Deficit Spending Running Wild!
October 14, 2009
The new season of the Rick Mercer Report has started and Rick is ranting about the ever growing Canadian deficit. This from Bloomberg,
Canada reported a C$5.82 billion ($5.39 billion) budget deficit in July, following a surplus in the same month a year earlier, because of lower tax revenue and spending measures taken to spur growth.
The country’s deficit in the first four months of the fiscal year that began April 1 was C$18.3 billion, the Finance Department said today from Ottawa. Last year, the federal government had a surplus of C$2.18 billion in July and a four- month surplus of C$2.94 billion.
The governing Conservatives have forecast a record deficit of C$55.9 billion this fiscal year because of slowing revenue, increased claims for unemployment benefits and the costs associated with an auto industry bailout.
Program spending increased 30 percent from a year ago in July to C$21.8 billion, and is up 21 percent for the four-month period, the finance department said. Revenue in July was down 15 percent from last year to C$18.4 billion, bringing the fiscal drop to 11 percent in the first four months.
This is the problem I have with the Conservative Party of Canada, when it comes to fiscal matters, they just aren’t conservative. Mind you, the Tories haven’t driven the country off a cliff like President Barack Obama and his administration, but second place in a contest about fiscal mismanagement isn’t something we should be applauding. I am a registered Liberal, but I cannot bring myself to support their policies now, especially when they have been taking them from the NDP platform. If the Harper government would cut back on spending and make a serious effort to balance the budget, I could see myself and many other Canadians feeling better about casting our vote for the Conservatives in the next election. Provide transparency on spending and you might just get your majority in the next election.
I know it is a short post, but I needed to get that off my chest. Instead of addressing Canadian’s concerns about spending, Stephan Harper has been tight lipped about it. Just give us some transparency, we would like to know how our hard earned money is being spent…
As for my feelings on the Liberal Party right now, I turn it over to Rick Mercer once again…
Roman Polanski’s Plight
September 28, 2009
UPDATE: I will keep this post unchanged because I believe it would be dishonest to do otherwise, but I want it known that I didn’t know about his actions thirty years ago until last night, and I will definitely not ignore his statement recently about young girls. I hope this man is thrown in a cell with an inmate who doesn’t have a problem “administering” even the lowest forms of “prison justice”… Disgusting…
*****
I have mixed feelings about this, and while I don’t condone the sexual assault of a 13-year-old, I have trouble supporting the efforts to prosecute Roman Polanski. I know this has been Ed Morrissey’s “axe to grind” for the last few days, reading his first post and now his second post criticizing those who don’t want to see the film director put in jail. Call me naive, but I really think this was the result of the brutal murder of his wife, Sharon Tate and his unborn child by Charles Manson and his followers. The media blitz, the constant reminder of what he had lost, the publicity stunts by Manson’s supporters, etc had taken their tole on Polanski. Reports of his excessive drinking in the years following should show us that this man wasn’t of sound mind. He admitted as much in his autobiography Roman by Polanski,
Since Sharon’s death, and despite appearances to the contrary, my enjoyment of life has been incomplete. In moments of unbearable personal tragedy some people find solace in religion. In my case the opposite happened. Any religious faith I had was shattered by Sharon’s murder. It reinforced my faith in the absurd.
If you ask me, it does sound like he is still serving a self-imposed sentence. I don’t know how the statute of limitations would apply here, if it did at all, but I feel there is more than enough here to at the very least hang the jury. With all the other offenders out there, with all the crime being committed by truly evil men and women, I don’t see why we should bother with prosecuting Roman Polanski. I fail to see what there is to be gained by this…
I would like to know what good will it do society to see a man who has suffered like he has locked up? Is this the legal victory we are looking for in an “age of immorality”? What do we have to gain by uncovering these ugly wounds? I am waiting for Morrissey’s response to these questions… Pitiful…
UPDATE: I said I had mixed feelings about this, and here is why. As Allahpundit pointed out, this isn’t about preserving “art”, this is about the legality of it. It doesn’t surprise me that the Hollywood community is upset by this, but the reasons they are giving for keeping him out of jail is, for the most part, a little ridiculous. Do I think that this arrest is ill-advised after 30 years? Yes, but it isn’t because of Polanski’s contributions to the film industry.
