PeePee Spouts Some DooDoo, Episode 1: Pilot

On the debut episode of "PeePee Spouts Some DooDoo", we get this doozy:

"Patrick Brown is lying in his attacks on the Harper government.

But that's not much of a surprise, because Patrick Brown lies a lot.

And lying and dividing is no way to win."

 

Here's a cropped capture of his tweet: 

 

Source: https://twitter.com/PierrePoil.../status/1503453777856061441

 

PeePee spouted an extended stream of DooDoo in several additional paragraphs, see the following:

 

As I responded via tweet: 

 

"Mr. Harper proposed that a person's face be visible while giving oaths at citizenship ceremonies, and somehow this is evidence that he didn't want a niqab ban? And then there's this doozy: https://t.co/tHBxNtuIOG

 

PeePee, you sure do spout DooDoo a lot. You make Pinocchio blush."*

 

Oh, PeePee; you make this much too easy. You allege that Patrick Brown is a liar, lies a lot (what politician doesn't do this?), and is dividing the Conservative Party of Canada. He didn't do that on his own, though, so that's fresh. However, Patrick Brown wasn't lying (see the tinyurl above, or just follow this: Harper’s proposed ban on niqab in civil service ricochets through campaign) and you lie all the fucking time so way to go with your "Pot Meets Kettle" moment.

* I had to edit the tinyurl hyperlink shown here so that it linked directly to the Global News article shared in the body of the post.

Activation of the Emergencies Act in Canada (For the First Time) Agains the Blockades: My Thoughts

It took disrupting the flow of the ECONOMY for several weeks for the Trudeau Liberals to activate the Emergencies Act for the first time in this country's history. This may set a bad precedent for the future. We've been mired in this pandemic for about two years now, and tens of thousands of Canadians have died. Many more yet have had their lives, and livelihoods just as often, ruined throughout the entire ordeal so far (I hope that it's over sooner than later, but how often does hope turn out...). Think about it...

 

The economy was affected by these blockades (which appear to be ongoing, as of this writing), with the RCMP (an institution that answers to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, namely the Governor in Council), municipal and provincial governments all refusing to take actual measures against these disruptions (especially in Conservative-run areas) and the RCMP practically coddling the individuals involved. While there are divisions of the RCMP at federal, provincial, and municipal levels (keep in mind that Ontario has two; one [national] for Ottawa and one for the province [O Division]), these all answer, ultimately, to the federal government as previously mentioned. The Governor in Council is the one who determines who is the Commissioner, and the latter is the one who handles all RCMP delegations and regulations & such. 

 

In other words: the PRIME MINISTER does not have say on RCMP matters, but...

The RCMP is a federal institution. So the federal government has ultimate say on anything to do with the RCMP.

 

So the federally-regulated RCMP, at its various levels (from the Governor in Council and downward) FAILED to properly address an ongoing, three-week disruption of the economy and the lives of those affected, whether directly or indirectly. This disruption has been co-opted from the very beginnings of the movement by all sorts of unsavory and opportunistic fiends with self-interested agendas of power and even oppression (in at least some cases). It has received funding from abroad, which will have further ramifications down the road. Let's not forget the overwhelming messaging of hatred and division, particularly of the WHITE SUPREMACIST variety (or should I say, varieties, because while similar, there are multiple camps of white supremacy). Even fascism has played a part in the overall messaging of this movement. 

 

And the RCMP have treated them with kid gloves. Look at this latest development to see an example of how nice this institution has been to the 'protestors':

 

https://twitter.com/RadioGenova/status/1493587546550542338

 

  

And the Trudeau Liberals have, as mentioned at the outset, activated the Emergencies Act for the first time ever, over this thing. There are a number of things wrong with this approach. While I don't hold any allegiance to, or love for, the Liberals (or any party for that matter, in spite of voting Liberal in the most recent election for strategic reasons since I absolutely ABHOR the Conservatives), this will likely destroy the chance of the country avoiding another CPC reign of terror come the next election.

