Where's our Canadian Ron Paul?

I'm a Canadian, and I'm extremely patriotic and loyal to my Country and the Canadian people but I have to tell you the most exciting person that I have seen in the past year is an American, and his name is Ron Paul.

As a Canadian I take a very serious look at world politics, the economy, warfare, environment, and injustice. I have been watching the American debates on TV between both the Republicans and the Democrats and I have come to the conclusion that the only one of these candidates that has any real new ideas, vision, and drive is Ron Paul.

This guy has me excited about American Politics and I'm a Canadian. His world vision and ideas are staggeringly simple and straight forward. He is a libertarian running on the Republican ticket and he is a strict constitutionalist. Now, even though from my Canadian perspective I do not agree with some of what I know of the constitution of the USA (the right to carry firearms for one), I respect his stand and drive to keep the US on a path of non-interventionism, his ideas on the free-market, his vision for boosting the economy, and his thoughts on freedoms and rights.

I've listened to Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Rudolph Giuliani, and I have to say that they are no different than the present leader and they have no clear understanding of just how deep a hole the US is in economically and morally. On the other side, you have Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Chris Dodd who are all so enmeshed into the current political structure that even if they do win they will not have the ability to pull the States out of the problems they are currently facing. I do have to say that I like Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, and Dennis Kucinich on the Dems side because they do have the ability, if elected, to push aside the lobbyists and make changes...I just don't believe that they will change enough to create a stable economy or even change the foreign policy to start winning back their Allies.

No, Ron Paul is clearly the only voice that is speaking out in terms of saving the US from itself. He's the only one that is really giving the American people straight talk and telling them how it is, where they stand, how the rest of the world views the US, and how much they are losing globally in respect and standing. He has a clear view of how to solve the problems and has the strength of views to back them up. What more could you possibly ask your leader for: A clear and decisive view and belief on how to run the Country. No...Flip-flopping. The great part about all of this is that his record backs him up. I defy anyone to show the same for any of the other candidates. ANY of them.

Consistently he is targeted by the other candidates and bullied or left out of debates. Fox news (the joke that they are) had the audacity to not even allow him to attend a debate they held...I mean where in the world do they get off telling the American people whose views they can and cannot listen to, and the American people just sat back and allowed it to happen. This is a perfect example of how far the loss of freedoms have been taken in the US. It also strikes me as relevant that the only real time he's been given to answer questions and support his platform were with PBS or Town hall meetings that were televised. He is proving that the only really free media anymore is that of the internet, and really, how much longer until the US starts to censor and filter that content for its people.

So, why can't we have a Ron Paul in Canada. Why can't we have someone that will stand up and shake the very foundations of our thoughts and make us look outside of the box. Why can't we find someone like Ron Paul that will give our youth hope, vision of the future, and leadership? Our current administration isn't doing too poorly of a job, but let's be realistic how much longer will they be the Gov't as a minority such as it is. Piss off the liberals and a vote will be called.

I envy the Americans at this point for having such a man like Ron Paul that has excited, not only the young Americans, but youth everywhere in the world. I have spoke to friends of mine in Australia, Germany, England, and Sweden that feel the same as I do. Where are our Ron Pauls, where are our vocal leaders that wish to change the status quo and have the trust to be honest with us and let us see where the real issues lie.

- Robert

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Politics and the Canadian Economy

First a few facts:

America is our most important trading partner:

*30% of our Gross Domestic Product and 70% of our Exports are traded to the U.S.
Much of our investment capital and our foreign investment has come from the U.S.
Canada is the largest exporter to the U.S.
Canada is the largest source for Natural Resources to the U.S. (Including Power and Fresh Water)
Canada is the U.S.'s largest importer.

So we are pretty darn closely tied economically.

The question that many are starting to ask is: Is this a wise thing considering the downfall of the American currency and economy?

My position on this is no, it is not a wise thing for Canada to continue. We need to start branching out more to other countries such as South America (Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Peru..etc). We need to start trading with Europe, and parts of Asia much more than we are currently doing. One of the most important things that the Canadian Government should be doing is helping, assisting, subsidizing, and even legislating the diversity of trade.

Even those without much financial background can see that the American hegemony is quickly crashing and in the next 5-10 years the Euro will be the world currency and not the dollar. The fact is that when this happens...and it WILL happen...the U.S. is going to face the largest economic collapse in their history.

Their current administration is in no way prepared to deal with the fallout of this, or have any present/future plans to correct this other than threating those who are considering the move to the Euro with invasion (ie: Iran).

Now where will this leave Canada and is it avoidable? I believe it is. I believe that it is time for our exports to start changing course to other countries willing to trade with us. It's time for us to start separating our economy and becoming more independent. Currently we have one of the largest natural resource exports of any country on the planet, we have technology advances that are in the top 5 of the industrialized countries, we have the ability to truly become independent of the U.S. and I strongly believe this is the time to do so. Before it's too late, and the economy crashes in the U.S and ours follows suit.

I would also like to see our Canadian gov't put their money where their mouth is and start supporting alternate fuels and technologies. If any country can do this it's ours. We are the type of people that would jump on board a program like this and accept the changes fairly easily. Most of us are grinding our teeth to have the ability to start purchasing eco-friendly technology. The fact is that because the U.S. has a strong focus away from any type of conservation, our current Government has no real backbone to go another way.

I'm writing this after a conversation with a few friends about this topic, and because we all agree so vehemently about his subject, I wanted to keep it fresh in my mind. We've generally have had a very strong government that is not afraid to go our own way, but currently it seems that GB has us in his pocket, and as much as I respect the Harper gov't for our current economy successes, I'm dismayed at the way he has caved to pressure to make decisions that are so disagreeable with the majority of Canadians.

