Iran Must Not Have Nuclear Weapons? Why?

I mean this in all sincerity. Why is everyone so adamant that Iran getting a nuclear weapon would be the absolute worst thing on the planet? Don’t get me wrong; I think there should be NO nuclear weapons held by any country, but since 9 countries (1 of which still ‘pretends’ that they don’t) already have them, I’m not sure that they should have the right to dictate that other countries should not.

 

Perhaps a look into the past (although I know that might not be convenient to some, or relevant to others), would be required. America’s relationship with Iran is over two hundred years old. Much of that time, they were allies. Iran shared a border with what was then the USSR, and during the Cold War, that was of value to the US. Relations with England and the USSR were tense at the time, but America had their backs… as long as it was convenient to the US.

 

During WWII, Iran was a conduit for aid from the UK and US into Russia. It also was key in helping Polish refugees and Polish Armed Forces to escape ahead of invasion by the Axis countries, so much so that Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill issued the Tehran Declaration, guaranteeing both self rule and territorial rights for Iran.

 In 1953, however, Mohammad Mosaddegh was elected Prime Minister of Iran. The oil industry in the country had been nationalized just two years earlier, basically taking over the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and slapping the UK in the face in the process. Britain wanted to retaliate, but good old Harry S Truman said no… until he said yes. Suddenly ‘Communism’ was too much of a threat, at least  to the oil industry there, and so MI6 and the CIA decided it was time for some regime change. Here is where the wheels come off.

To be fair, by this time, the US and UK were getting pretty handy at trying to force leadership changes in other countries – handy at trying, but not succeeding. The US reportedly tried to force regime changes 72 times just during the Cold War. So, what gives the US the right to think that they can just disregard the choices made by the people of a country, and override them, to the sole gain of the US? According to the Cline Center at the University of Illinois, 72 is just a drop in the bucket. They point to 350 coup attempts initiated by the US, 191 of them just since 1982.

So why, out of all the countries of the world, is the US so adamant that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons? Well, they have a cultist leader. Human rights mean not a lot to the Iranian leaders. Their administration is perhaps unstable. There is major corruption at the top. Now look at some of the countries who do have nuclear capabilities and tell me how they are any different than Iran. Russia, China, India, North Korea, and Israel all tick all of those boxes. The USA also does now.

 

There was an agreement with Iran to allow the rest of the world to monitor what they were doing, in an attempt to cool off hostilities, and as a small show of faith between two countries that have a tumultuous history, but that didn’t matter to the latest administration in America. Israel was the one to start bombing in Iran, just because they could, and because Netanyahu needs every distraction he can create while committing his plethora of hideous crimes and genocide, and the Orange Felon bought into it, hook, line, and sinker.

Be honest about this: the illegal bombing of Iran this last weekend was not about anything that Iran was doing. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, ‘Forget the intelligence.’ It was about two other governments who are horrible corrupt, who have leaders who are adjudicated criminals, who have created unmitigated disasters in their own countries, and will now resort to damned near anything just to save their own skins, and if they can line their pockets in the process, then so much the better. Creating this new global crisis has removed the scrutiny of their own illegality, their cruelty to their own people, the mountain of human rights violations they commit on a daily basis, their willingness to sacrifice human lives, and the environment, and world peace and stability, without batting an eye.

Perhaps our efforts are better spent on demanding (or forcing) regime change in Israel and the US, and leave Iran alone. The world would be a better place for it. Demanding that Iran go to the ‘negotiating table’ to hash out a penalty for crimes they have not yet committed, is no different than the rest of the world trying to ‘negotiate’ their way out of illegal tariffs that they never implemented. There is no negotiating with a lying madman.

Back in the Saddle, Riding Past Mountains of Horse Shit

 

If I am dusting this thing off after these years, I want to do it properly. I will try not to do the long editorial shit (like yesterday) unless I am really really pissed off. Note: That seems to happen more as I age and as I witness the rising of the Fourth Reich.

