Although it looks somewhat like an outtake from the new Star Wars movie, there’s a very serious reality behind Lucify.com’s site that illustrates the flow of asylum seekers from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East over the past three years. (via Reddit)
Colter Wall is a Saskatchewan musician who is getting a lot of attention lately, at least in part due to a positive mention by WWE/UFC superstar, Brock Lesnar who used a Wall song in a recent promo video as well as some of his music being included on the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” show.
Wall’s first album is a mix of Americana blues with hints of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash among others and it’s *very* good.
When you first hear Colter Wall’s music, it sounds like the spirit of another time reaching through the ether of our own to project its ghosts back into you. The video of the Saskatchewan native alone on stage playing the lead single off his new album Imaginary Appalachia, “Sleeping On The Blacktop,” to an empty room captures the aesthetic pretty well. – Full article.
In a way, it’s not fair to bring this up as it’s irrelevant to the quality of his music. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Colter also happens to be the son of Saskatchewan Premier, Brad Wall.
“My goal is to just keep what I do and what my dad does entirely separate because they are,” he said. “People have been for the most part pretty decent about the whole thing and just accepting my music and deciding whether they like it or don’t like it entirely on the music and not on who my dad happens to be.”
That connection is interesting for a couple reasons – Brock Lesnar is a Minnesota farm boy whose brother lives in Saskatchewan and Lesnar has even indicated that he could see himself moving here someday. Lesnar and Premier Wall have interacted and you wonder if Mr. Wall put a bug in the wrestler’s ear about his son’s music?
The other interesting connection is that Colter is turning into a musical sensation which includes production, touring, performing and filming clips like the one below, shot at Regina’s Creative City Centre. Yet, Premier Wall is also notorious in some circles for his attacks on the creative industries, especially the cutting of funding to the film industry.
My post on those cuts from three years ago is still, to this day, the most viewed post ever on this blog by a factor of 10. It’s interesting that, although it’s mainly about the film industry in Saskatchewan, I tie it into the idea of family as well as the thought that my own son might be a future rock star with the right support and guidance.
Although he rightly wants to be judged on his own merits, let’s hope Colter can also help convince his dad of the importance of supporting art and artists which can be thought of as a renewable resource for the province.
“Sleeping on the Blacktop” – Colter Wall (The lyrics I excerpted in the title of this post are my best attempt to decipher Colter’s marbly delivery.)
The Nostalgia Machine will generate a playlist for the year you were born (or any other year – want to re-live your high school prom? The year you got married?)
So I’m slowly planning to transition back to regular blogging but right now, I’m still obsessively reading posts and news stories about the election:
If you didn’t catch this on election night, it’s worth a watch. Rarely do “neutral” journalists drop the facade and rip into someone like this…
So, having had a couple nights to sleep on it (barely on the night of the election – I was up until after midnight waiting for final results in Regina-Lewvan which the NDP won by 143 votes then woke up at 6am having weird dream/nightmares about the election result), here are a few closing thoughts before this blog turns back into the usual mix of libraries, technology, memes, pics of the kids and yes, the occasional political post.
The Liberals Form Majority Government
What did George W. Bush (like Justin Trudeau, another legacy leader) say: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on you, won’t get fooled again?”
I feel the same way about the Liberals – I don’t have the visceral dislike of the Liberals that many in my parent’s generation do for the National Energy Program but I do have memories of a Liberal government that repeatedly promised a national childcare program and failed to deliver, even with multiple years and majority governments to do it. Or failed to eliminate the GST (not that I agree with that but another broken promise among many.) Or, at the risk of sounding like a conservative, didn’t the Liberals bring in the changes to the Income Tax Royalty structure that cost me a shit tonne of money? I think so.
Anyhow, I hope that this time will be different and Justin Trudeau talks a good game on that front. But actions will speak louder than words so we’ll see if he implements some (or any) of the more progressive policies from his platform (especially electoral reform) and reworks or abandons the less progressive (C-51, TPP, etc.)