The more I read about this incident, the more I am confused about what is going on here. According to Patterico, he already plead guilty thirty years ago, so that would mean that the statute of limitations doesn’t apply. Does this mean though that there will be a new trial or will it simply be a hearing to pass sentence? If it isn’t the latter, I would advise against it since Los Angeles juries are well known for being irrational.
Since this crime was well before my time, I know very little about what happened. If it was as heinous as some have been saying, it doesn’t sound like the actions of a troubled man. On the other hand, having not dealt with the brutal murders of my wife and unborn child, and the media circus which follow, I really wouldn’t know what is and what isn’t normal behaviour. The problem I am still having is what is the purpose of reopening this thirty year old case? What is there to gain by locking up this man?
You are going to have to give me a better answer than “he is a fugitive from justice”. As a somewhat religious man, I know that just because he has escaped the American courts, doesn’t mean he has escaped God’s judgment… Confused…
UPDATE: What did I say about celebrities not getting it? “Rape-rape” Whoopi? Ed Morrissey has the video up of Goldberg’s stupidity on the view. There are only a few things that can be said in Polanski’s defense, like his emotional state at the time of the crime, the fact that his career suffered because of this, and that his arrest comes thirty years after the crime was committed. This isn’t about his “dedication to art”, this isn’t about the heinous crime he committed, it is about him “fleeing justice for so long”. Why not debate that point?
Once again, what is there to be gained by dragging him and his victim through the courts after thirty years? Can a conviction be gained if his prior plea is thrown out? I would prefer not to take a side in this debate, but those on the right of this issue have failed to answer any of these questions. You have to give Morrissey and the rest of the anti-Polanski crowd credit for their dedication to seeing justice done, but this whole ordeal doesn’t sit well with me…
Let me know what you think, even if you don’t really know what to think at all… Confused…
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin is weighing in on Anne Applebaum’s blog post which failed to mention her husband’s political connection to this mess. Patterico has more on Applebaum’s dishonesty if you are interested.
I can’t wait for this fiasco to be over, but knowing Hollywood trials, that isn’t going to be anytime soon…
UPDATE: Guess what? Not so confused anymore. Michelle Malkin has a post up about what Roman “Rapist” Polanski said about how everyone would want little girls the way he does. This from Micheal Deacon at the Telegraph,
If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!
I can tell you that I don’t like young girls the way he does, and it is just creeps me out that this guy would sexualize a child. As for the questions I asked earlier, I can answer them now. The reason why he SHOULD be prosecuted and locked up is because not only hasn’t he truly paid for his crime, but he had no remorse for the heinous act he committed over thirty years ago. Also, with Polanski behind bars, his victim can now truly find closure on the event which changed her life so many years ago. Finally, any jury that hears this statement won’t have trouble sending him to prison, especially if even one or two of the jurors have daughters. Does he even have a soul? Outrageous!
For all those celebrities signing the petition that is floating around, ask yourself a question; Do you really want to defend a man who drugged and viciously sodomized a 13-year-old girl?
UPDATE: More from Allahpundit on the Roman Polanski fiasco. After getting caught trying to forward her husband’s political agenda, Anne Applebaum comes out with another misguided post about how it is the victim’s fault she was raped. Huh? Let me explain…
As Allahpundit pointed out, nowhere in the transcripts is there this “proof” that it is the girl’s fault. She didn’t give permission to be photographed in a jacuzzi, but even if she did, that doesn’t mean she gave Polanski permission to drug and rape her. I really don’t understand what Applebaum is trying to say here, but it seems that knowing what we know now, they have no other way to defend a man who committed such a horrible offense. Why else would they take this approach?
With even the French people turning against Polanski as I have after learning the disgusting truth, his support is dwindling and getting desperate… Pathetic…
UPDATE: Another post from Ed Morrissey, this one concerning what Hollywood does and doesn’t tolerate. So they won’t forgive Elia Kazan for speaking out against Communism, but they will forgive Roman Polanski for drugging and raping a 13-year-old? Talk about their perverted perceptions… Mind-boggling…
UPDATE: And the fiasco continues. Allahpundit has a post up about the unusual support Polanski is getting from feminists. Do they understand that they should be standing AGAINST a man who drugged and anally raped a 13-year-old girl? Pathetic…