 

For those keeping track, as we watch The Fuhrer and his BeBe Buddy getting ready to strike the match for the powder keg that is the Middle East, Israel has been bombing civilians in Gaza for 1 year, 8 months, 1 week, and 3 days. Of the 251 hostages that were taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, 53 are still being held, and at least 20 are believed to be still alive. Apparently blasting the everloving hell out of Gaza wasn’t such a great strategy for getting hostages back, but it’s one hell of a plan for getting a few seaside ocean resorts in the area. Apparently, the loss of life isn’t the issue at all anymore; now it’s just a couple of wrinkly old dogs having a pissing match despite the inability to hold up a hind leg.

 ~*~ 

The G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta has ended. One of the results of the meeting was a concerted, united effort to (finally) offer more substantial support to Ukraine by way of sanctions against Russia, money and munitions for Ukraine, and an ultimatum. It seems that in the massive vacuum left by a bloviating bully leaving early, the adults were allowed to actually do some work. This has gone on way too long, and there is no way that Ukraine should be compromised in any way to get a peace deal. They didn’t start this shit, they didn’t want this shit, and it was 100% unnecessary, other than for the greed and ego of what is quickly becoming pathetic and paranoid Putin.

 ~*~

As Heir Fuhrer is denouncing criminals and sending his jack-booted, pussy-whipped, mask-wearing thugs to pick on Senators and city Comptrollers, one wonders what it will take to get law enforcement to turn their attention to the real criminals in the US – the ones sitting in the GOP caucus rooms. Now, before you get all pissy with me about it, I know, they aren’t all criminals, but come on, the ones who are just sitting there saying nothing and going along to get along are as criminal as the ones actually doing the shit.

 ~*~

Bill C-5. Why is it that politicians cannot create laws that don’t have other more nefarious crap buried inside them. Carney’s C-5 is intended to break down some of the trade barriers that exist between provinces in Canada. Now, this is a good thing, but it is only one step. The rest of the work has to be done by the provinces, but this clears away some of the red tape along the way.  But then, it goes on to enact the Building Canada Act, a delightful little ditty that allows the federal government to ignore whatever regulations or procedures or restrictions that might exist for a project, if they deem it an issue of ‘national interest.’ This overreach potentially means that any First Nations land claims, any environmental issues, any health concerns, can be totally disregarded, and there is no recourse to stop it. Of course, a bill like this should have proper debate and discussion before being passed, right? Hell no. Of course not, because then all the things wrong with it would be exposed. How do I know this? Because any time the conservatives agree to limiting debate on a liberal bill, you know there is shit in there that ought not be, and here it is. This is how the shit starts. Write your MPs and tell them that this bill is bullshit. If the project is in the national interest, then there is a way to make it work with discussion and agreement, not just ramming this shit down our throats.

 ~*~

Yesterday, a young woman from Georgia passed away. Well, actually, she passed away 4 months ago, but because she was a few weeks pregnant, the government ordered that she be put on life support until the baby was viable. She was a government-sanctioned baby incubator, and nothing more. Her life didn’t matter. Her dignity didn’t matter. Her family’s wishes didn’t matter. After four long, expensive months, it was determined that the baby was viable. They cut her open, pulled out the 1-pound baby, unplugged the ventilator and let her die… again. Please someone explain to me (actually, that’s rhetorical because I really don’t give a crap about your stupidity) how this is pro-life. This is pro-birth. The government made the demands, the family now has to deal with the hardships, not the least of which will be the medical bills. In a time when the Trump government is more than happy to deprive living people of the medications they need to keep on living, when they find it entertainment to see how seniors juggle between paying for prescriptions or paying for their food, and really not being able to afford either, they just dumped absolutely smothering debt onto the shoulders of a family who has been put through a very special, very sick hell. Oh, but there will be social programs to help this family, right? Fuck no! Those are all being cancelled as well. Food stamps? Lunches at schools? Help with daycare? I mean, come on, you had the baby, so now you deal with it. If any of these people were prolife, they would also be all in on social programs to help all children, all families, all seniors, instead of vilifying them. If they were really pro-life, as Jesus intended, then they would want the same rights for colored people, for immigrants, for gays and lesbians, for trans people, but noooo, they are only pro-birth, and then, well, you call all fuck off, unless of course you are a white Christian conservative.

