Coalitions Are Not Coups

I need to clarify something.

This upcoming (fingers crossed) coalition government is not a coup.

It's not illegal. It's not immoral. It's not stupid.

And it's not a minority taking over.

62% of Canadians did not vote for Stephen Harper's Conservatives. He only received 38% of the vote.

Doesn't that seem shady to anyone? That someone can receive less than 40% of the vote, yet still be Prime Minister.

So when the Liberals, NDP and Bloc get together and make a plan, that's not a coup. That's the majority getting together and actually doing some work...strange concept for the House of Commons, I know.

So, when someone says that this is a coup give them a shake. Coups are horrible events. People die, torture happens, countries collapse. This is a matter of the majority of Canadian voters FINALLY getting their voices heard in Ottawa.

Strange, but true.

Quiverfull Makes Me Quiver, And Not In A Good Way

Alright, have we heard about this movement? This was just brought to my attention today and I have to say I'm oddly fascinated and terrified at the same time.

Quiverfull essentially means that when two people (man and woman) are married then no birth control (Pill, condom, rhythm method, NOTHING) may be used. Have as many children as you have, each is a blessing, each is from God, etc., etc.

And it seems that this is catching on, in some areas of the world. Most notably in the US and now in Canada.

Hey, if you want to have tons of babies, by all means, go and procreate. It's really no skin off my nose.

However, please don't tell me that if you have 12 children you'll be able to spend as much quality time together. Or that you'll all be happy all the time. Let's be real. When you have a gaggle of babies (just as if you would only have one or none) nothing is perfect. I think this is the part that drives me the most insane. That everything is wonderful, everything is perfect, nothing is ever difficult and sleep is readily available.

For me, I find the most interesting conversation to be about this idea that more and more women are choosing (and in some cases I would use the word 'choose' loosely) this type of family planning.

The idea of a woman essentially being a vessel is a hard idea for me to accept, even if this is what they want. Call me a snob- but I am completely obsessed to know what the personal identity of those women are. Apart from the labels of 'mother' and 'wife', I wonder what they would classify themselves. I would love to pick apart their brain, although I imagine myself say "No, but really, what is your personal identity- without the kids. Because eventually the kids will leave and I want to know what you do for yourself. So tell me."

Then I stumbled over an article that spoke about Andrea Yates. If you don't remember her I'll jog your memory. She was the mother who drowned all five of her young children in the bathtub when her husband was at work. After she was arrested and found that post-partum depression played a large role even more evidence rolled in. According to reports, a couple of days previous to the horrifying deaths of the five Yates children, Andrea started to get pamphlets and visits from her Quiverfull-devoted church. And these visits were not the "how's it going" variety. It seems that people had heard about Andrea's desire to stop having babies and unhappiness with her role as mama.

Hm. Hopefully the lack of support was kept in mind when she was punished (which was deserved).

And then there's the fascination that media has, and in turn a large population of us. Television shows and specials are being massed produced (Duggars anyone?). And the ratings are fantastic. Which is good for them, feeding a brood of 13 children gets expensive. However I had seen some families be very resourceful with saving money (Tater Tots, making clothes, diapers and using all that free manual labour).

I may sound self-righteous about this, but I think my concerns are valid. Couple this with the fact that roles in the families are straight out of Leave It To Beaver (girls are in charge of cooking and sewing, boys in charge of outside maintenance), we should all be talking about this change in family makeup.

But again, I will stress that my mantra "My uterus, my decision, so keep your theology off my biology" swings both ways. So while I have warranted concerns, if the Duggars want to usher in baby number 20 after number 19 is born in January- by all means go for it. *Jessie shudders for Mrs. Duggar's vagina*

Another Way To Explain It...

Ok,

So I don't think that the 12 reasons I posted about MMP grabbed everyone's attention...so check out this fun video explaining why ALL OF YOU SHOULD VOTE YES FOR MIXED MEMBER PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.

12 Reasons to Vote for Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) Representation on Oct. 10!

You know that with an election coming up I would have to give you a bit of information on MMP...HAPPY VOTING!


1. One ballot, two votes

With the MMP voting system, you cast a vote for a local candidate AND for the political party of your choice. You can vote for the best local candidate, even if you don’t like that candidate’s party, because you now have a separate vote for your preferred party – a vote that elects at-large candidates from that party.

2. More power to voters: everyone matters

Even if you don’t elect someone in your riding (and most of us don’t), your party vote will still help elect at-large candidates – meaning that every party will compete for your vote no matter where you live.

3. More choice for voters

Voters will be able to consider the larger established parties, as usual, but also a number of smaller, newer, innovative parties. As long as your preferred party receives more than 3% of the party votes, you can help elect at-large candidates.

4. No more strategic or negative voting

Many voters are trapped in ridings dominated by a party they don’t support. In those cases, you often conclude the only course is to vote for a party you don’t like to stop another party you like even less. With MMP, you can always cast an effective vote to elect at-large candidates from your preferred party.

