Political Potluck

Oh, where to start? I guess we’ll begin with the topic I discussed in my last entry and provided a follow up. this week Canucks went to the polls on Monday and they voted for change. The Conservative party took a partial victory with the forming of a new minority government on monday. After 12 years of rule, the Liberal Party have been rightfully knocked of their pedistal and are now forced to take on the role of offical opposition. The Conservatives are going to get a chance to govern, and while that will make some nervous the fact that it’s another minority government brings a little relief to many. The Conservatives will get their chance, but the monirity guarentees they won’t get a blank cheque to do whatever they want, and will be on a tight leash. So while things are different, the structure itself is pretty much the same. Same minority, different parties on each side of the house. Will be interesting to see how this all works out. I’m willing to give Harper and his people a try, and I’m curious to see how long this minority lasts and when we’ll have to hit the polls again. I’m predicting the first confidence vote will be the next budget. The NDP fared all right, going up from 17 to 29 seats in the house. I was hoping for more, but it’s a movement in the right direciton. Maybe we’ll do better during the next election.

Speaking of elections, The Hamas actually did something political yesterday that didn’t involve anyone blowing up. That alone is historic, but the fact that the won the Palestinian election and are now the government is quite historic as well. Let’s hope that a little taste of political power and will convince the Hamas that there are better ways to solve problems… it’s called diplomacy. There’s a chance that getting a place at the table might give the Hamas an alternative to violence, and how can that be a bad thing? I think countries should accept this result, cause entering politics just might be the thing that convinces Hamas to change their stripes. While many are disappointed and shocked by the results, this is what happens when you actually hold free elections… sometimes they don’t go the way you want them to. That will sometimes happen when actually count the votes and not use dibold machines.

In the face of his illegal wire tapping racket, Bush has made “impeachment” an in word again with the people. According to a recent survey released last week, it showed that 52% percent of American adults thought Congress should consider impeaching Bush if he did in fact wiretap U.S. citizens without court approval. People are seriously pissed off about this, and the fact that FISA has only denied one request in it’s 30+ year history gives me the impression that Bush and his people were doing illegal and non-terror taps that would have been denied upon request. The Repubs have tried to steal intel from democrats during elections in the past few years, causing criminal charges of breaking into offices and hacking into computers, so to use taps as a lead to get political advantage over one’s opponent wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for Bush & Co. If I was John Kerry, I wouldn’t like this very much. I mean if this domestic spying was really about terror and listening in on suspects, there was no reason not to get a warrant. FISA has always been easy to get a warrant from, and in the face of 9/11… that wouldn’t have been a hard sell. This leads me to believe that Bush’s taps have not been terror related, and if that is the case… he should be impeached for authorizing them.

Next issue is with the Supremes: While Alito’s confirmation vote comes closer to a reality, one has to wonder if the Democrats are capable of showing a little spine. I’ll be the first to admit that Alito seems to be an interesting judge, but unlike Robert’s… he failed to answer the important questions and his confirmation should be blocked for his unwillingness to explain his past comments. The Democrats need to do the one thing that no one wanted to see but needs to be done: Philibust like they’ve never philibusted before! This nomination needs to end as soon as possible and they need to make the next nomination to the high court an election issue for the November mid-terms. If the Democrats had any kind of a spine, that is what they would do. Whether or not they do it, is another thing all together and I’m not that confident. We know what they should do, but what they eventually do will be interesting to watch none the less.

Here’s an interesting one on the Capital Punishment front, The US Supreme Court has blocked the execution of a Florida man to consider his appeal over the method (Lethal Injection) used to carry out the punishment. Clarence Hill was supposed to be executed on Wednesday for the 1982 murder of a Pensacola police officer but now the court has stopped it just to hear the appeal, there’s no telling if they will accept it or restart the clock. The appeal alledges that if the chemicals used in the execution causes pain – thus violating a Constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. There’s no telling where the court would decide on this, but the fact that they’re at least willing to hear it out will no doubt spark a lot of debate in the capital punishment circles. If Leathal Injection is deemed cruel punishment, the I guess some states can rejoin New Hampshire and Washington who still do hangings. Or they could use a firing squad like Idaho and Oklahoma. I guess those are more humane than lethal injection, right?

Pete