 

 

Time to Play Taps for America?

 

I have held my tongue for a long time now. When Heir Trump showed up on the scene, I figured that irony was dead, and what was the point in trying to talk about something so completely unhinged. I figured that our friends to the south would eventually figure it out, but here we are. Now, I do think they are figuring it out (FAFO baby), but is it too late?

Take the G7 meetings these last three days. You would think, in the event of a war breaking out in the Middle East, the leaders would want to work together, to provide a united front. The Fuhrer had most of the main heads of state right there to discuss it with, but no, Captain Ego couldn’t do that. Instead, he does the ‘I’m too important’ crappola, and with the poise of a tantruming five-year-old, he stomps off to his plane and fucks off back home.

This administration is like a masterclass in hypocrisy. The Secretary of Defense is too busy defending his stupidity and drinking to actually know anything about his portfolio. The Secretary of Education wants to shut down public schools. The Secretary of Commerce is head cheerleader for the destruction of the economy… the sous chef of the old TACO truck, if you will. And the Secretary of Health is determined to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, using his worm-rejected atrophied brain to the best of his ability.

They screamed about Hilary’s emails, but when it comes to the Sec Def sharing attack plans on an unsecured device, using an unsecured platform, and including unsecured personnel (although thank you for that incompetency), they offer crickets. They claimed that Biden was suffering from dementia, but apparently the moron who cannot stand straight, who cannot read, who blatantly shows the sans-worm devouring of his cranial grey cells is totally okay.

So now as we are on the verge of war with Iran, for who knows what possible reason, we hear them saying that Iran cannot be trusted to have such powerful weapons, like nuclear warheads. We hear about how regime change would be a good thing for them, so perhaps dropping a few bombs on them would help. They talk about the cruelties of an Iranian regime on their own citizens. Now change the word ‘Iran’ to ‘USA’ in that paragraph.

The thing with ‘conservative values’ is that they are not about values at all. They tell you who to hate, who to point fingers at, and how someone else is ripping off the system by being poor, or having health issues, or being the wrong color or religion. Hate the gay people, the trans people, the immigrants, the special needs people, the seniors because they are robbing you of what you should and could have. Don’t look at the corporations or the millionaires who are making millions under the guise of creating a strong economy. Remind yourself that there is only one thing that trickles down, and it sure as hell is not money from the rich. The cruelty of the rules don’t matter, as long as they don’t impact your own perfect little Christian life. The cruelty is the thing that they crave, because it helps those at the top stay at the top.

So, amid the assassinations, the depriving of healthcare and education, the ignoring of judicial decisions, the protests and parades, the arrests, the lies, the bloviating, the hypocrisy, please tell me how the US now differs from Iran. Change has to come from within. Watching the reactions of the GOP these last few weeks, I am not sure that’s possible anymore. Perhaps it truly is time to break out the bagpipes, and squeeze out a plaintive rendition of Taps for the world’s greatest experiment in democracy.

 ~ * ~

 

The G7 is taking place in Kananaskis, Alberta this week. If you catch nothing else of the festivities, be sure to catch the absolutely magnificent eyeroll from Italy’s Giorgia Meloni as she responds to Macron whispering in her ear, almost assuredly about some asinine thing that the US Fuhrer said or did.

