tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74441569098229560502024-02-20T09:32:43.807-07:00Thoughts on a better CanadaBryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-78924815740734855702011-04-22T16:48:00.000-06:002011-04-22T16:48:18.124-06:00Voter ApathyI wanted to share a few facts on voter apathy for those that think their voices do not matter. For those that think they will abstain from voting because 'What difference does it make?'<br />
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It needs to be recognized that making voters apathetic is a strategy. It is a strategy employed by a government in power. Certain demographics will not vote for the Conservatives (mainly). Look at the 18-25 year old demographic. These people intend to vote primarily Green. From the point of view of the party in power...that's not good. It would be better to make those people not vote from their point of view. Because, since they are in power, a vote not cast against them is nearly as good as a vote cast for them. <br />
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So how do they make voters in that segment apathetic? Well, it is really quite easy. You become a bully. You make sure that you ignore every voice from that demographic. In fact, you make sure that whatever it is they are concerned with, you belligerently do the opposite. The more you make it seem like that demographics voices are not being heard, the more apathetic they become. If their voice isn't heard, why use their voice; in other words - Why vote? Does this sound familiar? It should, because that is what has been happening in your government.<br />
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If you were planning on not voting take this to heart. Or, if you know someone who is planning on not voting - let them know. If you are planning on not voting - you are being played; you are being manipulated; you are being controlled! Do not let them control you. Get out and vote!Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-57746604318981781892011-04-18T18:12:00.000-06:002011-04-18T18:12:07.250-06:00Strategic Voting - Why it doesn't workOk - I have some thoughts on strategic voting. First, I get a lot of people saying 'I think you would be the best person to represent our riding, Bryan, but I am going to vote NDP so that the Conservatives don't get in'. It seems like a valid and logical assumption. The problem is that all these folks that want to vote strategically assume that they are the only side doing this. In fact <b>*both*</b> sides are doing the same thing. You see I also get comments like 'I think you would be the best person to represent our riding, Bryan, but I am going to vote Conservative so that the NDP doesn't get in again'. I get these in about equal proportion.<br />
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So you see what is happening here. These people are effectively canceling each others votes out by voting strategically. So the results are no different on election day than if they hadn't voted strategically. Well, there is one main difference - the Green party has way less votes. This sends a message that the Green party is way less popular here than it is. This sends a message that you do not care in this riding about the environment, etc. <br />
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This is actually supported by evidence. I read online today that no elections results have changed as a result of strategic voting. The same can be said of vote swapping - for as many people swap the vote one way - others will swap it right back.<br />
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We need to get back to basics here. Vote for who you believe in. If all the people that believed in the Green Party and myself would vote Green this time instead of voting strategically - we may even elect a Green MP. Wouldn't that be something? You can be the first riding in Canada to do so. You can make history - right here in BC Southern Interior.Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-82030407774956412722011-04-13T16:23:00.000-06:002011-04-13T16:23:26.816-06:00Update on the Castlegar All Candidates Forum last nightIt was a good forum, everyone was quite civil. What I did notice though, is that people are far more frustrated and angry at the Harper government that I had even anticipated. The conservative candidate spent a lot of time trying to dodge bullets (figuratively). One paper said early on that this would be a tight race between the Conservative and the NDP candidate...but I am thinking it is more likely a race between the Green and the NDP.Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-31543269461655123652011-04-13T11:03:00.000-06:002011-04-13T11:03:16.771-06:00Kyoto - easier than one would imagineThe past governments - both Liberal and Conservative waffled on their Kyoto requirements saying they were too difficult to attain. I submit to you that they are not even trying! Without even looking at asking corporations to do anything, I can find small things everyone could do to meet these requirements. The fact is, our government did not even think of asking people to do this. Perhaps they are unable to think outside the box...perhaps it's time to elect someone who does. (That would be me :) )<br />
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For us to meet our Kyoto requirements we each need to reduce our CO2 by 10580 lbs. Thats a lot. But when we add up activities we can remove from our life...you can see it all adds up.<br />
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Stop Mowing Lawn (87 lbs)<br />
Commute From Home (540 lbs)<br />
Programmable Thermostat (1800 lbs)<br />
Change 5 bulbs to Compact Fluorescent (700 lbs)<br />
