Raise the Hammer

as if the media doesn't have enough power in our society, they also get to choose who we can and can't hear from in an election debate??

This is fucked up.

I hate to say it but the NDP just lost my vote. I think Christopherson is great but Layton is way off the mark on this one. I don't completely see eye-to-eye with the Greens on everything, but I don't really see eye-to-eye on everything with any of the parties. This is infuriating. Time for me to get a big green lawn sign, wankers.

Say it ain't so, public servants acting selfishly, how can this be? When will you naive little children realize that most people that enter politics are power hungry sociopaths.

Their primary goal is to wield power, and if they have to lie and cheat in order to do this, they will.

You disappoint me Ryan, I thought you were smarter than that.

Yes, this saddening turn of events has turned this household, and our neighbour next door to switch to getting a Green sign instead of an NDP one.
We thought the NDP stood for participatory democracy and election reform, but clearly when push comes to shove, it's the New unDemocratic Party.

So this is the issue that causes some people to ditch the NDP and join the Greesn? Really?????

You might want to read the Greens platform and policies before you blindly jump ship.

BE- I'm not jumping blindly- I've been moving closer to the centre for a few years and I have read the Green's platform and it doesn't bother me. I also recognize that they're a new party, still developing their policies and ideas and that none of the national parties were perfect from the start and they needed time and votes to grow and develop. My vote will support a party that has been so consistently shut out of the national debate, a party that has some sound ideas that need the light of day to be fully fleshed out. You sound like we're all pondering membership to the SS or something. In the middle of all this minority government fun, now is the perfect time to let someone else into the fray.

I think having Elizabeth May participate is a fair move for a party that is running candidates in every riding across the country, received 660,000 votes in the last election, has a sitting MP (sort of) and receives public funding. But certainly read their policies before voting for any party!

I encourage readers to file a personal complaint with the CRTC against the "consortium" (CBC, CTV, Canwest-Global) disallowing her participation. You can do this by visiting the following link. It should only take you a few minutes and they are obliged to act on your complaints:

www.crtc.gc.ca/RapidsCCM/Register.asp?lang=E

Thanks for posting the link, Thom. I sent them a short but sweet message.

Ryan, the concept of centralizing power and into the hands of a few people is the problem. In the private sector, there are a multitude of groups who offer services in exchange for people's money. In the public sector, there is three.

In the private sector, each citizen gets to chose daily on who will win his business. In the public sector, each citizen (over 18) gets a 1/15,000,000 weighted choice every 4 - 5 years on who will get his business.

Which system do you think delivers the most satisfaction to the people?

If the people in government are so important to the lives of Canadians, they would not need to resort to theft in order to fund their operations. Walmart, McDonald's, Disney, Toyota, and other successful organizations also serve a large customer base, but they so by allowing people the freedom to choose.

Government does not give people this choice, but rather believes that your money is their money. If you object to this claim on your labour, you are sent to jail, or worse.

BE- can you specifically tell me what is so worrisome about the Green's platform? Personally it's nice to see a party with something to say about the arts- which is something I've found lacking in every other party's platform in past elections. Let's talk specifics here please. I'm not convinced you've read their platform.

As for the reversal of Darth Harper and Jack Layton, in my mind, this doesn't change anything. The original intent of the opposition to May's full inclusion still stands. It's sad that these two changed their minds based on public outcry and not based on principle. It shows to me that both of them have been inside the Ottawa machine too long and have forgotten the humble beginnings of both their parties.

BE- can you specifically tell me what is so worrisome about the Green's platform? Personally it's nice to see a party with something to say about the arts- which is something I've found lacking in every other party's platform in past elections. Let's talk specifics here please. I'm not convinced you've read their platform.

As for the reversal of Darth Harper and Jack Layton, in my mind, this doesn't change anything. The original intent of the opposition to May's full inclusion still stands. It's sad that these two changed their minds based on public outcry and not based on principle. It shows to me that both of them have been inside the Ottawa machine too long and have forgotten the humble beginnings of both their parties.

Jelly, I think you've misinterpreted my comments. I'm not implying that there is anything sinister about the Greens platform, only that someone should research a parties stance on issues before supporting them. Which it seems that you have. Which is very responsible of you, I only lament that a number of people I have talked to lately are rashly bailing out of the NDP boat specifically over this issue and supporting the Greens as a default setting.