Bloc Quebecois

In Saskatchewan, we never see a candidate running for Bloc Quebecois, or the Bloc, as many people refer to it. This roots of this party sparked a major political disruption, beginning with the defection and crossing of the floor of Lucien Bouchard. In the first election the Bloc ran in, they were elected as the official Opposition! This may come as a surprise to some, but if you remember the brutal lashing the conservatives took (only got 3 seats!) it's not that odd. The Bloc's goal is simple...sovereignty for Quebec. They do not participate in federal politics. They feel that local money should stay local and that Quebecer's tax money would be better spent by the provincial government.

Now, you may say "Oh, this is sooooo terrible!!" But you need to look at things in perspective. Quebec has a lot of things that other provinces wish they had. They have the best daycare program, one that every other province would like to copy. And this is all done by the provincial government.

The Bloc throws a new twist into the mix that we have never had before. Remember, the Bloc is only 15 years old. It has been suggested that due to the Bloc, we are stuck in a period of minority governments. If you think about it, we only have 308 seats....approximately 55 are in the hands of the Bloc now and I presume that will only increase, to as many as 60 or 65 (well, no more than however many ridings are in Quebec). And with the stranglehold the Conservatives have in the prairies (Goodale is the lone non-conservative in SK), it is going to be extremely difficult for any party to form a majority. It was especially difficult when we had the PC and Alliance...now that they've joined together as one conservative party, they have a better chance of getting a majority. But with the Bloc stealing over 50 seats, that definitely can make the difference between a minority and majority government.

As far as political parties go, I think the Bloc is a great one. Really, they know what they want and they work hard for it. They have been extremely successful in their history as a party. They also have managed to wield a large amount of power in parliament. I suspect, now that there is a new leader of the PQ (provincial party), we will be seeing a lot of push for another referendum soon. So watch out!!!

**I got my information from Wikipedia. Went to the BQ site, but it was all in French! Those bastards.

Shout Out

Well, here's a shout out to another blog.

An old co-worker of mine, Aaron Young has started a podcast with his friend Jason Zyla. Go check it out! I watched Episode 4 and it's actually pretty funny! Starts a bit slow, but keep with it, it's worth the listen. Just put it on while you're surfing the net.

I have included the link on my sidebar.

So go take a listen to The TechTap.

The Politics of Canada

So, I was watching the Simpsons and it was over and I just hadn't turned off the TV yet and what comes on?? The non-confidence vote! Yes!!! I love CBC...best news network in Canada in my opinion.

So, CBC shows the vote, which actually took very little time. The Conservatives, Bloq Quebecois, and NDP joined together and toppled the government. This means that tomorrow morning, Paul Martin will be visiting the governor general and setting an election date. The talk around parliament hill seems to be January 23, according to Peter Mansbridge. This means an 8-week campaign which is extremely long. However, the fact that it goes over Christmas is going to add in an all new dynamic to this election campaign. I'm excited for it!

Basically, the liberals are screwed. First of all, the sponsorship scandal. While Martin was cleared, that's just a report from Gomery. What really matters is what people actually think. We didn't see the evidence, Gomery did. So, we have to believe him! So do people believe him?? We'll find out.

And the newest thing coming up, is in the Finance Minister's office...Ralph Goodale. Now, we all know Mr. Hometown Goodale, the only Liberal in a sea of Conservatives in Saskatchewan. Well, a big thing right now is income trusts. The government just announced a new policy to not tax income trusts and to cut the taxes on dividends. Now, the real problem is, that the day before this announcement was made, a significantly larger amount than usual of trading happened in terms of income trusts. Now, this smells of insider trading. Which does not bode well for the Liberals...it just means another scandal is rising. So, we'll see how that unfolds over the next few months.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for Rex Murphy to come on...he slays me! Hahaha...gotta love Rex Murphy.

So, now I have to decide whether or not I want to work on a campaign. And if I do...who's? So, everyone go read an article somewhere....it's headline CNN news, which almost never happens, and you can look at cbc.ca. Read up, get informed! And when election day comes....go vote!! Make your voice heard, because if you don't, you don't have the right to complain about a single thing the government or opposition parties do.

GO CANADA!!!! (I love elections!)

Quotable Quotes #3

"Hatred can cool; envy can be assuaged; but guilt never forgets, and guilt never forgives, and guilt eats the spirit like fire consumes flesh."

-Graham Masterton - "Empress"

Dirty Commies

I'm sure you all remember a few months ago this summer when I put up a post on my old blog of a picture my friend Kurt drew. For those of you who don't remember or didn't read my old blog, here is that picture.

Anyway, I've been promising a surprise for a few weeks. Well, here it is! The 2nd installment of "DIRTY COMMIES"!!!!!


(and for those of you who don't know, I'm a huge SADD advocate)

Disappointed

Well. This is the first time I've been on my computer since Friday night. I was gone all weekend. So, I get on excited to go read some new stuff on people's blogs. Ok, not one person updated their blog!!!! Not one on my entire list of blogs that I read. Everyone has the same boring post they had when I left! You guys suck!

Just for that, I'm going to leave you with another quote from KW:OTT just so you can remember that I have it and you don't!!! hahaha

"Chip! Get in the truck before I spank you!"

Damn Shoes!

I can't tie my shoes. Sure, I'm 20, but I still can't do it. I mean, I can get them tied...they just don't STAY tied. What am I doing wrong!? I just don't get it...I tighten them as much as I possibly can, but they're always undone the next time I look at them!

Obviously Mrs. Cooney's Rabbit Ear Theorem is complete bullshit.

IT'S HERE!!!