 

Also consider that this act being activated may encourage anyone in office to utilize it again in, say, a different situation? Like, I dunno, Indigenous Rights/Environmentalist/Social Justice activists protesting against grievances caused by the government and all of its regulated institutions & partner corporations? Such examples that are ongoing include:

 

- The Fairy Creek protests

- Wet'suwet'en First Nation protesting against Coastal GasLink Pipeline activity on THEIR SOVEREIGN LAND

 

Let's also consider that FIPA (the Foreign Investment Protection Act, which overwhelmingly benefits Chinese-owned assets here, over Canadian-owned assets in China) remains in place for another 25 approximate years. FIPA gives China effective right to litigate (read: sue) against the Canadian government should it deem its investments within our country threatened or impacted in any way that is detrimental to economic standing. Since the Chinese government has a close-knit business relationship with multiple corporations, this is an issue that will continue to have ramifications for all of us for decades into the future. Do not underestimate this bill as it is very likely the reason why the Wet'suwet'en FN gets harassed and mistreated by the RCMP to this day.

 

Honestly I could go on much, much further but this is not the right platform for that. This is already very long and I doubt most will read this in its entirety, but this act being activated for the first time ever is far more reckless than you might realize. It indicates greater problems within the various institutions of power in this country and a tilted balance of perspectives into who gets controlled/quelled, and who doesn't.

 

...and it isn't far-right nutjobs with mostly white-supremacist agendas that appear to be considered liable for controlling/quelling.

My Thoughts on the Election Results

NOTE: As of this writing, even as I publish this, mail-in ballots (of which there's expected to be plenty) have not been counted in full, so there may be a slight change in some results when they're finally counted. The opinions written below reflect on the potential results from these mail-in ballots.

Looks like more of the same — a minority government three-way. Okay, okay; it's technically a four-way but it doesn't feel like it because one of the three opposition parties has a focus only on the province of Quebec. The Bloc looks like it lost a few seats, with the NDP making fairly big gains. Not too bad, but the NDP needs better leaders next time. Yes, leader with a plural. If not, the leaders need to GET THEIR ACTS TOGETHER! Honestly, supporters of all parties should demand better of their leaders, present and future. I'm stark serious on that. But going forward, I expect obstructionism and partisan grandstanding from the opposition (NDP & CPC, in this case), with picky-choosy politics from the Bloq depending on how much of a whiff of a fart the country of, I mean, province of Quebec, will get in all forthcoming decisions.

 

On a Liberal minority government:

 

The people need to demand better of Trudeau. He needs more pressure, and I'm not talking about the fake bravado and showmanship kind of pressure that permeates the sociopolitical landscape, either. I'm talking about the people holding the Trudeau Liberals' feet to the fire. No more half-measures, no more reneging on pledges, and stop pretending. Address climate change, stop maintaining the status quo so damn much with regards to the income gap and climate change, stop merely 'saying' with regards to indigenous reconciliation and start 'doing'. 

 

End oil & gas subsidies, stop putting corporations first whenever & wherever possible at the behest of the workers. UBI, UBI, UBI! Pharmacare, dental care. Stop apologizing when you don't need to because if you didn't mean anything harmful by something you said or did a long time ago then why fucking apologize!? Improve your optics because the opposition and the vulture-like media will hop on ANYTHING you do or say to score cheap political points. Stop trying to please everyone because no matter how much you try to appease your usual detractors, it will never be enough. Less cute platitudes and more action.

 

On the (actual) official opposition:

 

I don't really take the Bloq all that seriously to be really frank with you, and why not? They just care about Quebec, so why should I care about them? Priorities, man. Anyway, on the CPC & NDP, I expect nothing but obstructionism going forward. Most especially from the CPC. I'm glad that the CPC didn't win this time around, so I can breathe a sigh of relief for that one. I do that for virtually all Canadians, too, even the ones who actually voted Conservative. You really, REALLY don't need them, folks and the CPC don't deserve just ONE of your votes.

 

The NDP is what miffs me the most. Sure, I loathe the CPC but the less I can talk about that criminal brigade, the better. Anyway...Jagmeet Singh needs to fucking go, guys. He's lost the plot. He's exploitative, ignorant, and loves to gaslight everyone. He's got charisma and seems ambitious at first, but there's nothing but empty space in that veiled ambition. He's also a two-faced prick who will jump on any bandwagon in order to score cheap political points. This is not a unique trait for a politician to have, by any means, but with Jagmeet it was relentlessly discouraging.

