Climate Change!

BTW, who made those Canadian Olympic uniforms for the Opening Ceremonies? Ugly. Only the German’s came close to that. They looked like front end beaver tails. And when was brown our national colour. Oh wait, shyte is brown isn’t it, and there is a lot of it in our House of Clowns?

 

 

 

Cartoon Of Beggars Illustrations, Royalty-Free Vector Graphics & Clip ...

Hey man. Got any climate change?

Because its 2026!

Don’t know but I do know that:

  1. Climate change is a  feminist movement. Why, because it’s always changing man…..;
  2. Carbon is a transgendered element of the Periodic Table. It is stuck between that borion “B” and that nitrogen-der;
  3. Cow farts and flatulence contributes to Global Warming and is therefore a masculine threat. Why? Because women never, ever fart. And if they do their farts never stink. It must be stamped out immediately. See #1 above;
  4. The other day an activist told me that Archimedes worked for big oil. This was in response to a discussion I had with him that he needn’t worry about major flooding and sea level rising if the Arctic Ice Cap melts
  5. Eureka! The Arctic Ice Cap is not melting. It’s expanding. It must be a feminist movement as well. “Am I getting bigger. Do I look fat to you honey?. By the way, you don’t smell so well yerself;
  6. Global Warming causes hot summer weather;
  7. Global Warming causes cold, frigid winter weather, i.e., frigidity;
  8. Frigidity is a feminist movement and must be stamped out at all costs;
  9. Global cooling is therefore, a feminist threat, and must be met with #3 above;
  10. Under peer review, as temperatures rise the warming effects of global warming will offset the cooling effects of global cooling as a result of the global warming. Got that? Yeah? cool! Chill man, er woman, er ne, ve or ze, er wo…oops…man;
  11. Pesticides found in Marijuana! Ban marijuana now before it kills us;
  12. Pot for kids! Ban pot now because you can’t call that kettle back;
  13. Under the new marijuana legislation, every pot has a lid man, er women, er ne,ve or ze!;
  14. Heaven help us if the kids are our future…see #12 above;
  15. Hooray for natural gas…see #3 above.
  16. Liquid natural gas? Well a good dose of Keopectate will take care of that;
  17. Greenpeace and US activists protest First Nation sponsored aqua-culture…What?;
  18. Ne, Ve or Ze. Clockwork Oranges.
  19. Smoking kills but smoking pot is alright man. It’s out of sight, out of mind, and out of body; and
  20. Thank God that I will be dead soon…see #s 19,14 and 12 above.

Madness!

 

“Old Admirals” by Al Stewart. A timeless metaphor of what happens to all of us as we age. To our younger generations, we become irrelevant.

My books are available through Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. They would make great gifts, while supporting a Canadian author. Great reviews too.
www.johnmorrisonauthor.com        

WHO: Countries Should Tax Sugar.

We want to tax sugar to fight obesity… SWEEEEEEET!

From the school of common sense: get our children off their asses and into the playgrounds, sports programs, and throw their Xboxes, IPhones and Tablets into the trash. Bring back play, as the saying goes.

But it’s their right to do what they want. Right?

Kids have no responsibilities therefore they have no rights!

And what about rights. Do you think you have rights? What rights? Think again man or women or ne,ve,ze. This is just a smoke screen and another example of how our individual freedoms and rights are being undermined by government legislators – at all levels. Soon we will be told what to eat, what to drink, what to wear, what to say, what to think, what to watch, what to drive, what bloody light bulbs we have to use.

Legislators will ban herbicides, ban pesticides, ban perfume, ban cologne, ban lawnmowers, ban red meat, ban white meat for its privilege, ban “Monster Truck” shows, ban camping, ban boating, ban contact sports, ban BBQ’s, ban fun. If left unchecked there will be no idling of cars, hey, no driving of cars, no international air travel, no travel at all, no smoking, no swearing, no drinking, no critical thought if you please, no consequences for bad personal decisions or choices, no discipline as it’s always somebody else’s fault. The do good-ers and the activists are having a field day. By the way, have you ever met a happy activist or a happy environ-mental -ist? Nope? Neither have I.

It took me 74 years to become a Grumpy Old Man. These environmental whackos and Social Justice Warriors had that locked up the minute they entered University.

Orwell had it right all along. Only he was well ahead of our times. Oh the horror of it all. People – wake up!!!

