iMatt :: The Blog of Matt Clare

Got the new U2 Album today. It’s really good. Songs that stand out right away are “Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your Own” and “Love and Peace or Else” – plus the Banjo based (Temple Bar Mix) of Vertigo on the DVD is also good 😉

So when do they come to Toronto?

Viktor Yushchenko is apparently the real victor, but Viktor Yanukovych apparently rigged the elecetion to be the victor.

Canada could thaw out Alex Barris, from CBC’s Front Page Challange, to help figure out who the real victor is.

File beside “Two wrongs don’t make a right” “Two Viktors don’t make a democratic election”.

READ ADAM’S BLOG! (On the right). Quapos was hit with an Earthquake, waking him at 2:00AM to rush out of the house. I’m glad he’s OK, and now has quite the story.

Ralph Goodale announced today that Canada’s surplus is projected to be $8.9-billion.
Here’s how
The Globe And Mail has tracked the federal surplus/deficit over the years.

1991-92 -$32.3
1992-93 -$39
1993-94 -$38.5
1994-95 -$36.6
1995-96 -$30
1996-97 -$8.6
1997-98 $2.1
1998-99 $2.8
1999-00 $13.1
2000-01 $20.2
2001-02 $7
2002-03 $6.9
2003-04 $9

In one my first posts I expressed my interest in the right, and that I like to read about what the right is thinking. I think there is consensus that deficits are bad and there is a growing consensus that surpluses are bad too. The conservatices want the money for Tax cuts, the NDP etc. for child & health care and education. The point is the Liberals are taking in more money than they said they would.

Paul Martin started this policy of growing a surplus and using it ‘for emergencies’ and to use it, ultimately, to pay off the debt. I think it’s a bad idea for two main reasons:

1. The federal government should be planning for emergencies and BUDGETING for them, not explicitly not budgeting for them; not leaving money around just in case.
2. The Liberals (who have set the record on deficits and surpluses) are using this unallocated money for political gain, not for any good financial reason

By under estimating the revenue of the government the Liberals are ensuring that the government and the public are involved in allocating only the amount money the Liberals are willing to involve them in. In the end the surplus is a political tool used at the end of the year to spend funds for political gain.

Big surpluses are good politics but poor policy and certainly not good management of finances.

US election: Too bad. Enough votes for someone other than Bush but not enough for someone specifically. Old News.

What I want to point out is the number of people who have given up on an American future based on rationality.

We’ve finally got confirmation that Colin Powell is gone, [Canada.com] plus a few of this colleagues with lesser talent.

Here’s a survey from slashdot.org wondering Would You Move To Canada? from Friday October 29^th. Here’s the results

• Only if Kerry wins. 6% 3518 / 6%
• Only if Bush wins. 36% 19467 / 36%
• Only if Nader wins. 3% 1870 / 3%
• Only if there’s a civil war. 9% 5279 / 9%
• No, the idea of free health care frightens me. 10% 5827 / 10%
• No, but I’d bomb it. 16% 8625 / 16%
• Already live there. 13% 7135 / 13%
• Already live in Ann Arbor, which is close enough. 3% 1992 / 3%

Lastly, there’s the one that’s been making the eMail rounds: sorryeverybody.com You can’t find a full page in the gallery of Americans apalogising to the world where there’s not a Canada refrence.

So, Americans, here’s my recommendation: Move to NY or LA and pretend there’s nothing in the middle, buy all the West Wing DVDs and pretend that’s reality, or move to Canada. But in the end, we still have the same problem. That problem is best expressed by this site fuckthesouth.com.