that on days I am stressed

• Truckers are assholes. Seriously. It is a nightmare on the MaryHill Bypass. They take up both lanes and drive in tandem. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there are 50 cars behind them with drivers becoming increasingly frustrated. Seriously there should be a law against this as this is what causes some of the infamous backups on our roads.
• My next thing is about people who pull out in front of you without gauging how fast traffic is going. I was on 128^th ave, which is on the back way out of Maple Ridge, and a car just turned left right in front of me. I had to whale on the brakes so that I didn’t hit him and when I honked he gave me the finger. I don’t understand how or why some people are allowed to drive.
• The other thing I must rant about is about Harper’s plan to spend lots of money on the war of 1812. Why on fucking earth we need to rub it in to the Americans that we won is unclear. What is even more unclear is why we need to spend millions of dollars doing it when we have a budget deficit. It makes absolutely no sense. What is interesting is that while Conservatives preach fiscal restraint, historically it is Conservative governments that ring up the biggest deficits. In this case, Harper is following Mulroney in fine form. Harper needs to give his head his shake and stop the waste.

The Conservative Rats are Jumping Ship!!

In light of the probable upcoming federal election, it would appear that the Conservative rats are jumping ship. Unfortunately the ones who are quitting provided most of the depth of experience to Harper’s cabinet. David Emerson, Loyola Hearn and Monte Solberg have announced that they are not running again.

It comes as no surprise to me that David Emerson has decided to quit. After being elected a Liberal in Vancouver-Kingsway and crossing the floor to become a Conservative Cabinet Minister – his chances of re-election were slim and none. He was the target of a very long “de-elect Emerson” campaign that one can still see lawn signs for in the riding. No doubt he would have been dogged by disgruntled constituents whereever he went with no hope of even winning his seat. David Emerson, while unable to listen to his constituents certainly can read the writing on the wall.

Losing three key cabinet ministers does not bode well for the Harpies. It is hard not to speculate as to why. While it is clear why Emerson is not running again, that is not the case with Hearn and Solberg. One has to wonder if the short leash Harper keeps his cabinet ministers on has begun to feel like a stranglehold. No doubt as they head into the election Harper’s minions are going to be everywhere to ensure that everyone stays on message. Unfortunately for Harper, radical right-wingers are notoriously hard to control. Rob Anders is a perfect example of an MP with radical right-wing views who is hard to control. He once called Nelson Mandela a terrorist! He has also had controversy and court challenges to his continued nominations by acclamation.

By pulling the plug on his own minority government Stephen Harper risks losing it all. Some Canadians are going to view him as greedy and arrogant thinking that he can get and deserves a majority government.  Canadians are not generally favourably disposed to avarice and pomposity. We tend to like our politicians humble and simple. Just ask Brian Mulroney…