 

GETTING A WORKPLACE REALITY CHECK

DATELINE: GETTING A WORKPLACE REALITY CHECK – After days of watching news coverage of the election campaign for the leader of the most powerful country in the world, I can no longer sit silently. No, I was not grabbed or kissed by Donald Trump, and no, Bill Clinton didn’t drop his drawers for me, BUT for every woman who has been through that experience with any man, it is once again visceral for them. Old wounds, long thought scarred over, are red and raw once more.

This morning I listened to commentaries and pundits talking about being skeptical about the timing of these things, and why it’s coming out now. How could these women have remained silent for so long? How could they even remember what happened that long ago. It was years, so is it really relevant now? Well, let me enlighten you.

First, imagine being young, idealistic, energetic, with a whole world in front of you, but each morning, as you get dressed, you look in the mirror and wonder if you are making the right choice. You know, as a young woman, your clothes, nylons, shoes, hairstyle… everything… will be up for scrutiny. You consider what lies ahead of you that day, what’s on your agenda, and which co-workers you will be working with, knowing that if it’s this one, you should be wearing slacks because otherwise you will be in a wrestling match again when he tries to slide his hand up your skirt. You weigh in your mind how much photocopying you will have to do that day, because you know the photocopier is across the hall from an office of a man who seems to think that bending over to reload paper is his personal invitation to be an ass. You have to think about all these things, every day, before you even consider walking out the door… all just to do the job you are hired to do (at less money than your male counterparts, who obviously are considered more worthy than yourself).

So, you get to work. One of your male supervisors leans up against the wall when beside you, looking at your chest as he talks to you, not even making an attempt to hide the entitled expression on his face. You dressed for him. How nice. Well, not really, but that’s what he says, and you know if you say anything to correct that, you will pay for it. Another leans over your desk, invading your space with his halitoxic (yes, patent is pending on that word) breath because how could you get through the day without him stopping by to say hello. You have to put up with wolf whistles as you walk down the street and strangers yelling at you to smile; you worry about who might reach out to touch you, both on the street and in your work environment. This is all just in the first half hour of your day – every day.

There are few women, over the last forty years, who have not experienced this to one degree or another. A torn dress, a ripped sleeve, a broken heel on a shoe: those are just the cost of being a woman in the workforce. It’s simply a fact – a sick, sad fucking fact. You have no recourse, especially in decades past. It was the entitlement of the men in the office to be assholes to the women. Not all the men were; there were many who were absolute gentlemen. They were generally the ones who had their work done first. That was our only show of protest at the time.

Women didn’t complain. They couldn’t. If you complained, your job changed. You got demoted. You missed out on promotions. The men talked about you more, viciously, hurtfully, lying about you among themselves, but making sure you knew what they were saying. They talked about their conquests. They talked to each other. They gave you a bad job reference when you tried to leave. That was all just for asking them to stop. You wanted it, but couldn’t handle it. You were a child playing an adult game. You dressed like you wanted it. You stayed through your coffee break so that must clearly mean you wanted that attention. It was just fooling around anyway, nothing was serious. If you laid a complaint, it would cost you your job unless you could prove it, and prove that you hadn’t instigated it. Not only did it cost you the job you were at, but it cost you any future ones as well. This isn’t rocket science, assholes. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t demand that we say nothing at the time then condemn us after the fact for remaining silent.

You didn’t report this behavior. You had no one to report it to. You didn’t ‘lay charges’ *insert riotous laughter here* because how were you to prove your case… not the case that it happened but that you didn’t ‘provoke’ it. You had absolutely no recourse then. To change jobs just meant you had to learn all over again who not to trust and who to avoid, and what to wear each day. In many ways, the old ‘devil you know’ thing definitely comes into play.