 

He had me at "Hello!" when he came into the limelight several years ago. I still remember his encounter with a rabid member of the Alberta Jane-Q public, and how he handled that dangerous creature with gusto and respect at the same time. He also had an air of real charisma and charm to him, seemed very affable, too. Was great in the more down-to-earth interviews and such back in the day. Even until last year, when he did a live-stream of "Among Us" on Twitch alongside people like Alexandria Occasio-Cortez and others, he still seemed to have that likeable quality to him. I was willing to give him a chance even then.

 

But then he resumed being a part of the "here's some bullshit about Trudeau that means nothing and just waste's everyone's time" crowd. Remember, prior to the 2019 election, he joined in on the insipid fake-outrage non-scandal that was "blackface"? That fucking happened almost exactly TWENTY YEARS AGO. And it was for a damned gala event, themed in the style of...Arabian Nights! And he chose to dress up as Aladdin. It was an upbeat, casual, positive party event for a school in Vancouver. The two guys seen in one of the photos of Justin in blackface had even come out and said they were not bothered at the time because they were all just having fun. 

 

A huge nothing-burger over what was really just a waste of all our time. Justin, silly enough, actually apologized for that and I really want to personally pick his brain, in a matter of speaking, as to why he did that. I'm a fair person, even when I'm critical. Indeed, if I'm critical, then I'm paying you some form of respect because if I didn't have any for another person, then I wouldn't even give them a moment of my fucking time.

 

Singh's "trial period" has run its course already and it's time to consider either of two options:

 

A ) Replace him with a truly ambitious, more confident leader who doesn't play silly partisan games and focuses on what his party can do for the country instead. Minimize uttering the name "Trudeau" if possible, only for substantive criticism at most.

 

or...

 

B ) He needs a major overhaul in his leadership style and abilities. Enough to convince me that he's actually leadership material and not just some bitchy, opportunistic and ignorant rich boy from Burnaby who, for some reason, wears Orange instead of Blue.

 

Because it was fucking hard to vote Liberal this time around. We should all demand BETTER of ALL of our party leaders.

 

As for Bernier? Well, even Beauce (his riding, which he LOST today) doesn't really care so I certainly won't. I mean, 😆😆😆 I guess. Enough talking about that manchild tantrum-throwing loser.

(Repost) Attitude Breakdowns & Comparisons of Each Federal Party in Canada

(Originally posted on Zuckerberg's evil domain)

The Liberals will make bold promises and deliver on some of them & renege on the others. They'll pat your pack and shake your hand with a nice smile and watch you walk away. However, sometimes, they'll wait for you to turn your back and stab you there, likely with a table knife. They'll virtue-signal and continue acting like they're looking out for all Canadians, and pretend they did nothing wrong in the times in which they do. They'll be maddeningly inconsistent and screw up on a bunch of golden opportunities to do the right thing. At least they didn't betray Canadians outright like the Conservatives would have done (makes me shudder sometimes when I think about this), seeing as they produced the flawed but necessary CERB (which transitioned to a modified EI). They'll claim they're feminists as well, weirdly enough. Oh and they probably won't see what they're doing sometimes because they seem to have poor optics regarding scandalous things. I should add that Trudeau will be blamed for everything and I MEAN EVERYTHING that ever happens or has happened or MAY happen – even the fall of the Roman Empire or the fact that cats will shit behind your couch no matter how well you feed the little fucker or how well you treat it, those damn ingrates...

 

 

The Conservatives will make bold promises and deliver almost none of them & actually do the polar opposite (think taxes, regulations, spending, etc.) instead. They'll pat your back but when you turn around and walk away, they'll stab you in the back with a butcher's knife. Some of these Conservatives will throw in extra cruelty by either shooting and/or stabbing you a bunch of times in mostly non-vital areas and leave you in agony. Perhaps they'll even put you in a state of slow and painful eventual death if they're more murderous than usual. Think Jason Kenney & Doug Ford – two criminals calling themselves premiers. Throw in a shit-eating grin and deflection/projection galore. Their insidious, despicable, treacherous nature is particularly true if you're old, disabled, and not rich & white. Maybe add "Christian" to that formula but frankly, nobody, even those with the qualities I just listed, are safe from this party's true nature. They don't think residential schools are bad and they own much of the media in this fucking country so we're f–– 

 

Oh shit, was I censored? So much for freedom of speech.

