My friend Bacon Eating Atheist Jew, a long-time blogger whose site can be accessed by clicking the link just to your right, has been very helpful with tips to this neophyte. He's told me how to put on a counter, create links to other sites and even gave me a plug on his own page which has attracted more than 100,000 hits since he created it.
Yesterday, he left me a link to another site whose operator is trying to link Canadian bloggers which I thought was a really good idea. A lot of people tend to confuse Canadians with Americans. I personally don't have any great concerns about that (disclosure: I was born in the US) but it definitely does bother some Canadians.
Anyway, I sent a note to that site asking the operator to link mine and got a very nice response back this morning in which she noted that she had and had, lacking any other indication of my partisan leanings, listed me as a Zionist based on the little logo carried on my page. That's okay by me, I am a Zionist, but it's probably not the first thing that would pop into my head if someone asked me about my political and social leanings.
Got me thinking about what I would say.
Politically, I'm a guy who's voted for the Conservatives. But, I've also voted for the Marijuana Party.
I support what our soldiers are doing in Afghanistan 100 per cent but I'm glad Canada stayed out of Iraq.
I think people should stand up for themselves whenever possible but I'm not whining about paying my taxes to support those who can't or just won't.
I have no problems with gay marriage.
I think all drugs should be legalized (with the resulting profits used for drug rehabilitation and awareness programs).
Women and minorities are as good as, if not better than, your average white guy but most affirmative action-oriented programs are a crock.
Canada needs more immigrants, not fewer. But, once immigrants come here, they should be required to learn Canadian customs and at least one of our two official languages before becoming citizens. If they're not yet citizens and they're caught committing criminal offences, they should be shipped back out again pretty much immediately and not after 73 years of hearings and appeals.
I absolutely oppose the death penalty but think prison sentences for the really nasty stuff - murder, rape, child sexual abuse - should be much stiffer and made to stick. At the same time, a lot of the petty crime stuff should be removed from the criminal system with a view to more rehabiliation programs that could put something positive into the community.
I support western nations and the democratic system. It ain't perfect but it's the best we've got.
I believe it's imperative for us to work more closely with countries like Mexico and India - emerging economies with democratic governments - and much less with China and other nations with regressive governments and policies. We need to do the same in South America to counteract the again-rising socialist policies of people like Chavez and Morales which will lead their economies to utter ruin.
I think Bush has surrounded himself with fools, Putin is, for lack of a better word, evil and Chirac is the slimiest little grease spot in world politics today.
I like a lot of what Stephen Harper's government is doing but am not enamoured with their social policies. At least they seem to have some moral fibre (I laughed my head off today at one Liberal columnist's simpering that Harper hasn't had any scandals...yet.)
I think Hillary Clinton would be a disaster for the US but that Dems are dumb enough to nominate her. I'm hoping the Republicans will counter with a John McCain or Rudi Giuliani - guys who are more socially liberal than Bush and less prone to committing major gaffes such as listening to the advice of Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.
Religion should only be taught at home or at church but the study of religion - in the context of things like history and philosophy - is okay as an optional course in high schools. I respect all religions but have absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who wants to cram their beliefs down my throat. (Helpful hint: the next time a Jehovah's Witness comes to your door, tell them you're Jewish and they'll leave you alone.)
I'm not really partisan in any sense except for the preservation of the Western way of life.
Well, that and the New York Mets. I'm unapologetically partisan when it comes to baseball.
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3 comments:
Good suggestion, callie.
I've been starting some of that.
The blogging thing's pretty easy for me. I used to write editorials and columns all the time and that wasn't too hard.
This is even easier since I just write whatever I feel like for about 10 minutes and then end it. No one's hanging over me waiting to edit the sucker to death and I don't have to worry about losing clients or offending anyone.
I like some of the stands you've listed there... very common sense, and real-life.
Growing up in the Detroit area, I've always known the difference between Canadians and Americans. Canadians are more polite.
Thanks, Michael.
I think you may have the honour of being the first person who I don't "know" from previous messageboards or blogs to visit, or at least leave a comment on, this one. I'd send you a prize, if I had one...lol.
Callie, I understand totally what you're saying about accents. I used to have a lot of friends in Washington state and we travelled back and forth quite a bit. You could tell the difference in the accents if you knew what to listen for (the Washington accent is flatter and the words a little more drawn out than here in BC) but most people wouldn't have been able to tell we weren't all Americans - if in the US - or Canadians - if we were north of the border.
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