Next they’ll want to tax the very air that we breathe. Oh wait, they’re doing that now with their so called Carbon Tax. After all when we inhale we have to exhale, and that my friends contains CO2 – so stop breathing to save the planet. In today’s world telling someone figuratively to “drop dead” has a whole new meaning…THEY MEAN IT! 

They’ll want to tax volcanic eruptions and erections next.

And given the UN’s stellar record of collective security and peacekeeping – Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia – come to mind; their impressive decisions on Human Rights as reflected by the righteousness of the UN Human Rights Council; the inspirational insight that the UN demonstrated with their election of Zimbabwe as the lead nation on the United Nations’ Commission on Sustainable Development, their appointment of Iran to head the committee on the status of women and Libya to chair the Human Rights Council a few years back; and their dynamic organizational skills and efficacy in financial administration as witnessed by their Oil for Food program and the human disaster that is called Haiti, why oh why on earth would anyone with half a brain in their head believe in the conclusions drawn up by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Huh? Huh?

Just saying, that’s all.

Ban sugar? No way. And who is the WHO anyway?

Oh and Chuck Negron died this past week at 83. He was one of the lead singers of Three Dog Night – one of my favorites back in the late 60s early 70s.
My books are available through Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. They would make great gifts, while supporting a Canadian author. Great reviews too.
www.johnmorrisonauthor.com       

Another Electoral Way

Plan Your Trip With These 20 Maps of Canada

 

Canada is the second largest land mass on earth. It has 4.5 time zones. A country that size is almost impossible to govern under our current electoral laws. It is a country of regions and those regions differ in many ways. The Maritimes have a different feel than the west. Ontario is different than Quebec. The west is unique in its own special way.

In 1867, our nation was founded on four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Manitoba joined in 1870, BC in 1871, PEI in 1873, Newfoundland in 1949. The regions are as follows: Atlantic Canada or the Maritimes: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland; Central Canada: Ontario and Quebec; and the West: Manitoba, Saskatchewan; Alberta and British Columbia. There are two western territories: Yukon and The Northwest; and one Eastern Territory: Nunavut. For this discussion we lump Quebec and Nunavut with Eastern Canada; Ontario stands alone;  and Yukon and The Northwest Territory with the west.

Ottawa became the nation’s capital city. That made sense in 1858 because it was central to the United Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and later, in 1867, for the confederation of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It does not make sense in today’s regional map of Canada.

Population in Canada at the last census (2021) = 37 million people.

Provinces and territories. Population at last census. Density. Land area. Legislatures.[1]
Name 2021 census Growth
(2016–2021)		 Land area
(km2)		 Density
per (km2)		 House[2] Senate
Pop. % Seats % Seats %
1 Ontario 14,223,942 38.45% 5.8% 908,699.33 15.2 122 35.6% 24 22.9%
2 Quebec 8,501,833 22.98% 4.1% 1,356,625.27 6.5 78 22.7% 24 22.9%
3 British Columbia 5,000,879 13.52% 7.6% 922,503.01 5.4 43 12.5% 6 5.7%
4 Alberta 4,262,635 11.52% 4.8% 640,330.46 6.7 37 10.8% 6 5.7%
5 Manitoba 1,342,153 3.63% 5.0% 552,370.99 2.3 14 4.1% 6 5.7%
6 Saskatchewan 1,132,505 3.06% 3.1% 588,243.54 2.0 14 4.1% 6 5.7%
7 Nova Scotia 969,383 2.62% 5.0% 52,942.27 18.4 11 3.2% 10 9.5%
8 New Brunswick 775,610 2.09% 3.8% 71,388.81 10.9 10 2.9% 10 9.5%
9 Newfoundland and Labrador 510,550 1.38% −1.8% 370,514.08 1.4 7 2.0% 6 5.7%
10 Prince Edward Island 154,331 0.42% 8.0% 5,686.03 27.2 4 1.2% 4 3.8%
11 Northwest Territories 41,070 0.11% −1.7% 1,143,793.86 0.04 1 0.3% 1 0.95%
12 Yukon 40,232 0.11% 12.1% 474,712.68 0.08 1 0.3% 1 0.95%
13 Nunavut 36,858 0.10% 2.5% 1,877,778.53 0.02 1 0.3% 1 0.95%
Total Canada 36,991,981 100% 5.2% 8,965,588.85 4.2 343 100% 105 100%

Divide Canada into 3 regions: West, Central and East

The vote and seat count would be based on population. Total seats in today’s Parliament equals 343.

West – Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia: 11,822, 474 (+ NWT and Yukon). Rounding up 12 / 37 x 343 = 111 seats

Central – Ontario: 14,223,191 equates to 14 / 37 x 343  = 133 seats

Eastern – Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and NFLD: 10,948,565 (+ Nunavut) equates to 102 seats. Rounding up 11 / 37 x 343 = 101 seats.

Yukon and NWT would go to the west while Nunavut would go to the East.

Split seats across the regions: 343 / 3 =  114 seats

In each region parties would receive a percentage of the Federal parliamentary seats based upon the number of seats won in the region, but based upon the percentage won of the popular vote. For example if the greens won 8 % of the popular vote in the Western region they would earn 8% of the western regional seats in Parliament. If the PCP won 50% of the popular vote in the Central region they would receive 50% of the Central seats federally. If the Bloc won 22% of the popular vote in the Eastern region then they would receive 22% of the Eastern regional seats at the Federal level.

Simple and fair. No more first past the post dictatorships in this country. The interests of each region of Canada would be well represented in Canada’s Parliament. No longer could Central Canada ignore the west or vice versa. No longer could the Prime Minister’s governing party punish a region or a district because of differing electoral outcomes. Coalitions would probably have to be established for governance. That is a good thing and entirely democratic. MPs would be forced to work together for the common good of the entire country – while also addressing and upholding the varied interests of their respective regions. Compromise would be the established order of the day

Provincial autonomy could still be maintained however it would make better sense, with clarity and fairness at the core, if each region set up its own governance system regionally rather than Province wide as it exists today. Regional seats could be allocated based upon the number of seats assigned at the Federal level. Inter provincial trade barriers and other irritants that bar prosperity at the regional level would disappear immediately.

For what its worth

Just saying.

I yearn for a Canada pre Pearson and especially pre Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Trudeau One commenced the destruction of Canada, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau Two, and the Carney Liberals have / will complete the destruction.

My flag:

Canadian Red Ensign - David Clendenning Photography

 

My National Anthem

Proportional Representation

Guide to Canadian Provinces and Territories

I just read an article by a group that want to change our electoral process from a First Past the Post system to one of Proportional Representation. Their primary argument was, among many, that Canada had one of the most unstable governments of the developed democracies. They cite Italy as an example of electoral stability.

I don’t know about you but as soon as I read that comment their argument became as mushy as a wet noodle or an overcooked bowl of pasta without the meat sauce. They point out that because Canada has had 22 elections as opposed to Italy’s 18 since WW2 that somehow Italy’s electoral process is a model of stability. Holy ravioli, it cannot be. Well it isn’t:

 Yes Canada has had 22 elections since WW2 but I would say that this is a reflection of how strong and stable our system of government is.

Canada has a parliamentary system of government based upon Westminster that calls for an election, until Harper’s fixed election date decree, of every 5 years. That alone would require an election every 14.2 years in Canada since 1945 if all governments were majority in nature. But they haven’t been and I would argue that that is also a good thing because the strength of our democracy and parliamentary system of government holds poor governments to account (remember Joe Clark, Meighen) by forcing them to go to the polls for public validation.  Minorities can also provide strong legislative government as reflected by Pearson’s successful minority governments of the mid 1960s.

Our system also prevents potential constitutional crises – Mackenzie King, Bing affair comes to mind – something that Italy could only hope for. By the way, Italy may have had only 18 elections since WW2 but they have had 65 different governments since 1945, and therein lies the problem that can arise with Proportional Representation (PR). Nothing gets done.  Why?  Because governance coalitions are necessary for power and political survival in these countries with their PR systems of government. Unfortunately, by their very nature, they are unstable. Can you imagine the chaos in Canada if the Layton, Dion and Duceppe coalition had taken down Harper’s minority government back in December 2008? Luckily, through our strong and stable system of rules and protocols, Harper was able to prorogue parliament and thus avoid political instability in this country. The Liberals backed down from the coalition early in 2009. Whew! Of course all of the lefties blew a hissy fit and spewed their spaghetti all over their bibs.