 

Anyway...

 

The NDP will play both sides but pretend they're looking out for us, the layperson, all the while. They'll vote on something that should be done, on half-measures that the Liberals propose, and other variably populist proposals one minute, then blast it as treacherous and anti-Canadian the next. They'll pat your back and do nothing more than that, unless you're John Horgan in B.C in which he'll stab you in the back and almost completely abandon you to your fate. Oh and they'll use Conservative tactics like gaslighting and virtue-signalling (heh, they all do now that I mention it) in their social media posts, and never actually address issues with their platform. Don't read their twitter feeds if you don't want to feel like they've abandoned their platform and YOU.

 

The Bloc Quebecois will fixate almost entirely on Quebec, whose population (to some extent) wants to separate from the rest of the country. They'll do almost nothing if it doesn't involve Quebec somehow. They'll agree with the Liberals when it suits them (like the NDP does) but otherwise, they don't give a flying fuck about anyone else as long as it concerns Quebec. They'll use a butter knife to spread mayonnaise on their pulled-pork sandwiches, or a spoon to scoop the same stuff into their poutine. They'll stab you in the back with that same butter knife, dirty or no, as long as you're from Quebec. They're feckless and inconsequential to the rest of the country.

 

The Green Party will hardly do anything because 1) they are too busy with infighting over the Israel-Palestine conflict and alleged sexism & racism within their ranks, and 2) they've only ever achieved two, maybe THREE MP's in the House of Commons at any given point in their time as a party. They'll use a wood chip and rub it on your skin to give you a sliver or two, then tell you that you're a racist & sexist if you protest. They claim to care about the environment, though. 

 

 

The People's Party will whine and moan about how they should be in charge but "The Regime" is holding them back. They won't do much of anything to anyone because they got a paltry <1% of the vote in the 2019 election. They're a more honest Conservative party in essence but because they're so ineffective at gaining a political foothold, they'll have a hard time stabbing people in the back like the Conservatives do on a regular basis and in the same scale. They'll get themselves arrested in a Conservative-led province, blame the FEDERAL Liberals (for whatever fucking demented reason?), go on some right-wing asshole's TV-program/Podcast/some-such and whine like the (mostly) irrelevant man-babies that they are. Oh and they will hide their white-supremacist bona-fides all the while, oops.

 

 

The Independents hardly exist & don't have any real power in the federal elections but they'll stab each other in the back whenever it suits their individual needs. One of them (me, at least, I was in the 2019 election) will have done something futile in one election: cast a protest vote. I have a couple of knives to my name but I'd rather stab an inanimate object than a person kthnxbi.

/fin

(Originally Off-Site) My Breakdown of the Federal Parties of Canada

Here's my honest breakdown of the parties in this country (Federal), ordered by the results of the 2019 election. I ramble a lot so be aware of that. Won't have the best grammar ever but that's not what was important here. The views represented below are entirely my own, represented only by my experiences and what I've heard/read about these parties.

 

Without further ado...

 

Liberals = Inconsistent

 

Want to please everyone but spreads themselves too thin doing so; leader lives for attention; neoliberal economics but fine elsewhere; spend like crazy under Trudeau (though they were forced to spend a lot during this pandemic, let's be honest here); poor optics (WE Scandal [just plain poor optics on this one], SNC-Lavalin Affair, Aga Khan Scandal, Blackface Scandal [don't really care personally as it was about 20 years ago and the people in the incriminating photo have come out and said it was all in the name of fun]). Received FIVE YEARS worth of illegal donations from SNC-Lavalin. A bit of cronyism. Inception levels of inconsistency; for example, they claim to be for fighting climate change but then they support O&G expansion projects but on THAT front they decline some pipelines but approve others so they're at least two-levels of inconsistent on this very topic alone...*takes a breath* The alternatives though are either awful (see the next party below) or just not viable enough at this time to consider voting for (pretty much anyone else)

 

On the other hand...