Justin Trudeau
Obviously, it’s hindsight now but I wish the NDP had a leader who could’ve really captured the “change” mantle the way Trudeau did. He ran on this weird amalgam that was part Obama circa 2008, part Jack Layton circa 2011 and of course a big dash (though he rarely acknowledged it) of Trudeaumania 2.0. It’s also nice to see a generational change in leadership too – going from leaders who are of my parent’s generation to one who’s of my own generation – Trudeau’s 44 years old (I’m 42) with kids and all sorts of shared cultural references and experiences. Plus there’s a meme going around about he’s the first Prime Minister with an English Lit degree (which all my more socially conscious friends are quick to jump on to point out that’s not what made him Prime Minister as if people don’t realise that being the son of a former Prime Minister obviously has a bit more to do with it than his undergrad degree. But yeah, still cool to have someone with an arts background in the big chair to me.)
NDP
Yes, the NDP got hammered out in the…uhm, do we have a Liberal equivalent of “Orange Crush” yet? (Red Wedding? Feels like it cause it was an unexpected slaughter!) But the NDP still had their second best showing of all-time and aren’t going away anytime soon. To put it in perspective, the Conservatives lost 96 seats and the NDP lost 51. They also had impressive gains (3) in Saskatchewan which has been a Conservative fortress (minus Ralph Goodale) for years and on Vancouver Island showing they are still thought of as the *real* progressive party in the areas of Canada where progressive politics are something real and tangible.
Thomas Mulcair
I don’t blame him for this loss as much as others I’ve seen on social media doing. It was all kinds of things that blended together – a leader picked with a strong eye to holding our Quebec gains instead of looking forward, someone who would never match the charisma and personality of his predecessor (and I’m not sure any of the last NDP leadership candidates could), a move to the centre as a way to appear non-threatening and non-radical to independent/undecided voters and swing voters from other parties. (Though I’m inclined to agree with a colleague that “balanced budgets” aren’t a fundamental conservative position since borrowing money is actually a way that – via interest payments – the wealth of a majority of citizens is transferred into large private corporations in the form of the banks that lend the money.) I keep asking – is there someone I would have rather had lead the NDP in this election than Tom Mulcair and even Nathan Cullen, who I supported for leadership or Niki Ashton who I think was my second choice, don’t strike me as people who could’ve beat Trudeau. But that we’ll never know (unless one of them ends up as NDP Leader in the next four years of course!)
Stephen Harper
Ding dong, the witch is dead! I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say he was our worst Prime Minister ever. Easily. Divisive. Secretive. Controlling. Destroyer of information, libraries, and civil society. Racist. Hypocritcal. Lying. It was pointed out that Justin Trudeau constantly referred to us as “citizens” in his victory speech and that’s a beautiful contrast from always being called a “taxpayer” by Stephen Harper. I look forward for further revelations about his corruption now that he’s lost power.
Conservative Party of Canada
Will be interesting to see who they pick for their next leader. Other than that, I can give two shits about them.
Greens
Talk to your buddies in the Liberal Party and make sure they follow through on their promise for electoral reform.
Bloc
Even though they made some gains, Gilles Duceppe was the only party leader to lose his seat and that looks good on him.
So, I thought I might have something profound to say for my final post in this series.
But, as I sit here at 6pm on election night, watching election results (CTV on TV, CBC streaming on YouTube) plus about half a dozen other web sites open in my browser, and after spending most of the day pulling vote for my local NDP candidate, I think I’ll go to a patented “random thoughts” post with a bit of a live stream thrown in for good measure.
(Hit “Reload” to see the latest updates.)
I hope our military stays out of the middle east, and instead we can focus on relief and aid. I hope we take a serious look at our endorsements and relationships with Isreal.
I hope the Liberal party rejects the Trans-Pacific-Partnership.
I hope there will be a proper inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Overall I’m happy we’ve voted for change. And stood up against fear, austerity, and deceit.
Stephen Harper is arguably the worst Prime Minister in Canadian history.
Investigative journalist Michael Harris, author of Party of One, the bestseller about Harper’s tenure, believes so. “There is something very Stalinesque about Harper,” remarks Harris. “My bottom line on this guy is, he hates democracy. He doesn’t care about truth and cares only about the perception of what benefits him. In that way he’s way worse [than his predecessors].”
There are dozens of places to find out why Harper is such a failure – for the economy, for veterans, for equality, for accountability for farmers, for the environment. Or for 100+ reasons all listed in one place.