Wrapping Hot water Tank in Insulating Blanket (1000 lbs)<br />
Recycling (850 lbs)<br />
Turn thermostat up 2 degrees in summer and down 2 in winter (2000 lbs)<br />
Low flow showerhead (350 lbs)<br />
Wash in Cold or Warm Water (500 lbs)<br />
Uses a Clothes line to dry in summer (700 lbs)<br />
Bottled Water (157.5 lbs)<br />
Reusabel Coffee Mug/Thermos (65 lbs)<br />
Carpool (790 lbs)<br />
Inflate your tires (250 lbs)<br />
Change Car Air filter (800 lbs)<br />
Unplug Unused Electronics (1000 lbs)<br />
Switch to Tankless Water Heater (300 lbs)<br />
Tell the Post Office to Set you up as 'No Junk Mail' (105 lbs)<br />
Reusable Grocery Bags (356.2 lbs)<br />
Shower Together (300 lbs)<br />
Reusable Wrapping Paper (333 lbs)<br />
Stop Sending Cards (50 lbs)<br />
Total 13033.7 lbs<br />
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As you can see, this is way more than the amount required under Kyoto. I don't know about you, but if the government asked me to stop mowing my lawn and stop getting junk mail...I would have been all for it.Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-47401747512057829992010-01-15T20:01:00.000-07:002010-01-15T20:01:14.673-07:00AvatarA couple of weeks ago I went to see the movie 'Avatar' with my oldest daughter. It was a stunningly beautiful movie. But that aside - it had a great message to it of respect, environmentalism, etc. The plot was one that is familiar but I can forgive that as their isn't a lot of originality in Hollywood blockbusters these days.<br />
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But I began seeing blogs the last week or two claiming the movie is 'Anti American', 'Anti Canadian', etc because it is 'Anti Corporation'. This baffles me. The movie was about a corporation so greedy it was willing to wipe out a native species and their home to increase the bottom line for their shareholders. This is a particular type of corporation: Evil. So being against a corporation with evil practices is anti-Canadian? When did this happen?<br />
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Should it not be the reverse? All Canadians should be against corporations with practices like this. In fact, I would posit that we Canadians are more like Avatar's native 'Na'Vi' tribes than the corporation in the movie with our great abundance of natural resources and environmental beauty. And like the Na'Vi our resources, etc are always under the radar of the Corporation that would take all and leave a wasteland.<br />
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The question is when do we, like the Na'Vi, rally to create positive change in our country? The answer is right now. We don't even need to go to war to do it. We only need to vote. (Vote Green)Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-27092483301793251412010-01-15T20:00:00.000-07:002010-01-15T20:00:00.017-07:00Proroguing it!!!If it has rogue in the title - that's nearly all you need to know. If a missile went 'rogue' or a super spy went 'rogue' we would know its a bad thing. This time its parliament. Mr. Harper has decided to prorogue the government....effectively shutting it down until March 3rd. Realize that any acts that were in motion...even if they were 2 seconds from clearing....are now wiped away by this action. This is really not a good sign.<br />
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While proroguing parliament is not a new thing per se, the use of this in the last 2 years is slightly disturbing. Its use, in recent times, seems solely for self serving purposes for Mr. Harper and the Conservative party - not for the good of the country. Its politicizing at its finest...so we should all be wary and scathing of this move.<br />
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Besides - its like declaring a snow day for a third of a year. We should collectively ask Mr. Harper if he and the rest of the Conservative MP's would kindly put 1/3 of their MP salaries back in the federal coffers so compensate us for this absence.Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-35394984812904947072010-01-01T22:17:00.000-07:002010-01-01T22:17:41.225-07:00CopenhagenI have some thoughts on Copenhagen. They are this: The countries of the world are behaving like children.<br />
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Seriously. We know that things need to be corrected in this planet. We know that it is within *our* power to make things better. And what do we do? We act like schoolyard kids. <br />
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"I won't do it if Timmy won't do it"<br />
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"You do it first chicken!"<br />
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"No you do it!"<br />
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"Make me!!"<br />
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etc.<br />
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Even when I was a school age kid - this kind of behaviour made me slightly vomitous. But there was always a kid with some cool to him (or her) at these things that would step up and say "I don't care what the rest of you losers are doing - I am doing it"<br />
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Why can't we (as a country) be the cool kid. Who cares what the other countries are committing to? I mean really....Who cares? Let's be the cool kid and step up to bat. Let's make our own internal commitment to do whats right!<br />
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I guarantee that as soon as we step up to bat and announce that we will do the right thing regardless - make cuts in emissions to pre-1990 levels - the other kids will fall in line and do it too. <br />