 

They handled the pandemic fairly well all things considered (should have shut down incoming air travel, if only for a short period); Trudeau is compared too much to his father even though they're kind of different, and they can never please everyone (so they should STOP TRYING!). Justin is a bit stingy with criticism (to be fair, a lot of what he gets is straight bullshit so how can you blame him?). Justin gets attacked so often in such crazy ways that I'm often left bewildered and (trust me this really sucks) I'm often forced to defend him from the bullshit people constantly fling in his direction. They're not Conservative and thus that's a huge benefit in their favour, no questions fucking asked.

 

Conservatives = Treacherous & Criminal

 

Talks about "reigning in spending" and lowering the deficit all the time, but do the exact opposite every fucking time they hold office ANYWHERE; terrible leadership that makes me cringe; would be more likely to leave us all to the lurch instead of helping us; spreads conspiracy theories and shitposts; all bark and no bite; cronyism galore; Candice Bergen, Pierre Poill–PP!; they like TRUMP STYLE POLITICS! Leading into Harper's reign of terror, the more reasonable Conservatives merged with the batshit crazy Reform party and became a horrific hybrid mutant ever since. Could have prevented or at least changed (to whatever extent I do not know) the bullshit in the equalization payments system but nope, and here we are with a divisive system; SHAMELESS neoliberalism and completely bonkers everywhere else (sometimes they accept LGBTQ+, sometimes they don't...); Stephen Harper still kind of runs the party from the shadows (to what extent I don't think we'll ever really know); will never recover from Harper IMO. Wanted to spend $60 billion on outdated fighter jets; inconsequential "Canadian Action Plan"; lives on division between the West and the East. This party gave us two completely imbecilic and criminal scumbags running, right at the moment of this writing, two separate provinces: the egg salad sammich-loving dingus known as Doug Ford (dubiously running Ontario), and the horrendously criminal and borderline-fascistic Jason Kenney (hard at work in running Alberta into the ground). Thinking of this party irks me to an extent that you wouldn't believe...

But wait, there's more!

 

Enjoys an alliance with "Canada Proud" hate groups that DIRECTLY BENEFITS THEM! Loves cutting social programs we all pay into but makes us more beholden to private industry when the party guts these same services or sells them out. Hates taxes (for themselves and their rich buddies) but otherwise loves them (for the rest of us). They've shown in every province they run (into the ground) that they have no earthly clue what the hell they're doing in response to COVID-19 and would rather put the economy ahead of your fucking health; if they hadn't privatized our former world-renowned vaccine production facilities (Connaught Labs) we'd likely be far better off than we are now so FUCK THIS PARTY! Oh and don't forget actually enacting the long-debated FIPA, which gives China a trade advantage on Canada and a means to sue us more easily when their investments are threatened.

 

They uh...had a transit tax rebate that actually managed to encourage people to use public transit to some degree? That was killed under Trudeau for some frustrating reason. Mulroney, who still sucked overall, declared a number of national parks to be protected land (Haida Gwaii is one of them). I really don't know what else to say that is positive about this party because they're a bunch of criminal, disgusting scumbags.

 

Bloc Quebecois = Single-Minded

 

Only really cares about Quebec and her interests, and how the fuck did they get in third place. What do they really DO for the country as a whole? They straight embarrassed the NDP by attaining third-party status. Dafuq?

 

Uh...what good do they do? They perpetuate the divide between East and West so I don't care for this party.

 

NDP = Hopeless

 

Have terrible messaging; engages in attack politics not unlike the CPC; can't provide solid solutions; leader squanders his position most of the time; leader votes 'yes' on many Liberal causes/proposals, but virtue signals with 'criticisms' elsewhere, and this sends mixed signals to everyone else; no unity with provincial chapters; might never achieve what Jack Layton did in 2011 at this rate; finally, is Singh actually a socially-liberal Conservative plant?!