Conservatives who’ve worked with him, such as former Newfoundland Premier, Danny Williams, don’t trust him. Conservative icons like newspaper owner, Conrad Black say Harper has held onto power too long. Everyday conservatives who’ve supported Harper their entire lifetime – whether in rural Ontario or downtown Toronto – have decided they’ll work to unseat him this election.
Just today, Benjamin Beatty, the former Prime Minister’s Office legal counsel and probably one of a handful of people who’ve worked the closest to Stephen Harper during his time in power, said Harper had lost his “moral authority to govern” and he was voting for change.
Now, stop and think about that. Really think about it.
How bad does Stephen Harper have to be that one of his top lieutenants is not willing to vote for him???
But none of those are the reason you should vote for Anybody But Conservative in this election.
The reason you should vote ABC is because you are an intelligent, rational person. And in your heart of hearts, you must realise that Stephen Harper, even if you agree with some of his policies, has fundamentally made our country worse during his ten years in power.
Once you acknowledge that, ask yourself this: is fundamentally changing the nature of our country – how we value our reputation as a welcoming nation to people from around the world, how we consider being “polite” as the ultimate Canadian value, how we value fair play, honesty and following the rules…
…is all of that worth saving a couple grand a year (maybe) due to income splitting rules? Or paying a few hundred bucks less in taxes each year? Or getting a false sense of security when you’re actually more likely to be killed running into a moose than by a terrorist attack in Canada?
You’re smarter than that. You’re smarter than Stephen Harper thinks you are. You’re smarter than thinking that one party (no matter which one) is more important than the country that we all love.
But vote for reasons you’ve carefully thought about, that you can defend and that you’ll be proud of *the day after tomorrow*.
On Monday, either Thomas Mulcair or Justin Trudeau could become the Prime Minister of Canada.
Forget attack ads. Forget haircuts & beards. Forget party policy. Forget polls. Forget strategic voting.
If you only look at them side-by-side, who is more qualified to be the leader of a G-7 nation, Thomas Mulcair or Justin Trudeau?
Mulcair: 60 years old
Trudeau: 44 years old
Mulcair: Second oldest of 10 children
Trudeau: Eldest of three children
Mulcair: Father was a middle class insurance agent who was laid off from his job later in life
Trudeau: Father was Prime Minister of Canada
Mulcair: One grandparent was a tailor known for making suits for Montreal lawyers and other well-to-do clients
Trudeau: Inherited a $1.2 million dollar trust fund from his wealthy grandparent
Mulcair: Worked tarring roofs in Montreal as a young man
Trudeau: Worked as a ski instructor in Whistler as a young man
Mulcair: Lawyer by training
Trudeau: Teacher by training
Mulcair: Has worked in public service since 1979
Trudeau: Has been involved in public advocacy for a number of causes since 2000
Mulcair: First elected to public office in 1994
Trudeau: First elected to public office in 2008
Mulcair: Became party leader in 2012 after the passing of Jack Layton
Trudeau: Became party leader in April 2013 after the third Liberal leadership contest since 2006
A choice quote about each from a recent Sun News article called “The Truth About Trudeau” (The Sun News chain is very right wing so it’s interesting to see their take on the Conservatives’ two main rivals.)
Mulcair:
If you’re that anti-Harper there’s a very credible and experienced alternative in NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. It’s been clear this campaign that Mulcair is more moderate and pragmatic than Trudeau on a number of issues. Plus Mulcair has the mature “serenity” – a phrase he used to describe himself to the Sun editorial board Tuesday – to represent Canada ably on the world stage. Trudeau lacks that.
Trudeau:
It’s almost as if there’s a pact among my colleagues in the media not to talk about it…how shockingly inexperienced Trudeau is for someone seeking to lead our country.
In terms of career experience, all the 43-year-old’s chalked up is a couple years as a teacher in British Columbia. After that, he entered an engineering program but soon dropped out, then started another MA program but dropped that too. He became an MP shortly after, in 2008.
In other words, he spent the years before entering politics dabbling in this and that, drifting about without any commitment to work or school.
Mulcair: Best known in Parliament for being “Prosecutor-in-Chief” of Stephen Harper during the Duffy affair revelations…
Trudeau: I’m trying to be fairly fact-based with this post and this will look like a cheap shot but I’ll say Trudeau is *arguably* best known in Parliament (so far) for calling another member a “piece of shit” and other verbal gaffes…