5. Fairer results in elections

Election results are always distorted by the current system. One party may get 40% of the votes and win 60% of the seats. Another party may get 20% of the votes and no seats. MMP produces fairer results, meaning parties get only the seats and power they deserve – no more, no less.

6. No more phony majorities

Under the current system, Ontarians are often governed by a majority government that the majority actually voted against. Under MMP, majority governments can only be formed by those who were elected by a majority of voters.

7. Stronger representation

Because voters will have both riding representatives and at-large representatives, every voter will be better represented and be able to call on more than one elected official in their region for assistance.

8. More diverse representation

Proportional systems provide a foundation for the nomination and election of a more diverse range of candidates – more women and visible minorities – because parties learn that diverse lists of at-large candidates usually attract more votes.

9. More accountability to voters

A politician cannot be accountable to voters who didn’t elect her or him. Under the current system, most voters do NOT elect their riding representative and most do NOT vote for the party forming government. Under MMP, every voter helps elect someone, which strengthens accountability, and majority governments can only be formed by those representing the majority.

10. Better government and less concentration of power

Because fairer results mean a single party will seldom be able to form a majority government, MMP forces parties to negotiate and compromise, usually by forming coalition governments. This means that cabinets will often include members from more than one party, and the premier and party leaders will have to negotiate and compromise rather than dictate.

11. Citizens’ Assembly recommended MMP

The proposed MMP system is not being recommended by government or the parties. The recommendation came from the independent Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, a body composed of 103 regular voters who studied, consulted and deliberated for eight months on the best voting system for Ontario voters. It’s a system recommended by a group of well-informed voters who chose it because it helps empower voters.

12. Old guard doesn’t like it

The status quo is jealously protected by an old guard who enjoy the way the system marginalizes most voters and concentrates power. The MMP system empowers voters, give more choice, fairer results and stronger representation – not what the old boys club wants, but what all Ontarians deserve.

Happy Canada Day!

Hope everyone had a great Canada Day!

I went to the fireworks at Byron this year.

For those of you who don't know about geography of London, Byron is one of the more affluent neighbourhoods in town.

There are fireworks at Byron, downtown and in the East end (there might be some in the North end, but I really don't care). I usually end up at Harris Park downtown with friends to watch fireworks...sitting on the banks of the Thames where there's either an excess of water or it's dried up (dried up this year) with thousands of others getting ready to watch the explosions.

But this year I found myself one neighbourhood over in Byron. This was interesting. Firstly, I don't know what it is about the suburbanites...but when shit happens in our neighbourhoods we think we own the whole freaking place.

As I was driving my car down the road with my peeps (yes, I have peeps) we saw the excess of people driving, parking and walking to Byron Optimist Park for the event. Armed with Ice Caps and Timbits, we were ready.

I remember working at Timmy's in university and absolutely HATING working on July 1st.

Because inevitably at around 7:45pm the rush of families (most often in the drive thru) who would pick up their firework snacks. I have no problem with this. This is what Tim Hortons does. They take orders, fill them and sends people on their way with re-heated carbohydrates and "nicotine laced" caffeine.

My problem always laid in the pure and simple fact that people started acting like mentally delayed monkeys while ordering.

Here are my tips for ordering on July 1st at Tim Hortons:

1. Know your order.

Tim's doesn't change. Yes, they may start making flavoured Ice Caps, or a seasonal doughnut, but it's basically the same shit. Cruellers, fritters, dips, Timbits, coffee, hot chocolate, apple juice.

2. If you don't know your order...DON'T GO THROUGH DRIVE THRU

This should always be followed, not just on our nation's birthday. If you go into the store you can spend all the time you want staring like an idiot at the board. When you're outside at the speaker and you don't know what you want and are hemming and hawing you can bet the staff inside are going crazy. Don't be the ass who makes a bottleneck happen. You are hated.

3. Don't have your children order in the drive thru

It's difficult enough hearing you let alone a tiny little voice in the back seat. Besides that, it's annoying.

4. Use smaller bills and coins

With all the traffic on July 1st...if you're going to buy $4.27 worth of product don't pay with a freaking $20 bill. That's annoying.

5. If you're buying bulk product (Timbits, doughnuts, etc.) don't start requesting flavours unless you come into the store

When someone requests a 20 pack of Timbits in the drive thru you are basically giving the staff the ability to choose what flavour goes into the box. Taking your Timbit flavour order is damn near impossible. You may say you don't want one flavour (old fashion plain for instance)...but don't be annoying. And definitely do not say that you want all chocolate. Don't be an ass. They can't make pounds and pounds of extra chocolate. You're annoying as well.

6. Tip.

Self explanatory.

7. Ice Caps take time to make, go inside.

Ice Caps are time consuming to make, go inside if you are ordering more than 3, you'll take too much time.

If you follow those rules, you won't have your coffee spit in.

Cheers!