Fellow BTer here in Cayman?

Hey Doc Roy... I didn't know you were such a big deal here on Grand Cayman!

My ON PC Leadership website review

Thanks again to the folks at Grassroots Voice for the opportunity to take part in their candidate's website review. Here's what I sent them...

Christian Conservative's Ontario PC Leadership website review

With the leadership getting off to a roaring start, it's time to do a review of the online "presence" of the various candidates.

The best way to test out a candidate's online "presence" is to "Google" them, and see what comes up. As such, we've conducted a test using the same terms for each and every candidate, to ensure an unbiased examination of how well the campaigns are getting their candidates out there. The search terms used in each case were just their first name and last name.

First up, in alphabetical order, was Christine Elliott. The first and second links take you to her MPP site, while the third link listed takes you directly to her website.

Randy Hillier's search takes you directly to the front page of his website via the first link.

The first link for Tim Hudak's search takes you to his MPP page. It's not until the fifth link that you get anything on his leadership bid.

As for Frank Klees, well, his Google search went really bad. He doesn't appear to have an official leadership site, at all. Everything seems to point to to his MPP website... on which, I can't find anything at all about his leadership bid. He seems to have no campaign "presence" whatsoever online, other than his Facebook page set up by a fellow blogger.

Now on to the review of the leadership websites themselves...

Christine Elliott - Intro page for VoteChristine.ca is a signup sheet. Very clean, easy on the eyes, well laid out. Good font selection, nice choice of colour scheme, good picture of Christine, immediate impact is one of professionalism and competency. Not just an option to sign up for updates, but also a volunteer checkbox, and most critical of all, a "Donate" button right there. Also a clear "Skip to the website" option, which is important to insure you're not annoying potential supporters.

First impression is "Obama". Seriously, it reminds me of the Obama/Biden campaign website. Everything you could want is right there. The "Join" button takes you to an online web store, where you can purchase a membership without getting off the couch... unless you left your wallet on the kitchen table. Just click on the icon to "Add to Cart", and then proceed to the checkout. Nicely done gang. On the same page, you can also enter a donation amount to "Add to Cart". Only thing I found an issue is that both the "Join" and the "Donate" buttons on the main page take you to the exact same place. Just a minor thing, but that always bugs me.

I found the site to be somewhat light on the policy side. Personally, I like for someone to have meat on their site when it comes to positions, issues, etc. Of course, this is a campaign website, and they again seem to have taken on the Obama strategy... looking good, but not saying too much. Could be just keeping their cards close at the start, intending to roll out policy as the weeks go on, so we'll keep an eye on that.

Overall, an excellent website. Load times were a bit laggy, and I've got a pretty snappy computer and internet connection. We're just talking seconds here, but it was noticable. May want to beef that up a bit. I really like the "Share" button embedded within all the pages... let's me fire something off to my contacts with just a click.


Randy Hillier - Punch up hillierforleader.com, and BAM! It's a full court press right of the bat. Sharp graphics, also somewhat Obama-esque, looks like a blue dawn rising behind Randy's name... which I think is the point. Photo of Randy with the Ontario flag flowing in the breeze. Great colour scheme, no question about where he stands... lots of blue on blue, which in itself communicates a lot. Hit the links at the top, and you're taken to sharp looking internal pages, I especially like the pic of Randy at the top on the "About" page. It very quickly communicates a lot about Randy, or at least his public persona... the un-politician who's from somewhere other than the GTA.

Up at the very top of every page, you can sign up for updates via e-mail. A nice touch. Down on the right, you've got all the social networking links you could ever need... a Share button, an RSS feed sign up, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. All under the banner of "Join the Randy Revolution", evoking the good old days of the Mike Harris "Common Sense Revolution". Playing on that same theme, he's got a "Common Sense" link, that pulls up some of his core issues, which is something that Randy has been strong on his entire political career. No one can say that they don't know where Randy stands on the issues, because he's pretty up front on where he stands on just about everything.

Like his slogan... "A Conservative Leader for a Conservative Party". It's in your face and to the point, and a pretty clear distancing of himself from the previous leader, John Tory.

When I started poking around a few weeks ago, I honestly thought that Christine had the best website. But it looks like Randy's team has gone flat out with their campaign launch, and to be perfectly honest, Randy has opened up a pretty significant advantage right now for who's got the best web presence.


