Tomorrow, I will be watching the inauguration of Barack Obama as the new president of the US.  Many, like me,  have great hope that he will put the US economy back on track. Of course, the sooner the better but time will tell how long it will take.

Barack Obama: What if he was white?

People often mentioned that he is the first African-American US President. I disagree 50% on that point.

But why?

Something that we almost never hear his is white heritage. His father was black(Barack Hussein OBAMA, Sr.) but his mother was white(Ann DUNHAM).   I would say that he is the first mixed marriage or "black" US President in recent years. Being politically correct is not exact in this case.

I don't know my president US history so maybe another one was born of a mixed marriage but I don't think so.

Looking at his biography, he still faced bigotry when he was young because of his skin color. That did shaped how he is now. Remember that our life experience is what make us what we are.

I'm sure his life would had been different if he had been born white.

Is this a racist post?

Those that think it's racist are the racist ones. Are they forgetting his white heritage and only seeing the color of his skin? Being white is part of him too since his grandmother(mother's side) did raised him with her values.

Barack Obama grandmother did a good job at it but died too soon to see it. That's sad.

I know of prejudice personally. Having an Irish name in Quebec City(mostly French speaking) in 1980, I was often teased/pick on about that. That's the year of the Quebec referendum to separate from Canada.

Yet, I was raised in French school's all my life thus spoke with the same Quebecois accent as my friends.   Most people would think it's an English sounding name.

Time has change a lot since then but my name still confuse most here: Macgraff, MecGrait, MacGraw...

Of course,  St-Patrick's Day is now being celebrated by many Quebecois(French speaking too).

Conclusion

To be "politically correct", the first African-American US President must have parents that ARE both African-American.

One thing I can say is that Barack Obama opened the door to all non 100% whites to the White House. Hmmmm! That's ironic and good.

But my question is still valid: What if he was white? We will never know if he would had gone in politics in the first place. That would be a fun Quantum Leap or Sliders to watch. What do you think?

In the end, he is the next US president with new values, hope and way of doing things.

One more thing: On his mother's side, they have some Irish. That's his best feature in my opinion.

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

BARACK OBAMA WINS Newspaper Miami Herald New    US $.01

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama    US $.99

Absentee Ballot and Envelope for the 2008 Presidential Election of Barack Obama    US $.01

Baseball Themed "JOHN MCCAIN VS. BARACK OBAMA" Card - Great for Collectors!    US $.01

Archie Comics #616 President Barack Obama & Sarah Palin 1st Printing nm bagged    US $.01

24kt GOLD COIN Barack Obama Amercian President Coin USA    US $.01

Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Quantum Leap - The Pilot Episode (DVD, 1998)    US $2.00

Quantum Leap - The Complete Fourth Season (DVD, 2006, 3-Disc Set)    US $2.37

Quantum Leap - The Third Season 2/3 Discs 14 EPISODES NO CASES    US $2.50

Quantum Leap - The Complete First Season (DVD, 2004, 3-Disc Set)    US $4.25

QUANTUM LEAP - THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON rare dvd BOXED SET Scott Bakula    US $6.99

Quantum Leap S4 (2006) - Used - Digital Video Disc (Dvd    US $9.57

Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Sliders Season 3 Three DISC 1    US $3.99

Sliders Season 3 Three DISC 2    US $3.99

Sliders Season 3 Three DISC 3    US $3.99

Sliders: season 4    US $5.50

Sliders: season 3    US $5.50

Sliders: season 1 & 2    US $6.51

Have garden a blog? Add garden related items instead

AuctionSiteWriter
See free movies legally(and make money too)

ShareThis

We just had a Canadian election at the cost of $250-300millions. The end result was a minority Conservative government.. again.

Now, the opposition parties want to form a coalition by even including the Bloc Quebecois(but no ministers for them). Btw, the Bloc Quebecois is a separatist party that was democratically elected. You may agree or not with the Bloc's goal but that's democracy. The same can be said for the coalition.

It's also a bad timing for a Canadian political/economic crisis.

