Spring Fever Not Just Yet

As we enter Essay and Exam month, or E and E, I look around to see not the North American brand of spring fever, or sets of physical and psychological symptoms, such as an unexpected increase in energy, vitality and particularly sexual appetite, associated with the arrival of spring, in exhibition throughout our cozy campus community. Quite the opposite, I see the more European brand that is a lethargic state of low energy, obvious weariness and overall weakness within the sudent body at Redeemer, so I wonder just where this comes from. Personally, though we are in the Steel Belt or Niagara Region of the Province of Ontario, I think people feel down because the snow is still with us, which has given the greens and flora its natural arrested development, but that is just my own theory, just hoping it and the underlying negative factors within turn around soon.

Independent but not a Republic

Today in the Hill Times, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre Pat Martin suggests that the time for Canada to stand up as a nation, on our own two feet and declare ourselves the Republic of Canada is now. Like John Manley, a former Deputy Prime Minister under Jean Chrétien, Liberal MP for Ottawa South and Time Magazine 2001 Canadian Newsmaker of the Year, he too is an outspoken critic of and an advocate of the abolition the monarchy of Canada, as well as friend of republicanism, originally using the marriage of the Prince of Wales to the Duchess of Cornwall as proof of its uselessness. However, I do not see why Canada would have to become a Republic, as being a Dominion keeps with Canadian tradition without remaining within a politically depressive mental state of colonialism and domination by one of the three founding peoples.

Personally, I believe Canada always should have declared its true independence years ago, with the patriation, or bringing home of the constitution, through the Canada Act of 1982 only being a mere permission to go out alone into the night, while still being under curfew of the English British Commonwealth and Crown. Looking beyond the Canadian Two Solitudes and into the Aboriginal Third, it would go along way for both the French Québécois and especially those in our maligned nation of Natives to rid the Dominion of the oppressive symbol of colonialism in this country once and for all!

Why not take a first step towards it by declaring a Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Act, whereby upon her untimely death, the Dominion would be released from its role as a constitutional monarchy to that of a constitutional dominion, thus the heir apparent to the throne, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall Prince Charles shall not then become Canada's king?

Opposition goes from Red Tory to Orange Socialist

Dalton Mcguinty Liberals will soon go from targeting Howard Hampton and John Tory to Andrea Horvath and Tim Hudak, with both Peter Tabuns and Bob Runciman wondering just what could have been, in terms of where they were on the questions of leadership and ideology respectively. You see now, John Tory will soon fall back to lose an ideologic byelection and Andrea Horvath will soon come from behind to win a leadership convention, they are on completely different paths in as far as the political world at Queen's Park. Red Tories do not do so well in bad economies, especially ones which go from recesssions to advanced in its state to depressions, Orange Socialists, whether CCF or NDP, do, here in Ontario, tradition shows from Agnes Macphail to Ted Jolliffe to Stephen Lewis that bad times give them official opposition or better position, as Bob Rae can attest, to take the corporate elites out for the average joe worker and their union.

When the Ontario Tories began rolling back its Common Sense Revolution before 2003, the Ontario Liberals saw their chance, while the New Democrats could only talk about power for the public. Such talk in those good times was useless, so they lost both power in the political sense, being their official party status. But times soured, with it so did the position of Red Tories and Blue Liberals here in Ontario, which has allowed the Orange Socialist back into the race, with talks of bailouts, stimulus packages and economic governmental programs that basically redistribute taxpayers hard earned money they, being the people, could better spend themselves individually.

Yet people truly love government in hard times, so they especially like the Orange Socialist over Blue Liberals and especially Red Tories, who as they become a third party, will become much a bluer tone of Tory, while the Liberals return closer to its redness with an Orange official opposition. With the end of Tory, along with Howard and the beginning of Horvath, along with Tim, Ontario politics changes yet again, but does it really is the question, as leadership and ideology fold two out and mold another set in. Mcguinty knows that bland works, as Bill Davis his mentor proved so many times before, but this only works if the people are, when they do not and unemployment becomes a problem, then bland is replaced by the bold. Neither Davis nor Mcguinty are bold, the inventive leaders coming will have to be, already the difference between a John Tory, throughout his byelection rhetoric, and Andrea Horvath, throughout her convention rhetoric, is quite obvious, he will keep the same old system through ideology and she wants to change it by turning it on its head through leadership. That alone is why she will find her way into the winners circle, he will find his way into the losers square and neither political twain shall meet, except for perhaps a parade or two on a personal level this coming summer.