 

Jack Layton was a pretty cool guy in the end (R.I.P.); they came up with our healthcare system thanks to Tommy Douglas (voted "Greatest Canadian" in the mid-2000's); can actually be PROGRESSIVE (if they unified better and actually had the solutions to back it up), and they are currently in a position to hold Trudeau's cabinet to a higher standard although they don't often do this much to the chagrin of many.

 

Green = Neutered

 

They have no chance, we never get to hear their platform unless the stars are aligned right, and are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned with just two seats in Parliament. Elizabeth May can't seem to think straight for more than five seconds. Canada's Texas thinks these people are just hippies so you can't count on a reliable handful of votes from them. Has only a couple of good (and necessary) ideas but very few practical ones. A crippling degree of instability within their ranks, coupled with what few political players they actually have in the game, will hurt this party in the long term.

 

They stand for the environment. Actually showed solidarity with protestors standing up for indigenous rights. Wants to push for better renewable energy production. Was for the legalization of dope before pretty much anyone else.

 

Independent = Pointless

 

Nothing will ever happen here but I guess I personally fall here because I personally cast a protest vote in the 2019 election. Not next time, though.

 

If enough people vote independently (or do what I did in 2019 and cast protest votes) then maybe, in some alternate universe, it might shake up our elections enough that some people take notice? Won't hold my breath on this approach, though. After all, who is going to notice? This won't get the ones in power quaking in their boots any time soon.

 

People's Party = Idiotic

 

Haha, Maxime Bernier started this because he was rejected by the CPC in his leadership bid, his results were pitiful; a more fringe CPC overall. Really just a redundant party, if only a bit more honest somehow than the CPC is in terms of their economic positions. Appears to be staffed by active racists or 'former' racists and I'm not fucking kidding on this one.

 

I don't know what good they did, honestly. Just a slightly-altered copy of the CPC.

The Bill C-10 Controversy

So I read the summary of this controversial Bill C-10, and here's my take:

The people braying about how it's "censorship"...they're exaggerating. And those exaggerations are backed by...Conservative/Right-Wing voices. Politicians and critics, "journalists", lawmakers, academics, everyone who is a right-leaning fuckwit, is crying about the bill. And the gist of their argument is this:

 

It makes room for censorship of individual expression.

 

And that's because of the ambiguity that was left in the bill. This argument they're pushing is what's called a "slippery slope" fallacy. All that the Bill C-10 does its AMEND current broadcasting regulations to include streaming services, and the likes of YouTube and TikTok, in promoting Canadian content and to try to make their programming more accessible to minority groups, including the disabled (such as myself). 

 

You see, these dishonest critics are making a mountain of a molehill. They're doing it because they don't expect damn near anyone who they're trying to appeal to to actually READ THE BILL ITSELF, because it's a long document and isn't fucking interesting to read. Well, it's a legal document made to enact legal and regulatory change, so of course it won't be interesting to read. But it's informative because you know what it's meant to do.

 

Why are the Conservative-types doing this? Because they're contrarian assholes, that's why. Imagine if you will, the Conservatives wanted to make their own bill akin to Bill C-10, which AMENDS current regulations regarding broadcasting. These dishonest assholes in our media, regardless of medium (social media, TV media, print media, etc.), would praise it to the heavens. 

 

This is sociopolitical theatre, people. It's showmanship. They think their voters — the people who see things a certain way that benefits these charlatans and opportunists — are too uneducated and impulsive to challenge their divisive (and frankly distracting, likely from their real agendas, whatever they may be) machinations. And the sad thing is that they're right. This is a demonstrable and unfortunate FACT in sociopolitical discourse time and time again. And it's hurting us all in the end.

 

Don't worry about Bill C-10. Technically, all regulations and laws are fucking exploitable anyway, and that's kind of the point to begin with. Think for yourself instead of going with the reactionary bullshit that's crying about so-called "censorship" being foisted upon us with this bill. That's not what it does at all. The best that the people who are pushing this narrative have got to support their argument is that it's somewhat ambiguous in what scope of content on these newly-amended platforms (Netflix Canada, Amazon Prime, TikTok, YouTube, etc.) will be regulated. They don't even really try to substantiate anything, relying only on a slippery slope fallacy that it MIGHT lead to censorship of content.