Tim Hudak - Tim's site is clean, fairly simple design. Off the bat you're faced with an intro page with several options, a sign up for updates, an online donation link, and a membership purchase button. A couple of thoughts... the update sign up section doesn't tell you what it's for, it's just kinda there. The donation page takes you to a PayPal page, which to be honest, strikes me as a little campy and unprofessional. I'm guessing it's one of those decisions made to make donors feel more confident that their credit card numbers are secure.

Once you're into the site, everything you'd want is right there... but things look a little too busy and not well laid out for me. Of the links at the top, the "Why Tim" link gets bumped down to the next line, which is poor web programming in my opinion. But on the positive side, there's a whole lot of content, everything you could possibly want is right there. The main stories are all listed below. But one major issue I have with the site is something I've said before... guys, will you PLEASE ditch that goofy pic of Tim in the top right corner? Seriously, there's got to be another one you could use, we're looking for the next Premier here, not next president of the school chess team!

Way down at the bottom, there's the same options that the others have, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and also Flicker photos. He's also got links to his Flicker photos, which is cool, gives the impression of a dynamic campaign. Something unique, they've also got a search feature, a nice touch for those who are looking for more detailed info on specific items.

Having said all that, a little further down on the right is the best there's a link to Right-Here.ca, the official social networking site, or "Online Conservative Community" as they've entitled for the Hudak campaign. To be frank, I like the "Right Here" site better than the campaign site. You have to sign up to access anything on it, but it's certainly a good concept. It's a little more controllable than Facebook, and allows them to integrate Twitter posts, events calendar, etc. I'll be signing up myself shortly, I must say they've got my interest.

Frank Klees - As indicated before, Frank doesn't seem to have any kind of official presence other than his third party Facebook account. My impression is that he's just jumping in this to bring up issues he cares about, as opposed to actually seeking to contend for the leadership. Which is a shame, because in looking at his list of core issues the other week, he actually piqued my interest for further consideration. Now after this website review, however, I must say I'm disappointed, and won't likely be giving him much more consideration.

CONCLUSION

All in all, I'd have to say that Randy Hillier's team has put together the best site overall. There are a couple things I don't like about it, but it's pretty fantastic otherwise. Christine Elliott's team has put together a pretty sharp looking presence as well, and Team Hudak's online community concept via Right-Here.ca is unique and fresh. All in all, when this thing is over, I really hope that a campaign team is built from members of each leadership campaign team, because I think we could put forward the cutting edge kind of "presence" that we saw from the Obama team down in the US last November... a winning one.

With one exception, however... don't hire Tim Hudak's photographer!

ON PC Leadership... what's a blogger to do?

Haven't had much time to get into it, but I do have to say that the race is getting interesting. And the wooing has begun in earnest!

First off was a phone call I got a little while back, which actually gave me quite a shock... I answered my cell, and low and behold, who's on the line? "Hello, this is Randy Hillier calling"! Turns out he'd been reading a couple of my blog posts, and well, umm, let's just say he wanted to chat! I must say I was impressed, nice guy, honest and forthright, no guff. We chatted for a bit about various issues, rumours, and I let him know straight out why I felt hesitant to consider supporting him... that while John Tory was too far at one end of the "conservative" political spectrum for many, likewise he to was too far on the other end. Basically different guy, but pretty much the same problem, only in reverse. Again though, I was indeed impressed that he'd take the time to call me, so I will at least give him some consideration as the campaign gets under way. For all those who want to take a look, Randy's website is here.

Then there's the wooing from the local "Hudakites" as one of them has come to calling themselves. A sit down with my "official" local organizer for Team Tim, and an invite to a breakfast this morning... which I totally forgot about since I barely slept last night! (irony... I didn't think I could get up early enough to go, and then I did wake up with plenty of time because I couldn't sleep... but forgot about it anyway, grrr...) To be honest, I think I'm leaning in Tim's direction, because I think he's the guy who's got the best stuff to beat the Liberals... perhaps not this time around, (I honestly don't know if anyone can after we wasted an entire year's worth of effort) but able to rebuild and revitalize and prepare us to eventually govern again... maybe even keep McGuinty to a minority in 2011. I think the numbers are there to do just that, but I think it would take a youthful and energetic guy like Hudak to pull it off. Tim's website is here... but a word of advice guys? Swap out the goofy looking pic of Tim in the top left corner... certainly there's got to be a better one you can use somewhere!

