Better late than never.
Burin-Placentia West M.H.A, Clyde Jackman was sworn in for his third term yesterday. He edged out NDP candidate Julie Mitchell by 40 votes in the October 11th provincial election, but a bid for a judicial recount prevented Jackman from taking his seat in the House of Assembly.
The Newfoundland Supreme Court ruled that there was not enough evidence for a recount last
Showing posts with label NDP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NDP. Show all posts
According to the NDP, being a responsible adult is a punishment
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath has announced that if she was Premier of Ontario students wouldn’t have to pay interest on their government loans. She defends this position by saying:
Punishing people? In what way is demanding an interest payment on a loan punishing someone? Interest is what you pay to compensate a lender for losing the opportunity to do something else with the money they are lending you. Without such compensation this “loan” basically turns into a gift and the borrower turns into a charity case.
The distinction is important.
When a student is considering his/her course of study she/he must decide the best way to invest the money that he/she has borrowed. If he/she makes an unwise investment and has difficulty paying the interest then it is the fault of the student. To put it another way, the student is responsible.
If the student does not have to worry about paying interest then there is less of an incentive to invest wisely with what is essentially free money. Again, to put it another way, the student is not responsible.
In the NDP’s mind making someone responsible for their own actions is a punishment. To force someone to pay for the cost of their decision is somehow unfair.
In NDPverse no one should be responsible for themselves because then tough choices might have to be made and that is just too darn hard.
“We have to stop punishing people for investing in their future. It doesn’t help any of us when people graduate buried under a mountain of debt,” she said, flanked by Ryerson students and Trinity-Spadina candidate Rosario Marchese.
Punishing people? In what way is demanding an interest payment on a loan punishing someone? Interest is what you pay to compensate a lender for losing the opportunity to do something else with the money they are lending you. Without such compensation this “loan” basically turns into a gift and the borrower turns into a charity case.
The distinction is important.
When a student is considering his/her course of study she/he must decide the best way to invest the money that he/she has borrowed. If he/she makes an unwise investment and has difficulty paying the interest then it is the fault of the student. To put it another way, the student is responsible.
If the student does not have to worry about paying interest then there is less of an incentive to invest wisely with what is essentially free money. Again, to put it another way, the student is not responsible.
In the NDP’s mind making someone responsible for their own actions is a punishment. To force someone to pay for the cost of their decision is somehow unfair.
In NDPverse no one should be responsible for themselves because then tough choices might have to be made and that is just too darn hard.
Ontario NDP using Jack Layton's name (ii)
Yesterday I wrote that NDP leader Andrea Horwath was deserving of respect for telling local campaigns not to use the death of Jack Layton to win sympathy. She said that the NDP campaign will be focused on people, which I assume means on public policy.
Today it has come out that the central campaign has also used Jack Layton’s name to raise money. I don’t know if Ms. Horwath approved the fundraising letter or not, but either way I find it pretty disappointing.
It is disappointing because it appears from this article that Ms. Horwath has no intention of enforcing her directive not to employ Mr. Layton’s corpse as a political prop.
Today it has come out that the central campaign has also used Jack Layton’s name to raise money. I don’t know if Ms. Horwath approved the fundraising letter or not, but either way I find it pretty disappointing.
It is disappointing because it appears from this article that Ms. Horwath has no intention of enforcing her directive not to employ Mr. Layton’s corpse as a political prop.
Ontario NDP using Jack Layton's name
Yesterday the local NDP candidate was canvassing my building. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him because my life partner was the one that answered the door and she gave him a curt no thanks. I thought this was unfortunate because I dearly wanted to ask him about something on his biographical blurb (what the hell is a Ph.D in corporate responsibility and economics?). I did however get my hand on his pamphlet (by stealing it from a neighbour) and I noted a reference to Jack Layton.
It was pretty blatant. The reference was a quote from Jack Layton’s death bed press release and that odd outline shape of Mr. Layton that has become popular among certain union activists. There was no claim that Mr. Layton endorsed the candidate, but it did serve as a reminder of the emotions that many felt after they heard of the federal leader’s death. It was obvious that the designer of the pamphlet thought that this would help the candidate’s chances.
I’m not surprised that the Ontario NDP is trying to use the death of Jack Layton for electoral gain. I was, however, disgusted that they would be so overt about it. It seemed indecent and made me wish more that I could have talked to the candidate to ask him why he felt it was appropriate.
