That's Why She's the Gal I Adore. Earth Mother Lizzie May, that is.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, I gotta tell you I was glued to the dang TV set last night from 9 until 11. Well, I was mostly glued except fer one time when I started noddin' off an' Ma laughed an' roused me an' I seen it was Dion on the TV mumblin' some kinda sleep inducin' FranglaMerkan lingo. After that, I needed a little fresh air so I let ol' Spot out in the backyard and breathed in some. I managed to stay a alert an' bushy-tailed fer the rest of the debate.

I met Lizzie in person a coupla times an' I seen her talk in person a few times an' a few more times on the YouTube. I knew dang well she was gonna do good an' she did. I figger Lizzie Gal showed 'em she's right up there in the big leagues an' deservedly so. Knowledgeable and quick, our gal Lizzie. An' I see in the polls lotsa folks changed their opinion fer the better an' the Greens is up a point overall.

I hear-tell some is sayin' Lizzie was buttin' in too much but I didn't hear it that way. There was a few times when there was three or four voices all yammerin' at once and them times I was listenin' hard fer a female voice an' Lizzie weren't talkin' overtop of them baritone bossmen. I did hear our Lizzie gal mutterin' some when she disputed a coupla big whoppers ol' King Steve was blatherin' about. Sheesh! Stevie tried to make out like the whole dang dumbass House o' Comments voted to fire Linda Keen. That was Harper misleadin'. Not a leader.

I reckon Lizzie showed them kindergarten kids a thing or two about civility and stickin' with the issues. I was happy to see ol' Jack givin' Lizzie some credit now an' then. She returned the favour, too. They both come across like competent folks who could work together.

I gotta give young Steve Pakin a pat on the back, too. He was a good referee, mostly. I reckon that's a dang tough job refereein' a five-way jawfest an' keepin' it fair an' square.

Harper come across with what I'd call an air of paternalism. Kinda smug an' smirky like he's toleratin' these monkeys but he ain't got much respect fer 'em. I didn't find him to be credible but I reckon that's cause he was fibbin' an' exaggeratin' all the time. I figger what's doin' the Cons an' Harper the most harm is they ain't released a platform. I heard somebuddy say they was waitin' on the Aussies to get it deliverered.

I reckon if Harpoon don't release a platform an' still trounces the hapless Grits, it'll sure say somethin'. I ain't sure what. "Blind leadin' the blind" comes to mind. Don't worry. Be happy. I wear sweaters. I wonder where Sweater Boy keeps his thermostat set in the wintertime. I wonder if he starts in wearin' the long johns in the winter so's to save on the heatin' bill an' send out less so-called greenhouse gases.

Duceppe done okay, I reckon... fer a rotten separatist BlocHead. I figger he's a good feller doin' what he can fer his people. Only thing is, he figgers his people is Q-beckers an' not all Canajuns. Ma sez he seemed more like a Premier negotiatin' with Harper the PM. He's a dang good parlay l'anglais feller, sez I. Dion's got a lot better in the speakin' English department but he still sed a coupla things I didn't catch last night. Then, maybe it was just on accounta he was puttin' me to sleep.

My ol' Dad was a salesman. He's been dead fer 10 years, this year. He woulda had a good laugh at ol' Dion an' his hapless salesmanship skills. Dion could use some lessons from my ol' Dad. First off, Dion blew the sales job of the tax shift on day one way back in the springtime. He give hisself the entire summer to sell it and he had the perfect opportunity to sell it last night but he was lackin' in the lustre department.

He oughta been closin' the sale or closed it already. Last night, he looked like he ain't quite sure why he decided to sell this here vacuum cleaner he's callin' the Green Shift. He can't close the sale on accounta he opened it all wrong. That mighta worked if there weren't a few other vacuum cleaner guys standin' on John Q. Voter's doorstep. Poor feller dragged his party into a big hole. I figger he's sincere and dedicated. A fine Canajun. Useless in the sales department.