 

Sometimes you just want to blast yourself into space somewhere and get away from all of this noise.

The Federal Liberals and Their (Spineless, Milquetoast) 2021 Budget

An overwhelming majority of MPs and other political cretins happened to vote for Universal Basic Income. 491-85 in favour. They even talked about it in their recent conferences. People are clamoring for a chance at a higher standard of living. A safety net that can keep people from going into abject poverty. A chance to do what they REALLY want to do rather than work dead-end fucking shit jobs, or keep afloat while various job markets fluctuate as they always do under (mostly) unfettered capitalism.

So frustrated, but here goes... 

 

The budget is being doled out today  and UBI is nowhere to be found. Yeah, a no-strings-attached basic income would cost somewhere around $85 billion annually. That's a lot. But think of all the people spending money in this country. Think of all the people lifted out of homelessness. Think of people being able to leverage their employment situations to their benefit by holding out for a better opportunity instead of going for whatever happens to be available because of desperation. Based on a 2013 study (it has definitely gone up since then but I can't find more recent information), poverty costs the country up to 89$ billion a year. With the pandemic and several provinces hurting economically (particularly Alberta, regardless of the pandemic), that figure would have to be considerably higher). Just going by the 2013 number (found here: https://evidencenetwork.ca/poverty-costs-canada-billions-of-dollars-every-year/), implementing an annual UBI would cost less than not doing it at all. 

 

Look at the findings found here (https://cwp-csp.ca/poverty/the-cost-of-poverty/): - "For example, a recent report from Ontario states that poverty costs the government (in collaboration with the federal government) between $10.4 billion and $13.1 billion a year." - "Nova Scotia recently declared that poverty costs the province (including governmental, societal, and individual costs) $2.4 billion per year." - "Saskatchewan pays up to $3.8 billion per year on poverty as a whole, including $2.6 billion in absent taxes and contributions to the GDP." - "In British Columbia, the government spends between $8.1 and $9.2 billion on poverty." UBI can dramatically decrease ALL OF THIS! WHY IS THIS SUCH A FUCKING ISSUE!? 

 

 Oh and no increase to the GST is on the horizon. Oh no, Garrett is advocating for a tax increase! Well, those are for Goods & Services; you know, sales taxes and the like. You buy something, and a tax is added. Buy a cup of coffee at (god forbid) Timmy's, and GST goes back to our public offices. Even a 1-3% increase would produce much more money that would go toward the programs that money is meant to fund. Or at the very least, they should, right? Oh and a slightly increased GST cheque for low-income Canadians would occur, too. It would offset a bit more of the losses from funding UBI. But it would also pay for itself over time (not the same fiscal year as implementation, mind). 

 

To quote:

 

"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had previously signalled his lack of enthusiasm for UBI, stating that the costly program is not at the top of his list amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

“Obviously COVID has exposed weaknesses in our country where vulnerable people are continuing to slip through the cracks,” he told reporters when pressed about the program in recent weeks. 

 

“We will have conversations about next steps as well but our focus is very much on what we need to do to control COVID-19.” 

 

Trudeau’s sentiment transferred into the budget document, which makes no mention of the program."

For more of that, read the following: https://globalnews.ca/news/7770067/canada-budget-2021-whats-missing-liberal-federal/

 

Yeah, yeah, I know it's Global, but they're the only ones RIGHT NOW that have an article about this half-rate budget that's being released TODAY. 

 

Nothing on pharmacare, either. Yes, the NDP tried to push a federal solution rather than a provincial one, and that one crashed and burned. They still harp on that loss, but they're just being obtuse as to why it failed to pass. No wealth tax. Yeah, the fucking rich have gotten OBSCENELY RICHER through this damned pandemic, and the Liberals won't take advantage of that goldmine? Holy shit man, and people probably wonder why I don't really like the Liberals, either. They're just a less ruthless flavour of Neoliberal as far as I am concerned. 