So, Morning Joe and the rest of you, why are women speaking out now, with just weeks until the election? Well, for starters, they probably didn’t believe that Trump would go this far, that people would wake the hell up and see this monster for who he is. Maybe when he lied in the debate and stated that he never does anything like this, it was the last straw. Maybe it was his surrogates stating that ‘no women were hurt’ or that it was just ‘locker room banter’ or that it really didn’t count because it happened anywhere from 1-50 years ago. Hearing those things from Trump is expected; hearing those things from other people, especially women, is infuriating and hurtful as all holy hell, because those people should, and I would argue that they do, know better. These are the truly vile individuals in this debacle.

I will state, without any doubt at all, that at least 80% of women in the workforce in the last 50 years have experienced inappropriate advances from their male counterparts. I will also state with the same confidence that every one of those women, over the last two weeks of watching coverage of the election for President of the United States, is reliving those experiences, can remember every detail, can remember the names of the men involved, what they were wearing, and how they felt about it afterwards. It doesn’t leave you… EVER.

They didn’t come forward earlier because they hoped they wouldn’t have to. They didn’t want to relive the experience. In case you’re wondering, yes, at the time and every time you think about it afterward, it is degrading. They didn’t want to go there again. They didn’t want to be judged by family, friends, co-workers, just like before, but now they also get to be judged and persecuted for it, by an entire nation. We have been told for centuries that we don’t count as much, that we are to blame, that we have to provide ‘proof,’ that we have to defend OUR behavior before any man is held to account for his.

Why is this an issue in this election? Because Donald Trump wants to be the most powerful man in the world. He felt entitled before. Imagine now. Imagine the women he will abuse. He did so shamelessly, proudly even, for decades. It’s about his character. It’s about how he will treat female world leaders, female corporate leaders, any female he has to deal with. It’s because he is not mentally fit for the job. He wants to complain about Bill Clinton’s abuse of office in that way, yet he expects to be handed the same opportunities on a platter. If anything, if the Trump campaign had any brains at all, they would want the entire Bill Clinton issue to go away, because it should at the very least teach us that if they do it outside the office, they definitely do it inside, and that means a road of legal impairments and probably impeachment for Trump… at least if he is held to the same standards as Bill Clinton was – and let me say, those weren’t very high standards even then. Riddle me this, though: Why is it okay for Trump to bring up Bill Clinton’s behavior 30 years ago, and Hillary’s reaction to it, but not okay to mention Trump’s behavior even in the last week? Why is it okay for Trump to attack the women who are now his accusers, but not for Hillary to do likewise 30 years ago? None of them were right then, and it sure has hell is not right now to do either.

Oh, and Billy Bush… we know all about wingmen like you. We know that you are right in there with the rest of that basket of deplorables. Living your sexual fantasies vicariously through others, and helping to set women up for just this purpose, makes you as much a lowlife and the wanna-be presidential prick you stroked. 

O-R-L-A-N-D-O. Find out what it means to me.

People standing outside Pulse during attack, Orlando, Florida

The names are being read. The final text messages from people trapped in a nightclub are being made public. This is what happens after a mass murder… and once again, I find myself sitting back as a mother, aching inside for what the families and loved ones of these victims are feeling. With Sandy Hook, I was heartbroken for those victims, for their families and for society. That has been my response to most of these shootings… because honestly they all start to blend into one for the observer. How very sad is that. Most of those shootings/bombings were carried out by very disturbed, misguided people who had access to guns. They were done by men filled with rage, misplaced rage.

Pastor Steven Anderson. If this doesn't scare you,

then nothing will.

This shooting made me mad. Actually, ‘mad’ doesn’t come close to what I felt inside that first day. Yes, this was again someone who clearly had mental health issues, but it was the result of absolute hate. This hate, over the last six months, has moved from the back burner where it has been smoldering for the last decades. Newly unleashed by political and religious machines, hate is modeled every damned day for us on television. Religious people stand on their pulpits decrying women, calling for the execution of gay people, damning and instilling abject fear of those who practice other religions. They demand freedom of speech, freedom to practice their religion, but they refuse to respect those rights in others. How can you preach the word of any God while not modeling respect for others… all others?