It finally came!! I am now the proud owner of Klay World: Off the Table. I ordered my movie on October 15, the day it came out, and received it on November 14, one month later. Although really, Knox is basically stuffing and addressing every envelope himself, with the help of some friends. So, when you get bombarded with such a huge amount of orders all at once? I'd say he did pretty damn good at getting them out so quick.

So, the movie. It rocks. I suck at writing movie reviews, so you know what? I'm not going to tell you anything about it! hahaha. We can have a KW:OTT party at my place when I'm in Weyburn and I'll let someone else, like one of my brothers have the pleasure of writing the review.

So for now, I'll leave you with this quote from the movie:

"Have you seen Mr. Black and Dr. Bob?"
"They were behind me, but I dont know if they are there anymore... Im too lazy to turn around."

Jobs

One of the scariest things about graduating is finding a job. I'm extremely scared about that because I took a commerce degree. I majored in finance but I hate finance. And there's such a vast amount of things I could do with my degree. But I don't know what I want to do. I really have no idea. And it's freaky looking for a job.

First, the resume. Making resumes SUCKS. Anyone who's made one knows what I mean. And what I'm doing is making a functional resume. That means that rather than having my previous employment at the forefront, it will be in the background, maybe 3 lines long. What I'm going to up-play are the skills I've learned through taking my degree. Which means I am going to completely re-vamp my resume and start from scratch. Which BLOWS.

Secondly, references. Finding references can be harder than one would think. Sure, I can get my manager and owner from work, but what about academic references. Getting a reference from a prof is harder than it sounds. Most profs in university have no idea who their students are. So getting a reference out of one may be difficult.

Third, interviews. I am deathly afraid of interviews. I'm basically going to chalk up the first, oh, 3-5 as learning experiences. Don't worry if I don't get the job, just be glad that I have the mistakes from one more interview to learn from.

And you know, just finding the jobs is difficult. I have a bag of crap I picked up at a career fair in September that I plan on sifting through over Christmas to see what I would like to do.

On the upside, I just got an e-mail from a person at Freedom 55 Financial. I am taking a class in insurance and it's actually fairly interesting. So, when at the career fair, I made sure to track down all the insurance companies. I left my resume with one of them and just got an e-mail from them. So, he would like me to phone him and set up a time to meet with him. This is good. Too bad I think he's already gone for the day, I'll e-mail him tomorrow.

Quotable Quotes #2

"Relationships don't work they way they do on television and in the movies...Bottom line: couples who are truly right for each other wade through the same crap as everybody else, but the big difference is they don't let it take them down. One of those two people will stand up and fight for that relationship every time. If it's right, and they're real lucky, one of them will say something."

Parents

Well, had a visit from the parents today. They showed up around noon and left around 7pm. So, we went shopping and I got some good shoes and winter boots. Also managed to get some more juice boxes, yay!!

Now I just have to try and catch up on my insane amount of homework. I've got a lot of stuff due next week, so I've got to get a start on it. I've done good so far tonight, but needed a break, so here I am blogging.

Had some chocolate covered almonds today. Haven't had those since the siblings were in band and needed to raise some money!

Anyway, back to homework!!

Remember

In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row by row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The lark, still bravely singing, flies.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up your quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

95%

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got a 95% on my Commerce 467 (Portfolio Theory and Management) midterm. Wow. Although I was a 90s student in high school, I haven't seen a 90 since starting in university. Maybe on little assignments, but certainly never on a test. And I just received a 95% on a 4th year, finance class. Seriously, I suck at finance. I've been lucky to get 75% in finance. But the second I walked out of this midterm, I knew. I knew I had nailed it. I knew I wouldn't get 100% because I knew I had missed one thing, but overall, I knew it would be good. And I was rewarded! YES!

Now, I know this is a simply a post where all I'm doing is bragging....good for me!!! I kicked ass and I deserved that mark!!! I am on top of the world right now!

The Colbert Report

Oh yeah!!! CTV picked up the Colbert Report. I'm am sooo happy. Now, after Jon Stewart, I have a decent show to watch. Before I had to deal with Etalk Daily, which just is a very crappy show. Now, I get a full hour of great comedy. It really was a tease before, as Jon would check in with Steve at the end of each show, but then I wouldn't get to watch because CTV didn't have the show. But the Colbert Report premiered this past Monday and order was restored to my TV life.

Quotable Quotes #1

"Every one of our parents does considerable emotional damage. In fact, it just might be the best part of being a parent."

-Dr. Cox from the TV show Scrubs

Things to Come

Here are some things to come:

• Quotable Quotes - for those nights when I don't feel like blogging. Just some of my favourite quotes put up for discussion
• J & S's Night Out - a picture diary of Joelle and my night running around campus with a disposable camera
• My KW:OTT - I still haven't gotten it yet. But it's on it's way. And a review of it once I watch it!
• THE BIG SURPRISE!!! - this is the one I warned you about a week or two ago. I caught a little snag and couldn't get it last week, but it should hopefully be here this week.
  

Ahhh....

Oh I love this feeling. The feeling of having midterms done. It's so great. I hate midterms. I'd rather write finals any day. Finals are twice as long and cover more material, but I'd still rather write them than midterms. Here's why:

• During midterms, you're learning things up until possibly 2 days before the test
• During midterms, you have to continue going to 4 other classes instead of using the time to study.
• During midterms, you have to continue doing assignments for those 4 other classes rather than studying.
• During finals, you don't go to class, you don't have assignments, all you do it study. You have nothing to do other than absorb the information, write the test, then move on. It's just a way more relaxed time period.
• You know on finals that if you work hard enough, you can pull your mark up. And since it's your last chance to pull it up, it happens!

So yeah, I love finals way more than midterms. But I've lucked out so far and am actually doing quite well. So I'm happy and I'm glad that I'm done all my midterms!!