The PenOpticon

Blogging has been sporadic for months — hey, I've got my reasons! — but I'm going to crank it up again. Feeling inspired tonight after the U.S election (though you wouldn't know it from the way I'm writing). Feeling inspired but a little rusty. In any case:

Obama's acceptance speech and McCain's concession speech were remarkable for different reasons. Obama is always very much aware of the arc of history and he has an uncanny ability to map paths along that arc for both himself and his audience. I envied the crowd in Chicago as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks in concert with his words.  MLK had a dream and now (finally!) Obama is living it and inviting the world to go along.

As for McCain, while he is not a particularly eloquent speaker, tonight he was gracious, transcendent and real. In fact, this was McCain's most presidential moment since the campaign began and it should be a harbinger of the attitude the Republicans must adopt if they hope to rebuild.

All in all, a truly remarkable evening.

And now, as a Canadian, I wonder how, and if, Stephen Harper can work with Obama. Tomorrow morning Harper may discover that he has gotten up on the wrong side of the ideological spectrum. We shall see. All I know I that I will soon have to change the PenOpticon banner. After all, Tony Blair is gone and Bush and Cheney are starting to pack up their stuff.  Can Harper be far behind?

It is amazing that Americans can shoehorn most of their political views into these two political parties, especially when much of the democratic world requires three, four, five or more parties. As Canada lurches forward with four national parties, it is obvious, that the change we need here is a proportional voting system that will enable these diverse voices to obtain seats in government and work together in a spirit of practical collaboration. Until that day comes, Canada will be cursed with a series of minority governments that will have a hard time getting the job done.

Congratulations President Obama! Now how can Canadians get the change we need?

 A short, but poignant talk by Mike Nickerson, author of Life, Money and Illusion :

The Ontario Liberal's new environmental "incentive program" was unveiled yesterday. This scheme would allow the province to hand out special eco-licence plates to owners of low-emmision cars such as the Toyota Prius.  The details are still being hammered out, but owners of these special green plates could be entitled to free parking and the right to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Woot!

At first glance, this eco-plate scheme sounds harmless enough: a low-cost, low-impact bit of PR.  Look a little deeper, however, the the scheme is nothing but a minor Liberal tip-of-the-hat to the wealthiest Ontarians who could (if they wanted) purchase an expensive hybrid car.  The plan will do nothing to help alleviate global warming or get cars off congested roads.  And it will do nothing to improve public transit. In fact, the eco-licence will bring additional traffic and demand for parking.

Sorry Dalton, but we need tougher emissions laws now to make it hard for car makers to sell cars that spew carbon.  Your recently announced $650-million fund to develop green cars in Ontario sounds like money wasted on big auto makers.  Why not direct that fund into an Ontario-grown green transit manufacturer.  Put green buses on the roads and help Ontario industry re-tool to build renewable energy products. Then you might get my Green vote.

Rumours are circulating that Paul Wolfowitz may have finally negotiated an exit strategy with World Bank directors. The deal is supposed to "clear" him of conflict of interest breaches in exchange for his hasty departure.  Given Wolfy's penchant for preemptive strikes which he justified by saying "you can't wait until you have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody did something in the past…", it's amazing he has held on to the job as long as he has.  By all accounts he should have been preempted some time ago. Fast-tracking Ali Shaha Rizza into a $190,000 income illustrated Wolfowitz's bad judgment and an attitude of greed and privilege. More worrying, however, are recent allegations that Wolfowitz sought to dismantle the Word Bank's Family Planning policies. In a world of dwindling resources — where every new pair of legs expands our collective carbon footprint — any policy that takes away a person's freedom to control the size of their family, is downright evil. It would be evil in any kind of world. So, no matter how you slice it, Wolfowitz is just another symbol of the ethical bankruptcy that permeates the Bush administration. Let him go now before he does any more damage.

While I’ve never been on any of the official guest lists, I’ve witnessed my share of state funerals through the magic of live television: JFK, MLK, Bobby Kennedy, Trudeau, Reagan, et al.   Over the years, the "state funeral" has become a fusion of church and state. In other words, it has become a machine that manufactures images and sound bites for political gain. These solemn occasions give the living political elite a once in a lifetime chance to celebrate the deceased while sharing (basking, wallowing, snuffling, rolling around) in the unending praise and glory they heap upon their predecessors. When the corpses of the mighty are flown across the country, and wheeled about for visitation and viewing, the living can always find the right words to turn a stiff into a lucky talisman.

Whose Lying in State Now?

The death of Gerald Ford is probably a more extreme example, because Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush senior got their first big political breaks while working for him. And so the praises pour forth:

• President Bush’s father called Mr. Ford “a Norman Rockwell painting come to life”
• Tom Brokaw, the former television anchor, described “Citizen Ford” as a “champion of Main Street values”
• Henry A. Kissinger said the man he served as secretary of state “had the virtues of small-town America.”

Now, I’m sure Ford was a nice guy. After all, he helped get Canada into the G8 club and put the wheels in motion to grant amnesty to American draft dodgers. I’m not so sure pardoning Nixon was such a good idea, but that’s just the kinda guy he was — unless there really was a deal to let Nixon off the hook in exchange for his sudden departure (and Ford’s rapid promotion).  But Gerald and Betty Ford were complicated people. They claimed to have welcomed gays into the Republican fold and to support pro-choice and gay marriage. I wonder if George W was thinking about such things when recently uttered these words:

"Gerald Ford distinguished himself as a man of integrity and selfless dedication," Bush said. "He always put the needs of his country before his own, and did what he thought was right, even when those decisions were unpopular. Only years later would Americans come to fully appreciate the foresight and wisdom of this good man."

No doubt Bush was sincere in his praise, but he may also have been grasping at Ford’s glory, hoping to rub some of that "foresight and wisdom" onto his own hind end.

That’s such a cynical, horrible thought to have so early in the new year (though not as cheerless as Pat Robertson’s recent prognostications about an unpleasant "I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear" 2007).  Still, I think I’ve lost my faith in the sanctity of a good ‘ole state funeral.  After all, in the U.S., such events tend to occur at the "Washington National Cathedral",a  structure whose very name rings with officialdom (as if it is run by the U.S. Dept. of Religious Affairs).  While I did just make that up, I did not make up the fact that that this church features a gargoyle carved in the likeness of Darth Vader. What is that about?  An apolitical ploy to get children to come to church or a not-so-veiled reference to Ronald Reagan’s original Star Wars program?  I’m not sure what George Lucas thinks about carving Darth Vader’s head on the Washinton National Cathedral, but it ought be a crime to exploit the dead for quick political gain. Even a man as magnanimous as Gerald Ford might not be willing to pardon someone who is guilty of that crime.

On the Northern Afront

It turns out there are currently three remaining Canadian veterans of the first world war still living, all of them over 105 years old. The Canadian government recently approved a plan to hold a state funeral for the last one to survive. But it turns out that none of the three survivors want to be part of a political circus. I salute and commend Lloyd Clemett (106 years of age), John Babcock (106 years of age) and Dwight Wilson (105 years of age) for their wisdom in this matter. I do remember meeting WWI veterans at a Remembrance Day service in public school many years ago. I had no understanding of that war (and not much more to this day), but I was in awe of those old warriors who stood straight and proud on that cold November day.

Considering that Stephen Harper’s last "tribute" to Canada’s veterans looks more like a propaganda/recruitment video,  our remaining WWI veterans are right to stay clear of Harper’s media machine. They fought for freedom all those years ago, let them enjoy it.