I haven't heard much from the Klees Kamp yet, other than the rah-rah from fellow blogger Darryl Wolk. Since I really know nothing about Frank (again, I've not really followed Provincial politics all that much) I figured I'd look him up. Right off the bat, the thought came to mind that honestly, he doesn't "look" like a Premier to me, but that's just superficial, so I looked a little deeper at his positions. I must say, on strictly a policy level, I must say I like what little I've read so far. We're pretty much on the same page on healthcare and education, as I've always been a big supporter of tax credits for private education, having gone to a Christian school myself. I wholeheartedly disagree with critics of such a plan, who say that doing so will defund the public system... I think they're being dishonest with their false-dilemma arguments. Frank will be getting a close second look during this campaign. His website is here.

Also had a Facebook invite from an Elliot supporter, from an organizer who I really respect, so of course, I'll have to at least give her a good look. Her website is by far the slickest website of the crowd... oh man, it just rocks. Everything you could want to see is right there, all well laid out, and at the bottom, you've got all the links to all the virtual campaign tools you need... YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook. Seriously, looks like someone was paying attention to the Obama campaign... here's hoping they get tapped for the 2011 campaign website, whoever wins this thing. I really don't know much about Christine herself, so I'll comment as I learn more... but her site has got my attention, which is exactly what a campaign site is supposed to do.

So, as the title says... what's a blogger to do? All of a sudden, I'm interested in provincial politics again...

CFRB's Bill Carroll points out Liberal hypocrisy

Had to smile when Bill Carroll from Toronto's CFRB 1010 pointed out how hypocritical the Ontario Liberals are this morning. It all comes down to the Ontario Budget, and the "economic projections" upon which they base their numbers.

For weeks now, the Federal Liberals, which is made up predominantly of Ontario Liberals here in Ontario*, have been taking the Harper Government to task for the "economic projections" upon which the most recent Budget was based. And the Liberals have been saying the projections are "too rosy", as Finance Critic John MacCallum indicated on Bill Carroll's show just yesterday.

Now look at the Ontario Budget. What were their numbers based on? Yup, you guessed it... the exact same projections as the Harper Government's Budget.

Once again, on three, say it with me... HYPOGRITS!!! Looks like numbers that are good enough for a Liberal to use AREN'T good enough for a Conservative, in their eyes. On the one hand, the Federal Liberals, and all their hacks over at the Liblogs, critize the Harper Government's projections. Meanwhile, they approve of and defend using the very same figures here in Ontario.

Let's see if any of them have the decency to stand up and level the same critism at the McGuinty government as they have been at the Harper Government... but I'm not holding my breath, of course.

Let me put it to you another way... and Libloggers who are honest about this issue gets a link from this post, and will get props from me for their ethical stance.


* NOTE: Actually I think the Ontario Liberal Party makes up what, like 50% of their entire Federal membership? We don't call it the Liberal Party of Toronto for nothing...

Light blogging this week

My HP laptop died over the weekend, and it's well out of warranty... turns out there's a secret extended warranty on certain models due to a known defect. They're gonna replace the motherboard at no cost, which I can't complain about too loudly since I've got a dead laptop. Just waiting to get it shipped back to them.

Which means I don't have as ready access to blog this week, so things will be quiet round here. (and a cheer goes up from the left...)

A blessing to my fellow bloggers

I'll admit it, I'm guilty too, we bloggers on opposing sides can tend to get pretty mean and nasty to each other. We forget that most of us, even though we have differing views on how to solve our problems, really are just wanting to make this country a better place.

So, in that spirit, I'd like to wish Red Tory and Canadian Cynic, who have been in the past some of my most vocal critics, a wonderful day tomorrow. No catch, no rhyme or reason, just because. Because they're my fellow countrymen, who I firmly believe only desire to make Canada a better place.

Have a great day guys. I wish many blessings on you, and will pray that tomorrow will hold an unexpected blessing.

Sorry to disappoint my detractors

Sorry folks, but yes, I'm still alive. Haven't been blogging lately cause I've been sick, nursing a cold for the last two weeks. Any free time has been spent trying to keep up with work.

But I'm slowly coming back... just wait till this weekend. Oh yea, it's Convention time baby!

#3 on CBC's "Blog Buzz" for Oct. 2, 08

My post from last week, regarding James Curran's post on Mr. Harper's faith, and the faith of the Guelph Liberal candidate who attends a sister church to my own, came in at #3 on Susan "Blog Buzz" for October 2, 2008.

Right off the bat, I want to correct the statement on Susan's blog... there she says it was James himself made certain claims about Harper's denomonation. As I clarified in my post, it was NOT James who made those statements, but was a direct quote from the article which he reposted on his blog. (it was just the formatting of the post that made it look like those were his own words... that was an error on my part that I fully acknowledge)

I do, however, stand by the original point of my post. If people want to take Mr. Harper to task over his faith, they shouldn't be hypocritical, and should apply the same standard to their local Liberal candidates... of which there are many Evangelicals who share our Most Holy faith.