The worst part about it is Dion took a good Green Party policy an' turned it into political cyanide fer the next 10 or 20 years. I ain't sure Lizzie helped out Dion much, like they was tryin' to say she would. I figger she sold Green Party policy and not Liberal policy. I like that she talked about stuff other than the environment and had positions that differ with the Libs. Like on NAFTA and Afghanistan and the danged economy and health care.

Anyways, friends an' foes, I had a few people emailin' an' wondering where ol' JB's hidin' out lately. Don't worry, kids, this ol' codger-blogger's still up an' walkin' an' cheerin' on the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May.

JimBobby

Layton Adopts Green Party Policy

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, Jack Layton ain't been exactly sociable with the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May. Now, it looks like that might be changin'. Today is Lizzie's birthday. I don't know if Jack sent her any birthday greetings or not but he sure as hell done Lizzie a favour by stealin' a plank from the Green Party policy book.

Greenies are happy to share our good green ideas and when other parties lift a policy, like Stephane Dion did with our tax-shifting policy, we're happy 'huggers. I reckon Happy Jack's makin' Lizzie happy on her birthday by adoptin' a GPC policy.

From the Globe, June 8, 2008:

Yesterday, in a speech in Ottawa, he (NDP Leader Jack Layton) called on the federal government to suspend any new permits for oil sands development projects until the cumulative social and environmental effects have been examined.

“No new approvals until we get it right,” he said.

From Vision Green, October 15, 2007:

Green Party MPs will:
...

• Address inter-provincial/territorial and international water-related concerns by demanding that government:
1. Restore ecosystem health to Canada’s coastline and inland watersheds by funding improvements to municipal wastewater treatment systems, with particular emphasis on ensuring shoreline communities and industries stop dumping untreated waste into rivers, lakes and oceans; and,
2. Ensure that binding water-sharing agreements among provincial, territorial and federal governments are created within the Mackenzie Basin (within 1 year). The agreements must reflect contemporary scientific knowledge and principles of social equity, efficiency and ecological integrity. Elements to include:
   1. Capping withdrawals from the Athabasca River based on assessment of in stream flow needs;
   2. Ensuring oil sands developers deal responsibly with polluted waters in storage ponds (largest man-made structures on Earth); and,
   3. Placing a moratorium on further oil sands development (i.e. increases in annual production).
      

From Green Party, May 2, 2008:

The Green Party of Canada is calling for a moratorium on the expansion of Tar Sands development and an elimination of government subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

Back in December, Earth Mother Lizzie May posted up a boog story where she listed off 31 policies that were unique to the Green Party. When Dion and the Grits adopted our carbon tax shift, the list got a little shorter. Now that Layton and the Dippers have adopted our moratorium on tar sands expansion policy, another item can be scratched off Lizzie's List of Green Party Uniqueness.

Here's Lizzie's December 2007 list:

A carbon tax, an indispensable step in getting the prices right in energy choices and allowing reduced income and payroll taxes.


“Income-splitting” to reduce the tax burden on middle class couples.

A continuing role in Afghanistan but within a transformed U.N. mission, legalizing and regulating the poppy trade for medicinal use, and bringing in more Islamic nations into the peace-keeping, security efforts in Southern Afghanistan through the U.N.

An end to asbestos mining and export to developing countries. (truly outrageous that for all the talk about asbestos, only the Green Party is prepared to call for banning mining and export.)

The phase out of nuclear power and uranium mining.

The reform of the Divorce Act to make family law less of a battleground.

To launch a national dialogue toward a Guaranteed Livable Income.

The legalization of marijuana, to be controlled, regulated and taxed.

The six month notice to get out of NAFTA with immediate re-negotiation of key provisions.

Support for open source software and net neutrality.

National shift to GE-free, organic agriculture and regional food self-sufficiency.

A moratorium on new projects in the tar sands.

Creation of a federal Department of Tourism

Protect drinking water at its source (no other party will do this--the BC NDP jailed citizens for trying to protect drinking water).

