Tee Hee! Tories Win!

Well things went pretty well Monday (unless you count Toronto. Oh well, all the more reason to dislike the city). However, there are some eerie parallels to the 1979 election. Conservative minority, leader from Alberta, outgoing Liberal PM stepping down. The only thing missing are the Créditistes.

There has been some suggestion (okay, its my idea) that the Grits are attempting to recreate the 1979-80 scenario to pave the way for Martin's triumphant return. Perhaps the Liberals ensure that Harper's first budget gets defeated, and we go back to the polls. People then think, okay we gave the Tories a chance, they messed up, the Liberals have sat in the corner for the requisite 6 - 12 months, now we can go back to our debilitating addiction to voting Liberal and we can all get back to normal.Then Martin's next election night speech ends with "Well, welcome to the.......er.......2007??????"

I can't help but be reinforced in this irrational, paranoid fear by some of the numbers out of Toronto. Did anyone notice the margins of victory for the Liberals, particularly in Scarborough? They were huge! Belinda herself was never even in any danger. Its like there's some Stepford Wives thing going on Toronto where people march like zombies to the polls in a trance-like state ("MUST......VOTE......LIBERAL!!!!").

On another note, local Cabinet representation is going to be interesting. David Sweet will not be in Cabinet, period. There's no bloody way. Dean Allison, who's riding takes in all of upper Stoney Creek, Glanbrook and a sliver of the old city of Hamilton (so don't let anyone tell you the NDP won all of Hamilton's "three" seats), is a long shot, but would be a good representative. The general consensus is that the closest Cabinet Minister to Hamilton will be Diane Finley. I don't know if that will wash with the likes of Mayor Larry.

Personally, I hope that Rob Nicholson in Niagara Falls and Garth Turner from Halton make it in. But, then again, I am a holdover from the Mulroney glory days.

GO STEPHEN GO!!!!!!

The Liberals are in panic mode! Guns and soldiers in the streets? What the f*** is that? Harper was looking decidedly Prime Ministerial in the English-language debate on Monday evening. And, I love how the Toronto Star's headline yesterday screamed "Tories Headed for Majority", in a thinly-disguised attempt to rally the Liberal troops, and in hopes of repeating the 2004 "gaffe", whereby Harper openly ruminated about a majority, and then lost the election. Are the Liberals and Star pathetic, or what?

The Leafs lost a tough one in Vancouver last night, but it was worth it to see Carlo Coliacovo absolutely lay out Todd Bertuzzi with a beautiful open-ice hipcheck!!!!!

The election (Go Tories Go!)

Tee-hee!!!! The Conservatives have taken the lead in the most recent polls for the federal election. This is good news, particularly for anyone who believes that the time for a change is now! I, for one, am tired of the arrogance and corruptness with which the Liberals have been running the country, as if power in this country is some sort of birthright. Well screw them!

Here's how the campaign is shaping up locally, for those interested in the Hamilton area. The only really safe seat is an NDP one; David Christopherson's in Hamilton Centre. He'll win by about 10,000 votes. Everything else is up for grabs. Tony Valeri will either be helped or hurt by his high profile in the current regime in his race in Hamilton East- Stoney Creek. The NDP almost took it last time and have a fairly well-known candidate this time in Wayne Marston. The Conversatives? Probably not here.

On Hamilton Mountain, the dirty, rotten Liberals have local TV personality and municipal councillor, Bill Kelly. He'll be given a run for his money by NDPer Chris Charlton, who almost took the seat the last time out against a moribund Beth Phinney, who has since retired from politics. A Conservative win here would be nice but is, alas, probably wishful thinking. The candidate is a gentleman by the name of Don Graves.