Liberal blogger attacks Valeriote for his faith

Well, I was fully expecting this one to come during the election, knowing the Liberals penchant for "Fear & Smear" tactics. So in anticipation of the baseless attack, you may recall that I posted a "Statement of Faith" on this blog some months ago. What most people don't realize though is that it wasn't from my church... it was from Guelph Liberal candiate Frank Valeriote's, Lakeside Bible Church.

You see, Liberal blogger James Curran followed the exact "Fear & Smear" gameplan I expected the Liberals to follow, and launched an attack on evangelical Christians on his blog today, in a misguided attempt to smear Prime Minister Harper. However, in so doing, he's unintentionally subjected Guelph Liberal candidate Frank Valeriote to some "friendly fire", as Mr. Valeriote's church, Lakeside Bible Chapel, has a very similar worldview to the one James is accusing Mr. Harper's church of having.

Here's the main section of James' post:

The Harper Nobody Knows....Shhhhh, it's a Secret

Mr. Evangelical. Oh, Sarah Palin, we've got you beat.

Why Stephen Harper keeps his evangelical faith very private
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is damned if he does talk about his evangelical beliefs and damned if he doesn't. If he continues to avoid answering questions about his religious convictions, political observers say he appears secretive, like he's hiding something. But, at the same time, most Canadians do not share the moral convictions of his evangelical denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.

The Alliance Church, to which Harper has belonged for decades, believes Jesus Christ will return to Earth in an apocalypse, won't ordain women, strongly opposes abortion and divorce, condemns homosexuality as the most base of sins and believes those who aren't born-again are "lost."

And here's the response that I posted on his blog...

James, with this article, I fully expect you to hold other candidates to the same standard... namely Guelph Liberal candidate Frank Valeriote, who attends Lakeside Bible Church. You see, he's a former Catholic, who converted to Evangelicalism some time ago. (however, he started re-attending the local Catholic mega-church in addition to his regular Evangelical church home during the run-up to the by-election... interesting)

For the record... it's an affiliated church with my own, and has the same core beliefs and principles as I do. Here's their statement of Faith... which I posted on my blog several months ago in preperation for the anticipated "Fear & Smear" attack from you Liberals. And you haven't disappointed me James. (I know... desperate times call for desperate measures)

What does Frank's church believe? Pretty much everything I believe... "believes Jesus Christ will return to Earth in an apocalypse, won't ordain women, strongly opposes abortion and divorce, condemns homosexuality as the most base of sins and believes those who aren't born-again are "lost"."... the very same things you take Harper to task for.

Hypocrite.

Are you suggesting that Guelph voters shouldn't vote for Mr. Valeriote because he's an Evangelical Christian?

So now... is a somewhat prominent Liberal blogger suggesting that Evangelicals are not fit for public office in this land? And if so, will he hold their Guelph candidate to the same standard?

For the record... I don't think Mr. Valeriote, or the many other Liberals of the Evangelical faith like Dan McTeauge, ought to be attacked for their faith. Likewise, nor do I think Mr. Harper ought to be attacked for his. Leave religion OUT of politics James... isn't that exactly what you want?

UPDATE: Looks like I've got James all bent out of shape on this one, so let me be clear... James, I'm not "questioning your integrity". Having met, I know you're a straight up and honest guy, and I'd never repeat my previous mistakes on that front. What I've done here is to simply take your statements on Mr. Harper's faith to their logical conclusion. You've stated pretty clearly that Mr. Harper's faith is an issue for you in this campaign, so I've merely pointed out that your own candidate in Guelph is mostly on the same page. (as for the abortion issue, well, Frank's not on the same page as his congregation, I'll give you that)

Besides... I was going to say the same things no matter which one of the Libloggers tried to make faith an issue in this campaign... it just happened to be you who stepped in it. ;-)

UPDATE II: James has brought to my attention that most of the blog post I quoted are not actually his own words... it's a straight repost of an article from the Vancouver Sun. While I'll grant that these words are not his, I still think it says a lot that he reposted it, along with the title that he personally gave it... "The Harper Nobody Knows....Shhhhh, it's a Secret - Mr. Evangelical. Oh, Sarah Palin, we've got you beat". I don't think, however, that he defend himself with that.

I still think his intentions were pretty transparent with this posting... hoping to cloud the public's judgement by bringing Mr. Harper's faith into the mix.

Red Tory: More "Tory" than "Red" these days?