Amend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enshrine the right of Canadians to an ecological heritage that includes breathable air and drinkable water.

Pass federal legislation to prohibit bulk water exports.

Establish a National Parks completion budget; protect at least half of Canada's Boreal Forest in a network of large interconnected protected areas as called for in the 2003 Boreal Forest Conservation Framework

Zero waste, including laws requiring lifetime stewardship of products

A cancer prevention strategy that includes a toxic-free Canada -- taxing toxics and pollution; ending the production and use of the most dangerous toxic chemicals by 2012.

Pan-Arctic waste management strategy.

Shift funding from mega-freeway projects like Pacific Gateway that encourage urban sprawl and use the funds instead for public transit.

Implement Genuine Progress Indicator (or Index of Well-being)

Enact "living will" legislation to give person the choice to die with dignity.

Explore establishing a new crown corporation to bulk purchase and dispense generic drugs - to bring down the costs of pharmacare.

Pass pay equity legislation; immediately implement full pay equity for women employed in the federal sector and develop tax incentives for companies to meet gender and pay equity.

Press professional societies to remove unnecessary barriers recognizing the professional credentials of immigrants.

Canada must support and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Revamp CIDA to focus on developing community-based green economies, poverty alleviation and programmes to combat and adapt to climate change.

Declare Canada a nuclear free zone.

Reform WTO, IMF and the World Bank, placing these under the authority of the UN General Assembly and shift the direction of international trade away from free trade to fair trade.

Scrap the SPP (Security and Prosperity Partnership)

Well, I guess we're down to only 29 policies that are unique to the Green Party. As we move closer an' closer to the next federal election, I wonder who's gonna be next to take a page outta Vision Green.

JimBobby

Afghan Clerics Support Death Penalty for Journalist

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, the Afghan journalist sentenced to death for humiliating Islam is another step closer to the gallows.

Clerics urge Kabul not to interfere with death sentence

AMIR SHAH

Associated Press

February 7, 2008 at 6:37 AM EST

KABUL — Conservative clerics and elders demanded Thursday that the Afghan government not interfere with a controversial death sentence handed down to a young journalist convicted of insulting Islam for distributing a report questioning polygamy.

Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, 23, was sentenced to death on Jan. 22 by a three-judge panel in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif for handing out a report he printed off the Internet to fellow journalism students at Balkh University.

The article questioned why men can have four wives but women cannot have multiple husbands.

Mr. Kaambakhsh has appealed his conviction.

More than 100 tribal and religious leaders convened Wednesday in Gardez, the capital of the conservative eastern province of Paktia, and demanded that the government support the sentence.

“Kaambakhsh made the Afghan people very upset. It was against the clerics and Islam. He has humiliated Islam,” Khaliq Daad, head of the Islamic council of Paktia, said Thursday. “We want the Afghan president to support the court's decision.”
(Source)

Yep. That's the sorta place to which we're sending our best and bravest to die. Maybe General Hillier get get up on his hind legs and tell us how this is none of our business; Afghanistan is a sovereign state and we should stay out of their internal affairs.

While many other world leaders spoke up early on and condemned this insanity, Canada officially stood silent until passing an NDP motion yesterday.

The wording of Jack Layton's motion:

That this House condemns the proposed execution of the Afghan journalism student, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, and calls on the Government of Canada to intervene with the government of Afghanistan to have all criminal proceedings against Sayed Pervez Kambaksh immediately abandoned.
(Hansard)

Kudos to NDP leader Layton for showing leadership and getting unanimous consent for this motion.

We can only prop up this draconian regime for so long before the abuses and repression come back and bite us in the ass. If Kaambakhsh/Kambaksh is executed, getting unanimous House consent for abandoning Afghanistan completely will be the next step.

Not in my name!

Change the climate in Parliament.

JimBobby

Kiss my ass, Rex Murphy. You ain't the language police.