 

Back to the subject, the only thing the Liberals are willing to do is implement a tax on the sales of superfluous goodies like yachts, personal jets, and other crazy shit the rich sometimes buy (and then sell or default on when they lose their precious bounty). Oh boy, that's not going to be exploitable at all...

 

I'll give it to them this, and only this: even though there's no mention of any of these things in the budget, particularly UBI, doesn't mean it won't see further discussion or even consideration. It has such overwhelming support that the Liberals would be committing political suicide to not even consider implementing it at all. Another instance of the Liberals reneging on a promise. The Conservatives are even worse than that, but that's a given because that's always the case. With the Liberals, it's far more frustrating.

 

I won't vote for a fucking party that seems to have their heads up their asses. They think they're invincible. THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE MAJORITY GOVERNMENTS! 

 

Feckless...milquetoast...inconsistent...smug... Now does anyone understand why I don't like BOTH the Liberals AND the treacherous CON(job)servatives? Such a missed opportunity. Such a bold-faced example of "playing it safe." Shitty priorities! To think that neither of the alternatives are viable (or in the case of the pathetic "People's Party of Canada", not even worth a vote). So frustrating and disappointing. Fucking DOLTS!!!

You Can't Parody This...

Oh hey, I have an overnight sleep study tonight at one of the hospitals. I'll have cathodes and all that attached to my head and whatnot. And I'll sleep on a really crappy hospital bed while I'm at it!

On to the actual subject at hand: The following example, which played out yesterday at a press conference held by the current premiere and his closest confidantes (who play a role in managing the pandemic and the economy), is not the first one to blur the line between real life & parody. Far from it, even. Same goes for it being the last, unfortunately enough. But what can we expect from a government which was only voted in due to rampant cynicism and shitty politics in general. What can we expect from the Conservative party of Canada, which has been doing its level best in at least three provinces to out-stupid the other ones. Kenney, Moe, and Ford have all been vying for some kind of recognition and/or infamy, competing like its a bloodsport. Without the blood, of course, at least not yet.

What happened yesterday in that press conference (all twenty-seven and a half of it) was the stuff of comedy, only it was unintentional I think. Without further ado: Doug Ford, the PM who outlives his drug dealing brother Rob Ford (previous mayor of Toronto), at the end of the conference, plugged not only Tim Horton's (a Brazilian-owned company), but shilled for their "real egg" sandwiches as well. You can't make this shit up if you tried. He actually segued from talking about a Peterborough, ON woman who apparently would hand out $10 gift cards for the (shitty) restaurant brand, even placing them on public benches.

Sure, this isn't a travesty or anything. It's not even despicable or evil or anything like that. It's just complete idiocy is all. And a possible ethics violation if you were to ask me. But I'm not an expert of how laws apply to this instance of shameless corporate shilling, but I'm still sure that there's something that could be done about it. One of the primary subjects brought forward in that presser was that of the province's plan to re-open the economy. Another bit of comedy to come from the presser was that as he was contradicted the safety orders put in place by HIS cabinet, in order to stem the tide of the virus for a bit. Oh and he also took no responsibility for his part in the growing pandemic and just blamed (almost) everyone under the sun.

People are laughing at us right now. They're laugh at Ontarians. They're laughing at Ford. Canada's politics sinks further into a hole and it has left wanting some kind of return to sanity again.  

BlogTO has lots of details on this if you want to read on it: Doug Ford gives weird shoutout to Tim Horton's egg sandwich in press conference

You can see it for yourself, in action, at the following (starts at 26:49):
https://youtu.be/RhqZ1DFC0-I?t=1609

Word of Mouth #4: Sandveiss - Scream Queen

 

 Sandveiss - Blindsided on Youtube

From the album 'Scream Queen', which is a self-released effort. You can purchase the album through their bandcamp page.

What a stunner! Sandveiss are a hard rock/stoner band, utilizing blues-rock riffs not unlike those of Kyuss & Queens of the Stone Age (those are always welcome). They come as a surprise to everyone (including myself) from straight out of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Revel in those riffs. Thanks, Sandveiss!

(I don't know how the "center" function doesn't work in this instance, but that's the best I can do at this point considering this image isn't widely available and the publisher's functions are wonky, to say the least)