Not implying that he's leaning towards Harper or anything... because clearly, he's not. However, Liblogger Red Tory has been getting more and more critical of the current Liberal campaign these days... and with good reason.

UPDATE II: Tuesday Sept. 23:
"Chilling"... he says (sarcasticly) that for some "strange" reason, people aren't warming up to Dion

Monday Sept. 22:
Dion’s Platform to Nowhere, where he critiques the Liberal platform launch with these stinging words: "nobody is listening and no one cares"
Absence Makes the Heart Grow Bitter, where he trashes the Liberals for their non-voting tactic in the House, which turned out to be a disaster for them.

Sunday Sept. 21:
Too Little, Too Late, where he admits, "You know… try as I might, gosh darn it, I just cannot seem to get at all enthused about this campaign"

Saturday Sept. 20:
A New Low, where he expresses disappointment with Dion for breaking his "I'll take the high road" promise with his new negative ads

Thing is, he's not the only one. Just ask "The Mound of Sound" from "Rolling Back the Tide of Extremism", who's post today entitled Rescuing Stephane Dion says the same thing many Liberals have been saying for weeks now... the "Green Shift"(TM) has been a monumental disaster, full stop. One of the cement shoes of the campaign, if you will. (the other one being the Liberal leader himself... and we haven't even gotten to the debates yet)

Humm... I wonder if Jason will take these guys to task for being "selfish and not helpful to the cause", like he did Warren.

UPDATE: And another unhappy Liberal... CuriosityCat had this to say about today's Liberal platform release:

What absolute twaddle.

We end up with an election well into its second week, with no stirring over-arcing principles, with a bland theme, and what seems to be a laundry list of policies …

What a wasted opportunity!

Have Liberals forgotten how to do politics?

Maybe we need to send our Liberal Party leaders back to school, to learn Politics 101.
You do not become a government by acting like a bunch of middle-aged, uninmaginative shopkeepers.

Where's the steak?

Where's the sizzle?

Yes, the rumours are true...

I will be appearing on tonight's "bloggers" episode of the Michael Coren Show with Jason Cherniak, Steve Janke, and James Curran.

As the least of the four, I think I did okay, and got the occasional word in edgewise.  We had some really good discussions off camera too, and I think an enjoyable time was had by all.

Still waiting for the photo... anytime James.  ;-)  (he's actually really busy right now, so I guess we'll let him off the hook...)

UPDATE: Now watching, I think I did better than I thought while taping it. I got my point in from the other day about the defacto majority situation the winning party is going to be in, and why Canadians shouldn't fear a Conservative majority as a result.

A good show, in my view. And fun... here's hoping for a repeat.

Will the Opposition's strategy backfire?

Been thinking about it all weekend, as lots of people have asked me the question, "Will it be a minority or majority?"

I keep giving them my honest take on the situation... I'd like a majority, but I think we're in for a stronger minority, plain and simple. However, will all the Opposition parties already talking about a majority posibility, I got to thinking...

Even with a minority win, Mr. Harper will once again have a defacto majority for the first year and a half, maybe even two years, since the Liberals will be in disarray and won't dare take the Government down. I guess my message to Canadians is that due to the forthcoming Liberal paralysis, like we saw in this session of Parliament, voters should vote with their hearts, and not how the Liberals tell them to vote via their "Fear and Smear" campaign.

Secondly, this weekend I was thinking about how the Opposition parties keep on talking about "Majority"... almost as if the outcome, a Conservative victory, is a foregone conclusion. I'm thinking that the Opposision, by trying to scare voters with the prospect of a Harper "Majority" right out of the gate, might even see that strategy backfire on them. If voters keep on hearing "Majority" throughout the campaign, they might even start to get comfortable with the idea... and they might even start to like the idea of not having to go to the polls again until 2012.

So to all the Opposition bloggers out there, you just keep on talking about the "scary" prospect of a Conservative "Majority"... though I don't personally think that's going to happen.

Of course, web polls like this one on CTV.ca today don't hurt our chances either...

"BT Site of the Week - Sept. 7, 2008"

Totally cool... thanks to BBS for the nod on my second "Blogging Tory Site of the Week" award.

Testing, testing 1-2-3

Checking out how Blogger interacts with the new Google Chrome browser. So far, I'm impressed. We'll see how it goes over the next couple days.

"Gotcha!" politics... I knew this day would come

I personally like Warren's views on times like this ... by all means guys, keep on firing your attacks my way. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest you take another look at his books... these amatures could learn a few things from him.