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, ol' JimBob's pissed-off. Rex Murphy come on The National last night an' dressed down Lizzie May over her appeasement sermon. Rex is s'posed to be a smart feller. He's a Rhodes Scholar, after all. If he's as smart as he thinks he is, he'd know that politicians been invokin' the memory of Neville Chamberlain fer 60 years.

Go read Maclean's, you dumbass.

Murphy sez any reference to Chamberlain and even any use of the words "appeasement" and "deniers" are reprehensible and off-limits. Kiss my ass, Rex. You ain't the language police.

Murphy ain't the only ignoramus who can stand in line to kiss my green ass. Steve Harper, Peter MacKay, Stephane Dion, Jack Layton an' any other kettle in this here pot and kettle mudfest.

What's really got my goat is that Lizzie May sed what she sed in a church sermon an' she's gettin' raked over the coals by these numbnutses who sed the selfsame thing in Parliament for the official record.

Do these hypocrits want to monitor all church sermons lookin' fer inapporopriate historical references?

There's a few boogin' pundidiots I seen who ain't content just to blast Lizzie over the appeasement reference. They don't like it that Lizzie has religion. Here's a coupla quotes from the comments over at Accidental Deliberations -

JimBobb, you go on ad's site, take a swipe at Layton, and then the rest of your post was defending May's Lord, Jesus Christ moment of Godly all knowing creationist fundamental bull.

She even pulled off a Tammy Faye Baker 'shed a tear' moment as the profit.
janfromthebruce 05.01.07 - 6:16 pm #

and...

As for the implosion, the Chamberlain comments probably have been blown out of proportion. But it's the other factors that seem more damaging to me - both May's religious fervour and her inability to control her emotions over her own prepared speech seem to bode poorly for her in the political arena, even if they wouldn't be problems elsewhere.
The Jurist Homepage 05.02.07 - 11:30 pm #

Go an' read the whole thing. The Jurist has some dang good ideas about how deals between parties oughta be made. An' he's right about the comments bein' blown out of proportion. Good tactic fer the Jurist to change course now that it's been pointed out how many other MP's have used the same analogy.

I ain't a religious person. In fact, I'm an atheist. Organized religion, IMHO, has done a lot of damage over the centuries an' continues to do damage today. Do I think that all organized religion is bad and that churches have never done anything good? Of course not. Are all religious people peterfilin' priests or residential school apologists? No.

While I don't believe in a supreme being or attend church, I recognize the right of others to do so. Sometimes, like when I'm at a funeral, I envy the believers who truly believe that the dead guy's in a better place. One thing I try not to do is mock people for their religious beliefs.

When someone refers to "May's Lord, Jesus Christ moment of Godly all knowing creationist fundamental bull," I interpret that as mockery of religious beliefs. Like I sed over in that comment gabfest, that sorta mockery is small-minded, petty and cruel. If references to Neville Chamberlain are off limits, mockery of a person's deeply held religious beliefs are way off limits.

Regardin' the emotionalism aspect, I thought we'd got beyond the point where a public figure was not allowed to shed a tear. Back in 1972 in Merka, there was a presidential hopeful by the name of Edmund Muskie. He got all emotional on the stump an' shed a tear. His presidential chances were scuttled. I thought we'd moved on and grown since then but it seems that the "shrill hysteria" label is alive and well.

True confession time - I get choked up about things that concern me deeply.

Back when my dear departed Dad was in his fifties, I started to notice how emotional he'd become. He'd get all teary-eyed over somethin' he'd remember from back when he was in WW2 or when he was a kid in the depression or even over some dumbass TV show. I remember bein' a little embarrassed when Dad would choke up over what seemed like nuthin'.

Now that I'm an old codger goin' on 60, I find myself embarrassed at my own emotionalism fairly often - 'specially, when I'm tellin' somebuddy about somethin' I feel strongly about. Maybe the Jurist is right when he sez Lizzie's too emotional. Maybe them guys who mocked Ed Muskie were right, too. Maybe, but I don't think so.

Anybuddy else wants to get in the kiss JB's ass line-up, just join in the comments with some pot'n'kettle hypocrisy.

JimBobby