We have political people, screaming about the need to control women and what they do. They cheer when people are thrown out of rallies. They make open, blatant statements of what is wrong with other people, while offering absolutely no solutions to help anyone. They hide their nefarious activities required to do whatever they have to in order to obtain and/or maintain their position of authority. They have sprinkled water and a whole lot of fertilizer on those little seeds of hate, saying that it is okay to harbor that hate, and to act on it in whatever way necessary. Ask any child. They see this on television – the bigotry, the hate, the thuggery… and the fact that respect has been lost for all.

Websites make hobbies out of shaming people. We laugh at the pictures of the poor people shopping at WalMart, and their less than fortunate choice of clothes, but we don’t stop to think that these people have no choice but to shop at WalMart, that they are for the most part the disenfranchised of society, and that they are forced to shop at a place that prides itself in paying such low wages, their own employees have to live on handouts from others. Yet this is okay? They are a good corporate citizen? Do these religious and political leaders give a damn about these people? There is no respect shown for the employees there, or for the people who shop there. They are less fortunate than we are; it sucks to be them.

Brock Turner, Rapist... No, we won't forget about you.

You're not off the hook yet.

How can we be surprised that a white boy can rape a young woman and, because of his whiteness, his athleticism, and his clean-cut appearance he gets nothing more than a slap on the wrist – then has the audacity to complain about his sentence. (Yeah, it’s the last part that really gets to me – the plea for pity for his misguided ’20 minutes of action.) If he had been black, or poor, or Muslim, would he have gotten that same sentence? Fuck no. Not a chance. Rape is about control, about power, authority at any cost… and is a lifelong sentence to the victim. When are we going to respect the victims enough to stop making it about them, and start to focus on the rapist? When are we going to start looking at the disparity in a system that treats white different than black, rich different than poor, Christian different than Muslim?

Machine Gun America... a theme park, no less, ironically

(or not) in Orlando Florida.

How can we be surprised when a young man goes into a club that he had frequented himself for some time, pulls out a gun and opens fire, killing 50 people, injuring 53 more, shattering countless thousands of lives? You cannot turn on the television anymore without someone telling you who to hate and why. Now they want this act to be considered religious terrorism because the man screamed out religious phrases as he carried out this heinous act. Lemme ask you this. If he had been Christian and was quoting Leviticus at the time of the shooting, would people still be calling for it to be a religious terrorist attack? They should. I would like to think they would, but I know better. If this slaughter had been done by a right-wing fundamentalist Christian, his religion would not be an issue.

The day after the shooting, after the anger had waned, I felt nothing. My soul felt like scorched earth, because something more happened this weekend. Like Brock Turner last week, like the San Bernardino shootings before, and Sandy Hook before that, and Columbine before that, the interest will fade. Politicians will block bills to make changes. Mental health issues will still be ignored. Donald Trump will still exude hate and bullying. Hillary Clinton will still defend her right to destroy government emails. The GOP will continue wringing their hands at the clusterfuck of a mess they have now found themselves with their extremist sellouts and because they chose to dance with the devil to make some points over the last 8 years. The Democrats will continue to play games with primary results and their convention in their determination to ensure that Hillary is on the ticket. Gay people will quietly step back, many of them looking at that closet door and wondering if that isn’t the wiser choice. Mothers will send their babies, be they 5 or 25, out the door, never to see them again because some other person with some other gun has been listening to the hate-filled, take no prisoners rhetoric that is spewed every day by religious, political and pundit figures.

Pro-Life? No, not at all. Pro-Birth. What happens after the

baby is born is absolutely no concern of theirs.