Anyway, I guess it's time to answer a few questions that have been hanging out there over the last few days...

Why have I kept my identity under wraps on this blog? Because, and I'll repeat... "All opinions expressed here are solely my own, and not necessarily reflective of the views of the Party, its leadership, its general membership, my EDA, or my local Conservative candidate". So there.

I chose a long time ago that I would not use any position I held for my own purposes or agendas. When I serve the people of Canada, I do so at their pleasure, and as such, I have a responsiblity to ensure that their veiws are reflected properly. On that basis, I've never indicated any position that I've held on this blog. Yes, I have taken on certain responsibilities over the years in an effort to serve my fellow Canadians to the best of my ability, but I've done so in a manner that reflects the general views of the membership of whatever EDA I've been a part of... and there have been several different EDA's over the life of this blog. You can choose to believe me or not, but that's the truth.

You see, the Conservative Party of Canada is indeed a "Big Tent" party.  I've worked with lots of folks in various capacities... some who are Christians, some Muslims, atheists, agnostics, you name it.  Why are we, all people with differing opinions, working together as we do?  In an effort to make a better Canada for everyone... and not just for a select few, like the Liberal Party of Canada seems to do.

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, my views are not exactly "mainstream"... not even within my own party, despite what some of the liars may try to tell you. As such, I've never openly disussed my real identity. My reasoning is somewhat similar to Canadian Cynic's... I'd prefer not to have any nutbars showing up on my front door. But despite my best efforts, and thanks to some help from Liberal bloggers, I've already recieved one piece of hate mail. Not openly identifying myself has also allowed me to express the opinion of the 5%-10% of the Canadian population who describe themselves as "Evangelical"... people who believe the Bible in a more literal manner, and who view the political realm from that worldview. That worldview, of course, not in step with ANY of the major political parties in Canada. As a member of one of the major parties, and as a Bible-believing Christian, I wanted to be able to express my views, and the views of tens of thousands of other Canadians, in an open manner such as this... views that sometimes aren't welcome in any of the parties, and yet are held my members of both the Conservative and Liberal parties.

For the record, I've never "hidden" my identity. I've just never discssed it openly on my blog, and have been "hiding in plain sight", as it were. That's why I've always been comfortable enough to post my photo. In posting my photo, several local Liberals have IDed me, and I've never attempted to hide anything from them. I've also never had a problem revealing my identity to trustworthy people, including several promanent Liberal bloggers... Jason Cherniak, Warren Kinsella, CalgaryGrit, Stephen Taylor, Joanne Tintor, Dr. Roy, David Graham of cdlu and the Liblogs admin, etc. These are respectful individuals, who are able to rise above the "gotcha" smear politics from which I have sought to stay out of by hiding my identity. They're folks who I felt were able to rise above the partisan bickering, and actually dicuss ideas, and even work together towards a common goal. It was my pleasure to work together with Jason Cherniak and David Graham towards defeating MMP during the previous Ontario election. Several of us, I mean myself and several Liberals at a local Liberal event some weeks ago, were having fun talking about that. Wouldn't it be nice to see more of that on the blogs...

But, of course, I knew that one day, one of those "GOTCHA!" types would figure it all out, and would seek to try and stick my views to someone else. Congrats to Jeff Davidson for confirming my cynical outlook of most bloggers, on all ends of the spectrum.

So, thanks to good old gutter politics, here's my two cents to set the record straight, one last time... my views are my own. They do not reflect the views of the Party, my local EDA, nor anyone else in my general vicinity. I never have used any position I've held for my own purposes, or to further my own agendas. Any position I have held has been solely in the interest of serving my fellow Canadians to the best of my ability... and most of it, believe it or not, is about little more than taking care of all the paperwork.

By the way... some have asked why I refer to my location as being in "the GTA". For most Canadians, or my international readers of which I have several regulars, Toronto is the nearest major city. I've pretty much always lived within the sphere (and smog) of Toronto, and when people ask me where I'm from, I pretty much reply with, "I've grown up in and around Toronto". As such, I still consider myself a "GTAer".

Hope that clears a few things up. Now back to real life, where I've been for the past week or so, and from which I've been so rudely awakened...

Amm, Scott? Where's Frank's news releases?

Good old Scott Tribe tried again to insult Guelph Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach, implying that she doesn't even know where Guelph is in Canada... all because there's a news release in her "Latest Stories" section on her website called "Atlantic Liberals Afraid to talk about Carbon Tax Plan". (which, by the way, they seem to be... but I digress)

Well you see Scott, that section of the website seems to contain the seven most recent items compiled not only from the local campaign, but from some news stories issued by the Party as well. As of this moment, it contains FIVE local items, and just TWO from the National Party.