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This world needs a country to lead the way - to show them how its done. Canada could be that leader and should be that leader...but instead we are an international laughing stock. <br />
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Do you really want more Conservative MP's that support this behaviour?Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-40792185750348504412009-12-03T21:17:00.002-07:002009-12-03T21:17:47.345-07:00Eroding Democracy and General WishwashinessI have been following this debate on the HST in BC and Ontario. To be honest, at this point, I don’t see what the huge hoopla is about. <br />
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But, I did notice something that bothered me quite a bit. Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party have said they don’t agree with the HST but they will vote for it in the House of Commons. <br />
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What…<br />
<br />
The…<br />
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Hell?<br />
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The thoughts on this are that he is voting for it as if he votes against is it may force us into another election. And currently, if they hold another election the polls indicate that the conservatives may gain in seats and get a major. So basically, he is voting that way not out of Liberal party beliefs, but out of political maneuvering. Oh, and one more thing, each Liberal MP had to vote the same way.<br />
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This is exactly the problem with politics these days. I am not a Liberal and I don’t even know if I agree with his thoughts on the HST. But regardless, those that are Liberal, and those that voted in Liberal MPs trust in their MPs to vote using those values and principles. By not doing so, the Liberal Party is in fact eroding the democratic process. They are voting not for the people, but for the Liberal Party itself. Their actions forward only the Party, not the People. How can you trust a Party (any of them) that vote simply for political maneuvering? The Liberal Party is not alone here – you have seen the Conservatives and NDP do this too. Perhaps the Green Party will in the future – but at least the deserve a shot at showing the country what true democracy is.<br />
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I can promise you I will never act this way if you vote for me. I will never change my vote just for political maneuvering. I will vote according to the principles and values that my constituents voted me in for – end of story. That’s how democracy should work.Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-19465530703625424572009-11-20T20:27:00.002-07:002009-11-20T20:27:49.650-07:00Our View of BeautyOur problem with the environment is, in part, caused by our view of beauty. In ways, what we see beautiful in the public eye comes from a time about 60 years ago. A time where lawns were green, manicured, and lined with a white picket fence. Everyone’s car was shiny for their drive to work and everyone’s flowerbeds were evenly spaced. It sounds nice, and if I lived in that time, I would probably be an advocate of that lifestyle.<br />
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But we are not living in that time. We are living in a time where our very environment is threatened by choices we make. Small engine yard devices, like lawn mowers and hedge trimmers, have been reported to pollute as much as a car driven 700 kilometers in one hour of operation. Do we really need that perfectly mowed lawn? Individually, this may not seem to be that much, but as a country this is a whole lot of unneeded emissions. It’s funny, when our government was figuring out how and if it could meet our Kyoto requirements it never considered things like this. They could not imagine asking people not to mow. They were looking for big, uncomfortable, and costly solutions instead.<br />
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I read an article yesterday that illustrated this concept nicely. It was about several families that had decided to dry their clothes on a clothes line instead of in a dryer at their residences in the suburbs. Well, this had many neighbors very upset. They found the clothes lines aesthetically displeasing – or in other words ‘ugly’. They wanted laws enacted to prevent clothes lines, etc. This is counter productive to the situation we are in. These people were trying to save electricity by not using their dryer (the green angle was shown in the article). It’s a good idea – why waste energy doing what the sun will do for you. But the neighbors are stuck in an antiquated and dangerous idea of beauty. I have seen similar articles about those who install solar panels: ‘They are an eyesore’, etc.<br />
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We need to redefine our view of beautiful. Why is it that we can see the beauty in the wild grasses on an alpine meadow but not in our neighbor’s un-mowed yard? They are essentially the same thing. Why is it that the sail of a sailboat is pleasing to see, yet your neighbors white blouse drying on a line in their yard is ‘disgusting? Why is it that the reflection of the sun off a cool mountain lake is breath taking, but the same reflection off a solar panel array is ‘Hideous’? The reason is simple…we have antiquated ideas about what beauty is in our public spaces. If we shift our views on beauty, we can shift our habits to the positive for our country and our planet. Let us see our neighbors’ un-mowed lawn as that alpine meadow and cherish it! Let us praise the dandelion on his lawn as a badge of being chemical free! Let us see that clothesline as the billowing white sails of progress! Let us honour that solar panel as a gleaming symbol of independence! Let us imagine a whole land where we are proud of our public spaces that look like alpine meadows.<br />