In a move that is even more inappropriate, some NDP candidates have been using Jack Layton’s name in automatic phone calls. The scripts of the calls basically suggest that people should vote for the provincial NDP’s in memory of Mr. Layton.
I was happy to read today that the NDP leader Andrea Horwath has told the local candidates to stop this nonsense. She has gained some respect in my eyes.
It was pretty blatant. The reference was a quote from Jack Layton’s death bed press release and that odd outline shape of Mr. Layton that has become popular among certain union activists. There was no claim that Mr. Layton endorsed the candidate, but it did serve as a reminder of the emotions that many felt after they heard of the federal leader’s death. It was obvious that the designer of the pamphlet thought that this would help the candidate’s chances.
I’m not surprised that the Ontario NDP is trying to use the death of Jack Layton for electoral gain. I was, however, disgusted that they would be so overt about it. It seemed indecent and made me wish more that I could have talked to the candidate to ask him why he felt it was appropriate.
In a move that is even more inappropriate, some NDP candidates have been using Jack Layton’s name in automatic phone calls. The scripts of the calls basically suggest that people should vote for the provincial NDP’s in memory of Mr. Layton.
I was happy to read today that the NDP leader Andrea Horwath has told the local candidates to stop this nonsense. She has gained some respect in my eyes.
Partisan Jack
Often when celebrities or well known business and political leaders pass away the family asks the public to honour the passing by giving a donation to a charity that was dear to the deceased’s heart. For Jack Layton the NDP (not sure how involved the family is with this) has asked that people give to a left-wing political organization that is being started by Ed Broadbent and appears to be modeled off the Manning Centre. The Broadbent Institute will be training activists and Parliamentary staff and, much like the Manning Centre, will have deep ties within the NDP party establishment.
This seems to me to be an odd choice for a way to honour the life of Jack Layton through charity. The most obvious choice would have been cancer research or some cancer patient support group. If they didn’t want to make it about the thing that killed him, there are plenty of other choices. Jack Layton was suppose to care about the downtrodden, so why not ask the public to give to a women’s shelter or an organization trying to help at risk teens?
Instead we are asked to give to what is essentially a partisan organization. To be fair the only people likely to give to it are actually NDP partisans, but that just makes it feel like a cynical ploy on the part of NDP fundraisers to capitalize on the death of their leader. Yes they are not asking money for the NDP directly, but it will be the NDP that will benefit from the activities of the Broadbent Institute.
This isn’t the only oddly partisan way that Jack Layton is being recalled or honoured. The City of Toronto plans on turning the CN Tower orange on Saturday. Orange in Canadian politics has been branded to identify the NDP. So to honour Jack Layton we are going to turn an iconic symbol of Toronto into a giant advert for the NDP? As a non-supporter of the NDP this leaves a rather bad taste in my mouth. (Especially when you consider that it isn’t like the City of Toronto isn’t doing anything else in memory of Jack Layton).
Now we can turn to the awkward conversation about Jack Layton’s “final note to Canadians.” Christie Blatchford has been dumped on a lot this week for having the guts to be critical of not just the letter but the reaction to his death in general. At the risk of exposing myself to similar ire, the letter reeks of partisanship.
Ms. Blatchford already pointed out the odd snipe at Harper in the words “We can restore our good name in the world.” As if we were one step away from Syria. But this is hardly the only bit of partisan hackery in the letter. Hell the letter starts off by trying to direct the conditions of the leadership race to replace him. The fact that Mr. Layton preferred in early leadership race to a later one is not really a message that all Canadians needed to hear.
The next section he encourages cancer patients to not give up hope, which is nice but then he moves on to talking directly to the intra-Parliamentary and extra-Parliamentary sections of the NDP. I suppose that is fine in principle, since it is with their support that he was able to accomplish his goals, but he managed to slip in there a resume of things that he claims as initiatives of the NDP. It just seems…well smooth.
If you think I’ve been harsh up until now, take a good look at the next two sections. He addresses messages to Quebec and youth.
Why Quebec and youth?
Seriously, why did he (and his wife and Chief of Staff) decide that those two groups deserved a specific message? Why not Toronto where he lived most his life? Why not to his own age group? Why not the West or the East or any other part of the country?
It is because Quebec and youth are recognized as being fundamental to the NDP if they want to form government. Read the letter and it not just clear but blatantly obvious that this is electioneering.
If you read that on a fundraising letter or heard it on a stump speech you wouldn’t bat an eye. But again, this is supposed to be a final message to all Canadians.