My riding is interesting, and possibly ripe for the picking by the Tories. The candidate, David Sweet (pictured above), will be well-supported in the rural areas of the riding, but incumbent Liberal, Russ Powers, a big nobody in Ottawa by most accounts, will be tough to beat in his home base of Dundas. Currently, the sign war is being won by the New Democrat, Gordon Guyatt, whose claim to fame is that he once forgot his infant child in the backseat of his car for a period of more than twenty minutes during a shopping trip. The Westdale area of the riding may be the big difference here, with the race shaping up to be a two-horse one between Sweet and Powers.

The last election was close, with Powers beating out Sweet. What is interesting, however, are the results of the 2000 election, where the combined Canadian Allaiance and Progressive Conservative vote would have been enough to ouster Liberal incumbent, John Bryden who, incidentally, crossed the floor to join the Conservatives in 2004! I'm doing my bit, having snuck a David Sweet sign onto our lawn when Cathy wasn't looking!

A few other locals I would like to see elected, and who would make for a pretty sweet Conservative front-bench, should they form the government, are Garth Turner in Halton (every Conservative hopes he kicks Gary Carr's ass up and down the streets of Georgetown!!!! Carr jumped ship from provincial Conservatives to the federal Liberals, after serving a brief stint as the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature, taking a page out the Belinda Stronach book of political opportunism), as well as Rob Nicholson in Niagara Falls, who found his way into Kim Campbell's short-lived Cabinet in 1993. And, if Diane Finley and Dean Allison can hold their ridings in Haldimand and Niagara-West/Glanbrook, respectively, we'll have some great Conservative representation locally in what is hopefully a Conservative majority government.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for January 23!!!!!

John Casto was his name

John Casto was the name of the gentleman I referred to below.

That was/This is Dinsdale, by the way.

I guess I should have identified the young lad to the left of me in my previous entry. He's Dinsdale, the retired racing greyhound. He's been my (and our) companion for almost seven years.

I got him through a group called Greyhound Lovers of Hamilton-Wentworth. He's from West Virginia, where his less-than-stellar racing career lasted all of eight weeks. He was retired at the age of three and a half and then came to live with me (now us) in Dundas. Even as I blog, he's sat here on the carpet at my feet, scrounging for another handout from this evening's turkey dinner, that Cathy was so kind to make for her sister, brother-in-law, nephew and myself.

Speaking of West Virginia, sad news about those 12 miners who were killed in the explosion. And awful about the families believing they were alive and safe for more than three hours!!!! People are quite angry about that. I hope they can find it in themselves to forgive those responsible for giving them the false hope, so they can get on with grieving for their lost loved ones.

There was an interesting interview with a local man the morning after the confirmation of the miners' deaths. He spoke about the time where they believed that only one person died and that the other twelve were safe. When this news had broken, the Pastor in the Church had asked people to come forward and pray for the man who had died, who had been identified. Of the hundreds in the church, only about four people came forward, including the man being interviewed. The rest of the people there were too busy dancing and shouting in jubilation about their loved ones who had survived. The gentle soul who being intereviewed could not understand it. For, in his opinion, although he had no kin involved in the tragedy they were all his brothers, just like the interviewer was his brother, as was the cameraman.

And we continue to hold the so-called "Christian right" in such contempt.

Good morning and Good 2006

Hello. Welcome to my "blog". Hope you enjoy my rants, meanderings and whatever else it is I see fit to write.

I hope to focus on the following themes, if any interest the reader: Canadian politics (Conservative I am, but I'd vote Green if I had a second choice, or if there were some convoluted form of proportional representation in Canada), sports (track mostly, if anyone still cares) and pending fatherhood. If anyone reading this knows me, my fiancé, Cathy, and I are expecting in August. Yipeee!!!!!

Just a short introduction for now. I shall be writing much more later but am on the way out now to pick up some groceries for an ailing Cathy (sinus infection), myself and our expected.

As I finish this, the Conservatives and Liberals are tied in the polls three weeks in advance of election day, the Leafs are on a six-day winning streak (take that, Sidney Crosby!!!!!) and Leeds United look well poised to make jump back to the Premiership next August. And you gotta' love England's group for the World Cup this summer!!!!!!