Bloc Quebecois Agenda

Of course, some are thinking that since Canada can't work now, it's a reason to separate. The Bloc Quebecois is not stupid to cost Quebec's workers jobs while we are in an economic crisis. They will work with the Coalition on the economic issues only.  On the other issues, they would vote like they want. At least, the government won't topple since no vote on confidence would be asked on those projects of law.

What are separatist?

For the international readers, the separatist goal is to separate the Province of Quebec from Canada by using political parties only.  They no longer have a violent side like in the 70s with the FLQ. Btw, they were mentioned in the first Die Hard when Hans Gruber wanted the release of terrorist members.

I'm no fan of the Bloc Quebecois or Partie Quebecois even if I'm from Quebec City. Btw, I tried to be open minded but I don't believe in the separatist option. They can't sell the idea to me.

Like someone told me: "Would you jump in a black hole without knowing what's at the bottom".

Even a separatist who wanted to be leader of the Partie Quebecois wanted 2 referendums: First on separating from Canada and the second to vote on the negotiations of the terms with Canada. He said that one referendum was like buying a car that you never saw. Does it have a motor? I liked his comparison.

I want to see what I sign first. It's not a software EULA. 

I do believe that people should vote for their conviction even if I don't agree with them.

Political Crisis and Quebec Bashing

But I started to hear on TV that Quebec Bashing was starting to happen more and more. This is just plain stupid. The Bloc Quebecois only represented 38.11% of the votes in the last election so a minority of Quebec voters.

People that are bashing Quebec should bash the coalition parties. It's the Liberal and NDP that wanted the support(economic) of the Bloc Quebecois.

They should also bash the Conservative for mentioning nothing for the economic crisis while other countries were budgeting to spend billions in infrastructure for example. I don't like spending like crazy but at least they should had been ready to do something.

Economic Crisis

Hopefully, this "spending" should help those countries get back on their feet by creating much needed jobs. I know, sewers and roads are not sexy but our local roads are not fun to drive on. I don't need to go on a roller coaster to have the same feeling. Okay, it's an exaggeration but you get my point. Some are past due and some sewer system are losing up to 40% of water. That's a waste.

Conclusion

The real downside of this bad timing for a Canadian political crisis is that nothing is really getting done at the federal level about the upcoming economic crisis. I wish they you fix that mess now instead of playing political games until early next year. Unfortunately, the recession is coming to Canada too.

Since I make money online, I see everyday with See Free Movies Legally that people don't act(just read) while others are taking measures(bought my report) to better their financial situation by earning extra money or using the information at it's fullest.

Me, I want my Canadian government to get their act together so that I could make more money again.

AuctionSiteWriter
See free movies legally(and make money too)

ShareThis

McCain and Palin are socialist and will spread the wealth. Yes, it's true. While watching a speech by Palin on CNN, she said that her and McCain will give a tax credit for every children. Hmmm... is that a new way to spread the wealth by taking money from those with no children and giving it to those with children?

I always think it's funny when I hear McCain and Palin talking about how Obama and Biden will spread the wealth and are socialist. Is Medicare and Welfare not socialism?

The other funny thing is when they say that Obama will raise the taxes but forget to mentioned that's it's for 5% while 95% won't be affected. It's 5% true.

Spread the wealth, spread the wealth it's already being done. Did nobody told them?

I had to post since it was the cool thing to do nowdays(here and here).

AuctionSiteWriter
See free movies legally(and make money too)

ShareThis

Yesterday, it was the Canadian elections. The result are the the Conservative party is still in a minority but with more seats this time around. The big losers in seats are the Liberal party and ... the non-voters. Yes, only 57,5% voted versus 64,7% in the last election. Hopefully , it will take a few more years before we go again to the voting booth. 250-300 Millions is too much to pay for a short time.

Proportional election for a better democracy?

Looking at the results, I think it's time to reevaluate the current method to give seats. I believe that every vote must count and represent the overall will of the people. This would let tell to non-voters that all votes are important.

But if you would used a strait percent model, then the Green party would had won 7 seats while the Bloc Quebecois would lose many and only got 30 seats.

The method often seen is a mixed of seats reserved by % won(2/3) and by district(1/3). 308 seats are available at the federal level. Thus, 203 seats would be given based on the overall % while 105 seats would be given to district winners. Of course, the district would be much bigger.