Contrast that with Scott's candidate, Frank Valeriote. Over on his website, we see the two batches of stories seperated on the right sidebar. But there's one problem... it only contains ONE locally related story. "FRANK VALERIOTE OFFICIALLY OPENS CAMPAIGN OFFICE", dated July 30... that's over a week ago!

But while we're there, let's see what press releases he's got posted... oh, stories from the National Party. Okay, well there's one story on their candidate in Saskatchewan who just suddenly stepped down (hang on, that makes two this week, doesn't it Scott?); one about the Canadian Wheat Board, (that's in Western Canada, right Scott?); one on WHO and InSite (that's in Vancouver, on the West Coast, am I wrong Scott?); one on, oops, Liberals in Atlantic Canada (umm, Scott... Guelph’s in Ontario, not Atlantic Canada); and finally, one on the Taliban-Pakistan issue (Scott, should I even bother pointing out that's on the other side of the globe?)

Yea... amm, real "Guelph-centric" there Scott. Here, let me give you and your candidate a hand with that...

That arrow? Yea, that's where Guelph is. Those places mentioned in all those press releases? Yea, none of them are anywhere near there. No, really... you're welcome. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I should give credit to the provider of the map... thanks for the map Scott)

But, I must say, in his attempted (and I think failed) attack on Kovach, Scott does raise a good question... where exactly are your candidate's media releases? What has your guy been up to recently? What issues has he made statements on? For that matter, are there ANY issues he's put out statements on? Why has he been so quiet on the issues Scott? Any idea?

Meanwhile, let's take a look over at Kovach's News Releases section:

- Defence Minister Peter MacKay to Canvas With Gloria Kovach Thursday
- Agriculture Minister Ritz and Gloria Kovach Attend Guelph Farmers Market
- Agriculture Minister Ritz and Gloria Kovach Host Agriculture Roundtable
- Liberal Frank Valeriote Attacks GST Cut for Guelph Families
- By-election Called in Guelph, Gloria Kovach is “Ready To Go”
- Youth Volunteers and Peter Van Loan in Guelph This Weekend to Help Team Kovach
- Guelph Conservative EDA Opens Office
- Guelph Liberal Candidate Silent on Carbon Tax Scheme
- Liberal Candidate Does Not Support Green Industry in Guelph
- Biofuels bill is good for our environment: Kovach
- Kovach applauds $1-million grant from Ottawa for Guelph Civic Museum
- Kovach says the 2008 Budget is “good news for Guelph”
- Ottawa donates $1 million to help expand market opportunities for agri-business

Wow! So many Guelph-centric items! So many issues touched on! Yea... looks like she's been a busy girl!

So what's your guy been up to Scott? Hummm?

(just for the record Scott, no hard feelings here... I just couldn't let that totally out to lunch post go unanswered. I made this post tongue-in-cheek, not maliciously... hope it results in a smile and laugh. Have a great weekend either way!)

Guelph Liberal supporters on the attack

You have got to be kidding me... the very same day I'm posting about the negativity (mainly sexism) in politics, and what does the Liberal Steve Valeriote (yes, as in Frank Valeriote's relative) go and post today?

He goes on the mudslinging attack, with a post called, "Arf Arf"... and says that the Guelph CPC candidate is nothing more than a trained seal.

Is this another Liberal "Chow Chow" incident?

Steve, the people of Guelph know Gloria Kovach very well, and "trained seal" is not the phrase that comes to mind when talking to people about Kovach. If you'd spent any time talking to people in the riding, as I have when I went and volunteered, you'd know that. She's been a well known and respected City councillor for 17 years, and I don't think the residents of Guelph will take too kindly to your disgusting mud slinging.

Shame on you. I hope Frank "Does the right thing" and calls you out on this one.

UPDATE: Thanks to Scott Tribe, yes, Steve Valeriote is of the same Valeriote's as Frank... though I'm unsure of the actual linkage, nephew, 2nd cousin, etc... from Scott's blog post "Marva comes up a bit short": "I'd like to extend my personal congratulations to Frank Valeriote, the official winner (and Steve V’s relative - he of Far and Wide)."

Wow, I'm a Large Mammal!!!

This Wii blog started out way down on the "Truth Laid Bare" list, quickly working its way up to "Adorable Rodent" status, then not long ago clawed it's way up to "Marauding Marsupial" status... where I was quite content.

