The Silver Whistle - Sileas

Lego Darth Vader

This is hilarious, but be warned - Vader uses the "F" word...

SOA Pilgrimage

It's Official

Yes, I'm a candidate for the Federal Council of the Green Party of Canada. What I learned from last year is that most people are not plugged in at all. They make their decision entirely based on the write-up and the photo.

Well, dear reader, you have taken the time to visit my blog. I salute you!

If you vote for me, I will always answer your phone calls and emails. Quickly.

If you have any questions, please ask. I mean it.

internet perils

When I joined the Green Party several years ago, I regularly told people that I was a former New Democrat. But as I met more and more Greens from various political backgrounds, I noticed that if someone told me which party they had belonged to in the past it immediately influenced my perception of that person. So I stopped volunteering the information. Of course, I told people if they asked.

Now, it turns out that a political button collector in Ontario has decided to put his button collection on-line. And his collection includes 2 handmade buttons from my campaign to be President of the New Democratic Youth of Canada in 1997. There were under 100 made, so the whole thing is kind of weird and creepy.

Many of my various adventures have made their way into the public domain, making me really wonder if I should have a public blog.

EMay is quite brilliant!

For years the NDP have been trying to find messaging that will counter strategic voting. It is why New Democrats love Tommy Douglas' story of Mouseland. It is why, for years, New Democrats have distributed buttons that say "Liberal, Tory, same old story".

It doesn't work because voters don't buy it. The Liberals wouldn't have eviscerated the Law Reform Commission. The Liberals kept Canada out of the Iraq War. The Liberals signed Kyoto. There is a difference between Liberals and Conservatives. There are also a lot of similarities, but voters are not stupid and recognize that there is a difference.

So how is a third party like the NDP or the Green Party supposed to counter the traditional stategic voting message "The Tories are coming! The Tories are coming! They're going to destroy the country! You must vote Liberal to save Canada!"?

Well, here's an idea. Admit that voters see a difference between Liberals and Conservatives. Ask them to vote Green in Central Nova and Liberal in Saint-Laurent--Cartierville.

When Elizabeth announced that she was running in Central Nova, I figured that she had a good shot. I have the advantage of actually knowing Elizabeth and also having seen the positive reaction to her in London North Centre (where she didn't have nearly the ground support that she has in NS). Now it is hers to lose.

Bill C-31 is stupid!

OK, I don't have time to really get into it, but Bill C-31 is extremely stupid. First of all, it's making it harder for people to vote - especially people who are already likely to be disenfranchised. Also, putting date-of-birth on the voters list is a really, really, really bad idea. DOB is one of the pieces of information very useful for identity thiefs.

This year, when the Canada Revenue Agency asked me on my income tax form if I authorize them to give my info to Elections Canada - I said "No".