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‘But!’ you might be asking ‘What can be done in government to help in this effort’. Other than education, we can look at each new law and make certain that no law favors Aesthetics over Environment and Conservation. We can look at old laws that violate this and repeal them. It’s that simple. We need to bolster national pride in these things. In 50 years, history will judge which countries made the change elegantly to a sustainable future and which were dragged kicking and screaming. My Canada, the Canada I love, and the Canada I wish for, will be the leader in these efforts showing clear vision and wisdom.<br />
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Let’s start it here in British Columbia Southern Interior!<br />
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Let’s be the change Canada needs!Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-69110534918900204352009-11-16T17:07:00.002-07:002009-11-16T17:07:42.345-07:00Change is on the WindI remember back in 1992-93 when the Reform Party was picking up steam. There was change on the wind in those days. I was a big fan of the Reform Party and remained so until they melted back into the Conservative soup. There was a grass roots base to the Reform Party that was very attractive and its one of the same things that called me to the Green party.<br />
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Anyway, Jim Gouk was the Reform candidate at that time in my home riding (West Kootenay – Revelstoke at the time) and I was discussing with a friend that I was going to vote for Jim Gouk and the Reform Party. My friend got this curious look on his face and replied with an even more curious response:<br />
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‘I like the Reform Party, but I am not going to vote for them because they will never get in’<br />
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What a very strange statement. The implication being that you should only vote for who you think everyone else will vote for. Like somehow, if you vote for the guy that is likely to get in, he will owe you a favor or something. It is such a wrong way to vote and flies in the face of what true democracy should be. You should vote for the candidate you believe in …even if he or she gets only your vote. Voting for what you believe in is what makes positive change. Even if your candidate doesn’t get in, the other parties will notice any votes they got and they will perhaps adapt policies going forward as a result. <br />
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Anyway, despite the voting strategies of my good friend, Jim Gouk and the Reform party did win that seat in 1993. How did this happen? Well people believed in it and voted strongly on what they believed. There was change in the wind.<br />
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I can feel that change in the wind again. And again, there will be those that say ‘Don’t vote for the Green Party, they will never get in!’ But people believe in protecting their environment AND their economy. They believe in the Green Party and they will strongly vote for their beliefs. British Columbia Southern Interior can lead the charge in the change our country needs. With your vote we will win!Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7444156909822956050.post-67185287139470599832009-11-02T20:46:00.001-07:002009-11-02T20:46:07.992-07:00They are all Politicians!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">A colleague of mine has a saying every time it comes to a federal election:<br />
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<b><i>'No matter who you vote for, a politician gets in'</i></b><br />
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It's funny, but there is a certain amount of truth to it. The government doesn't seem to operate all that differently no matter who is in power. There is a reason for this - you voted for a politician. Politicians are concerned with getting reelected so they make popular decisions when in office (or at least leading up to the next election). They will break promises, go back on their word, and act in ways that are not the height of ethics - just to get those votes. In essence, they are not *serving* their country - they are milking it.<br />
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'But Bryan', you are thinking, 'Aren't you just a politician as well?'. It's a valid thought - though there is a big difference. I hate politics. I am not running in the next election because being a member of parliament has been a life long dream. Far from it. I am not in it for money, or power, or glory. If I could see others had things well in hand, I would be happy to leave things as they are. But it doesn't appear to me that way. I think there needs to be changes in how things are run in this country. We are facing some of the most unique challenges in Canadian history - and we are failing. My only reason for running in the next election is that I believe I can help fix this. I will not make decisions based on whether or not it will help or hinder me in getting re-elected. I would rather fix what is broken regardless of how unpopular that might end up being.<br />
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In short, I am not a politician - nor will I become one.<br />
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That is my solemn promise!<br />
</div>Bryan P. Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09457074887301418884noreply@blogger.com0