Political Polish
Perhaps Canadians needn't feel so badly about the functional quality of our political system and the intelligence and dedication to the public weal of our politicians.
We feel, and rightfully so, that our Parliamentarians are fairly dysfunctional to a truly painful degree, when they cannot recognize the usefulness of setting aside self-serving hyperbole, demeaning rhetoric, and partisan advantage to work together with a decent resolve to improve the country's vital framework of social benefits and the meaningful value of our reality as a technologically-advanced and important partner in a global network of high-achiever countries.
The kind of visible racism that reflects a mainstream demographic reality is absent in this country of ours. Most Canadians and all Parliamentarians see the diversity of this country's population as an advantage, and celebrate the attainment to high office of people of colour and different ethnic and heritage backgrounds. Canadians, it seemed, celebrated more wildly enthusiastically, than did Americans, over the election of an attractive, intelligent and broad-minded Black-American president whose agenda captured the imagination of the world.
Yet the racial divide within the United States remains so deep and so wide and so relevant yet, that a former Republican congressman who ran for president in 2008 based his bid for the White House on a fiercely anti-illegal immigration platform, thinly veiling his anti-immigrant agenda with the addition of the word "illegal", as though that made a huge difference to his mind-set. "They could not even spell the word 'vote' or say it in English and they put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House - Barack Hussein Obama!"
With the emphasis, needless to say, on this man's thesis that Barack Obama, whose Muslim-origin middle name must not be overlooked, and that he achieved office by the weight of the immigrant vote. And which in fact, was nothing close to the truth; truth is that it was middle-class and upper-middle-class and academics, and the youth of America - along with many immigrant-class Americans who voted this man into the highest executive position of the land.
Yet Tom Tancredo went on to state that "We really do have a culture to pass on to our children: it's based on Judeo-Christian values. This is our country. Let's take it back! Cultures are not the same. Some are better. Ours is best!" So Barack Obama is not as American as Tom Tancredo? Because he is bi-racial? Because his ancestors were African? Because Tom Tancredo wants to get as much mileage as possible over the conspiracy-theorists' declaration that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim?
Turning to Great Britain, that great maritime-exploration, and colonialist-martial country of yore which America eschewed for republican independence, and Canada still looks upon as our mother country whose Parliamentarian example was adopted, we see that prosecutors have now announced that criminal charges are set to be laid against four lawmakers who stand accused of abuse of parliamentary expenses.
Charges of false accounting to be brought against three Labour members of the elected House of Commons, and as well against one Conservative member of the unelected House of Lords. "In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned", stated the director of public prosecutions.
How perfectly, odiously, untidy. Representing thousands of questionable claims by parliamentarians for flatscreen TVs to massage chairs. The audit scrutinized claims and concluded that those judged wanting in the quality of their assumption of legal entitlements for recompense, must now return the equivalent of $1.86-million to the Crown. Representing expenses for loans on second homes, gardening and cleaning expenses.
The finding being that over 50% of all British members of Parliament made inappropriate or excessive claims. Claims that included payment for a duck house for a garden pond, security patrols at private homes, cleaning, decoration and gardening services, moat-clearing, king-sized beds, and other quaint little extras that British parliamentarians believed they were unquestionably entitled to.
And we wonder why it is that the public has so little respect for our politicians?
We feel, and rightfully so, that our Parliamentarians are fairly dysfunctional to a truly painful degree, when they cannot recognize the usefulness of setting aside self-serving hyperbole, demeaning rhetoric, and partisan advantage to work together with a decent resolve to improve the country's vital framework of social benefits and the meaningful value of our reality as a technologically-advanced and important partner in a global network of high-achiever countries.
The kind of visible racism that reflects a mainstream demographic reality is absent in this country of ours. Most Canadians and all Parliamentarians see the diversity of this country's population as an advantage, and celebrate the attainment to high office of people of colour and different ethnic and heritage backgrounds. Canadians, it seemed, celebrated more wildly enthusiastically, than did Americans, over the election of an attractive, intelligent and broad-minded Black-American president whose agenda captured the imagination of the world.
Yet the racial divide within the United States remains so deep and so wide and so relevant yet, that a former Republican congressman who ran for president in 2008 based his bid for the White House on a fiercely anti-illegal immigration platform, thinly veiling his anti-immigrant agenda with the addition of the word "illegal", as though that made a huge difference to his mind-set. "They could not even spell the word 'vote' or say it in English and they put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House - Barack Hussein Obama!"
With the emphasis, needless to say, on this man's thesis that Barack Obama, whose Muslim-origin middle name must not be overlooked, and that he achieved office by the weight of the immigrant vote. And which in fact, was nothing close to the truth; truth is that it was middle-class and upper-middle-class and academics, and the youth of America - along with many immigrant-class Americans who voted this man into the highest executive position of the land.
Yet Tom Tancredo went on to state that "We really do have a culture to pass on to our children: it's based on Judeo-Christian values. This is our country. Let's take it back! Cultures are not the same. Some are better. Ours is best!" So Barack Obama is not as American as Tom Tancredo? Because he is bi-racial? Because his ancestors were African? Because Tom Tancredo wants to get as much mileage as possible over the conspiracy-theorists' declaration that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim?
Turning to Great Britain, that great maritime-exploration, and colonialist-martial country of yore which America eschewed for republican independence, and Canada still looks upon as our mother country whose Parliamentarian example was adopted, we see that prosecutors have now announced that criminal charges are set to be laid against four lawmakers who stand accused of abuse of parliamentary expenses.
Charges of false accounting to be brought against three Labour members of the elected House of Commons, and as well against one Conservative member of the unelected House of Lords. "In four cases, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and that it is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned", stated the director of public prosecutions.
How perfectly, odiously, untidy. Representing thousands of questionable claims by parliamentarians for flatscreen TVs to massage chairs. The audit scrutinized claims and concluded that those judged wanting in the quality of their assumption of legal entitlements for recompense, must now return the equivalent of $1.86-million to the Crown. Representing expenses for loans on second homes, gardening and cleaning expenses.
The finding being that over 50% of all British members of Parliament made inappropriate or excessive claims. Claims that included payment for a duck house for a garden pond, security patrols at private homes, cleaning, decoration and gardening services, moat-clearing, king-sized beds, and other quaint little extras that British parliamentarians believed they were unquestionably entitled to.
And we wonder why it is that the public has so little respect for our politicians?
Labels: Britain, Canada, Politics of Convenience, United States
posted by Pieface | 2:16 PM
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