Hopefully, our vote will get his attention soon.



-Robert




* http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001258

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Officer Training

I completed my final interview for Officer training yesterday. It went very well and I am going to be receiving the go ahead. I have selected the Navy, MARS Officer, which is Maritime Surface and Subsurface Officer...meaning I'll be a sea going Officer. Originally I had intended to go into the Air Force but that trade was closed to me, and this was my second choice.

Sometime in February or March I will go up in front of the Naval Officers Board for an interview and selection. At that time I will need to pass selection and hopefully be given the opportunity to advance into the training. If not, I will be considered as an Artillery officer.

The challenge that lies ahead for me now is to get back into shape and to begin training. I plan on starting an easy schedule of walking/running, pushups, situps, weight training, and some aerobics to do so. I'll start out slow and work my way up so I don't end up hurting myself.

I'm also considering not taking the new job I'm supposed to start with on Friday. I'm not sure if I want to start driving to Saint John every morning. 1.5 hours is quite the travel time there and back.

We will see what happens today though and I'll make my decision.

-Robert

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Pictures of the Girls.

 
 
 
 

Officer Training, Kids, and Emotions

I recevied some good news last week in that after going in for my initial interview for the Air force as an ACIS specialist as a non-commissioned member of our Canadian Forces, that due to my very high aptitude score and my educational background the Captain wanted me to apply to the Airfield Engineering branch as an Officer.

The meeting actually consisted of me walking into the office, the Captain telling me that they were going to postpone my interview based on his opinion that I would be much better off going that route that the one I had chosen. Originally when I went in this is exactly what I was looking to do, but I was told that due to my age, and the fact that i don't have a completed University degree that I would have to go as a non-commissioned member (which I have no problems doing really).

I have decided to take this opportunity and on the 16th of Jan/08, I go for an Officer Interview which of course is much tougher than what I was in for before. So I will be doing quite a bit of study over the next two days. I will most likely ship out in February.

The girls seem to have calmed down now with the arguing and scrapping, I'm glad I was getting frustrated with the name calling and snarkiness. School is back in and they are back into the normal rhythm of things. Jecynda is starting to concern me because she is showing some signs of emotional distress from my break-up from my girlfriend. She is being more clutch towards our pets, she asks more questions about her mother now, she asks me when I'll date again and find her a mom, and she seems to be a bit more emotional about relationships in general. I've tried to talk to her about it, but there isn't really much I can do. I'm in emotional shape to take on another relationship and I really don't want to have that sort of headache at this point anyways.

I've been beyond stressed for this last few months due to money worries (being laid off sucks big time), also the situation with Jecynda, the fact that in a month or so I'll be leaving them for about 13 weeks, normal life concerns like bills, food, rent, dating, and such. I didn't realize how stressed I've actually been lately but it seems things for me are starting to build up. I've decided to start taking walks with Winter and trying to piece things out in my head. Although, allot of things are coming together now for me, there are still things that I have to deal with on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level.

This new career of mine means that I have to go back to University and finish off my degree, it means getting back into shape (roughly a loss of 30 pounds), it means moving and making new friends for both myself and the girls, and it means allot of new changes in lifestyle. This is allot for us all to have to deal with in a short time, but something that is necessary.

I hope I have the strength to pull this all off. I feel like this is my last chance to make things right in our lives.

-Rob

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Good News Keeps Rolling On In

Well it turns out that my car is fine after all and no immediate major repairs needed. Apparently, the vacuum hose came unattached and that was the problem. Two seconds of reconnection effort and the car was humming along again. Of course, now I have to go and get insurance put back on it. This is great news though, because alot of problems would be imminent if I didn't have the car.

My Military interview will be booked on Monday, and I'm looking forward to getting that over with. It will be the last part of the entry process and then goes for review to Ottawa.

The fun of getting the kids back into the rhythm of getting to bed on time and getting up in the morning. School is almost here, woohooo.

Ok, that catches me up for now.

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Out with the Bad In with the Good

So far so good this year, things seem to be picking up. After several months of trying I have finally received my High School transcripts from Lahr, W. Germany where I was lucky enough to have gone to school. I have been sent to so many different agencies and government departments that I thought I'd never see them again. Also, even though my Military application is being reviewed I have received another job offer in St. John beginning on the 21st which is a nice back up in case I don't start my basic anytime soon.

Things are starting to look up, now if I could a little luck with my car getting fixed things would be lovely, hehe. I think the head gasket is gone in it, there is water coming out of the exhaust and if that's the case it will cost me roughly $1000 to fix it. That's approximately $999 more than I have at the moment, haha. I have to get it fixed somehow so I'm burning all my brain power to try and find a way.

The girls have been scrapping a bit more than usual lately and I decided to sit the two of them down to have a chat about why that may be. I received allot of answers from them but nothing substantial and asked them if this had anything to do with the possibility of me leaving shortly to Basic Training, of course they say no, but I reassured them anyways that I would call every night that I could, and I would visit every chance I had. I think they are both suffering from abandonment syndrome a bit, many people that they were fond of no longer are in touch with them, not just their mother but friends that were posted away or moved. I think it may scare them a bit that I'm leaving for awhile. So, I plan on doing all I can to make sure they know that I'm always available and am not going anywheres for good.

My New Years was alot of fun and I will post some pic's asap. Also, I've been told by some of my blogging friends that they can't leave comments at the moment, so it may be a setting that I have configured, however, some can leave them...so we'll see if I can fix that as well.

Rob

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