to borrow some fine words from a friend...

I received an email from a friend today that to my mind perfectly summarizes the madness of our present political moment and the media's backwards approach to the whole mess.

I quote:

So after following the vote to restore our rights yesterday I'm still trying to wrap my head around the mentality of the Conservative voter. Let me get this straight, allowing the police to arrest you with no proof is good, but telling the police about your guns is bad. Along those lines, $200 million for Afghanistan reconstruction is good, but if any of those projects were good for the environment and counted towards our Kyoto target, that would be throwing our money away.

Also, I've noticed a new thing about the political media that I'm not liking. Both after the vote yesterday and the vote on the Kyoto private members bill, the pundits I saw commenting on it (Coyne, Hebert, Taber and Duffy) only discussed the implications for the parties. Like why would the liberals vote against the terrorism laws when it's splitting the party and making Dion look weak. Does anyone really care if the Liberals look weak? What I care about is my rights as a Canadian Citizen.

on the decline of the empire...

I came across this poem yesterday, and it continues to resonate strongly with me. I won't attempt to analyze the meaning, or draw links to our time, but simply offer it to any who happen upon my little blog, and leave it to you dear reader to make your meaning(s) as you see fit.

Waiting for the Barbarians

What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?

The barbarians are to arrive today.

Why such inaction in the Senate?
Why do the Senators sit and pass no laws?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
What laws can the Senators pass any more?
When the barbarians come they will make the laws.

Why did our emperor wake up so early,
and sits at the greatest gate of the city,
on the throne, solemn, wearing the crown?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
And the emperor waits to receive
their chief. Indeed he has prepared
to give him a scroll. Therein he inscribed
many titles and names of honor.

Why have our two consuls and the praetors come out
today in their red, embroidered togas;
why do they wear amethyst-studded bracelets,
and rings with brilliant, glittering emeralds;
why are they carrying costly canes today,
wonderfully carved with silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today,
and such things dazzle the barbarians.

Why don't the worthy orators come as always
to make their speeches, to have their say?

Because the barbarians are to arrive today;
and they get bored with eloquence and orations.

Why all of a sudden this unrest
and confusion. (How solemn the faces have become).
Why are the streets and squares clearing quickly,
and all return to their homes, so deep in thought?

Because night is here but the barbarians have not come.
And some people arrived from the borders,
and said that there are no longer any barbarians.

And now what shall become of us without any barbarians?
Those people were some kind of solution.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1904)

notes from the conservative underground...

This tidbit culled from the NY Times was quite an eye opener. A secret council of conservatives handpicking the next Republican Presidential candidate; truly, a fine example of America's world-famous "democracy" in action. Grassroots, what? I'm sure it's not important...

what does "soft on terror" mean anyway...?

I enjoyed this post on commondreams.org a lot. The phrase "soft on terror" quite recently made its way into the Canadian political discourse, something that makes me more than a little nervous, especially as a federal election looms large...

beyond the pale...

A friend forwarded this story to me earlier today. I couldn't believe it. If it was only speculation before, I think this confirms it: Federal politics has officially filed for moral bankruptcy protection.

la belle budget...

Charest's Quebecois Libs unveiled their pre-election budget today. It's strange, but there are no shocking theatrics involved in this tidy fiscal plan, no mention of sparkling priorities, and quite frankly it seems strangely sober for Canadian politics.

Of course the PQ hate it.

But then again, firm rumour has it that the writ will be dropped tomorrow, so...election season is almost open! Strap in folks, it's going to be a bumpy few months...

war is over (if you're stoned enough)...

Who knew that Canada owes its claim to the second iconic John and Yoko "bed-in" at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel to "heat and marijuana." Fabulous. Now that's what Valentine's Day should be all about...

The video on the site shows a diatribe against John and Yoko by Al Capp, the celebrated American cartoonist and born-again Conservative, trying to bring the famed peaceniks down a few notches on their now famous bedpost. Le plus ça change...

(Taken from a special CBC Valentine's Day Archive page.)

the state of the state...

Jokers to the left of us, uninspired policy to the right, here we are stuck in the centre with...

The news is too depressing to chronicle at length. I'm going to pick up trashy fiction and pour a glass of red wine. I'm so very tired of the state of the state.

déjà vu...

Oh dear god...

worth a listen...

If you have an hour to spare, and the speakers turned on, click here. Not entirely unrelated to my last post...

(Taken from the excellent collection of mp3s on the CBC Radio Ideas website.)

why, oh why, do we pay taxes...?