I will take my province of Quebec for example. Currently we have 75 seats. With a proportional model, we would get 25 district seats.

Here, I'm using the 203(2/3) seats based on the overall %. I would give seats only to official parties.

The rounding would might leave some available seats. Those you go to the winning party.

Let's take Quebec results. Since it's by district, I'm dividing it my 3 to get 25 seats.

It's harder here because we did have one NDP and one Independent so I get 26 not 25 seats. The Green party did not win anything. If it would had been real elections with bigger districts, then I could had used the results.

By using Quebec, I can also show how a Quebec-only party like the Bloc Quebecois would impact the national number of seats. Instead of 50 seats, it's 37(20 +17) seats they would had won.

It also show that even if the Green party did not win any seats in Quebec, they would at least be represented since Quebec Green Party voters help them win some seat in the overall %.

The  Liberal party would had lost seats in Quebec but gain on the national front.

The Conservative would had lost the most seats in Quebec and on the national front.

How they go about it would be up to them but you get the general idea.

Easy change of government?

They have strict rules so that a minority or majority government must last for the 4 years like the current Bill C-16 dictate. They must learn to play nice with each other.

If a non confident vote is passed, it would mean another election mostly with a minority government like we have again.

Conclusion

At 250-300 Millions per election, people are getting tired of this waste of money. The Conservative seeing the good numbers for a majority decided to go against their own bill by dissolving the Parliament one year earlier.

They were 2 things that kept them from a majority despite what other parties who will want to take the credit for that: The unforeseen economic crisis(major) and not giving more space to their candidates(minor) on the local scene.

The party that will have the guts to make this change will be the real winner.

Anyone would like proportional election or are doing that in other countries?

AuctionSiteWriter
See free movies legally(and make money too)

ShareThis

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, declared election for October 14. By declaring an election, they override their own law voted last year about having fix date election( late 2009). Would the government had lasted until then? Anyway, Harper want a majority this time around.

With the US election going on, it will be a very political season. We just need a Mexican election to make it a North American election all around.

Some background on the Canadian parties

Conservative: Stephen Harper, right. They lasted 2.5 years with a minority government while wanting to be more viewed as centered now.
Liberal: Stephane Dion, Center-Left. The liberal must still deal with an unpopular leader and a past scandal.
NDP: Jack Layton, Left. They want to be seen as a party of change(Obama Barrack) by creating a more social equality but at what cost?
Bloc Quebecois: Gilles Duceppes, Province of Quebec only party.  It's not a real party in the sense that it's not national like the others. They do have many seats and that's democracy.

The Quebec City region is very important for all of them so I expect they will visit us often during this short campaign.

Canada vs US democracy

It's funny that while I was writing the above, I see Canada has more democratic, party wise, than the US which is a so called bastion of democracy but only have 2 major parties(right, left). What would happen if a third major party(center) would be started for the 2012 election? Would it be able to get votes by Republicans or Democrats tired of their parties? I know, it's simplistic but it's something to think about.

Unless you are a card carrier party member for life, I'm guessing that most people try to vote for the least party to make you harm. If it's the case,  it's not good for democracy.

Election and fund raising

When you think of all the money being spend on this(both borders), it looks like wasted money. US primaries are even worst.

In the Province of Quebec, no companies are allowed to give money to parties. It's only done by individuals and to a limit. This way, no candidate can be in the pocket of any interest groups. It's also an election on a budget. It's the eqivalent of SEO(search engine optimization) but for election, it's EOB: Election Optimize on a Budget

New money for bloggers?

Having a domain with your name(like me) allow you a certain latitude in the subject you blog about. Since the season is limited(at least in Canada), you will have political ads on your blog/post during that time. I wonder if they pay more during that time period?

Conclusion

For the US, it will be either the first woman or the first black man to be elected.

Btw, Canada had it's first women Prime Minister with Kim Campbell(1993). However, she was not elected but replaced Brian Mulroney who retired from politics a few month's before upcoming elections.

The important thing is that everyone go vote. If you don't vote, you can't whine about decision made by the government(majority or minority).:D

AuctionSiteWriter
See free movies legally(and make money too)

ShareThis