Friday 4:20
This is a post about nothing. You see, I was hoping to hear something about drug policy in the debates last night. But aside from Elizabeth May stating that the opium crops should be used for medicinal medication, there was no mention of it. While this failed to surprise me, it was rather disappointing. You know all those pot activists who abandoned the marijuana parties, as non-viable and a waste of time? Well, now we can see that they are still needed to get the word out about drug policy, because the so-called “mainstream” parties aren’t doing it. Doug Cuthand has an excellent column in today’s Star Phoenix about the fact that Stephen Harper’s tough-on-crime plan is the same policy that gives the United States the highest incarceration rates in the world. But even he fails to mention the impact of the war on drugs on the crime rates. Gangs will continue to profit from the drug war as long as we fail to regulate the use and sale of drugs.
Even though the debate ended up being five people talking over each other (as usual) there were some high points for me:
-Stephen Harper reassuring Canadians that our economy will be unscathed despite the fact that the Americans are facing an economic meltdown. HA HA HA HA I guess it was better than saying “I have no idea what I’m doing!”
-Elizabeth May’s response to the question on crime. A viewer asks what the parties are planning to do about the sky-rocketting crime rates. I was annoyed by the question, since crime rates aren’t sky-rocketting. She responded by stating that crime rates are not going up and in fact have gone down. But then she goes on to state that a ban on handguns is needed. As you well know, I am not a big fan of prohibition and I think gun bans are a fatally flawed idea. So I went from going YAY Lizzie to “You #$^$%&^ what are you thinking?”.
-Jack Layton trying to tug on our heart strings with tales of grown men crying because they lost their jobs. I hate it when politicians appeal to my emotions. Appeal to my common sense for a change! I don’t think the government needs to fix everything. Convince me with good ideas, unless you don’t have any.
-Stephane Dion did really well. I have do admit that the Green Shift appeals to me. We need a plan to deal with greenhouse gases and what’s wrong with shifting taxes onto pollution? Of course, Harper wants everyone to believe that it would lead to higher taxes and there is no reason to believe that that has to be the outcome. In order to figure out whether the Green Shift will raise taxes will take more than one screechy debate.
-The fact that Stephen Harper knows what farmers want. They want the ability to market their own grain. I believe this is the main reason that rural people keep voting for Harper. Lots of rural people hate gun control too (myself included) and they believe that he is the best hope for deregulating guns. However, he didn’t have much to say about that issue last night. He isn’t planning to do anything so why say anything and risk giving the left more fuel, even though they are completely wrong on gun control. Prohibition sells!
Anyway, if I get the time and I feel inclined, I will post about my ideal candidate and the views they would have. I was struck by the total lack of imagination showed by our political leaders, who I swear couldn’t lead circle time in a kindergarten class. The NDP wants to give everybody handouts. Did you know that Tommy Douglas started healthcare? It’s true! The Conservatives have no platform and no clue what they are doing except that crime is bad and teens should be locked up longer. The Liberals at least have an environmental plan. The Greens are the best of the mainstream parties but not my ideal choice either. The Bloc? Who are they again?
And, of course, no clue on drug policy or electoral reform. Of course, I am probably the only person in this country that cares about those two issues so I should probably quit complaining.
