"Crises can be opportunities as well"

Conservative strategist Goldy Hyder comments on how the Earthquake in Haiti has drawn attention away from Stephen Harper's prorogation of parliament.  From a political standpoint, the federal Conservatives are happy that millions of people are without food and homes.  Meanwhile nearly every business I have been to in the last week has a collection for Haiti relief.  

I have nothing to add.

Conspiracy or Glitch?

Google Suggests is the name for that little dropdown box you see when you are entering something in Google.  It is intended to be completely impartial, and advertisers depend on this.

But recently somebody has discovered something interesting.  If you start entering text such as "Christianity is", you will be presented with options such as "Christianity is not a religion" or "Christianity is a lie".  You will get similar results with other religions such as Buddhism or Judaism.  However if you enter the text "Islam is", the dropdown box closes right up and the Google Suggests feature automatically disables itself.  

Huh.

Conan

I rushed home last night to watch Conan O'Brien, he was so funny last week and I wanted to continue watching this train-wreck in progress.  He knows people are behind him right now, and jokes about the NBC late night situation drew huge applause.  Other jokes didn't.

I have always found him to be funny and quirky, but I am not sure that his current appeal will follow him if he moves to another show on another network.

Death in the Family

I have been lucky in that I haven't had to deal with as much sickness in death in my family as many of my friends.  I know that only puts off the years when I am attending more funerals than I would like, but it was still shocking when my 38 year old cousin Derek died last week after succumbing to brain cancer.  He was very well liked and popular.  His friends have started a group on Facebook named RIP Derek Iles, which has reached 370 members within just a few days.  Bye Derek, we're coming.  Just not too soon.

PROROGATION (part 2)

From the Free Dictionary Online:

-(verb) to discontinue the meetings of (a legislative body) without dissolving it

- act later than planned, scheduled, or required (delay)

- stop or postpone because of adverse conditions (stop)

- stop dealing with (hold) example: "hold all my calls til March"

- render temporarily ineffective (suspend)

2 years.  Wow this blogger site has changed.  I am going to have to get my image at the top of the page fixed.

PROROGATION

Canada currently does not have a sitting government.  I have always found it a bit odd that we pay these federal politicians over $140,000 per year, yet they take a month off for Christmas and 3 months off for summer holidays.  Of course it's not all sitting at the pool drinking Mai-tais during their summer break, our elected representatives are getting out and making appearances at county fairs, dropping into their riding office for a photo op, and drinking Mai-tais.  Representing us.  

Interestingly, each MP currently receives more than twice the base salary as an MP would have earned in 2000.  So were our MPs grossly underpaid ten years ago, or are they overpaid today?  That's not the subject of this post, that's not why I decided to start writing.  

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided that instead of just one month of holidays this year, he would like to take two and a half months.  How nice if we could all take two months off at a whim.  As political pundit Rick Mercer says:

"Snow days happen to children. If you are an adult, it doesn't matter how much snow falls – you still have to get to work and you still have to shovel the walk. Snow days don't apply to adults unless you happen to be the Prime Minister of Canada, who with one phone call has the ability to give every member of Parliament two months off."

If you have read this blog in the past you know I once considered myself a Conservative federally.  I long to call myself a Conservative again, but since my party was effectively taken over by the  old Reform Party (Canadian Alliance), its values have gone downhill under leader Stephen Harper.  I have a hard time believing that even Reform Party founder Preston Manning isn't phoning his former pupil each morning and demanding to know why our country does not have a sitting parliament.

If we are stupid enough to allow this nonsense to continue then this is the representation we deserve.  Or we can each begin to take a part in the process.  If you want to find out what your member is doing during his extended vacation this winter, call his or her riding office and ask for information.  You can find information on your riding, your MP, and contact information for the riding office by clicking here.

"Even Afghanistan, where Canadians are dying, has a parliament that's open for business." Rick Mercer