This piece on arts funding got me all riled up... it's a long article by Andrew Coyne, originally published in Next City magazine, and very much worth a read. It basically counters the prevailing view among most media and elites that what Canada needs is more public funding of the arts if its culture is to survive the American behemoth in our back yard (or are we in their attic?), and continue to celebrate national identity and creative excellence.

I will admit up front, that while Coyne makes a compelling case for his point of view, I think he oversimplifies what public arts funding actually amounts to, and reveals a pronounced blue streak in his "individual-knows-best" approach to taxes.

Coyne argues that individuals should only pay for culture they directly consume, and therefore arts funding is unfair to people who couldn't care less what's happening beyond their local Blockbuster. This kind of argument, favouring individual "market-driven" choice, cites historical examples of excellence in artistic creation that made no use of the public purse, as though the only thing public subsidy of the arts was trying to do was discover another Shakespeare or Michaelangelo, by spraying a buckshot of cash at anyone with even the slightest inclination towards making something "great".

Public funding of the arts is a good deal more complex than the model Mr. Coyne presents, so his piece is more correctly viewed as a direct attack on the Canada Council (lord knows it's not the first one, and won't be the last).

Public arts funding in Canada is responsible for an impressive array of cultural public works projects over the last sixty years, including all of the major regional theatre centres, galleries and museums (both small and large), the maintenance and presentation of national collections, encouragement of cutting edge artistic and curatorial practice (recognized and celebrated internationally), the establishment of viable cultural industries, and the list goes on...

And despite all of this, many artists do still make a good living outside of the realms of public subsidy, in the (gasp!) commercial art world, that exists alongside and in fact benefits greatly from the creativity fueled (and funded!) by what Coyne sees as an onerous tax burden on average boors.

An example. Toronto theatre-goers need look no further than the Mirvish Theatre season: originally staged at the (publicly funded) Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001, Trey Anthony's da kink in my hair opened at Theatre Passe-Muraille, a mid-sized not-for-profit (also publicly funded) Toronto theatre, in a remount production in 2003 and did extremely well, boasting sold out performances, a rare achievement in the mid-range theatre scene. Two years later the play went on to a large-scale commercial remount at the Princess of Wales Theatre as part of the 2005 Mirvish theatre season. The production was a massive success, with sold out performances (again) and subsequent television and movie development deals. Was this a bad investment by the public purse?

On the flip side: Atwood on the underfunding of the arts in Canada (sadly, this is only available to Globe online subscribers). This one is a bite-sized opinion piece, a five minute read, and an interesting take on the state of the arts in Canada from one of our most recognized literary figures. To be sure, Atwood's been on the scene long enough to have something to say worth listening to.

heh, heh...

Just click here, and look for "Ken Dryden is not a goalie" posted on February 6. Full credit to my friend MA for this one...

zero means impossible...

Okay, it's a bit (or a lot) pedantic, but the Ottawa city budget, currently in the agonizing throes of council approval, is driving me crazy.

Our recently elected mayor, Larry O'Brien (or Mayor Larry, as he's sometimes called) promised if elected to balance the city books with absolutely no tax increases while guaranteeing no reduction in services. Umm, I'm no economist, but...

His budget proposal seems improbable if not impossible in reality, and the idea that an already cash-strapped set of services could continue to be offered without even a meager a cash infusion in line with inflation is ridiculous. It's citizens who will pay the difference through semi-hidden service fees and stealth taxes, like a proposed increase in transit fares to the tune of 9.5% (just over five times the rate of inflation), and the gutting of parks and rec maintenance budgets along with a reduction in law enforcement capacity. All this because an unelected candidate made a badly researched and irresponsible promise in order to win an election.

The downtown wards, those that stand to lose most in all of this, virtually shut out Mayor Larry, while the affluent suburbs who could quite easily afford the needed increase, enthusiastically voted for O'Brien, public good be damned.

No matter what happens, Ottawa is going to suffer for the sake of one's man's political pride/hubris, and pay a high price when the city starts to fall to pieces because of a new culture of chronic underfunding being led from the top down.

The man has never held any public office, had never attended a council meeting before running for mayor, and rode into power on the strength of his experience implementing "21st Century management practices" (whatever that means). Oh, and the mayor can't stop wearing his ceremonial chains absolutely everywhere he goes. Dark times...

this is so fun...

I told you, in a huff of resignation (with much pouting and sulking), that for the time being I'm ignoring politics, but Scott Feschuk's blog makes it fun again!

it's official...

The science is REAL. Oh, and it's totally our fault.