I am devoid of feeling, because we have long passed the tipping point, and that realization has nestled in my heart. There is one thing… one thing only… that is needed to fix all of this. It sounds so simple. It should be simple, but apparently it is unattainable. That one thing is respect. We need to show respect for others, for their political beliefs, their religion, their sexual choices, their life choices, and their problems. We need to start to take ownership of our global community, and that requires us to accept and respect each and every one of us. If you want freedom of religion, then you must allow others to enjoy that same freedom even if you do not share the same religious tenets. If you want to lead the country, you must show respect for the people you wish to lead – ALL of them. If you want to cover the news, you should do so respectfully, with balance and without agenda. Regardless of color, religion, mental capacity, physical ability, race, or sexual orientation, it all comes back to one simple little thing: treat others as you wish to be treated. Walk a few steps in someone else’s shoes before you belittle them. Remove the excuses for hate.

I am scorched earth… because no one is addressing the elephant in the room. The shooting in Orlando was a hate crime. It was not ISIS. It was not Muslim terrorist. It was a man who was Muslim who hated gay people. His hatred could have been based on his religion. It could have been triggered by the MANY Christian leaders who spew the same hate from their pulpits every week. The religious aspect is nothing more than an excuse to keep us from talking about the reality. Hate runs rampant; respect for others is gone. By all means, fly your flags, light up your buildings, change your profile photos to show solidarity, but please, this time, do not let it stop there.

Back to the Future

Bernie Sanders has changed me. No, I am not an American. No, I have no vote in the upcoming election. I am registered as neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I am a Canadian... but nonetheless, I have been changed by Bernie Sanders.

I’m not sure how it happened, but am equally unsure of why it doesn’t happen to more people. I find Bernie to be infectious, in such a good way. He is like the coming of spring, when we pull back the curtains, throw open the window, and breathe new life. I find myself taking mental walks in fresh fields, brimming with potential, seeing possibilities where none existed before.

(Yes, I know it's photoshopped, but
how could I resist?)

I wax poetic? Well, maybe. I admit that. But I also have to admit that I see ‘patriotism’ differently. It’s not waving flags, or wearing the Stars and Stripes, or in my case a maple leaf, on the arse of my jeans, or as a bikini top to cover my far-too-ample bosom. Love of a flag means nothing. Putting a hand over heart while reciting empty platitudes is insulting to others, especially if that is all you do. It absolutely is not a catchword to be used to justify sending young men and women to war that is intended only to benefit corporate campaign donors. ‘Patriotism’ is a love not just of country but of the people who live in that country – ALL of them; the poor, the sick, the challenged, the lost, and yes, especially those who would put on a uniform and protect the rest of us. It is respect for the people who make up the country, and a respect for their struggles and their sacrifices. It is a desire to see that the ideals that created the character of the country are attainable by everyone.

While I like to think of myself as progressive enough to not buy into the general social opinion of people, because of Bernie, I see that I can and should do more to ensure that this general social opinion changes. I didn’t think I looked down on the poor, or that I avoided people of a different culture, but I know now that I also didn’t do enough to make a difference to them. We all get wrapped up in the struggle to make it through another day when the corporate and institutionalized deck is stacked against us, but now I have a new appreciation of the fact that in order to make MY struggle easier, I have an obligation to help lessen those struggles of others as well.

We do need banks and corporations, but we do not need them voting in elections, while more of the people are shut out of the process. We do need oil companies, but they need to respect and be responsible to the people and the environment, not demand those entities continue to sacrifice that which is essential to life. We do need people who govern and who bring differing opinions and insights to the table, but we absolutely do not need those who care about nothing but their own bank accounts and raising money for the next election, and who will cut off their own noses to save their far-too-partisan faces. Governing should be about doing what is right not because of party lines, but because it is right, but right is a concept that has been totally sacrificed on the altar of maintaining power at any cost. Elections should not be about who has the most money. They must be about the ability, integrity and character of the person whose name is on the ballot, and nothing more. None of these revelations are new to me, but they are now, perhaps, seen with new perspective – through that newly opened window. Two months ago, I would have said no, it’s pie in the sky, but now? Hell yes, we do have it in us. We do have the strength, the conscience, the ability and now the means to see a change. 