As an example of the efficacy of Italy’s PR system, here are some facts about Italy’s 2008 election:

“An early election was called (in Italy) when Romano Prodi resigned as prime minister in January, after the collapse of his centre-left coalition, which had been in power for just 20 months…only one Italian government has lasted a full five-year term in the last 50 years, led by conservative Silvio Berlusconi between 2001-2006 and even he was forced to resign once during that time by fractious allies.”

“Italians blame electoral laws for chronic instability that brought down the 61st government since World War Two in January. The system, still in use, mixes proportional representation with a threshold of 2 percent for parties in a coalition and 4 percent for single parties. It permitted more than 20 parties to take seats in 2006.”

And the real kicker here is:

“Both Berlusconi and Veltroni favoured altering the system to reduce the PR element and push Italy towards a two-party system.” Unfortunately, for Italy, that hasn’t happened yet.

Who knew?

Traditional national symbols of Canada. Set of Canadian icons. Vector illustration in flat style ...

They forgot to show the zipper here. And peanut butter!

Update. My views have changed. Given the dictatorial nature of a Prime Minister governing with a majority, what we have in reality is someone who can do anything he or she wants to do for a period of five years. With no checks or balances. Furthermore, Canada is too big and too regionally different and divided to be governed responsibly by one man or one party rule. Look at the disastrous reign of Justin Trudeau’s and now Mark Carney’s liberals.

Proportional representation is the way to go. I will present one solution in my next post.

My books are available through Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. They would make great gifts, while supporting a Canadian author. Great reviews too. Check out the links to these books at the top of the page.
www.johnmorrisonauthor.com       

 

New Book: Prologue Part 5

Battle of Vimy Ridge was a pivotal moment for Canada 108 years ago - Castanet.net

 

“Charlotte, look, there is even a torch bearer there. To you from falling hands we throw the torch be yours to hold it high.” I can still recite that poem Charlotte.

She smiled back at me and said in a faint voice:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

“I am proud of you sweetie. And I love you.”

“I love you too dad.”

“There must be thousands of people here Charlotte. Thousands.”

Not just Canadians. I could see Brits, French, both military and civilians. Dignitaries, big wigs, politicians, bands, and pipers. All forming up. A guard of honour from the Royal Canadian Navy was dressed and formed up in one spot. Dignitaries and very important people over here. Veterans with family members everywhere: perched over the base of the monument itself like ants on a hill. They also covered the entire broad slope of grass to the east – toward the Douai plain.

There is no formality for us, thank God. Just a casual but poignant dedication and remembrance. A Dais has been raised so I am sure that a ceremony and formal presentation have been planned.

“And look Charlotte, over there. That must be the centerpiece of the dedication ceremony.” To our left was a tall statue, covered in our national flag. There is no doubt that this statue is important to the site, as it is front and center overlooking the sloping lawn on the east side.

“Charlotte nodded. “You are right father. And look down there at the base. A stone tomb.”

Charlotte began to cry. She, like me, has been overcome with emotion.

“To an unknown soldier, left behind, representing all those who never came home and have no known graves. Only unto God they be known.”

A guard motioned us toward the steps on the south side of the monument. We decided to stay where we were, on the base of the monument facing the steps at the back facing west. I am sure that the King and other VIPs will enter from this direction. There were also thousands of veterans with their families as well as other Canadians who decided to make their way over here from Canada. Our view was strategic as we could see the entrance to the site, the base of the pylons, the covered centerpiece, and the thousands of spectators that walked down onto the lawn that sloped down and away from the monument. Here in the front and on the sides thousands of others were formed. In true Canadian fashion it was to be a very casual occasion, except for an honour guard from the Royal Canadian Navy. Great I thought. Appropriate for us that this dedication is going to be a Canadian event.

We fell in with the crowd and could see the guard of honour and the flagbearers. Standing at ease and facing north along the main road to the monument. It was an impressive remarkable sight. The significance of this day was not lost on Charlotte nor I, as well as the thousands of attendees gathered here today. Front and center they are, looking back at the glaringly impressive white limestone structure that faced the broad Douai plain. I could not have been prouder. This unbelievably beautiful structure symbolizes the Canadian accomplishment to have taken this ridge, when no other combatant, British or French, could.

But at what cost in human lives.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge: Canada’s Defining Moment in World War One - Stephen J Bedard

 

My books are available through Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. They would make great gifts, while supporting a Canadian author. Great reviews too.
www.johnmorrisonauthor.com