100 today

As of today, Canada has lost one hundred troops to the war in Afghanistan. To be honest, I don't know where I stand on this war. Though it has been going on for six years the only time we hear about it is when the number of casualties rises. Out of sight, out of mind. Quite a while ago I spoke with a friend who knows a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. My friend quoted the soldier, saying something along the lines of, "Being a soldier is our job. It's what we decided to do with our lives, so we shouldn't be harassed by our fellow Canadians for being in Afghanistan." I had never thought of it in that way before, that our soldiers in Afghanistan are doing a job which they have trained for. Sure we can argue about the politics and the ideology behind our presence in Afghanistan, but we must remember that for better or worse, our troops are there because this is where their employer sent them.

100 is a number. Here are their names.

oh, Canada.

While I'm not generally one to get into politics I gotta say, Canada must have the most unique leaders in the world. Just a few weeks ago we had an election in which the Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper, won a minority government. A week ago the losing parties, Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois decided that Harper was doing such a horrible job when it came to the economy that he should be removed. So they grouped together and decided to take him out, politically speaking. Okay, so there's a heck of a lot more to it than that but it's a start.

I'll be honest. I was tempted to vote for the NDP this year, but got sick of hearing Jack talk about the kitchen table. Even if I could understand Mr. Dion, I wouldn't have voted for him. The Green Shift didn't sit too well with me. And since I didn't have a Marijuana Party in my riding and the only other option was the Communist and Green Parties, my vote went to the Conservatives. ...not that I would have voted for the Marijuana Party. I've noticed their permanent local headquarters are on East Hastings--likely a strategic move to take advantage of the countless homeless folk just up the street.

Am I happy with the Conservative Party? I suppose I am one of the few who reads CBC News online and does not have a complaint against Harper. This morning he managed to suspend Parliament in order to save his party from falling to the coalition party of Liberal, NDP and Bloc. Smart thinking? I think for now, yes. I still can't understand Dion, and Jack still rants about nothing but the kitchen table. The last thing Canada needs (besides this endless talk of economic doom and gloom) is a coalition led by Dion, a temporary leader, propped up by power-hungry Layton and Duceppe which, for all we know, will only bring further trouble to our economy and country.

Cartoon by Graeme MacKay