So why do I care about who wins the election in a country that is not mine? The close proximity is one reason. The fact that our economies are so closely linked is another. But the real reason is because we see this hatred, strife, self-centered leadership in so many places, in the governmental institutions of so many countries now, in schools, in companies, in the workplace – Bernie is the first domino, the most important one, and once allowed to take action, his words and logic, his integrity and passion to do the right thing, his love of and respect for the people he wishes to represent, and his inherent desire for equality, will be contagious. It will set the standard for others. It will show that all of us – companies, governments, people and establishments – can work harmoniously together. It will show that good can triumph, that bullies and fear-mongers have no place leading others. This is George McFly come to life, putting Biff back in his place. This is the modern developed world getting back to business, back to the future, because now, as Bernie changes us all for the better, we once again have a future to plan for.

Dear Conservative Party of Canada

Dear ‪Conservative Party of Canada

While you spend some time ‘studying what went wrong’, let me offer some insight. Canadians were tired. We were tired of the bullying that Stephen Harper had perfected, the behind-closed-door deals, the lying, the contempt of Parliament, and the contempt for democracy. While I absolutely believe you went to Ottawa with nothing but the best intentions to serve your country, you all allowed one man to control you, control your thoughts, control your message and sadly, to control your actions (or lack thereof). You not only turned a blind eye to the indifference that Mr. Harper showed for Canadians, you mirrored his behavior. You never once stood up for your constituents, the people who elected you – who were essentially your board of directors, who offered you a mandate to speak on their behalf – when Mr. Harper told you to toe the party line. You ignored the hypocrisy of a leader who was elected to be honest, transparent and accountable, who then broke every one of those promises daily. We saw it. I have absolutely no doubt that you saw it as well, but it was not in your best ‘political’ interests to call him on it.

Yours was a government that refused to be accountable. You refused to talk to the media. You refused to answer questions. You passed massive omnibus bills – something that Mr. Harper adamantly opposed when he was on the other side of the aisle – knowing what odious deals were contained within them and then you upped the ante by refusing to allow discussion or debate. You then even blatantly tried – yes, you tried – to destroy the integrity and equality of our electoral system with your 'Fair' Elections Acts and your gerrymandering.

You willfully participated in election fraud, among you were people who participated in criminal activity, yet your arrogance did not allow you to stand up to do the right thing. You were dishonest with Canadians continually, and when someone dared to attempt to hold you to account, you ignored, then you redirected – to issues that had the sole intention of creating hatred and fear.

Here is the saddest aspect of the last 10 years. You may well have had some good ideas. You may well have had good intentions, at least when you arrived in Ottawa, but with all of the arrogance, dismissiveness, divisiveness, patronage appointments, indifference and lies, not one of you could be trusted. You all sold out to one man who was, at best a megalomaniac, and who may well have been a sociopath... and YOU DID NOTHING TO STOP IT OR TO HOLD YOUR PRIME MINISTER ACCOUNTABLE. You were active, willing participants in the destruction of a once-proud, credible, honorable party. Shame on all of you.

This election was about morals, about standing up for those who need someone to stand up for them (yes, this would include all missing and murdered women), about honesty, and saying we are Canadians who are compassionate, involved, open, welcoming, peace-loving and proud – all things that you have spent the last 10 years proving you were not.

Take heart though. The effort to determine what went wrong should not take long. Start with the gutter-crawling you did in your campaign, and with the fact that you spent the last four years campaigning to keep power instead of doing what you were supposed to do with the authority you were given by the voting public. You forgot who you worked for, who you were to answer to, and it was NOT the Prime Minister or the PMO. You allowed Stephen Harper to be a party of one, so yes, this is on you. Hopefully, Canadians have now seen what can happen when elected politicians become too entitled. Hopefully it will never happen again. Stephen Harper and ‘His Conservative Government’ will be a stark reminder of this for many years.