Hermskii wrote:Are conservatives in Canada the same as in the USA? I forget.
In the old days Canadian Conservatives were considered to the left of Republicans. Our Liberal party was to the left of the Democrats, and the New Democratic Party (socialists) were considered to be to the
right of the British Labour Party.
But these days it is obvious to anyone that pays attention that the political party that arose from a mix of the ashes of the old Progressive Conservative Party, the now defunct rightish wing Reform Party, and a smattering of small religious right parties that never had a hope of getting anyone elected, and calls itself the "Conservative Party", is really a branch of the US Republican Party. Certainly the leaders of the party are Republicanesque in their views.
I should tell you now that Republicans have never been thought of very highly in Canada, because their attitudes are considered a danger to our well loved, and very carefully thought out and implemented social programs.
BUT most people don't pay attention, and have swallowed the lie that these new guys are like the old Progressive Conservatives who were much more likely to look out for the "little guy". The modern Conservatives have been doing pretty much what Dubya did when he was in power: slowly and quietly deconstructing the very democracy that they were sworn to uphold.
Hermskii wrote:For the record had I had it my way, we never would have done NAFTA. If I recall it was President Clinton that signed off on it. At this point, it is hard to tell the difference between Democrats and Republicans in the good old USA. The other day something the Dems made totally failed and the Repubs picked it up and fixed it enough to get it passed even though it didn't have a single Republican vote for it. My head spins now every time I watch the news. There is only one guy going for President who so far has stuck to his guns on everything he said he would. I don't think he'll win and I won't mention his name but I watch from the shadows waiting for him to fail me too.
I am with you on NAFTA. NAFTA killed my job. And 10's of thousands of other jobs here in Canada. NAFTA also killed the Progressive Conservatives who brought it about. They ran on a platform of balancing the budget and promised faithfully to get this difficult thing done. Instead they foisted NAFTA on us, and deepened the deficit to breathtaking depths. At the next election it was obvious that they would lose, so just about everyone from the Prime Minister on down through the cabinet and a fair number from the rank and file did not run again. They went from majority status to a mere
four seats in the house of parliament.
Then when the Liberals who had opposed NAFTA got into power, instead of pulling Canada out of it like they seemed to be promising, made the deal even stronger instead.
I live in the second richest town in Canada. The socialist NDP are the only ones these last few years who've had leaders whom I believe to be trustworthy. But the NDP will never win in this town, so my vote for them would be wasted. I'm not sure who I will vote for next election, but I already know who I won't be voting for.
Hermskii wrote:I agree that you aren't safe to think anything is built anywhere unless it says made in China. I actually get off to finding things around the house or things I like and want to buy and flip them over to find they say they were made anywhere but in Chine. I found something cool the other day that was real old and it said made in Germany. I was thrilled.
I'm with you here too, buddy.
Instead of throwing things away when they broke, my parents often just stored them away under the eaves or in the basement. After my mother died and I was getting rid of old junk like radios, irons, and etc, I was surprised and bemused by the fact that most of these things said: "Made in Canada" on them. It's been so long since that was a common thing, that I had all but forgotten about it.
To end on a positive note, I am hoping that the trend that the article in Consumer Reports is talking about continues, and becomes the norm. Things will be good again if there is meaningful work for people to do.