By the time I got to the end of the letter, the first time I read it, I felt so ripped off and cynical that I dismissed his rather nice sentiment about the importance of optimism as I would if I heard it come out of any politician’s mouth: shallow sentimentality.
I think what bothers me the most about all this is the picture that all this cynical partisanship is painting of Jack Layton. I now have in my head the picture of a man who was so thoroughly a partisan hack that he tried to use his own death as a way to advance his party’s electoral success. This picture is unfair because I’m not sure how much he actually had to do with the letter and he has had nothing to do with what has happened after he died. But I never knew Jack Layton and I never knew anyone well that knew him well, and so really I have nothing to judge him by except the public image. That public image has been very partisan, especially in the days after his death.
I suspect that he was more than that. I suspect that he was much more than Partisan Jack. He was a father, a husband, and a friend to some. He was more than a vehicle for political gains and it sickens me that he is being treated that way.
This seems to me to be an odd choice for a way to honour the life of Jack Layton through charity. The most obvious choice would have been cancer research or some cancer patient support group. If they didn’t want to make it about the thing that killed him, there are plenty of other choices. Jack Layton was suppose to care about the downtrodden, so why not ask the public to give to a women’s shelter or an organization trying to help at risk teens?
Instead we are asked to give to what is essentially a partisan organization. To be fair the only people likely to give to it are actually NDP partisans, but that just makes it feel like a cynical ploy on the part of NDP fundraisers to capitalize on the death of their leader. Yes they are not asking money for the NDP directly, but it will be the NDP that will benefit from the activities of the Broadbent Institute.
This isn’t the only oddly partisan way that Jack Layton is being recalled or honoured. The City of Toronto plans on turning the CN Tower orange on Saturday. Orange in Canadian politics has been branded to identify the NDP. So to honour Jack Layton we are going to turn an iconic symbol of Toronto into a giant advert for the NDP? As a non-supporter of the NDP this leaves a rather bad taste in my mouth. (Especially when you consider that it isn’t like the City of Toronto isn’t doing anything else in memory of Jack Layton).
Now we can turn to the awkward conversation about Jack Layton’s “final note to Canadians.” Christie Blatchford has been dumped on a lot this week for having the guts to be critical of not just the letter but the reaction to his death in general. At the risk of exposing myself to similar ire, the letter reeks of partisanship.
Ms. Blatchford already pointed out the odd snipe at Harper in the words “We can restore our good name in the world.” As if we were one step away from Syria. But this is hardly the only bit of partisan hackery in the letter. Hell the letter starts off by trying to direct the conditions of the leadership race to replace him. The fact that Mr. Layton preferred in early leadership race to a later one is not really a message that all Canadians needed to hear.
The next section he encourages cancer patients to not give up hope, which is nice but then he moves on to talking directly to the intra-Parliamentary and extra-Parliamentary sections of the NDP. I suppose that is fine in principle, since it is with their support that he was able to accomplish his goals, but he managed to slip in there a resume of things that he claims as initiatives of the NDP. It just seems…well smooth.
If you think I’ve been harsh up until now, take a good look at the next two sections. He addresses messages to Quebec and youth.
Why Quebec and youth?
Seriously, why did he (and his wife and Chief of Staff) decide that those two groups deserved a specific message? Why not Toronto where he lived most his life? Why not to his own age group? Why not the West or the East or any other part of the country?
It is because Quebec and youth are recognized as being fundamental to the NDP if they want to form government. Read the letter and it not just clear but blatantly obvious that this is electioneering.
(emphasis mine)
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
If you read that on a fundraising letter or heard it on a stump speech you wouldn’t bat an eye. But again, this is supposed to be a final message to all Canadians.
By the time I got to the end of the letter, the first time I read it, I felt so ripped off and cynical that I dismissed his rather nice sentiment about the importance of optimism as I would if I heard it come out of any politician’s mouth: shallow sentimentality.
I think what bothers me the most about all this is the picture that all this cynical partisanship is painting of Jack Layton. I now have in my head the picture of a man who was so thoroughly a partisan hack that he tried to use his own death as a way to advance his party’s electoral success. This picture is unfair because I’m not sure how much he actually had to do with the letter and he has had nothing to do with what has happened after he died. But I never knew Jack Layton and I never knew anyone well that knew him well, and so really I have nothing to judge him by except the public image. That public image has been very partisan, especially in the days after his death.
I suspect that he was more than that. I suspect that he was much more than Partisan Jack. He was a father, a husband, and a friend to some. He was more than a vehicle for political gains and it sickens me that he is being treated that way.
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