But now, beyond my wildest expectations, it just got vaulted to "Large Mammal" status... just a mere 1150 spots behind political genius Warren Kinsella, and 1050 behind CalgaryGrit, no less!

Thanks again to the readership... to both the supporters and the haters!

And they just keep coming

Thanks once again to the fan/hater base for this Wii little blog... visitor 130,000 crossed into my "domain" at about 10:30 this morning.

And speaking of "domain"... for all those fans who can't remember my URL, life just got easier! With the new CIRA regulations that came into effect recently, I've been able to register my own .CA for this blog! (you couldn't remain anonymous for a .ca domain until recently) You can now reach my random ramblings at www.christianconservative.ca!

(it's actually just a redirect to this Blogger page, but it makes life easier when I'm giving out the URL to people on the street. It's kinda weird, happened again the other day, I'm better known on the street in political circles by my persona than my real name...)

But wait, there's more! If you're lazy, and don't feel like typing the "www.", you can even skip it... you see, my redirect acutally works. While I'm on that note, I see the Guelph Liberal candidate's team have finally gotten around to fixing his. ;-)

And this post is number 1626... wow, that's a lot of errant streams of thought. As you were.

Getting more and more disgusted with the "right"

I'm really starting to get sick of this garbage... you know, the folks who claim to be supporting "freedom of speech", and then bring things down into the gutter with personal and baseless attacks like this.

John West, if that's even his real name, is the kind of guy who makes me wish I wasn't aligned with the "conservative" movement.  Get a load of this disgusting shot he takes at Warren over on the Doggeral's blog...

John West said...

 

Don't be too hard on Kinsella. Rumor has it that his father died at Auschwitz. Apparently, he got drunk and fell out of the gun tower. ;0)

 

3/23/2008 11:36:00 AM

Oh, you think you're funny dude?  Well guess what... you're not.  That was a disgusting comment, and completely unwarranted.  Everyone know's Warren's dad died of cancer, thanks to the tobacco industry.  Your sickening personal attack on Warren, via his father, who he dearly loved and still misses very much, was WAY OUT OF LINE.

To be honest, I've been disgusted with a growing number of posts I've seen on the blogroll lately... pretty much every post I see on this issue, for the record.  Most of them seem to be nothing more than another Warren bashing session, which all seem to delve down into the gutter of personal attacks... when the irony is, I tend to agree more with Warren on this issue than anyone else.

Yes, I'm an advocate of LIMITED free speech... I don't believe that anyone, ANYONE, has the right to say that anyone from any race is better than, or lesser than, anyone from any other race.  We are all created in the image of God, and as such, are inherently equal to one another... we're all cousins in the human race.

And yes, I agree with Warren in that anyone who publicly advocates any form of racism deserves to be locked up... for stupidity, if nothing else.

Racism is a cancerous tumour that needs to be rooted out of our society.  I support the aims and objectives of everyone who seeks this goal... and I oppose anyone who does not agree with this view, even if they only claim that they're supporting "free speech".

(And yes, I recognize that some people may see a conflict in my views on this one, since I believe, for example, that Muslims, Hindus and Catholics are wrong when it comes to their faiths.  Here's how that works... I believe that we are all equal as persons in the eyes of God.  However, I believe that there can only be one Truth when it comes to faith, as each of these faiths have elements that are mutually exclusive... basically, they can't all be true.  I also believe, however, that everyone is entitled to believe as they wish... regardless of how wrong I may think they are.  Hope that makes sense.)

There, got that off my chest.  Feel free to flame away... I'm sure many of you won't be able to resist.

My bottom line is this... either bring up the level of debate folks, or just SHUT UP... many of you are not doing the cause of conservatism any favours with your gutter level rhetoric.

UPDATE: Welcome to all the readers tuning in via Warren's site.  I sent him the link to this post to let him know firstly of the personal attack on him, and secondly to let him know that not everyone on the right thinks he's an idiot.  Now that I see he's posted it on the front of his website, I'm thinking my hit counter is going to get a workout.  For the record, I still haven't had a chance to actually meet the guy, but I'm pleased to see that he considers me a friend... and not just on Facebook.

UPDATE II: Based on some of the comments, I'd like to be clear... I'm not saying that folks like John West are representative of "the right", just that it's folks like him that bring the rest of us down with him in the eyes of the public. Hope that clears that up. I don't have any intention at this point to drop out of the aggregator, I was just pointing out that some of the stuff that's been said on this issue, and broadcast via the aggregator, hasn't been the most shining examples of conservative thought... and that we need to bring the dialouge up a couple more notches, in my opinion.