josiegross

Yeah, he was, and he utterly shredded our social programs. Now he's reluctant to restore funding to them during our current boom. that's what it has to do with it.

did anyone catch jon stewart on friday night? he was talking about it.

a. the federal government would not recognise it as the country's problem, and declare a state of emergency b. correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't two thirds of the surplus going back into social programs?

see, that's what worries me. is it at all possible that the ndp would actually WIN the election though? could they get enough seats to have a noticeable voice, but not be in charge?

it's 1:15 pm in vancity. i realise some of you easterners have already gone to the polls, but i'm going at 6 (when my boyfriend gets off work. we have to go together so i can tell him who to vote for.) i'm still undecided!! i don't trust martin with my money, i feel like his government is one that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. stephen harper and the idea of a conservative government scares the shit out of me. seriously. i get knots in my stomach typing his name. but jack layton? c'mon! i've spent the last half hour on the ndp official site reading their platform on just about everything, and aside from all of the anti-liberal rhetoric (which does nothing but annoy me) they seem like a viable option. but how many seats can they POSSIBLY get? is it a wasted vote? would someone PLEASE convince me?

i'm a huge fan of indie music, but i don't hate it when they become popular. i love it. i think everyone in the world deserves to hear them.

is this one of those questions where the answer is messed up because of how you worded the question? "which side is it going" doesn't make any senses. we all ASSUME you mean which WAY or which DIRECTION or which side is it going TOWARDS.

oh i hope so!

stephen harper scares the bejeezus out of me

what makes a civilized society? civ

That's the thing right there. Klein has done nothing at all. He simply happened to be Premier when the oil and gas revenues started flowing in on a large scale. It is nothing he has done. He deserves no credit whatsoever for our current prosperity. If a blind, rabid monkey was Premier it'd have had the same effect. actually, it wouldn't. sure klein was premier during some booming economic times, but he was premier during some shit times too. i thought we all new about ralph klein, but i guess we don't so, here's another history lesson. **before facts, my opinion: i think that, regardless of what a politician says, if it's the TRUTH i thank god for him. i think it's refreshing, whether i agree with what he said or not. and i think a lot of people getting thier god damned panties in a bunch because ralph said something they didn't like is why we have these slimy wax men in the house of commons. i DO disagree with ralph on a great number of things. but that does not detract from what he HAS done for the province** FIRST: i understand that there is a lot of money in alberta, but the ralph klein government is in charge of handling it, so they DO get credit. -generously (more so than most provinces, save BC) funded arts programs -during mad cow, given no help from our federal government, sought to reconcile the international export issues himself (eg. offering all that money to any japanese citizen who gets sick from alberta beef) -so handled the money that alberta is damned near out of the hole -when the federal government suggested alberta share their good fortune with the rest of the provinces, ralph klein said to them what they said to alberta when the province was in trouble. sorry, there's more, but i have to go. i WILL return to answer your questions and provide you with more info.

can't get shot in the back boo ya! extra points for a matthew good song!

i agree 78

it kind of sounds like something played backwards, but i have no guesses as to what that would be.

avalanche

my life as a circus clown. hands down.

sounds hot, but the water comes out of it pretty fast. you'd have to brace yourself on something.

**not an answer. continue with the game.** on a trampoline? i'm trying to picture it. 1st, i imagine it would be awkward, 2nd, i'm thinkin it wouldn't be so easy for the girl to get off (no resistance). on a trampoline? weird. seriously. i just can't picture this.

i'm not sure if i should barf or cry

this dude that comes into my restaurant once in a blue moon. he's so hot that if i look at him my face turns red. who's your favorite tv judge?

born to hula: i wholeheartedly agree that prisoners should be treated like human beings. they ARE human beings. it ends when the time is up. the punishment ends when you've served your sentence. we don't put people in jail for rehabilitation. the court doesn't say "i recommend you spend twenty five years to life being rehabilitated" the court says "you are a danger to the freedom and safety of law abiding citizens and you need to be removed from society for a period of time until we feel safe". the rehabilitation of criminals is the responsibility of the CRIMINAL not the responsibility of the society it has wronged. if that were the case no one would be rehabilitated. you know, "the first step is admitting you have a problem"? criminals are rehabilitated because they see what they've done is wrong and they choose accordingly to make changes in their lives. prison is a punishment, not a detox center, not a psych ward, not a rehabilitation centre.

mikey mackinnon: i feel better now. though it was incredibly hard to decipher just what your conservative-alberta comment was all about, i have something to say: HISTORY LESSON alberta has had the same premier (ralph klein) from the same party (pc) for the last four years. before that, don getty (1985-1992) also PC. before that, peter lougheed, (1971-1985), again, also PC. so we've established that alberta traditionally elects conservatives to represent thier interests. either that, or in their mafia way they've convinced the majority of albertans to vote conservative through threats to personal safety and the safety of thier families. but we'll start at the top. after the social credit party lost to the PC's in 1971, (the first time they'd lost to anyone since 1935) lougheed (the newly elected premier. stay with me) furthered the development of the oil and gas resources, and started the alberta heritage fund. he also introduced the alberta bill of rights. very mafia-like indeed. next, donald getty, ex-eskimo (the football team, not the inuit) worked for agriculture and rural development, energy development, the family, and economic diversification, including the growth of forestry, high technology, and tourism. don getty's government left a legacy of strong fiscal management, self-government for metis settlements, the election of canada's only elected senator, and the creation of family day (in alberta everyone gets a day off to spend with thier family). i think everyone already knows where i stand on ralph klein, and i'm sure you all already know what he's done for the province (for example, bringing the province successfully throught the mad cow crisis the federal government all but ignored and back into the surplus again) so there. we've looked at alberta. we've looked at CONSERVATIVE alberta. i'm looking. what's the problem? we still wait in line at the emergency room. we don't pay a thousand dollars every time we want to see a doctor (in fact i think it was roughly $200 a year for me for alberta health care). and while the thought of a stephen harper majority government makes me nearly piss myself, you can't start talking shit about the way things are in alberta if you are as disgustingly uninformed as it seems you are.

i have to say that it kind of worries me the way that you tend to speak of prisoners like they're victims.

no. not even a little bit. i'd love another cup of coffee though. what's your guilty pleasure when it comes to television shows? promise i won't tell anyone.

this is the first i've heard of it. i might go get in line right now.