The Cabinet comes out today for the new CPC Majority Government.

First thing I noticed as I listen to CPAC; The 2 Opposition parties (that are left in Parl) strategists are coming back with the same old rhetoricic about "why the Government fell in the 40th Parlaiment, which obviously didn't fly with a plurality of Canadians.  It's not like this hasn't been discredited throughout the Election Campaign, and you can see by the results that the propaganda that "The Government fell because it was in contempt of Parliament" was seen through by the voters for what it was, bunk (a ploy, a farce, a kangaroo court of Opposition members in committee who weren't getting exactly what they wanted and weren't going to stand for it any longer.)

The second thing I noticed, and this seems to be trending lately among the media; It's more about the reporters than it is about the news.  This is a disturbing trend of narcissism within the Main Stream Media which should be making viewers/readers wary of both quality and quantity of the information these self important reporters/media outlets are presenting to them.

Here is the Cabinet for the 41st Parlaiment from the website of the Prime Minister.

The Ministry

	The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper Prime Minister of Canada
	The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
	The Honourable Marjory LeBreton Leader of the Government in the Senate
	The Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay Minister of National Defence
	The Honourable Vic Toews Minister of Public Safety
	The Honourable Rona Ambrose Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
	The Honourable Diane Finley Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
	The Honourable Beverley J. Oda Minister of International Cooperation
	The Honourable John Baird Minister of Foreign Affairs
	The Honourable Tony Clement President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
	The Honourable James Michael Flaherty Minister of Finance
	The Honourable Peter Van Loan Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
	The Honourable Jason Kenney Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
	The Honourable Gerry Ritz Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
	The Honourable Christian Paradis Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)
	The Honourable James Moore Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
	The Honourable Denis Lebel Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
	The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
	The Honourable Keith Ashfield Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
	The Honourable Peter Kent Minister of the Environment
	The Honourable Lisa Raitt Minister of Labour
	The Honourable Gail Shea Minister of National Revenue
	The Honourable John Duncan Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
	The Honourable Steven Blaney Minister of Veterans Affairs
	The Honourable Edward Fast Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
	The Honourable Joe Oliver Minister of Natural Resources
	The Honourable Peter Penashue Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada
	The Honourable Julian Fantino Associate Minister of National Defence
	The Honourable Bernard Valcourt Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie)
	The Honourable Gordon O'Connor Minister of State and Chief Government Whip
	The Honourable Maxime Bernier Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
	The Honourable Diane Ablonczy Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs)
	The Honourable Lynne Yelich Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification)
	The Honourable Steven John Fletcher Minister of State (Transport)
	The Honourable Gary Goodyear Minister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
	The Honourable Ted Menzies Minister of State (Finance)
	The Honourable Tim Uppal Minister of State (Democratic Reform)
	The Honourable Alice Wong Minister of State (Seniors)
	The Honourable Bal Gosal Minister of State (Sport)

Prophesy fulfilled.

 About 2 hours after the election results started coming into Saskatchewan Michael Ignatieff indicated that he was going to resign as leader of the Liberal party.   Man, I TOTALLY called that!!  When the House decided to push an election I even tweeted my goodbyes to Iggy right off, letting him know that I thought this election would be his folly.

Now I'll be honest, I had NO expectation that the NDP would MASSACRE both the Liberals AND the Bloc (especially after having read their platform).  I expect the Dippers to pull up somewhere around 70, I coulnd't get a feel for Libs or Bloc though.  I even expected the Conservatives to pull a slight Majority 157-159, but I am THRILLED with the extra 167 seat territory!!

What a great turn of events for both the Country, and the Conservative party!  Time to get some work done.

Bob

Voting, both a right AND a responsibility.

Today as I was reading through some blogs on the impending election, I wandered acoss one that reminded me why the push for people to "just vote!" is wrong.   This Blogger (whom I don't know, and this was my first visit to their site) said "I have always reflexively cringed whenever I hear blather about forcing our youth to vote.".

But I go a step further, and express how I cringe thinking about how many people out there will be voting based on propaganda!!  In watching and participating in some of the social media punditry (of which when I include myself I use the term loosely) on Twitter, my initial assessment has been confirmed.  I have maintained that the general population is swayed more by emotion than logic, which is why:
A. Attack ads are used
B. There has been a surge in NDP popularity.

I have always been a staunch proponent of "informed voting", which means I read party platforms and watch performances in the House of Commons.  I am by NO MEANS a political junkie like some others, but I feel it is all of our responsibilities to make sure we know where the parties stand before we make our decisions.  As I've said in previous posts, this was the first year I have ever even considered reading an NDP platform because this is the first time in history I have ever felt that they may have serious influence in the House (even in an opposition capacity).  Now I don't go into detailed critiques of the platforms, I look for things that stand out both good and bad. But at least I look at what the parties are offering, and base my decision on the plan I feel is best for the Country.

However the same cannot be said for the majority of Canadians, and this is where Democracy #hashtagfails, and this is especially true when it comes to pushing people to vote.

I think it can be generally applied that people don't like attack ads.  How can we make these ads irrelevant? It's simple, make Government a part of your day everyday. Watch CPAC, or read Hansard (however I recommend avoiding Question period, because that is a full hour of attack ads that doesn't really get anything done.)  Spend an hour looking through proposed and passed bills for the day instead of watching TV for that hour.  I mean what could it hurt to give an hour a day for your Country?

When their is an election, read the parties platforms.  Get informed, because voting is about more than just getting out and marking a ballot, and it's more than whether or not you like a candidate or a leader, it's about the future of OUR COUNTRY!!! 

Get serious, and GET INFORMED! And then go vote!

Conservative Platform.
Liberal Platform.
NDP platform.

Bob